Hey guys. Sorry you had to wait so long for me to update, I've been in sunny Italy, which was a nice change from rainy England, but i'm back now and i promise i'll update more often. Please review, it puts a smile on my face, and favorite and add to story alerts as well. Thank you :)

I slept well that night, even better than I had done back at the Elm Tree. I know I only spent three days there, but it had started to feel sort of homely. Woodrush would always be where I belonged, but I'd started to think of as Elm Tree as an almost decent substitute. A temporary home I could actually accept the idea of living in. But that was all over now. I'd made the decision to leave in a blur of anger and frustration, and I couldn't go back, not now, not ever. They will have called the police by now. But I had another couple of hours before they'd bother doing anything.

I needed to be off the estate by then, because that would be their first instinct, that I was running away. I yawned and rolled over on the futon. Alicia was wide awake next to me, her eyes scanning the pages off a well-thumbed book. "What's it about?" I asked her with a smile.

She answered without even looking at me, glued to the page. "It's about a girl who falls in love with this guy." She explained. I rolled my eyes, so typical of Ali, it was probably some sort of modern love story. I could tell from the cover it would be full of cheesy lines and would have a very love conquers all feel to it, so basically it would be full of shit. Everyone knows love only exists in fairy tales.

My stomach roared loudly, and Ali burst into giggles at the sound. "What did they feed you at that home, bread and water?" She said, still snorting.

"No." I replied, "Far worse, sprouts." Ali and I then dissolved into fits of laughter, remembering last year when her mother had invited me round for Christmas dinner, and everything went wrong. The chicken was dodgy, the vegetables burnt and the Christmas pudding squashed. The only thing edible was a plate of sprouts, we tried eating them, but only made it through one each before we gave up. In the end we had to trek across town to get chips from the only open takeaway.

"Come on." Ali said when we finally stopped laughing. She stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. "I'll get you some breakfast." We went into her kitchen and she grabbed some eggs, hash browns, waffles and bacon. I smiled and she laughed at my reaction. "Don't worry, I remember your favourite's." It was a bit of an odd mix, but they were all breakfast, and they tasted pretty good. She started cooking the food, and she talked while she cooked, garbling on about school and other stuff.

"I know it didn't exactly work out last year, but my mum's way better at cooking now, you should come round this Christmas, I promise we won't make any sprouts." I giggle a little, and then pause to think. I wasn't sure if I'd be allowed if I was living in a home, and if I wasn't then where would I be, certainly not in a position to spend Christmas with a friend.

"Maybe." I replied with a small sigh. Alicia smiled and then put the food on two plates. At first we ate in silence, but then Alicia started off another round of conversation. Alicia wanted to go to down to the park for a bit, because that was where everyone hung out on Saturdays. But I was convinced it was too dangerous after the other day, I was sure to be found. Instead I convinced her to text round a few people, and meet them at the local woods instead.

It was a good day, we managed to grab the fire pit before anyone else did, and it wasn't raining anymore, so with the encouragement of some vodka, and some painstakingly hard to find dry wood, we got a fire lit pretty quickly. Our friend Derry, whose dad owns an off-license, brought a load of Jack Daniels, Malibu, and Bacardi. So we bought some coke to mix with it, and we made it last for a while. Because it was nearing the end of October it got dark pretty quickly, and under the canopy of trees it was even darker.

One of the girls, Joanna, grabbed a torch from her bag and flicked the switch before placing it under her chin, then she smiled demonically. "Time for some scary stories, don't you think?" She said in an eerie voice. I giggled and Alicia gripped my arm tightly. "Did you know that these woods were once the place of an ancient burial ground? Newcastle was just a medieval town, and whenever somebody died their body would be brought up to the hill where it would be buried in the traditional way." Joanna began. As the story continued Alicia's hand got tighter around my arm, and by the end of it she was close on hyperventilating. She pulled some L&B fags out of her bag and lit one to 'steady her nerves' I laughed a little and then grabbed one for myself.

