So i'm glad no one came after me with pitchforks! Thank you so much for reviewing- stay safe x
Stephanie Haydock prided herself on many things. Some weren't appropriate to mention on front of her students, others she wouldn't purely because the trouble they would then give her wasn't worth it. And then there were a few others... she narrowed her eyes as she watched Rachel and Eddie across the staff room. They were talking about something they were putting up on the notice board, a perfectly mundane and boring conversation. All except for the small, hesitant looks Rachel kept giving Eddie, and the way he cast glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Steph was just waiting for... there! As Rachel was taking one of the sheets of paper from Eddie, their fingers brushed and both of them jolted, quickly looking away from the other. Steph shot her hand out to clutch at Matt's arm. "Look!"
He followed her gaze, and cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"Rachel and Eddie!"
He looked again. "What?" He questioned again, and her grip tightened.
"Look at them!"
"I'm looking! I'm just not sure what you're seeing."
Steph huffed. "Men," she muttered in disgust. "They're together, I guarantee it. Or well on their way, at any rate."
Matt looked again. "I don't see it."
"I'm not wrong!" she insisted, and he held his hands up in defence.
"I'm not at arguing with you."
"Who's arguing?" Jasmine shot them a curious look as she sat down, cradling a mug of tea. Steph ignored that, but gestured excitedly.
"Look! At Rachel and Eddie."
Obediently, Jasmine craned her neck but after a few seconds, looked just as confused as before. "What am I looking for exactly?"
"Steph thinks they're together," Matt supplied, and her head whipped around in shock. Steph looked annoyed.
"I don't think, I know. Look at them?"
All three did, just in time to see Rachel departing from the room and Eddie going to make himself a coffee. Jasmine tilted her head. "They don't look very together."
Steph crossed her arms as she settled back in her seat, looking disgruntled. "I'm telling you, end of the year," she said. "Nobody keeps a secret round here for very long. One way or another, they'll have confirmed it by the end of the year."
Across the room, Eddie felt a strange prickling sensation on the back of his neck and had the oddest sensation that he was being watched. But when he turned, no one was looking in his direction.
W.R.
Eddie was sure someone was having a laugh at his expense. It seemed as if every corner he turned around had an embracing couple around it, be it the kids or the set of married science teachers. And then he got a phone call from his sister at lunch time, inviting him to a dinner which based on the past three occurrences, would be a pregnancy announcement. By the time the call ended there was a text waiting- Alison, asking if he could take Michael on Saturday evening because she had a date.
Eddie ground his teeth together. It was a conspiracy, he was sure of it. And he was sick of it.
"Eddie, are you ready?"
He looked up, Rachel standing a little way away from him. She looked tense, shoulders stiff and her knuckles were almost white where they gripped the folders she was holding and his brow furrowed. "Why are you nervous?"
"I'm not."
It was said too quickly, too tersely and he raised an eyebrow. "Rachel, it's written all over you. What's wrong?"
She pinned him with a glare. "Nothing is wrong," she said clearly. "Now are you ready?"
He sighed, nodding at her and obediently trailing into the hall, where the entirety of year nine were waiting. And he dropped into his seat near the front, watched as she strode onto the stage and in the process became a different person entirely. Her back straightened, her expression cleared at all of a sudden Miss Mason was standing up there, and if Eddie hadn't known it had happened he would never have guessed.
"Okay year nine, you all know why you're here. Next year is important and we want to talk about what that's going to look like for you…"
Eddie sagged in his seat, and prepared himself to be very, very bored. He stared ahead, at dust mites that danced in the few afternoon sunbeams that spilled into the hall, absently watching their ballet and wondering how much trouble he would be in if he snuck out in about twenty minutes. Until without warning, his sight was obscured when Rachel stepped forward, shifting her weight as she spoke and pointed to the presentation behind her. For lack of anything else to focus on, Eddie's gaze came to rest on her, noticing, oddly enough, the way her boots curved up her leg. He'd seen her in these before, he was pretty sure, though he probably couldn't have named specifics if pressed. They clung to her calf, finishing low enough that he could see several inches of skin before his sight hit the modest material of her skirt. He liked this one, he thought. Black, made of some material that clung subtly to her, nothing with even a hint of impropriety but enough that he enjoyed trailing his gaze up her thighs, through to the curve of her hips.
Just as his gaze reached that part of her anatomy, she turned to point out something else, shifting her weight onto one leg and he almost swallowed his tongue. From his position to the side, this angle did nothing but highlight her curves, her skirt stretching ever so slightly and he couldn't stop himself from eagerly flicking his eyes upwards, to where her top highlighted her waist, and up further, to-
Someone coughed. Eddie tore his gaze from Rachel, cheeks growing hot. No one had noticed, he realised in relief, scanning the kids and teachers alike. None of them had seen him ogling their headteacher as if she were a piece of meat instead of a person. Shame flushed through him- he'd always found her attractive, that he'd never quite been able to truthfully deny. It was especially true now that he'd seen more than Miss Mason, now that he had- at the very least- caught glimpses of the woman underneath.
That didn't quite excuse his gawking, however. He squirmed in his chair, dreading to think what her reaction would be if she ever found out. Actually… his gaze snapped back to her, just in case and relief crashed through him when she appeared oblivious. She'd turned again, so now he could see her face, her expressions. She was smiling, answering a question and Eddie thought he was probably the only one who could see the strain behind him, noticed the way her eyes remained shadowed even as she laughed at a comment someone had shouted out. He wasn't a fan of her like this, much preferred the light, open laughter he'd heard before, when it was just the two of them.
