A/n: Another little chapter for you all.

Many thanks to all my lovely readers and a huge thank you to fayefteva, Mrs Carmichael and EvaRPope-fan for the reviews!

Please enjoy.

Please save yourself

Chapter nine.

Please do not let the world captivate you, embrace you and parachute you into deepening waters. The parachute will not stop you from drowning but will give you false hope, and protect you for only a few moments. Please, I beg of you, if only once, please save yourself.

Monday. Doom, gloom, and the start of another tough week; to which she guessed would only be the beginning of a difficult time. The conference had dragged on for longer than she would have hoped, and truthfully, she couldn't stop thinking about him. About Eddie. She could have sworn that they were close to sharing an intimate moment only days ago, and she had let her guard slip for only seconds.

There hadn't been many times like this, other than when she had kissed John Pickerman at the tender age of thirteen, and that had been her first kiss. She and John had been together for exactly nine weeks—which felt like years at the time—and he had broken her heart, terribly. And so, twenty-five years later was quite some time to feel like this. Relationships had never been a priority, and honestly, she prided herself for not having to rely on any man. But Eddie, he was different, he hadn't been like anyone that she had met before; he was caring, sweet and a little grumpy at times, but that was secretly something she loved. She admired his resilience and how he'd match her on almost anything, apart from her safety because that was simply non-negotiable.

'Rachel, it's still standing.' Eddie protested as he followed briskly behind her. For a petite-sized woman she sure walked with a fast pace, even he had to admit that. Flinging her handbag onto the table, she turned to find Eddie only a few inches away. Hands shoved in his pockets, sulking profoundly like a child.

'Structurally, yes. But Eddie, how did you not notice that Bolton-' She was interrupted quickly by Eddie's defence.

'What? Did a runner? There's over nine-hundred kids in this school. How was I-' Neither of them had noticed a presence behind them.

'Supposed to keep an eye on every single one of them?' Tom answered as he lunged into the office with numerous papers in his hand.

'Reckons I didn't keep standards up.' Eddie grunted as he threw a sideways glance to Rachel, who stood with her lips pressed together to refrain from further argument. Tom looked to Rachel and then back to Eddie before snickering, 'Well, I mean you could have watched out for Bolton, we all know what Bolton's like.'

Rachel sniggered as she identified Tom's playful demeanour that accompanied his tone.

'Great.'

In a temper, Eddie used forced to fling open the staff room door, and not surprisingly, he received a few glares. Throwing his eyes to his pigeonhole, he found only a handful of letters addressed to him. Scanning quickly through his post, he could hear Grantly's tone laced with sarcasm.

'Well it seems someone's had quite the discussion with her highness this morning.'

There they were — Steph, Grantley and Matt. The three amigos huddled around the seating area with very little urgency to get to registration. Grantly lifted his smile on observing Eddie's clenched jaw. Bingo.

'Something bothering you, is it, Eddie?', Steph asked.

Eddie knew it would have only been seconds before he'd be scathed by the leeches. He was neither in the mood nor ready to put up a defence -it was after all, only eight forty-five. Throwing his spare hand into his pocket and putting up a tall stance, he glared at the French teacher.

'Take that as a yes.'

Matt threw in the extra comment hoping to break the icy tension, however it only added fuel to the fire. Bringing the mug to his lips, he watched as Steph mouthed something inappropriate and desperately stopped himself from sputtering his brew everywhere.

'Had an argument with Rachel, have we?' Replied Steph as she beamed with joy.

'Find it funny, do you?' Said Eddie, scathingly.

There was a short silence before Grantly uncrossed his legs and lifted himself from the seat. He wasn't just going to leave without a last final comment. It was Grantley after all.

'Well, we can't always be teacher's pet.'

'Just Melissa's pet.' Matt murmured.

Melissa. Sh*t. He'd almost forgotten. Eddie knew exactly where this would lead, and he really didn't need the fifty million questions they were about to embark on. Turning quickly on his heel, he was almost out of the door before Steph chirped up.

'Had a sore head on Saturday did you, Eddie?'

'I woke up fine, Steph.'

That was a lie, and by god, he was lucky they didn't catch his facial expressions. It would have been a dead giveaway. Pausing for a second, he wondered whether to bite back — but probably would have been accused of lying due to a tough defence— or ride it out, and just hope that it would pass.

'Alone, was it?'

Alone. Alone, yes. Feeling terrible? Absolutely.

'Look, I appreciate you looking after the school, Eddie. I just, well ...' shifting a glance to him, she hesitated before pressing on, 'Bolton we know he has a tendency to bunk off school.' Taking comfort in the big office chair that accompanied her desk, Rachel looked back over to her deputy who continued to absent-mindedly stare out of the window.

Eddie released a large sigh before returning his attention towards her. 'Yeah, I know. I was just focused on keeping the school ticking over. I did try, Rach, but I should have been on the ball with Bolton, and for that I'm sorry.'

Deep down she could never have been angry with him. He was her deputy, her go to and most importantly, he was her friend. Giving him a small smile, she offered him peace of mind that she was neither angry nor disappointed, and that maybe she had overreacted.

'Apology accepted. How was your weekend?' asked Rachel as she picked up her pen to continue with the mountain of paperwork that awaited her signature.

'Uh..', he stumbled. The words failed to leave him, and he desperately racked his brain for an excuse. It wasn't that he was lying, but more so that this was not the time to tell her of Friday's late night events.

'I..it... it was quiet.' Little droplets of sweat formed just on the edges of his brow and forehead. Fortunately, it was barely noticeable to Rachel.

'Just quiet? I'm half surprised you didn't get dragged to the pub.' Letting the pen drop onto the desk, she brought her eyes to his once more.

'I did .. well, you know, with everyone.'

An awkward silence graced them, and she acknowledged how hesitant he was. His posture became tense, and she mentally noted how he'd danced with his words, avoiding further conversation.

'Did Melissa go? I half hoped she would just to get to know the staff.'

Exactly ten seconds of silence. It was becoming obvious.

'Yeah.'

'Yeah?' Rachel pressed. What on earth had gotten into him? Eddie had never been religious, but he prayed, quietly and desperately. He needed an interruption, and by magic, he had been saved by a light knock at her door. Rachel tore her eyes away from Eddie, and focused on the young boy who appeared in front of them.

Matthew Wood. He looked petrified, and she couldn't blame him. This was not the time to be questioning Eddie, and so, as expected, she gathered her thoughts and became Miss Mason.