So to give an idea of the time-it's 1941, Abe has been gone for a year, and for this story's sake we're going to pretend the Great Depression is still fairly prevalent in England-despite the fact that Great Britain had begun to recover some at this time.

Meggleshi: Thank you for the fav/watch! :)

Guest: Thank you! I'm doing my best to turn out chapters at a reasonable pace-my problem in the past is I would write really long chapters and would take AGES to polish them and make them perfect. This is a bit of an experiment for me, I'm going to upload the basic chapter when I have it, (hopefully weekly) and revise as I go along. I'm hoping this will stop me from doing what I have done in the past, where readers have to wait forever and a day to get a 5,000 word chapter, then wait even longer for the next update.

~O~

Eleanor blanched when the door shut in her face, flinching at the loud bang that reverberated through the door frame. Her hand went to the knob, gently trying to twist it open only to find that it was stuck fast. She let out a sigh, only to jump in shock when a voice sounded behind her.

"Don't take it personally, Enoch is always like that." Her eyes went wide as she searched the empty area, leaning back against the door in panic and fumbling to open it. "E-enoch-?"

"It's alright,." She felt a hand grasp and firmly shake hers, and she opened her mouth to introduce herself. "Millard Nullings at your service," the voice supplied, "I assume you're the girl Miss Peregrine left to find?"

"Y-yes, Elle." She nodded quickly, feeling out of place as she spoke to the empty air. She adjusted her coat on her shoulders, when a new voice sounded out.

"Don't mind Millard, he likes to show off." A girl appeared around the corner, drying a glass with an old towel. Her voice was terse, and her eyes held a sort of sadness despite her clear loveliness. Her blond hair was styled short and in loose finger waves, the sort that Elle had only seen in pictures nearly a decade before, and she wore a pretty white dress that fell just past her knees. Her face was oval and clear, and her lips were small but shaped prettily, like a film star's. Elle felt her face heat in comparison, and she rubbed the dirt on her cheek absentmindedly.

"Emma Bloom, so have you already unpacked your things, or-?" Elle broke out of her reverie and quickly shook her head, tugging on her sleeves.

"Oh, no, I didn't bring anything." Emma raised her eyebrow in surprise, and she imagined Millard must have as well because he was quick to speak up.

"You didn't bring anything? Not even spare clothes?" Elle looked towards the Invisible boy, frowning.

"No, I didn't-did Miss Peregrine say where I was supposed to go-?"

"Here-" Emma shoved the cup and towel into the empty air, and Millard must have grabbed it because it stayed suspended there. "Follow me." Eleanor quietly shuffled after the girl, the floorboards creaking under her shoes. She slipped up the stairs after Emma, catching a glimpse of a girl with golden curls skip into the main foyer. She returned her attention to Emma, who had paused to observe her.

"The bird said to escort you to the washroom." She gestured to the door on her right, folding her arms. "We're playing raid the village tomorrow-you can get some new clothes then." With that she left her, heading down stairs and disappearing from Eleanor's view. Elle swallowed and nudged open the door, slowly closing it behind her. The room matched the fashion of the rest of the house, and she slid off her coat and hung it on the doorknob. The floor was covered in small white tiles, and the wall paper was dark and a rich mossy color. A porcelain claw foot tub was pushed against the wall, and a matching sink stood opposite. Hanging above it was an old mirror, its surface spotted with age but still usable. She placed the stopper in the tub, carefully twisting the squeaky old faucets until the water flowed at a moderate temperature. She stood on her toes as she pulled her dress over her head, the heavy fabric filled with the smell of factory smoke and dirt. She hung it up on a dark hook on the back of the door, and turned to look at herself in the mirror that hung over the sink. She frowned. The girl looking back at her hardly resembled herself. Feeling suddenly self-conscious Elle quickly pulled off her tights and bloomers, and stepping into the tub paled in horror when swirls of dirt appeared. She quickly began to scrub at the filth, and with a gasp of air dunked herself under the tepid surface. Her hands came up to scrub her scalp, massaging loose days of sweat and filth. She rose out of the water with a gasp, and let out a unladylike yelp of surprise when she heard the door creak open.

"Don't come in-"

"It's alright," Emma cut off. She peaked in, her eyes not straying from where Eleanor had put her clothing. "I brought this, so you'd have something to change into." She held up a dark grey dress, and though it was obviously too big she was grateful all the same. She drew her knees up to her chest, pushing her hair back from her face and nodding. "Thank you, Miss Bloom."

