(A/N): New chapter time! Yay! Okay, this may or may not be the chapter you were all waiting oh so patiently for. You'll have to read to find out if it is or not. No, this story is still nowhere near over and I do hope you guys don't mind, and don't mind sticking around. I love you all for reading this and liking it just as much as I do. You've no idea how much it means. So read on, enjoy and let me know what you think.
What the Heart Wants
Chapter 26
Her daughter had called her at lunchtime both Monday and Tuesday, and the Monday evening, telling her all about what had happened during her day, even if she did tease Rachel a little at endorsing phone usage in school time. Tuesday evening found Rachel sat impatiently at home, having left a little earlier than she usually would, waiting for Alia and Gabrielle to arrive. Maxine and Janeece had laughed a little at her impatient behaviour, more used to seeing her as their unflappable, endlessly patient headmistress, but willingly sat with her in the living room awaiting the teenager's return, engaging her in pointless gossip from the day and getting her comments on them. Steph had decided cooking was too much of a hassle that night, not knowing the pair's arrival time, and so planned on ordering pizza once the two had arrived. It was nearing eight o'clock when they heard a car pull into the driveway and Rachel shot up to race to the door, leaving the other three to share knowing smirks even as they stayed put, knowing they would get to see the fifteen year old anyway, as soon as Rachel let her go.
Rachel practically ripped the front door open and jumped down the doorstep onto her driveway as the car doors opened and Alia and Gabrielle climbed out, the latter moving to get their things from the boot as the former ran over and engulfed her mother in a tight hug. Rachel hugged her back, taking mental note of the increased height of her daughter and concluding she must have been bundled into the car straight after her meetings, wearing another pair of impossibly high heels.
"You glad I'm home?" Alia's voice was muffled against her shirt, the hug not letting up in intensity at all.
Rachel nodded, pressing a kiss to her daughter's head. "You know it."
A clearing of the throat drew the pair apart to find Gabrielle watching them in amusement, holding Alia's baggage and a small overnight one for herself. "As touching as this is, it's freezing out here."
Rachel nodded, leading them both in the house, closing the door behind them as she finally noticed neither of them had been wearing coats. Gabrielle had been wearing another jumper, jeans and boots combination but Alia was wearing leggings, heels and a sparkly silver top that had barely any sleeves whatsoever, allowing for her to wear her black sparkly sling. No wonder they'd wanted out from the cold. Smiling widely, she directed Gabrielle to drop the bags at the bottom of the stairs and led them both into the living room, where Steph and the girls sat together on one of the sofas. Maxine and Janeece instantly jumped up to engulf Alia in a hug, though Rachel didn't miss the way Gabrielle's eyes focused in on Maxine's matching bandage. Clearly, Alia hadn't told her much about what had happened.
"Steph, this is Alia's aunt, Gabrielle Falan. Gabrielle, this is Steph Haydock, one of the teachers at Waterloo Road." Rachel introduced, the two women giving each other a polite greeting as the three teenagers finally parted enough to sit together on a sofa, talking nonstop. Rachel could've sworn she heard something about presents, fighting the urge to roll her eyes as she nodded to Steph to order pizza for everyone, telling her to order an extra cheese and tomato one to incorporate the extra mouth to feed. Steph made her way to the kitchen to make the call where it was quieter as Alia finally faced her aunt, sat between Max and Janeece.
"Aunt Gabby, this is Maxine and Janeece. Guys, this is my aunt Gabrielle." The three made polite noises before the three teenagers once more became deeply absorbed in conversation. Rachel smirked as she realised the two sixth formers were filling the younger girl in on all the gossip she'd missed the last two school days, the most noteworthy of which was a massive scrap between two year 9 pupils she'd had to break up. She still wasn't sure what the fight had been about, but she was pretty sure the entirety of the students knew, if Janeece and Maxine's animated conversation was anything to go by.
"Year 9s fighting in a corridor?" Gabrielle murmured, clearly having overheard the same part of the conversation Rachel had.
"One of the more memorable fights of the week thus far." Rachel shrugged blandly. Sure, she'd dealt with problem schools many times, but none were anything like Waterloo Road. The last one that had come anywhere close had had approximately one fight a week and there definitely were no kids with weapons of any kind. The school never blew up either, though a couple of kids did set fire to the science block tables a few times. Gabrielle looked horrified, but before she could say anything, Maxine and Janeece piped up, still talking animatedly to Alia.
"You should've seen it, Ali, it was mint." Janeece was practically bouncing in her seat.
"Yeah, Rachel just walked straight in between them and pulled them apart. They proper shut up when they saw who'd caught them." Maxine added with a laugh. Alia laughed along, being able to imagine very well the headmistress inserting herself between the two kids and diffusing the situation.
"You put yourself in the way of fighting children?" Gabrielle asked Rachel loudly, horror tinging her tone. All the occupants of the room blinked at her in confusion, the words having brought the teenagers out of their little bubble.
