[emma] early in the morning

[ELLIOT JAMES REED]

ran the whole way down to the tracks,

[/color]
through the doorway, then a last look back[/size][/center]

It was early in the morning, earlier than Elliot had ever come into the school. He didn’t know what aroused his slumber, if anything had at all. All he knew was that he’d been awoken at nearly four in the morning and he’d been awake ever since. Now, Elliot liked his sleep so needless to say, he wasn’t in the friendliest of moods driving to work this morning. Anyone who cut him off awoke the true, cussing beast within and people who were driving too slow found themselves passed within two seconds. To get to Harbour, Elliot had to drive down a road where the speed limit was fifty-five; not thirty.

What he craved this morning more than any other morning was a cup of coffee. He contemplated stopping at Starbucks, or even Dunkin’ Donuts for a large cupful, but then thought better of it when he ran the flavors they sold in his head. Peppermint mocha this and cappuccino that; frappuccinos and frozen lattes. He wasn’t in the mood for any of those, not this morning. This morning he was quite, surprisingly, in the mood for something bland. Something that he didn’t have to think about his cholesterol with or the ability to finish it because he’d grow tired of the flavor by the day’s end. No, he wanted something completely ordinary and bitter. That’s where the school entered his train of thought.

Though it was a wealthy school, Harbour Academy never offered rich coffee. It was, to say the least, tasteless most of the time. Sometimes another teacher would bring in something to spice it up—Elliot had been that guy plenty of times—but today he was actually hoping to be the first one into the teacher’s lounge, to drink an undisturbed coffee.

After parking his baby (his BMW M6 Convertible, he means to say), Elliot continued his trek into the school. He knew the janitors would be busy this early in the morning, since the students’ parents insisted that their children not see them cleaning up the filth of the school while they were trying to educate themselves. Dolts, thought Elliot. More than half the messes in this academy were caused by students. Shuddering, he remembered last year’s two-period food fight; the same food fight he had to help clean up. Damn kids. He hugged his jacket closer to his body after a strong gust brewed through. Luckily, by that time he’d reached the front doors.

Going to the teachers’ lounge was like autopilot nowadays. Elliot briefly remembered a time where he’d search high and low for just a stinkin’ bathroom in this school. He hadn’t been teaching here very long, only about three to four years, if you included summer interns, but he already knew the school like it was the back of his hand. To his luck, no one had disturbed the unoriginal coffee pot and Elliot gladly took a cup. Deciding he didn’t want to stay in the lounge in time for some of his…shall we say, least favorite colleagues to enter the building, Elliot headed for his classroom.

He unlocked the door and let it swing open. Slamming his briefcase onto the teacher’s desk, he sat down abruptly on the little Walmart-inspired rolling chair behind it. He looked out into the hallway and after seeing that the Vice Principal wasn’t making his morning rounds, kicked his feet up onto the desk. Elliot didn’t a see a problem with doing this, but the VP was so keen on yelling at him for every little thing. Something about lounging being “unprofessional” and “frankly disgusting.” Bastard. Didn’t he have something else to do other than pester him?

After a few ginger sips from his perfectly industrial coffee, Elliot decided to get an early start. He did have a first period class, after all. He opened his briefcase, pulled out the attendance and lesson planner, and stood up from the chair. He turned around expecting to find chalk, but realized with some sadness that the school had took out the chalkboards and replaced them with new and “improved” dry-erase boards. Because that’s all the kids needed was to get high off dry-erase markers…Elliot liked those old chalkboards. They were certainly much easier to clean.

On the board he wrote in his expert penmanship
“1st period: Take out homework and review chapter 6
Lesson today: imperial Britain late 16th century to early 17th century”

Sure, it may not sound like the most interesting topic, but he liked it and what the teacher says, the students do. A sudden clacking earned his attention and when Elliot turned to face his door, he saw Emma Anderson. Oh, so he wasn’t the only one incredibly early? That was good to know.

“Good morning, Emma,”

[/b]he said as he finished writing his lesson plan onto the white board.
[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

- - - -

words: eight oh seven
tags: Emma/Sioban
music: Early Morning by A-ha
outfit: reed 04
notes: holy smokes, batman! sorry about the length haha

[EMMA JANE ANDERSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/ea5ncojpg.png); width: 420px; padding-top: 10; padding-bottom: 10; border: #363636 solid 2px;] [div style="background-image:url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png); height: 250; width: 400; font-size: 0; background: -moz-linear-gradient(bottom, #d5d2d2, rgba(255,255,255,0), rgba(0,0,0,0)), url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png);[br"]-webkit-mask-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgba(0,0,1,1)), to(rgba(0,0,0,0)));]hi

[/div]

she's a rainbow,

Sleep didn't come easy last night.

