Hey, guys! Thanks so much for your continued support! Here's an early update for you :)

I've had a reply from the administrator to say that the rest of the characters have been added to The Dumping Ground character list - so be sure to add relevant characters as main characters in any of your fics, so they can be used in searching for fan fiction. Also let any other authors that write for TDG know this!

Thank you to 'x snow-pony x' for pointing out that I'd been spelling May-Li as Mai-Li this whole time! But, hey, at least I was consistent ;) I have gone through the whole story and corrected it now.

Today's special mention goes to: 'doodledreamer' who left some lovely reviews recently – thank you!

LAST TIME, ON 'GOING HOME'...

Emily's mum finally comes to visit.
Ryan cleverly puts things in motion to ensure he wins the bet.
Emily agrees to phone her mother, but who will answer?

Enjoy, guys!

Chapter 14: Movie Night

Emily's breath shook as she listened to the dial tone. She began to pace about nervously, watching Ryan watching her. He supressed a smirk as his plan progressed. Emily clenched and unclenched her free hand, waiting for someone to answer the phone. She'd come this far – she couldn't back out now, even if it meant losing the bet.

"Hello?" a deep male voice answered. Emily jumped.

"Um, hello?" she stammered, her voice trembling.

"Who's speaking, please?" the man asked. Emily began to well up, wondering if she'd got the wrong number. "Did you want to speak to Deliah?" A hundred possibilities sprung up in the girl's head. Was this man her mum's brother? A friend? Her new husband? Emily choked a little on the last one.

"It's a girl, want to speak to her?" she heard the man ask someone in the background. Suddenly Emily ended the call and threw down the phone on the bed. Ryan snatched it up as Emily sank down on the end of the bed.

Her breathing quickened and she put a hand to her chest. She felt all hot and cold at the same time and blinked, her vision failing her. Tears formed in her eyes and tried to escape. Ryan saw all this and his eyes widened. He grabbed her hand and rubbed her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down.

"Emily, are yew a'right?" he asked in concern, a hint of fright coming into his voice.

Emily shook her head vigorously, trying to form words. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she bowed her head in embarrassment. It felt like there was an icy hand inside her ribcage, wrapped tightly around her heart and squeezing it tightly. She tried to breathe.

"D'yeh want me to get help?" Ryan questioned, moving closer to her and putting an arm around her. She shook in his grip, shaking her head again. "Hey, it's okey," he murmured as she began to calm down.

Emily closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, her body relaxing. She scrubbed the tears away, feeling a bit ridiculous for making such a seen. She stole a glance at the boy she had caused inconvenience for and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"What're yeh sorry about?" he asked, removing his arm from around her and sounding confused. He looked at his hands. "D'yeh… have panic attacks a lot, then?"

"Panic attacks?" Emily repeated dumbly.

"Um… yeh," Ryan said. "Caused by anxiety?"

"Is that what they are?" Emily wondered, still avoiding his eyes. "Don't tell Mike, or May-Li," she said quickly.

"'Course not," he agreed, "It's actually not that serious, if yew can get control of it."

"Really?" Emily asked in surprise, looking at him. "Could you help?" she asked shyly.

Ryan sighed. "Ehm, a'right," he conceded, looking defeated. "It was kind of me own fault this time."

"Yeah, it kind of was," Emily said jokingly, sniffing.

"Y'know when yeh first arrived," he began, "That thing with the dog, and yeh fainted?"

Emily nodded.

"That was probably a panic attack," he finished. He moved himself back to sit cross-legged against his headboard.

"Right," Emily said slowly. "Yeah, that has happened before; at school once, and a few other times."

"D'yeh remember the first time it happened?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Do you remember when you became a psychiatrist?" Emily responded swiftly. She hid a smile. "So, how d'you know so much about all this stuff?"

Ryan's gaze hardened and he turned his phone over in his hands, not meeting her eyes.

"Y'know what?" he said suddenly, "I think it's time for dinner." He turned off his phone and left it on his bedside table, ushering Emily out of the room, following her. Emily straightened her clothes and tried her best to tidy her hair. "Yeh look fine," Ryan carelessly assured her, going quickly down the stairs and into the living room.

"Hey, Emily," Jody said as she entered. The shorter girl stood up, flicking her long pony-tail over her shoulder.

"Hey, Jody," Emily replied tiredly.

