Unexpected Love

Chapter Four

Being an English teacher took up a lot of my time. I always had lesson plans to write and essays to mark and consultation evenings to think about. It was my dream job, but it did come with its challenges. It meant early mornings and late nights, and this could sometimes make Eleanor mad.

"You never have any time for me!" she'd complain, sitting opposite me at the kitchen counter.

"I'm sorry, El, but this is my job and it's what I have to do!"

"I rarely see you during the week, you fall asleep so early!"

"I know, but it means I appreciate the weekends with you even more" I say, trying not to get annoyed at where this conversation was going. This was my first year as a qualified teacher, and I wasn't prepared for the amount of my time it would take up, but El needed to be more understanding. "I promise we'll arrange something fun for this weekend." She nodded slightly, before sighing in defeat and leaving me in the kitchen alone. It had been three weeks since the ice-skating incident and now my head was feeling better. Harry and I had texted a few times and he seemed like a nice person. It was nice to have someone else to talk to. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was already 7.30am and I had to leave for work. I walked through the living room, going over to the sofa to give Eleanor a kiss. She didn't seem happy with me, so I sighed quietly and kissed her cheek before walking out of the house and getting into the car. I turned the engine on and turned the heater up, it was February but still surprisingly cold. I rubbed my hands together, hoping I could feel the heat soon and pulled away from the house. By the time I got to the school the car was warm and I didn't want to get out, but I knew I had children arriving soon and they were my priority for the day.

By the time I got home it was almost dark outside. El had left me a note saying she had gone out with some friends and not to wait up for her. I was hungry so I ordered a pizza and thought about what I should do as it was a Friday night. Just then, my phone buzzed, Harry's name flashing up on the screen. 'Everyone's gone to a party and I'm bored' he wrote, signing off with a sad face emoji. 'Pizza and PlayStation at mine?' I replied, waiting a few minutes for his response. 'On my way!!!' was all I got back, so I found the spare PlayStation controller and turned the console on. It only took twenty minutes for Harry to knock on the door. When I opened it, I saw him stood there, black skinny jeans tightly gripping his long legs, and a black t-shirt covering his upper body. He smiled at me, and I let him in. When the pizza arrived, we shared it between us, taking a slice and talking about our lives. It was the first time I saw Harry since he carried me to bed, and that made me a little nervous. When I dropped my pizza on my jeans, he laughed at me, causing a slight blush to form on my cheeks. I looked down, stumbling on my words, as he handed me a paper towel to clean it up. As I took the paper towel our hands touched, and I noticed how soft they were. I blushed again, but I quickly turned my attention to the mess so that he wouldn't notice. We played a few games of FIFA, and I won every single game. Harry admitted he hadn't played it before, saying he had to practice for next time. Then Eleanor walked in.

"Too busy for me but not for a stranger?" she exclaimed, falling through the living room door.

"No darlin', but you weren't here, and Harry was bored."

"Whatever," she huffed, throwing herself on the sofa between me and Harry. He looked across at me, not sure what was going on. I shrugged. Eleanor could be like this sometimes. I went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water and went back into the room. Eleanor hadn't moved, and Harry looked uncomfortable. I thanked him for his company, and he looked grateful for the escape route. After letting him out I turned my attention back to Eleanor, who was slumped on the chair. Without saying anything I pulled her up, helping her up the stairs and into bed. When she was asleep, I text Harry, 'sorry about that, El was a little drunk. See you soon.'

I spent the weekend with Eleanor and friends. We all went to a restaurant for dinner on Saturday, and although Eleanor was still a little cold with me, we had a good time. Zayn noticed and asked what was wrong, but when I explained he just shook his head, and we continued the night. I didn't talk to Harry all weekend, he never replied Friday night, and I worried he felt so awkward with Eleanor's behaviour that he was ignoring me.

Is Eleanor acting irrationally? Comment your thoughts and don't forget to vote!