Perhaps she didn't feel quite at home yet? That must have been right. She was just settling in. She'd been here for about two months, not really long enough to make her mark. This place was so ... different. It was hot. It had only been a month but she felt herself longing for the rain, the dark overcast skies, she even missed wearing a scarf. Everything here was so darn blue. The beaches were white here, not full of pebbles. There were even palm trees. The students wore bikinis all year round, she hadn't even brought one with her.

The heels of her strappy sandals echoed on the highly polished floors of the school, the skirt of her cream coloured dress flaring out. Her long dark curls were left loose, a few were pinned back meticulously. It really was a lot of effort to go through for such an early morning.

Cradled in her slender arms were a collection of books; A copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare, a copy of The Picture Of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde and a rather dusty old tome, thick and heavy with worn yellowed pages and covered with a cracked leather backing. She had no idea what it was but she figured Elliot might like it. In fact, Elliott was lovely. He was one of the first people here to say hello, to smile at her, to tell her where the best place to eat was. She'd been meaning to go, she had but her evenings were spent mostly eating take out and being homesick.

With a sigh, Emma strode down the empty corridor, not really paying attention as she took a left and strode into Elliot's office. Humming to herself, she wasn't expecting him to be here and that much was evident. Eyes downcast, pale fingers reached into the book to extract a note written in looped handwriting on crisp, cream coloured paper;

Dear Elliott,

I hope you find this book interesting. It's just a small thank you for all of your help settling in. I know you didn't have to. I appreciate it!

- Emma.

With a smile, she placed the paper on top of the front cover of the book. Wait. Did that sound to nonchalant? Too friendly? They were, afterall, colleagues. Emma had deliberated on ending her little note with a kiss before deciding that Elliot hadn't once tried to flirt with her. Annoyingly. He remained stubbornly unattainable.

That voice she'd been dreaming about suddenly rang in her head, closer than she was expecting. "Oh!" Emma gasped, honey coloured eyes wide and rosy pink lips parted in surprise. Accidentally, she dropped her books, letting them tumble out and spill across the floor. "Elliot!" The brunette exclaimed, pressing a hand against her heart to feel it hammering against her chest.

Swiftly, she turned a deep pink, pressing the heel of her hand delicately to her forehead as she gave a soft laugh. "Good morning, Mr. Reed," she replied softly. Referring to him as "Mr" made him seem older, more professional. She needed to stop this. How many of his students already crushed on him? Ten? Twenty? "I really should have knocked, I'm sorry." Blushing again, she dropped to her knees and tried to gather up her books as well as her dignity.

words; 574, outfit he's so cute!

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THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY WILMETTA OF CAUTION.

[/center]

[ELLIOT JAMES REED]

ran the whole way down to the tracks,

[/color]
through the doorway, then a last look back[/size][/center]

She’d come into his classroom as delicately as a flower played on wind. She almost looked lost in thought and Elliot realized with a start that she must have been lost in her head because she didn’t appear to notice him standing less than ten feet away from her. It was almost cute, they way she continued about her business. He watched with a small smile as she withdrew a book from her arms and placed it upon his desk. It bound in cracking leather, its pages looking as if rain had gotten the worse of them, but that was all fine and dandy in Elliot’s opinion. The more antique, the better. If he didn’t grow old to become a hoarder, he’d honestly pat himself on the back.

Emma then took out a small piece of parchment from the book and placed it on top of what was apparently being left there for him. She smiled and although she probably didn’t mean to, she lit up his sullen morning. Emma Anderson was just that type of girl to make someone smile. Maybe that’s why he’d agreed to help her so early on in her move. Or maybe it was just because he was too damn nice. Maybe it was because he didn’t have the balls to say no to a woman in need.

“Oh!” she cried, quite comically like one would see on a sitcom, and her books fell to the floor in an ungraceful matter. Spines open and pages bent, he almost felt or them. Almost. He wasn’t that touchy. “Elliot!” she then exclaimed and the man felt a chuckle escape his throat. Her accent was always fascinating in that I-can’t-believe-I –know-someone-who-speaks-like-that way. It certainly added to her character. As did the coloring of her cheeks, which Elliot supposed he shouldn’t be dawdling on. He didn’t mean to make her feel uncomfortable. She bade him good morning and at that moment, he put the marker down and walked over to greet her properly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright,”

[/b] he said, not without some amusement. “And how many times must I ask you to call me ‘Elliot’? ‘Mr. Reed’ was my father.”[/b] He smiled.

“I really should have knocked, I’m sorry,” she said and Elliot refrained from telling her to stop apologizing, that it was fine and she was more startled than he was. “My door was open for a reason, Emma. I don’t mind the occasional visitor.”[/b] When she dropped to her knees, so did he and he grabbed a book before she reached for it. As he helped her gather her books, he looked up to notice her choice of attire. Light clothes and skirts. Never a good combination for these floors. “It’s all right, I’ve got it,”[/b] he said instead of saying “you shouldn’t be sitting on this dirty floor in that skirt” because that just sounded weird. When he’d collected the books she’d dropped, he rose to his feet and handed them to her, dusting off his pants when his hands were available to do so. “Well that was exciting,”[/b] he teased, a little grin on his lips.