"Heard your mum was here earlier," Jody said casually, "How was that, then?"

"Um, weird," Emily muttered, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, I bet," Jody said with empathy. "Y'know, I haven't seen my mum in a while, either." She jerked her head towards the sofa, and Emily followed her and sat down.

"Oh, really?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her shoulder. "Was she a disappointment too?" Jody looked at her. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's OK," Jody said, "You're not wrong, though." Emily nodded.

Ryan leaned on the pool table as Johnny and Bailey had a game. He twisted round to see Jody and Emily talking. Tee and Carmen came into the living room. Tee gave Emily a friendly smile as Carmen walked purposefully towards her.

"So, your mum looks pretty well off," she said. "She was certainly dressed well."

"So what if she is?" Emily defended, ignoring the follow-up supposed compliment.

"Well, why can't she look after you, then?" Carmen demanded. Tee put a hand on her arm, but Carmen shook her off. Emily stood up, having lost all patience with this girl.

"Life is full of disappointments," Emily drawled, noticing that everyone had stopped to look at her in silence. Floss, Harry and Finn ran in from the kitchen, stopping as they took in the quietness of everyone else.

"Anoth-ah show down?" Floss said loudly, sounding pleased. She carefully closed the door so that the care workers wouldn't hear.

"Stay out of this, Floss," Carmen almost-yelled.

"Aw, good at keeping friends, aren't we?" Emily teased. She then took on a serious tone. "Not that it's any of your business what's going on between me and my mother," she began, "But there's a reason I'm here and I'm not about to go swanning off with the first family member I find just because you don't like me." She made a wide sweeping gesture with her hand in her annoyance, pointing threateningly at Carmen.

"Well, at least she wants to see you!" the older girl retorted, a little shrilly.

"Ah, so this is about your own insecurities, I see," Emily replied casually, tilting her head back. "I don't need any more, so kindly keep them to yourself." She folded her arms, hearing appreciative utterances from some of the kids.

"I can't wait to see the back of you," Carmen spat. "You think you're so incredible, putting on this whole show of being this pitiful kid who's never been in care before. I bet it's all lies. No wonder your mum doesn't want you."

Emily set her jaw, clenching her fists and trying not to react to Carmen's accusations. Tee took a hold of Carmen's wrist, trying to stop another fight breaking out. Jody caught the blond girl's look and grabbed Emily's arm. Emily exhaled sharply.

"I never even said that," she muttered, shaking her head. Then she had an idea. "I hope you don't have another party this weekend," she said, eyes narrowed, "I'm sure after hearing about this, Mike would never let you go… for the next few weeks, I'd imagine."

"Little snitch are you?" Carmen asked, taking a step back and trying to get Tee to let go of her.

"I don't have to be, so why don't you just leave me alone," she said simply. "I didn't even steal your bracelet." She eyed her ripped denim jacket that had fallen off the back of the sofa a couple of days ago. She seized the opportunity. "Replace my jacket that you ripped, and we'll call it quits."

"Or what?" Carmen sneered.

"Or… I can just tell Mike and May-Li all about what you've been saying to me," Emily pointed out, "And it looks like I've got at least ten people who'll back me up."

"Yeah, let's just stop all the fighting," Tyler put in. "It's just getting silly now."

"Carmen, Mike said you have to replace the jacket anyway," Tee murmured.

"Aw, but it was fun!" Floss protested, and Harry laughed.

"I think we've come to an agreement," said Kaz.

"Fine," Carmen said grudgingly.

"OK," Emily said mildly.

"Well done," said Mo, coming over and patting her on the arm. Jody had let go of her, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Disaster averted," Ryan said, raising an eyebrow at Bailey and Johnny. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief, not eager to see two of his friends thrash it out again.

"Dinner!" May-Li called from the kitchen. Exchanging glances with each other, the kids traipsed through to the doors.

Dinner was sausage and mash, and Tyler managed to eat more sausages than Emily had ever seen someone eat in her life. The food was nice, though Emily only managed a small portion. No one mentioned the words that had been exchanged in the living room. The kids chatted pleasantly, though the atmosphere at the table was a little subdued.

As the table was cleared, the kids were enlisted to do their chores. Emily insisted on helping clear the table before being sent away with a few of the other kids who had done their share of the chores before school. Ryan had sneaked back to his room. He turned on his phone, to find a missed call from the mum's mobile number, from minutes after Emily had tried to phone her mum. Smirking, he flopped down on his bed and picked up his skating magazine. He waited for his phone to ring. And, at length, it did.