She gestured with her hand, the clear varnish on her nails catching the light and Eddie was sat close enough to notice the ink stain on her fingers, a sure sign she'd been doing paperwork all morning. That same hand rose, brushed her hair from her face and his fingers tingled as he recalled what it felt like to have those strands in his hand, running through like a waterfall. That single memory prompted a deluge of others- the warmth her skin, how soft her lips were, how they felt when they curved into a smile beneath his.
He swallowed hard. She'd asked him not to push it, but right now, with her standing there bathed in sunlight, he had no idea how he was going to manage that.
It was both an age and yet no time at all when Rachel wrapped up, dismissing the students and Eddie blinked in surprise, hastily standing and joining the crowds flocking out of the hall. He thought he'd made it, safe in the corridor, but then a voice sounded from behind him.
"What was with you in there?"
Eddie felt his mouth go dry as he turned to face Rachel, the reams of students flowing around them. "What?"
She tilted her head, lips settling into a frown. "Eddie, you were staring at me so hard I'm not sure you blinked."
He froze. So she had noticed. "I don't know what you mean," he lied, deciding that denial was better than any other options.
Her eyes narrowed, and she said nothing else as she stalked away.
W.R.
Eddie had no right to feel jealous over Rachel. None at all. Not as her deputy, not as her friend and certainly not as anything else. That didn't stop him, however, from wanting to punch the suited slimeball at the bar who was currently chatting her up.
He scowled, and took a large gulp of his beer. Around him, his co-workers chatted and clinked glasses and joked about the week they'd just had. Meanwhile he brooded, and struggled to keep his eyes off of Rachel. She'd only gone up to buy another round, had been leant against the bar when this slick asshole had sidled up and began to talk to her. She could have blown him off, made a polite excuse but instead she had fallen into conversation with him, a smile on her face and it made Eddie's blood boil.
To hell with her, and to hell with this. He mumbled a goodbye that went mostly unnoticed before he stalked out, hands shoving into his pockets. Not long ago she'd been kissing him and now she was flirting with some stranger in a pub?
"Eddie!"
The universe hated him.
"What is it?"
Rachel came to an abrupt stop at his harsh tone, eyes widening. "I just… wanted to check you were okay. I saw you leaving so quickly…"
"Why?" he demanded.
"Why?"
"Yes, why." He stalked closer to her, and only felt a little guilty when she took an instinctive step back before she caught herself, and squared her shoulders. "Why the hell do you care?"
"Of course I care!" It had slipped out before she could stop it. And it was the truth, she acknowledged. It had been so much easier when she could place Eddie neatly into the category of colleague and deputy. But there was little chance of that now, and it was as if growing closer had sparked something within her, something that she struggled to clamp down on, however much she knew she should.
"Could have fooled me," Eddie scoffed, and she faltered, hurt rippling through her.
"Eddie!"
"Why don't you go back to your new friend at that bar? And leave me alone."
Her brow furrowed. "What?"
He caught her by the arms, tugged her closer and she almost lost her balance, stumbling and ending up pressed against him in a position that had her breath catching her throat. "Tell me something," he said lowly. "When you think about someone kissing you, who is it you're picturing?"
He was tipsy, she acknowledged, but not drunk. They were close enough that she could recognise the beer on his breath, feel the warmth of him even through the layers of fabric. She swallowed thickly. "That's none of your business."
He tilted his head. "This time a few days ago you were kissing me," he murmured, and heat shot straight through her. "Do you wish it were him today?"
"Are you jealous?"
"Answer the question."
She leant closer, their breaths mingling, her fingers wound around his jacket. "What answer do you want to hear? That I do? Or that I don't?"
"Go to hell." He pushed her away, lightly enough that she was in no danger of losing her balance as his eyes flashed and his stomach twisted.
"You don't have any right to dictate anything about me!" Rachel snapped, refusing to let him walk away.
"You've made that abundantly clear!"
"Then what is your problem?"
"YOU ARE." He spun, clutched at his head for a moment before whirling back to face her. "You're infuriating! Damn it, can you really pretend you feel nothing towards me?"
Her expression had fallen, voice barely a croak. "Don't."
"I can't," he said helplessly, and shrugged at her. "I can't pretend. I wanted to throttle that guy at the bar. I couldn't take my eyes off you in that assembly today, I think about you constantly. And if you didn't feel the same I wouldn't say a word, but I know you do. I know you feel it too. Rachel-,"
"You promised." Her voice cracked. "Eddie, you promised."
"I'm sorry. Don't cry." He was back in front of her in an instant, raising his fingers to her cheeks. "Rachel, you're killing me," he whispered. "And you're only hurting yourself as well."
"We can't. You know we can't."
"There are no rules against it." He knew he was pleading- he didn't care. "There would be some murmurs and whispers, but we both have good records, we could weather them. Especially together. And we could be happy."
Her breath hitched. "You can't promise that."
"Do you have any idea how much I cherish those moments where you forget to be guarded around me?" He smoothed a thumb over her cheek, caught her gaze in his. "I like Miss Mason just fine. I spend my entire time waiting for just a glimpse of Rachel."
She gave him a choked laugh, hands wrapped around his wrists. "I'm not two people."
"It seems like it sometimes."
The faint amusement in her eyes vanished. They'd done it again, she realised. Come together and stood so close that anyone who saw them would think they were embracing. Close enough that she could see every detail of his eyes, could feel the rise and fall of his body as he breathed. And was perfectly aware of the way his gaze flicked down to her lips, catching there for a split second before he forced himself to look back up.
He wanted her, despite everything, and it was a heady feeling. So she couldn't bring herself to regret it even a little bit when she moved even closer to press her lips to his, especially not when he responded instantly by pulled her as close as physically possible, his grip never once hurting her.