"They're just kids," Rachel defended, though she wasn't quite sure who she was defending, herself or the fighting pupils. "It'll have been forgotten by tomorrow."
"Well they won't fight in the school again," Maxine amended with a shake of her head. "I don't think it'll be forgotten any time soon that Georgia spread round everyone that Faye's dad has a second family he loves more than Faye and her mum."
Rachel's eyebrows rose in surprise at the reason behind the fight, though a few comments she'd overheard made more sense now. "That explains a lot. Is it true?" She added, knowing either way she'd have to bring it up with Tom as a potential safeguarding, pastoral issue. Maxine and Janeece both shrugged, not knowing the truthfulness of what they'd heard, just what had been said. A knock on the door interrupted the conversation, with Steph calling out that she'd get it, bringing in the pizzas that she'd ordered and placing them all on the coffee table like usual. Alia moved sofas to sit with her mum, knowing Steph would be more comfortable sat with the two sixth formers than with someone she didn't know.
After eating, Alia left the room to take her things and put them away, Steph moving to help her whilst the two other teenagers disappeared to their shared room to chat some more and supposedly get some homework done, feeling more than a little awkward around the newcomer. Alia shot Steph a knowing smirk as she dumped Gabrielle's overnight bag in Jack's room, directing the blonde woman to leave all but one of her bags at the top of the stairs to her music room. "It's okay. Gabby is an acquired taste."
"Is it just me or is she a bit up herself?"
"She can be dead nice, really. But usually only with people she knows. My dad told me once that she was rude to Rachel the first time they met, but they get on great now. So yeah, she comes across as a bit aloof or rude to people she doesn't know. Probably doesn't help I told her next to nothing about school. I barely even told her I was going to school." Alia sighed at Steph's impatient expression, clearly telling her to continue. She led the woman to Rachel's room, knowing her aunt wouldn't look for them in there, closing the door behind them before continuing. "When I was with my dad, aunt Gabby had these big dreams of how well I was going to do in school, what college I'd go to, what university, all of that. Dad went along with it for the most part, believing her when she said it was best for me.
"When I moved in with Rachel, she tried the same thing, insisting public school was better for me than state school, and definitely better than home schooling. Rach put her foot down, said it was my choice and so long as my grades didn't drop dramatically, Gabrielle really didn't get a say in it."
"I'm guessing she didn't take it well." Steph rolled her eyes.
"She swore it would ruin me and my future. She only accepted the way things are when my mum made it clear my dad had named her my sole guardian and not Gabrielle. If she continued to tell us how we weren't following her specific plan for my life then she wouldn't see me. Rach wasn't exposing me to that when I'd just lost my dad." Alia ran a hand over her face. "She seems to have come round to it all now but she's no doubt telling Rachel right now about how bad the school is and how I should be going to a better one."
"Waterloo Road is not for the faint of heart." Steph snorted. "It'd chew up your aunt and spit her out."
"Oh I know." Alia laughed. "She's nice, just opinionated. Wants to protect me." She gestured to her arm strapped to her chest. "This probably hasn't helped matters, and my mum mentioned that the school blew up. She probably thinks it's a mad house."
"It is."
"But it's a family." Alia smiled softly. "I knew this school was different from the moment my mum started working there. No matter what happens, it's always Waterloo Road vs the world."
…
Gabrielle set off back to London early the next morning and Rachel made sure Alia was awake before the rest of the house left each morning, knowing she would need extra time to get ready for her meetings. The Wednesday morning, she had pulled her daughter aside to adding remind her that she was only a phone call away if she needed her. Alia had laughed at her for being overprotective but nodded that she understood.
Friday lunchtime found Rachel sat in her office with a sandwich she didn't really find appealing and a pile of paperwork she didn't really have the motivation to complete. How the school needed so much pointless paperwork in triplicate was beyond her, no matter how much of it she could probably fill out in her sleep. All she wanted was to drive into Manchester, pick her daughter up and drive them to see Sam for a little bit before they had a nice, lazy night in. She figured they both needed it after such a hectic week on both sides. A knock on the door startled her a little but she told them to enter as she put her pen down, thankful for whatever interruption she was going to get.
To her surprise, the door opened to reveal her daughter stood in the doorway, her hair the same as always but wearing a thin black dress with yet another pair of impractical heels, the black sparkly sling holding her bandaged arm immobile, carrying her blue tote bag that Rachel assumed was holding her record and meeting information and the electric blue wig she wore for the meetings. Alia tried her best to uphold the Lia Rose image as much as possible if what she was doing was part of her alter ego, which included the outfits and wig as often as possible. Rachel could see Bridget blinking in shock from the antechamber, but she paid the woman little mind as Alia strode in confidently and shut the door with a thud, breaking into a wide smile at Rachel's surprised mien and dropping her bag next to the door.
"Surprise. A good one this time, hopefully." Alia laughed, falling into a chair in an ungainly fashion in front of the desk. "I finished up early so I got the taxi straight here, thought I'd surprise you."
