One Month Later:
Rachel's POV -
It had been just over a month since Nathan found out the truth, and he had been there for more than Louise had been.
She had been too busy stalking the new guy in her Photography group to notice that I just wanted to spend some time with her that didn't involve talking about guys and how much she loved them. After everything that had happened, all she wanted to talk about was boys.
Nathan, on the other hand, actually took my mind of everything and just made me laugh; it was like he was my best friend rather than Louise because he understood me better than she did at the moment. He hadn't even threatened to tell anyone about me and Tom, and he was doing his best to avoid bringing it up in conversation; the only time he did that was when we were talking about History.
"Have you done the work for History?" Nathan asked as he appeared beside me in the common room. I had just finished Geography with Mr.Kaneswaran, Louise had taken the day off school because she was apparently 'ill' or something like that.
I'm pretty sure she was lying and was taking the day off to spend with the guy from her Photography group - I really must ask his name because, whenever she started talking about him, I just switched my brain off and acted like I was listening
"Some of it, but didn't bother with the rest of it. Got bored and gave up." I chuckled in response to him.
"Got more done than I have then. But I'm sure Mr.Parker won't mind that you haven't done it." Nathan joked with a smile at me and I just smiled back at him because I knew he was joking and was only trying to cheer me up. Unlike some other people that I knew and were in my life.
"Imagine how annoyed Lauren will be if that happened; she would kill me and make my life even more miserable than she already has done." I laughed.
"Good job you got me then. You know Lauren has a thing for me, right?" Nathan asked.
"Ha, you're joking, right?" I laughed in reply, not that it surprised me. Lauren loved anything that stood still long enough and she thought she had a chance with, but I already knew that Nathan didn't like Lauren.
He disliked her just as much as I did, but not quite as much because he had only been here for a week and therefore decided he wasn't going to make a decision until he had been here for longer than that.
"Nope. She is jealous of the fact an attractive guy like me is talking to someone like you. She only likes me because she thinks she stands a chance." Nathan chuckled.
"Big-headed much?"
"Don't see you disagreeing though. Do you disagree with me?" he asked with his eyebrow raised to one side and I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks, I had never really denied that he wasn't good looking, because he was.
But I wasn't interested him in like that. I just appreciated him being there for me and actually making me smile.
"I don't disagree with you at all. But don't you tell anyone I just said that, or else you will be in trouble." I smirked at him and he just laughed at me.
Until the end of lunch, me and Nathan basically spent the entire time talking to each other and having a laugh with each other. I had almost forgotten that our next lesson was History; that's how much fun I had when I was with Nathan and just how much he made me forget my problems and just make me smile.
As we walked into the classroom, the awkwardness was evident straightaway. Tom didn't even bother looking at me and he didn't even attempt to speak to me this time around. He must have got the message from last week that I didn't want anything to do with him and I just wanted him to leave me alone.
I had to get over him and, by him leaving me alone and by me not even bothering to acknowledge he existed, was the easiest way for me to do that. It seemed to be working so far and I had even managed to get away with not talking to him during the lesson.
He seemed to ignore me and act like I wasn't even there. Which I wasn't going to complain about, I was just taking it as him listening to me for once and doing what I wanted him to do.
"Hey Nathan. So, there's this party at the weekend, and, well, I was just wondering, do you want to come with me and the girls?" Lauren asked as she appeared in front of mine and Nathan's table, twirling her hair around in her fingers and her bright red lips kept edging closer to Nathan as she spoke
"Sorry Lauren, but I've already made plans. Me and Rachel are going to the cinema..." Nathan replied.
"What? You and her? I thought you had taste!" Lauren protested. She hated it when I got something that she wanted or had something that she wanted; the something that she wanted in this case being Nathan.
"Happy to disappoint. Bye Lauren." Nathan laughed as he waved at her, causing her to turn away with a look of disgust on her face.
"So, class, I believe I set you an essay for homework. Can you hold them up for me to collect in..." Mr.Parker said as he began walking around the room, every single person handing in two pages of writing, while I was just sat there with my half a page because I genuinely couldn't be bothered with doing the work for today.
I was sat up doing it at half one this morning, mainly because I forgot about and just decided that something was better than nothing.
