Thank you for the reviews.

Obviously I've done the whole merger earlier than it happens in the show. And obviously Eddie is still there... so I will just have Chris as a science teacher, if i do include him in some chapters.

Hope you enjoy :) x

Chapter 35: Rumours Spread Like Wildfire

"Yeah… come in."

Rachel entered Philip's room upon getting his approval. It was the night before school began, and more crucially, the night before Max Tyler made his appearance at Waterloo Road. Rachel just wanted to check how her nephew was coping. She had an inkling that he had become rather good at concealing his emotions over the two week holiday.

"Just wanted to check up on you. See how things are going?"

Rachel found it strange how Philip chuckled, shifting uncomfortably at his desk. It just reinforced how he didn't want to reveal the true extent of how he was feeling. Something that Rachel wanted to change. Philip hadn't been averse to opening up before the set-back of Max's appointment. The last thing Rachel wanted was for Philip to feel as if his feelings were a burden to her or to Eddie.

"Same old me."

"And what would that be?" Rachel questioned lightly with a smile, taking a perch on his bed.

She wasn't going to back down on this one. The fact that Philip was one of her main priorities still stood strong. Utterly unwavered.

"Well… you know me," Philip breathed nervously.

"Yes," she paused, "I do. So I know when something is not quite right," another pause, this time to meet the boy's eyes. Rachel needed him to know she meant every word of this, "talk to me, Philip. Don't push me away. You should know by now that things become easier when you don't bottle them up."

Philip silenced himself for a long moment. Far longer than Rachel had been expecting. But she would wait forever if need be. She could tell that Philip was thoughtful, perhaps thinking of what to say… or what not to say. Hopefully this was a sign that he was about to confide in his aunt once more, and not push her away.

"I don't want… to go to school. Thing is… even when, you know… the name calling and all that. I'm used to that. And even when that was all going on… I still wanted to go. But this…"

Philip shook his head and put it in his hands. Rachel had suspected this but it just showed how much he had been holding back. She wanted to comfort Philip and show her support, yet she could tell he had more to say. So for now, Rachel settled for a sympathetic smile with hopes of encouraging him to continue opening up.

"It's like… as a kid. I didn't really… understand how bad it was. But when I got older, what he did affects me more," he brought his head up, looking at Rachel to forcefully smile, "weird right?"

"Not at all Philip," Rachel shook her own head, willing herself to stay strong. She wanted to act as if seeing Philip so upset hadn't had an affect on her. He didn't need to be witness to that, "there's nothing more I could do… to stop him from coming to Waterloo Road. And for that… I'm so sorry. Philip, you shouldn't be having to go through this."

He smiled now. It was genuine and Rachel wondered what he was thinking or what he was about to say next.

"How many times? Rach… stop saying sorry."

"Now you sound like Eddie. Telling me to stop being hard on myself."

"Is that really a bad thing?"

"No it's not… not at all."

"Then just listen to us."

Rachel let out a laugh, "well I'd like to know how on earth this conversation has turned into you giving me support, rather than the opposite."

"Just… can I give tomorrow a miss?"

"This is a really… difficult situation Philip. I can't allow you to get into, you know, habits of not going to school. Especially because of Max bloody Tyler of all people."

Philip looked up at her and Rachel could tell how desperate he was. He wasn't ready to see the man who hit him all those years ago. She could understand that more than she'd ever care to admit. Philip went to speak and Rachel knew that she had to get her but in before he did.

"But… I can see just how much you're working yourself up over this."

This time there was hope in Philip's eyes. Rachel's heart was breaking. But she was also furious. And what angered her even more, was that the man who was causing all this pain was a teacher. And not just any old teacher, he was an executive head. Coming to Waterloo Road whether she likes it or not.

Rachel shook herself mentally, bringing herself back to the present with Philip looking at her expectantly.

"You could just miss assembly? Unfortunately Mr Tyler will be joining us for that first thing, but I am sort of hoping that he won't show his face too much after that. He has got other schools in the area to oversee."

He nodded briefly, glancing at the floor and back up to Rachel.

"I just need this to stop. I don't… want to face him. I don't… want to see him."

"I honestly think… that the best thing we can do right now is minimise the chances of that. Aside from assembly, it's unlikely that you'll even bump into him. You know, he might even be gone after lunch."