"Well you certainly did that." Rachel felt herself breaking out into a matching smile as she took in her daughter's relaxed features. She would always be happy to have her child around. "How did everything go?"
"The recording is finished, the album ready to be released just before Christmas. They're thinking of pushing it back until after Christmas though, to try and give it the best chance to sell big. Plus it will give me more time to heal so the arm isn't too obvious when we have to film the videos." She gestured to the bandage tiredly. Rachel sympathised with her, she did, knowing just how tired Alia was of having the constant checks of the wound, the changing of the dressing every second day and the constant immobility of the sling. "Other than that, everything is sorted. I only had to threaten them with calling you once." She smirked at her last comment, still incredibly amused at how scared they were of the woman in her mid-thirties that defended Lia Rose so diligently.
Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as she stood. "I am not that scary. You're going to start a riot in this place dressed like that." She rounded the desk to hug her daughter tightly, happy everything had ended up in Alia's favour and that the meetings were over and done with until the later ones for music videos and press releases. The tour had been pushed to coincide mostly with the summer holidays so as not to interfere with her exams. Rachel had insisted on that compromise with Lia Rose's manager, who did know who Rachel was, and who Lia really was. "I'm glad everything worked out for you though."
"Can I hide in here until home time? You're right in that I'd cause a riot, especially if I went to class like this." Alia picked at the hem of her dress with her good hand. She quite liked her clothes as Lia, but she liked to keep her lives as Alia and Lia separate for the most part. Sometimes the lines were blurred, like giving Mollie the autograph or meeting her mother at school dressed as the pop star, minus the blue wig.
"Of course you can love."
"Oh good, then I can share my lunch with you." Alia smirked, reaching into her bag and producing a paper bag with two burgers and two lots of fries inside, handing one lot of the burger and fries to her mother, who looked torn between gratitude and amusement as she accepted the food. They descended into small talk about something and nothing as they ate, Rachel knowing that she'd always intended on sharing the food, otherwise she wouldn't have bought two of everything.
Five minutes before the end of lunch, the pair were sat on the sofa laughing over one of Alia's more ridiculous stories from the week's meetings. Rachel snorted, trying to maintain some façade of being a responsible adult, though she wanted to cheer childishly at her daughter's description of what had happened. The door opened without the obligatory knock and both heads shot up to stare at the newcomer, who walked in without seeing who was in there before they spoke.
"Rachel, you can't avoid me forever." Eddie finally glanced up from his feet, brow furrowing as he realised the woman he'd addressed wasn't in her chair. He glanced around, reddening as he found Rachel sat on the sofa, looking just as embarrassed as he felt, her daughter sat beside her biting her lip in amusement. He did a double take as he took in Alia's attire, instinctively frowning as he catalogued the impossibly high heels and short dress, looking more comfortable in them than he would have ever thought, which didn't sit entirely well with the maths teacher. "What are you wearing?" He addressed the youngest in the room, gesturing towards her woodenly.
"Clothes." Alia smirked. "Nice to see you too." She greeted almost mockingly.
"That's not, I," he stammered slightly, inwardly berating himself for allowing the teenager to see she'd gotten to him, no matter how slight. No one showed weakness at Waterloo Road; it was the quickest way for it to be used against you. "Your mum said you had business meetings all week."
"I did."
"You went to business meetings wearing that?" He sounded almost scandalised, though mainly confused. Rachel was watching the exchange with a smile on her face at his bemusement.
"I did," Alia repeated, the amusement never leaving her face.
"What was the business, clubbing?"
Alia lost the battle with her laughter, letting out a giggle at Eddie's bafflement. "No, but thanks for giving me a new career to consider. I'll go wait in the antechamber, shock Bridget some more." She stood, ignoring Rachel's panicked mien that practically screamed not to be left in there alone, and left, making sure to shut the door on the two quietly, giving them some privacy. She knew they needed to talk, but hadn't pushed Rachel into anything, knowing it would only make her push Eddie away even further instinctively. There was a time for her to push and recently, it was as far from that time as it could possibly get. She offered Bridget a smile that only widened at the woman's distrustful glare, perching herself on one of the waiting chairs and occupying herself by watching the traffic pass from the road outside the school, just visible from her position.
Eddie blinked a little at the teenager's abrupt exit but focused on Rachel, who though seeming quite relaxed as he'd entered the room, now looked as though she was searching for the most convenient exit as quickly as possible. He silently cursed everything that had happened that made her feel the need to run from her feelings, from him. "Rachel." His voice automatically softened as he took Alia's seat beside her. "You can't avoid me forever."
"Eddie, don't." Her voice was thick as she avoided looking him in the face, instead staring at her own hands, resting in her lap. She couldn't look at him, knowing she would cave in an instant if she met his eyes and hating herself for having such a weakness. Staring at her hands was much safer.
Eddie sighed, slumping in his seat. How had they been reduced to this in less than three months? "Look, I know everything is messed up, and I've been a prat. How I feel about you though, that's never changed."