“How are you liking the school?”[/b] he asked her as he went to examine the book that she’d left for him. Certainly, it wasn’t rude if he was meant to look at it, right? He did, however, have the common sense not to read her note in front of her. That was rude and she was already red like a tomato; any redder and she might faint. Though, the note was left open and he caught bits and pieces of it as he tucked it back into the book’s cover. “A book on Korean Communism?”[/b] he asked, happily surprised, and he knew entirely that it was making him sound nerdish. He didn’t really care. It was a fascinating book with diagrams and maps and—oh, right, he should be thanking her before he purges himself into the wonderful world of ideology. “And a good one, too. Thank you, Emma.” [/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

- - - -

[/b][/center]

words: six seven two
tags: Emma/Sioban
music: Early Morning by A-ha
outfit: reed 04
notes: the two of them together is just so freakin’ adorable haha

[EMMA JANE ANDERSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/ea5ncojpg.png); width: 420px; padding-top: 10; padding-bottom: 10; border: #363636 solid 2px;] [div style="background-image:url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png); height: 250; width: 400; font-size: 0; background: -moz-linear-gradient(bottom, #d5d2d2, rgba(255,255,255,0), rgba(0,0,0,0)), url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png);[br"]-webkit-mask-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgba(0,0,1,1)), to(rgba(0,0,0,0)));]hi

[/div]

she's a rainbow,

Oh no, she was such a bloody moron! How could she not have seen him? He was almost six foot, chiselled and looked like a Greek god that had been chipped out of marble. Emma continued to grow redder by every passing second. Had he been here long, watching her as she dithered around his clean classroom like a dolt? Two front teeth rested on a full lower lip, offering a nervous laugh. "Not your fault," she was quick to placate him, flashing him a genuine smile as she stood fixed to her little spot. "Sorry," she whispered, remembering how he'd gently chastised her for her greeting on numerous occasions. Was? Was his father? Emma's honey coloured eyes widened a fraction of an inch as she listened, parting her lips to ask the question but decided it really wasn't her place. "Elliot, Elliot," she repeated to herself twice as though that would help. Oh Hell. Even saying his name made her insides quiver.

At the comment about visitors, she laughed, perhaps a little too loudly and internally, she cringed. If she could have an outer body experience, she knew that she'd be screaming at herself by now. "Oh dear," she breathed softly with a gentle shake of her head. Elliot was so kind to help her pick up at her books and as she did so, her soft hand accidentally brushed against his wrist in the melee and her heart flipped in her chest.

God, he was pretty.

"I'm such a ditsy cow," Emma replied with gentle self loathing as she got to her feet and brushed down her skirt absently, anything to avoid his eyes. Again, she laughed, this time soft and warm. "Thrilling," she replied playfully, still pink in the cheeks as she nervously placed a hand on the back of her neck and squeezed, a small action she often did when she felt scared. The gentle pressure helped remind her that she was still alive. "Good," Emma commented with a gentle smile. "The kids are all so different here than back home," she continued. "I'm still remembering that it's a semester here, not a term," she replied coyly and with another small smile. "Term" was the phrase used back in Britain and she was trying to hard to pick up the lingo. "It's all very blue here," the brunette replied and the statement probably seemed strange to Elliot.

"The kids are fine," she stated, hugging her books to her chest in a makeshift security blanket. "They do party a lot, don't they?" She asked Elliot, her eyes wide as she tilted her head to the left a little, feeling confused. Maybe that was what kids with money did nowadays. As he examined the book, she watched him with rapt attention, holding her breath. "Really?" She asked, eyes wide with surprise as she offered him a big, bright beatific smile. As Elliot's attention was diverted, she chose to indulge herself for a second or two by focusing on his face as he read, finding his nose to be rather wonderful, as strange as it was. Was that a scar or a dimple on his cheek? She was dying to find out.

"I really wasn't sure if you'd be interested in that," she lied. He was a history teacher, of course he'd be interested! "I was actually," pausing, she shifted uncomfortably on her spot. "Kind of hoping to drop it by when you weren't here. Hence why I'm here so early," she stuttered, falling over her ill chosen words like a school girl. Oh shit. Did he have that moronic note she'd left for him, too? Oh how she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. Was it hot in here? Swiftly, Emma fanned herself with her left hand and put it down to having everything to do with the fact that she wasn't accustomed to the heat here and nothing to do with Harbor Academy's history teacher? She was giving womankind everywhere a terrible name. Oh heck.

