Disclaimer: I don't own skins.

To Miss Peg: Don't worry about criticising me, I love it because I need to know where to improve :) You're right how Emily needs to come to her sister's aid, which is why I've developed a plot line to explain why she didn't. It will come later on in the story. Thankyou so much for your reviews :D

Set: A week before the reunion, in prison where Cook resides.

Cook's POV:

He cowered in the corner where the other inmates couldn't see him, reading through the tattered piece of paper he had kept all these years.

Wizard, mum's making mashed potato, chicken and peas. I can hear her in the kitchen, should be great. I'm so hungry – I could eat anything. But maybe not, because everything has gone to the shits, in Effy's words. She's coming over later to discuss today. And the past few weeks. I'm hoping I can persuade her into having a mash potato fight, but mum wouldn't approve.

I didn't know Effy swung both ways but I bet she's going to tell me that she only did it to see what it felt like. I still can't believe her and Naomi…well, I just can't believe it. She said Tony did the same thing with one of his hot gay friends, so I asked why she was trying to follow in his footsteps. She told me real slow and nastily,

"I don't follow in anyone's footsteps"

but she obviously is trying to follow in his footsteps. Poor Emily. Poor Freddie, but he doesn't know and Effy's said she isn't going to tell him. As much as Effy's my best friend, I still can't believe her. I should know what she's like now, but I guess this proves I don't.

Year 13 aint going so good. I'm failing my beauty or whatever it is course because I just skip loads of lessons – honestly, I'm useless. I picked retarded courses. I am retarded. But me and Thomas, we're still together and he's all that matters to me. I think I love him. I can't believe how much Cook nearly fucked us up…and I thought he was a nice bloke.

But the thing is, I think Thomas is going to dump me. He hasn't been talking to me much lately. He says its family stuff, like he's trying to settle them in since they moved here but he doesn't seem interested in me anymore. I think he needs space so I've been giving it to him, but I saw him hanging around with Katie the other day near the sweet shop (I go there to get drumsticks, I have an addiction to those little buggers) Katie looked happy with him. I felt like my stomach would explode with jealousy. She can't keep her mitts off other people's boys. Not that Effy was very nice to Freddie in the beginning. But another thing; Katie looks…strange. Tired all the time. She's missing lessons. Something's happened to that girl and I know I should feel sorry for her but she doesn't need to go stealing my boyfriend over it.

But Naomi and Emily were sweet, they needed each other. Naomi really needed someone to be nice to her for once and Emily needed someone who took her seriously and now they're…poof, no more. I know what Cook would have said, if he was his usual self.

"Wish I was there to see Naomi and Effy getting it on - I could have joined in".

I have a suspicion that if Naomi wasn't a lesbian Cook would have tried it on with her. Who knows, maybe he already has. JJ and Cook have stopped speaking. I dunno what's up with them.

Freddie. He's skateboarding more than ever and he's really happy. He's gotten so good, they say he can enter the championships. It's weird how his family always end up in the limelight – did you know Karen, his sister, is now in some pop group? They're not very good but loads of boys at school fancy the pants off her.

I tried heroin the other day. I'm so scared I'm addicted now that I just stopped straight away. I still feel sick from when I ate all that coke. How was I supposed to know you snort it?

He revelled in her words. His link to normal life. When JJ hadn't blown it and he hadn't been left to rot in this cell. When he had never heard the inmates terrifying, intimidating howls in the night. When he hadn't been hated, even in hell, amongst the worst people imaginable.

I'm supposed to be doing coursework for my stupid A levels at the moment, but I just feel like what's the point? I might as well write something useless in here. I wish Thomas would come over and play his instrument for me again. It's beautiful, he's beautiful.

"We're gonna get you, Cook," the first howl pierced him.

"Roast you alive," the words would have been funny if they were empty of threat. If there was no real potential of danger.

He just texted me. Shit. He says he needs to talk. Effy's just texted me. Shit. She's said she's buying Ben and Jerry's ice cream on the way here. But how would she know I'm going to be upset? Shit. Someone's ringing me. It's Emily?

Before Cook was arrested, he went and sat in Pandora's empty bedroom, telling her mother how upset he was that she was gone. It was midnight and really he was hiding from the bright police lights. But he found her diary, clumsily fumbling around in the darkness. He found interesting things she had written throughout the past year. Things he could have used it against them all, but he was found and JJ got his stupid wish. Nobody believed the real story.

JJ still never understood why Cook was hiding in Panda's room. JJ thought Cook was fooling around with Pandora; JJ didn't know Pandora was dead, because a few weeks before, the whole group had fallen out with her. She stayed in her room and never came out, but she had nothing to be ashamed of. It was them who should have been ashamed.

She died just after they all left school and not one of them bothered to contact her. Not one of them knew.

Cook remembered seeing Thomas with his bags at the bus station and his family. His siblings comforted him as well as his mum, because he was a wreck. Cook remembered the jealousy - no one was there to hold Cook when he fell. Cook and Thomas were the only one that bothered to grieve Pandora. Panda was beautiful and deserving of life. Cook could no longer live in the moment. He was as broken as the people surrounding him.

I'm crying so hard. Not even a drumstick could cheer me up. Thomas has just come round to my house to tell me we can't see each other anymore and Emily rang screaming something down the phone about Katie being in danger of hurting herself and only I can help her. I talked to Katie but it was all gibberish, but it involved Thomas.

I think Thomas has cheated on me with Katie. But Effy is telling me it's something worse. Actually, Effy's telling me to stop fucking writing so much before I have an orgasm over my pen. I better go.

Outside the miniscule window perched high on the wall, the moon sunk like a huge glowing orb that got too heavy for the sky. Cook was waiting. It was nearly dawn.

Today was the day he would be set free.