"Nathan, where is your essay?" Mr.Parker asked when he reached us.
"I didn't bother doing it sir." he replied.
"And why not?"
"Had better things to be doing other than answering a stupid question for your homework." Nathan shrugged, I couldn't help but laugh at him because it was hilarious. And was even funnier with how annoyed Tom was getting with him.
"And what do you call this Rachel?" he asked as his attention turned to me and the lame effort that I had put into doing the work he had sat.
"See sir, I just couldn't be bothered with it so I left it until half one this morning and this wrote all I could be asked to write." I shrugged, the whole class now looking at me and Nathan, as though they were somewhat shocked by our performances.
I think even Mr.Parker was shocked by our behaviour, especially by mine and I was enjoying it.
"You're both to come back after school and finish this work for me. I don't expect this to keep happening or there will be serious actions taken." Tom replied before wandering back to the front of the room to get on with his teaching, not that I was bothered by this at all.
Spending time with him after school.
That was going to be the highlight of my day.
*
"Do you want to come round mine after this stupid detention?" I asked Nathan as we walked to Tom's History room.
"Yeah, sure. And I forgot to ask you, do want to go to the cinema at the weekend?" Nathan smiled.
"Why not, it's not like I've got anything else planned. Louise will probably be too busy with whatever his name is to want to do anything, so, yeah, cinema sounds great to me." I replied with a massive grin on my face. It would be nice to go out somewhere and be seen with someone other than Louise.#
"Good. You can pick the film and let me know, I don't mind what we see." Nathan smiled.
"I want t see Iron Man 3. Love those films and need to see the last one before I die." I joked as we walked into Tom's History room. He was sat at his desk, marking some work and he didn't even realise we were in the room until Nathan cleared his throat and announced we were in the room.
He looked up from his desk and pointed to one table, instructing Nathan that he had to sit there and then pointed to another table, telling me that I had to sit there. I'm guessing he didn't wan us anywhere near each other and wanted to make sure that the work was done; I just wanted to go home though.
I had other work that I needed to do. Work that I actually wanted to do and hand in on time; this wasn't one of them pieces of work and I had no intention of making any effort in doing it either.
It was just going to be as badly done as the piece I handed in during the lesson.
"Nathan, continue with your work, I expect you to have half a page done by the time I come back in. Rachel, I need to speak to you in the corridor...." Tom said with no expression or tone in his voice after we had been writing for around ten minutes; my work not looking much better than what I was writing at half one this morning.
"What do you want Tom?" I sighed once he had closed the classroom door to ensure that Nathan couldn't hear what we were saying to each other; even though I would probably tell him when we got back to mine anyway.
"Is there something going on between you and Nathan?" he asked me. Anyone would think that he was jealous and he wanted there to be nothing going on between us; he wanted there to be some hope that he could hold on to and not let go of.
"We're just friends and, even if there was, then it would have nothing to do with you anyway. Remember, all you are, is my teacher..." I stated.
"So, you're just going to tell me that what happened at the weekend was nothing then, are you?" he questioned and I had to look away from him at this point, I couldn't bare to look at his face anymore because this was already awkward enough; without him making it even more awkward.
"It was nothing Tom, it's time that you grew up and got over me. You're 25 and can have your pick of anyone; I'm 19 and have got my whole life ahead of me. Sure, what we had was special, but then you changed all of that..." I sighed.
"It wasn't nothing, you know that as well as I do. I know you wanted more and, had Mr.McGuiness not nearly caught us, then you would have gone further." he replied, knowing that he was right and he was winning this argument because I had nothing that I could throw back at him in response to what he was saying.
All he was getting from me was lies, while he was telling the truth and there was no denying that one.
"You didn't seem too bothered about me when you were rolling out of that nightclub with Miss.Lake!" I snapped.
"You mess with my emotions more than anyone I know. So, excuse me if I try to forget you for one night and have a little fun with someone else; you keep making it clear that it's over between us, but then you do things like what you did and the weekend, and I have no idea how I'm supposed to react to you..." Tom replied, his sexy voice coming through more than it was before as he placed his hands either side of my body against the wall, supporting his entire body as he basically forced me to look him in the eyes.