"It's my pleasure," Emma swiftly responded with a broad smile. "A thank you, really, for all your help. I know you must be busy. With school work and your girlfriend." Did you really just ask him if he was dating anyone? The voice in the back of her head screamed at her. What is wrong with you?! "Imperial Britain, hey?" She said cheerfully, trying to change the subject as she pointed at his board. "One of the finer times of my country," she joked, smiling to prove it. "I hate those boards," she stated dolefully. "My pens always run out. One of my kids decided to change it to a permanent marker and write "Miss. Anderson is a fox"," pausing, she sighed. "I didn't know whether to be flattered or offended."

words; 803, outfit this is so much fun xD

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THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY WILMETTA OF CAUTION.

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[ELLIOT JAMES REED]

ran the whole way down to the tracks,

[/color]
through the doorway, then a last look back[/size][/center]

At her widening eyes, his eyes widened as well. It was like an automatic reaction. Was his father? Really? He couldn’t just lie and use the expression correctly? No, he couldn’t because Elliot was Elliot and he was the honest man everyone wanted him to be. He hadn’t meant to imply a sour topic so early in the morning, especially with Emma standing there, looking at him surprisingly with those big honey-colored (they really were a fascinating color) eyes. As to swiftly avoid the subject, Elliot cleared his throat. “Elliot, Elliot,” she said quietly, as if to herself. This time, he quirked an eyebrow. “Emma, Emma,”

[/b] he repeated playfully, attempting to grasp the meaning of his name from her tongue. He found none and decided to let it pass.

If her smile wasn’t a beacon, then her laugh certainly was. It was a nice laugh, a little on the loud sound, and Elliot wondered if she was feeling uneasy about something and if so, what? Maybe it was just because she embarrassed from being startled. She reached down to help him pick up the books anyway, even after he’d offered to do it for her. As they collected the fallen books, her hand brushed against his wrist and he thought he should apologize for it, but she made no move to correct him. He felt more in a sitcom than before and the thought made him smile.

She then called herself a “ditsy cow.” What was a ditsy cow, anyway? A cow that ate so much that it fell over? Or a cow that simple knocked into everything in its path? Why was he thinking about what a ditsy cow was in the first place? “We all have our off days,”[/b] he said supportively. He did, too like last week when he went to open his umbrella and…well, he’d rather not think too long on the subject. Let’s just say that mother nature wasn’t too nice to him that day. He looked up to see her—was she pinching herself? Was she still embarrassed? Honestly, in a school full of rich idiots, she really had nothing to be horribly embarrassed about. And what was with the pinching? Was that something the Brits did? He’d been to England…once, back in college, but he’d never seen someone do that. “Are you all right, Emma? You look a bit feverish,”[/b] he said and realized that he was right to point it out. Her cheeks hadn’t been a normal color since she’d entered his classroom. “Do you need the nurse?”[/b]

Hoping to come when he wasn’t here? Why on earth…? Oh…Oh! That explains her feverish cheeks. He smiled. “Looks like you’ll have to come earlier,”[/b] he teased. He decided it wasn’t such a bad thing to get up early after all.

“It’s my pleasure,” she said happily and Elliot found himself smiling…until she mentioned his “girlfriend.” He closed the book, keeping his hand delicately on the title cover. He didn’t have a girlfriend—hell, he’s still a virgin! Not that anyone needs to know, but it certainly didn’t do anything for his self esteem. Elliot had never had time for dating in the past, not since his mother and father died, three months a part from each other. He’d only been a college freshman then and he’d dropped out, opted to help his sister by working anywhere from two to three jobs a month. Once he got his act together, he’d gone back to school and by that time his sister was also enrolling. Needless to say, Elliot needs this job to pay off both his and his sister’s student loans, not to mention feed themselves. In all, and back to the point at hand, he hadn’t thought about a girlfriend. Not until recently, now that things were finally settling down. “Work has been keeping busy,”[/b] he agreed, beating around the bush and he knew it. “But I was happy to help. It’s not like the students were anxiously waiting for their reports to return. Dare I say none of them actually read the book I assigned them over the summer?”[/b] he joked. He had no right to criticize. He cheated when he was in high school, too.

She took the change in topic well as she inquired about the choice in lesson today. “Indeed it was. Not only did they ingeniously increase their own profits from their colonies, but they also stimulated economic trading throughout the world.”[/b] he paused and tried to read her expression. He chuckled lightly and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I can go on like that all day.”[/b]

Elliot couldn’t help it. He laughed at her complaints about the white boards. “I was just thinking the same thing,”[/b] he explained. “And if I were you, I’d be flattered. It means you’re popular amongst the male populace of the Academy,”[/b] he said and winked.
[/size][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

- - - -

words: eight one six
tags: Emma/Sioban
music: Early Morning by A-ha
outfit: reed 04
notes: Adorableness overload! =]

[EMMA JANE ANDERSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/ea5ncojpg.png); width: 420px; padding-top: 10; padding-bottom: 10; border: #363636 solid 2px;] [div style="background-image:url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png); height: 250; width: 400; font-size: 0; background: -moz-linear-gradient(bottom, #d5d2d2, rgba(255,255,255,0), rgba(0,0,0,0)), url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png);[br"]-webkit-mask-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgba(0,0,1,1)), to(rgba(0,0,0,0)));]hi

[/div]

she's a rainbow,

Emma, Emma he'd said.

