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Chapter 2: You Love Her

As Eddie found himself in the midst of hurried students, he came to the conclusion that lesson change over time wasn't the best option for locating Melissa. Still, whether or not he collided with a pupil was not at the top of Eddie's agenda. As harsh as it sounded, his priority was to cut things off with Melissa, and lay the whole truth out for Rachel to consolidate. He'd had enough of hiding from the matters sitting at the forefront of his mind, and shying away from his true feelings towards Rachel. Shutting off his past misdemeanours, Eddie decided that it was all to change in upcoming hours.

Just as he was about to reach Mel's classroom, a familiar voice had Eddie backtracking and turning on his heel.

"Yo, sir!"

Bolton Smilie. Out of all the pupils, Bolton in particular was someone who gravitated Eddie's thoughts towards Rachel, and her never ending list of achievements. When Eddie began at Waterloo Road, with Jack Rimmer in charge, he had seen no way forward for this young boy. Bolton was stuck in his ways and didn't hold an ounce of awareness for the people around him. In Eddie's eyes, no matter what lengths he went to for the teen, it seemed that it had just been one of those things.

And then Rachel came along. She was someone who persevered no matter what obstacles she came into contact with. Ultimately, watching Rachel shape Bolton into a respectable young man, was a contributing factor towards Eddie's irrevocable love for her.

One specific day stuck out in Eddie's mind. Rachel had returned from a prison trip which Bolton attended, and he was making his way to see her. Reaching her office, alarm bells had begun to ring upon hearing raised voices on both Bolton and Rachel's part. Entering the room with Rachel's safety at the forefront of his mind, Eddie questioned the teen's behaviour instantly. Rachel had objected, explaining everything was alright; still though, Eddie had retained his presence.

The events that had unfolded over the following few moments, caused admiration to radiate from every fibre in Eddie's being. He concluded in that minute, that Rachel was the most phenomenal human he had ever come across. Removing Eddie from his reminiscing, utterances emanated from Bolton's lips, forcing Eddie to crash back down to reality with an almighty thud.

"Earth to Lawsonnn..." the boy commented, motioning with both hands in front of his teacher's face.

"Sorry Bolton," Eddie fumbled, moving a step closer to his pupil. Upon noting the genuine joyous expression etched within Bolton's features, Eddie considered that it was somewhat a rarity, so wanted to dig that little bit deeper.

"What's got you looking so cheerful anyway?"

"Mason's not resigning innit," Bolton chirped, demeanour positively glowing.

Upon hearing this newfound revelation, Eddie's expressions matched that of the teenage boys' perfectly, and left him utterly stunned.

Following the deputy's speechless state, Bolton spoke once more.

"Look, you've got me to thank. Reckon you can wangle it so I've got no more maths work for the rest of the year," the boy joked, grin splitting his face in half.

"I don't think so lad," Eddie beamed back, before focusing his attention on a second declaration in Bolton's last sentence, "what do you mean when you say I've got you to thank?"

"Well after all that stuff with the gun and that, I didn't wanna come clean. So I said to Mason, if I talk, then you stay. I talked, so she's staying," Bolton said, pride escaping his features upon rethinking the situation.

"Where's Miss Mason got to now?"

"She's still with Rose, think Denzil's getting out."

"Well done Bolton," joy coloured Eddie's tone as he patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Cheers sir. Laters!"

And with that, Bolton had turned to join Paul and the rest of his crew. That left Eddie feeling overly elated, considering that Rachel wasn't going anywhere, and he would be in her presence as per usual everyday at school. Although, as he approached Melissa's likely location, it seemed that no good news could conceal his difficult task at hand.

...

Upon noting Melissa's empty classroom - other than the woman in question - Eddie placed a knock on the door before entering.

"Not like you to be so formal Eddie," Melissa commented, referring to his choice of arrival.

Eddie simply smiled in response, wanting to shift the topic of their conversation as soon as possible. There was nothing he wanted less than to prolong the current relationship between him and Rachel's younger sister. No matter how intense and awkward things could get, Eddie made a promise to himself that this was something he was going to follow through with.

"Look Melissa, I think we need to talk."

His serious tone had the expected effect - Melissa's position changed from her seat in the chair to directly in front of him. Her features were full of worry and apprehension, which strangely only reinforced Eddie's decision. The longer he kept this up, the worse it would get.

"What is it, has something happened?"

"Let's just sit down," Eddie gestured to a nearby desk, avoiding all questions as of yet.

Eddie still hadn't decided whether or not to tell Melissa his reasonings behind their break up. He wasn't sure if it would be for better or for worse. Prior to proceeding, Eddie reckoned the questions which Melissa posed would almost force him to answer those worries. Only time would tell.

"I've just been thinking a lot, today in particular."

