As Fate Would Have It Ch 02

Hi guys, I really like this story - my favourite yet. I hope you all enjoy it. I am trying to spend more time developing a more complicated and slightly less cliché story line as well as developing the characters themselves and their backgrounds. At the end of the story, please let me know who you would prefer Zoe to end up with as I haven't decided yet! Thanks for your support, comment and vote :)

TheStarryEyedDreamer xoxo

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Monday came and the classes flew by faster than usual until it was time for her last period class. She was surprised to feel a slight tingle of excitement. Mostly she was anxious. She was sure it had been him that she'd kissed on Friday. She couldn't have mistaken him for someone else, could she? She was quiet at lunch, uneasy about the coming class. Emily was too busy chatting away with Luke and his buddies to notice but Jack did.

"You ok Zo?" he asked, "You're really quiet today."

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about how much I hate maths" she rolled her eyes and blew off his concern.

He laughed "That's why I'm taking the easy math, I don't why you don't. It's way better, and so much less stressful."

"Maybe I should have; I'm already struggling and we're like not even two days in. I guess that's just because I put off doing my holiday homework." She pondered.

"What? I thought you were studying like all holidays - that and working." He said, surprised.

"Well yeah, but not maths, I put maths off because it's my worst subject and I hate it." She replied.

Jack nodded knowingly, "Just ask for some extra help after class or something, I'm sure you'll be able to catch up pretty quick, you're like the smartest person I know." He paused. "Except for Xavier" he smirked, jerking his head in the direction of a pimple faced nerd, who was carrying a pile of books through the lunch area.

The bell rang, piercing through their conversation. Zoe said goodbye to her friends and started making her way to her math class, walking quickly so she wouldn't be late again.

She got to class before Mr. Oakley and made sure to sit at the back of the room, with her friend Greg. She was surprised he was taking this class, he'd never been one to try very hard but she guessed he might be quite smart. It was a shame he tried to act dumb so his friends wouldn't call him a nerd, otherwise she would have asked him for help.

Mr. Oakley was the last person to enter the classroom, and the room gradually grew quitter as he put his things on his desk and assumed his position at the front of the room, chalk in hand. He looked just as good as ever Zoe thought to herself. He was wearing black slacks and tailored shoes and had his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, showing thick, muscular forearms.

He quickly took role, never once looking at Zoe. She wondered if he was avoiding her, or if he simply had no interest in her. Despite everything, she felt slightly disappointed. He remained expressionless and professional throughout the lesson, his eyes never wandering and his mouth never smiling.

Zoe was struggling to keep up with the content due to her lack of preparation. She decided to stay after class and try to catch up as much as she could. The class passed far slower than she would have liked but finally, the bell rang and students quickly filed out of the room. She stayed and continued working.

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Peter avoided looking at her the entire lesson. He didn't need a reminder of his sins; they were far to frequent in his thoughts already. He was glad when the lesson finally ended and she would leave. He watched the class filter out as he sat at his desk and shuffled his papers. When he looked up a moment later, he realised she was still sitting at her desk working. For a moment, he was unsure what to do. He made a split-second decision.

"Mrs. Merton, why are you still here?" he asked, more harshly than he intended.

She looked up, seeming to shrink slightly at his tone, "I just needed some help with the pre-reading and holiday homework. I had difficulty understanding the concepts and now I'm struggling to keep up with your classes." She replied, almost shyly.

He cleared his throat, not wanting to be trapped in a class room all alone after Friday. What if she brought it up? She could ruin him just for that one drunken kiss, he knew.

"Of course, come and sit up the front and I will help you if you want." He replied. It was fairly standard procedure, purely professional - and he intended to keep it that way.

She gathered her things and sat in the desk in front of him. "Can you just help me go through this?" she asked.

"Sure, what's 'this'?" he asked.

"Um, basically all of it." She replied.

He smiled to himself at that and moved over to sit in a chair next to her. There was a lot of content and as they went through it they started to chat.