As it got later people started to drift off. Alicia made no motion of wanting to leave, but I wasn't sure what I would say when she did. Although thankfully Joanna saved the day. "I reckon we should sleep out, it would be a right laugh. My sister's home from uni for the weekend, I reckon she'd let us use my camper van." A few people, including me, agreed quickly, so Joanna went off to get it.

It was a good night; we didn't get much sleep, and instead stayed up talking, drinking, smoking and telling each other more scary stories. Eventually everyone dropped off to sleep at about fourish, including me, and nobody woke up until well into the next day. My time was well and truly up now. The police would be on the lookout, and it wouldn't be long before they'd be on the estate going from door to door.

I had to make a decision. I could go back to Elm Tree, say I'm sorry and everything would be forgotten about, or I could get a train to someplace far away, try to make it on my own. Option number one was no use of course, I couldn't go back now, and they'd watch me closer than ever, they might even move me further away from the estate than they did before. No, I had only one choice. I'd jump on the first train I could, no matter where it was going, then I'd get a job, squat in some unused houses.

I sighed a little. Everyone else was sitting outside, smoking and drinking the little that was left from last night. They were moving slowly, they didn't have anywhere to be, and they had no choices to make. They may not have much money and they might live on a grotty, rough estate, but I found myself insanely jealous of them. Sighing I stood up and jumped out of the van. For a moment I considered just leaving, none of them were looking at me, they wouldn't even notice for the next few minutes, it would certainly save me a goodbye.

But I owed them too much for that. "I think I'm off now guys." I said, as loudly as I could manage. They said their goodbye's, pulling me into warm hugs. I had to work hard not to cry. I went to Ali last, but she just frowned. "Why can't you stay with me, mum won't mind."

I almost laughed. "I know, and thanks for the other night, but I have to leave now." I tried to explain without telling her my plans.

"You're leaving Newcastle, aren't you?" She asked. I sighed and then nodded. She hugged me tightly. "Your being daft you know. You could stay here, you could just testify. It would be a good thing if your dad went to prison." I nibbled on my lip a little and then hugged her even tighter.

"I'll miss you Ali." I said as I pulled away. I gave her a smile and then turned around and headed through the woods and onto a path that I knew would take me to the main road. I know the way to the train station well. We always used to use the underground to get to the main shopping centre. It was only a few stops and it didn't cost much. But I'd never used it to go outside of Newcastle before; in fact I'd never really been out of Newcastle before. We never went on holiday, and we didn't have enough money for day trips. I gulped a little at the thought of this, but I kept on walking.

The walk wasn't long, it took me about half an hour but when I got there I had the issue of finding a way of getting on a train. Anything above zero was out of my price range, so I had no choice but to sneak onto one. I looked up at the board showing the train times. The next one went to Leeds, and then Cardiff, but in an hour there was one going to London.

I'd never been to London, hell I'd never really been out of Newcastle, so anywhere was appealing. But London, the capital of England. That had to be full of opportunities, right? There'd be plenty of boarded up houses to squat in, and it couldn't be too hard to get a job. It was risky though, waiting an hour, the police were almost sure to check the train station, or Mike and Gina. In the end I decided it was worth it to go to London. So I pulled up the hood on my hoodie and tried to look down at the ground so I wouldn't seem conspicuous. Unfortunately this meant I wasn't looking where I was going and I ended up walking straight into someone.

"Oi, watch it." The person said in an angry voice as we both fell to the floor. My hood flew back over my shoulders and I quickly pulled it up, but the damage was done. "Ellie?" I looked over at the boy I'd sent flying and tried not to smile when I saw his face.

"Liam?" I said in surprise. I'd been so worried about seeing social workers or the police that I hadn't even thought I might see someone else I know. At first I was happy to see a friendly face, but then I panicked a little, would he tell? No, I decided, this was Liam, he showed me how to climb up and down a drainpipe.

"What are you doing here?" We both said it at the same time, and then cracked into identical grins.

"Just come back from visiting my uncle. Me and my brother Jack found out about him a few months ago, he's sound uncle Simon, lives like forever away mind." He explained, flourishing towards a green train that was sitting nearby. "Your turn."

"Ermm, I was just, well I was…" I trailed off. I had no answer for him, and he had probably already figured it out.

