Most of you will be surprised to see this is up. Hell, I'm surprised at myself. Due to a nasty virus which wiped out all my files on the new Word format (don't ask me what it's called) I had to rewrite this chapter. Several times actually, in order to try and get it right. So I hope you like it! It's long, extra-long, just because I'm a very bad person who didn't update for months on end. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you really are the ones that persuaded me to continue. Please review this chapter and I promise to update sooner!! Oh yeah, one question - would you prefer this to be all in Marian's POV or from others as well?

Review Responses:

DeathlyElegance: I'm thinking it probably wil be mostly in Marian's POV but I'm still undecided. What do you think? Robin's disappearance was based on something real that happened to my friend, which is where I got the idea from. Thanks!

auroraask: Thanks! I tried!

Linn Marie: To be quite honest, it was your review which got me writing again, I felt so bad:) Thanks!

RocMySox: You gotta love that name. Thanks, I'm trying to keep it real :)

X-Kate-X: Thanks! I have a (vague) idea of what the plot will be, so things should move a little faster.

Outlaw of Sherwood: Thanks! Marian is so fun to write...Sarah's name is actually a real name - it's my friend Beatrice's last name :D. More will be revealed about Robin's disappearance, I promise!

spinningisfun:D Thanks!

littlemissmaster: Of course :) Thanks!

Disclaimer: Well DUH this isn't the real thing. And double DUH that I don't own any of it.

((All Marian's POV again))

Day two and I already can't wait for the holidays. I mean, it's only the second day back and I already feel like banging my head repeatedly against a wall. The day had started off badly enough. I 'woke up' at seven-thirty – 'made loud groaning noises while struggling wildly under a mass of bed sheets' would be closer to the mark – and couldn't find half my uniform. I spent about ten minutes stumbling around in the dark, managing to trip over several hard objects (including a desk – how could I not notice a desk?) before switching on the light and remembering I left it in the bathroom. My dad, in all his ingenuity, had forgotten to programme the central heating so the entire house was freezing. When I got to the bathroom, I found my skirt and jumper in a crumpled heap under the sink, both looking like they'd been thrown into a ditch for a very long time. It was quarter past seven by then, so I had to make do with it. Did I mention I look like a mix between a convict and someone stranded on a desert island in the morning? My hair was deliberately playing up (one side flicked up like a shelf and the other remained completely straight and neither would give in) so I pulled it back in a ponytail and hoped no one would notice. I really didn't feel like make up but at my school, any girl who doesn't wear make up is considered either lazy or butch. So I did my eyeliner and mascara but I couldn't be bothered with foundation and my skin was actually having a good day, unlike the rest of me. The bad day continued; when I got down to the kitchen, there was no toast. Or more accurately, there was no sign of any breakfast food at all. After an attempt at a search – I opened all the cupboards, stuck my hand in and rummaged around a bit – I gave up.

"Dad! There's no food!" I heard a muffled groan and a thump - it appeared I'd woken my dad up.

"What do you mean, 'no food'?" He shouted back. He sounded a bit drunk, which is how my dad always sounds when he wakes up. In actual fact he barely ever gets drunk, but when he does he gets absolutely smashed. When I was eleven he let me drive the car around the pub car park when Aunt Vicky came to visit from Scotland.

"There's no toast! No bread at all!" I heard the sound of something falling over and my dad swearing loudly.

"Well, have some yoghurt then!" I scowled. I hate yoghurt. With a passion. I don't even know why, I just do. My dad loves the stuff, so it's obviously not genetic.

"I hate yoghurt! You know that!"

"Well, what do you want me to do? Magic some out of thin air?" I resisted the urge to rip off one of the cupboard doors and throw it across the room. Mainly because knowing me I'd probably end up spraining my wrist and leaving the door untouched, but I also happen to be blessed with amazing self-control. Really.

"Fine! I'll just...not eat breakfast!" I yelled up the stairs, grabbing my blazer. Yep, another impulsive decision that I ended up regretting. You see, although the area we live in is actually really nice compared to the rest of town, it has nothing but houses. If I wanted breakfast, I had three choices: Sam's Burger House, where a boy who went to the other comprehensive got stabbed last year; the MacDonalds outside the train station where Smoky Joe – a crazy guy who smokes weed and apparently molested a sixth former – sleeps; and finally the Subway which was twenty minutes walk away. All the other cheap places to eat were trailer territory, which was fine when I was with AJ but a bit like writing 'I have a death wish' on my forehead in red marker any other time. So no breakfast.