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"Man, I so wish I understood maths then I could be at home watching Game of Thrones with my brother of something." Zoe complained, more to herself, as she went for her third attempt on the same question.

She was surprised when she heard him chuckle beside her. She looked over at him, and he smiled.

"You don't seem like the type to sit at home watching Game of Thrones with your brother." He told her.

She mused that this was the most human he'd been all afternoon.

"What?" She sat up. "Why not?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable in his seat. "You just look like you go out with friends a lot rather than stay at home with your family" he shrugged.

Now she laughed. "That's a bit judgemental."

"I suppose. It's only human though - to make judgements," He responded. "Besides, there's nothing I'd rather do than stay at home watching Game of Thrones on a Monday night either."

"Really?" she was surprised he liked the show.

"Yeah, it's my favourite show." He told her. "By a long a way" he added.

She smiled to herself at his nerdy side.

"You seem like a bit of a nerd now. I wouldn't have pegged you for a nerd either." She informed him, smiling.

"Please, I'm a math's teacher, what do you expect?" he laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't have expected a math teacher like you either." She shrugged.

"Most people don't." He told her.

She went back to her work, but kept getting distracted by talking to him about Game of Thrones. Soon their conversation flowed onto celebrities and music, then what food they liked and sports they played.

She was surprised to find they had a lot in common, he was interesting too. She laughed at his stories and he smiled and shook his head when she told him the celebrities she had crushes on and what music she liked.

Before long it was 7.00pm and she realised they'd been working and talking for hours. Slowly, she packed up her things. As she did so, she thought about how Mr. Oakley, her maths teacher, was so much more than good looking. He was smart, funny, interesting and somehow, despite his cold, harsh exterior, he was gentle.

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By the time she started packing up her things, Peter found that there was one thing he'd rather be doing on Monday night than sitting at home watching Game of Thrones. He'd rather be talking to her. He was disappointed when she'd told him it was getting late - though he never let it show. He nodded his head and agreed, then strode over to his desk to gather his own things.

He was almost surprised when he looked up, and found her waiting to walk out with him. He smiled slightly to himself and wondered what such an incredible girl - both inside and out - was doing here with him. He found himself, despite everything, wondering if she had a boyfriend. She had told him that neither of the guys she was with at the club were her boyfriend but she'd never said she didn't have one.

He picked up his things and opened the door for her, she smiled and ducked under his arm. He couldn't help but admire her ass in her too small skirt as she went through the door in front of him.

"So, your boyfriend going to pick you up or you drive yourself" he asked, a bit too coldly.

If she saw what he was doing, she didn't say anything.

"I was actually going to get a ride with my mum, I have been driving way too much lately - fuel is expensive." She chattered, avoiding the question.

"No boyfriend then?" he blurted, before he could stop himself. He felt like smacking himself in the face.

She regarded him closely then said, "No, I'm single."

He nodded, but said nothing. They walked to the school carpark together, not speaking, though not awkward either.

It was dark and cold outside, Zoe had her jumper on but he could see she was still cold. He almost offered her his jacket but stopped himself.

"Is your mum here?" he asked, not liking the idea of her waiting alone in the dark.

"She'll be here soon." She assured him.

Just then her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and he watched her face drop as she read it. She shoved her phone back in her pocket and groaned.

"My mum is stuck at work and can't come to pick me up," She explained.

"Oh. Do you need a ride?" he asked.

"No, it's fine, I'll just call my dad, or one my friends or something." She told him.

"Are you sure?" he pressed, "I'm already here and I'd hate to leave you waiting in the cold."

She glanced around the carpark, clearly considering it now. "Ah, what the hell, sure." She said, and then followed him toward his car.

Now that she wasn't so drunk, she noticed his car.

"Damn, your car is nice." She told him.

He chuckled a little, "Thanks, I bought it from a scrap yard and restored it."

"Wow, you did a good job. I always liked vintage cars," she said as she hopped into the passenger seat and he started the car.