Rachel shook her head, though he couldn't tell if it was disagreeing with what he'd said or just in general. She swallowed a few times reflexively. "Do… did you love her? Melissa." Her voice was barely a whisper. Rachel wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to her question, but it had slipped out before she'd fully thought it through. She wasn't even sure what she wanted the answer to be. A part of her wanted him to love her sister, not wanting to think of her sister in a loveless relationship even with how Melissa had been acting with her recently. The other part of her, selfishly, wanted the answer to be no, a tiny, tiny spark of hope wanting him to still want her, not her sister. Either way, there would be something she didn't want to hear.
Eddie's eyes were focused on her face, even as he ran a hand over his face. How was he meant to answer that without hurting her? He didn't know, but he knew if there was any chance of the conversation between them going well, let alone them having a good working relationship after this, then he needed to be brutally honest with Rachel. "I didn't even know her, not really. I just… I was lonely, and she was there. It sounds bad, I know. I just… you rejected me, didn't want me and I couldn't be alone anymore."
"I didn't push you away because I was rejecting you." Her voice hadn't got any louder and she still wouldn't look at him. Her hand rose to cover her scar without conscious thought, covered by her white work shirt.
Eddie's eyes followed the movement and his heart went out to her once again, breaking for her and the pain she'd gone through. How could anyone survive like Rachel had, been burned so many times, mainly emotionally and mentally, and come out as such a strong, wonderful woman? He knew he needed to put her fears to rest, and fast. "Your scar doesn't make a difference, not to me Rach."
"How can it not?" Her face twisted in self-disgust. "It's awful, ugly."
"It's beautiful, like you." He corrected her gently, risking putting his hand over the one that was still in her lap as she looked at him in surprise, the first time she'd met his gaze the entire conversation. For her part, Rachel was shocked beyond belief at his words, something that only grew with his following words to her, delivered in a heartfelt manner that was obvious even to her. "That scar only shows me just how strong, how beautifully stubborn you are. It's part of you, how could it possibly be ugly?"
She couldn't help the tears that slipped down her face at his words and the emotion behind them, twisting her hand under his until she was holding it, intertwining their fingers and squeezing tentatively, managing a smile through the tears and he immediately squeezed her fingers in return. She believed him, that he meant the words he'd spoken, but she had to warn him anyway. "I can't promise you anything Eddie." She honestly didn't think she could just jump into anything with him, no matter what he said or did. Too much had happened to pretend it hadn't, and it wouldn't work out in the long run for either of them.
"I'm not asking you to," Eddie assured her.
"I've a school to run and a daughter to think of before anything else."
"I know. I'm more than willing to wait."
She blinked at him with wide, confused eyes that made Eddie want to pull her in for a comforting embrace. "But.. you said… lonely…"
"I know. But it was rather forcibly pointed out to me, by your daughter no less, that I was an idiot." Eddie tightened his hold on Rachel's hand slightly, reassuringly. "And I've had a bit of time to think things through. I was a prat to push you that first day back, and an even bigger one to let you push me away, not to mention all my behaviour after that." He took another risk and reached out, cupping her cheek with his free hand to lift her face to him, silently buoyed when she didn't shrug him off. "If I have no chance of anything other than friendship with you ever, then tell me you don't feel anything more for me. We will always be friends, no matter what happens. But if there is a chance we could be something more, no matter how slight, I'm more than willing to wait for you Rachel."
"I wish you didn't have to wait." Rachel moved her free hand from her chest to cover his on her cheek. She really did wish she could just jump into something with him blindly, but that just wasn't her and they both knew it. She overthought, and worried, and they knew she wasn't about to have a personality transplant anytime soon. Not that Eddie would ever want her to. Still, she knew she couldn't leave it there. "I can't tell you I don't feel anything more for you though," she confessed, dredging up all her courage to do so. It was worth it, she decided, seeing Eddie's whole demeanour light up at her confession, bringing a glimmer of a smile to her lips in response. "I do like you, Eddie."
"I like you too Rachel." Eddie slid further to her side, enveloping her in a hug, his arms wrapping around her back as hers wrapped around him and her head rested on his shoulder, face in towards his neck. He rested his head atop hers, content just to hold her in his arms. The conversation had gone so much better than he'd ever imagined in a million years. He was holding himself back from punching the air and yelling from the rooftops that Rachel felt more for him than just friendship, though he had meant it when he'd promised her they would stay friends no matter what. Eventually, however, they had to face the world again and reluctantly pulled apart, both a little red in the face from their conversation but sporting matching smiles.
"I'd better get Alia back in here before she shocks Bridget into an early grave." Rachel finally spoke, moving to stand as Eddie did the same, rising together and blushing at how close they were stood together, Eddie having moved closer to her during their conversation.
"What if we went out tonight?" Eddie asked impulsively, not wanting this to be their only interaction of the day, as wonderfully as it had turned out. He smiled at her instantly unsure reaction, wanting nothing more than to prevent her biting her lip by covering them with his own. "Not a date," he clarified. "I was only thinking of making sure you and Alia had something to eat tonight." He smiled as she started at the mention of her daughter, clearly not expecting him to include the fifteen year old, even though he'd specified it wasn't a date. "Yes, I do mean it, to include the meddling teenager."
