It had been a while since Professor Orloff had been planning a pair project to get the students more social and break up the cliques.

He announced all the pairs out loud through a random drawing, and you were paired with Ajax, and God he didn't know if he was happier or more nervous. I mean, you were, for the most part, his complete opposite. You had that sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through the lenses of your sunglasses and a smile with gleaming fangs that would give anyone chills and extreme heat at the same time—as it once did for him.

It was already afternoon, and you had agreed—well, he suggested it, and you just gave a slow smile and a brief nod in response—to start the project in his dorm. With every second it took you to arrive, the snakes in his beanie writhed and hissed in shared anxiety when he heard two knocks on the door. He stood up quickly, adjusting his beanie before opening it.

"I've been waiting for you. Please, make yourself at home..." He said, opening the door with a small wave inside as the snakes hissed louder and louder now in his presence.