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, my grandpa used to have a few in his back shed, he was sort of a collector. He used to let me help him polish them and fix their engines up." She shrugged.

The conversation flowed easily the rest of the drive. He was slightly disappointed again to have to say goodbye when he pulled up. She waved goodbye as she jogged up the path to her front door. He sat for a moment, in front of the house in the dark, staring at the road ahead.

She was an amazing girl. Not only her body and her looks - which were out of this world - but her personality. They just seemed to click. The world seemed to be throwing them together, and bit by bit he wanted to throw everything away and just have her.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly then pulled out and sped off into the darkness.

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Zoe was out of breath when she finally made it to her room and slammed the door behind her. Once safely inside she leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath. The jog to her front door was not the reason for her breathlessness, but rather the afternoon with her teacher. After she'd cracked a little piece of his cold, hard exterior away, they joked, laughed and talked the time away. She had been attracted to him before, his wildly good looks and lean, muscular build. But that was nothing compared to how she felt now.

After seeing his personality, the things he liked and the jokes he told, she realised that she genuinely liked him. They had a lot in common and he made her laugh. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, sliding to the ground and hugging her knees.

She hated to admit it, but she was starting to feel something for him. Something more than just lust.

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The rest of the week was fairly average. After talking through most of the difficult problems with Mr. Oakley on Monday, Zoe had caught up all her maths and had no real reason to stay after class. She made small excuses to stay after class, asking him to check her working on things 'she wasn't totally sure about'. They would chit chat a bit after he had confirmed she was doing fine and then they'd both go on her ways.

Zoe wasn't sure what she expected, but each time after she left his class she felt empty, as if she was disappointed. By the end of the week Zoe was frustrated, the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. But there was nothing she could do about it. Every afternoon, as he stood at the door and welcomed his students, he would give her a half-hearted smile, almost apologetic. She wasn't sure what it meant but she knew that he just nodded at the rest of his students.

On Friday afternoon, she met with Emily and Jack, to go down town for dinner and a movie. She made it clear that it was just them. She needed some time to talk to Emily without Luke hanging around. Luke wasn't too worried about not being invited, probably glad to get some 'guy time'.

Zoe hated to admit it but Luke wasn't as bad a guy as she'd thought. And he had been around a lot longer than most. She met them out the back of the school and decided to walk down to the theatre. Seeing that their school was in the middle of London, it wasn't a long walk, and the talking made it seem shorter.

"So Emily, you been getting some lately?" Jack teased, half joking, half serious.

Emily rolled her eyes, "Not that it's any of your business, but I am obviously in a relationship and I'm not a prude so duh."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, me too."

"You're not in a relationship." Zoe informed him.

Jack shrugged. "Sure I was."

"A night doesn't count." Emily chipped in.

"You tell that to the chick I was with. She won't be forgetting that in a hurry." He told them cockily.

Zoe laughed, "You're so cocky."

"It's part of my charm." He told her.

"What charm?" Emily asked, smiling at him.

Jack scowled. "So, what about you Zoe? You're not getting bored?" He changed the subject.

"Why would I be getting bored, I'm with you two" she replied.

He rolled his eyes, "No I mean... sexually." He paused and when she didn't answer he said, "Hey, what about that mysterious kisser of yours from last weekend?"

Emily, who was tapping away on her phone, looked up, suddenly interested. "What now?" she asked.

Jack smiled "Zoe had a hicky the morning after we went partying. Says she doesn't know how she got it." He informed her.

Zoe looked at the ground, trying to cover her blush as the memory of her kissing Mr. Oakley in his car swam up from the blackness of that night.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?!" Emily exclaimed.

Zoe looked up and shrugged apologetically.

Jack noticed her blush "Why are you blushing..." he asked.

She didn't answer, but she didn't need to. "Oh my god, you remember who it was don't you?!" he realised.

"What...? No, I barely remember anything from that night," she lied. She was never a good liar.

"You liar!" Emily called her out.

"Who was it?" Jack asked.

"No, I can't say." She told him, looking at her feet as she walked.

