I woke up to my shoulder being shaken. I sleepily opened an eye. "I was asleep." I mumbled.

"Sorry. Elektra wanted me to wake you up." Tee whispered. "She wanted to get to the mall as soon as possible."

"K. Give me fifteen minutes." I told her. She nodded and went about her own business.

I sat up and brushed the sleep out of my eyes. I brushed my teeth and got changed into Tee's purple tank top and grey jeans. I straightened my hair and went downstairs.

"Morning, people!" I exclaimed as I sat down at the bar.

"Morning, Zoe." The others exclaimed. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist.

"Hello." Rick whispered in my ear. I smiled as I leaned against him.

"Hi." I whispered. "Where's Lily and Carmen?" I say out loud.

"Getting dressed." Elektra replied. "When are we leaving?" I turned to face her. I opened my mouth to speak but Mike got in there first.

"When are we leaving for where?" He asked incredulously and placed my requested bowl of cereal in front of me. I nodded in his direction and reached for a spoon.

"Elektra, Tee, Lily, Carmen and I are going shopping." I explained.

"Ah. Speaking of shopping, I need to give you your clothing allowance. I trust you need it?" He looked at me questioningly.

"Mike, when does a girl not need money for clothes?" I asked him rhetorically. I smirked triumphantly. Everyone else laughed.

"Fine, fine, you have me there. Wait outside the office when you're done." He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and walked into the office.

"So, when are we leaving?" Elektra asked again. I thought for a moment.

"How about we leave after Lily, Tee and Carmen are done?" I said, I finished my cereal and stood up to go and speak to Mike.

"I'm done." Tee said, appearing in the kitchen. She pointed to the stairs. "Lily and Carmen are too. Nearly. But I heard them talking about something weird." She pulled a face.

"Oh?" Elektra asked, following Tee and waiting by the door to the hallway. I knocked on the office door and let myself in.

"Right, Zoe. Twenty pounds to spend on filling up your wardrobe." Mike handed me a twenty pound note. That, added to Tee's twenty pounds, gave me forty pounds for clothes and shoes.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." I said, walking out.

"Ready?" Elektra asked when she saw me. Lily and Carmen were waiting with them. I nodded, smiling.

"You bet!" We walked out and got on the bus that had just arrived. We all sat at the back: Elektra at the left* window, me next to her, Tee next to me, then Carmen and finally, Lily. We got off at the mall and thanked the driver. As soon as we set foot in the mall, Lily wanted to stop at a dress shop.

"OK. I need some dresses anyway." I said, heading for the shop which was called 'Stella's Couture'. Carmen and Lily went off together and Tee went round with us. I found a red velvet knee length dress. It had studs on the bodice in a heart shaped pattern and said 'Forever Yours'.

"OMG, that would so suit you!" Tee looked at the dress and then took it from me and held it up against me. "What d'you think, Elektra?" She called. Elektra looked up from looking at a pink dress. Her face lit up as soon as she saw me.

"Yes! You could wear it when you and Rick go on a date!" She squealed. Tee sniggered and I roxlled my eyes. I looked at the price tag and immediately put it back on the rack.

"What?" Tee asked. I showed her the tag and she gasped. Fifty pounds! Carmen called and said that she and Lily were going round on their own and we should meet them back in Stella's Couture in an hour and a half. I said it was fine and hung off.

We spent the time in loads of different shops. I brought seven dresses, five pairs of shoes, shirts, leggings and jeans. I had to borrow an extra fifteen pounds from Tee but I promised to pay her back.

We met Carmen and Lily at our meeting spot and caught the bus together. We exchanged what we bought for most of the journey.

Back at Elm Tree, Tee, Carmen and Lily rushed off and I was walking back to the gate with Elektra when we heard a voice.

"Elektra!" I spun round to find a boy.

He had brown hair and was tall and muscular.

"Liam!" Elektra dumped her bags and rushed up to him. She threw her arms round his neck. "Liam, I'm sorry. I really am." He hugged her back and smiled.

"You've no need to be sorry, darling. You had no choice." He whispered but I was close enough to hear. At his words she burst into tears.

"I could have said no." She sobbed. Liam wiped her tears away with his thumb and leaned in. They brought their lips together into a kiss. I felt an arm snake round my waist and looked up to see Rick smiling down at me. I managed a weak smile back and sighed. I nudged into his side and turned back to Elektra and Liam. "I love you, Liam. Goodbye." Elektra said. She turned back to us, her face streaming with silent tears. She walked back inside and when I turned to Liam, he was gone. I suddenly realized how Elektra must be feeling. Vulnerable and weak. I didn't follow her.

