Teacher | Ashton Irwin

Twenty Six

I walked into school on a cold Monday morning. A lot of heads turned to look at me as I made my way to the lockers.

Jack's funeral is tomorrow. His mom asked me if I would give a speech. Of course I said yes. I bought a nice black dress at the weekend.

It was a long weekend. I haven't slept properly since his death. I always wake up, gasping for air as I'd had a dream about him. The dreams were just of him. We would go into the forest or we would be in the motel. We would be smiling and talking. The part that scared me was that it felt so real.

I found out that Emma was going out with Luke. I decided to ignore the fact that Jack told me that Luke raped his little sister and basically bullied her to her death.

I tried to keep a straight face. I tried not to start crying. I walked over to emma and Luke. The second Emma's eyes found me, she engulfed me into a bone crushing hug. She pulled away and said, "I'm so sorry."

"Please," I begged, "Don't talk about him."

She smiled and took Luke's hand. She said, "We're going to go find Calum outside. You coming?"

"Sure. Why not?" I forced a smile onto my face.

We walked out the nearest door and made our way to the front gates to the school. I spotted Calum down the road. He wore a Kurt Cobain shirt, black skinny jeans with ripped knees, black vans and a gorgeous, faded green beanie. He had his hands stuffed in his pocket as he walked,

He looked up from the ground and saw us. He picked up his pace, jogging over to us. Unexpectedly, he hurried over to me, hugging me. I didn't hug back as I was in pure shock. I thought that he hated me.

He pulled back and opened his mouth to say something when Emma put her hand on his arm, "Don't Calum."

He nods at me. Luke lifted the tension up and said, "Shall we go to the lockers?"

"Please?" I blurted almost too quickly.

We began walking. We walked in the nearest door and walked along the corridor. I knew that there were many pairs of eyes on me. I shyly put my head down and whispered to Calum, "everyone's staring."

He looked around and then wrapped his arm around my back. He shouted, "What are you all looking at?"

Everyone turned away and been talking to their friends or stuffing books in their locker. I smiled up at him, "Thanks."

**

I was sat in sex education. I stared blankly at the desk in front of me. I wasn't even interested the slightest bit in what they were talking about. I wasn't even interested enough to look at Ashton.

He kept rambling on about the risks of sex, mainly pregnancy. He crouched down in front of my desk so he was eye level with me. I still refused to look at him. I just stared at the desk. He said, "You can be excused from class anytime you want."

I sighed and put my head on my arms, so it was like I was lying down. I heard Ashton sigh before continuing the lesson. I felt a hand on my back. Calum whispered, "You okay?"

I nodded before he gave me a gentle pat and removed his hand.

I remained like this for the rest of the lesson until the bell rang, signalling for everyone to go home. Everyone raced out of the room, leaving me sitting with my head on the table. Ashton said, "Go home Rachel. Get some rest."

I sat up. I looked at him and said, "I can't just 'get some rest' ash. I can't sleep. Well, I can sleep, I just choose not to," I sighed, "I have dreams about him. I miss him."

Ashton walked over and sat on Calum's chair. He smiled, "Don't worry. Tomorrow you will get your goodbye. And don't worry, I'll discreetly sit beside you to comfort you."

I smiled. I leaned in and kissed him softly, his hands instantly cupping my face. I disconnected our lips and whispered, "I needed that."

"I'll be beside you every step of the way," he smiled at me, placing his hand on my thigh.

I placed my hand on top of his and sighed, "I have to walk to the funeral because my parents are on a business trip until Thursday. I love them being gone but I also hate it."

"I'll drive you," he squeezed my thigh lightly.

"But what about Ryan?" I asked.

He shrugged and chuckled, "It's a big car. It can hold five people." I opened my mouth to say something when he continued, "I'm joking. I know that you mean like Ryan asking 'why would mr Irwin take us?' But just tell him that I want to help."

"I will," I smiled at him.

His eyes glanced at my lips. He bit his lip, making me weak. His right hand cupped the left side of my face whilst his left hand went on my back. We both turned to face each other. His hazel eyes met mine before he pressed our lips together. I gladly let his tongue into my mouth, tangling together with mine in a magical way.

He pulled me onto his knee so I was now straddling his waist. My hands were on the back of his neck, lightly tugging on his loose curls. He moaned quietly into my mouth, sending vibrations through my body.

I disconnected our lips. My eyes opened along with his. Whenever things were getting heated, his eyes would look darker with a bit more green along with his beautiful shade of brown. I whispered, "I don't think Ryan's home tonight."

"Rachel," he chuckled. Both of his hands fell to my ass, keeping me from falling. "We can't really risk going to your house-"

"Ryan's probably having sex with Julea in her house as we speak," I smirked. "I- know- you- want- to," I whispered in between kisses.

He smirked, "you're right. I don't even know why I'm protesting." We both chuckled before kissing again.

We pulled away went we heard footsteps. I jumped up from Ashton's knee and ran into his store room.

I was literally pressed up against shelves of books and booklets. I peered out the frosted glass as I saw Mr White enter the room.

Ashton flashed him a smile, "Bob, what are you doing here?"

"I was passing by and I thought I heard someone in here with you," he raised one of his eyebrows, "Why are you sitting in a pupils seat and not your desk?"

"I wanted to see what it was like from a student's point of view," Ashton said. Although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

Mr White nodded although he didn't look convinced, "Anyway, I was wondering if you're joining us at the pub tonight?"

"Sorry," Ashton sighed, "it's my mom and dads thirtieth wedding anniversary and they're renting a hall to celebrate and I have to go."

Mr White sighed, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." He finally left.

Ashton walked up to the storage door and opened it. He ran his hands over his face and said, "I totally forgot, I have to go to their anniversary party thing."

"Thanks okay," I smiled although I was thoroughly disappointed.

His eyes lit up and he grinned cheekily, "You're coming as my date."

"No, no, I can't," I shook my head in refusal.

"You are. I'll drive you to your house and you can get changed into some sort of formal dress. Yes, sadly it's formal. After you're ready, we can go to mine so I can get ready," he smiled.

He took my hand and cautiously led me out to the car park. I hopped in the passenger seat whilst he was in the drivers. He pulled out of the parking space and drove down the school drive.