Heya guys, update for you. Sorry for the delay, just finished my A-Levels so updates will be a lot more frequent from now on.

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), e and LittleMissGobby. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxx


Chapter 2- A Losing Battle

Rachel left the school at the end of the day. Her first day at Waterloo Road had been very successful, the teachers, except Grantly, and the students seemed to like her and they all seemed to agree that she'd fit in well at the school, Eddie especially. She was just about to get into her car when she heard a voice coming from behind her. 'Rachel!' the voice called.

She turned around and saw Eddie walking towards her, 'what is it Eddie?' Rachel asked.

'I was just wondering what time you were going to meet the rest of us at the pub,' Eddie replied.

'Shall we say about 7:30?'

'That's fine with me, I'll let the others know,' Eddie said as he began to walk back towards the school.

Rachel smiled to herself as she got into her car and drove off, in the direction of her house.


Rachel pulled up outside the house that she shared with her fiancé a little while later. She walked up the path and put her key into the lock. It opened and Rachel walked inside, putting her stuff down on the bottom of the stairs. 'Stuart!' she called up the stairs. 'You here?'

'In here Rachel,' Stuart replied.

Rachel walked into the living room and saw her fiancé, Stuart Hordley, sat at the desk in the corner of the living room, he turned around in his swivel chair and smiled at her, 'how was your day?' he asked.

'It was fine,' Rachel replied. 'Listen, I'm off down the pub with my new colleagues in a bit, do you wanna join me?'

Stuart shook his head, 'nah, I'm going to get this lot sorted,' he said, gesturing towards a small stack of papers on the desk.

'OK then,' Rachel replied as she went through to the kitchen to make herself some dinner.


Eddie pulled up outside the house that he shared with Alison and Michael. He entered the house and heard noises coming from the kitchen, he walked through to the kitchen and saw that Alison had just got the dinner ready, 'where have you been?' she asked.

'I just had some bits and pieces I needed to sort out at work,' Eddie replied as he knelt down beside Michael and ruffled his hair.

'Are you still OK to look after him tonight?'

Eddie looked up at her, 'tonight?' he asked blankly.

'Yeah, tonight. I'm having dinner with a few old friends,'

'You'll just have to cancel, I've already got plans,'

'What plans?' Alison asked.

'I'm going to the pub with some work colleagues,' Eddie replied.

'Why can't you cancel?'

'Because we're welcoming the new headteacher to the school, she started today,'

Alison walked out of the kitchen and Eddie followed her. She closed the kitchen door so that Michael couldn't hear them, 'so the new headteacher's a she,' Alison said.

'What's that got to do with anything?' Eddie asked.

'I bet you only want to go tonight so that you can impress her,'

'That's rubbish Alison and you know it,' Eddie said angrily.

She had hit a nerve there, to be fair. He wanted to know whether there could be anything more than friendship between him and Rachel, after their conversation after her introduction to the staff earlier that day; he was convinced he had felt something when they first shook hands. Whether Rachel reciprocated this feeling was another matter altogether, they had known each other for one day and maybe they had to get to know each other before allowing those thoughts into his mind.

'I'll just have to invite my friends round here then,' Alison said, dragging Eddie out of his trance.

'Sorry?' he replied, looking back towards her.

'I said I'll just have to invite my friends over here, so I can look after Michael as well as seeing my friends,'

'Oh OK, do what you want Alison, I won't be here,' Eddie said as he opened the kitchen door and went inside to join his son at the table.


Rachel walked into the pub a little after 7:30 that evening. She saw that Eddie, Tom, Davina Shackleton, Jasmine Koreshi, Matt Wilding and Steph Haydock were already gathered around a table at the opposite end of the pub. She walked towards them and they all turned around, 'sorry I'm a bit late,' Rachel apologised. 'But I said I'd buy the first round so what's everyone having?'

Everyone put in their orders and Rachel went to the bar. 'Is anyone missing?' Eddie asked as he looked around the table.

'Grantly's not coming,' Steph replied.

'Why not?'

'He said he'd rather eat his own shoe than accept a bribe from her,'

'Did you tell him that it isn't a bribe? She just wants to get to know us all,'

'Do you really think he'd listen? Steph asked.

'No, I don't think he would,' Eddie relented. 'Thanks to the rest of you for coming.'

'It's the least we could do,' Matt replied.

'So what do you think of Rachel as a headteacher?' Eddie asked addressing the whole of the group.

'As I said at lunch, I think she'll fit really well, the kids seem to like her,' Tom replied.

'I agree, the kids do seem to like her, it's just…' Steph trailed off.

'Come on Steph, spit it out,' Davina urged her.

'It's just going to take time for me to get used to having her as my boss and not Jack,'

'Yeah, and we all know you'd prefer to have Jack as your boss,' Davina hit back spitefully, she was still angry that Jack had betrayed her by sleeping with Steph.

'That's enough you two!' Eddie cut in. 'Let's try and put aside our differences, even if it is just for tonight.'

Davina looked across at Eddie and then back at Steph, 'I suppose so,' she said, rather grudgingly.

Eddie smiled at her as Rachel turned around and brought a tray carrying all their drinks over to their table. They proposed a toast to Rachel and she smiled at each of them in turn, her eyes lingering a lot long on Eddie than they did on the others. In that moment, she realised, there was something between them, a spark. She could feel it now. Rachel sighed quietly to herself, the spark was there but neither of them could act on it. Eddie was married, Rachel was engaged and too many people would get hurt if they did act on the spark that they had. She had to suppress it, she couldn't have him, he couldn't possibly be hers and she couldn't be his.


A few hours later

Rachel walked up to the bar once again and ordered herself a white wine and a beer for Eddie. Everyone had left the table and were doing other things, Jasmine and Matt were playing pool, Tom and Davina had engaged in a drinking contest, involving quite a few vodka and bacardi shots and Steph was unsuccessfully trying to chat up the barman. Rachel walked back over to the table, carrying her and Eddie's drinks and put them down on the table. 'Thanks Rachel,' he said as she pushed the beer glass towards him.

Rachel sat down beside him and began to drink from her wine glass. 'So who's the lucky guy then Rachel?' Eddie asked, trying his best to sound casual, indicating that he'd seen the diamond sparkler on her finger.

Rachel looked down at the ring and smiled to herself before turning to face Eddie, 'what makes you say he's lucky?' she replied.

'Because whoever this bloke is, he's got you,' Eddie said as he smiled at her.

'You wouldn't be saying that if you were sober,'

'Wouldn't I?' Eddie asked, as though challenging Rachel to contradict him.

Rachel looked into his eyes, as though trying to look for some kind of sign, telling her that he hadn't meant what he had just said. But she couldn't find one, she could feel that spark again, it was almost overpowering her. Rachel fought to suppress the feeling that she was experiencing but deep down, she knew she was fighting a losing battle.

She tore herself away from Eddie's gaze and finished off her drink. 'I'd better be going,' Rachel said as she stood up. 'Night night Eddie,' she added before walking towards the pub door.

'Night Rachel,' Eddie called after her.

She smiled back at him as she pulled open the door and disappeared into the night.


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