Sorry if you don't find this chapter satisfying. I'm not really too fond of it myself. I know exactly where I'm going and I more or less know how to get there but it takes a bit of time. I really hope you can bear with me :) Thanks for your support and please feel free to give me your thoughts if you think I could improve in some way!

Chapter 10

"So, on a scale of one to ten, just how torturous was dinner with Cruella Deville and her minions?" Nolan joked when they all met before school the next morning. They sat on the steps outside the building which had become somewhat of a ritual.

Emily chuckled. "It actually wasn't that bad. It was just dinner. I got to spend some time with Daniel's little sister too which was actually really nice."

Amanda arched an eyebrow. "What? So Victoria didn't offer up a pre-meal sacrifice of virgin blood?" she asked playfully while writing down anything and everything in order to complete her history essay. She just couldn't have been bothered to do it the night before.

"No. I must have missed that part..." the newest addition to the group joked.

Amanda continued to write like her life depended on it. Jack made sure that she was completely engrossed before winking at his friends. "Hey 'Manda, isn't that your dad coming this way?"

His girlfriend tossed her notebook behind a bush out of some kind of panicked reflex. "What? Where? Did he see me?" her eyes scanned their surroundings. When she didn't see him she frowned. Jack burst out laughing and Nolan joined him. Emily just gave an amused chuckle. Amanda punched the dark haired boy's arm. "You're such a jerk! I can't believe you did that! I hope you feel really bad when my own father fails me!" she pouted.

He kissed her on the cheek as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sorry; I just couldn't resist."

"Yeah well you can go get my book now."

Jack held up his hands in playful surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm going." He hopped over the wall and fished the notebook out of the bush, hissing when a thorn pricked him. His girlfriebd snatched it back and got back to writing.

They continued to converse about everything and nothing. Emily watched her fellow students and some teachers walk by. She was definitely happy that they no longer stared at her like a new animal at the zoo. The novelty had worn off quickly. Some even smiled when they caught her eye.

There was one person who wasn't smiling, however: Mr. Mathis.

He walked up the pavement towards the scbool with a cup of coffee in hand and a pained expression on his face. He looked terrible; worse than the day before and then some. His blue eyes were framed with a dull redness as if he had been rubbing them too muchand he was pale. They locked eyes and there was a flicker of something on the counsellor's face that Emily couldn't figure out. It was gone just as soon as it had appeared, replaced with a look of total neutrality. Mr. Mathis just greeted her and her friends with a curt nod before walking inside.

"Wow, someone had a rough night," Nolan remarked in an amused tone, "Wonder what he was up to?"

"It wasn't anything good by the looks of it. He looks like hell bitchslapped him." Jack replied.

Amanda looked up. "Who?"

"Mathis."

"Yeah, he didn't look great when Ems ran into him yesterday either... You think he's sick?"

Emily frowned. He hadn't seemed sick when they spoke. There was this sinking feeling in her stomach that she had made it worse rather than better. Was it actually a cold or was it something more? Was it even her business? The answer to that was no, it was not. The blond shouldn't even care but yet she did for reasons sbe couldn't even begin to understand or justify. It was all very confusing. Emily was pretty sure that she shouldn't be feeling like she was but she couldn't help it. "Maybe..." she answered in a small voice.

They were all so caught up with their guidance counsellor that none of them saw Mr. Clarke approach until it was too late. He just stood there wearing an amused expression as he watched his daughter write furiously.

Jack's eyes widened and he nudged his girlfriend. "Um... 'Manda?"

She let out an annoyed huff. "What, Jack? I'm trying to get this stupid essay done!" the blond shot back without tearing her eyes away from the page.

"Your dad..."

Amanda scoffed. "Yeah right. I'm not going to fall for that one again."

Mr. Clarke winked at Emily. "Stupid essay you say? That wouldn't happen to be the one due for second period, would it?"

The seventeen year old froze at the sound of her father's voice. She slowly closed the book and looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Nope... this is the one due for fourth period English; which, by the way, is a lot less fun than history. The teacher just isn't as good..."

Mr. Clarke rolled his eyes. "I didn't see this. Have it done by second period," he warned before turning and heading inside.

"Will do!" his daughter beamed and called after him before re-opening her notebook as quick as she could and picking up where she left off.

Humanities was the third class of the morning. Things had calmed down a lot since Emily's dispute with the teacher that first day. That was mainly because she had learned to keep her mouth shut no matter how provocative Ms. Crowley was. As usual she took her seat next to Daniel.

"Good morning," he beamed at her.

The blond chuckled softly. "Good morning, Daniel." She definitely felt different about him after seeing him interact with his little sister the previous night. Emily could officially conclude that he was nothing like Tyler.

"Last night was fun. Charlotte hasn't stopped talking about you. Since you and Lydia left she's been asking us when she'll get to see you again."

Emily smiled. "I like her too. She's extremely cute."

"Yeah, she is," Daniel replied and there was a certain unease to his voice. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again when no words came out.