A couple of guys whistled at them as they walked past and Jack glared at them. They looked at the ground and kept walking after that.

"Come on, we won't tell anyone, you can trust us. What does it matter anyway?" Emily nagged.

"Yeah, we're your best friends, who are you going to tell if not us?" Jack asked.

Zoe just shook her head and said nothing.

Jack turned to Emily, "We must know him then - if it was just some random from the club she'd say so." He informed her.

"Guys, don't worry about it. I can't tell you because I don't want him to get in trouble." Zoe blurted.

Jack snapped his head back to face her. "Why would he get in trouble?" He asked.

"Oh my god, you did something totally naughty didn't you Zo?" Emily gushed.

"No, look it's nothing guys." Zoe said, but her face betrayed her.

Jack peered at her. "You look worried Zo, come on, please don't keep it from us. We won't tell anyone, we promise, you know you can trust us."

Zoe ignored him.

"Please, please, please, please" Emily nagged. Jack joined in and they started nagging.

Zoe couldn't take it any longer, "Mr. Oakley for fucks sake! I kissed Mr. Oakley in the back of his car, don't ask me how I got there because I can't remember!" She yelled.

Jack and Emily stopped dead in their tracks and stared at her.

"What?!" they both said at the same time.

"Damn, he's so fucking hot. I told you that you could pull him." Emily chattered, almost excited.

Jack wasn't anywhere near as pleased, "He's a teacher Zoe, you could get into some serious trouble. Both of you." He said, his face serious.

"I know. I trusted you guys with this. You seriously can't tell anyone. Not a soul." She pointed a finger at them, her eyes wide. Then she turned and began walking again.

They paused, glancing at each other before following after her.

"So what happens in class? Is it awkward?" Emily asked.

Zoe sighed. It came out more dreamy than annoyed as she had intended. Jack raised his eyebrow slightly.

"No, not really. I had to stay behind the other to ask for help, we get along quite well. He's into the same things and he's pretty cool if I'm honest." She shrugged.

"You talk to him a lot by the sounds of things." Jack said, slightly bitterly.

"Well, I stay after class to get him to check things and we chat I guess. It's only been this week though; it's not like we are friends or anything. I'm still only just getting to know him and we don't ever talk about that night." She paused. "I don't even know if he remembers it."

"Nothing can ever happen between you guys anyway." Jack told her sternly. "You shouldn't get involved with him Zo. Focus on guys you can date legally."

"I think it's hot." Emily informed them.

Zoe couldn't help but chuckle a little. Jack said nothing, just stared at the ground as they walked through the cinema doors.

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The week had come and past faster than any other week of Peter's teaching career. He found himself looking forward to last period even more than usual and for a much different reason. She stayed after class almost every day. She asked him to check questions, which he was sure she didn't need any help with. Maybe he was playing it all up in his head, but he tried to keep her as long as possible, relishing the time they spent talking and laughing after all the other students had left.

He found himself admiring her figure, the curve of her smile and her cute nose. Not only that, but she was genuinely interesting. Unlike so many kids her age, she had knowledge of the world and a well-developed opinion on most controversial matters. He found that he not only had things in common with her, but she challenged his point of view, his thoughts and ideas. She didn't just blindly agree with him like most women he met. Those women just wanted to get involved with him, they thought by agreeing with him they'd gain his favour. They were wrong. He couldn't help but be wildly attracted to the way she challenged him, pushed him and argued with him.

He packed up his things, finished marking all the papers from the week and ready to relax. He found each night he had less control over his thoughts about her. He needed a drink. He was meant to meet his brother and a mate at the pub down the road. He was looking forward to getting her off his mind for a while and relaxing. Nothing could ever happen between them, no matter how attracted to her he was.

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When they came out of the movie it was almost 8.30pm. Most of the earlier tension and talk was forgotten as they strolled down the road, looking for a nice cafe or pub to eat at. Most of the restaurants in that part of town were far too fancy and expensive for them to afford, though they walked past countless.