"What's up?" Zoe asked, nudging Imogen in the shoulder gently and fixing her with a serious look. The Scottish girl shrugged and shook her head wordlessly. "No way, man. There's something wrong and we're not going to let it go until you tell us, so you should probably spill, mate."

"She's right." Hollie agreed with a shrug, sitting beside Dynasty on the step and waiting expectantly for someone to tell her what was happening.

Exchanging a look with her best friend, Imogen sighed and nodded, giving Dynasty permission to fill them in. "Basically, Im's had an unconditional offer from the London School of Drama, but Connor's moving back to Greenock to look after his mum."

"What?" Scout frowned between them. "Why?"

"Connor said she's just given up… she's not going to fight the board."

"But that's…" Hollie shook her head. "No way. She's a great teacher. She can't just give in."

"I think she's–"

"Excuse me." Gabriella opened the door behind them and stood on the top step, looking distastefully down at the group. "You're blocking my way."

"Err… can't you see that Imogen's upset?" Dynasty snapped.

"Yeah, get lost, Gabriella." Hollie agreed, rolling her eyes.

"Err… can't you see that I don't care?" The blonde retorted.

"Oh, you think you're so superior you, don't ya?" Dynasty rounded on her as she and Hollie both jumped to their feet angrily.

"Aww, Dynasty, a four syllable word." Gabriella mocked, walking down the steps now that the two girls had moved out of her way. "Congratulations."

"Dynasty, ignore her." Imogen urged. "Hollie, don't…"

"Watch your mouth, Wark." Hollie growled, stepping closer to the blonde.

"You're nothing." Her friend goaded their enemy.

"You don't know anything about me." Gabriella told her, causing Hollie to smirk and snort in amusement.

"Yeah I do." Dynasty disagreed. "You're a spoilt little brat and no one likes ya."

She linked arms with Hollie on one side and Imogen on the other and all five girls walked away, leaving Gabriella staring after them. Scout grinned and shook her head once they were out of earshot, turning to walk backwards and laughing lightly.

"That girl… she's such a cow."

"You can say that again." Zoe muttered, shooting a glance over her shoulder to where Gabriella was still scowling after them.

"Yeah, but you two can't afford to get into anymore trouble." Imogen cautioned. "Especially you, Hol. After you fighting last week you've got to keep your head down."

"What are they going to do to me?" The girl in question asked with a shrug. "Realistically, what are they going to do? We're leaving here today… they can't exactly stop me taking my Highers, can they?"

"I dunno…"

"No way, Im." Dynasty shook her head. "They won't stop Hollie sitting her exams. That would be mental."

"Let's go to the shop, get some chocolate and chill for a bit." Zoe suggested calmly, nodding towards the school gates. "Get away from Princess Gabby for a while."

Nodding in agreement, the other four followed her down the slope and through the gates. They made jokes and laughed in a carefree way all the way along the road to the corner shop. Rolling their eyes as Mr Cartwright shouted at them that only two were allowed in at once, they took it in turns to go and buy sweets and chocolate. Hollie refrained from buying anything for herself, Vix's jibe about her putting on weight still reverberating around in her mind and making her feel self-conscious. Scout squeezed her arm knowingly as they headed back to school together, feeling much calmer than they had been when they'd left.

Walking back towards the building, they noticed the crowd gathered around Mr Lowsley's climbing wall. Fixing the commotion with interested curiosity, they started heading towards it, when Nikki rushed towards the barriers shouting Kacey's name. Dynasty exchanged a terrified look with the others, before they all started running towards the crowd.

"It was her, Gabriella!" Kacey cried out from her position on the ground, clutching her arm to her chest.

"She's lying!" The older girl argued, no one believing her for a second.

"Well let's save the finger pointing 'til later." Mr Lowsley suggested.

"I bet it was her, Sir." Hollie said loudly, leaning against the barriers and glaring at Gabriella. "She said earlier she was gonna get her own back on Kacey for interrupting her stupid presentation last week."