"No, it's just, no one has ever actively included her before. It's usually been me insisting on it." Rachel flushed slightly. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Of course Eddie would be different, would understand that he wasn't just taking on Rachel, but her fifteen year old as well, just as she knew she was also taking on Michael. It wasn't a hardship; she really liked the four year old. She offered him a hesitant smile, realising she hadn't actually answered his question. "Yes, I would like to go out with you on not a date tonight, and I'm sure Alia won't mind coming either. Thank you."
Eddie grinned at her before glancing at the clock in her office and swearing loudly, ignoring how it made Rachel grin. He was late for his afternoon class, even if only by about five minutes. He honestly hadn't expected his conversation with her to go on so long, or end so favourably for them. "Shit, my year 8s."
Rachel laughed as he practically flung the door open, hurrying from the office in order to get to his class as quickly as possible, though he did shoot Alia a reassuring smile as he passed, knowing the teenager would be worried no matter the front she'd put on for their benefit. Rachel watched him go with a smile before ushering her daughter back into her office, once more ignoring Bridget's evident confusion. Thankfully, it seemed the fifteen year old had decided against shocking her administration any further that day.
Alia barely waited until her mother had closed the door before fixing her with an expectant expression. "So? What's happened? You look way too happy to have pushed him away again."
"I didn't push him away again," Rachel confirmed, a smile playing at her lips as Alia rushed forward to take hold of her hand, eyes wide as she stared at Rachel with a small smile.
"So? Are you two together now?"
"No." It took all she had not to smile as Alia's face dropped into confusion and worry almost on cue.
"What? Mum, you know you love him."
"I need time, Ali, you know that." Rachel wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. Her fifteen year old was way too invested in making sure she was happy. "He said he'd wait; give me all the time I need until I'm ready for more." Her smile widened and Alia returned it, happy to see her mum looking so happy. This conversation was certainly better than Alia's desperate idea of locking them in a supply cupboard together until they either kissed each other or killed each other. "He invited us out tonight." Alia's smile faltered a little, but she nodded.
"Sounds great, mum. I've got some pasta at home so-"
"It can wait another night." Rachel cut her off, knowing her daughter, understandably, had automatically assumed she wasn't a part of it. It was hardly surprising, especially with the ending of her last relationship being because Mark hadn't wanted to deal with Alia as well as Rachel. "It's not a date. Eddie invited both of us out to have dinner with him."
"Oh." Alia blinked, surprised.
"I agreed, but what do you think?" Rachel worried at her bottom lip a little, something her daughter clearly noticed as she shot her a reassuring smile and shrugged her good shoulder.
"Alright. Can we go see Sam first though please? I haven't seen him all week."
"I already arranged to take you there as soon as your meetings were done with." Rachel led her back to the sofa. "Now you can sit there and get some reading done or something, so I can get my paperwork done and we can leave a little earlier to see Sam."
"Thanks. Oh and Rach?"
"Yes love?"
"You could fall for a lot worse than Eddie Lawson."
…
Rachel was unaccountably nervous for something that had already been specifically determined to not be a date. Sam had picked up on it from the moment they'd entered his hospital room, teasing her mercilessly about having a date, even if he knew none of the backstory or even who it was, as Alia was still sticking to the promise she'd made of not telling her godfather about Rachel and Eddie. Rachel had weathered the teasing quite well, blushing profusely throughout but finally rebutting with a story of one of Sam's brief flirtations in a bar that had ended up with him having a pint poured down his front by the girl's angry boyfriend. It had shut Sam up and made Alia laugh.
Stood in front of her wardrobe though, Rachel couldn't decide what to wear. What exactly did one wear for a 'not a date' with their deputy, who they also happened to have rather deep feelings for, and their nosy fifteen year old daughter, who would instantly recognise any deviation from the usual hair, makeup or clothing for exactly what it was? She started as the door to her bedroom opened without a knock beforehand, her daughter walking in dressed exactly the same as she had been all day. Alia rolled her eyes at the sight of Rachel stood indecisively at her wardrobe in her dressing gown, moving forwards and snagging a high necked sleeveless black dress that she knew her mum looked good in, but would also hide her chest so she would feel more comfortable, thrusting it in her mother's direction. Rachel only just caught hold of it, the surprise never leaving her features as she watched her daughter.
"Here, wear this. Keep your hair down, makeup simple." Alia knelt down and rooted around the floor of the wardrobe until she found a pair of black heels, not quite as high as the ones she was currently wearing, but still higher and nicer than the boots Rachel usually wore for work. Alia knew it could be the height of summer, boiling out, and Rachel would probably still be wearing her heavy skirt and knee high boots if she had to go to work. "And these shoes. Put your brown leather jacket on with it all, not your work coat please." She smiled softly at Rachel, who seemed utterly overwhelmed, placing the shoes outside the mirror on the other wardrobe door that was still closed. "It's just Eddie," she added as she stood up and moved back over to her mum. "He wouldn't care if you showed up in your pyjamas or a bin bag."