I remembered his eyes the most because they were perfect; they were hazel and just made all my problems disappear. It sometimes felt like I was melting when I looked into them and he was having the same effect on me now.
I hated it so much, yet loved it at the same time and wanted him to continue. I had tried to hard to move on from him and forget about everything but, right now, all of that just vanished and I felt like it was just me and him together.
"And you mess with mine as well, but you don't see me jumping from bed to bed each night in an attempt to forget you and the way that you made me feel. And I say ir's over because it's for the best, but then you appear and act the way you did at the weekend and I just want to be with you again. Why can't you just leave me alone?" I replied, Tom's body was now only inches away from me and I could feel his breath brushing against my face as his breathing slowly increased.
"Because I hate myself for ending things with you, okay? It doesn't matter how many women I sleep with or how many I go out on a date with, none of them are you and none of them make me feel the way that you do. I miss you Rachel, the space on my bed still smells like you and I can't get over you, no matter how hard I try. You're the only person that I'm ever going to want." Tom replied, his tone was dripping with anger and hurt as he spoke; which I had always found sexy and had always loved him.
He was one of the most attractive guys ever; he just made himself even more attractive when he got angry.
"You're still irresistible, especially when you're angry. I've missed that..." I laughed slightly causing a smile to appear on Tom's face and, for the first time since finding out he was my new History teacher and he was going to spending the next year in my form, he was actually smiling because of me.
"Tom, I miss you more than you'll ever understand. I miss waking up to you smiling at me, I miss cuddling up to you on the sofa while falling asleep to some crappy film, I miss you singing to me when I've had a bad day, I miss being with you and Louise being jealous of me. I just, miss you and everything we did together." I added with tears in my eyes as I looked away from his gaze and straight to the ground.
"Then give me another chance. Let me prove that I'm not the twat I've made you think I am. I love you Rach, do you feel that?" he asked, placing my hand upon his chest. His heart was beating slightly faster than normal, but I'm not sure if that's because he was angry or if it was because I was talking to him. "It beats only for you because you're the only girl I've ever really loved. It's got nothing to do with being in my History group, or how god damn sexy you are, I've loved you since the day we first kissed and I've loved you ever since. Without you, my life is meaningless..." Tom sighed, his hand still resting on the top of mine while he used his other to move my head up so I was now looking at him.
"You broke my heart though Tom, I can't go through that again. Nathan has helped me so much over the last month and I've even started to get over you; you have no idea how hard it is. Did you really mean what you said?" I asked.
"When?"
"The night we slept together, did you mean what you said?" I asked again, needing to know the answer because it would help put me at ease.
"I meant every single word I said. I was an idiot to leave you that day, but I had always thought it was for the best. Now, it's the worst decision I ever made." Tom sighed as he moved his hands away from me now and turned around so he was facing away from me; running his hands through his hair - something that he did quite a lot when he was around me.
"Remind what you said then, I need to hear you say it again. Please Tom?" I questioned.
"I said, 'Rachel, you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you so much and you're the reason I'm always smiling; even if you don't know it. I promise I'll never leave you and I'll never hurt you because, if I did, then I would never be able to forgive myself. Tonight has been amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way. I love you babe.' And, apart from the promise I broke, I meant every single word and wouldn't have wanted to spend the night with anyone else." Tom answered, talking to the wall rather than to me.
"Exactly, you broke your promise. Come back to me after the weekend and ask me again if I'll take you back, until then, we just carry on like nothing has happened. I love you Tom." I replied as a single tear made its way down my cheek; I had just been given the chance to get back with the only person I ever loved, and I just turned it down.
"You and Nathan can both go, just make sure you do the work next time." Tom replied as he walked off down the corridor, not even bothering to look at me. "Oh, and I love you too Rach."
As I walked back into the classroom, I took a deep breath and wandered over to my table, picking my bag up from the floor. Nathan just looked at me with confusion on my face and looked over to the door, waiting for Tom to walk through it and tell him what he was supposed to do now.
"Tom, I mean Mr.Parker, has said we can go but to make sure we do the work next time..." I finally said.
"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You still want to come round mine?" I replied with a smile and Nathan just nodded as he put everything back into his bag and followed me out of the room.