"Are you not gonna go find her?" Rick asked, still with his arm round me.

"Nah. She needs some alone time. Come on." I walked back in with him, making him pick up Elektra's bags. I led him to her room and he put her bags down. She wasn't there. I walked back into my room, unpacking all my things. There was a knock at the door.

"Zoe? Can I come in?" Faith called. Her voice was stiff. I snorted. The door was locked.

"If you can get the door open!" I sneered. She wrestled with the door but it stayed firmly shut. I sat on my bed, making no plans to move to let the girl in.

"Zoe, come on, let me in!" She pleaded.

"I said if you can get the door open, you can come in." I smirked, even though she couldn't see me.

"But it's locked!" She sounded desperate.

"Tough. You can't get the door open, you can't come in."

"Whatever. You'll still pay for the punch in the jaw. I'll make sure you do." She thumped the door and I heard her footsteps fading away. I laid on my bed and picked up the photo of me and Kieran.

"I really miss you, Kieran." I whispered. "I really do. I just can't get past the idea that if you were still with me, I wouldn't be in this mess." My voice grew louder. "I'm not a care kid. I was a girl with ambitions that until this day were intact. Now they're completely ruined." I placed the photo back on the nightstand and turned away from it. My phone pinged, letting me know I had a text.

You do know our rooms are next door to each other, right? I heard what you said about being a care kid. Your ambitions won't be ruined unless you believe they are. And you won't do that. I know you won't. - Rockstarr Rick. I smile. He was sweet.

Thanks for the belief. I just don't know if I can... nothing. Love the pen name, by the way. Bet Jason Albright called you that. Or Cayan Holloway. - Sunshine Star. No sooner had I locked my phone, did he reply. I laid on my back, typing away.

You're right about Cayan. Anyway, what don't you know if you can do. You can tell me; I won't judge. - Rockstarr Rick.

Nothing. And I know you won't judge. - Sunshine Star.

Whatever. Faith was looking for you. - Rockstarr Rick.

I know. Door was locked and I said she could come in if she could open it. Obviously she couldn't so she said she would make me pay for the punch in the jaw. - Sunshine Star.

Just stay away from her. Chances are she'll do anything to get you into trouble. - Rockstarr Rick.

"Lunch!" Mike called. I glanced at the clock, seeing it was half past one. I heaved myself off my bed and opened the door to come face to face with Rick. He smiled and entwined our fingers.

We ate a lunch of pizza and chicken (fortunately it was better than my first encounter with chicken at Elm Tree). I kept my eyes down to stop me from looking at Faith. Even then, I felt her eyes boring into me and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from glaring at her and mouthing her off. She suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up. She stormed around the table and stopped behind me. Mike was upstairs and Gina was running errands. Bad timing, you two.

"Why won't you look at me!" She screeched, grabbing my shoulders. I was stronger than what she thought I was. I didn't move an inch when she tried to shake me.

"Leave off her, Faith!" Rick scolded. I glanced at him and mouthed 'it's fine'.

"I want an answer!" She tried to pull my chair back but I dug my feet into the carpet and stopped her from doing so.

"Excuse me, I should be the one demanding answers after what you said to Rick and me. But I have the art of moving on with things when things go wrong. I don't think you have that. So on that note, I don't believe I owe you an answer." I stood up and faced her.

"Oh yeah? Well, you owe the rest of them an answer."

"When did they get involved in our mess?" I asked.

"What's going on?" Mike came between us and glared. I stepped back.

"Apparently, according to Faith, you won't believe anything I say, so I think you should ask a witness what happened. I would gladly tell you except there would be the off chance that I would exaggerate and cause bias." I told him.

"Right. Harry. Come with me." Harry and Mike went into the office and shut the door.

"We'll finish this." Faith hissed in my face.

"You're out of order, you are." I walked off to my room. I hadn't seen Elektra since she was with Liam so I decided to check her room. I crossed the landing and knocked on her door. "Elektra?" I opened the door after knocking.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked. I looked around the room and sat on her bed as she was at her desk.

"Faith and I had an argument." I started.

"Zoe! Mike wants you!" Harry called.

"Tell you later." I shrugged and walked out.

In the office, Faith was on one chair and Mike on the other. I took the spare one. "Harry told me what happened. I have decided on a punishment for you both."

"Which is?" Faith and I both said together.

A/N: *The left I'm referring to is the left when you face the back of the bus.

Sorry for not updating in forever.

crystalhauntress xxx