Hello again! Thank you so much to those who reviewed the last chapter! I'm so glad that there's still people liking this story because I've neglected it so much it's not even funny... Enjoy!

"Hey…" David smiled softly, scooting his chair a little bit closer when Victoria and Conrad left the table to go dancing, leaving only himself, Emily, Aiden and Lydia, "You doing okay?"

Trying her best to smile, Emily nodded. "Yeah, just a little tired. It's been a long day…"

Her history teacher arched an eyebrow, obviously not believing that for a moment. "I know it's challenging, don't worry. Especially when some people aren't exactly making it easy. Just hang in there and it will all be over soon, keep the moral high ground," David winked before rising from his chair. "Lydia, would you do me the honour of joining me for a dance?"

Lydia, of course, preened at that, making sure for a moment that it was okay with her date before she followed him, completely oblivious to the way that David caught his best friend's eye and nodded discreetly in the direction of the young blond.

Emily, however, did not miss it. Her cheeks began to burn and she bit her lip, taking another sip of Champagne. Since when did she feel so uncomfortable when it was just them? Granted they were in a room full of people that knew them.

"Emily…" his voice came so softly that she almost threw herself at him right then and there. Just as David had done, he moved closer, taking Nolan's seat beside her. "I'm so sorry-"

"I know," she sighed before he had a chance to say anything else, "I know, it's okay."

Feeling his heart break once again at how sad she looked, Aiden wanted nothing more than to reach out and cup her cheek… but he couldn't. "Sweatheart… you're miserable and I'm responsible for that. I hate seeing you unhappy."

Emily was well aware of that, and she could also see how much of an effort he was making to keep his distance from Lydia. "I'm sorry, I don't want to make you feel bad. I understand, really."

Opening his mouth to speak before closing it just as quickly, Aiden frowned for a moment, an idea popping into his head. "You've had too much Champagne, maybe you should go outside and get some air?"

She would have known what he meant by that even if it wasn't accompanied by a subtle wink. "That's probably a good idea."

Emily probably should have been freezing when she got outside, especially given that they were right next to the ocean, but the coolness of the air only seemed to soothe her- outside she felt as if she could breathe once again. They made their way down the hill from the hotel and bit and onto the wooden pier. It was far enough away to have some space and privacy but not far enough away to raise suspicions. She was clearly upset, after all, and he was her guidance counsellor…

"You look so beautiful, Emily. I've been waiting since this afternoon to say it."

She couldn't help but bite her lip as she gave him a once over. "Not looking too bad yourself. Can't say I'll ever grow tired of seeing you in a tux…"

"Next time I get cornered into a situation like that I'll do anything I can to get out of it, I don't care what it is. Seeing you hurt is not something I want to happen ever again. I love you so much."

Inching closer so that she could reach for his hand, Emily's heart began to thud in her chest. She never felt like kissing him so much in her life. "I love you, too. I can't wait for this night to be over. I just want to forget it."

"I'll spend the rest of my days helping you to forget it. You can come over and stay with me tomorrow night, we can do whatever you want."

She had a feeling he'd intended it to be a lot deeper than she'd interpreted it. Now feeling rather bold, Emily arched an eyebrow. "Whatever I want?"

He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, of course that was what she would want. "Whatever you want…"

"That's good because I don't think-" She'd had planned to say something sexy, something to get him going right there and then. To tease him. Emily never completed her mission. Really, she should have seen it coming; her shoes were six inches high and the pier… well the pier wasn't exactly stiletto friendly. She'd made to move close to him mid-sentence when her heel got stuck in one of the gaps between the wood and then… well…

It all happened very fast, falling off the edge of the pier, grabbing Aiden on the way down… the both of them ending up submerged in the ocean.

When Emily broke the surface again, gasping at how frigid the water was, she saw her boyfriend looking back at her, a mixture of shock and amusement on his face. "What the hell was that, Emily? Did you just tackle me into the water?"

Using one of her hands to splash some water at him, she grimaced as she kicked her feet below her, dress hindering her movements. "I did not tackle you! My shoe got caught in the pier. In fact… yep, it's still up there so you can see for yourself."