"Hello?" Ryan answered.

"Um, who is this?" asked the voice that he recognised as Emily's mum. "Is Emily there?"

"Ehm, not at the moment," Ryan replied, stealing a glance towards the door. "It's Ryan, I spoke to yew before. I let Emily call from me phone."

"Ah, yes," she said. "Would I be able to speak to her at all?"

"Ehm, I don't think so," Ryan said evasively. "Did ch' ask Mike about what we talked about?"

"Yes, of course, darling," she said, adopting the term of endearment. He had, of course, the way she saw it, helped her grow closer to Emily. "He said he would ask her. Do you think she'll come?"

"'Course," he replied easily, "She'll love it." He looked uneasy but didn't let it show in his voice.

"Well, I've got go now," Emily mum replied, "I won't bother you again. Hopefully I'll see Emily on Saturday. I'll have to buy Emily a phone!" she laughed. He imagined her clapping her hands together in delight, if she wasn't holding the phone to her ear, of course.

"Well, I'll talk t'yeh soon," said Ryan.

"OK, bye!" she replied cheerfully and hanging up. Ryan leaned back on his bed and smiled to himself. The way he saw it, he was doing Emily a favour; she would get loads of new stuff if – when, he corrected himself – she went out with her mum. He'd bet her that she would be out shopping with her mum this weekend, following her meeting with her. He knew it would happen; he'd seen situations like this before and liked to think of himself as a good judge of character. He would win. He had to, even if Emily didn't want to see her mum again.

The next day was an INSET day for a number of the Dumping Ground kids. Harry, Finn and Floss had to go to school, though, so they were downstairs getting ready as the rest of the kids enjoyed a lie in. Emily emerged from her room and quickly went to the bathroom, finding it empty. Figuring there wouldn't be a schedule for the kids who didn't have to go to school, so Emily had a quick shower. She exited the bathroom in her dressing gown and her hair in a towel. Tee passed her in the corridor, smiling at her.

"I'm glad you and Carmen have made up," she said. Emily stopped and turned to face her.

"Is that what she said?" she wondered aloud, then added, "I'm just glad we can stop fighting." This was rather honest of her. If Carmen would just leave her alone, maybe she could actually start looking well-behaved. Tee nodded, turning and going into the bathroom.

Emily continued down the corridor. She went back to her room to get dressed, selecting black jeans and the black and white striped shirt. The horizontal stripes were quite wide and Emily buttoned it all the way up, leaving just the top button undone. She rubbed her hair roughly with the towel and hung the towel on the door handle of her wardrobe. She looked about the small room and decided that it would probably be best to pick up the crumpled clothes from the floor at some point, but she declined to do it now. She went out of the room, closing the door behind her. She heard the front door slam shut as Mike took the younger kids to school.

Going down the corridor and coming to the door that she recognised as Jody's, Emily knocked on the door.

"Go away;" came the sleepy reply.

"It's Emily, can I come in?" she called.

"Yeah, good luck with that!" Tyler laughed as he passed her. "Jody needs her beauty sleep," he joked. Emily rolled her eyes, and once Tyler had gone from sight, she opened the door and went in.

Jody looked up, squinting at her. She stretched out an arm lazily, pointing behind Emily. Her long brown hair was down and was spread out around her. She looked tired, but didn't tell Emily to leave.

"Aw'right," she mumbled, "Close the door, though." She dropped her hand and snuggled up under her duvet. Emily went and sat down on the bed. Jody peered at her with one eye. "What's up?"

"Well, you know my mum came yesterday," Emily began, and Jody responded with a nod. "I think... I think she's going to ask me out shopping this weekend."

"Aw, well that sounds fun," Jody considered, pushing her long hair out of her face, "At least she wants to see you."

"Doesn't your mum want to see you?" Emily asked with concern.

"Nah, she's still kind of mad at me for snitching on Kingsley," she explained. Noting Emily's look of confusion, she added, "My brother; he's in prison."

Emily's eyes widened and she gave a nod.

"I know," Jody said with a laugh, "Weren't expecting that, were ya?"

Emily chuckled. "Well, thanks for telling me." She gave a small smile.