Philip raised his eyebrows. Rachel wasn't sure of the message behind that. It was either a sarcastic 'really' or a genuine one.

As their conversation moved on slightly, Rachel just hoped with all her heart that she had just spoken that into existence. She hadn't even met Max Tyler yet. But she'd heard an awful lot about him. Already, Rachel was willing to not have to spend more than a few mere hours with him.

Maybe she would just have to accept that things had to get worse before they got better.

….

"And here we go again," Eddie smiled across at Rachel before he went to unlock the front door.

The weak smile that she responded with, had Eddie backtracking however. Rachel seemed to have been distracting herself from the topic of Max Tyler for the most part of the morning so far. She had spoken of anything but, so much so that Eddie hadn't found a chance to reassure her one more time.

He had ended up thinking it better to avoid the topic until absolutely necessary, but having seen her show the first sign of apprehension now, Eddie wasn't about to ignore it.

He turned on his heel, taking a step closer to Rachel before dropping his briefcase. His hand was brought up to her shoulder, and a puzzled look settled on her face. Maybe Rachel hadn't meant to let her façade down so easily. She must have been temporarily forgetting how well he can read her.

"Eddie… we are going to be late," Rachel whispered before he even managed to put the right words together.

"We aren't," he smiled, "you always leave enough time to spare. Besides, you are more important."

Rachel glanced down, breaking her gaze from his.

Eddie hooked a light finger under her chin. He knew that his expression would show just how sincere his support was, so wanted Rachel to be witness to that.

"I appreciate your support Eddie, I really do. But we can't exactly give Max Tyler another reason to hate us. You know, he hasn't even met me before and yet he will already have a dislike for me. I don't think Melissa will have said anything too pleasant."

Eddie sighed. He despised what this was doing to Rachel, how it was making her feel. At least he knew that Max's feelings towards them were mutual. Because Eddie certainly hated him, with a passion.

"If you're that worried, we will talk and drive. Don't push me away Rachel."

She took a step closer to him now, bringing her own hands up to rest upon his chest. Eddie watched as understanding followed by guilt flashed across her eyes. His stomach churned. Eddie hadn't meant to make Rachel feel guilty by asking her to not push him away. He just needed to emphasise that his support was still there. That she didn't need to bottle everything up as she had been for the past twenty four hours or so.

"Oh Eddie, I'm sorry. It's just… well I didn't even realise that I was you know, shutting you out and - ''

"No Rachel, I'm sorry. Forget I said it. Just, I wanted you to know that I'm still here for you. That I'm always here for you."

"And of course I do know that. It's one of the many things I love about you."

He smiled and he was glad to see that her expression had now softened.

"For some… unknown reason, I thought it might be a good idea to ignore thoughts of Max Tyler completely. But it's not exactly working."

Eddie was about to respond but he sensed that Rachel had something else to say.

"The talk and drive suggestion? I think that sounds like a way to calm my racing thoughts."

They shared a smile and Eddie was slightly relieved that Rachel wasn't continuing to bottle everything up. He knew that it was one of the worst things to do, and he just hoped that his reassurances would be enough to keep any doubts that Max may plant in her mind away.

….

Everything that they'd ended up talking about in the car, had helped Rachel. Of course it had, Eddie always seemed to know exactly what to say. But with Max not already in the hall as she walked up on stage for assembly, Rachel knew that she would be on edge the entire time.

She was glad that Eddie had taken his place on the front row along with the other staff. The reassuring, loving smile that he gave her as their eyes locked, just reinforced everything already spoken about for Rachel.

As she looked out onto the student body, it was rather strange to see all the unfamiliar faces from John Fosters. And then Rachel spotted Mollie, who gave her a smile. Along with Eddie's encouragement, it was exactly what she needed to get started with her opening lines.

Rachel had said her good mornings and was beginning to delve into new faces, staff and students alike, when she heard the door to the hall open.

Even before she looked up, she knew who it would be. It just felt surreal, that she disliked this man so much already and she had never even spoken to him. Or seen him in the flesh for that matter. Rachel couldn't imagine what Mollie must be feeling, to see her stranger of a father walk in through those doors. She just had to be glad that Philip was missing assembly. Max's grand entrance wouldn't have done him any good.

"Thought I'd come and introduce myself to my new pupils."

