Author's Note: I guess this is it for now until I know if anyone is interested…Any takers out there? Anyone?

Chapter 3

"A Bad Night and a Brawl"

By the end of the short, three-day week Sydney was beginning to feel a little more relaxed in her classroom. She even decided to make her desk feel a little more personal. She placed a couple of framed pictures and a few little trinkets that made her smile around her desk blotter. Nathan had spent his last two lunch periods with her and this day was no different. He entered her room, his eyes a little more tired than they had been, his clothes a little more wrinkled, and his expression…nearing exasperation.

"Nathan, are you okay?" Sydney asked, concerned.

"Very long night followed by a very long day," he answered, his voice matching his appearance. He cleared his throat and did his best to perk up. "You, I see, are making yourself at home." He saw the changes on her desk.

Sydney smiled. "Well, they haven't scared me off yet, so I figured it might be safe…and it'll show them I'm not going anywhere."

"Excellent thinking." He couldn't help but to take a peek at the pictures. "Family?"

"Yes and no." Nathan raised an eyebrow. "This one is Arlen," she said, pointing to a picture of her best friend hugging her, both of their smiles bright. "Not blood, but may as well be and I'm pretty sure I'd be a little lost without him." Nathan smiled now, his face a little brighter. "This one," she said referring to the other photo and blushing, "is my boyfriend, John." I should not be saying boyfriend like that at my age.

"Ah." Nathan pulled up his usual chair and took out his lunch. "Been together long?" He quickly added, "Oh, you don't have to answer that, just, ah, making conversation that's not school related."

"It's fine," Sydney said, her smile growing. "Only a few months. I met him right around the end of May while on a field trip with fifth graders." She told Nathan about the sort of work he did, how he had just left for Chicago a few days ago…and then realized how long she'd been talking. "Wow, that's a whole lot of 'me time.' I am so sorry." She cleared her throat. "How about you? I know your daughter is in my class," she tried to steal a glance at his ring finger, but he noticed.

"Divorced…baggage. Not exactly a story that lights up the room the way yours did."

Embarrassed, Sydney threw her various wrappers in the trash. "I'm so sorry."

Nathan shook his head. "You already said that and you shouldn't be. It's nice to know that love isn't dead." He got up and threw his trash away as well. "That sounded bitter…like I said, bad night, bad day."

"I've had my share of those, I promise."

"Maybe," he mumbled.

Feeling guilty for…well, she wasn't sure quite what exactly, she spoke before she thought. "My ex-fiancé left me for my best friend." She wished she could take the words back. Why on earth would I say that to someone I've known for two and a half days?

Nathan paused and turned very slowly on one heel. "You said Alren was your best friend."

"Uh huh."

"And Arlen's a guy."

Her face reddened. "Uh huh."

"A guy who…" Nathan's eyes went wide. "Okay, I'm guessing that was a bad night."

"I told you I understood. Maybe I don't know the exact details, but I'm pretty sure I know low points."

"Did you tell me that to make me feel better?"

She sighed. "I have no idea why I told you that. Doesn't exactly paint me in the best light, now does it?"

"Sounds like you've bounced back well enough..." Nathan rubbed at his forehead. "…and that's a good thing." He smiled at her, but it was pained. Whatever happened the night before had certainly taken its toll. The bell rang and Nathan made his way toward the door.

Sydney found herself next to him, a hand on his shoulder. "Did we just get weird? I shouldn't have…"

"Not at all," Nathan interrupted. "Please don't think about it, it's me…I have some things and…better Monday, I promise." He left the room and Sydney didn't see him the rest of the day.

The following Monday Nathan was true to his word. His attitude had changed and he looked well rested. Any traces of "weirdness" between he and Sydney had vanished and the weeks went on. On the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, the bell for lunch rang and Sydney took a moment to stretch a little after the last student left her room. In her brief moment of solace, she heard the beginning of what would soon be fight in the hallway.

"You fucker!"

"Oh, crap," she said under her breath. In the ten seconds it took for her to get to the doorway, two boys were down on the ground pummeling one another. A small crowd soon gathered, egging them on. Sydney did her duty trying to get the other students to clear out while Nathan and Rick Swearingen, the boys' gym teacher, intervened, trying to pull the boys apart. In a blur of fists, Sydney heard Nathan grunt and a bit of red flew through the air. A moment later, the men pulled the boys apart. Rick looked up and laughed.

"Nice, Gardner." He then wrangled the boys to Principal Hawkins' office.

Sydney looked at Nathan, blood trailing from his nose down to his shirt. "Oh…" She covered her mouth with her hand. "You alright?"

Nathan sighed and looked down. "Well, the rest of the day should be…stellar. Nothing like bait for the kids."

"Come on," Sydney said, starting down the hallway.

"Where are we going?"

