(cw: f!reader, written on my phone)
Tutoring was something that you found to be pretty easy… most days. It was something that you found to be pretty simple and rewarding. Getting someone to understand something because you helped them out? Hell yeah!
But then there were days like this one, where you hated tutoring. Moments with snotty nosed, lazy underclassmen that were obligated to sign up for tutoring by their frats or sororities unless they wanted to get dropped, where you had to step in and play a role of authority. It wasn’t hard to track someone down at their class or across the student union, but coming to the frat house or sorority house? No, thanks! There were far too many people at these that you didn’t know and having to play the strict role around strangers was something you didn’t want to do. These fraternity and sorority presidents were struct though, stricter than you when they reached out and not only encouraged, but pushed you to push their brothers and sisters to pass the class they needed tutoring for.
So here you were on the front porch of the Nu Chi Theta fraternity, waiting. You rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for someone to answer. Glancing at the time, minutes ticked by, one after the other. You cleared your throat, ringing the doorbell again. “Doesn’t anyone around here do more than sit on their ass?” You heard someone shout.
Oh great, an angry male coming right in your direction. The door opened and your eyes widened traveling up, up, up until you finally made eye contact with a tall guy with his hair tucked under a backwards hat. His face was calm and a lot more welcoming than you were expecting after hearing his annoyed yelling. “I’m sorry about that. Did you need something?” He asked in a voice that was warm and relaxed— attractive even.
You’d seen this guy around before, Fratboy!Johnny, he was hard to miss. He was tall, he did well academically, he was on the basketball team, and he was super charismatic. You were sure you’d had him in some kind of general ed class when you were a freshman and your tiny crush had developed there. How couldn’t it when he always had a bright smile on his face and confidently answered the professor’s questions?
You blinked hard, shaking your head, that’s not what you’re here for! You cleared your throat again, “I’m Mark’s tutor-”
“Mark has a tutor?” Johnny interrupts with a look of confusion.
Another guy walks behind him, “oh yeah, Taeyong made him sign up because he’s like a percentage or two away from flunking his history class.”
Your cheeks flush, “actually, he’s skipped out on our last three sessions so he might actually be failing now.”
“That little shit. Come on in, I’ll show you to his room,” Johnny groans, opening the door wider for you to follow behind him.
The door shuts behind you and you’re immediately met with a sight of a totally stereotypical frat house. It’s everything you’ve imagined and you’re not sure that’s a good thing… The floor is sticky beneath your feet, a stale stench of beer and weed permeate the air. There are mix matched couches on your right and to your left, a dining room with mix matched chairs and tables. You can see some guys in the living room playing a video game, a few more guys are out in the backyard. You think you see someone actually studying in the dining room with a girlfriend maybe? You’re not sure, but you do think it’s cute that she kisses his dimples when he gets something right. The major thing that sticks out to you though, is that this house is run by only guys. It’s so obvious, in a bad way. It lacks the simplest, consistent female touch.
Behind Johnny, you follow him up the stairs and down a hall until he knocks on a closed door. He doesn’t give any time for an answer to be called out, he just pushes the door open. There, in a room messier than you’ve ever seen, sits Mark with a guitar on his lap.
His eyes are wide at the sight of his frat brother and tutor in his doorway. He drawls out your name awkwardly, “heyyyy, didn’t expect to see you here…”
“You’ve been skipping your tutoring sessions haven’t you?” Johnny asks, though to you, it sounds a lot more like an accusation.
“Not skipping… just opting not to go,” Mark replies sheepishly.
“Do you know that she has to sit around and wait for you when you don’t show up? Did you consider that? Or that if you fail your history class, you’ll have to drop out of the frat and have to find somewhere else to live! Come on, Mark!” Johnny exclaims exasperatedly.
“I don’t want to fail!” Mark retorts, setting his guitar aside, “it’s just— look, I’m a music major alright? You do a great job of tutoring me but you can’t make history fun, you just make it easier for me to understand.”
A little piece of your pride is broken at that, you are a history major after all, but you can understand where Mark is coming from. You sigh, “look, Johnny is right. You only need to pass this class and then your general history requirements will be met. We just need to get you to pass your midterm and your final and you’ll never have to see me again. I want to help you pass Mark, not just because I’m getting paid to help you. You’re actually pretty cool.”
Johnny chuckles, bumping your elbow with his own, “you don’t have to fluff his ego and tell him that he’s cool. He’s not. Now, up you get Mark, clean your shit up and get your ass downstairs to the kitchen so you can do some studying.”
Mark huffs, “why would I have to clean before I go study?”
“Mark, your room is a mess,” you chime in, taking a look around the space covered with strewn clothes and loose papers.
“Now!” Johnny adds snapping his fingers in Mark’s direction. He turns to you, “come on, we can wait for him downstairs. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
You shake your head, following him back down to the kitchen where you plant yourself in a stool at the counter. He grabs himself a water, slides one over to you too before he just stares at you. He narrows his eyes and you feel like he’s judging you and you begin to get nervous and shy again, avoiding his intense gaze.
Finally, he breaks the silence, “you look really familiar. Did we have a class together or something?”
Your cheeks heat up and you nod slowly, “I think so. Maybe like a political science class a few semesters ago.”
He claps his hands and a smile brightens his handsome face, “that’s it! You sat a few rows ahead of me!”
You dig your nail into the plastic of the water bottle you’re not so subtly mauling in your grip, “there’s no way you remember me. There were like 200 something people in that class.”
“Well, you remember me,” Johnny shoots back with a nonchalant shrug.
“Because you knew everything! You answered a lot of questions and your presentations were really good,” you reply, trying to fight the heat on your cheeks with a sip of water.
He smiles at you, too cocky and handsome for your nerves right now, “and I remember you because you were the cute girl that was always in class before me no matter how hard I tried to beat you to class. I had to walk by your row to get to my seat and you always had your notes ready to go before the professor was even there.”
You freeze. You don’t even know how to respond to his flirting. It is flirting, right? Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, Mark chooses that moment to make his presence known, “oh gross, don’t flirt in front of me.”
“It’s not gross,” you immediately deny.
At the same time Johnny laughs sarcastically, “you don’t get to call the shots around here, little guy.”
Mark squints and flits his eyes between the two of you, “you guys already have a weird dynamic and I don’t like it.”
“Don’t talk to your tutor like that,” Johnny interjects with a finger pointed in his direction, “now sit down and listen so you don’t flunk a general ed history class.”
Mark plops down next to you, laying out all his study materials with an annoyed huff. Johnny watches on with a proud look, his gaze meets yours once more, “hey, don’t forget to say bye before you leave, alright?”
You nod, biting your inner lip to suppress a shy smile, “alright.”
Johnny gives you one last smile before leaving you and Mark to study. Mark rolls his eyes, “you know, I came to college to not have my parents around, not to find a younger, hornier replacement for them.”
You shove his shoulder, “shut up, Mark!”
“Yeah Mark, shut up!” You can hear Johnny yell out.
You try to ignore the look on Mark’s face that all too clearly reads ‘I told you so.’