"Shame." He said with a small sigh. "You seemed pretty cool, I was hoping we could hang out." I looked down and bit my lip a bit. I'd liked Liam as well, and I'd wanted us to be friends, but it was too late now. "Do you have to leave now? Maybe we could hang out today, drinks on me?"

I paused for a moment. It was an appealing offer. But I would undoubtedly be caught if I stayed round here any longer. It was risky and stupid, but I found myself nodding eagerly at him. His face cracked into a huge, cheeky grin. "Well come on then, what are you waiting for." He said with a laugh, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the swarming crowds. I found myself smiling in spite of myself as we dodged between people.

When we eventually emerged from the train station we were greeted with dark grey clouds and a steady drizzle of freezing rain. I groaned a little and Liam laughed. "Typical Newcastle." He said with another grin. "Come on, we'll go the park first."

We made our way through the streets until we found the park, it was the same one I'd slept rough in two nights ago, and I couldn't help but look towards the bush I'd slept under. Liam stretched out his arms and then lay down on the ground, arms behind his head as if he was basking in the warmth of a sunny day. Laughing I lay down next to him, even though the ground was damp and the rain was getting heavier by the minute. "What now?" I asked him after a while, beginning to feel the wet from the ground come through my clothes.

"You hungry?" He asked. As he said it I felt my stomach growl, and I realised I hadn't had anything to eat yet today, not that it really bothered me, I could go till tea time without eating anything and feel fine.

"I guess." I replied.

"Let's go eat them." He stood up and held out his hand to pull me up. Then he headed over to the nearest bin, I followed him with a look of disgust on my face as he rooted through its contents.

"I'm not so hungry I want something from the bin, I'd rather go without, couldn't we just buy something." I said, although I knew I didn't have any money. He laughed as a response, and then smiled as he pulled a polystyrene carton with a half eaten burger and a few soggy ships sitting in it. "I am not eating that." I said in repulsion.

He grinned at me and picked up one of the chips. "Why? They're perfectly edible, probably only a few days old." I pulled a face as he moved his hand up to his mouth as if he were actually going to eat it.

"Liam, that's rank!" I said quickly, pulling the chip out of his hand. "You can't eat that, it's probably covered in germs and who knows what, yuk." I let the chip drop to the floor and he laughed at me again.

"I didn't actually mean eat it. I'm going to teach you how to burger dive." He said, still laughing at my outburst.

"The what?" I asked. Having grown up on the woodrush estate I knew almost ever y scam in the book, but I'd never heard of the burger dive before.

"Just watch." He said with another laugh, before scanning the surrounding area. As soon as he saw a busy-looking man in a suit he headed towards the man and promptly crashed into him, sending the chips and burger flying. "Hey!" He yelled in annoyance. "Watch were you're going, that cost me six quid." The man hastily apologized and handed Liam a tenner before bustling off again. Liam returned to me triumphantly, waggling the tenner in one hand. I laughed, I'd have to remember that one.

"What do you want then, pizza? Chips?" He asked with a smile. "No, wait. Ice cream." He decided as his eyes fixed on a nearby ice cream van. "Come on Ellie, I'll but you a double cone with all the toppings." He said, dragging me over to the van. I giggled as he ordered two humongous ice creams covered in sauces and sprinkles and sherbet. He passed one to me and then began work on his own monster ice cream. He finished it in five minutes flat, and he had to finish off mine as well because I felt sick after half of it.

After he'd finished Liam bought some chips and then we sat down on a nearby bench to eat them. I was surprised Liam had any room left in him, but I guess that's guys for you. "Where were you going then?" He asked after a while.

"London." I replied with a small laugh.

"There's no point to it you know, running away. You always end up getting dragged back in the end." Liam said as he crammed more chips in his mouth. "Elm tree's not half bad yanno, not compared to most places."

"I don't really care. That's not why I'm leaving." I said, slightly annoyed at him. I knew that it wasn't too bad a place, but who wants to be known as a skanky care kid for the rest of their lives.

"Then what's the problem." He sounded confused. I hesitated for a moment and then sighed. Liam was nice, and it wasn't as though I'd ever see him again after today, so why not tell him. I took a deep breath and then tried to explain to him about my dad going to prison. I left out the part about my mum, I told him I'd just seen him kill some randomer, I didn't much fancy him knowing my entire life story.

