Chapter 127: Her Boyfriend Might Not Be The Smartest

Blair slowly fluttered her eyes open, blinking away the lingering fog of sleep.

The very first thing she saw was Daemus’s face, hovering just a few inches from hers. He was beaming, a bright, boyish smile stretching from ear to ear.

Disoriented, Blair gasped and jerked upright.

Smack!

Her forehead collided squarely with his nose. They both recoiled with a loud groan, falling backward onto the mattress. Blair squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her stinging forehead, while Daemus cupped both hands over his nose.

"Holy shit," Daemus grunted, his voice muffled by his hands as a few drops of blood seeped through his fingers. "How tough is your head?"

Blair’s face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson. She scrambled closer to him, her hands hovering nervously in the air. "I’m so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I’ll be okay," Daemus laughed through the pain, sitting up. "I’ll be right back."

"Do you need my help?" Blair asked quickly, ready to jump out of bed.

"I’m good," Daemus waved her off with a reassuring smile, standing up and heading for the bathroom. "It’s okay, really. I’ll be right back."

Blair let out a long sigh, sitting back against the pillows. Her mind felt like a blank slate. She looked down, noticing a pencil and a piece of paper resting beside her on the duvet. Written on the paper were neat rows of alphanumeric combinations. Next to it sat a silver laptop, the screen currently black.

The memories hit her like a freight train. She was solving the puzzle!

The door opened. Daemus came back with two wads of tissue stuffed up his nostrils.

Blair bit her lip to stop a giggle.

"What happened after we drank the soda?" she asked, the missing pieces slowly falling into place. "Did the professor help us?"

She remembered the burning heat and the frantic scramble up the stairs to the professor’s room, but everything after that was a hazy blur.

"Yeah, he helped. He just forced us to drink a ton of water and made us sleep it off," Daemus lied.

Blair glanced over at the clock. It read 4:15 PM. They hadn’t been asleep for very long.

She looked down at herself and instantly froze.

"Who changed my clothes?" Blair squeaked, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "Did something happen? Why are my clothes changed?!"

Daemus flashed her a winning smile. "You sweated a lot, so I helped you shower and change. But I swear I touched nothing."

"T-Thank you," Blair stuttered out, her cheeks blazing as she avoided his gaze. "For taking care of me."

"You should thank Jack, too," Daemus suggested playfully.

"Y-Yes," Blair stuttered again, nodding quickly.

Daemus picked up the piece of paper. He flipped it over, showing her the back. Written in his messy handwriting were dozens of new combinations.

"I did some while you were asleep," Daemus told her proudly.

Blair’s eyes widened. She took the paper from his hand, her heart swelling with an overwhelming wave of affection. There were still a lot left to go through, but he had managed to cross a significant chunk off the list.

She smiled excitedly and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. "Thank you!"

She felt so lucky to have Daemus. He was always so sweet to her, always making sure she was taken care of. He had even gone out of his way to help her with a puzzle he didn’t care about in the slightest, just because he knew it was important to her.

"You’re amazing," Blair whispered, hugging him tighter.

She desperately wanted to do something nice for him to show her appreciation. A proper date crossed her mind, but she had no money. Plus, she couldn’t exactly stroll through the city right now with her iridescent hair and pink eyes on full display. She still hadn’t figured out if she wanted to commit to the beastwoman disguise or just go back to hiding. She felt much safer hiding, but she wasn’t sure if Daemus would understand.

Then, an idea hit her. She pulled away from the hug, a bright smile on her face.

"We can continue the puzzle later," Blair announced cheerfully. "Right now, we need to start your math lessons."

The smile vanished from Daemus’s face instantly. "It’s fine," he tried to backpedal, waving his hands. "We can just start tomorrow."

"No," Blair insisted. "Your studies are more important. It is my new life goal to make sure you get that sports scholarship!"

Blair felt a genuine surge of happiness. This was something she could actually do for him. She could use her brains to make his life better. Ever since she had entered his orbit, she felt like her terrible luck had only brought him trouble. Getting him a scholarship would finally balance the scales.

Daemus let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay."

He grabbed his math textbook and a notebook off the floor, and dropped them onto the bed. Blair picked up his course syllabus, reading through the bold print at the top of the page.

Her brow furrowed slightly. Daemus was a senior, yet he was enrolled in ’Introduction to Basic Mathematics’. Looking further down the page, she realized there were three increasingly difficult math courses he needed to pass after this one before he could even graduate.

She quickly masked her surprise. She wondered how many years he had actually been a senior, but wisely kept her mouth shut so as not to hurt his pride.

Daemus shifted on the bed, leaning in close with a cheeky grin. "Can you teach me topless?"

Blair’s face flushed bright pink. She smacked his shoulder with the syllabus. "No!"

"Come on," Daemus urged playfully. "Maybe I’ll learn a lot faster that way."

Blair hid her blushing face behind the syllabus, fixing her eyes firmly on the printed words. "No funny business during class," she declared, trying to sound authoritative.

Daemus pouted, gently pulling the paper away from her face. "No kiss breaks?"

Blair’s face felt like it was on fire. She couldn’t meet his gaze. "Only if you do well," she shyly stuttered out.

Daemus cheered loudly, pumping a fist in the air. He sat up straight, resting his hands on his knees. "Ready to learn, Professor Blair!"

Blair took a deep breath, thinking tutoring him would be a fun, bonding experience.

It wasn’t.

An hour into the lesson, Blair realized that teaching a rock to speak French would probably be easier than getting Daemus to understand basic algebra.

"Okay," Blair said, pointing her pencil at a simple equation she had drawn in the notebook. "If x plus two equals five, what is x?"

Daemus stared hard at the paper. His brow furrowed in intense concentration. "Uh... seven?"

Blair let out a slow, patient breath. "No. You have to subtract two from both sides to isolate the x."

Daemus blinked at her. "Why do I have to isolate the x? What did the x do wrong?"

"It’s just how the formula works, Daemus," Blair explained gently, drawing a little diagram. "Think of it like a scale. If you take two away from the left side, you have to take two away from the right side to keep it balanced."

Daemus squinted at the diagram. "Okay... so if I take two away from five... that’s four?"

Blair gently closed the textbook. "That’s it for today."

Daemus groaned, falling backward onto the mattress. He rubbed his temples vigorously. "My brain feels fucked," he complained loudly.

Blair handed him a sheet of paper. "Here. I wrote out some practice questions."

Daemus took the paper. He looked at the math problems, his face twisting into a deep frown. He unleashed a loud, dramatic groan, throwing a full-blown toddler tantrum on the bed.

"Nooooo," Daemus whined, tossing the paper back onto the mattress. "I don’t want any homework!"

Blair laughed at his dramatic reaction. "You need to practice, Daemus."

Daemus pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked away from her, grumbling, "I am beginning to love you less."

Blair stiffened. The laughter died in her throat, her face instantly heating up. He loves me? she thought, her heart skipping a beat.

Daemus noticed her stunned, wide-eyed expression. He quickly sat up, realizing what he had said.

"I’m joking," Daemus clarified quickly, though a faint blush dusted his own cheeks. "About the ’less’ part, anyway," he quietly added.

To distract her, his fluffy ears flattened pathetically against his head. A fluffy tail materialized behind him, offering a slow, sad wag against the bedsheets. He leaned forward, looking up at her with his very best puppy-dog eyes.

"Can you help me with my homework?"