Typically, it was sub-zero temperatures when I got outside. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and my legs were freezing. You know those unwritten laws in school that say every girl's skirt must be two-inches-above-knee-length or higher? I bet whoever made them up had a strong wish to torture the female half of the student body and I bet whoever it was was a guy. Because unless they lived on a tropical island or something, any girl with sense would've forced guys to wear short skirts as well – it's always girls who have to suffer. I mean, unless you count people like Guy who spend far too much time with using gel, hairspray and black eyeliner, the majority of the male student body could walk in looking like they'd fallen into a bush and call it 'grunge'.

"You look hungry," AJ commented as I approached the bus stop in a foul mood. "Did you skip breakfast? You're not going anorexic on me, are you Mazzie?" I glared at her.

"Don't call me that. And you're one to talk," I pointed out. AJ was one of those girls blessed and cursed with a stick thin figure – flat stomach, slender legs and arms, but not much else. I beat her in that respect – AJ was fifteen and could fit into her ten-year-old brother's shirts with ease, much to her despair. "You don't happen to have any food, do you?"

"Sorry," AJ shrugged. "You know me. Any food gets eaten." That was true – for someone so thin, AJ ate about the same amount as the fat people on 'Supersize Me'. AJ's mum had got into the habit of dropping her packed lunch into the school office after break so AJ couldn't eat it before lunchtime.

"Damn you and your excessive appetite," I muttered, trying to ignore the growling in my stomach.

"You could always ask Guy," AJ suggested slyly. I considered this. Sure enough, Guy would probably cross the Pacific in a rowing boat to get me an American hamburger if I asked him nicely enough, but he'd also probably jump to the conclusion it would be 'our thing' and bring me home-cooked lunch every day for the rest of my school life and probably a significant time after as well.

"And have to put up with him offering to give lunch to me for the rest of the year and beyond? I think I'll pass, funnily enough."

"Well, ask Robin," AJ yawned. I frowned. It wasn't that I didn't want to be friends with him, it was just...I didn't want to seem too keen to be friends again. I didn't want to look like I was throwing myself into his arms. As well as that, borrowing food off Robin Locksley was flat out treachery in Vaysey's book. Could I really be bothered with the effort?

"Too much trouble," I mused. "I can wait. After all, all those anorexic girls go for days and days without food. I'm sure I can last through a couple of hours." AJ looked sceptical.

"Sure," she drawled, dragging out the word to show her disbelief. "Let's see how that goes."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The story of my life. It pretty much explains how I ended up standing at the door to the canteen with AJ, stomach growling and a dark scowl all over my face. It's pretty obvious God never made me to be anorexic; I can't even last until lunch.

"AJ, watching other people eat is making me hungrier," I whined. Trust me; nothing seems more appetising than canteen slop when you're starving. I didn't even know what it was but I could've eaten a barrel of it. AJ shrugged, pack lunch in one hand.

"I refuse to stand outside in the freezing cold because you couldn't be bothered to find something to eat this morning," she told me. "You can share mine if you want. I've got noodles." Did I mention AJ has the weirdest lunches? Today she had a pot of noodles, complete with chopsticks, a box of sushi and a bottle of Sunny D (after I told her how bad it was for you, she only has it once a week). The day before she had slice of pizza, a box of olives and some sort of salad. AJ has OCD when it comes to lunch – she likes her lunches to be themed by country. Apparently, today was Japan and Sunny D day.

"Can I have some of the noodles?" I asked her and she grinned.

"If you're good you can even have some Sunny D."

"I'd have to be left in the Sahara desert for three years with no water or rain before I touched a drop of that stuff." She punched my arm lightly.

"Do you want noodles or not?"

