"Do all your apologies end in being dragged to the headteachers office?"
The uncomfortable atmosphere was far too close to becoming visible, and Connor took it upon himself to break the ice. The two of them had been sitting in front of the desk in Mr Byrne's office alone for a little while now; the headteacher had to pop out to arrange cover for Christine's class, and to ask Sonya to call in Sally Stewart. When Connor rather rudely remarked that he had no right interfering in things that happened outside of school, Mr Byrne explained that this meeting was about more than just what he overheard in the corridor, and he had wanted to speak to the two teenagers for a while now.
"Attempted apologies, Connor. You wouldn't listen, remember?"
Connor had had good intentions when he decided to speak first, be the better person and all that - in no way did he want to spark another fight. "I had my reasons. This is the first huge argument we've had that hasn't actually been down to me, so excuse me if I take advantage of that." He was trying to keep things light-hearted, but they were both fooling themselves if they said they couldn't both feel another inevitable argument brewing.
"You know how much I regret last night! I regretted it from the moment it happened, but you can't hold it against me forever. The chances of us getting back together would be absolutely tiny if I held grudges against everything you've done!"
Imogen's voice was laden with desperation; all she wanted was his forgiveness, but the mention of the fire ensured that things escalated quickly. Pretty soon, they were once again at each others throats, each trying to blame one another for the train wreck that is their relationship, and each trying to justify their actions. Neither wanted to argue; one of the things they had in common was their headstrong characteristic, which unfortunately didn't help the situation.
"Okay, okay! Calm down." Mr Byrne's authoritative voice filled the room as he appeared in the doorway, closely followed by Christine and Sally. Connor and Imogen reluctantly quietened. "Surely we can leave you two alone for ten minutes without this happening?"
"He started it." Imogen wanted to get out of this room right now. She couldn't be bothered with relationship counselling from the headteacher of all people.
"Childish."
"Look who's talking!"
Michael Byrne pulled up two chairs either side of Connor and Imogen, gestured to the two parents to take a seat and then proceeded to sit down behind his desk. "If you haven't got anything nice to say to each other, just don't speak, how about that for a compromise?"
"Not to sound uninterested, but I have had to cancel an appointment for this, so can we please get to the point? To be quite honest, I don't think it's very appropriate for a teacher to be investing such interest in their relationship, surely that's a private matter?" Sally Stewart always got straight to the point.
"This isn't about their... involvement, Mrs Stewart. Although, I do want to touch upon what I overheard in the corridor earlier."
Imogen visibly cringed at his words. Mr Byrne pulled out two student files from his drawer. Opening them, he pulled out a single piece of paper, handing one to Sally and one to Christine.
"These are Connor and Imogen's grades from the past term. As you can see, Mrs Stewart, Imogen's grades are falling. I don't think we have to be too worried, as you've both been through a lot this past term, and as long as you agree put a bit of work into it I think you will be rightly prepared for your AS exams this summer." He turned his attention to Connor and Christine and carried on. "However, Connor, your grade decline is much more serious. As I explained to Imogen, I am fully taking into account the events of the past couple of weeks, but I would be failing as a headteacher if I didn't acknowledge your performance lately."
Connor rolled his eyes uninterestedly.
"You don't seem to be taking this very seriously."
"That's because I'm not."
"Today, Connor, I was reliably informed by Mr Chalk that you're on your way to failing Maths unless you get your act together. What do you think about that?"
"I think... I've got better things to worry about." Connor just knew his mum would undoubtedly be glaring at him right now but he couldn't care less; he didn't need this. What he did need was Imogen back, and they couldn't sort things out with all this unwanted interference.
"If you're not going to show willing then neither am I. If you fail, it is entirely down to you and you will not be back at this school next year to sit your A2 exams, do you hear me? No-one can say I didn't try, I only hope that Miss Donnegan shows as much lenience as me when it comes to the term review of student progress."
Speaking with words full of animosity, Sally Stewart said, "He shouldn't even be in this school. He should be in a cell, the little psychopath."
Connor paled, and he, his mother and his ex-girlfriend simultaneously panicked. Sally Stewart just didn't realise how much trouble she could have just caused; if she let slip about Connor's responsibility as the arsonist, he wouldn't be the only one effected by the repercussions. Imogen would be fined for perverting the course of justice, and if the police were feeling particularly mild that day, the least Connor would walk away with would be a shiny new criminal record.
"Mum!" Imogen shouted finally; she hoped her tone would convey warning, and she really hoped her mum would understand and not elaborate. "Leave him alone, yeah?"
"I don't know why you're defending him, Imogen, not after what he did." Her words didn't give much away, but unfortunately for them, Michael had been teaching long enough to know when something was being hidden from him.
"Is somebody going to tell me what's going on?"
Connor had been rendered speechless, and Christine was at a loss. Imogen took it upon herself to try and smooth things over - she was terrified. "It's nothing... just something that happened when we were together, it doesn't matter though, it's all in the past, right, Connor?" She could hear herself rambling but this was no time for embarrassment. When Connor gave a half-hearted nod, she carried on. "We both understand that we need to work harder in class... can we go now?"
Narrowing his eyes, Michael couldn't help but feel suspicious so he relented, letting the two teenagers go but keeping Sally and Christine, which only caused Connor and Imogen's worries to intensify. After they left, Connor sped down the corridor without so much as a goodbye to Imogen. Despite their arguments, she still cared... she still loved him, and refused to let him go off alone and do something stupid. She decided determinedly that she was going to speak to him, and they were going to sort things out whether he liked it or not. Imogen tracked him down to the steps outside the main entrance of the school, where he was sat with his head in his hands. Taking a seat beside him, her voice was soft and caring this time.
"Hey. I'm really sorry about my mum."
Finally, Connor looked up, and Imogen could see that he was close to tears. "It's not your fault. But she could be telling all right now and I can't do anything to stop it, and if this all comes out, it's not just me who gets into trouble. I don't want to drag you into this."
"You still care then?"
"Of course I do, Imogen. I love you so much, and I'm so sorry for being such a prick today. I suppose I was just hurt that you chose to believe Barry over me."
Imogen grabbed his hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "You're not the one who should be apologising... I was way out of order and I'm sorry. I never should have listened to a word that creep was saying... oh, yeah, and I love you too, Con."
The intense feeling of fear and worry plaguing him was suddenly overpowered by a strange bubbly, butterfly sensation in his stomach that Connor could only attribute to happiness. He removed his hand from her grip and slung his arm loosely around her shoulder. "We've been right idiots, haven't we?"
For once, the silence between them was beautiful and they relished in each others company for a short while. In times of contentment such as these, the young couple often wondered what life was like before they met; Connor couldn't fathom how he ever survived life with his mum when she was drinking without Imogen's support and guidance.
"Listen to me, Connor, whatever my mum says in there, don't worry, because you'll get through it. We are going to get through it together, okay?"
