Rachel blushed and looked away quickly. Why was she so awkward with Eddie in situations like this? Why couldn't she just laugh it off and steal the salt from him like she would have done in the past? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure why Eddie was suddenly illiciting feelings within her that she hadn't felt in a long time, or why his touch had made her blush and feel so awkward and childish. She was also aware of the glares Melissa kept giving her whenever she and Eddie needed a private moment. He was after all her deputy and they would obviously have matters that they needed to discuss together as part of their jobs. Melissa was just jealous of Eddie talking to any woman Rachel concluded. She couldn't possibly be aware of her feelings for him. She wasn't entirely sure herself that she had feelings for him anyway, they had become much closer as friends as they had worked together this year, something which she had been very grateful for. When Eddie and Melissa had got together not long after Melissa started, Rachel had forced herself to be happy for them and eventually got used to their relationship. She was glad to have Eddie as a close friend and colleague and concluded that any feelings he had for her at the start of term must have long since faded, after all, how could Eddie feel anything for her whilst he was in a relationship with her younger, prettier more fun loving sister? They were living together and getting married no less! No, she thought, definitely not. She decided to push all thoughts of Eddie to the back of her mind and concentrate on enjoying her evening.
Eddie watched Rachel as she sat quietly and looked steadfastly down at her plate. He could see the pink in her cheeks, she looked so beautiful when she blushed, and wondered whether she had felt it too? He had had feelings for Rachel now for as long as he could remember; possibly since the day she had entered the school. Sure, they hadn't got along brilliantly to start with, but he recognised now that he had been jealous of her at first. She was, after all, a woman who had walked straight into the job he had thought would be his own with her elaborate plans to change the school. Eddie had tried his best to be disagreeable and not support her plans, but in the end he had realised that her ideas were good sound ones that would change Waterloo Road for the better. Deciding to forget his grudges and work alongside her, he had fallen in love with her as their friendship and working partnership had developed.
After the fire and other events that had occurred this time last year, some of that closeness had faded between them, but after spending another year in one another's company they had forged a good working relationship and what he felt had become a deep friendship. He realised now that on the first day of term in September had been much too early to try to rekindle the spark they had felt before the fire, Rachel had still been far too fragile and definitely not ready for any sort of relationship and he had blown any chance he had of them getting together. He had decided to banish any ideas of this kind from his mind and concentrate on her getting better and feeling more at home at school, her school, once again.
It had worked too, they maintained their effective partnership at work, and Waterloo Road had thrived this year, making sufficient improvements on last years results. And of course, not long after the start of the school year Melissa had joined the staff and given Eddie something else to occupy his mind. She was beautiful, outgoing and full of self-confidence, and Eddie had found her attractive from the start. He had felt bad about his behaviour towards her on her first day after finding out she and Rachel were sisters, and had taken her out for a drink as a way of apologising and making an effort to get to know her. And get to know her he certainly did. They got along so well and had a lot of fun together, and their relationship had snowballed quickly until they were living together and engaged to be married after just a few short months. Eddie had put the brakes on there however and realised it was all moving too fast, so now, at the end of the year, they were living quite comfortably together, along with Phil and were perfectly happy. He just didn't want to rush into anything he had told himself, they had all the time in the world. His slowing down of events had had nothing to do with his dormant feelings for Rachel, no indeed, nothing at all.
"Eddie… Eddie, are you with us mate" Tom's voice broke into his reverie and Eddie realised he had been asked a question. Pulling himself back down to earth, he stole a glance at Rachel, who was taking a long sip of wine and looking very interested in something Steph was saying, before giving Tom his full attention and joining in with the conversation. He was going to snap out of it and enjoy the evening with his friends and colleagues.