Her mother had told her that it was rather rude to stare but she couldn't help but do that. It sounded delicious from those lips of his. She'd always thought of her name as nice but a little plain, common but he made it sound like it was something exotic and to be revered. Hell, he could have called her Princess Consuela Banana Hammock and she would have let him and begged him to do it again. It took her a few seconds to realise that he was joking and she smiled, albeit a little shyly as she raked a hand back through her dark curls.

Why was she still here, standing like a lemon? He had his book, she'd thanked him, shouldn't she be leaving? "I am feeling a little faint," Emma admitted in a frail voice. She knew if she swooned, he wouldn't catch her, that was all a bit too Victorian for her liking but a girl could dream. Nurse hey? Would he be her doctor? The thought alone made her cheeks turn a rather pronounced shade of read and she forced herself to cough. "No need," she replied briskly. "I just don't think I'm used to the heat here quite yet," she explained with a smile she hoped Elliot wouldn't question. It didn't really help that he was standing so close and she could smell whatever soap he'd used that morning. Oh she needed to snap out of it and fast.

At his comment about her needing to come earlier, she simply smiled and neglected to comment. She'd made a mental note to never ever ever visit his class room again. Which was rather dire, especially since she couldn't stop by to borrow some chalk when she "ran out" any more thanks to those bloody stupid, potential relationship ruining white boards. "Oh?" Emma asked with a bright sunny smile when he pretty much told her he was single. "Oh," she whispered, her smile faltering as she realised that would probably a polite way to tell her he wasn't interested. Her honey coloured eyes were locked on her feet as she wiggled her toes in her shoes, watching the perfectly applied polish on her nails.

Go, the voice in the back of her head commanded of her. I mean, come on, Em. You've already made an arse out of yourself in his company, why are you setting yourself up for more rejection? The voice really did have quite a point to make. Her smile was still brittle as she listened to Elliot explain why he'd helped her, explaining something that sounded vaguely like he had nothing better to do and it hurt a little. There was a jolt in her chest that felt like her heart and shuddered to a stop and there was a pain, he might as well have metaphorically stabbed her there.

"Teenagers," she replied valiantly with a tut and a roll of her big, expressive eyes as she played along, even though she wanted to go back to her own classroom, lock the door and cry. The kids wouldn't be here for another hour or so so she could get some decent bawling out of the way. In fact, she hugged her books and took a few quick steps backwards and towards his door as though she was going to do just that. "I hope it wasn't anything about Ancient Greece?" Emma asked, eyes shining. "Because that's my favourite."

Folding her lips together, the English teacher tried her hardest not to laugh as Elliot continued. In fact, she actually went as far as to press her hand to her mouth to stifle the giggle. "Don't be!" She exclaimed with a grin that cutely dimpled her cheeks. "It's really cute, you're really cute," she burbled before instantly regretting it. A look of horror was etched onto her pretty facial features as she stood fixed to her spot. "I mean, er," she fluffed her words, "Harbor Academy needs someone so passionate to motivate the students," she eventually decided to say, inwardly groaning. You're going to die a spinster, a voice sneered and she was starting to believe it.

"Oh great," she laughed, rolling her eyes Heavenwards. "An adolescent following, just what I wanted for my birthday," she joked. Her birthday was actually on the coming Friday, it would be the first she would have spent away from her family and it was upsetting her. "I trust this must have been some sort of weird joke the kids like to play," she trundled on. Biting on her lower lip, she fell silent as she wondered if this would be appropriate to just run away screaming now. Oh God, that wink would kill her. "Really, thank you though," she said hurriedly. "For everything. It's really a shame I won't be here long enough to thank you properly. I don't think I even really have time you buy you a coffee." Regrettably. "There's this really great place I found on Newport Beach?" She explained. "They even sell scones! Like a home from home," she joked with a twinkle in her eye.

words; 857, outfit Waah so cute! Sorry she's such a moron haha

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THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY WILMETTA OF CAUTION.

[/center]

[ELLIOT JAMES REED]

ran the whole way down to the tracks,

[/color]
through the doorway, then a last look back[/size][/center]

“I am feeling a little faint,” she amended and Elliot immediately stood close to her, should she fall. Being the man he was, Elliot already felt like she was unstable in those heels she was wearing, but now she felt faint? That wasn’t good. Yet, she was insisting that she needn’t a nurse’s attention. Maybe she just didn’t catch enough sleep last night, or—oh, heat. Right. That could cause dizziness, too. He’d been here since he was born, so perhaps he was immune to the hot dry days and the even more excruciating wet and humid ones. But Emma had come from England, which he remembered to be wet and muggy. Constantly. Whereas she was nearly fainting in California, Elliot had caught the flu in England. It was a rather awkward semester for him abroad, to say the least.

