AN: Sorry this took so long getting out, I've been incredibly busy. Enjoy!
That morning began like any other awaken by a piece of crap alarm clock, a skipped breakfast and Nolan giving her a poptart. She could already tell this year would be almost exactly like the last.
And it continued going fine but of course she just had to round that corner too fast and bump right into her. It would have been fine if she had been wearing heels (she was naturally tiny and it didn't help that Victoria was extremely tall in those heels.) but who wears heels to school anyway... besides Ashley, so this lead to Emily colliding with an area that she truly had no business being in.
Her books also happened to scatter everywhere because she apparently had zero luck today. Nolan was just staring as though he had gone into shock and made no move to help her pick up her books. She sighed before bending to pick up her Biology book but the Ice Queen had beaten her to it.
When their hands touched Mrs Grayson pulled away almost immediately and tried to hide the confusion in her eyes, was she that repulsive? More importantly why did she care what this woman thought of her anyway?
"Um, Thanks," Emily said, trying to avoid looking directly into those eyes which held a vast emptiness she was sure that she would never understand but that was what made them so irresistible, so forbidden that she wanted to break whatever rule was holding her back from gazing into them which an intenseness she wasn't aware she was capable of.
Mrs Grayson's only reply was a curt nod before heading back in her original destination, heels clacking in a steady rhythm which seemed to match Emily's heartbeat exactly.
"Crap, should I have apologized or something?"
Nolan was still staring at her with his mouth agape and eyes wide, " Emily the only times I've ever heard you apologize was to sammy or some other animal."
"Well, yeah, but, I mean, she's a teacher and it would come off rude if I knocked my head into someone's er- chest and carried about my business."
"Whatever you say Ems," Nolan said uncertainly.
Emily resisted the urge to squirm under his heavy gaze, she hated being watched suspiciously. Besides, she thought trying to reassure herself, I'm not guilty of anything.
The day continued almost the same as before, except more mork. She already had a biology project but at least she got to work with Nolan on it. Since his grades mattered more to him then oxygen, he usually ended up doing most of the work.
By the time the end of math rolled around her bag was stuffed full with a bunch of math worksheets which Mrs. Davis said were fun and brain-boosting. That crap might have worked when they were in kindergarten but now anything called 'fun' was usually a trap.
Emily didn't even quite understand the material on the worksheets. She spent most of the class studying her teacher. She was trying to see if any of the feelings she had while looking at Mrs Grayson came back. They didn't. Her math teacher was okay-looking but Mrs. Grayson was absolutely stunning. Emily's hand clenched into a fist as that thought came into her mind. She wasn't interested in girls, she was just straight and happened to find this one woman beautiful.
When Nolan and Emily reached class they were the first to arrive, besides their teacher. As Emily moved to sit next to Nolan at the back she was stopped by throat clearing noises coming from behind her. Emily tried not to do anything that might be considered rude as she made her way back to the front.
"I thought I said yesterday that I wouldn't cause any more disturbances in your class," Emily said, quietly enough that only Mrs Grayson could hear her."
Mrs. Grayson just raised an eyebrow and looked at the seat in front of her.
Emily now understood why they called her the Ice Queen, her heart was as frozen as Anna's from frozen.
These thoughts proved true as she spent the first five minutes of class glaring at seven people, not once at her though Emily noted almost happily, and allowed zero talking in her class, at all. Even "bless yous" were forbidden.
The class only got worse when they got a test on the three chapters they were supposed to read for homework. Emily had meant to read them but she had gotten caught up with, well, stalking Victoria.
It didn't help that they had twenty minutes to answer fifteen questions and those questions were hard. Emily ended up only answering eleven and they were very poorly answered for Emily at least. Maybe she would need to look into actually trying this year if she wanted to get a degree in English.
If there was one thing that Emily could compliment Mrs Grayson on was that she didn't walk around the class and look at her student's papers.
After everyone had handed in their papers they were told to engage in silent reading with emphasis on silent and if anyone was caught talking then they were failed, no questions asked.
Emily took the time to actually read the first three chapters and cringed whenever she saw that she had gotten an answer pitifully wrong. When she had finished those chapters she had decided to punish herself and read some of the others while trying not to want to kill herself with the characters' stupidity.
When the bell rang, instead of making a mad rush for the doors they all sat quietly , not wanting to risk the wrath of the woman who just corrected all their tests. She handed out all the tests individually letting those who got their tests back go, until it was just her and Emily.
Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wanting nothing less than to see that test. It was plopped down on her desk and a big fat C underlined three times and covered the right corner.
"I talked to your previous teachers and they all said what a fantastic English student you are, a little quiet and lacking in class participation but always pulling As. You can imagine my shock when I graded this paper."
Emily felt dread enter her heart as she stared at the C. While she may not be extremely uptight about grades, anything below a B and especially in English was devastating. It didn't help that when Nolan and Ashley had both gotten As they had highfived, that should have been Emily, not Ashley.
Her devastation only grew when she noticed a huge fat tear roll off her cheek and onto her paper. Immediately she turned her head away from her teacher, she had made it five years without crying in front of anyone and she wasn't about to break that streak.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and a soft voice said, "Emily? Are you alright?"
Emily shook the hand off, she didn't like it when anyone touched her, even if the hand was impossibly soft and attached to a beyond gorgeous woman. Emily ran out the room, a single tear rolling down her cheek and she was never so thankful that she didn't wear eye makeup.
She dumped the test in one of the garbages outside of the school buildings and let her hair cover most of her face as her nails dug into her palms as she tried not to cry about a freaking test score. If she was being honest it wasn't just because of the test. She had disappointed Mrs. Grayson. She could just hear it her voice. This was exactly why Emily hated getting close with people, she always ended up disappointing them.
Later that night Nolan helped Emily with her math worksheet as she constantly avoided his questions about why she was crying earlier. He had found her crouched outside the school building with tears staining her face but she still had enough of herself to glare when she suggested calling her father to take her home.
Nolan had ended up taking her home, stopping at Starbucks because he wanted to make her tea but didn't know how, he didn't want to leave her alone in her "fragile" state, which earned him a playful punch on the shoulder.
Sometimes she felt as though Nolan was more her family than David was, He was always there when she needed him and he had never betrayed her.
"Hey Nolan," Emily began while playing with the straw of her drink while she sat on her bed, "will you walk me down the aisle if I ever get married."
"Ask Jack," Nolan said uncomfortably, aware that she had skipped over her dad, " I plan to officiate."
When night fell they moved down to the kitchen as Emily prepared them Mac and Cheese with sausages. Nolan's favourite and her father's. She used to make it for him when he was late coming home from the office.
Nolan kept up a constant chatter, mostly talking about his new drama with Marco and how cute Ashley was even if she was a little ambitious devil. Emily found it easy to tune out and somehow wasn't surprised when her thoughts landed on Mrs Grayson and her warm hand on her shoulder, only a layer of cotton separating flesh. Did she have a crush on her teacher? Emily didn't know if she would use crush but the older woman certainly intrigued her. She also owed her two apologies. One for bumping in to her and one for being rude and leaving Mrs Grayson when she was trying to comfort her.
Nolan didn't want to leave her home alone at night but Emily assured him that she was used to it and would be fine. He did leave but insisted that if she ran into any trouble to call him.
The silk blanket did nothing to chill the air conditioning as Victoria's husband lay next to her, naked and snoring. Eventually Victoria finally got up and padded across the bedroom that she shared with her husband and pulled out a lace nightgown to cover her dignity before going downstairs.
She got a glass of water and some pills, hoping that they might dull her throbbing headache. Her scalp burned and the scratches on her sides stung like crazy. Conrad was always a rough lover which Victoria really didn't care for. She always felt emptier after they made love, though he didn't call it that.
Conrad was no longer the man she fell in love with. No that man had been kind and gentle but had died when he had inherited his father's company. Thoughts like these always made her want to pour a glass of something strong but this time she resisted the urge and wandered over to the piano which Conrad had given her for their last anniversary.
She hadn't played in years but it usually helped fill the emptiness inside her, she had learned that years ago. Her fingers felt at home on the keys as she played, not really caring if she woke Conrad up. The music always carried her away and it did again but this time it went to territory she wasn't comfortable.
Emily was a mystery to her and usually she could figure out her students easily but this girl was different and she had so many walls up that she reminded her of herself. She'd never comforted a student before and it scared her a little. She wasn't an idiot, she knew she was referred to as the Ice Queen. She had seen the looks saying it but it had never hurt till Emily's eyes held the same saying.
She didn't know what scared her more, the thought that she wanted to get to know this girl better or the thought that Emily didn't want anything to do with her. Maybe she would get something a little stronger than water to drink.