Ivy was sat in her Friday period 5 English class and despite how well behaved the class were most of the time, Jasmine was having a hard time getting any of the pupils to listen or do any work today.

"Right" Jasmine shouted loudly to capture all of their attention "I want you to make a mind map based on a character in of Mice and Men and include on it quotes you could use if you had an essay question to do about that character. If you don't finish it in the lesson, you can finish it for homework"

There was still a lot of chatting going on but Jasmine saying the rest would be homework, had motivated them a little bit to do some work.

Ivy was trying to get her mind map finished as she knew she had lots on this weekend. She was dead excited about the party she was going to tonight though and was finding it hard not to just talk about it with all her friends.

"Ivy is your sister still getting you alcohol for tonight?" Abi asked

"Yeah she's bringing it round later"

"Do you think she'd buy us a bottle of vodka?"

"No way. She wasn't keen on buying me anything, she told me to just ask Mum for it"

"Why don't you? She used to buy stuff for Taylor didn't she?"

"Yeah but not when she was 14, so I don't want to ask Mum and her say no and then go behind her back because then I'd feel even worse"

"That's true"

"Anyway I want to get this done because I don't want to have to take it home to do" Ivy said trying to change the subject as she didn't want Miss Koreshi to hear and then tell her Mum or Dad about it

The end of the day soon came much to everyone's relief so Ivy made her way to her Mum's office along with her two friends Abi and Poppy who were coming over to get ready for the party.

"Hi girls, I'm not quite ready to go yet. I'm still going to be another half an hour yet"

"That's okay, we'll walk home"

"Are you sure? You can just sit up here until I'm done and then I can give you a lift"

"No it's fine, we'll walk"

"Okay, see you in a bit then"

Ivy walked home with her friends and was surprised to see Taylor's car on the drive when they got back.

"How come you're here so early?"

"We finished early today, our lecturer was ill"

"Oh right, have you bought us anything yet?"

"Yeah, it's in my car. I'll tell Mum I'll drop you off tonight and then she won't see it. I still think you should just ask her"

"But what if she says no?"

"I suppose, but don't think I'm going to be doing this for you all the time"

"Okay, thanks for buying it for us Taylor"

"I'm going to Grandma and Grandad's to see them and pick up Emma and the twins for Mum so I'll see you in a bit"

"Okay, see you later"

Ivy went up to her room with her friends so they could all decide what to wear.

"I'm going to have a shower, do either of you want one?" Taylor asked

They'd been playing netball in PE so Abi and Poppy both wanted a shower too.

Ivy was out of the shower and had just put on a pair of pyjama shorts and a top when she heard Taylor come back with the twins and Emma so went down to see them.

When she got into the kitchen she saw Rachel was back too.

"What time's tea Mum?"

"About 5:30 probably"

"Okay we're just planning what time to get ready"

"What time does your party start?"

"We want to get there for like 7"

"Okay, you've got plenty of time then"

"Yep"

Taylor went back up to her friends.

They chatted until tea was ready.

Rachel had cooked some pizzas for the kids and then she was going to eat later with Eddie and Taylor.

"Do you fancy a gin and tonic Taylor?" Rachel asked as she grabbed a bottle of gin from the cupboard

"I'd better not, I'm dropping Taylor to the party later"

"You don't need to worry about that love, your Dad can do it"

Ivy gave Taylor a worried look.

"I'll do it, it's Jess' sister having the party so I said I'd pop in and say hi"

"Okay, do you still want to eat with me and your Dad when you get back or would you rather eat now?"

"No I'll wait, what are we having?"

"I'm going to make a chilli"

"Sounds good"

"Mum please can we have a gin and tonic"

"No I don't think so love"

"Please, you let me have one last weekend"

"Yeah but you didn't have Abi and Poppy over then, did you?"

"My Mum lets me sometimes too, she wouldn't mind" Abi said

"I'm afraid it's a no tonight girls, you're only 14"

"That's so unfair" Ivy mumbled but Rachel still heard

"I'm being unfair am I? I could've not let you go to your party tonight, but I am. Don't sulk on me because I'm not letting you have any gin when you're four years under the legal age"

"Okay, sorry"

After tea Ivy went upstairs with her friends to get ready.

Emma and Daisy kept running in and out of her bedroom and in the end Ivy got really annoyed with them.