"I want noodles," I muttered humbly. AJ smirked and led the way into the canteen which was – of course – socially divided. On one side, two tables had been pushed together: Vaysey and Davina Sheriff. I don't think it ever occurred to Vaysey how degrading it is to have to sit with a bunch of air-headed blondes in the year below us. Because, of course, they were all blondes. God forbid Davina Sheriff should ever befriend someone who wasn't blonde! Her group – six girls, including Davina – sat on one table with Davina on the end that joined her brother's table. Her second-in-command, Amber Lee-Hollards, sat on the opposite side. There were a few other rich kid groups, but ours was the largest. On the other side sat the main trailer park group: KeKe Baptiste's lot. Like Davina's group they're all girls – their boyfriends used to be part of the group until they all got expelled after a huge gang fight. KeKe and her friends are probably alright if you get to know them but if they've got it in for you, they can be an absolute nightmare. I don't know how they're still in this school – I don't think they went to a single lesson in year 10. Seriously, if you ever bunk off you will always see them walking around smoking or calling their boyfriends.

In the middle of the canteen was Robin's table. For some reason they had chosen to sit right in the middle of the divide, surrounded by the weakest of both sides. They had a certain order to seating as well, though they would never admit it – Robin sat next to Much and opposite Allan, who sat beside Will. John sat on the other side of Robin. Once every now and again, the quiet trailer park girls came and sat with them too. The Arabic girl whose name I can never remember sits beside Will, Eve from French class sits next to Much, the other brown-haired girl sits next to John and Eilish sits on the end.

"Marian..." AJ whined.

"No," I answered before she had the chance to say what it was she wanted. Whenever AJ uses that voice, I just know it means she wants something that is undoubtedly going to cause trouble in future.

"You never let me finish!" She exclaimed. I sighed.

"That's because you're going to say something stupid."

"How do you know if you won't let me finish?"

"Fine! Finish! You're such a pain!"

"I was thinking," AJ began and it was hard to miss the sly edge in her eyes. "I don't really feel like sitting with Vaysey and them today. And, there is that barely used rule that says if you make up with something after a fight you have to eat lunch with them once..."

"AJ, no."

"...So I was thinking we could go sit with Robin and his friends!" She chirped as though I hadn't said anything at all. I gave her the full death stare and she took a step back hurriedly but didn't stop smiling. "Please? Vaysey and them are so boring!"

"You've put up with them for over a year!"

"And my patience has run out! Please Marian, please!" I glared at her suspiciously. AJ didn't normally get this het up about where she sat at lunch. I mean, I knew she didn't like Vaysey at all but she'd never really cared about sitting with him before. Something was up...

"What's your real plan?"

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. Still, AJ had been my best friend too long to not recognise when I had her figured out. Slowly her expression changed, becoming slightly more bitter. "Look, I know it's unusual. But Marian, this is our last year. Next year we'll all be off to different sixth forms. I don't want to waste my entire last year sitting next to people I hate, and I know that you don't either." Damn. She had me exactly where I was weakest. You see, King Richard's Academy doesn't have a sixth form. Most students went down the road to Sherwood College for years 12 and 13. A lot of the trailer park lot didn't go to sixth form last year because you had to pay and some simply didn't have the money. I would be going Sherwood and hopefully AJ would too, but I still didn't want to waste my year 11. She knew me too well. But then...was it really worth it? And it would be completely awkward. And...oh God, did I feel shy? Well, maybe it was for the best that we didn't sit with them, if I was going to start blushing like an idiot.

"No, AJ. Not today at least – maybe some other time. But I...I just really don't want to. Okay?" To my surprise, AJ agreed with minimum fuss. Normally she would never let it go. Still, I decided that it wasn't worth it to continue and we crossed the room to our normal places. Vaysey has a strict seating plan which cannot be broken (I honestly think he has OCD. It's not even funny). As the least favourite member of our group, AJ sits on the end and I sit beside her. Unfortunately, that also means that I have to sit next to Guy. Lucky me.

"Marian! What took you so long?" He exclaimed sounding a bizarre mix of eagerness and his usual drone. I cringed, dropping into the seat beside him in resignation.

"Er, AJ had to get her lunch?" I answered weakly. The girl in question extracted her box of noodles from the bag and passed it over to me. "Thanks – I owe you."

"Don't eat it all, seriously," she told me severely. Pulling out her little box of sushi, she grinned in anticipation. I rolled my eyes.

"You get way too excited over food," I told her. She shrugged. Down the table, Davina gave me a smile about as fake as Sarah's nails.

