The tension in Rachel's office was stifling.

Bolton and Earl sat across from Rachel, as far apart from one another as her desk would allow. Eddie was leaning against the door, observing and ready to jump in if the two boys started on each other again.

No one had spoken for at least ten minutes. Bolton was slouched on the chair with his head down, holding an ice pack to his eye. He was embarrassed by his actions, especially after he'd promised himself he would stay out of trouble today. He'd let himself down, and also Miss Mason, again.

At the same time however, Bolton didn't care that he'd punched Earl. The kid had, had it coming. He was asking for it. And anyway, a punch was nothing compared to being kicked in the balls and threatened with a gun. Compared to Earl, Bolton was a saint.

Earl on the other hand, showed no remorse whatsoever as he held a tissue to the cut on his lower lip.

To Rachel, this seemed to be a regular occurrence with Earl. He lashed out and never took responsibility for his behaviour. In his view, he was never in the wrong. Rachel wondered just how much he'd gotten away with at his previous schools before they'd excluded him. How lenient was his Mum in regards to his behaviour?

Rachel was determined to put a stop to all of this. Whilst Earl Kelly was a student at Waterloo Road, he would learn to obey the rules and take responsibility for his actions.

"Are either of you going to tell me what happened?" She asked, breaking the deafening silence

As expected, there was no response.

Rachel sighed, looking to Bolton, who was staring pointlessly at the floor. This was the second time she had, had to drag him to her office in less than 24 hours, because of his behaviour. Something wasn't right; this wasn't like him at all.

"Bolton? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asked him

He shook his head

"He's obviously got a problem with me, Miss" Earl shrugged innocently

Eddie scoffed, causing Earl to glare at him

"I seem to remember it being the other way around, Earl, considering you kicked him in the balls yesterday!"

"No, that was an accident, wasn't it, Bolton?" Earl smirked, nudging Bolton with his foot

Bolton nodded silently, flinching away from him.

Rachel was carefully observing the way Bolton was acting. He was shifty and looked incredibly uncomfortable. Not because he was in trouble, it was because of Earl. The way he'd flinched when Earl had nudged him, how he couldn't look him in the eye, his silence. It was all to do with Earl.

Rachel could recognise bullying anywhere, and this was a classic example. She had seen countless children and adults act like this as a result of being bullied. She herself had acted like it. Stuart had made her feel small and powerless, just like Earl was doing to Bolton right now. It was like looking in the mirror.

"So what did happen in the corridor this morning, Earl? Hmm? No one is leaving until someone tells me" Rachel demanded

"He punched me, so I punched him back" Earl shrugged simply

"Bolton is that true?" Rachel asked calmly

Bolton didn't respond

"Bolton, answer Miss Mason!" Eddie ordered

Bolton looked up, his eyes filled with guilt. Rachel already knew his answer.

"Yes, Miss. I punched him" he admitted

Rachel sighed

"At least he was honest" Earl pointed out smugly

"Only because you had it coming, you freak!" Bolton snapped

He lunged for Earl. Eddie jumped in before Rachel could even react.

"That's enough! Bolton, go to the cooler, I'll deal with you later" Rachel ordered

"What? Miss I didn't do nothing!" Bolton argued

"Yes you did, Bolton! You know you did! Now go!" Rachel demanded firmly

He let out a scream of frustration as he stormed out of the office, leaving Rachel and Eddie with Earl.

"Am I off the hook then, Miss?" Earl asked, smiling innocently

"No, you're not. Sit down" she instructed angrily

Earl slumped into his chair

"I don't know how things work at home for you, Earl, but here at Waterloo Road, we don't tolerate bullying or violent behaviour of any kind" Rachel told him

"Aren't you lecturing the wrong person, Miss? Bolton hit me" Earl pointed out

"I'm well aware, but that's not what I'm talking about. If I hear or see you provoking anyone else, like you did with Bolton yesterday, there will be serious consequences. Do you understand?" She threatened

"Yes, Miss" he huffed, rolling his eyes

"Good. You'll be working in Mr Clarkson's office for the rest of the day. Mr Lawson will take you now" she explained

Earl stood up, striding over to the door.

"Give this place a chance, Earl. It might just surprise you" Rachel added

Earl scoffed, looking her up and down in disgust

"I've heard that one before" he mumbled, following Eddie out of the office and slamming the door behind him

Rachel sank back into her chair, sighing in frustration. She knew she had to go and check on Bolton to make sure he'd got to the cooler. He needed to calm down first though. She wanted to help him as much as she could, even if he wasn't being bullied by Earl. Bolton had so much potential, and she was determined to bring that out in him.

She stood up, heading down to the cooler.

Bolton was there when she arrived, angrily tapping a pencil against the table. Once again, he was the only one in there.