"I did not!"

"Yeah, she did." Scout chipped in, backing up her friend's story. "I bet she did it, Sir."

"I reckon Gabby did do it." Shaznay agreed in a low mutter that carried nevertheless. "Kacey was well good up there."

As Carol and Mr Windsor rushed into the enclosure and crouched down beside the sobbing girl, Mr Lowsley ushered everyone else away. Dynasty ducked past him and joined her mother and sister, while the others reluctantly left the yard and returned to the school. Hollie shot her mother a look as she went, frowning as Nikki appeared to be looking straight through her. Her forehead was furrowed anxiously and she didn't really seem to be paying attention to what was happening.

The next lesson passed painfully slowly. Hollie barely paid attention as Mr Hart talked them through what to expect in their Geography exam. She tapped her biro against her notepad until the man told her to stop. At his command, she exhaled sharply and dropped the pen onto the surface of the desk, shooting him a scowl at the same time.

"What is with you?" Scout demanded as Hollie dropped her bag angrily onto her desk in her mother's classroom at the start of the next period. "You're acting as though it was you that Gabriella pushed off that wall."

"She's just gonna get away with it, again, isn't she?" Hollie snapped. "It's always the same story. The absolute assholes always win."

"What are you on about?"

"Life's a bitch."

"You're not talking about Gabriella and Kacey, are you?" Scout guessed. "What's wrong?"

"Nikki… my…" Hollie curled her lip in disgust, "my mother…"

"Hol?"

"Something's wrong… I can feel it. Something's wrong and she won't talk to me."

"What are you on about?" Scout demanded worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know… but I know something's wrong. She's not herself, she's not…"

"You've barely spoken to each other for a week… how can you possibly know something's wrong?"

Scowling at her friend, Hollie grabbed her bag and slammed her way out of the classroom. She headed straight for the staffroom, not caring that she was about to break one of the school rules and pushed through the door without a second thought. She could hear raised voices from the office area, so moved quickly through the staff room and leant against the doorframe, watching the scene unfolding.

"Gabriella should be reported to the police!" Nikki was telling Mr Lowsley vehemently as her daughter entered the room. "Sonya, do you have a direct number for them, please?"

"Hey, reign it in, alright?" The acting head ordered her gently. No one had noticed Hollie's presence yet. "You are too close to Kacey."

"Just… hear yourself defending her, Simon. She's a borderline sociopath."

"No she isn't, she's a kid!" He argued. "An upset kid in our care. We should be helping Gabriella, not condemning her. Look, I'm head now and what I say goes, so just drop it, OK?"

"Or what?"

"Or maybe I'll reconsider going so easy on Hollie. Let's face it she's becoming a thug and she's practically bullying Gabriella. She's lucky Christine's given her so many chances; most other head's wouldn't have."

"Oh, that is low, Simon." Nikki spat at him. "I back off Gabriella or you punish my daughter?"

"It's your choice, Nikki."

"I refuse to let Gabriella get away with what she did to Kacey."

"So you're choosing her over me?" Hollie asked, quietly, from the doorway. Nikki, Mr Lowsley and Sonya all whirled around, surprised by her presence. "Wow…"

"Hollie, I'm not–"

"I don't know why I'm surprised… first Vix, now Kacey… thanks, Mum."

Turning tail, the teenager ignored her mother's shouts behind her and ran from the office. She blanked the teachers in the staff room who shot her indignant looks or called her name, crashing through the door and sprinting away down the corridor, not sure where she was going, but knowing that she needed to get away.

"Oh, Acting… You're Acting Head, Simon, you should remember that." Nikki spat as she followed her daughter from the room. It took her quite a while to catch up with her, spotting her leaning heavily against a wall, her eyes closed tightly. "Hollie!" Nikki grabbed her daughter's wrist and yanked her round to face her, harder than she'd intended. "I would choose you. Every time."

"No, mum, you wouldn't." Hollie told her softly. "We both know that."

