Danielle nervously checked her watch for the hundreth time, where the hell was he? He said he would meet her here at seven o clock, it was now ten past, Danielle paced the floor, she could feel the sick rising in her throat, oh God she hoped she was doing the right thing. Looking up at the clock on the wall, Danielle conceeded that she would have to do this without Morgan if he wasn't here soon.

"You look a little pale Danni...nervous about something?"

Danielle whirled around at the sound of Morgan's voice, playfully slapping hi arm, she berated him.

"Where the hell have you been, I thought you weren't coming!"

"I was checking out the magazines Danni, chill...we still have ten minutes till we have to go. Listen, I know you're nervous, but you're doing the right thing, it's time for you to start again, a clean slate is exactly what you need after this year...and don't fret about what's gonna happen when you get there, it's all been sorted. Just try and relax and let the excitement of what's to come take over..okay?"

Danielle felt her stomach jump at the prospect of her actions, she was excited, that she couldn't deny, it was whether it would go as planned that had her worried. But she had to think positive, it was her that had put the wheels in motion on this, she couldn't back out now, no matter how nervous she was. Closing her eyes and taking a much needed deep breath, she forced a smile on her face and linked arms with her friend.

"Thanks Morgan, you've no idea how much this means to me...come on let's go, we don't wanna be late do we?"

"God no, we're cutting it fine as it is"

Danielle and Morgan set off on their journey, settling into a comfortable conversation on the way.

"Okay Matt, I think that's it for out here"

Jeff placed the cloth over the table at the foot of the garden and glanced around at his surroundings, God he was nervous about today, he just hoped that everyone got the answers that they were looking for.

"Jeff, it looks great man...stop worrying. And anyway that's the least of your worries, you've done the easy part already, the hard part starts now"

"Oh God, don't remind me...hey what time is it anyway?"

A knock on the door startled both brothers, frozen on their spots Jeff whispered to his brother.

"Matt, who the hell is that... I thought everyone knew they had to go to my house this year?"

"That's what the invites said Jeff...nobody else knows about this yet. Listen, just stay here and don't make a sound, I'll go check it out"

Matt made his way back through the house and closed the patio doors behind him, his heart raced as he moved towards the door, Christ he had only known about his for a few hours and he was jittery, God knows how the other three felt. Reaching for the handle, Matt breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the figure on the porch.

"Oh hello, I'm so glad you could make it at short notice...come through, Jeff's in the garden"

Shannon sat cross legged on his bed, the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee filling his nostrils. Today was gonna a good day, he told himself, today he was going to get drunk and be merry with his friends, how could he possibly be lonely with over a hundred people at the party to mingle with?

"Christ Shannon, who are you kidding. Today is the same as every other day since she left you, it's gonna be hell like it always is...but today you have to hide it better, attempt to move on at least"

Looking over at the CD player, Shannon felt the need to hear the track one more time, just one more time he told himself, then he would hide it away. Pressing the play button, Shannon skiped to track six and began to move back to his coffee. Shannon waited, but no sound filled the room, checking the player, he found it empty.

"That can't be right...it was here a few hours ago"

Shannon scratched his head in confusion, what the hell was going on here today? Shaking the thoughts from his head, he made his way through to the bathroom for his shower, he had to be leaving for Jeff's house soon if he was gonna make it in time for half twelve.