"I don't want to screw this up," Rachel murmured, eyes focused on her carpet, hating having to admit it to anyone, especially her daughter.
"Mum, you won't. Plus if you do, which you won't, you've got me here to put things right." Alia smiled again, knowing how hard it was for Rachel to admit to weakness of any kind, no matter if anyone else actually thought it a weakness or not. "Now get dressed. You've about a half hour to get ready if we're going to leave before Steph, Max and Jan get home and you have to face a bunch of questions you don't need tonight." She moved to perch on the edge of the bed, deciding to give Rachel the extra support of being there whilst she got ready.
Rachel nodded, Alia's words spurring her to dress quickly, grateful her daughter had taken the choice of clothing from her, though she did question the length of the dress Alia had chosen, with it only being a few inches longer than her fingertips when resting at her sides, above her knee by a few inches. Alia had rolled her eyes when she'd voiced it, reminding her that she wasn't going to a work function but going out with her daughter and someone she loved. Within fifteen minutes she was ready, and after double checking they both had everything they could possibly need, they headed back out, with Eddie having text Rachel to tell her to meet him near the centre of Rochdale in a car park there, where they'd then walk to their destination. Rachel managed to find the meeting place fairly quickly, Alia mentioning some of the less important things that had happened throughout the week in order to distract Rachel and pass the time. They climbed out of the car, Rachel helping Alia with her seatbelt and door, making sure she was adequately covered by her leather jacket despite only having one arm in the coat.
Eddie was waiting for them a few car spaces down, leant against his car wearing similar clothes to those he wore for work, though he had forgone his jeans for smarter pants. He greeted them with a smile, his eyes never leaving Rachel, which caused the woman under his gaze to blush at the attention. Eddie couldn't help but stare, drinking in the sight of the woman before him, wearing a little black dress that though covering her body fairly modestly, emphasised every curve she usually hid beneath her work attire. Her legs seemed to go on forever between the hem of her dress a few inches above her knees and her feet encased in heels he swore he'd never seen her sporting before. She should wear them more often, he decided, his eyes leisurely returning up towards her face, though he made sure to catalogue every minute detail of her as he did. He wanted to remember this night forever, even if it wasn't technically a date. Her blush at him blatantly checking her out only endeared her to him more. Rachel was staring right back, also drinking in her companion, who she had to admit scrubbed up quite well, not minding that he looked similar to how he did for work. She'd fallen in love with him exactly as he was, and she didn't need a fancy suit to impress her, though the light green shirt he was wearing was practically begging for her to undo it and thoroughly explore the skin beneath it. Alia's deliberate cough brought them out of the staring, both turning to find the teenager watching them in amusement, smirking knowingly. They both blushed a bright red instantly at being caught checking the other out in front of the fifteen year old.
"As fun as this is, I'd like to eat at some point tonight." Her smirk widened as she stepped over to the two adults.
"You still look like you're going clubbing." Eddie pointed out, holding his arm out for Rachel, who linked him easily, half because she wanted to and half to keep herself upright in the shoes her daughter had chosen for her. Alia kept up with them easily on her mother's free side as they set off in the direction of the restaurant Eddie had picked for them all.
"It takes too long to change with my arm," Alia defended herself lazily.
"And the shoes?"
"What's wrong with the shoes?"
"How are you walking upright? They're higher than you are."
Alia rolled her eyes, thoroughly amused. "I can walk just fine in them thank you. And my point about them taking too long to change out of still stands." Her shoes fastened with tiny buckles at the ankles and it had been hard enough trying to put them on that morning, let alone think of changing them into anything else. She'd needed shoes that would fasten to her feet for the secureness it provided but fastening and unfastening them proved something of an arduous task.
"She's only got one hand," Rachel interrupted, knowing the argument between the pair was joking in nature but wanting it to end before anything was revealed about why her daughter was wandering round England dressed that way and why she was fine with it. Most parents would have demanded their child change immediately, especially during the day. She knew a lot of kids would dress that way to go out for the evening, but not for the whole day, including business meetings. "Plus, there are more important matters than Ali's fashion sense. Like where we're eating, Mr Lawson."
Eddie smiled, allowing the conversation to be redirected as he led them to a small restaurant, not too upmarket but enough that they would have had to dress up to get in, which they thankfully had despite the two females not knowing where they were going. They were immediately directed to a table, with Rachel and Eddie sat opposite each other, Alia sat between them, barely refraining from rolling her eyes at the way the two teachers instantly became shy with one another, despite it not being a date. She fidgeted with her phone slightly beneath the table, debating texting Jack and getting out of there. For it not being a date, she could sense the two teachers clearly wanted it to be one and the tension was starting to become a little stifling. Before she could make the decision though, the waiter stepped over and took their drink orders and she knew she was stuck there at least through the food courses.