"Oh, it's no big deal," the shorter girl brushed it off, "Most of the kids here know. It was a while ago now." She looked thoughtful and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Then she looked at Emily. "I mean it though," Jody said seriously, "Don't throw away this opportunity just because of what ya mum did in the past."

Emily nodded slowly. "OK," she murmured, looking uneasy. It was only fair to her mum, but it would mean losing the bet.

"What's the matter?" Jody asked, sitting up.

"Um, nothing," she muttered, looking at the floor. She huffed, standing up moving to leave.

"Emily!" Jody demanded; holding out a hand as Emily left the room.

"I'm going to grab some breakfast," Emily called over her shoulder. Jody rolled her eyes and flopped back down, staring at the ceiling.

Emily closed Jody's door behind her to see Ryan leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He pushed off from the wall and sauntered past with a smug look. Emily's eyes widened as she watched him move past her.

"Made yer decision?" he said acidly, raising an eyebrow as he turned back to going down the corridor.

When he had gone, Emily exhaled sharply and put a hand to her face. She then hurried down the corridor in the opposite direction. Closing the door behind her she collapsed on her bed and reached into the drawer in the bedside table for the photograph. It had been taken about eight years ago and was just bigger than her hand. Emily stared at the smiling faces; her mum, her dad, and a beaming five year old: herself. She had kept the photo in her notebooks for years. She rubbed at her eyes and shoved it angrily back in the drawer.

It wasn't about some stupid bet. She couldn't say 'no' to her mother, not now. Picking up the little box with the necklace in it, she flung it across the room. Trust Mum to buy her off with something, to try and smooth things over; make her think everything was all right again. Well, it wouldn't work, but she did want to see her mum again... and it wouldn't hurt to get some new stuff. Who cares what Ryan said, even if he predicted – and pretty much ensured – that this would happen?

Emily decided to go down for breakfast. Tee, Ryan, Tyler and Mo were already eating breakfast. Emily grabbed a bowl and poured herself a small helping of cornflakes.

"Johnny's already gone out for a run," Tee explained, and Emily gave a nod.

"If you were looking for him, that is," Tyler put in with a wink. Tee shook her head, leaving the table to put her dishes in the sink.

Ryan was leaning on the worktop with a half-finished piece of toast in his hand. He glanced at Emily out of the corner of his eye. He was wearing a black t-shirt, a maroon hoodie worn open, with his faded black skinny jeans. He came to sit down opposite her. Emily had finished her cereal and she placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands.

"Look, Ryan," she began, "I don't know what your game is, but I don't care about this stupid bet anymore."

"Ooh," he said provokingly. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that 'cos I'm gonna win?"

"Oh, shut up," she said bluntly, getting up and putting her bowl and spoon in the sink. Ryan finished his toast and followed her into the living room. "Go away Ryan," she sighed.

Carmen came through the living room with a magazine in her hand. She was dressed in pink and her hair was damp from her shower. She put the magazine down on the coffee table and raised her eyebrows as she passed the pair of them, going into the kitchen. Jody bounded down the stairs in her customary grey jeans and a blue collared shirt. Bailey came in with Mischief and both Emily and Ryan visibly drew away. Jody laughed and went to stroke Mischief's furry head. Bailey and Jody exchanged a grin as May-Li walked in from the office. Ryan and Emily looked at each other; Ryan with a raised eyebrow, and Emily hid a smile with her hand.

"Ehm, not in 'ere, please," she demanded, gesturing towards the kitchen. "Take 'im outside, Bailey."

"Yes, May-Li," he agreed, ushering Mischief through, followed by Jody.

"Oh, Emily," said May-Li, "Mike wanted to speak to you about somethin'." She smiled kindly at her.

Emily returned the smile awkwardly. "Oh, right," she muttered, looking once at Ryan before going straight to the office. She went in to find Mike at his desk.

"Ah, Emily," he said, taking off his glasses, "About your mum, she'd like to take your out shopping tomorrow."

Emily nodded, not surprised in the slightest. Someone, of course, had put the idea in her mum's head.

"Is that... all right?" Mike asked, "I'm going to accompany you both, it's part of procedure."

"Yeah, sure," Emily found herself saying.

"Oh," Mike said in surprise, "Excellent. I'll get back to her. Run along, then."