Thankfully, he laughed at that, brushing some of the water of out his hair to keep it from dripping into his eyes. "Well, I can honestly say that's the most entertaining thing that's happened to me all night but we should probably get out before we go all Titanic…"

He gestured for her to go ahead, probably so he could help her since the weight of her dress wet would probably cause her to sink to the bottom, and Emily did so, clinging to the ladder tight as she awkwardly pulled herself up, feeling more like a mermaid than a person with her legs trapped in that stupid dress.

Aiden's ascent was easy compared to hers, and she soon heard his laughter as she attempted to wring some of the water from her dress. "Not sure if that's haute couture or a sponge."

"I'll give you sponge in a minute," Emily muttered, lifting the train so she could slap him with it. After she did so, however, she looked up which proved to be a big mistake as her jaw instantly fell open. Aiden in a tux was hot but Aiden in a completely soaked through white shirt that left little to the imagination… it was a miracle that she didn't pass out on the spot.

Corners of his mouth tugging upwards when he saw how dark and wide her eyes were as she watched him, Aiden's hands moved towards the buttons of his shirt as if he were going to open them. His girlfriend looked only too pleased with this development. When she appeared to lick her lips, Aiden couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously? We are not doing this here. Come on, let's head towards the hotel and see if we can signal someone to let them know that why we can't come in…"

"This should be fun…" she muttered under her breath, trudging up the hill and towards the hotel. The ballroom was around the back so everyone naturally stayed within a couple, which meant it was unsurprising that no one had noticed their tumble. Fortunately, Nolan and Tyler were the first people they ran into, their eyebrows practically disappearing above their hairlines when they caught sight of the duo. Emily could only imagine what her make-up and hair looked like…

"Emily?" Nolan gaped, looking between his best friend and the Englishman in a mixture of incredulity and mild amusement.

"I... my shoe got caught in the pier and I fell into the water," awkwardly holding up both of her shoes, the heel of one all scuffed, "Tyler, can you tell Lydia that I've got to go?"

"Yeah… sure," her brother nodded, still baffled, before quickly heading inside.

Once he was gone, Nolan scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't even know what to say."

"Neither do I," Aiden agreed, chuckling softly.

"Smile, Ems," Nolan grinned, whipping his phone seemingly out of nowhere. Knowing she wasn't going to get away with it, Emily grimaced, hands on her hip as his camera flashed, capturing her in all her drowned rat glory. "Now if that isn't one for the mantelpiece… Jamanda is going to love this."

"Emily?! What on earth happened to you?" Lydia's voice was so sharp it almost hurt her ears, drawing their attention to the door as her mother, David, Conrad and Victoria materialised.

David, who seemed to make sure that they were both okay before he started laughing, raised his eyebrows at his best friend. "When I told you to talk to her I didn't mean go swimming…"

It was Aiden's turn to grimace this time, folding his arms across his chest. "The heel of her shoe got caught in a crack in the pier..."

Making an 'eek' face, Emily bit her lip. "Sorry again about that…"

"Okay, it's probably best if the two of you go home or else you'll catch your death."

"I'll come with you," Lydia offered.

That sounds like the worst idea I've ever heard. "No, it's okay. You stay. I'm just going to get showered and go to bed anyway. There's no point in you missing out."

"Are you sure?"

Yes, that's it. You want to say. "Absolutely."

"I'll make sure he gets home okay," Aiden assured her, placing his hand on the young blond's shoulder.

Thankfully, Lydia seemed to go for that despite the fact that she looked rather disappointed with the way things had played out. God only knows what she had planned. "Okay. Aiden, don't even think about going home before at least getting cleaned up. Emily will find you something to wear. You'll freeze otherwise. Even better, we have plenty of spare rooms, feel free to stay the night. It's the least we can do."

Emily almost choked upon hearing that, trying her best to remain passive. It proved to be a very hard task. "Don't worry, I won't let him go home wet."

