The school was in lock-down. One of the worst storms New York had seen in a long time was raging outside. It wasn't supposed to be this weather forecasters had predicted somewhat heavy rains but it looked as though the gates of hell were being unleashed outside. It had started getting dark around lunch but the thunder and lightning didn't start till thirty minutes after lunch had ended, they brought huge winds with them too.

They were allowed to roam the first floor and basement but they couldn't leave the compound, Emily couldn't even imagine why anyone would think that leaving the school was in their best interests. The teachers were constantly running around trying to get the generators working or handing out snacks and bottled water to the students.

It didn't help that the weather only seemed to be getting worse. Emily had even heard a couple teachers whispering about the possibility that they would have to stay overnight. She couldn't think of anything worse than waking up at school. If it came to that she could only hope that they would give them the day off tomorrow.

Nolan had brought her over to one of the windowless corridors with lockers covering the walls. He had known her long enough to know how deathly afraid of thunder and lightning she was. She'd had the fear since she was very little and was unable to explain why she was afraid. When she was eight the fear had seemed to disappear after her father explained to her what thunder really was but it seemed to reappear full force a few years ago. Nolan was always curious as to the reason why but whenever he asked Emily just seemed to disappear into herself and she didn't come back for a few minutes and then acted like nothing had happened.

Nolan pulled a blindfold and headphones out of his backpack and handed them to Emily.

"What's this?"

"I packed them this morning when I heard about the heavy rains, just in case something like this happened. I figured if you couldn't see or hear the storm then it would be like it didn't exist."

Emily put on both of them, her body visibly shaking. She was so scared though the sound of nothing did help calm her a bit but it didn't stop the memories rolling through her brain, making her want to scream. Her nails dug into her arm trying to sop the memories, trying to stop wanting to let everything out, wanting to let go.

She felt her body being shifted against someone and by the smell she knew it was Nolan. It didn't make her feel better, in fact in made her feel worse. She couldn't handle being close to someone she cared about with these memories in her head. She couldn't handle losing someone again, not like that. Not ever again, it would destroy her.

Still it would be rude to pull away when Nolan was trying to offer her comfort and he help keep her from shaking. He was just as freezing as she was though. The cold wasn't helping to keep her emotions in check. She felt vulnerable and broken and afraid just like that night four years ago when her world fell to pieces. Before she knew it she was sobbing into Nolan's jacket. Great, big, heaving sobs that she couldn't control. She hoped that there were the only two people in the corridor, she didn't even want Amanda or Jack to see her like this. When she felt Nolan shift away from her she knew something was wrong and then she smelled her. Victoria.

She slowly took off the headphones and then raised the blindfold up slowly hoping that it was just some other girl who happened to smell like Victoria. It wasn't. She didn't want Victoria to see her like this, hell she didn't want anyone to see her like this.

"Is she alright?", Victoria asked, directing her question to Nolan.

"I don't know. I mean she's always been afraid of storms but this is-this is new."

"Emily? Sweetie? Why don't you come to my office, both of you," Victoria said quietly, motioning for Nolan to help get her up.

Nolan, with some difficulty, got Emily to her feet and managed to guide her throughout the hallways until they reached Victoria's office. Luckily for Emily there seemed to be no other students in sight. Not that she would have noticed either way, she seemed so out of it.

Victoria quickly unlocked the door and motioned for Nolan to lay her down on the couch in the corner of the room.

He set her down carefully and her eyes fluttered shut and she sunk into the black leather, her hold on Nolan's jacket loosening until her hand fell limp on her chest. Nolan stayed there for a moment, focusing on her breathing until it slowed to a normal pace.

He glanced up at Victoria before making his way over to the chair opposite Victoria's at her desk.

"She's gonna be alright," Nolan said, noticing the concern on his teacher's face.

"What prompted this?", Victoria asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of her voice.

"I'm not sure," Nolan began, " when she was younger she was afraid of storms but the fear seemed to disappear, for awhile at least. I don't know what brought it back but whenever I asked her she would just disappear inside herself. This is the first time I've ever seen her cry like that."

Victoria nodded, she'd hadn't really taken much of what he said in, her gaze focused on the young broken girl on her couch. She wanted nothing more than to go over there and hold her and comfort her but the rational part of her brain told her to stay away. To be the Ice Queen her students expected her to be.