"Marian! Darling, I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Mmmm," I affirmed, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Indeed. I missed you during the holidays." AJ burst into a mysterious coughing fit and I was grateful for the chance to turn away from Davina and pat her on the back. "How long can you keep doing that for?" I mumbled to her. "Because the longer you can, the less time I have to spend talking to Davina." AJ simply nodded while making extraordinarily fake choking sounds. She was lucky enough to be out of Davina's range – Davina Sheriff would never lower herself to actually talking to one of the trailer trash, even a glorified one.

"Shut up, Alison, I can't hear myself think," Vaysey snapped. He's the only one who calls AJ Alison and she absolutely loathes it. Sometimes I feel really bad when I think of all the things she puts up with for my sake. Now, she silenced herself and had to be content with giving him the finger when he turned around.

"The noodles are great," I told her and she beamed.

"I know, dearie. Nadia's getting really good now days."

"You make your sister cook you lunch?" I gasped, slightly shocked. Nadia was AJ's second youngest sibling at ten. AJ actually had five siblings but three had left home already, so it was only her, Nadia, Michael and her mum – her dad was in the army.

"She enjoys it," AJ shrugged. "She likes that sort of thing and I'm hopeless at it. Seriously, her idols are Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Besides, if she's already making her and Michael's lunch, why shouldn't she make mine?" I shook my head with a sigh, declining to expand on the fairness of making a ten-year-old prepare three packed lunches. "Anyway, I've got some amazing news."

"And you wait until now to tell me because...?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. AJ made a circular hand gesture and I swivelled so my back was to Guy who gave an offended grunt but turned to Vaysey instead.

"Because it's so amazing, I figured I should wait until our lunchtime chat," AJ grinned. "Okay, you're never going to believe it...I have two tickets to All Saints at the end of this month." My jaw dropped. All Saints, as it was called, was a gig for local emo bands that they held every month in Nottingham Gatehouse. Normally I'm not really an emo fan but All Saints was notorious for its wild atmosphere – the bands were the best of the best and sometimes famous bands came along as well, as a surprise. Although it was open to anyone over thirteen and you weren't supposed to bring alcohol, most of the attendants were completely pissed by the end of the evening. It had a history of fights, sex, drugs and drink so therefore All Saints was top of the social scene – everyone wanted to be there. It was almost impossible to get tickets though, as usually they were reserved by the older kids from the trailer park who had friends playing. I had always wanted to go to All Saints though my dad was strongly against it, not to mention the fact I didn't have enough connections to get me tickets.

"How did you get them?" I asked her. AJ smirked, looking smug.

"My brother came back over from uni for the weekend," she told me. "He pulled a few strings and got me two tickets. Me and you. Do you want to go?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I want to!" I shrieked. Several people turned to stare and I went red as usual. AJ noticed and choked on her Sunny D in laughter. I rolled my eyes in an attempt to remain dignified as she struggled to swallow her mouthful. "Didn't your mum ever teach you not to mess around when eating?" AJ gave me the finger.

"That was so immature that I'm not even going to bother to respond," she sighed, shaking back her jet black fringe from her eyes. "Anyway, are you going to come?"

"I'll have to ask Dad first, but yeah," I replied. "When's it?"

"Last day of the month, idiot," AJ informed me scornfully. "It's always then, isn't it? And, oh yeah," she paused casually and I couldn't help feeling apprehensive. "...Robin and his friends are coming."

"You've got to be joking," I moaned. Can you blame me? I swear, that guy is everywhere – I mean, there comes a time when coincidence stops being coincidence and becomes...well...you get the idea at any rate. "Is he stalking me or something?"

"I wouldn't flatter yourself, honey," AJ grinned mischievously. "He and his friends go there every time it's on. After all, they've got the connections. Anyway, he'll be completely pissed and have girls all over him so you probably won't even see him."

"So why tell me?"

"I figured that if we did see him and I hadn't told you, you would completely freak on me."

"Fair enough," I mused. "Ah well. It's worth it. All Saints!" AJ frowned, looking down at the table. "What? What's wrong?"

