"Got Nothin' To Lose, I'm Fightin' My Demons, Been Looking For Someone Like you, I've Been Looking For Someone Like You" – Boys Like Girls
Emma Pillsbury pushed her car door shut with great difficulty, as she struggled to hold her heavy, cardboard box of belongings awkwardly in her arms. She walked towards the entrance of the school, with blurs of unfamiliar faces passing her by as they waited impatiently for the bell to ring. She unconfidently approached the main door, and looked disgustedly at the germ ridden handle.
"Hey, are you okay?" A friendly voice asked, causing her to turn her head quickly in the direction in which it had come. Now standing beside her was a young man wearing loose jeans with a white shirt and a grey, patterned sweater vest over the top. She noticed his dazzling smile and his handsome features at once as she nodded quickly. "You sure?"
Emma avoided making eye contact as she spoke, choosing to look down at her almost overflowing box, "Yeah"
"Do you need a hand with that?" He asked, gesturing to the door, "Here, let me open it for you"
He gripped hold of the handle, and pulled the door open in one swift motion, causing Emma to repulse slightly. He didn't appear to notice her reaction, but instead stood to one side and motioned for her to walk through.
"Thank you" she mumbled shyly, noticing a gold ring on his left hand as it pressed against the cold glass. He followed her inside and let the door shut behind them, watching her begin to walk slowly down the empty corridor.
"Hey, give that to me, it looks heavy" He said, seeing her struggle with the box and kindly taking it out of her hands before she could politely decline. Their hands brushed ever so slightly as he took it, sending a chilling shiver to run down her spine, and a blush to creep across her cheeks. "Wow. This thing weighs a tonne. What've you got in here?"
"Umm, just stuff I'll need for my office...I'm the new guidance councillor..." Emma spoke timidly as she watched his confused face turn to an expression of realisation.
"Aah!" He grinned, "You're the new councillor. Principle Figgins has been singing your praises all week."
"Really?" She asked, unusually flattered
He nodded again, "Yeah. Apparently you're the best one we've ever had...not that the others have been good competitors...they don't tend to stick around for long..."
"Uhh...really? Why?" She questioned, a hint of panic in her voice
"Some of the kids are pretty demanding..." He shrugged
"Well, high school is a pretty scary time for kids" She began to explain, with in an intelligent and educated, but innocent and sweet tone to her voice, "they need to know they can talk to someone who'll listen and won't judge or turn them away. It's at this age where they finally discover who they really are, and that...that's hard"
"Wow. You really are good!" He laughed, "It's good to find someone with a real passion for helping these kids. It's not often you see that. I try my best, but you're right...they need someone impartial and honest to talk to them about everything they're going through"
Emma didn't respond, other than to smile shyly in his direction.
"C'mon!" He exclaimed, "Let me show you to your office..."
They walked at a steady pace down the corridors, without much conversation passing their lips other than for him to give Emma directions. Once they finally reached an empty office, he clutched hold of the box tighter, and leant against the glass door to open it. He motioned her to proceed before him once more, with Emma barley taking in her surroundings as she considered his gentlemanly gesture, while he placed her belongings gently onto a bare wooden desk.
He clapped his hands together, breaking the silence, "Well then, I better go and get ready for my first lesson of the day. Figgins will probably come and see you at some point this morning, so I'll leave you to sort all your stuff out. It was really nice meeting you...uhh" He trailed off and raised his eyebrows as he waited to hear her name.
She stood dumbly for a few seconds, waiting for him to continue, "Oh! Uhh...Emma. Emma Pillsbury"
"It was nice to meet you, Emma" He grinned, "I'm Will, by the way"
Emma looked up at him, "Thank you...Will" she said, finally allowing herself to make eye contact. He stared into her huge, beautiful eyes, getting completely lost in them as they sparkled. He observed the soft features of her face, noting how each one was even more delicate and perfect than the last with his gaze lingering on her lips longer than it probably should have. Her ginger hair was resting on her shoulders, which was curled precisely to frame her face, which along with her pale complexion, gave her a kind of pure beauty he had never seen before. Emma was fiddling with the buttons on her cardigan nervously, suddenly aware of him looking at every last bit of her appearance. He snapped back into reality as the morning bell rang, leaving her office with a quick 'see you later' and a simple smile that said more than Emma realised. She began to unpack her belongings carefully, anxiously glancing at the door every so often, hoping he would return at some point during the day.
The first few hours of school flew by, and after a brief meeting with Figgins the lunchtime bell rang and Emma made her way to the staff room. She chose an empty table, and proceeded to clean its surface and the chair before she sat down. She took her lunchbox from her bag and began to polish each individual grape as she ate them, watching intently as the room slowly began to fill with teachers in deep conversation with one another. A few confused glances and whispers were thrown in her direction, but ignoring them, she looked up to see Will enter, who spotted her sat alone and approached immediately.
"Hey, Emma" He greeted, sitting opposite her, "How's your first day been so far?"
"G-great!" She exclaimed, "I spoke to Figgins this morning and I've sorted all my stuff out and organised all my appointments for next week with the kids"
Will listened closely, barley even taking his eyes off her as he began his lunch "Good!"
"How's your day been?" She asked, genuinely interested
He sighed, "Pretty boring, actually, just a lot of grading Spanish papers"
She fought to keep the look of surprise from her face, "You teach Spanish?"
"Si" He grinned
Emma giggled, "Impressive!"
Will smiled as she laughed, "Muchas gracias!"
They talked all through their lunch break, almost if they had known each other for years. It was rare that Emma felt so comfortable in the company of a stranger, but something about Will made her feel so relaxed and able to tell him anything. He didn't comment or judge on the way she cleaned her food, instead he just watched her with great interest and amazement. She noticed him watching her as she picked out another grape, inspected it and wiped it with a tissue several times before she even thought about placing it in her mouth.
"I like them to be clean" She explained, blushing slightly, "I can't eat them if they're not clean..."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that!" He told her, "Who'd want to eat dirty fruit?"
"Exactly!" She beamed, just as the bell rang once more and drowned her out.
"Well then, I best go and teach some more" He said, standing up, "See you later, Em"
"Bye" She waved weakly, as he turned to leave, "I'll see you tomorrow...or not...I mean...you know... I'll be here for my lunch, anyway...cause I work here now, so I'll probably see you, but it'll be nice to talk again...only if you want to that is...I mean, I don't want to bother you or anything..."
Will laughed at her cuteness as she rambled on in a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness, "I'll see you later. If not, I promise I'll see you tomorrow." He repeated, flashing her a winning smile, "Enjoy the rest of your day."
He kept his promise by sitting with her for dinner practically every day for more than two years. He found himself in her office on a daily basis, as she offered him advice about how to deal with his students and how to cope with other aspect of his life. And now, as he lay beside her fast asleep, she stared up at the black ceiling, with the darkness swirling in front of her eyes, she wondered how they had managed to come this far, even after all they had been through. Emma's thoughts trailed off as she spotted the vest that he had worn that first day flung messily over the end of the bed. She stared at it for a while, feeling slightly triumphant as she did not think herself obliged to fold it and put it away neatly. Will stirred, as he shifted to his side and placed a sleepy arm over her body.
"Go to sleep, Em" He yawned, "I can almost hear you thinking"
"I was just remembering my first day at the school" She told him, shuffling closer to him.
He felt her relaxing into his arms, "One of the best days of my life" He mumbled, pressing a kiss into her hair
"It's one of mine, too" She agreed, letting her eyes flutter closed, "Goodnight, Will. I love you. "
"Goodnight" He said, "I love you, too."