By the look on Melissa's face after these initial words, Eddie sensed that this conversation was something that she had been anticipating. This heightened his concern significantly: what else had she picked up on?

"And it's just made me realise, how at speed everything seems to be going between the two of us."

Eddie had been on the verge of confessing; part of him wanted to reveal all with regards to his feelings for Rachel. Equally though, he wanted an opportunity to speak to Rachel for himself, Eddie reckoned that Melissa would rob him of that opportunity if he came clean now.

"Eddie, what's brought this on?" Melissa questioned, taking a step closer to him. It appeared that she wasn't going to back down. Eddie guessed that she would fight this until she got an answer, and it somewhat unnerved him.

"Like I said, it's just that, we've only known each other a few months, and well, we are already engaged."

"Well you did propose!"

"I know that Melissa, I know," Eddie commented in irritation, holding a hand up with hopes of diffusing the situation and Melissa's bubbling anger, "I just don't think we know each other as well as we should. I made a mistake when I proposed to you, and I'm sorry."

"So what are you saying? That we should call off the wedding? Or just go our separate ways? Where has this come from?"

Her rage fuelled interrogation was something Eddie had predicted. Which was why he felt confused with himself when no plausible answers sprung to mind. It didn't seem righteous in any way, shape or form to reveal his love for Rachel to Melissa before divulging them to Rachel herself.

Apparently sensing this, Melissa stopped for a moment to investigate Eddie's features. Despite avoiding her stare, Eddie felt exposed. To him, it felt as if she had pulled back his facade and found the key to the inner workings of his mind. With the expression now evident in her demeanour, this was only emphasised. Something had clicked in Melissa's brain.

"It's Rachel. You're in love with her, aren't you?" Mel declared as she began to pace up and down the classroom, "I saw the way you were looking at her yesterday, and how you've been with her today, persuading her not to resign."

"Mel- ''

"All this time..."

"Melissa just calm down."

"You're not even denying it, it must be true," Melissa screeched, making a move for the door.

"Look, let's just talk about this before you go running off."

"There's nothing more to talk about. You've said what you wanted to say."

Before Eddie could even interject, Melissa had walked right out of the classroom. He made an attempt to follow her, but it proved useless. As Eddie reached the door, Melissa was already making her way up the second flight of steps. Crucially, on the way to Rachel's office. All he had left to cling onto, were Bolton's earlier words. The boy had said that Rachel was assisting Rose with Denzil; he just had to hope that it was still the case.

Eddie was left feeling deflated, it seemed so far he had done more harm than good. If Melissa projected these accusations towards Rachel, Eddie feared that she would push him away once more. Only this time Eddie wouldn't back down. He was sure Rachel felt the same way. As he thought back on the manner with which she reacted when he questioned if she was okay with his and Melissa's relationship, Eddie realised that it highlighted her true feelings perfectly. As long as Eddie kept those thoughts in mind; he would persist.

….

"Melissa... are you alright?"

Rachel had just arrived back at her office having been supporting Rose at the young offenders institute. She had been on her way to find Eddie, to let him know that her mind had been swayed by Bolton, when a very conflicted looking Melissa had appeared in sight.

"Not really no," Melissa snapped, avoiding all eye contact with her.

Rachel's brow furrowed as her mind entered overdrive. Something significant had taken place, Melissa was usually a carefree spirit, not someone who over thought every little detail.

"Come on, let's go to my office. I can get you a coffee."

The elder sister could almost envisage the anger seeping from the blond's features, so didn't anticipate the way she agreed so easily.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Rachel questioned. The pair were perched on the sofa, steaming mugs of coffee in hand.

"You're telling me you don't know? I mean, it's not as if you don't feel the same… it's highly obvious."

If at all possible, Rachel's curiosity heightened, as she found herself wondering what on earth Melissa could be rambling about.

"Melissa… I'm sorry, but you're not making any sense."

The younger sister slammed her hot drink down on the table before standing up, so that she was towering over Rachel.

"God, Rachel… it's not like you to be so dense."

Rachel felt as if she should reply, but before she even had a chance to place her words together, Melissa continued on her rampage.

"Eddie loves you! And don't sit there and tell me that you don't love him too."

Eddie. Loves. You.

Under any other circumstances, a smile would have controlled Rachel's lips at even the thought of those three words. Ever since she had rejected Eddie on the first day of term, Rachel had regretted it. After he got together with Melissa, Rachel reckoned that her chances with him had been well and truly burnt to the ground.

It seemed that Rachel was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice the way her office door swung open and smashed off the wall. Or the familiar presence now apparent in the room. Only when her sister scoffed was Rachel made aware of her surroundings. Bringing her eyes level with the third party to the now seemingly confined space, Rachel was met with the sight of the very man himself. Eddie.