Rachel felt frozen to the spot as she let the words wash over her. In particular 'my pupils.' He was referring to the Waterloo Road students who he wasn't familiar with. It was as if all Rachel's fears had come true at once. The only thing to make it worse would be if her sister followed him through the door. But Rachel couldn't let this show to the students or staff. Or Max Tyler for that matter.

She allowed herself to glance over at Eddie one last time. He wasn't smiling now, or looking at her. His eyes were boring into the back of Max's head. The last time she saw that look was when he punched Stuart Hordley.

As Rachel brought her eyes back up to Max, she noticed that the majority of Waterloo Road staff were looking on at her concernedly. It just showed she hadn't imagined it. Max really had just referred to the students of this school as 'my pupils.'

When she shook his hand, he squeezed it that little bit too tightly, held onto it for that little bit too long. The steely look in his eyes - which was only visible to her - told Rachel that he knew exactly who she was. As they'd feared, this was absolutely no coincidence. Max was here for a purpose other than to further his career.

The next five or so minutes passed by in a blur. Rachel vaguely remembered Max taking complete control, to the point where she was stood in the corner of the stage, watching on. She couldn't get a word in edgeways.

It wasn't until staff and students began to stand that Rachel was snapped back to the present.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel could see Eddie hovering as Max approached her. In fact, he was walking towards them now, up the steps to the stage. She knew he would have a class to teach, but also knew of everything that Eddie had promised. Knowing him, he wouldn't be leaving her alone with Max anytime soon.

"Eddie Lawson, deputy head."

It certainly wasn't Eddie's usual friendly greeting, the icy tone said as much. And she could tell that the handshake was slightly tougher than it would normally be.

"Yes. I've heard a lot about you."

Bet you have. Rachel knew that Max was referring to knowledge from Melissa. Obviously he wasn't about to admit that anytime soon. His plan was obviously to keep up the pretence of being a stranger for as long as possible. Unless he was clever enough to work out that they were in the know.

It was the only explanation for his little comment. As she shared a glance with Eddie, Rachel could tell he was thinking the exact same thing.

"If you don't mind, Eddie. I'd like a word with Rachel here, in private."

Almost immediately, Eddie stood taller, shoving his hands in his pockets. It was a sure sign that he wasn't going anywhere, and it unnerved Rachel to think about how Max might react to that.

"I'm sure whatever you want to say to me can be said to Eddie too, Max. He is my deputy after all."

"I'll stick by what I said. I'd like to speak with Rachel in private," Max spoke, directing his words at Eddie even though it was Rachel who he should be responding to, "so if you don't mind."

Max tilted his head towards the door, and smiled smugly. Rachel stole a glance at Eddie, who was looking more angered than she'd ever seen him before. He looked back at her, trying to portray some form of reassurance in his eyes. Because she knew that he had no choice, he would have to go, as requested by Max.

With one final glare at Max, Eddie turned and left, almost yanking the door off of its hinges as he swung it open.

A silence fell for a moment, and Rachel found herself gulping down a lump in her throat before turning to Max.

"Now, I wasn't aware that the head and deputy had to be joint at the hip."

Rachel frowned at Max and cocked her head, unsure and wary of where he was going with this.

"But of course that changes when he's more than a deputy, doesn't it?"

"How do you - ''

"Rumours here spread like wildfire."

Rachel knew that it wasn't just the rumours. It was Melissa. Her sister. This act of revenge or manipulation would be as much her doing as Max's.

"Now I hope that's not going to affect your professionalism. Or I will have to look at alternative options."

"Absolutely not. Our professionalism has always been maintained. There is… no reason for it to be called into question."

"Good. We won't be having any problems then, will we?"

Even as Rachel forced her smile and muttered 'not at all,' she knew it was as far from the truth as they could possibly get. Because Max was going to cause problems. Rachel just had to keep telling herself that Eddie was there for her, even if he wasn't always going to be there physically.

She wanted to say something else to Max, she was itching to reveal what they knew about him. How he was Mollie's father, how he used to hit Philip all those years ago. Would Max ever show his true self? If Melissa had anything to do with it, then it was extremely likely. She was always one for shocking revelations. Except it wouldn't be a shock, something which Rachel strangely took a small amount of comfort in. The fact that she and Eddie were one step ahead of them, gave Rachel the strength to pull herself together and apply her head teacher's mask once more.