Life had a way of kicking James ass, over the entire course of the summer he's been utterly alone and miserable. His entire personality changed within a matter of weeks and his old habits resurfaced far more than he'd enjoy. The alcohol didn't soothe away the ache he felt or make him feel numb anymore, but the drugs did. He felt intoxicated every time he let it rip through his veins, his soul would seize to exist and he'd feel like himself again.

The habit turned more and more deadly as the weeks passed and before he knew it summer was over. Returning back to Moordale would be a nightmare but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so he forced himself out of bed for once.

Standing over the stove wasn't so bad, aside from the heat that made his hair frizz like crazy. "Alright, we've got poorly made eggs and toast for breakfast" he looked up at his son as the little boy handed the man a cup of coffee. James took it and smiled "and of course coffee, you know, the first day back for the new term means we can get ice cream after school".

Andrew smirked "only if I get sprinkles" he grabbed the piece of toast off the plate leaving the eggs behind and James understood why, they looked burnt. "Of course you can get sprinkles, just don't use all of them this time, that was a mess to clean up".

Andrew chuckled as he ran towards the front door grabbing his backpack "is Maeve taking us again? Are you two together or something? She's been over every single day for dinner and she takes us for ice cream, is she the new Ruby?". James winced at the mention of Ruby as he walked towards the door and grabbed his shoes "Maeve's just a friend if you're so curious, she knows I've had a pretty rough summer so she's been helping me out of my shell. She isn't the new Ruby".

Andrew sighs deeply "Ruby was nice, but now we hate her because she doesn't value relationships and she's a bitch". James eyes widened "woah! Where did you even hear that from, literally never say that again". James walked outside pushing the trailer door shut as Andrew giggled "Maeve told me".

Almost as if on cue Maeve walked towards the duo and James looked at her "you've got my kid over here calling Ruby a bitch, you're a real trouble maker". Maeve smirked as she gave Andrew a high five "oh god! You're turning my son into a monster".

They all laughed as James climbed into the driver's seat of his car "At least buckle up you two, can't have you flying out the car while I'm driving".

—

James drove down the road after dropping Andrew off at his school, Maeve sat beside him in the passenger seat fixing her hair that was slightly off to the side in the front. "You've told him about us right?" James hold on the steering wheel increased slightly as he turned down the road towards Moordale. "Well, I sorta told him we were friends, it's just I don't think he's really ready for me to actually be with someone else. He keeps talking about Ruby".

He sighed and Maeve chuckled slightly "well she is a bitch, and you haven't got to tell Andrew anything yet, we're still figuring it out as it goes". He smiled slightly "yeah that's true, since Andrew's off at school suppose that means we can enjoy the silence".

"When's the last time you've seen Otis? Eric mentioned to me a few weeks ago that you saw him at the store and it was extremely awkward". James groaned "gosh that was the worst day of my life, I ran into the shelf like an idiot because I didn't want him to see me, then of course he saw me after I hit the shelf and I looked like an absolute fool leaving".

Maeve smiled "at least you didn't beat him up like the last time" James winced "yeah, save to say that issue is handled, I see his face and I don't wanna punch him anymore, I just avoid him if anything really".

He parked the car in the school's parking lot and sighed deeply as he pulled his seatbelt off "to think I wanted to avoid coming back here for the sake of my sanity, talk about absolute rubbish". He got out of the car and pushed the door shut with his foot as he pushed his backpack over his shoulders.

Maeve got out after him and he turned at the sight of Otis and Eric, "just ignore it". Maeve grabbed a hold of his arm as she dragged him away from the sight of Otis "gosh not even here for a full minute and I already wanna leave just because I saw Otis".

"Brand new start remember" he nodded at Maeve's words as he walked into the school. "Brand new start, you're absolutely right" his entire demeanor faded away when he caught sight of Ruby walking past him, he kept his gaze away from her as he made his way towards a seat for the assembly.

Maeve sat beside him and on the opposite side was Aimee who for some reason had a goat. With word getting out of a new head teacher James knew this term could either be perfect or absurd.

He winced at the loud sound of the microphone screeching as the woman appeared on the stage with a bright smile. "Good morning, Moordale!" James looked at Maeve and the girl shrugged "how is everyone feeling today? Really good!".