"For gods sake you've just made me do my eye liner wonky, can you two just leave me alone for once"

"Sorry we'll be good, we'll just sit on the bed" Daisy said

"No I want you to leave, go find Taylor"

"Okay then"

Emma and Daisy left so Ivy closed the door behind them.

"They're a right pain in the arse" Ivy moaned

"You're so lucky to have younger brothers and sisters, I'd love to have a younger sister" Poppy said

"Yeah same"

"I do like it really, but sometimes they just get on my nerves"

The girls got ready for the party and it was soon time to go.

"Have a good time girls. Dad will be there to pick you up at midnight Ivy, are you girls staying here as well?"

"No, we're going home"

"Okay have you got lifts?"

"Yes thank you"

"Behave please girls, no drinking, no smoking"

"Okay" Ivy said "Bye Mum, love you"

"Love you too darling, have a good time"

Ivy got in Taylor's car and was starting to feel a bit worried about drinking.

It was the first time she'd ever gone to a party drinking and the last thing she wanted to do was get into trouble with her Mum.

"Maybe we should just leave the drink in the car"

"What? No way. Why?" Abi said

"I don't want to get into trouble, what if Mum finds out?"

Taylor had been very similar to Ivy when she had started drinking. She was always worried about her Mum finding out and her getting into trouble.

But Rachel did actually start buying alcohol for Taylor for parties, and even when Taylor had come up in really bad states Rachel had obviously been angry with her, but nowhere near as mad as Taylor thought she would have been.

"It will be okay Ivy. Just don't end up getting in a state. Drink your drinks slowly because it's very easy to drink quickly because you don't feel drunk, but then it suddenly hits you and you end up in a bad way"

"But what if Mum realises I've been drinking?"

"If you come home a bit tipsy, Mum probably won't mind too much. Just make sure you're not completely out of it"

"Okay"

Taylor dropped them off at the party and popped into see Jess for a bit but didn't stop for long before going home.

When she go home, she sat with Rachel and had a glass of wine whilst Eddie put the kids to bed.

Once he came down they ate their chilli and then stuck a film on.

At the party Ivy was having a really good time. Taylor had bought them a bottle of Malibu so she was starting to feel tipsy.

She realised she was feeling quite tipsy so had stopped drinking for a bit as she didn't want to end up going home drunk.

Ivy had gone outside to the garden with a boy called Luke in her year that she'd been going out with for a few weeks.

"You look so pretty tonight Ivy" Luke said tucking some hair behind Ivy's ear

"Thanks" Ivy said blushing

Luke the leaned in and they started kissing.

They'd been making out for a while when Luke put his hand on Ivy's thigh under her skirt.

Ivy pulled away and Luke thought he'd gone too far, as the most they'd done so far was make out.

"Sorry Ivy"

"Let's go upstairs" Ivy said smiling

"Why?"

Ivy shrugged and giggled

"Come on, let's go"

Luke took hold of Ivy's hands and they snuck upstairs to one of the bedrooms.

They sat on the bed and continued to make out for a bit.

Luke put his hand on Ivy's thigh again and Ivy encouraged him to go further up her leg.

It wasn't long before Luke started fingering her.

By the time they returned to the lounge with everyone else all Ivy's friends had been looking for her.

As soon as they saw her they all came rushing over and pulled her away from Luke so they didn't even get a chance to speak about what had just happened.

"Were you just upstairs with Luke?" Abi asked and Ivy nodded

"What were you doing?"

"Just talking"

"Why did you go upstairs then?"

"Just to get some space"

"You weren't just talking were you?" one of her other friends asked

"No"

"What did you do?"

"We were just making out"

"And then what?"

Ivy didn't say anything

"Did he finger you?"

Ivy was starting to feel really embarrassed so didn't say anything

"He did, didn't he?"

Ivy just nodded before running away and locking herself in the bathroom, as she was starting to feel really bad about what she'd just done

Ivy was crying and just wanted to go home so she decided to phone home.

"Hello" Eddie said answering the phone

"Dad, please can you come and pick me up?"

"I thought I was picking you up at midnight, it's only just gone 11"

"I know but I want to come home early, I'm not feeling very well"

"Okay sweetheart, I'll leave now"

Rachel and Taylor had just gone up to bed so Eddie went to tell Rachel where he was going and then went to pick up his daughter.

Taylor was really quiet all the way home, but Eddie presumed this was just because she wasn't feeling very well.

"You're not feeling poorly because you've been drinking are you?"