"Bitch, you finished the noodles!" She accused. I looked down in puzzlement. So I had.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I kicked an empty can across the almost deserted playground, my bag banging against my legs heavily. Even though it was only the second day back I already had been set two essays for next week. My dad was also getting really heavy on the whole 'stay-at-home-and-study' idea for some reason. I don't see why, it's not even like I get bad grades – in my last report I only got one B and no Cs at all. And the B was in PE; how can you get a B in PE? It's not even like you're doing work most of the time. And AJ got an A, which is completely unfair seeing as the only work she does in PE is when she has to run laps for talking. I suppose it's because when she does her punishment laps, she does them really fast and doesn't get out of breath. She's actually really athletic but Mr Fontaine, our PE teacher, hates her guts. As for me, I actually do alright (not including the B, which I think of as a total fluke). Sarah got a C because she vanishes to the medical room every lesson due to various illnesses and injuries. Guy got an A because I think he uses sports as anger management. Robin and his friends all get As easily. Well, all besides Much. The poor guy gets tired as soon as he starts.

I rolled my eyes as 'Soulja Boy' started playing on my iPod. I mean, that song was hilarious at first, but after watching Davina and her friends perform it five hundred times – because they are so 'hardcore' – it's about as annoying as the Balamory theme tune. I pulled my iPod out of my blazer pocket and pressed 'next'; my iPod is always on shuffle because I'm too lazy to change the songs myself. An old lady gave me a dirty look as I pushed the playground gate open, as if I'd been caught spray-painting a wall or something. Marian Fitzwalter, guilty of being in a playground while wearing local comprehensive uniform and looking like a typical teenager which, in Nottingham, translates as thug in senior citizens' books. There are only three secondary schools in Nottingham – the glorious (not) King Richard's Academy; the (marginally-better-than-King-Richard's) Dame Sarah Harriott Comprehensive; and, last but most elite, St Francis' Grammar School for Young Ladies and Gentlemen (what a name! ). Dame Sarah's is over an hour away and St Francis' charge £5000 per month – I'm being serious – so I got stuck in King Richard's just like everyone else who couldn't get to anywhere else.

To get home, I have to get the bus to Groven Park and walk through there and about three more blocks. As usual, my dad isn't back from work yet, so I have to open the door myself. Not so easy as it sounds, if you're me. Nearly every day I end up standing on my doorstep, rifling through my various pockets and eventually half-tipping out my school bag impatiently while my iPod blasts out a song I hate on full volume, until eventually I dig them out from somewhere and fall into my house like a survivor of an earthquake. All I can say is, thank God for the fact that no one's home to watch my strange little ritual because AJ nearly pissed herself watching the first time she saw me struggling to find the keys to my own house.

I dropped my bag at the foot of the stairs and went into the kitchen to check the phone messages. Force of habit – most of the time they're not even for me, but I got so used to doing it when Robin vanished that I end up doing it anyway, even though he's been back for nearly a year. I used to check every day to see if there was a message from him, just to say he was safe or that he would be coming home. Except I never got one. Not to sound too bitter, because I've done my grudge-holding time, but stillIt annoyed me at the time.

"Mr Fitzwalter? We're calling about your gas policy..."

"Mr Fitzwalter? FedEx left an important package with..."

"Edward, it's Vicky from the board of governors. Just calling to say..."

"Marian, it's Robin." Well, that was a new one. I grabbed the phone, listening intently. "Just wondering, as me and some mates are going to the cinema tonight, fancy coming along? You can bring AJ if you want, just not Vaysey and Gisborne..."

"No shit Sherlock," I couldn't help stating to the empty kitchen, despite the fact no one could hear me.

"...and it's at seven thirty. We're going to see Juno, so call if you're coming." Beep. I dropped into a chair, resting my chin on my hands as I stared at the phone. For a moment I honestly couldn't think of anything. Then I was hit by a barrage of the most stupid thoughts: What should I wear? What will he be wearing? Who does he mean by a few mates (besides the obvious)? Should I bring AJ? Though that one was a bit of a no-brainer – without AJ, I was bound to do something stupid. Come to think of it, I would probably mess up even if she was there, but at least she's better than me at making conversation. Should I go? Do I want to go? Sighing, I realised I did want to go. Don't even ask me why. I didn't even like the look of Juno when they were showing the trailers, but I really wanted to go. I continued to stare at the phone as though expecting it to start offering me advice.

"Well," I mused at last. "I suppose I better call AJ."