Of all of the ways she expected this night to go, ending up back at her house soaking wet with an equally soaked Aiden in tow was definitely not one of them. It felt so bizarre, here they were with all but Lydia's blessing. If only she knew…

Emily fumbled with her keys, hands not working properly as a result of the cold, especially not when Aiden was right there behind her, body practically pressed against her back. "Aha! Got it," she grinned as the key turned in the lock and the door swung open. She stepped inside first, fumbling for the light switch as her boyfriend followed after her, closing the door once again behind him. It took a minute to find the right one but eventually the foyer was illuminated, along with the landing upstairs.

Silence engulfed them for a moment, the weight of the situation weighing heavy on them both. Opening her mouth to speak, Emily blushed. "We should probably get out of these wet clothes."

"Emily?"

"Hmm?"

"Are there cameras in here?"

Chuckling, she answered his question by taking a step forward and standing up on the tip of her toes before her lips landed on his. Cold, but pleasant nonetheless. "We're not the Graysons. But we don't know how much time we have so…"

That was absolutely fine with him. "Lead the way my lady."

Steam filled Emily's en-suite as the shower began to run, hot as she liked it, as they began to peel off their sopping clothes. Lydia had said to make sure he didn't go home wet and cold… they were just saving time and water by showering at the same time.

"Can you get my zipper?" She asked, looking back over her shoulder to see that he had shed his shirt and was in the process of removing his pants.

"Yeah."

Giving him her thanks when he announced it was done, Emily struggled to rid herself of the dress. It felt awful but when it was fully removed her skin began to sting as she started to heat up. Sliding open the glass door, Emily stepped under the spray of the shower, groaning when the heat began to penetrate her body. Taking an evening dip in the Atlantic in February wasn't exactly the best idea and probably should be avoided at all costs.

Chuckling at the sounds falling from her lips, Aiden stepped in behind her, entrapping them by pulling the door closed again. Before she had a chance to move, he backed her up against the tiles, mouth greedily claiming hers. Emily practically melted into his touch, the fact that they could be caught if Lydia decided to come home early (which was highly unlikely admittedly) both terrifying her and thrilling her. Her lips begged for more, fingers grabbing at the nape of his neck, to which he all too eagerly responded, lifting her thighs up so they wrapped around his waist.

"Hot enough?" she wondered, grinning wickedly as his lips began to roam over her jaw and down her neck to her collarbone.

"Hmm… I think we can increase the temperature a little bit more…"

There was no one to be found when Tyler arrived back home. Mathis' car was still out front but he'd been drinking so he'd probably left it there until the morning. Wandering leisurely into the kitchen, Tyler decided to grab himself a glass of water before making his way upstairs, a little merry from the constant flow of Champagne, to get out of his tux and into something a lot more comfortable. It wasn't until he reached the top of the stairs that he heard it: Emily's laughter.

Obviously she was still awake and he quickly put it down to the fact she was probably on the phone to Amanda, telling her all about how the night ended. To be perfectly honest, the sight of her drenched from head to toe didn't surprise him as much as it should have, she was more than a bit of a klutz.

He continued in his journey to his room, until he found himself stopping dead in his tracks when a voice sounded… a voice that most certainly, categorically, did not belong to his sister.

"Emily… hands to yourself."

"You weren't saying that five minutes ago."

"Yes, I know but I really need to get home and that is making it nearly impossible."

Emily reluctantly conceded to that and Tyler's heart began to pound in his chest when he realised that they would shortly leave her room. He couldn't be there when they did.

Moving quietly but swiftly, he rounded the corner, hiding behind a chaise by the main bathroom where he was pretty sure he wouldn't be seen. His room was too far away to be sure that he would make it there in time. It wasn't until he was crouched down in the unlit part of the upstairs that he began to compute what was actually happening.

Emily was not alone in her room. And her company was male and had a very distinctive accent…

When the two left the safety of his sister's bedroom, any doubts that Tyler may have had as to what he was hearing, what he was witnessing, vanished without a trace. "We still on for tomorrow?"

"I don't know… I thought you got what you wanted tonight."

"When have I ever given you the impression that one night is enough?"

"That is true."

The voices disappeared down the stairs, far away enough that he couldn't make out what they were saying anymore. It didn't matter. There was nothing more he needed to hear…

His sister was having an affair with the school's guidance counsellor.