Gently, he took her by the arm and led her over to his desk. He pulled out the rolling chair and guided her down to sit upon it. “I’m sure standing isn’t helping. Sit for a bit,”

[/b] he offered. He’d beat around the bush, telling her he didn’t have a girlfriend, and that seemed to have upset her. He hadn’t meant to. Emma was a very nice woman—maybe even Elliot’s type—but he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. If he got a girlfriend…was that even the right way to put it? Was a girlfriend something you “got”? Or “found,” or whatever. If he had a girlfriend, she’d have to be someone willing to work around his hectic schedule and in all, Elliot found that wasn’t very fair to the lady. A relationship was supposed to blossom, not be put on hold. Even he knew that.

“Teenagers,” she said and Elliot looked up—when had he been looking down?—to find her nearing the door. Okay, he could take a hint. If she wanted to leave so badly, he wasn’t going to lock her in here. That’d be kinky…and unprofessional and frankly unattractive. “I hope it wasn’t anything about Ancient Greece. Because that’s my favourite,” she said and Elliot smiled. So she liked Ancient Greece, did she? He’d have to keep that in mind. “Well, if you happen to come by fourth or fifth period, my freshman are learning all about Roman mythology, which is practically the same as Greek mythology when it boils down to it.”[/b]

Hold the phone…did she just call him cute? As in, puppy cute? Or attractively cute? Was there even a difference and why was Elliot trying to figure that out? He’d been called “hot” or even “sexy” before, but never…cute. Somehow, it lowered his manliness, but coming from Emma, he knew it was to be a compliment…of some sort. His high cheekbones turned a fade shade of pink, his pale skin not helping this coloration at all. He swiftly turned his attention from Emma to the white board again, occupying himself with whether or not he made any spelling errors, though he was fully aware that his spelling and grammar were superb. The English teacher seemed to have noticed what she said, because she rambled on and on about what she had apparently meant.

“I’d have to agree,”[/b] he said and after he felt himself calm, he turned to face her again, as not to escalate the awkwardness that fell upon them. “Harbour did right in choosing you for the English department.”[/b] What was that, Elliot? You were trying to bring down the awkwardness? Psh-yeah right. At this rate, we may both faint, he thought to himself and was entirely thankful that the janitors had left his classroom windows open. Fresh air always helped to clear his head.

“Oh great, an adolescent following, just what I wanted for my birthday,” she joked and Elliot had practically restrain himself from asking casually “well, what do you want for your birthday?” He hadn’t the slightest idea when her birthday even was. Relax, Elliot, it was just a joke. “The students here love a good prank,”[/b] he said light heartedly. “It’d be wise to stay on your guard. At least they wrote something flattering about you. When I first started teaching, I was hit with…shall we say, creative language.”[/b] He chuckled a bit, remembering his first encounter with the f-word in this school. “Just let them have their fun, Emma. They’ll grow up eventually…or so we pray,”[/b] he joked.

Then she started to ramble…again. She was speaking so hurriedly that he only caught bits and pieces of what she was saying. She was rambling on like his sister Kathy used to when she was a teenager. It was kind of, dare he say, charming. Wouldn’t be here long enough? Elliot glanced to his watch and realized that there was still a good thirty or so minutes before first period started. Unless he timed his watch incorrectly, which he did often. “There’s this really great place I found on Newport Beach,” she said and Elliot vaguely remembered a small café there. He hadn’t been there in ages. “You’ll have to take me sometime,”[/b] he said, without even thinking in typical man-fashion. “It’s been a while since I’ve had anything but Starbucks. I could go for a mug of home-made coffee.”[/b]
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words:eight seven five
tags: Emma/Sioban
music: Early Morning by A-ha
outfit: reed 04
notes: i’m waiting for her to say something where Elliot can just say “it’s a date” haha. I LOVE THEM! <3 And again, sorry about the length. I couldn't stop. He's just so friken adorable that he gives me muse.

[EMMA JANE ANDERSON]

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she's a rainbow,

Oh. Uh-oh. Oh no. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with Elliot's chest. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart flipped in her chest, the top button of his shirt was undone and it was wreaking havoc with her hormones. She made to step back and put some distance between them but her body told her no, she couldn't move her legs and she was forced to stand where she was, perilously close, close enough to touch. He was warm, too. She didn't know why that surprised her so much. It was painful. Oh Mr. Reed, why did you have to be so darn perfect?

