Eddie rarely found himself lost for words, which was why some small, absent part of him was surprised when he was. He had just enough presence of mind to snap his jaw shut, to stop himself from gaping at the woman in front of him who was being introduced as his new boss but beyond that, nothing.

For her part, she looked just as shocked as he.

He managed to get through the next five minutes, found his tongue and was fairly certain he'd managed not to make a fool of himself in front of an LEA representative. He didn't even think to argue about the job he had thought was going go to be his, didn't think to question why they'd dropped in a new headteacher with no notice and certainly no job advertisement. He was too caught up. And then, long before he was ready, they were alone, staring at each other in an otherwise empty office.

"Well," he managed eventually, "you, Amanda Fenshaw, are the last person I expected to see today."

She looked like a deer in the headlights, swallowing thickly before she managed to speak. "I could say the same about you..." she murmured. "How on earth did you end up a teacher?"

He couldn't help it- he burst out laughing. She looked startled for a moment, then gradually her lips curved into a smile and she let out a small chuckle, lowering herself onto the sofa. He collapsed next to her, amusement still visible on his face. "Rachel Mason? What's that about?"

She hummed. "Long story. Short version- I had to change it."

"Never would have guessed," he deadpanned. "Thanks for that insight."

She snorted out a laugh, hitting him absently in the shoulder. And just like that, twenty years melted away, and he felt like he was sat on a playground far too late at night, with a group of friends all drinking and laughing, the idea of the future one that hadn't even crossed his mind. He studied her, noting the differences to the girl he remembered- twenty years was a long time, but she hadn't changed much. Her hair was shorter, but still the same colour. Her eyes had never been carefree, but they were older now, more jaded, he noted, though he supposed that was to be expected. Rachel shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, shooting him a look. "What?"

"It suits you," he said abruptly, pushing down the slight flush of embarrassment at being caught staring so blatantly. She looked quizzical. "Rachel," he explained, "the name suits you."

Her cheeks pinkened. "Well, get used to it," she mumbled. "No one else knows it wasn't always mine. I'd appreciate it if it could remain that way."

He quirked an eyebrow, but nodded absently. There was so much he wanted to say, to ask her. At the same time, he was afraid he wouldn't like the answer. She noticed his look, and her eyes narrowed. "I mean it," she warned. "Rachel Mason, headteacher, nothing more. Amanda Fenshaw is long gone, and is going to stay that way. A lot has changed."

"Obviously," he murmured. "I won't say anything."

But even as he voiced his agreement, he was screaming internally. Because she wasn't just Rachel Mason, headteacher- once upon a time, she'd been Amanda, the first girl he'd loved, the girl he dated for two years before she disappeared without a word and broke his heart. The girl he'd known since they were kids in over-sized school uniforms. And even as he made his promise, he had a terrible feeling he wouldn't be able to just pretend she wasn't that person.

Rachel immediately asked Eddie all things to do with Waterloo Road, wanting to know the ins and outs of the place. Truthfully, she wanted to draw the attention away from herself and onto safer territory. She'd truly had no thought to find out the name of her Deputy before accepting the position, merely jumping at the chance to finally land her dream role. She'd heard of the school, anyone without a 10 mile radius had heard of Waterloo Road. It was after the tragic incident of Izzie Redpath and her death that the place had truly landed itself in the limelight, and Rachel was nothing but ready to take on the challenge. Only she hadn't thought in her wildest dreams that said challenge would also entail closely working with the one man she'd never truly been able to get over. Every date she'd been on had been compared to the way she'd felt after spending time with Eddie, every kiss she'd had compared to the way his lips felt against hers. Even now as he spoke passionately about the staff and students of the school, she couldn't stop herself sneaking glances at his mouth and wondering if he still kissed the same way he used to. She only caught herself when Eddie happened to catch her staring, and she immediately shook herself back into professional mode. "Let's get started, shall we? I've got plans for this place." She looked around her office and grinned, feeling like she'd finally found the place she belonged.

It didn't take long for that feeling for vanish, especially when her shirt had been covered in vomit and she found herself at loggerheads with none other than her ex-boyfriend only hours after meeting once again. They weren't even able to decide on the winner for a simple enterprise competition, and Rachel had an inkling that was to do with the fact that Eddie figured the job was supposed to be his. She found herself feeling entirely sorry for him when he thrust some risk assessments her way, an edge of bitterness to his voice as he made it clear he had planned to do it before she was introduced as the new boss. She looked over the pages quickly with hopes that she could end the day on a positive note and maybe even share a smile with Eddie before they parted for the evening. But her brows furrowed as she looked back up at him. "So are there no girls going on this trip?"

"It's my way of tackling boys underachievement." Eddie answered quickly, furious that his approach was even being questioned. The trip had been planned before she arrived, she simply needed to sign her name and say no more about it, why was that so difficult. He found himself reminiscing on some of the many tiffs him and Rachel had had in the past, back when she was his Amanda. Never anything to this scale, but she'd always been stubborn and headstrong. "Discipline, team bonding, focused competition. It's supposed to be getting these lads to be gaining a little self respect. It'll make them more amenable to learning."

"Well, it's a good job this trip is all done and paid for." Rachel could barely meet his eyes as she signed her name, not happy in the slightest but knowing that one look at him had the potential to be changing her mind. He had that way with her, a simple look that sent all rational thought for her out of the window. At least, it used to. "Because there won't be another one like it."

"You see, that's where you went wrong today." He just couldn't help himself, couldn't stand the fact that she already thought she knew best. He wasn't sure what schools she was used to, hadn't yet gotten that far when catching up. He didn't know much about her, come to think of it, not even the reason for her sudden name change. "With the assumption that traditional education has nothing to do with a certain type of kid. They all need qualifications. Brett Aspinal won your competition, not one of the kids you were targeting."

"Hey, you were the judge." Rachel quickly cut him off, not allowing him to blame her for that when she hadn't even been in the room to make the decision. That reminded her, she really needed to change her clothes.

Eddie tried not to let the anger wash over him as she blamed him for her schemes. "He was the best, I'm not into positive discrimination. What was today about for you, Rachel?" He tried not to linger on her name, or the way his heart picked up ever so slightly as he said it. "Proving that you can throw the baby out with the bath water?"

"Hardly."

"Well that's what it seems like to me."

"I do know what I'm doing. Trust me on this one Eddie." She looked to him then, really caught his eye as she practically begged. She didn't want them as enemies, wanted this day over with so tomorrow could start afresh. "So can I count on your support?"

Eddie didn't answer, didn't trust himself to. He didn't know if it would lead to him embarrassing himself by informing his boss on her first day that she would probably always be able to count on his support seeing as she'd had it since they were teenagers. So he chose to walk away instead, thinking it was best for both of them to leave it at that and come back the next day with fresh minds. But it wasn't like either of them were likely to stop thinking of the other in the hours before they saw one another once more.