"You work too?" He asked, concerned. His eyes were wide with shock as if I'd said I'd killed people. We both took seats on the corner sofa in the room, me on one side, Conor on the other.

"Yeah, some weekends and half the weekdays after college." I shrugged.

"What? Why?" Conor asked quickly, I could tell me slightly regretted asking the question as soon as he'd said in case it was personal.

"We can't afford the rent if I don't work. My dad rushed over here the first chance he could after he broke up with my mum. He didn't really run the plan through." I offered a half smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dampen the mood." Conor moved closer to me and put his hand on my arm.

"It's not dampening anything. I'm glad to be getting to know you better, no matter what the story is." He offered me a soft and comforting smile. "Tell me what you like and if you're not comfortable, don't say anything." I nodded with a small smile growing on my face.

"Thank you. I haven't told many people about that... although I haven't really spoken to anyone at college!" I laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you came here. And so is Liam." Conor said, clearly trying to cheer me up. "How is your dad now though, after what happened with your mum?"

"He's better but he has really bad points. I'm always there to pick up the pieces if needs be, but recently I've learnt how to prevent the bad stuff happening in the first place. He just needs something to distract him that isn't work, but he doesn't understand." I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes it's like talking to a toddler." Conor let out a small laugh.

"I know exactly what you mean. My brother was the weak link in our family, he caused so much trouble and it almost tore our family apart. I tried desperately to reason with him and make him see what he was doing was wrong but he just couldn't understand." Conor's voice became sterner as he spoke about his brother. Clearly something bad had happened and it had affected him quite badly. As much as I desperately wanted to know what happened, I didn't feel like now was the time.

"I'm sorry to hear that happened to you all... although I'll admit it's refreshing to know I'm not the only one whose family isn't perfect." Conor nodded in agreement and once again it fell to a nice silence as we just smiled.

"I still can't believe you work so much outside of college and still manage to find time to study and do well on your exams." Conor said proudly. My heart swelled as he spoke kindly about me, something I wasn't used to.

"Now you get why I kept my head down in lessons. I couldn't afford distraction." His eyebrows furrowed.

"Leah, having a life isn't a distraction. Having friends or a partner aren't either. They're life." He said, almost unsure as to whether he should be saying it to me. My stomach clenched as he spoke. It hit home. I got what he meant but if I had been distracted and found a girlfriend or a boyfriend, would I have studied as much as I have? Or read all the English books necessary to complete our essay? No. I would have been having dates instead.

"They would have given me less time to study though. I need to do this first time. I need to get to university." I said forcefully. I couldn't fail, not with my dad relying on me so heavily.

"You don't have to be so hard on yourself, Leah." Conor said out of nowhere, catching me out. I sucked in a sharp breath and held it as I felt his eyes study me. I stared at my lap, my fingers pulling at the bottom of my top. "You're a great girl already and you've achieved a lot." He moved his hand to grab mine, making me look up at him. "Come on, let's get a drink to relax you a bit." He put his hands back by his side as he led me to the kitchen and opened the fridge, holding out a bottle of white wine. I smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." I breathed out, releasing the nerves and tenseness. It was only Conor, what was I so nervous about? Why did I feel like I did on the first day of college? He handed me a glass that was three quarters full as he got himself a beer out of the fridge and used a magnet bottle opener to open it. I took a large sip, feeling the cold liquid slide down my throat, the alcoholic feeling hitting me just after. We headed back to the front room, this time sitting beside each other, facing each other.

"How's everything with your family now?" I asked carefully. I'd assumed he'd be okay with talking about it seeing as I'd talked about mine. He sighed, taking a large swig of beer before he began.

"I don't talk to any of them anymore. It's easier that way, otherwise you're dragged into it and you just get hurt." I nodded.

"You're in the middle but they're all fighting for you to be on their side." I said, knowing exactly what he meant. He looked up at me admirably, glad someone else was willing to share their feelings.

"Exactly. I never talk about it with the guys though." He shrugged. He needn't say more, I knew he didn't want to look weak in front of them. He took another swig of his beer. "So, when are you working next?"

"Tomorrow evening. The shop i work in has a delivery coming in late tomorrow so I'll be there waiting for it. Then I'm working all weekend." He nodded, taking in all the information.

"I really do admire you." He gave me a flirty smile. I'd never had someone like him in my life and I wasn't sure how to react. He was praising me, proud and grateful. Not many people I'd met had been like him.

"You're not so bad yourself." I replied. Instinctively we moved closer to each other.

"Leah..." he whispered lowly as he moved in closer to me, his eyes locked on mine. My heart was beating hard and heavy in my chest, my palms sweaty as I prepared for what was coming next. But it never came. Millimetres from my lips, he stopped and pulled himself away from me. "God!" He exclaimed, standing up and putting his bottle on the side so he could rub his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry Leah. I shouldn't be doing this. Liam's chosen you. It's not fair."