Conversation stayed light all round through starters and mains, with Eddie mentioning a few stories of Michael and what he'd been up to, including that Alison somehow had a whole new appreciation of Rachel, which he didn't understand but accepted with little questioning. Rachel let out a little breath of relief, realising that the little boy must have heeded her words to him and told his mum what Melissa had said to him. It probably also had something to do with her looking after the four year old when he was ill. It was a universal thing, being grateful to those who looked after your ill child. In turn, Rachel mentioned a few stories of Alia and sometimes Alia and Jack, with Alia butting in to correct her at times when she felt the stories didn't match up.
"That's not how it happened!" Alia protested, setting her fork down into her nearly empty spaghetti bowl.
"How else do you explain me coming home to find you both looking like you'd been dragged through a hedge backwards with pen on your faces?" Rachel rebutted, also setting her fork down from her nearly finished pasta dish.
"Uh, well the pen marks came first because Jack threw one at me." Alia flushed a little at the amused looks of the two adults. "So it turned into a pen fight."
"And how wild the pair of you looked?"
"We may or may not have been climbing trees at the park and Jack may or may not have fallen out of one into the bushes and I may or may not have followed him because I lost my footing laughing at him." Alia's flush deepened as Rachel stared at her open mouthed and Eddie nearly choked on his final slice of pizza. "What? You assumed what we'd been doing and what we'd actually done was much stupider, so we kept quiet."
"Did your dad ever find out?"
Alia nodded reluctantly. "We didn't tell him. It turned out that Nicky's mum had seen everything in the park and told him about a week after it had happened. He tried to ban us from being friends, said we were a bad influence on each other."
Rachel winced and even Eddie knew it was a colossally bad idea to try and split the two teenagers up, with limited knowledge of one of them and barely an introduction to the other. "I'm assuming he regretted that pretty quick," he commented with a smile, hoping to relax Rachel a little more, who had seemed tense and somewhat shy since they'd met up outside of school.
Alia smirked. "He couldn't tell us what to do. So we ran away together."
"Alia Rosemary Mason!" Rachel's spine stiffened as she shot her daughter a fierce look.
Alia's eyes widened at being full named from her mother and she hurried to clarify her statement. "Not like that! We were ten! We ran away all the way to Sam's place down the street. Sam thought it hilarious but he did call Jack's mum and my dad after about an hour to reassure them we weren't actually missing." She breathed out as Rachel seemed to relax ever so slightly into her seat. "Dad still tried to separate us but Sam dragged him away. I don't know what they talked about but when they came back he didn't try and split us up again."
"Your middle name is Rosemary?" Eddie asked, bringing the attention to a lighter topic once again.
Alia rolled her eyes. "Yes. Blame her." She jerked a thumb towards Rachel, who shook her head in amusement at her daughter.
"Rosemary was my grandmother's name," She told Eddie with a fond smile, despite already having told him that piece of information. "My grandfather had done so much for me, and was there to support me even further once I was pregnant with that one," she jerked her thumb right back at her daughter, who stuck her tongue out in response, "that I decided to honour both him and my grandmother by making it Alia's middle name."
"It's sweet." Eddie glanced at his empty plate. "Speaking of sweet; who wants dessert?"
…
Alia excused herself at the conclusion of dessert with a roll of her eyes and an excuse that neither adult heard, which she knew as she slipped out of the front door to meet Jack instead of the toilet she'd told them she was going to. Jack was waiting outside the restaurant for her patiently, a similar leather jacket to Alia's covering a black t-shirt and jeans, boots on his feet. Alia fought the urge to snicker at the fact the two teachers didn't even notice she'd took her coat with her. Honestly, who needed their coat just to go to the toilet? Jack reached out and took her coat from her, helping her put it on to keep her as warm as possible in the chilly night air.
"So, what's going on, Li?"
"See for yourself." She gestured towards the restaurant's windows, where Rachel and Eddie could clearly be seen sat across from each other, red in the face but smiling widely at one another.
"You got dragged with them for a date?" Jack's voice was tinged with amusement as she elbowed him with her good arm.
"Supposedly 'not a date'." Alia scoffed. "Please. I'm pretty sure I was there just so they'd be able to talk to each other."
"Want to go out or watch a movie at yours?"
"It's still early right?"
Jack checked his watch. "A little after eight."
"Let's go out for an hour or so, then back to mine. Your mum alright with that?"
"I already told her I was spending the night at yours and Rachel's." Jack smirked, wrapping an arm round her shoulders as they walked away from the restaurant, Alia fumbling to text one handed as they disappeared from the restaurant's view.
Inside the restaurant, Rachel was distracted from Eddie by the buzz of her phone signalling a text message. Shooting Eddie an apologetic look, she pulled her phone out from her jacket pocket and brought up the interrupting text.
From: Ali.
