Eddie Lawson grunted as he heaved a huge pink suitcase into the boot of his car. What on earth Melissa had in there was beyond him. They were only going away for two nights, but knowing her she probably had about half a dozen outfits complete with shoes and accessories 'just in case'! Placing his and Phil's moderately sized holdalls beside the case he closed the boot with a sigh. Eddie wasn't looking forward to this weekend in the slightest. He wasn't the biggest fan of parties, particularly when he would hardly know any of the people there, and had tried to get out of attending this one. He had told Melissa that she and Phil should go together and have a good time with their family, but she wouldn't hear of it. The invitation had been addressed to Melissa and partner and she couldn't wait to show off her partner in front of her whole family, to show them that they were a proper couple, proving that he truly was hers. She had been very excited about the prospect of a party and had spent hours poring over catalogues and trawling around shops looking for the perfect outfit. Eddie had accompanied her the first time, but after being dragged around the Trafford Centre for 5 hours and watching her try on what felt like hundreds of dresses, which all looked lovely on her in his opinion, he had admitted defeat and told her she would have to choose on her own. Melissa had sulked, but he had known that she would actually prefer this than have him moaning around for hours on end.
Eddie stuck his head through the front door to call Mel and Phil and let them know he was ready to leave and let Rachel know they were on their way. Walking back towards the car, he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the mere thought of Rachel. This had been the part of the weekend he was both dreading the most and looking forward to with an unnatural anticipation. It was two weeks since he had last seen her, and he hadn't heard a peep from her since. Whilst they didn't usually spend much time together outside of school, they would normally have exchanged a few friendly texts by now, just to see how the other was and if they were enjoying the holidays. But this holiday, communication between them was conspicuous only by its absence. He hadn't had a text or a phone call, and whilst he knew Melissa had spoken to her a few times about this weekend, she hadn't really shared what they had discussed with him. Despite this fact though, Rachel had been constantly on his mind ever since the end of year party. He had spent much of the first few days in a daze and knew he hadn't been paying Melissa much attention. Feeling guilty for this, and also the fact he had left her lying on the couch all night after their night out, he had decided to treat her to a day out in Blackpool, a place he knew she loved from her childhood holidays. Melissa had had a brilliant time. They had gone on the fair, ridden in a horse and carriage and eaten fish and chips, but all the time Eddie's mind had still been on Rachel.
Why hadn't she called him or even sent a text? He had felt so close to her in the nightclub that night and he'd thought that she had felt the same way. He'd seen the look in her eyes at he end of the night as they had almost kissed, and he was sure he had seen every feeling he was experiencing mirrored in her perfect smouldering dark eyes. But since then… absolutely nothing. He had no idea how she was feeling. Perhaps he had misread the signals completely, maybe he had scared her off, or worse still, perhaps it had been an alcohol-fuelled mistake on her part and she didn't want anything to do with him any more. It was killing Eddie not knowing what she was thinking or feeling, or even how she was. He hoped he would get more of a chance to talk to her this weekend and spend some time with her. But what if his doubts were right and she didn't want to know? What could he do then? And what about Melissa? They'd had an enjoyable time together so far during the holidays; he couldn't deny that he enjoyed her company. He would never willingly do anything to hurt her feelings; he respected her far too much for that. But Eddie was beginning to feel that this was as far as his feelings for Melissa went, those of friendship and respect. Since his feelings for Rachel had re-emerged these last few weeks they had begun to consume him, and nothing could compare to these feelings. They were becoming too strong to deny, and he didn't know what on earth to do about it. How was he going to react when he saw Rachel again? As Melissa and Phil walked out of the house, Phil closing and locking the door behind them, he realised he was about to find out.