"No" Ivy said

Luckily she wasn't feeling that tipsy anymore.

"Thanks for picking me up Dad, I'm going to bed now"

"Okay night darling, see you tomorrow"

"Night"

Ivy went straight up to her bedroom and as soon as she was in her room she immediately burst into tears again.

She quickly put her pyjamas on before climbing into bed.

She still had tears streaming down her face, when there was a knock at her door. She hoped whoever it was would just go away if she didn't answer.

When Rachel didn't get an answer, she opened the door and went in anyway.

"I know you can't be asleep already"

It wasn't until Rachel was sat on the bed next to Ivy that she realised she had tears rolling down her face.

"What's wrong?"

Ivy just shrugged her shoulders, there was no way she could tell her Mum why she was crying.

"Have you been drinking?" Rachel asked suddenly after smelling her daughter's breath

Ivy turned away from her Mum and started crying even more; she was going to be in so much trouble.

"Well, have you?"

"Yeah but only a little bit" Ivy mumbled

"And how did you get any alcohol?"

Ivy thought for a minute, she didn't want to get Taylor into trouble so she decided to lie.

"Just some that people had brought to the party, but I promise I didn't have much Mum"

"Well I can see you've been sensible, as you don't seem drunk to me. I understand that if you're at a party where people are drinking then you're going to want to as well, aren't you?"

Ivy nodded, she couldn't believe how understanding her Mum was being about this.

"I can't say I'm particularly happy about you going to parties and drinking at the age of 14, but next time just ask me huh? If you're going to drink I'd rather you tell me and then I can buy you a little bit rather than you drinking any old thing that someone else has brought with them"

"Okay, I'm sorry for not telling you"

"What were you drinking?"

"I just had some Malibu"

"You still haven't told me why you were crying"

"It was just because I felt bad about drinking and I was worried I would get into trouble" Ivy lied, not that Rachel believed her for one second

"You were very upset for someone who was just a bit worried, come on love tell me why you were really crying"

"I don't want to"

"I can't help you though if I don't know what's wrong can I?" Rachel said starting to get quite worried now

Ivy sighed, Rachel was always so persistent and always managed to get the girls to tell her why they were upset.

Ivy sat up in bed and leant against her headboard.

"You know you can tell me absolutely anything" Rachel coaxed whilst stroking her daughter's hair

"Something happened at the party and I feel really weird about it now"

"What happened at the party sweetheart?"

This was going to be a tricky thing to tell Rachel considering Ivy hadn't even mentioned Luke yet.

"Well I've been going out with Luke for a few weeks now"

"Right" Rachel said not really liking where this conversation was going

"It doesn't matter, I'll be fine soon"

"No please tell me, I promise I won't judge or anything"

"Well we… we did a bit more than just kissing tonight" Ivy said struggling to tell her Mum

"What do you mean by a bit more than just kissing?"

"He fingered me" Ivy said quickly before lying back down again facing away from Rachel

Rachel couldn't believe how quickly Ivy was growing up.

"You didn't do any more than that though did you?"

Ivy shook her head

"You promise me you didn't have sex with him?"

"No of course not, I'm nowhere near ready to have sex yet"

"Good, so why do you feel weird about it now? Did he force you to do it?"

"No I wanted to at the time, but now I just feel really weird for some reason. I just feel really strange and embarrassed that he's touched me down there"

Ivy cuddled into her Mum and Rachel tried to soothe her.

"What you did was a big thing sweetheart and I'm not surprised you're feeling like this. You did a very intimate thing and maybe you weren't quite ready for it"

"But that's the thing I did feel ready, it was just afterwards that I didn't feel right. I feel like things will be awkward between me and Luke next time I see him"

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, things just feel different now"

"Do you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think you should invite Luke around for tea tomorrow night because I reckon once you've seen him and talked about it with him you'll feel better about it. But just remember just because you've done it once now, it doesn't mean you need to do it again if you don't want to"

"Aren't you mad at me Mum?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I thought you'd say I'd be too young to be doing things like that"

"You are still young, and you're growing up and experimenting with things like this is all part of growing up. But young lady, you are most definitely still too young to be having sex okay?"

"Yes I know"

"But Ives, you know you can talk to me about anything like this. You don't need to feel embarrassed or anything, because I know I might seem old now but I was your age once so I do understand how you're feeling"

"Okay, thanks Mum"

"Are you feeling any better now?"

