Just Smile: A Nouis Fanfic

Chapter Fourteen

"Well don't just stand there, have a seat," Coach Higgins, Paul, said to me, gesturing to the chair adjacent to his in his new office.

I gulped taking a seat and looking up at him confusedly, "What are you doing here? I mean..."

"How long have I been here?" I nodded. "A good friend of mine moved here recently," he said with a small smirk, ahh, mum I'm guessing, "and I know a few of the other teachers, Mr. Judd for example from some old conferences, Jay gave me a heads up when the old coach left so I rang Harry and asked if he knew anything about the position...he put in a good word, and now here I am," he smiled at me, placing his hand on my knee.

"Well it's nice to see a familiar face for a change," I said quietly, looking down at my lap.

"It seems you've been having a rough go the past few days, is this the first time Parker and his cronies have had a go at you?"

"The first time like that, usually its just mumbling under their breath when they walk by."

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you go down the same path you were on at your old school, if anything like this happens again, I want you in my office or Mr. Judd's to sort it out properly, understood?"

"Yessir," I mumbled. "You're not going to tell mum, are you?"

"About the bullying...or the condoms in your bag?" he asked, looking at me sternly. I blushed fiercely as he spoke again, "I can hold off on talking to her for a bit, but if this gets worse...I think you'd better tell her now before I have to tell her later. As for the condoms, that's your business, and even though your mum is a dear friend of mine, I can understand if there are some things that would be easier for you if there was a man in the house."

"Mum gave them to me...I, I met someone...she just wanted to be proactive I guess..."

"Aye, so who's the lucky lady?" I didn't think my face could have been any redder than it was hearing those words, "...or lad?" he added cautiously.

"It's erm...Niall actually..."

"So you're seeing each other, or..."

"I guess...he was really the only friend I had here, the head teacher assigned him to me as a tutor, and then we started spending a lot of time together and, I don't really know."

"Just give it time, but don't rush things for the sake of making others happy. You've been through a lot, if he doesn't understand that you may need some time, that you're still adjusting, then he's not worth your time."

"Does mum know you're here?" I asked, trying to get the attention off of me.

"She knew I had inquired about the position, and I reckon she's got a good clue I was offered the position and accepted, but no, I haven't had a chance to ring her since I've moved."

"Knowing mum she'll probably insist you join us for dinner, all the girls, the new guy she's been seeing...pull out all the stops."