A/N - Thank you all for continuing to read and for supporting my writing. We're all different, but for me - I find it quite difficult to share my ideas and stories, especially when I think nobody's reading! So please let me know what you think and any ideas you may have by leaving your reviews. I want to improve and feedback helps me. Also, if any of you have any prompts you'd like me to try? Either leave inbox me here or hit me up on Twitter (same username)! And now - Back to the story! Enjoy xx

Henry didn't just hate Monday mornings, he truly detested them. Now, he knew that nobody really liked Mondays because — Well, who would! But for Henry, they were the very bane of his existence. His mother had regaled him with stories of literally having to drag him out of bed every single week without fail because he refused to head off to school on a Monday morning. He had always insisted that everyone else was wrong and that Monday's were still the weekend. Once he had got himself into that mindset - It had never left him.

He particularly hated them now that he was a lecturer. He always had a full day of teaching and his first class of the day was certainly the most challenging. The majority of his students didn't listen to a single word he said, preferring to catch up with the weekend's happenings, and the ones who did actually listen were merely there to swoon over him. He had, of course, been completely oblivious to this fact until Professor Carlton had pointed out that he had a bit of a following amongst his female students.

As he made his way down the corridor towards his office, coffee in hand and a stack of papers tucked under his arm, the only thoughts invading his head were those of a certain blonde professor, and those thoughts had set up camp permanently. He had chastised himself for sending her the converse because, upon reflection, it almost certainly would have come across as creepy. And to send them to her at 3pm on a Friday afternoon , leaving him to get through an entire weekend without having the slightest inclination as to how she reacted or if he would be facing a harassment accusation because of it, had not been one of his more ingenious ideas.

Henry was certain he had blown any chance of ever having so much as a friendship with Elizabeth, let alone the prospect of anything more. He had burned it to the ground with his impulsive actions before he could ever get to be the support his instincts told him she desperately needed. Of course, he knew that was presumptuous of him and she may just be a very standoffish kind of person - But something told him that really wasn't the case at all.

He made his way to his first lecture with a complete lack of enthusiasm hanging over his head. It would be a struggle just to get through the day and with his mind so preoccupied, teaching a class on consequentialism was the very last thing he wanted.

Henry, being the consummate professional that he was, delivered the lecture and argued his theories and ideas perfectly. His students were engaged and most of them joined in with the fairly animated debate on utilitarianism. As Monday morning classes went, this one had been a great success and he was feeling a little more positive by the end.

As his students dispersed, Henry began setting things up for his next class. He was focussed on retrieving the notes from his bag when he had the distinct and uneasy feeling he was being watched. He spun around and glanced upwards to find Elizabeth sitting in the back row by the door.

"Very impressive Dr McCord! You were extremely animated in your opinions - Not that I wholeheartedly agreed with them all but then I'm not the one taking the class." She got up from her seat and made her way down the steps to where Henry was standing, handing him a paper cup "I'm hoping the coffee is still warm - I got it from Calum's cart."

Henry took the cup and nodded "He definitely makes the best coffee on campus. Thank you."

"He makes it stronger than anyone else which is always a plus with me! And You're welcome!"

Henry looked at Elizabeth and couldn't stop himself staring. Every time he'd seen her, her hair had always been down, but today - it was all pulled back in a messy bun and it was now clear to see how striking her features actually were. Her navy v-necked sweater was tucked into her jeans and a sage green scarf with tiny butterflies on it hung loosely around her neck.

For such an articulate person, Henry found himself at a loss for words. All he could muster was - "That's a very pretty scarf."

Elizabeth blushed a little under his gaze "Oh - Thanks. It belonged to my mom." She worried for a second that Henry might ask questions so immediately changed the subject "You seem to have quite the cult following from what I could see."

"How long were you sitting back there?"

"Long enough! The girls certainly hang on your every word."

"Not at all! I think they like this class because I'm not as hard on them as Professor Chase." Henry chuckled, "And I'm hoping I don't spit when I speak the way he does."

"Hmmmm - I think it's more to do with the whole smouldering look thing you have going on. And I'm pleased to report that you definitely don't spit when you talk."

"Smouldering look?"

Elizabeth nodded "Oh yes - I imagine it's like catnip to your groupies. Anyway - I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for the shoes. It really wasn't necessary but it was very kind of you."

"I'm glad you like them. I did ruin the other ones so it was the least I could do. And I'm pleased they fit okay."

"Yeah — How did you know what size I was? Should I be considering a restraining order?"

"It was on the soles of your boots."

When Elizabeth looked somewhat perplexed, Henry filled in the gaps.

"In the canteen last week you had your feet up on the chair — Right before you told me never to speak to you again." Henry held his hands and shrugged "In my defence, you came to my classroom so you definitely don't need a restraining order. But thank you for the coffee."

Elizabeth screwed up her face, embarrassed by that particular memory "Oh yeah - I did say that, didn't I. I'm sorry for being so rude Henry. There's no excuse for bad behaviour."

Henry suddenly felt bold "How about you make it up to me and have dinner with me friday night?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted ever speaking them.

"Can I think about it? I have a few things going on and I don't want to commit to anything right now."

"Of course. I'll check in with you later this week — If that's ok?" Henry smiled, "As much fun as it is when you shout at me, I'd rather avoid it if possible."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and giggled "Sure! I'll do my best to refrain from shouting at you in future - Unless you deserve it, in which case all bets are off." She turned away from Henry and started making her way back up the steps towards the door "Thanks again for the chucks Henry."

"They look good on you. Have a good day Elizabeth."

She stopped just before pushing open the door "I will! As Monday's go - This one hasn't started too badly at all. Be good Henry - And keep that smoulder under control."

