Forty minutes later...

The venue was bigger than Rachel had expected. The Boxing Ring was centred in the middle of the large room, hundreds of empty seats circling around it waiting to be filled. She couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face, knowing that, in less than twenty minutes, the room would be filled with people and noise, Bolton and his opponent being the centre of attention.

Forcing the students into an orderly queue was a team effort. They were all buzzing with excitement, keen to get the best seat they could to watch their fellow student compete.

"Right! I know you're all excited, and I'm glad, but pushing and shoving one another is NOT acceptable! Now, form a queue or we'll take you all straight back onto the coaches!" Rachel bellowed

The hall fell silent immediately, the sound of shoes shuffling into a line echoing in the air. Eddie smiled to himself. He loved seeing Rachel in Head Teacher mode.

Once the students were all in a line, she and Eddie chaperoned them into the aisles of the seats relatively quickly. Rachel shut down the kids who were on the brink of throwing tantrums because they couldn't sit with their friends by threatening to put them back on the coach. Within ten minutes, they were all seated, the staff filling in the empty spaces.

"Are you excited?" Eddie asked as they took their seats at the back of one of the stands

"I am. I'm nervous for him though" Rachel admitted

"Me too, I think he's got this in the bag though. He's put in the effort and hard work, and Rob is a great coach" Eddie pointed out

Rachel nodded, sipping on the water she'd pulled out of her bag. Eddie was immediately concerned.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked

"I'm fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's just a bit warm in here, that's all" she reassured

Eddie nodded, taking her hand into his own.

"Should we count this as a date?" he asked playfully

Rachel giggled.

"A school trip? I don't think so!"

"Damn, and I thought I could get out of taking you out for dinner tonight" he teased, placing a kiss on her cheek

"You wouldn't be able to anyway. We told Philip we'd order a takeaway" she reminded him

"I was thinking he could order himself something and we could slip out"

Rachel shook her head.

"Maybe another night. I will count a snuggle on the sofa and a Chinese takeaway as a date night"

"We could always order from the Italian restaurant and pick it up on the way back from the hospital?" he suggested

Rachel shook her head again, causing Eddie to frown. Food from the Italian restaurant was usually her favourite.

"It's not just me who wants a Chinese" Rachel whispered, placing a hand on her stomach

Eddie smiled.

"Then we'll have a Chinese" he whispered back, squeezing her hand gently

Rachel smiled, pecking him on the lips.

...

Bolton sat in the changing rooms, bouncing his leg up and down nervously. The tablets he had taken earlier were wearing off, leaving him in a state of anxiety and fear. His worries about losing the match, of letting everyone down had returned. He could hear his friends and other students heading into the venue, all cheering and shouting his name. It was only making him more nervous.

"Alright, mate? How are you doing?" Mr Cleaver asked, slapping Bolton on the back

"I'm alright" Bolton nodded

"Are you nervous?"

"Little bit"

Mr Cleaver sighed.

"There's no place for nerves now, mate. You need to snap out of it" he told him

Bolton nodded.

"Take another two of these" Mr Cleaver instructed, handing him the bottle of pills

Bolton frowned at him.

"I only took some two hours ago"

"It doesn't matter. You can take them as often as you want. They'll give you the boost that you need, yeah?"

Bolton took the bottle of pills, placing them down on the bench next to him.

"You've got this, yeah?" Mr Cleaver reminded

Bolton nodded.

"The whole school is out there, waiting to cheer you on. You're gonna win this, yeah? You're going to go out there and smash it!"

The changing room door opened, Janeece entering. She smiled at Bolton. She was so excited for her boyfriend! They hadn't been dating long, but she knew he had dreamed of this moment for such a long time. He had put all the hard work and effort in, and she was proud of him. There was no doubt in her mind that he wasn't going to win this match. Even if he didn't win, she'd still be proud of him.

"Sir, can I speak to him? I want to wish him good luck and that" she asked

Mr Cleaver nodded reluctantly.

"Five minutes, Janeece" he told her, exiting the changing rooms

Once the door had shut, Bolton took the bottle of pills off the bench. Janeece frowned.

"What are they?" she asked curiously

"Just stuff Boxers take. Cleaver gave them to me. He calls them 'focus pills'. They'll help me concentrate and that. They really work" he shrugged, tipping two into his hand

Janeece nodded, watching him swallow the pills.

"Are you coming over here to give us a kiss or what?" he teased

She smiled brightly as she walked over to him, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips.

"Are you nervous? I would be!" she asked

"Nah, man. I'm good"

"I'm dead excited for you!" she squealed

Bolton smiled.

"Maxine would have loved to be here to see you win" she added, a tinge of sadness in her tone

Bolton nodded. Over the last week, he had formulated a plan. He'd let Maxine down in the past by not speaking up about Earl. He was determined to do something to put it right.

"Well, when I do win, I'm going to dedicate it to her" he announced

He watched as Janeece's eyes lit up. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. He suddenly felt his confidence coming back to him.

"That's mint, she would have loved that" she replied

"I've got a good feeling about this, Jan. I'm gonna win this"

"I'm so proud of you" Janeece smiled

"Thanks, Jan"

"Are you alright? You're sweating" she observed

Bolton couldn't deny, he was feeling a little feverish. His heart was racing a little faster than he was used to. He wasn't going to say anything though. He knew if anyone got wind of the fact he was suddenly feeling unwell, the match would be cancelled. He couldn't have that. He couldn't let anyone down. It was just nerves.

So, he scoffed, brushing off Janeece's concern.

"I'm fine. I just did my warm up before you came in, innit?"

"Bolton, two minutes, yeah?" Mr Cleaver called, poking his head round the door

Bolton nodded, tipping two more pills into his hand.

"Are you sure you should be taking that many?" Janeece questioned

"Yeah, man. I can take them as often as I want" he told her

Janeece frowned for a moment before shrugging off her concern.

"Right, I'd better go. Good luck, yeah? I'll see you out there" she told him, wrapping him into a tight hug

"See you in a bit"

He watched her go, pushing another tablet down his throat before putting on his Boxing gloves.