"Hol… you're my entire world."

The teenager laughed mirthlessly. "Don't lie to me. Whatever else you do, don't do that."

"I'm not."

"Credit me with some intelligence, please, Nikki." The use of her name caused a look of intense pain to cross the woman's face. "I have to get to my lesson."

"No you don't… I'm not there."

"Yeah… you should probably do something about that or your class will leave."

"Hollie, please." Nikki sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just need to sort this Gabriella thing out. This is Kacey's future and–"

"And our future, you and me, that's not important?"

"Of course it is!"

"It feels like it!"

Continuing to run her hands through her hair, Nikki sighed, seemingly at a loss as to how to deal with her daughter. The teenager shook her head and turned to walk away along the corridor in the direction of the common room.

Changing her mind mid-way along the corridor, Hollie headed to the Pastoral Care Office where Gabriella was being kept while the situation was dealt with. She closed the door firmly behind her, the click ominous as the brunette dropped her school bag on the floor and leant on the back of the closest chair, fixing Gabriella with a furious scowl.

"Why did you do it, hey? Why did you push Kacey off that wall? What had she ever done to you?" Hollie demanded. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Oh… I get it. It was easy. You could make yourself feel better by taking your anger out on some innocent kid who happened to get in your way."

"It's true I would have felt a lot better if it was you I'd watched falling off that wall." Gabriella admitted easily.

Hollie chuckled. "You could never take me on, Wark. You are nothing."

Gabriella stood up and approached her slowly. "You have no idea."

"Yeah?" The brunette laughed again and raised her hands, palms open, in her direction. "Give it your best shot."

Gabriella hesitated, as though expecting it to be a trap, before raising her hand and slapping Hollie hard around the face. The other girl barely reacted, poking her tongue into the corner of her mouth and tasting the slight metallic tang of blood, before rolling her head on her neck, as though preparing herself.

Without any warning at all, Hollie pulled back her fist and slammed it into Gabriella's face as hard as she could. The blonde fell backwards, stumbling over a chair and crumpling into a heap on the carpeted floor. Hollie advanced on her, grabbing her by the shoulder and dragging her to her feet. Clearly Gabriella thought she was about to hit her again, because she shielded her face, but Hollie simply pushed her down into a chair and turned away, clenching and unclenching her fists. She had just rounded on the blonde again and raised her fist, when Nikki burst through the door and looked apprehensively between the two girls.

"What's going on here?" She demanded. When neither spoke, she shrugged and walked towards her desk. "Alright, we'll phone the police."

Hollie gaped at her, unable to believe that her mother would actually do that.

It was, however, Gabriella, who spoke. "I'm sorry." Nikki replaced the handset and turned, regarding the blonde with an identical, confused expression to her daughter. "I'm sorry that your relationship was so flimsy that a seventeen-year-old school girl could destroy it. That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Vix and I… we're back together." Nikki shot at her. "Shut up."

"All I did was tell the truth about you and Mr Reid."

"I said shut up!" Nikki screamed at her.

Hollie frowned, laying a hand on her mother's arm, trying to calm her. "Don't."

"Make me." Gabriella challenged. Then she began undoing her shirt and screaming, shouting at Nikki to stop, although the woman was nowhere near her.

Standing back in horror, Hollie watched the teenager's antics. She shook her head as her mother stepped in, attempting to prevent the blonde harming herself. Hearing the door opening, she whipped around and fixed widened eyes on Mr Lowsley, who was gaping at the scene in the centre of the room.

"Miss Boston!" He shouted, causing Nikki to retract her hands as though they'd been burnt. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I–"

"Outside, now!"

As they turned to leave, Hollie cleared her throat. Mr Lowsley jumped, obviously not having noticed her before. "Sir… she didn't do anything. She… Gabriella… just went nuts."

"Hollie, that's… I need to speak to Miss Boston."

"I hit her." Hollie blurted out, desperately. "It was nothing to do with Mum. She pushed me away and tried to make sure Gabriella was OK. It was me."

