Rounding the corner Eddie ran into the one person that the whole argument was about, smiling and laughing at something one of the students had said to her.

She looked up and found Eddie staring at her in a way that he had never before except when they were in the pub after the first day of term, the mixture of confusion and lust something that she never thought she would see on his face once again when it was directed at her, thanks to Mel being in the picture.

"Eddie, what was all that about, Mel just came storming out of that room in tears." Rachel questioned, not really sure that Mel's tears could mean something very good for her or very bad for Eddie because once you get on the bad side of Melissa Ryan there really is no stopping her not so well hidden inner bitch.

"Nothing important."

"What do you mean not important? She just walked out of the same room you just walked out of in tears. How is that not important?" She huffed as Eddie's dismissal of her sister's feeling hit the protective streak in her, even though at the moment all Mel ever seemed to do was wind her up and piss on her parade every time she tried to be civil to the couple.

"Rachel, relax Melissa and I have to come to a mutual understanding that it's not working out for us anymore and that breaking up would be the most beneficial option for both of us in the long run." Eddie soothed her; not wanting her to know the real reason for Melissa breaking up with him to be became common knowledge such as when Steph got wind of the break up, within an hour the whole school and half of Rochdale would know.

"Okay, sorry I jumped in a bit there even after all this time seeing Mel in tears raises me hackles." She reasoned, whilst secretly she was drunk happy and dancing around in little circle in her head whilst the biggest shit eating grin was threatening to take over the whole of her face.

"Then again Mel manages to raise my hackles whenever she's in a particularly foul mood." Rachel added as they started to walk through the corridors, occasionally telling some student to get off their phone or to stop running in the hall ways.

"Now Eddie I need you to go to the coach to the boxing match as Jasmine is now going in Rob's car with him and Bolton. When we get there... Eddie, are you even paying attention to anything I'm saying?" Rachel asked as she noticed his lack of input on the matter at hand. Waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention, Rachel's patience by now had dwindled so she basically got right up next to his ear and shouted.

"EDDIE!"

Causing him to jump about a mile in the air and rub vigorously at his now wounded ear. On the other hand Rachel was in stitches at the sight of his always so serious face contorting into one a shock and fear.

All around them were also laughing at the deputy heads reaction to his loud reality check. Some were even taking pictures of Eddie as it was probably one of the only times they would ever see the, big bad Eddie Lawson shit his pants, because of woman, a woman other than Candice Smiley in full swing.

"Bloody hell Rachel, what the..."

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." She said, pointing to all the teenagers that had stopped and were watching the pair interact with each other.

See the students knew that, if you ever found Eddie Lawson and Rachel Mason in a corridor or empty classroom, there is always a chance of seeing either one or both of them embarrassed or that they were discussing some stupid thing to do with the school that would also produce their tempers to flare and leave them both wound up and being laughed at by all members of staff and pupils. Since everyone knew that the two obviously have chemistry, but they just lacked the motivation to act on the chemistry, however today there was something in the way Eddie looked at her that had everyone starting bets and pools on times and dates, as to when the catalyst would be dropped in the solution of the two of them causing them to react together to create a new level of their relationship.

Just so happened that Eddie's conversation with Mel was the catalyst for the chemical reaction that had been brewing between Eddie and Rachel since, day one.

"Eddie really could you try to pay a little more attention, I was just saying that you will have to go on the coach to the fight as Jasmine is going with Rob and Bolton instead." Rachel said repeating her earlier words for his benefit as he seemed to have taken off on a really long day dream adventure.

"Yeah, sure, fine." He said distracted as they continued their walk towards her office where they could discuss in private just what had happened with Mel.

It was an unspoken agreement that they would go back to her office and work through the issue, as now they had no secrets from each other. Other than their feelings that they wouldn't admit to, in her office they could afford to break down and tell each other things that they didn't even realise was hurting them, in her office they were awarded with a shield from the world and those who surrounded them on all four sides.

Closing the door softly behind them Rachel took a seat near to Eddie near enough for if he needed it she could comfort him but not near enough for them to be touching and making the temptation became any more compelling to give in to their most primal desires.

"I...One minute she was fine with our relationship the next she was spouting off about how I had to choose and I couldn't choose Rachel, I tried I really did but these feelings that I have just won't go away." Eddie whispered, defeated and confused as to what Mel had hoped to achieve in breaking up with him.

"Eddie, Mel is a free spirit and if she didn't have Phillip she would be off on some Caribbean island and she would be hammered every night. Mel just can't seem to understand that when you have something good you don't just let it go you have to fight, but all I have seen Mel do is let someone who could have made her very happy, go because she wouldn't fight for the relationship to keep them in her life. You did nothing wrong, she just can't accept that you meant so much to her so she did the one thing that she has perfected over the years and ran away." Rachel explained, not knowing that what she said was having no effect on Eddie as he couldn't keep his eyes away from her lips as the moved forming the words.

Reaching forward unexpectedly Eddie swept down and captured her lips silencing her from saying anything else about her sister who had freed up his heart to be able to do this. Pulling Rachel closer against him Eddie threaded one his hands up into her hair and was using it to keep her from pulling away from him and breaking the momentary bliss coming from her kiss.

The feel of his soft lips repeatedly covering hers, Rachel had no way to yield under the slight pressure he was pressing to onto her lips, coaxing a reaction from her. Giving into his sweet kiss when she felt his tongue sweeping against her bottom lip Rachel opened her mouth inviting him to deepen the kiss, making the once sweet and innocent kiss into a duel for dominance and to gain the upper hand over the other.

Whilst Eddie and Rachel got accustomed to the new feelings they had evoked in each other, the office door opened and the cause of new development for the two of them poked her head in and surveyed her handy work and smiled at the sight that greeted her knowing that for once in her life she had done something right and by doing that her sister could also experience some happiness at long last. Closing the door not wanting to disturb the Mel collected her things from her classroom and walked away from Waterloo Road knowing that she had left her sister in very capable hands. Taking one last look at the building she drove off, not once looking back.