I'm so sorry about leaving this for so long, I am trying to keep writing, I promise, but it's insanely difficult because my laptop no longer works without being plugged in, so I hardly ever go on it (and so hardly ever write). Anyway, thank you for all your reviews – each and every one is enormously appreciated. Also, I'm aware that Nicki/Lorraine is a much more widely accepted pairing at the moment (Hannah/HedgieX and I predicted this about ten episodes ago), but we are nonetheless holding out for Tom & Nicki. Enjoy!
So far, pretending to be a couple having an affair was going well. The students had tried to follow them around Harrod's inconspicuously, and had failed miserably when Scout, stationed behind a rocking horse in the toy department, had managed to tip an entire bottle of Pepsi on an extremely angry looking man's suit and had to make a run for it before she got chucked out, fleeing past the two teachers who had seen the entire debacle take place and found it highly amusing, being innocent bystanders who obviously had no connection to the teenager.
Tom and Nicki had then decided to go for a walk to Hyde Park – the sun had come out, and it was warm in London now. They walked silently, pretty sure that none of their students would be particularly interested in a walk in the park, and so they were able to talk about what they really wanted to, without worrying what the students would hear and what rumours would resultantly spread like an uncontrollable game of Chinese Whispers. The rumour would start out truthful – they had lunch in Knightsbridge together. It would then begin to mutate into a more interesting and extravagant tale involving the two of them going to a sex shop in Soho and coming out with flushed faces and crumpled clothing, at which point the rumour would reach the rest of the teachers, and the awkward looks would ensue. Amusing as it was, they could do without it at that present moment.
They sat by a tree in the park on the cool grass, surrounded by couples and families doing the exact same. The sun beat down on them, and Nicki stretched her long, denim clad legs out, kicking her shoes off and leaving them next to her feet as she propped herself up with her strong, tanned arms. Tom almost mirrored her posture, both of them gazing out over the park, squinting into the sunlight as neither had brought any sunglasses with them – mainly due to the fact that the weather had been utterly dismal when they'd left the hotel that morning, and they hadn't had the forethought to think that it was liable to change rather quickly, especially when they were prepared for one condition.
"Sorry about earlier," she began, knowing that she'd have to explain her scars and her reaction to him some day, and she may as well do so sooner rather than later, "I overreacted – I mean, it's hardly anything you've not seen, is it?" she smiled, trying to look brave but knowing that she wasn't going to succeed – she could feel his piercing gaze practically burning a hole in the side of her head. Thinking about it, that probably wasn't the best turn of phrase she could have used, but nonetheless.
"Nicki, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You've got a scar, that's that – trust me, I've got plenty of them. But at least you can say you actually got yours in combat – I've got a scar on my leg from where I trapped it in the oven door while trying to catch a pigeon."
"How did you trap your leg in the oven door, and why were you trying to catch a pigeon?!"
"Please don't ask that."
She laughed, and he suddenly realised that her laugh was one of his favourite sounds in the entire world. The way she looked, too, was beautiful – dark hair silky and shining in the sunlight, blue eyes glinting, skin glowing. He made a mental note to make her laugh as often as possible. Soppy git.
They lay in the sun together for what seemed like hours, but was in fact only about forty minutes, before Tom decided that, if they left it much longer, Grantly would end up in charge of the kids and all hell would break loose – more so than had already been unleashed. Nicki, on the other hand, had other plans – plans involving her lying in Hyde Park for "approximately the rest of my life."
He pretended to agree, and waited until she'd closed her eyes again before grabbing her ankles and pulling her across the grass by them. She screamed girlishly, trying and failing to kick him as he tugged her across the park by her ankles, her long, tanned arms flailing helplessly as she laughed and screamed at him, before he eventually gave up, gasping for breath before realising that he was in deep trouble.
She scrambled clumsily to her feet like a foal taking its first steps, stumbling as she got up and tried to grab the hem of his t-shirt, instead nearly falling flat on her face as he dodged out of the way.
"I'll kill you!" she shouted after him, chasing him barefoot across the park with her shoes in one hand, aware that they looked like children playing an extremely enthusiastic game of Tig, and also a pair of complete and utter idiots.
While running away from her in self preservation, Tom looked at her and allowed his gaze to linger just a bit longer than it should have done on her – she was sprinting towards him, long, toned legs stretching to give her the speed that was probably going to mean the end of him, her bright blue eyes flashing like gems in the sunlight. Suddenly, he felt a weight against his chest as he realised that, whilst daydreaming about her eyes, she'd caught him up and leapt at him, and they both fell to the ground in what felt like slow motion, seeming to gaze intently into each other's eyes as they hit the grass, Nicki landing right on top of him, her legs just either side of his hips, their faces mere inches away from each other.
It was only now that they really noticed the tiny details about each other's appearance. Nicki's tiny freckles on her cheeks, a tiny birthmark which was almost heart shaped beneath her right eye, the small dimple just to the left of the edge of her lips when she smiled. The barely noticeable scar on Tom's cheekbone, the golden flecks in his blue eyes, the way one eye was very slightly darker than the other. His minty breath on her face for the five or so seconds that felt like several lifetimes.