"Just Emma." She said sharply, though Eleanor was certain she saw a glimmer of a smile touch her lips. She placed the dress on the hook and closed the door with a reassuring click, and Eleanor sank back under the warm water. She couldn't remember the last time she had washed, and being able to enjoy the tub now was luxurious. When she finally felt clean again she pulled the stopper from the drain and stepped out of the tub, dripping onto the tile. She shivered and wrapped herself in a towel, quickly drying off and wringing out her wild hair before partially taming it into a braid. She pulled on her bloomers and pulled Emma's dress over here head, adjusting it so it would stay up properly on her shoulders. It was too long on her, and she couldn't get the buttons on the back herself. She glanced into the mirror and felt slightly better, at least now she looked clean. Piling up her clothes in a folded pile and making sure the room was put to rights; she stepped to the door and peaked out.

"Emma? Are you still out there…?" She was met with silence until suddenly a pale eye contrasted by equally pale skin and nearly black dark circles appeared.

"What, did you break something?" Enoch sneered. Eleanor frowned and stepped away from the crack in the door, still holding the dress with one hand so it wouldn't fall off her slim shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" she asked embarrassedly, not forgetting his rude introduction earlier. She saw something flicker across his face before quickly being replaced by apathy, and he held up a muddy arm.

"Waiting in line." He frowned, a tinge of exasperation tainting his words.

"Could you get Emma please?" She heard his annoyed sigh, and the sound of heavy footfalls told her he went to stand back by the wall.

"She went outside." He muttered. She peaked out again, seeing where he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. She quickly realized he had been waiting for some time, and she spoke up again, this time apologetically.

"I'm sorry I've kept you waiting."

"Don't be daft, girls always take too long in the washroom. Besides, if you'd stop talking and finish I would be done already." He snapped. Her face grew hot, but she held back a retort, instead sighing.

"Could you help me then?" His eyes snapped open in surprise, making her instantly regret her request, and she saw his brows furrow in confusion.

"Wot d'you mean by tha?" his cockney accent came out sharply in his state of surprise, and for a moment she wondered what part of London he was from.

"I need help, getting the back done up. Can't reach it by myself." She mumbled quietly. He sniffed, his head hitting the wall loudly.

"Who wears clothes they can't put on themselves?" he whined.

"I can't come out until it's done up." She said, feeling her face grow redder by the second. It was hard enough to admit she couldn't do the complicated buttons herself, let alone that she had to ask him of all people for assistance.

He stood with a huff, and she heard him pad to the door. "Turn 'round." He muttered, she felt him prod at the fabric, feeling for the button through the tiny crack in the door.

"Don't look-"

"I'm not looking!" he snapped, and she could hear the embarrassment in his voice. He quickly began doing up the buttons, and she turned her head enough to see that he was indeed keeping his eyes firmly set on the ceiling. He made quick work of it, and when he was done she opened the door fully, quietly noting the redness clinging to his pale cheeks.

"Thank you." She said, trying to remain polite.

"Yea, well, I'm not a peeping tom if that's what you think." He hissed. "The only one around here to worry about is Millard." Eleanor's eyes went wide in shock, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. He pushed past her to start scrubbing his arms in the sink, his lips pursed. She heard him hiss quietly in pain, and she noticed the long cut on his right palm. She fidgeted, feeling the air grow awkward. He seemed to also become aware because after a moment he reached out to slam the door. She stepped back into the hall, and shyly peeked down the stairs. She felt a hand gently grasp her shoulder and she let out a squeal of surprise.

"Miss Eleanor, that is highly unnecessary." Miss Peregrine said, one eyebrow raised above her round glasses. Eleanor's face twisted with discomfort, and her hands fisted themselves into her dress.

"Why did you leave me?" she mumbled, twisting the fabric in her hands.

"I apologize for my sudden departure, but Miss Finch had a pressing matter that was in need of my attention. Now, if you'd like to come to dinner and meet the rest of your housemates?" Eleanor nodded, growing anxious at the thought.

~O~

Enoch did his best to hide his humiliation at her request, hurriedly fastening up the buttons that were out of her reach and wishing he had the ability to teleport. As soon as he finished he pushed past her to wash off the mud from earlier, knowing he wouldn't be allowed dinner if he showed up in his current slovenly state.

He focused on cleaning the cut in his hand, and realized she was still watching him, curious.

He quickly shut her out, his face uncomfortably warm. His lips pursed as he went back to the sink, slowly rubbing the caked dirt from his arm.

Stupid girl.

~O~

I'm trying to keep Eleanor from becoming annoying, but keeping her in the sort of character I originally planned for her. :) Anywho, yay for snobby Enoch since he's easily the hardest for me to write.