When I'd finished Liam seemed lost for words. It was the first time since I'd met him that he hadn't known what to say. "I guess it makes sense to leave." He said after a few minutes. I was slightly taken aback by this, so far everyone had said that the right thing to do would be to testify. I frowned a little at his response, and now it was my turn to struggle for words. "But," There it was, I knew that wouldn't be the end of it. "If it were me I don't think I'd feel safe knowing my dad wasn't in prison, he could come after you any time, he probably would, considering you're his only witness."

I pondered his words, it hadn't occurred to me before now that it would be in my dad's best interests to get rid of me, but it made sense considering the fact I was his daughter hadn't stopped him trying before now. But before I had a chance to reply Liam was dragging me to his feet. "Check it out." He said excitedly, pointing at a poster on a nearby lamppost. It was an advertisement for a funfair that was in town today only. "We have to go!" He said excitedly. I raised my eyebrows a little, I'd be sixteen In February, and he'd been sixteen since September.

"We're a bit old for funfairs." I said sceptically.

He rolled his eyes. "You're never too old for funfairs, especially not this sort." He said, waggling the flyer in my face. The paper read, in luminous, green letters, HAROLD SHWARKOFF'S FAIR OF HORROR'S. Behind the flyer I caught sight of Liam's face, he was grinning happily in anticipation.

"Don't you ever stop smiling?" I said exasperatedly,

"No-p-e." He said, popping his lips on the p. "Come on Ellie, it will be a laugh, live a little for god's sake.

"Fuck it." I said in the end, jumping out of my seat. "Lead the way." Liam laughed and then grabbed my hand again, leading me towards the fair. It turned out to be ten times better than I'd imagined. The rides definitely weren't for little kids, they sent you spinning and soaring and turning in every direction, until your stomach was queasy and you stumbled around with dizziness. We snacked on hotdogs and candyfloss, and Liam won a whole load of money in the arcade, so we went on all the rides again.

The scariest ride was the fun house, although it was more like a ghost train without the train. It was a hell of a lot bigger than it looked, and hard to navigate through in the dark. Every now and then ghosts, zombies and other ghoulish creature would pop-out at you from the shadows, startlingly real looking for plastic dummies. Terrified, Liam and I raced through, screaming the entire way and clutching each other's hands. By the time we got out of there it was ten past twelve.

"Time to go home now kids." For a moment I panicked, thinking the large figure the voice came from was a policeman, but it was just one of the people who worked here, trying to get rid of everyone so they could shut the fair down. We'd spent most of the day at the funfair, so it was a shame to leave, but I felt my heart sink even further when I checked the watch. Liam! It's past midnight; there'll be no more trains!" I said in a panicked voice.

"Calm down Ellie. You can stay at mine, my brother won't mind, I think he's working tonight anyway. Then you can get a train in the morning." Liam said quickly, his voice soothing and calm. I smiled at him as we headed off down the street in what I assume was the direction he lived in. "It'll be a laugh, today's been fun yanno, I wish you didn't have to go." I found myself once again lost for words. I couldn't think of how to reply, I wished I didn't have to go as well. It wasn't so bad here, Woodrush would always be my home, but anything was better than the streets.

It didn't take us long to get to Liam's. He brought some duvet's through form his room and made up two beds on the two comfortable couches in his front room. Then he stuck a DVD in the TV and gestured towards one of the couches. I flopped down onto it, and nestled into the duvet that smelt sort of like Liam, while he chattered about the film that we were watching and supplied me with a never-ending supply of coke and popcorn.

I wasn't really listening though. I was thinking about Elm Tree. Maybe Liam was right, I'd never rest easy knowing my dad was still out there, and there was a good chance he'd get off if I didn't testify. Maybe he'd forgive me, for sending him down, and if he didn't at least he'd be safely behind bars and I'd be in a warm bed. I thought things over and over and over in my head, and by the end of the film I'd made up my mind, tomorrow I'd go back, however difficult it might be, I would go back.