"Yeah I think so, I feel a bit weird still but I don't regret it"

"You try and get some sleep now darling, I'll see you in the morning"

"Okay night Mum"

"Night sweetheart" Rachel said before gently kissing Ivy on the forehead

"Love you"

"Love you too"

Rachel then left Ivy to go to sleep.

As always, Ivy was feeling much better after speaking to Rachel. She quickly text Luke saying sorry for leaving without goodbye and asking him if he wanted to come over tomorrow.

By this point Ivy was really tired, so it didn't take her long to drop off to sleep.

"You were gone ages, Ivy okay?"

"She was a bit upset but she's fine now"

"What was wrong with her?"

"Boy trouble. She's been going out with Luke Collins in year 9 for a few weeks now"

"That's the first I've heard of it"

"Yeah me too"

"What did he do to upset her?"

"Nothing it's all sorted now, and I think she's going to invite him round tomorrow. Anyway Eddie, I'm shattered and the kids are going to be up in 6 hours so I'm going to sleep"

"Okay, night darling"

Rachel and Eddie went to sleep and it felt like they'd only just dropped off when they were woken up by Emma climbing onto their bed in the middle.

"Good morning sweetheart, it's not time to get up already is it?"

"Yes, the sun is up" Emma said referring to the clock in their bedroom which meant they were only allowed out of bed when the sun came up

Rachel sighed, she had meant to change it to an hour later on the weekend so she could try and get a bit of a lie in but had completely forgotten.

"Well how about you lie in with Mummy and Daddy and try and go back to sleep because it's the weekend so you're meant to sleep for longer at the weekend"

"But I'm not tired, I want to play"

"Is Daisy awake?"

"No not yet" Emma said however just as she did Daisy walked in looking all sleepy

She went straight in for a cuddle with Rachel

It wasn't long before Jack had joined them too, so in the end Eddie agreed to get up with the kids and let Rachel have a bit longer in bed.

Rachel actually managed to go back to sleep for another hour once they'd all left.

She went down to the lounge where Eddie seemed to have all of the kids amused.

Another hour passed before Taylor and Ivy were up too.

Taylor came down first in her gym stuff.

"Are you off to the gym this morning love?"

"Yeah, Ivy's going to come with me too. But would you be able to pick her up Mum so I can go straight back to uni rather than dropping her back here?"

"Yeah course I will love"

Ivy soom appeared in the lounge.

"Not feeling hungover this morning then?"

"No I feel absolutely fine, I told you I didn't drink that much last night anyway"

"Good, have you asked Luke to come over for tea tonight?"

"Yeah, he's going to come round this afternoon and stay for tea"

"Luke. Who's Luke?" Taylor asked intrigued

"A boy in my year, he asked me out a few weeks ago" Ivy said with blushed cheeks, having Eddie there as well was making her feel even more embarrassed

"Aww, that's cute. I wish I was staying here to meet him"

"Why don't you?"

"I'm going out tonight, it's a girl in my flat's Birthday"

The girls grabbed a piece of fruit each before heading out to go to the gym.

Taylor was asking Ivy lots of questions about Luke on the way to the gym and Ivy ended up telling Taylor about what happened last night. Luckily, Ivy was feeling much better about it than she was last night.

"Taylor how old were you when you first did something other than kiss a boy?" Ivy asked

"Urmm I think I was 14 too, or maybe 15"

"Did you like it?"

"No not really first time, it kind of hurt but I still kept doing it and it did get better" Taylor said feeling a bit strange talking about this stuff with her younger sister. She still seemed too young to be into boys like that.

After an hour and a half at the gym Rachel came to pick up Ivy and Taylor went back to uni.

"I need to nip to the supermarket quickly love, is that okay?"

"Yeah that's fine"

"How are you feeling this morning after last night?"

"Much better thank you. I spoke to Taylor about it this morning too which helped as well"

"Good I'm glad, remember I'm here anytime you want to talk"

"Yes I know"

Once they'd been to the shops they headed back to the house and Ivy had some breakfast before jumping in the shower.

The family headed out for a walk, Rachel's favourite thing to do every weekend, before stopping out for some lunch.

The day passed quickly and it was nearly time for Luke to arrive.

Ivy was getting really nervous about him coming and her heart started racing when she heard him ring the front doorbell.

It wasn't as bad as she thought though, and it was actually really nice having him over.

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