Still in a bit of a muddle, Emma dolefully followed him over to his desk and before she knew it, she was being manoeuvred into his chair which she plonked herself down into with some force. "Thank you," she stated softly, hating that it wasn't the weather at all. How horribly Victorian was that? Fainting at the touch of a man? She was letting the side down, she was behaving like a silly woman, all over a man who'd shown no interest whatsoever. "I don't suppose it does," she replied with a chuckle, placing her hands on the arms of the chair and went about lifting herself back up but finding that she couldn't. Knees! What the Hell was wrong with them?!

"That's very sweet of you," Emma was quick to say, effectively trying to push him away mentally. "I'm really quite alright." She was going to make herself a promise, right here, right now in Elliot's classroom. She needed to stop pining. She was thinking about cutting all ties but that was impossible considering that they worked together.

"You're kidding," the brunette replied, eyes wide as she grinned. "I'd love to!" She exclaimed. Promise broken. "You really don't mind if I sat in?" Emma asked, only just realising he was probably saying it to be polite and that he hadn't really meant it. His offer was now officially the highlight of her working week. "You won't even know I'm here," she insisted, bouncing on her borrowed seat. "I'll be quiet as a mouse." She'd never seen him teach and she was dying to see him work his magic. Though, it was highly possible that she'd forget all about her beloved tales of Cupid and Psyche, Perseus and Andromeda and instead, focus on her beloved Mr. Reed.

After she'd accidentally called him "cute", she bit her lip as he turned away and she took the opportunity to mentally beat herself up. Pressing one hand to her forehead, she groaned softly, clenching her eyes shut tightly. At Elliot's next kind comment, Emma's head snapped up as she felt herself smile. She decided the best thing was just not to answer and so, she simply smiled to herself, basking in the glow of the compliment as she hid her coy smile behind the back of her hand quickly as not to further embarrass him. Still a little unnerved by his kind words, she had a habit of taking them to heart as she did now. Would a hug be appropriate? Well, no Emma, it probably wouldn't.

"So I hear," she stated gently and with another smile. Swiftly, she gasped. "Did they swear at you?" She asked, totally flabbergasted. "I hope you gave them all detention," she stated, huffing as she shook her head and folded her arms tight across her chest and just blow her bust.

…was this a date?

"I'd love to," she blurted out without thinking, turning redder and redder at each passing second and she found herself having to turn her head away. The silence that hovered over them was full of expectation, of promise, it just hung there waiting for someone to say something. Flicking her eyes back up at him, she offered a soft and kind smile, looking very much like a young schoolgirl all over again. Here's hoping he found that endearing.

words; 664, outfit Don't be sorry! It's lovely. He's lovely. It's all lovely! xD that'd be awesome haha.

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[ELLIOT JAMES REED]

ran the whole way down to the tracks,

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She was quick to thank him for the seat and Elliot smiled. He thought it to be the logical thing to do, sit someone down before they collapsed on the floor. It just went to show him that the simplest gesture could go a long way. “It’s no problem. Are you sure you don’t need anything? A glass of water, perhaps?”

[/b] Elliot had never had a woman faint in his classroom before—not even a student—and he was keen on keeping it that way , both for Emma’s health and his.

“You’re kidding. I’d love to!” she said cheerfully and Elliot was only glad to see that her faintness was apparently fading. She was slowly coming back her old self, the woman he knew and helped upon her arrival in America. Caring, passionate, and just a tad timid at times. “No, I don’t mind,”[/b] he said, laughing a little as she promised to be as quiet as a mouse. He hadn’t known her for too long, but Elliot was starting to think that being hush was quite near impossible for Emma Anderson. And he was fine with that. In fact, it was one of the reasons he was drawn to her personality. She always said something, even when she didn’t want to. It was comforting at times and other times, namely five minutes ago, awkward. But it was spontaneous. And Elliot liked randomness. It certainly freshened up his mundane lifestyle.

After he’d complimented her, Elliot waited for her to live up to his image of her and say something, no matter how random it may sound. She didn’t, though, and Elliot was thrown for a loop. Was that statement too forward? Damn, he wasn’t good at this! He raked a hair through his hair again, laughing a tad shakily as he described his first experience and how the students had written foul language on his chalk board. Back then, the chalk board was easier to clean up after, at least. Miss Anderson had no such luck with a white board.

Her little gasp also caught him off guard. What, had she honestly never heard a student cuss before? Well, thought Elliot with bitter laughter, that would change within the next few days, if not hours. “Did they swear at you?” she asked and Elliot could see how surprised she really was. If the students in England didn’t curse at their teachers, Elliot would file for a transfer immediately. That alone would solve half his problems. “Well, not directly. They wrote it on the board a few times, on their test papers for me to see while I was grading them. That kind of thing. It was juvenile, at best. I found myself laughing more than being offended.” [/b] And that was the truth. His sister had asked her brother on numerous occasions if he was sane, for she’d hear his roaring laughter from the other side of the apartment.