"Hollie!" Nikki shook her head.

"I will deal with you later, Hollie. Get to the Cooler for now." Mr Lowsley told her firmly, nodding towards the door and ushering her out. He directed Nikki firmly along the corridor ahead of him, leaving her daughter staring after them before heading towards the punishment classroom. "Did Hollie hit her?"

"I… I don't…"

"What were you even doing there, Nikki? Are you so determined to prove she deliberately hurt Kacey that you'd do anything?"

"Yeah, I wanted her to tell the truth, but I didn't touch her!"

"I saw you."

"Right… do you really think I'd hurt her? I was angry, OK, but Gabriella has set me up!"

"Look, I've got Mrs Wark in my office and I'm gonna have to explain to her what happened."

"Yeah and she knows exactly what she's like because her daughter has caused mayhem at every single school she's attended."

"Right, that's it, take the rest of the day off."

"What? Oh! No, no, no, no!"

"I'm gonna have to formally suspend you pending an investigation."

"I am not going home." Nikki argued furiously.

Simon waved his arms angrily. "Nikki, will you please, for once, do as you're told!"

"Right, if I leave it's an admission of guilt and I didn't touch her, so I am going back to my class and you can get Gabriella to tell you the truth." She raged. "And if you even so much as think about punishing my daughter over this you will be very, very sorry."

"Nik–"

"No!" She shouted, turning and making her way angrily back into the building.

After being left in the corridor, Hollie did as she was told and headed along the corridor to the Cooler. She waited there for about ten minutes, before deciding she couldn't sit still anymore, leaving her bag on the desk as she strode from the room. Storming through the hallways, Hollie headed straight for the Head's office, throwing open the door and, as expected, finding Gabriella talking to her mother.

"She is talking complete shit." Hollie informed the woman bluntly. "What's she said? That Miss Boston did something to her?"

"Who are you?" Mrs Wark demanded.

"She's Miss Boston's daughter." Gabriella informed her helpfully.

"Yeah, I am. I'm also the one who hit your daughter. My mum had nothing to do with it."

"You expect me to believe that?"

Hollie snorted. "Quite frankly, I don't give a shit what you believe. You're Gabriella's mother, so you probably can't tell what's the truth and what's a lie anyway. Everything that comes out of her mouth is a lie. She's a manipulative bitch who's had it in for my mother for months, just because Gabriella has a crush on Mr Reid and he didn't give her a second glance. He fancied my mum and Gabriella couldn't stand that."

"That's not–"

"She's a liar!"

The office door opened and Mr Lowsley appeared. He went white at the sight that greeted him. "Hollie! Cooler, I thought I said I'd deal with you later. Mrs Wark I'm–"

"I was just telling Mrs Wark that I'm the one who punched Gabriella." Hollie interrupted him defiantly.

"Gabriella says it was her teacher." The woman said, almost making it sound like a question. "I assume you've suspended Miss Boston."

"I've asked her to go home." He said in a quieter voice, furrowing his eyebrows. "But Miss Boston is denying that she struck Gabriella."

"She didn't!" Hollie snapped. "It was–"

"Then why is my daughter bleeding?" Mrs Wark demanded, ignoring the teenager.

"Mr Lowsley, you saw her attack me." Gabriella argued.

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. Gabriella… you weren't bleeding in Pastoral Care."

"Are you saying that I'm lying?"

"Yes." Hollie agreed bluntly.

"I don't know." Mr Lowsley said, more tactfully.

There was a pause. "I believe my daughter, Mr Lowsley."

"Of course you do! She had to get her manipulative, lying bitchness from somewhere!"

"That's enough, Hollie. Out." The acting head commanded, grabbing her arm and steering her towards the door. "Cooler."

"I won't let you do this." The teenager hissed, scowling between the mother and daughter furiously. "All my mum has tried to do is help you… she's given you chance after chance, even after you tried to ruin her relationship. I won't let you ruin her career as well."