James slumped back in the chair "I hate her already" Maeve smacked his shoulder slightly and he chuckled as he looked at the new head teacher again.

"I am your new head teacher, Mrs. Haddon, but you can call me Hope, the first thing you need to know about me is that I used to be sitting where you are now. Literally". She laughs and James scratches the back of his head "is she being for real right now?".

"Yeah, I went to Moordale too. I've achieved a lot since then. Two degrees, teaching positions at some of the country's top institutions, and by doing that, I became the youngest headteacher in the UK".

She smiled brightly as she sat down on the stage and James found her entire act to be quite boring. "But the years I spent in this building were the best of my life. This school not only encouraged me to excel academically, but it truly allowed me to find my purpose. Which is why it's been so hurtful to read some of the horrible things written about Moordale in the press. I don't know what went wrong or how we ended up here, but I do know it changes today".

James jumps slightly when everyone starts to clap "am I meant to clap at that? Sounds like absolute rubbish if you ask me, she looks evil". Maeve held in her laugh as she clapped briefly and James chuckled "I mean seriously she looks just like someone who could be evil, she's gonna ruin Moordale".

"I can promise you this. If you work hard and you take pride in your school, I will get Moordale and your futures back on track". Everyone began to cheer and scream and James sighed deeply as he leaned more back into his chair "this is the worst".

"So let me hear you! Let's get Moordale!" James rolled his eyes as everyone began to chant "thank you all! To a great start and a great week. And oh! Can Otis Milburnand Maeve Wiley come to my office, please?". James grew tense as he looked at Maeve the girl sighed deeply "great, another reason not to like this new head teacher".

James stood up as everyone started making their way out of the entrance way. As he turns down the hallway towards his lockers someone laughs into his ear as they pat his shoulder "I've heard Ruby's been shagging Otis all summer! Is it true?".

James pushed the boy away from him "piss off!" the boy laughed loudly "it's true then!". He ran off down the hallway and James sighed deeply of course he knew it was true, he had known all summer.

The party itself was loud, the music made his head hurt as he sat on the couch. Drunk teenagers were all around him as he downed a cup of vodka he stole from some kid. He was already out of it but he was at least aware of his surroundings as he pushed his sunglasses upwards to rest on his head. His costume wasn't all that great, given the last minute decision to even attend the costume party. He had lost count of how many cigarettes he smoked and he stopped counting the cups of alcohol after four.

James was a wild card when it came to parties, he laughed slightly as he hunched forward. He grabbed his cup tightly as he took another drink, his eyes wandered along the dance floor. Otis in all his glory was awkwardly dancing around wearing a macaroni and cheese costume, James rolled his eyes at the boy before he stood up off the couch.

The music felt louder as he walked along the crowd, he pushed past a few who stood in the walkway as he approached the crowded kitchen. He poured more alcohol into his cup and then he saw her, Ruby Matthews walked straight past the dance crowd and she looked right at him. She smirked almost as if taunting him as she pushed her hair back, he didn't move as he pushed his cup more toward his mouth.

He let the alcohol coat his tongue as he watched her grasp tightly onto Otis's arm and dragged him through the crowd. James downed the rest of the alcohol in his cup before he angrily stormed off.

James walked out of the school with quick steps, he pushed his backpack over his shoulder as he quickly made way towards his car. He saw the back of Maeve's head as she waited beside the car, he walked up from behind her "what are you looking at?".

She turned around and looked at him and his gaze looked past her towards where she was looking. Otis and Ruby were in plain sight, kissing and James felt his heart ache as he looked away. His hand grasped Maeve's as he looked down at her "we don't need them, let's get Andrew and get ice cream".

He opened the passenger door for her and let her climb inside as he walked around towards the driver's side. He got inside and started the car, he didn't look at Otis or Ruby as he drove past them to leave.

—
authors notes:
I'm back with another update for this story, crazy to think we only have 2 acts left before it's completed. I don't want to part ways with James but sadly we will have to at one point, if only this show didn't end. Would've totally kept going as the seasons came out, but regardless we keep going and then once it's the end, it's the end, enjoy this chapter!