With that though she quickly rose from her seat, "I'll be back soon."

By the time Victoria returned it was pitch black outside except for the occasional flash of lightning. Even the generators had refused to work. Most of the students had been moved to the bathrooms and a few blankets and pillows had been passed out from the infirmary. Victoria had kept her own set in the closet in her office.

Nolan was now on the couch, fast asleep and lightly snoring. Emily was in the chair facing Victoria's desk, eyes staring into nothing, her nails digging into the armrests. When she had woken up, not very long ago, she had forced Nolan to switch positions with her. He had complained and resisted at first but eventually just gave up arguing with her.

Emily was freezing. The temperature must have at least dropped ten degrees and she wasn't wearing anything to keep herself warm. She should have listened to her father when he told her to bring a sweater in case. She'd thought he was being ridiculous, the temperature at the end of September didn't require a sweater.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she felt hands on her shoulders. She didn't even have to look behind her to know who they belonged to, her heart even skipped a beat at the thought of Victoria touching her. She was acting like such a damn child, but she could help it.

"The floor's much more comfortable than those chairs," Victoria said, drawing Emily attention to her as she slipped off her black heels and settled in the corner behind her desk after grabbing a blanket and two pillows from the closet.

Almost out of sight of Nolan, Emily realized as she got up from the chair and made her way over to Victoria. Every step seemed sluggish and uncertain, she had a feeling the brunette wanted to talk to her about something. The curiosity -and something else that Emily couldn't pinpoint- in Victoria's eyes practically ate her up, and not in the way Emily wanted her to. Great so when she started crushing on her teacher she also became a pervert, how wonderful.

When she finally sat on the floor next to Victoria a huge thunder clap echoed and she practically jumped into Victoria's arms. If the older woman seemed upset by the sudden intrusion of personal space then she didn't show it. As Victoria ran her hand up and down Emily back, desperately hoping that it would comfort her, Emily's eyes watered. She couldn't break down again, not here anyway.

"Emily, you're not really afraid of storms are you?"

It wasn't a question, more a statement. Somehow Victoria had been able to guess why she really reacted like this.

"No. I'm not."

"Would you like to tell me why you have this reaction?"

"If you promise not to pity me afterwards," Emily said.

Victoria hesitated before grasping Emily's hands in her's, "I promise."

Emily nodded, she didn't pull her hands away and neither did Victoria, "Okay so when I was thirteen I had spent the day at a friend's house and when I got home-"

Emily paused and tried to contain a sob before starting again, " A storm started rolling in and it took me awhile to register that the fact that I needed to close the windows. So after I finished the downstairs and my room I ran into my parents room at the same time thunder echoed in the sky and I saw my mom. She w-w-was hanging from the ceiling fan."

Then she broke down, almost every word was muffled by a sob, " blood ran from cuts on her wrist and she had cut off almost all of her hair and it was just this big puffy mess on the bed. I think I screamed, I must have screamed. I think the neighbour called the police, at least I think it was the neighbour or it was me I don't know why I would have, I just I didn't take anything in. My dad eventually came and I think he wanted to scream, he must have but I was there. He wanted to be strong for me. I live through that moment every single time there's a storm. It's hell. My relationship with my father also fell apart soon after."

Victoria tried to keep the pity out of her eyes but it was hard, she even felt her eyes start to water. The girl, woman, in front of her was so unbelievably strong. To have witnessed that and still be able to carry on to still be able to crack a smile, Victoria couldn't imagine what pain Emily must have felt.

Without knowing it the women had ended up inches away from each other's face. So close that Emily could hear Victoria's breathing. Close enough to focus on every little detail on Victoria's lips. If she moved any closer she'd be able to taste Victoria, to explore her mouth with her tongue. Surprisingly it was Victoria who leaned it just a little more. The second that Emily was about to close the gap between them was the second that thunder echoed throughout the sky causing them to flinch away from each other.

When Nolan woke up that morning it was to a strange sight. Mrs. Grayson and Emily appeared to be cuddling under a blanket, he had to do everything in his power not to laugh at how adorable the two were even if they were teacher and student. He cared about his best friend and didn't care who she ended up with as long as they made her happy. If it was her teacher then so be it. Maybe Emily would be the one to thaw the Ice Queen.

Mwah!

Hope you enjoyed (:

-Abbie