She stood in front of him. He refused to look at her, continuing to tap the pencil against desk.

"Bolton, we need to have a chat, don't we?"

He rolled his eyes

"We just did" he grumbled

Rachel sighed, sitting on the chair next to him. She took the pencil from him gently, placing it on the table opposite her.

"Why did you punch Earl?" She asked calmly

Bolton shrugged

"That's not an answer, Bolton. Why did you punch him?" She repeated

"Felt like it" he mumbled

Rachel sighed heavily

"Bolton... is Earl bullying you?" She asked hesitantly

"No way! The idiot is younger than me! I ain't scared of him!" He snapped defensively

"Bolton, he's bullying you! I saw it in the office! Something has happened between you and I need to know what!" She argued

"It's nothing, Miss! Why do you always have to interfere?!" He huffed

"Because it's my job, Bolton!" She shot back

"Well, back off!! I'm fine! I punched Earl because I wanted to, ok?" He growled, glaring at her

"No, Bolton, it's not fine! Even if that were true, which I know it isn't, you can't just go round punching people!"

Bolton rolled his eyes

"Whatever. It won't happen again, Miss" he mumbled

"No, it won't. You can spend break and lunch in the cooler for the next two weeks. And you'll stay in here for the rest of the day" she told him

"Fine by me" he shrugged

Rachel sighed

"I expected more from you, Bolton"

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry you've been disappointed" he huffed

Rachel walked away, heading in the direction of her office.

Eddie was in her office when she entered. She closed the door, letting out a huge sigh as she put her head in her hands. She wanted to scream. Sometimes she wasn't sure why she did this job. It was days like this where it just felt pointless.

"It just never stops, does it?" She groaned, looking at Eddie

Eddie walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. She sank into him, the scent of his aftershave and the soft rhythm of his heart beating against her own calming her instantly.

"I forgot how hectic this place is. You need eyes in the back of your head!" She said with a small laugh as she pulled away from him

"It'll be fine, Rach" he reassured, tucking her hair back behind her ear gently

"Bolton is being bullied, Eddie. It's not fine" she sighed

"Has he told you that?" He asked

"Not in as many words. But I know he is! Did you not see the way he flinched when Earl tried to nudge him? Or how he was quiet the entire time he was in here? He's scared of him, Eddie! Earl is bullying him. It makes sense! Why do you think he's been so quiet? Why has his behaviour suddenly changed? And don't give me that crap about 'hormones' and 'mood swings', because it has nothing to do with that!" She rambled angrily

Eddie was a little taken aback by her tone. He'd never seen her so fiercely angry like this before. Not over work related issues anyway.

"Rach, I'm not saying you're wrong. But, I think you're jumping to conclusions without having all the facts" he explained

"No, Eddie! I know bullying, I've seen it time and again! I'd recognise it from a million miles away!" She huffed, pacing up and down the office

He sighed. She wasn't backing down on this.

She knew he wasn't on board, that he wasn't entirely convinced. But she knew what she was talking about. She was prepared to argue with him on this.

"Rach, look. This might be bullying. But it could also be something completely harmless. You know what lads are like! They take the mick, they get into fights! It doesn't mean anything!" he reasoned

Rachel shook her head. She couldn't believe he was being so dismissive when the signs were staring him in the face. This wasn't just 'boys being boys', it was more serious than that.

"Eddie, you're forgetting, I've been bullied myself. Recently. I know this is more than just 'boys being boys'" she sighed

He noticed she was holding back tears. He wasn't listening to her; he was dismissing her concerns because it was easier. And it was hurting her. He immediately felt guilty. Of course he knew she'd been bullied by Stuart. He'd ignored the signs at the time, so had Rachel. But he saw them now. They were staring him in the face. He remembered how quiet she had gone, her sudden lack of confidence, and the shift in her personality. He remembered how she couldn't look him in the eye for weeks on end, the way she tensed whenever Stuart walked into the office, the way she'd immediately got defensive when Eddie teased her about Stuart fancying her, or about him being her 'mate'.

And he was dismissing Bolton, even though the signs were staring him in the face. He had to back Rachel on this, even if it did turn out to be harmless. Rachel had really strong instincts when it came to the kids at Waterloo Road, and she was nearly always right. Maybe she was right about this too.

"You're right, Rach, I'm sorry. How do we proceed?" He asked calmly

"Well, Bolton isn't saying Earl Kelly is bullying him. But we need to keep them away from each other. They're not in any classes together, and Bolton is in break and lunchtime detention for the next two weeks. We just need to keep them apart" she shrugged

Eddie nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her gently on the lips, moving his hand so he could stroke her cheek with his thumb. She smiled; it was a subtle apology from him. And he was forgiven.

"Back to work, Mr Lawson" she instructed, wriggling out of his embrace to sit at her desk