I'm with Jack, we'll be home before you at this rate. Just go for it, this was definitely a date. Ali x
Rachel fought the smile but knew she'd failed as she read her daughter's words. When she'd found the time to text Jack, let alone organise anything, eluded her, but she found she didn't much mind as she looked up into Eddie's questioning gaze.
"Everything alright?" He asked with genuine concern.
Rachel nodded, holding her phone up a little. "It was Alia. She's abandoned us to go out with Jack."
"The cheek. We feed her and everything and she still ditches us. Too cool to be seen out with us, I guess." Eddie smiled, not really bothered that the fifteen year old had left. He had genuinely wanted to include her, knowing that he was getting a package deal of both Rachel and Alia, and had wanted to prove that he was fully willing to take on both of them. He watched in interest as Rachel reddened beautifully under his gaze.
"She, uh, she also informed me that this was very much a date."
"She's a smart cookie, that one." Eddie murmured. "Well, I'm willing to class this as a date if you are."
Rachel blushed even further. "Oh, I don't know about that just yet. The night is young after all."
"Oh? And just what do you suggest?" They were interrupted by the waiter, who asked if they wanted anything else, though they declined and instead asked for the bill to be brought to them.
The bill arrived, Eddie insisting on paying despite Rachel's protests that her and her daughter's food had definitely cost more than Eddie's so she should pay. He'd pulled out his card and handed it to the waiter before she could grab her purse, telling her that he'd took them out so he was paying, but she could always get the bill next time if she was so insistent on it. Rachel had smiled even as she blushed at the insinuation of a next time. They left the restaurant together but Rachel pulled him in the opposite direction of where their cars were parked, linking arms with him again as they strolled down the street.
"I don't want to go back just yet. Let's just… walk, stay out a little longer."
"Well it's not a school night," Eddie teased softly. "I'm sure my mum will let me stay out until ten." His aim was achieved as Rachel giggled at his words.
"I'd better call my dad, see when my curfew is," she returned as they both laughed. Slowly, they made their way through the streets in a wide circle, avoiding the streets that would likely house pubs and clubs, not really wanting to run into any of the teachers or pupils and burst the comfortable bubble they were currently in. Rachel ignored the sharp ache in her feet and Eddie ignored the slightly bitter chill in the air, but eventually they reached the car park anyway, halting beside Rachel's car and facing one another, still reluctant to allow the night to end.
Eddie reached out to cup Rachel's face gently, his thumb brushing tantalisingly close to her mouth. "I had a good time tonight Rach."
"So did I," Rachel whispered, moving impossibly closer towards him, the height difference not quite so pronounced with the heels she was wearing, higher than her usual work boots.
"Rach, I…"
"Ssh, stop thinking so much." She reached up, her hands wrapping round the back of his neck and pulling his face down to meet hers, dragging up every last bit of courage she had to brush her lips lightly over his, completely unprepared for the electric current that ran through them at the touch of their mouths.
Eddie seemed frozen for a moment, until she began to pull away from him. His arms then wrapped around her waist, tight but not bruising, and he pulled her back into him, dipping his head to press his lips back to hers, firmer than the previous kiss, holding her tight as she returned his kiss fiercely, both lost to the world as they hungrily explored each other's lips, clutching each other ever closer. Passion filled both of them, hands reaching and gripping one another as they deepened their kiss until air became an issue and they had to breathe, pulling apart only just enough to see each other's faces once more.
Panting heavily, they both stared at each other, neither having expected the night to end like that. His arms were still wrapped around her waist and her hands still gripped at his shoulders, though at some point he'd pinned her to the side of her own car. Eddie automatically took a half space back to give her some room. Part of Rachel didn't want the night to end, wanted to drag him home with her and take him straight to her bed, but common sense won out. She had a house full to the brim with people, including two who knew exactly where she currently was and with who, plus one very nosy French teacher, and she still needed a bit of time. Time to convince herself Eddie really did love her, that he wasn't going to break her heart, that she could take the risk with him. It wasn't fair to either if them if she rushed things now and it blew up on them later.
"I… I should probably get going." She fumbled for her car keys in her jacket pocket. Eddie's hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks.
"Rachel."
She glanced up to spot his worried countenance, clearly concerned he'd pushed her too far too soon and offered him a genuine smile. "I don't regret it, Eddie, far from it. But I still need some time. It's not fair to either of us otherwise." She bit her lip. "About that second date. Maybe we could go bowling, take Alia and Jack and maybe then we won't get ditched by her again?"
"Sounds good," Eddie confirmed. He reached out, pulling Rachel into a light embrace. "Just let me know when you're ready. I'll be here."
"Well that's going to be awkward explaining to your Monday lessons why you're stood in a car park," Rachel teased, her eyes conveying her gratitude for his words as she placed a hand to cup his cheek, gently kissing him briefly once more. "I do really have to go now."
"Drive safe." He smiled, waiting for her to climb into her car and drive away before heading to his own. Their date that wasn't a date had gone much, much better than he could've ever imagined and he couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he turned the engine on, ready to go home
TBC…