Emily made an awkward face as she left the office. She mentally face-palmed, shaking her head as she went back into the living room. Bailey was at the pool table, trying to convince Ryan to play. Ryan noticed Emily return, and quickly agreed. Bailey tossed him a pool cue and set up the game. Emily went to perch on the back of the sofa, facing the pool table. Ryan looked a little nervous as Jody came through from the kitchen with a handful of sweets.

"Ooh, cool," she said, watching as Bailey took the first shot. She offered the sweets to Emily.

"Where'd you get these?" she asked, taking one and popping it in her mouth.

Jody just put a finger to her lips and said, "Don't tell May-Li."

As the game continued, Ryan looked deadly focussed as he potted a red ball. Emily grinned and watched as Ryan missed one. He looked really disappointed as Bailey laughed, lining up his pool cue. He potted a yellow ball and Jody gave a cheer. Bailey shot her a grin and Ryan rolled his eyes. But Bailey missed the next one and Ryan smirked. Tyler walked in, spying the sweets and quickly snatching one from Jody's hand.

"Aw, want Bailey to win, do you?" he teased, and Jody gave him a slap. "And you must be vouching for Ryan?" he addressed Emily. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Looks like it," she muttered, turning back to the game. Bailey had three more to go, whereas Ryan only had two. But in his next turn, Bailey potted two more so it looked like he was going to win. He gave Jody a high-five as he came round that side of the table.

"Hey, y' haven't won yet!" Ryan complained. Bailey aimed for his last ball but missed. Ryan looked smug and lined up his next shot, potting his last two balls and finally the black one.

"Go Ryan!" Tyler yelled, high-fiving him. Bailey looked annoyed, throwing up both hands. Jody's shoulders slumped and she finished her last sweet as May-Li came in.

"Hey, is Johnny back yet?" she asked.

"Was that my name I heard?" the older boy asked, poking his head around the living room door. "I'm going to have a shower."

"OK," May-Li replied, crossing the living room, mug of tea in hand. She gave Johnny a nod before going into the office.

Johnny came into the living room. "What's been happening when I was out?" he asked, looking amused at the mix of smug and disappointed faces.

"Ryan won," Tyler filled in, patting said boy on the shoulder.

"Nice one," Johnny commended. Ryan nodded with a grin. The older boy turned to the loser of the game, "Better luck next time, eh, Bailey?"

"Yeah, that's funny," Bailey muttered, leaving the room to go outside. Jody and Tyler laughed.

"Well, see you guys in a bit," said Johnny, going upstairs.

"What now?" Jody asked.

They spent the rest of the day hanging out in the living room and doing their chores. They ate sandwiches in the kitchen at lunchtime, and before too long, it was time for the rest of the kids to come home from school. Mike went to collect them in the minibus. Jody flopped down on the sofa next to Emily.

"Shame we don't have more days like this, eh, guys?" she said.

"Yeah, it's nice without all them little kids," Bailey added, sitting on the other sofa next to Ryan and Johnny.

"Oh, well that's nice," said Mo, coming in from the garden. He brushed his hands on his beige trousers.

"Yeah, well, you weren't annoying us," Johnny put in.

"And you're not that little," said Jody.

"OK," Mo said dubiously. "Can I sit here?" he asked, going up to Emily.

"Sure, Mo," Emily said, moving up closer to Jody to make room for the younger boy.

The front door opened and the little kids ran into the living room.

"Mike said we can have a movie night!" Floss declared as she entered. Carmen and Tee had come downstairs and into the living room. Harry and Finn looked excited, and Mike came through with a pair of girls with short light brown hair. They looked about the same age as Floss and the other younger kids.

"Are those the twins?" Emily asked in a hushed voice.

"Yep," Jody replied quietly.

"So, we've got our twins back!" Mike said cheerfully, and the house erupted in cheers. The two girls looked at each other and smiled.

"Aw, come here," said Tee, enveloping the younger girls in a hug.

"Aw," Carmen laughed, rubbing the nearest twin's shoulder.

"Why are you back from your foster placement?" Harry asked. Mike exchanged an uneasy glance with May-Li.

"We didn't like it," Billie said simply, and it wasn't questioned further. After greeting their old friends, the twins turned to Emily. She smiled awkwardly.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"Um, I'm Emily," she said, "I'm new here." The other twin nodded.

"I'm Toni," said the first, sticking out a hand. Emily shook it.