“I didn’t give them detention; I didn’t see a need to. After the fourth or so time they did it and received no immediate reaction from me, they stopped. In all honesty, I think they only did that because they liked the old history teacher, the one I replaced. Once I came into the picture, they were thrown off balance from the change. I just had to meet their expectations, that’s all. And that was easy once they cooperated.”[/b] Yay for college psychology classes. It was probably one of the only classes, other than the history material, that Elliot actually paid attention to. He was thankful he had.

“I’d love to,” Emma said to his suggestion about getting some coffee. He was glad, even as she again looked faint. This made him chuckle, but he did it on the quiet side, as not to upset her further. It was sweet, her little gesture. “Then it’s a date,”[/b] he said with the slightest grin on his face. However she wanted to interpret that was up to her.
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words:six six five
tags: Emma/Sioban
music: Early Morning by A-ha
outfit: reed 04
notes:-sings along to McDonald’s jingle- I’m lovin’ it! <3 haha

[EMMA JANE ANDERSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/ea5ncojpg.png); width: 420px; padding-top: 10; padding-bottom: 10; border: #363636 solid 2px;] [div style="background-image:url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png); height: 250; width: 400; font-size: 0; background: -moz-linear-gradient(bottom, #d5d2d2, rgba(255,255,255,0), rgba(0,0,0,0)), url(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/isthereaghost/anneemma.png);[br"]-webkit-mask-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgba(0,0,1,1)), to(rgba(0,0,0,0)));]hi

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she's a rainbow,

He needed to stop being so nice, it was impossible for her to ignore him.

Wasn't this the story of her life, though? Charming, intelligent, perfectly nice man and what did she do? Fall. Head over heels, hard, flat on her face. As he asked if she'd like some water, it was on the tip of her tongue to refuse but she figured he seemed to want to help her so she was going to let him. "That might be nice," Emma replied as she sketched a smile, coyly brushing back a rogue curls behind her ear. Besides, she couldn't talk and make a fool out of herself whilst drinking a glass of water, could she?

Her honey coloured eyes sparkled in the early morning sun as Elliot had, unwittingly, made her whole month. In all honesty, as interested as she was in learning about his teaching methods, she really just wanted an excuse to sit and watch him without having to talk. Up until now, she hadn't really thought of the American accent as anything more than ordinary but his, his was special. Often, she found herself secretly begging him to say her name, even if it was just to get her attention. Still offering her goofy smile, she kind of wanted to touch that dimple on his cheek. Just to see what it felt like. Oh Christ, she was going mental.

"Do you mind if I could have a copy of the textbook you'll be using?" Emma asked. "Just so I can keep up," and pretend that I'm learning about Romulus and Remus when in actual fact, I'll be attempting to count your freckles. Hope you don't mind!

"The kids back home don't do that," the brunette replied, flabbergasted as Elliot regaled her with the tales of the misbehaving teenagers. As he said he found it all terribly amusing, she couldn't help him smile. Gosh darn it. Everything he did was more endearing. Was there really any point in resisting her feelings? She figured she'd made it plain as day that she was enamoured with him. "I think I've been blessed," she laughed, tangling a lithe hand back in her hair as she stayed in her borrowed seat, forgetting that she really should be standing on her own two feet by now.

"Though, I think I did get a proposition," Emma continued with a thoughtful frown. "One of the kids did slip me his phone number with his last assignment. If he paid more attention to Shakespeare than his sexual conquests, I'm quite sure he'd be top of the class." Teenagers! Honestly.

"I'm sure they love you," Emma replied with an easy and encouraging smile as she tilted her head. "How could anyone not?" The smile faltered a fraction of an inch as she heard back what she just said and she proceeded to panic. Her breath caught in her chest and her eyes widened swiftly as her heart pounded in her chest. She prayed to the first deity she could think of that she hadn't just said she loved him. Breaking the potentially awkward silence with a cough, she folded her lips together as she bit down hard on the sides of her tongue. She had verbal diarrhoea, she always had but whenever Elliot Reed was around, it seemed to kick up and into high gear.

…oh holy Mithras.

Trying to play it cool, she looked up at Elliot again with a smile whilst internally, she was jumping around and squealing. "Cool," she replied. "I mean great," she corrected herself. "I mean good, excellent, awesome," she said, tripping over her words stupidly as she let out a groan and she winced. "Lovely," Emma replied, using a word that sounded much more like her own. "When are you free?" She inquired before remembering what her much more confident friends used to tell her. They said something about not giving him a chance to weasel out of it and that she needed to take control and make him want to be there. Weekend or week day? Week day made it seem more of a meeting whereas a weekend, she hoped, hinted at a little something more. "Saturday? Seven o'clock?"

words; 700, outfit waaah! so sorry this took me so long! <3

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