She was gone before Henry could respond which was just as well as he practically had to pick himself up off the floor. As much as he liked Elizabeth, he just couldn't work her out. One minute she was adamant that she never wanted to speak to him again and the next she was bringing him coffee and apologising. One thing he did know though - He was determined to make Friday night happen.

By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around, Elizabeth's upbeat mood had substantially diminished and she was back to wondering whether teaching was for her after all. She had gone through Monday with a permanent smile on her face after her interaction with Henry and was even considering saying yes to his dinner invitation. However, fall was always a very difficult season for her, one horrendous week in particular filled with far too many memories of things that haunted her and she was struggling to hold it together.

Her meeting with Blake was scheduled for 4.25pm but at 4.45pm he was uncharacteristically late and Elizabeth was starting to feel rather concerned. He had assured her that he had no thoughts of harming himself and she genuinely believed him. However, Blake was an extremely charismatic young man and as much as Elizabeth wanted to believe he wouldn't lie to her — It was beginning to look that way.

By 5pm, Elizabeth was getting herself all worked up and had convinced herself that something bad had happened. Why didn't she do more to help Blake? Why hadn't she tried to get him to open up more? She grabbed her bag and hurried down the corridor towards the main doors. If she could find out where his dorm was from the office, she could go and check on him, get a clearer picture of what was going on and provide the help and support he clearly needed.

She ran down the steps, losing her footing at the bottom but managing to regain her balance and headed across campus. Her lungs were burning from the cold air as she'd left her coat in her office so was shivering from the biting wind. Yet none of that mattered. She had to find him and make sure he was okay - She just had to.

Once she had the information she needed, she headed back across the car park towards Blakes lodgings. She was by no means unfit but she was struggling to keep up the pace and stopped for a moment to catch her breath and to mentally prepare herself for what she might find. The worst case scenario was definitely now at the forefront of her mind.

As she started running again, Elizabeth could see Henry walking out of another building, chatting away to Professor Schwartz. She didn't have time to exchange pleasantries and Alan Schwartz could talk absolute nonsense for hours with very little opportunity to get away, so she attempted to deviate from her route.

Unfortunately, they had both spotted her and Alan made a beeline for her.

"Elizabeth my dear — I was wondering how you were getting on. I was just telling Henry here all about my new vivarium. I'm creating my very own little ecosystem! It's fascinating —." When she failed to stop running he called out "Hey - Where are you off to in such a hurry? Professor Adams?"

Elizabeth continued running and was nearly at the front doors to Blake's accommodation block when Henry caught up with her.

"Hey — Are you alright?" Henry could see the distressed look on her face immediately "Elizabeth?"

"I have to check on him, make sure he's ok — He missed our meeting and I'm so worried he's done something stupid.."

"Who? What happened?"

"Blake Moran! He's a student of mine and he's been struggling. We were supposed to have a meeting this afternoon and he didn't show up. I have a horrible feeling that something is wrong and I don't have time to be standing around here talking to you."

She pulled the door open and ran up the stairs, three flights of them, until she made it to room 4C. Henry chased after her and made it just as she was knocking on Blake's door. Her heart was thudding in her chest and when she got no answer she banged on the door harder.

"Blake — Open the door."

The door to 4B opened and a sleepy eyed student poked his head out. "Would you quit banging — Some of us are trying to sleep here."

Henry looked bewildered. "It's 5.20pm — It's not the middle of the night."

"I have to get some rest before the party tonight dude! Afternoons are when I sleep."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as soon as she recognised him "Josh — Do you know where Blake is? Have you seen him?"

Josh smiled, "Professor Adams — You're looking good! Couldn't keep away, huh?"

"Please Josh — Do you know where Blake is?"

"Yeah! He took off this morning — Said something about his mom having an accident at work or something like that. Is he in some kind of trouble?"

Elizabeth let out a breath and grabbed onto the wall for support "No! I just wanted to check in with him — Go back to sleeping or whatever it was that you were doing."

"Well, I do have a very hot girl in my bed so there probably won't be a lot of sleeping if you get me." His smirk infuriated Elizabeth.

"Josh — Luckily for you this is a big enough university that the likelihood of finding a girl with low enough standards to actually sleep with you is a given. But just so we're on the same page, I don't ever want to hear about it — not ever! Oh and I want that essay on my desk by Friday or there will be trouble. You get me?"

Henry was taken aback by her outburst "Elizabeth —-."

She hurriedly made her way back down the stairs and out into the cold, quickly followed by Henry. As Elizabeth leaned against the wall she couldn't fight back the tears any longer.

"Hey - He's fine. Don't cry." Henry touched her shoulder and she immediately shrugged him off.

"I let him down! I should have made absolutely sure that he was ok and I didn't. I was too preoccupied and I'm to blame."

"But nothing happened to him. He missed an appointment because his family needed him - It happens all the time! My students miss appointments constantly for much less - Why are you beating yourself up like this? It's inconsequential."

"To you maybe! I'm not cut out for this job! I should have done more! It's that simple and if I can't keep people safe then I shouldn't be doing the job at all."

Henry was confused - Elizabeth's severe overreaction made no sense at all. He was starting to wonder if she was even still talking about Blake now. Tiny little snippets that she'd allowed him to see were piecing together a very unhappy picture. Henry was now resolute in his quest to be there for her whether she wanted him to or not.

He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders "You're freezing! I think we need to get you home. Would you like me to drive you, Elizabeth? I'm not sure you're in the right frame of mind to be behind the wheel right now."

Elizabeth nodded slowly "You're probably right - If you don't mind?"

"Of course not! Let's get you in the warm."

As they made it to his car, Elizabeth grabbed his arm and looked at him with an expression he'd never seen on her before - Vulnerability.

"Thank you Henry."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."