"And I'm Billie," said the other, shaking Emily's hand in turn.

"Well, welcome back," said Emily, smiling.

"Thanks," said Billie, and she and her sister both gave the new girl a smile.

"Well, come on, then, you lot!" said Mike, on his way to the kitchen, "We're having dinner before any movie night."

"Why can't we eat in front of the telly?" Floss demanded, hands on hips.

"Because we said so," said May-Li, copying her. "Come on, now, everyone."

All the kids went through to the kitchen to help with the dinner. They formed an assembly line to make sandwiches and salad. Emily and Ryan set the table as Floss ran back and forth fetching things. Emily didn't say anything to the skinny boy, but she kept thinking about their so-called bet. She had been so certain she would win, but now it looked like she would be Ryan's slave for the following week.

They all sat down to a tea of sandwiches, salad and crisps. The kids discussed the choice of film. They agreed to let the twins decide, though some of them put in some suggestions.

"Frozen," said Floss, and there was a collective groan.

"Aw, no one even likes that," Bailey grumbled.

"Star Wars," Johnny argued, and many of the kids nodded.

"Why not Toy Story?" Tyler put in, "It's a classic!"

"You're such a kid," Jody teased.

The twins looked at each other. Billie whispered something in Toni's ear, who nodded. Tee smiled at them.

"Have you decided?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Toni.

"We want to watch Big Hero Six," said Billie.

Harry and Finn exchanged a high-five, and Floss looked satisfied.

"Cool, well, you're in luck," said Tee, "We've got that one."

"It's a really good one, too," Kaz added.

"Come on, then," said Carmen, getting up, "Might as well turn the place into a cinema."

There was a cheer from the little kids, who rushed from the table to rearrange furniture and close the curtains. The other kids stayed to help clear up, and get some snacks ready for the movie. The twins ran into the living room, followed by Tee who got the TV ready. When everything was in place, everyone traipsed into the living room. The two sofas had been put side by side in front of the telly and the curtains were closed. Emily carried a bowl of popcorn through, followed by Johnny and Ryan who were also carrying the snacks and passed them to the other kids who had quickly sat down in their preferred places.

Emily glanced at Ryan who also struggled for a seat. Floss, Finn, Harry and Mo sat on beanbags on the floor, Johnny sat on the footstool in front of his sister who sat between the twins. Carmen and Kaz had opted for chairs that had been placed behind the sofas, and Tyler perched on the arm of the sofa next to Billie. There was a space just big enough for two next to Jody and Bailey on the far sofa. With a sigh Emily made her way over, followed by Ryan. Emily ended up between Ryan and Jody. Tyler looked over, amused.

"Whehey," he said teasingly, "Check out the Couples' Sofa!"

Bailey shot him a glare and Jody rolled her eyes, whilst Ryan and Emily just looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Let's just watch the movie, shall we?" Toni suggested, exchanging a knowing glance with Billie.

So the movie started and Emily was really enjoying it. The beginning was so sad, but it got really exciting pretty quickly after that. So exciting, in fact; that she didn't notice Ryan casually out his arm across the back of the sofa. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye when she noticed, but he seemed just as absorbed in the movie as the rest of the kids. Emily shifted slightly on the sofa and continued watching, taking a handful of popcorn as it was passed around.

When the movie finished, the curtains were opened and the telly turned off. Emily stretched out her legs and exchanged a grin with Jody. She looked at Ryan, who quickly removed his arm from behind her. Bailey got up and stretched. The kids began to disperse, and Jody and Tyler headed upstairs, followed by Tee, Johnny, Carmen, Kaz and Mo. The little kids talked to the twins for a bit before Mike came in to show the twins to their room. It was amazing how quickly the room emptied as May-Li cleared the snack bowls and went back to the kitchen.

"So," said Ryan.

"Yep," Emily replied awkwardly, staring at the floor. Ryan raised his hand slightly as if to touch her shoulder, but decided against it.

"Don't worry about the bet," he muttered. She stared at him. He then smirked. "I'm still cashing in though." He sauntered out of the room.

Emily shook her head in disbelief. She would never understand this boy.

NEXT TIME, ON 'GOING HOME'...

Will Emily's anxiety become too much?
What happened at the twins' foster home?
And what will happen when Emily goes shopping with her mum?

Catch the next chapter before Saturday...

P.S. Who's your favourite DG character? :)