Really short :O Sorry. I wanted this to explore Shannon's feelings rather than Kate's, did I do it ok? Happy chapter next :D R&R!!

Oh and I won't be able to update till the day after tomorrow, darn homework right?

Ribbons And Glitter

The two girls looked up as Kate entered the room, dressed in her jeans and a large blue hoodie of Shannon's.

"Hey…" Claire smiled softly. "You ok?" She nodded and took a seat at the table her arms clutched round her shoulder, hugging herself. She had dark rings round her eyes, and her hair was tied back tightly, escaping in soft twists at the back. After the night the three girls had had, it was no doubt they were tired. Apart from the dashed trips to the bathroom and the relentless sobbing, they'd spotted the red marks on her arm and sat up hours just talking. But even by the early morning when Shannon and Claire were asleep, they were sure Kate hadn't at all, because for brief periods when the two girls awoke, she was staring to the side, her eyes wide open and glassy. There were five voice messages on their answering-machine, all from Jack. Shannon was half pissed that Sawyer hadn't rung, but half relieved, the last thing she needed was more hassle from him. She'd spent the whole night, and most of the morning throwing up. Claire had squealed each time, and run from the room to fuss in the kitchen, unable to stand by and hear her be sick. Shannon had held her hair back and soothed her softly, having had enough experience in the last several months with herself, but this was different. She'd been sobbing hysterically while heaving into the toilet bowl, she'd clawed at her jeans and it had been less a disgusting accident then a desperate act of repulsion. It broke Shannon's heart to see her friend so repulsed by the blood in her own body, that it was forcing her to throw up. She'd never tell Kate why the weight was dropping of her, because Kate didn't want to throw up, yet she was making herself. It sounded selfish and disgusting, but she had to do it. It had become a ritual, and she couldn't bring herself to break it. Kate looked at the toast on the plate dubiously as Shannon cut hers into smaller pieces.

"You don't have to eat it." She smiled, seeing the sigh of relief her friend uttered at her words. "But drink something, cause your probably dehydrated after last night…"

"And this morning." Claire said softly.

"Boone left with one of his mates to give us some space… I don't think he could handle all the girl-ness." Shannon chuckled, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Kate smiled softly, and pulled her legs up on the chair, her eyes drooping slightly, clearly exhausted. There was an awkward silence in which the three girls looked between each other quietly.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah." Kate smiled. "Thanks… I guess I drank more than I thought…"

"Yeah, well… Jack rang. Wanted to know how you were…"

"Oh right…" She chewed her lips for a moment, clearly wondering about Sawyer.

"He wondered if he could come round?" She smiled. "You think he could…?"

"Sure…" There was another silence in which Kate continued to bite her nails. "Can I borrow some of your makeup Shan?"

"Yeah, sure…" She smiled softly, looking worriedly into her friend's pale face. "You want me to help?" There was a pause in which Kate nodded slowly.

She didn't look any better with the makeup on. In fact, it almost made her look worse. The blush on her cheeks made her look even paler, and Shannon ended up wiping it off as Claire did her lipgloss.

"You look prettier without it…" She smiled softly. "C'mon lets go downstairs… eat something, yeah?"

"Yeah." She mumbled, "Just give me a minute." Shannon and Claire reluctantly left her alone, and padded downstairs, seating themselves in the living room and flicking on the TV.

"She's going to be ok, right?" Claire mumbled, looking across at Shannon.

"I… dunno… look at her. She can't keep anything down, whatever the hell Sawyer was playing at worked… how could he…?"

"What did he actually say to her?"

"I don't know… either way she's a mess… and I don't like her being on her own, that look in her eye's scary. I'm gonna go get her… then get Jack to come round, maybe he can get something down her…"

"Ok… I'll ring him, and you go get her… I'll call Sawyer too."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Claire shrugged, but took up the phone anyway. Climbing up the stairs, Shannon strained to hear any noise from the bedroom, but heard non, and went in without knocking. She was in the same position as she left her, her knees drawn up to her chest, her head laid down.

"Oh Kate…" She said sadly, pulling her to her. "C'mon, sweetheart."

"Don't…" She whispered. "I don't… where's Sawyer?"

"… I don't know, home probably." Kate nodded softly, and leaned back against the bed, letting her hair drape forwards into her eyes. "He's not… he's not rung… but I'm sure he will, if he does, do you want to talk to him?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kate said in a small voice.

"Well… it was just, last night you seemed…you were…"

"I'm fine… he just got upset." Her tone was completely flat and she wasn't looking at Shannon at all, just staring blankly at the wall. There was a long silence, in which neither girls moved, but Kate broke it first. "I made him cry…"

"…What?"

"Sawyer." Shannon blinked, wondering why she was telling her this.

"I'm sure he got over it-."

"No, I made him cry…he'll be mad at me." Shannon shook her head softly, and put a comforting hand on Kate's forearm.

"No, no he'll just want to help you… you can get through this, y'know…don't let Wayne win-." Kate laughed coldly and stared Shannon hard in the eyes.

"Win? He won by screwing my mother. He won, by taking everything good away from me… I feel dirty, Shannon… you know how that feels? I looked in the mirror this morning and threw up… he already won."

"No, no he didn't. Your not… your not dirty."

"I'm part of him! He hits his wife, he hits his step-… he hits his daughter… that's dirty…"

"Kate, your not… your ok." Shannon looked defiantly down at the girl, who looked anything but fine and held her hands. "Your ok, your going to be fine…"

They sat for a while in silence, Shannon rubbing Kate's hand, and Kate staring blankly ahead, not really seeing anything. It was only when Shannon shook her shoulder slightly, that they got up and went downstairs. They watched the kids TV they used to, and played cheerful music, trying in vain to keep Kate's spirits up. But Shannon had a feeling, that it was going to take a lot more than Ribbons and Glitter to make her better this time.

"Jack's coming round." Claire whispered into Shannon's ear, as Kate went to get a drink, "I rang Sawyer, but he hung up on me… he sounded nearly as bad as her."

"That's cause he's so damn stubborn." She sighed in annoyance. "Well… we're gonna have to help 'em out…"