"Home Ec room."

Nathan followed her, happy that the halls were mostly empty now. They entered the room and Sydney turned on the lights.

"No reason to give them ammo, right?" she asked, smiling. "I owe you, after all."

"You do?"

"Mm hm. I know you've kept post before my seventh period classes since day one. Thank you." She was rooting around in the cabinets.

Nathan blushed slightly, embarrassed that he'd been "found out." "I know too many of them and what they're capable of. I didn't think it'd be fair if they were the ones to scare you off… What exactly are you looking for?"

"A few things to get the blood out of your shirt."

"No Tide stick?"

"Only if you have an hour to wash and dry it afterwards. Blood is…ah, here we go." Nathan watched as she threw a few things into a small cup and mixed them together. "Can I have your shirt, please?"

"Seriously?"

"Uh huh. Quickest way, I promise." Nathan unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off, feeling slightly awkward. He handed it to her while her back was still to him; she seemed to be fine-tuning whatever she'd mixed together. "Arlen taught me this trick. As long as you have the ingredients handy, it's a life saver…or at least a garment saver." She slathered what looked to be paste onto the blood soaked area of the shirt, then turned around…and had a hard time finding a word…any word.

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked.

Very slowly, Sydney answered with a "yes." Nathan stood before her looking slightly different than he did on a daily basis. He had on a white, fitted t-shirt that caught her a little off guard. Unfortunately, Nathan did not possess the same fashion sense that she was used to in men and she now realized that his attire ran a little…loose. He very clearly possessed a rather athletic physique that he kept well hidden. His biceps were especially striking. To try to avoid any more awkwardness, she turned her attention to his face and the blood drying there. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Nathan chuckled a little. "No permanent damage, I promise." He watched her as she ran a paper towel under the faucet, having an inkling of what might have caught her by surprise.

"No mirrors in here," Sydney said. "May I?" Nathan nodded and Sydney gently wiped the dried blood from his face. His nose had stopped bleeding almost immediately and nearly all of it had fallen on the shirt she was tending to. "There. Nobody would ever suspect…" She cleared her throat and her tone changed. "So, you know I have a boyfriend and you and I work together, so please don't take this the wrong way and file some HR suit against me, but why on earth hide…" She waved her hand around a little. "…this?"

Nathan smiled fully, his face aching. "Hide what, exactly?"

"You know what." After Nathan's "bad day" the two had grown close rather quickly, as far as colleagues go. Both of them disliking the teacher's lounge, they continued to lunch together daily in one room or the other, whether Sydney needed more "mentoring" or not. She had told him more about her slightly unconventional life, as well as her actual age, thirty-one. Nathan slowly divulged details about his messy divorce and how he was finally getting the relationship with his daughter that he had always wanted. Sydney had been more than relieved that her "mentor" was also turning out to be a friend.

Toying with her, he responded, sounding all too innocent. "I really have no idea what you're referring to."

Sydney exhaled, frustrated. "You're kinda buff…wow, lame. Sorry, it's just, the clothes don't match the frame."

"Buff, huh? So it's nineteen ninety…"

She laughed. "I caught my faux pas, thank you. Seriously though, why the frumpy get ups?"

"I'm frumpy now?" Sydney smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I've been taking better care of myself lately, I guess. Martial arts classes. Go ahead and make fun of me."

"I think that's pretty amazing, actually." Her tone was serious.

"Right, a guy my age running around doing…"

Not wanting him to feel uncomfortable, Sydney chimed in with, "I can sword fight…sort of." Nathan looked puzzled. "Seriously…and I think that martial arts are a lot more practical than that."

"Where does one pick up sword fighting?"

"I literally have no idea. I told you about John's line of work…we were goofing around one day and I kind of picked it up." She laughed. "Your age…yes, because at forty-one…?"

Nathan shook his head. "So close," he laughed, winking at her.

"Forty-two!" she shouted, far too excited to know she was right. She'd been wondering for a while. He nodded rolling his eyes. "Uh, anyway…it's awesome and certainly beneficial." It was hard not to flirt just a little at the moment, boyfriend or not. Nathan covered up the flattery he felt. She went back to his shirt and scraped off the now dried paste. "Perfection," she said, handing it back to him.

"I am…impressed," Nathan laughed. You couldn't tell that a thing had happened to him. "Some chemistry in there?"

She giggled – yes, giggled – feeling foolish as she did so. "I have no idea, I just follow the directions. There's a very good reason I teach English and not science." She tried to divert her eyes as he buttoned up. "The best part is that after this afternoon the kids are on break for a few days and will forget all about it."

"Thank you," Nathan said, genuinely meaning the words.

"You're welcome. Now, I could arrange for Arlen to take you to the mall and…"

"Get in line behind Susan," he laughed.