She frowned. "Is something wrong?" He was about to answer when Ms. Crowley announced her presence and everyone fell silent. Daniel just shook his head. They didn't get a chance to talk again in that class.

Aiden was tired. It was the only thing he could think about for more than a minute at a time. He had fallen asleep in his office earlier that morning but thankfully was woken by the knocking of a student with whom he had an appointment. After that, he'd felt bad; these students needed him to do his job to the best of his ability. They counted on him. No matter how exhausted, he still had a job to do. The guidance counsellor made sure that when he was in his office alone, there was always something to keep him occupied and awake.

"Rough night?" David Clarke asked as he sat down next to his colleague and best friend in the staff room at lunch. He had a coffee in one hand, a stack of notebooks in the other and a pen behind his ear.

Aiden nodded. "Couldn't sleep. I'd give anything to just go to bed now," he said and took a bite of his apple, which apparently was more effective in waking someone than coffee according to the internet.

The older man chuckled. "I know what that feels like," he paused, "Something on your mind?"

They had a really good relationship. He always felt that he could tell David anything... well, most of the time. "Yeah, but I've got it covered." That was a lie but there were some things one shouldn't say out loud. Especially when it involved a student who was also David's daughter's best friend.

The History teacher arched an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Positive."

David took his friend's word for it. When and if the Englishman wanted to tell him, he would tell him. There was no need to push him. "You don't feel like grading twenty four essays on the rise of Fascism in Europe, do you?" he asked with a wry smile.

Aiden chuckled. "No thank you. I'm not that tired!"

"Suit yourself, but you'll be missing out on some really interesting historical facts. Just so you know..." the older man said playfully. "I can't wait to see what Amanda has written. I caught her doing the essay before school this morning. She actually thinks that I didn't know she hadn't got it done."

"You never know, it could be the most brilliant and ground-breaking essay you could ever hope to read. Some people work better under pressure like that."

"As a teacher I'm inclined to believe you, but as her father I'm going to be on her case from now on!" he laughed. "Just look at this," David opened his daughter's copy on the right page and Emily's, whose was just below it.

Aiden could immediately see the difference. Amanda's was barely legible while the other was neat and even had the quotes in red pen. "Touché," he conceded with a smile.

It was a major relief that he still felt somewhat normal around his best friend. There was actually some escaping this Emily conundrum. It was then that he realised something: yes, he was strangely attracted to the newest student, but that didn't mean anything had to change. He was still in control. Surely there were tonnes of teachers who felt attracted to a student, accepted their... crush, for lack of a better word, and got on with things. Aiden didn't have to act on anything and he wouldn't. Besides, he was fairly certain it wasn't a mutual attraction.

After his deduction, the guidance counsellor felt a lot better.

"Hey Emily, how are you?' Ashley asked with what Emily could tell was forced enthusiasm as the latter was washing her hands in the bathroom nearing the end of lunch.

She frowned slightly but not enough to draw the other girl's attention. "I'm good, thank you. How are you?"

"Good. Daniel told me that you were over at his place for dinner last night."

Oh, so that was what this was about. Emily knew Ashley wasn't just talking to her for the good of her health. She should have guessed. "Yeah, I was," the blond replied bluntly while drying her hands with a paper towel.

The exceptionally beautiful teen smiled softly. "I really hope Victoria didn't do anything to scare you off. I know very well how protective she is of her family."

"No, Victoria was perfectly nice. But she and Lydia are like sisters so it's only to be expected," Emily explained, "I spent most of the night with Daniel and little Charlotte though. She is so adorable. Daniel told me she hasn't stopped talking about me since we left. We had a lot of fun playing princesses. She even let her brother by my prince," she milked it for all it was worth. The blond wasn't trying to be nasty, merely attempting to wind her classmate up a little. She had a feeling she was envious.

Ashley's jaw visibly clenched. "Yes, Daniel mentioned. Charlotte loves meeting new people. I almost consider her a sister by now. I love her to bits. She loves me too."

"I'm sure she does," her tone was indifferent. Emily didn't really care if the brunette felt threatened by her. If she was that scared of losing Daniel then she should really do something about it instead of trying to fend off any girl who comes in contact with him.

The English girl suddenly got an idea. "You know, we should hang out. I want to get to know you better. My mother just gifted me a makeover for two at MAC in the mall. I was going to go on Saturday, would you like to come with? For some girly bonding?"

Emily hesitated. She didn't really know what to say to that. 'Girly bonding' with Ashley wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities. The other girl noticed her indecision. "Oh come on! It will be fabulous. They show you these really great techniques. I would love for you to come."

The blond somehow found herself agreeing. She wanted to find out more about Ashley. Emily put on her best smile. "I would love to go. Thank you for asking."

"My pleasure," Ashley flashed her a dazzlingly white smile. "We should exchange numbers to sort out the details..."

Amanda was definitely going to make fun of her for this. But hanging with Ashley couldn't be that bad... Right?