I am so sorry this took so long to do! I've been away for a few weeks without internet so everything had to be put on hold. Still, here's chapter three, I hope you enjoy it.

By the way, I currently have no inspiration at all for a fourth chapter, but I'm not going to rule it out. Don't expect one too soon, but I promise I'll try.

Falling Into Place – A 'Jelly' FanFiction

Chapter Three

"Yeah, a quiet night in would be nice. They were together now after all; they should probably start doing some together-y stuff."

It had been exactly a month since Jen and Tilly had met after school, and after learning that no one was ever around at that time except naughty students (which in itself was quite rare – most of them wanted to be out as soon as possible) they took to meeting every night. Though neither of them really liked being in the school so late, it was the only place where they knew they wouldn't get caught. Neither of them had their own place, so school it had to be. Besides, they were happy there. As much as they moaned to each other that they wanted to get out, they were never happier than when focusing purely on art and each other.

Jen had already planned that she would nip out to grab a bottle of something nice before meeting Tilly that day; she certainly believed that going a month without being caught or her having some sort of panic attack was definitely an achievement. But she mentally cancelled those plans after Tilly turned up to her classroom at lunch. Of course, Jen was overjoyed to see Tilly, but it was obvious that she was trying to get in and out quickly.

"Tilly, what's the matter? You look really stressed."

"Oh, it's nothing, Jen." There was no conviction in Tilly's voice and Jen raised her eyebrows at her. "Really, I'm fine. I told Maddie and George that I was only going to the loo, so I'm just worried about them catching me here. The 'I need to ask Miss Gilmore about my work' excuse is getting a little overused." Tilly laughed the last bit and Jen relaxed, laughing with her.

"So what brings my favourite girl here, then? Or did you just want to see me?" Jen knew there'd be a reason, but it didn't hurt to flirt a little.

"Oh, you know I always want to see you, Jen. But I can't come to meet you tonight. Sorry."

"Oh." Jen was disappointed, and it upset Tilly to hear it, but before she could give an excuse Jen carried on. "Going anywhere special?"

"Unfortunately not. Sinead asked me to come round and I couldn't think of an excuse fast enough. Besides, if I keep making myself unavailable then someone will catch on sooner or later."

"Sinead? Well, I'll see you anyway then." Jen winked at Tilly as she said this and Tilly hit her in return.

"Don't even think of trying anything, you! I'm there to see Sinead, remember that."

"I know, honey. Well, at least I'll have something to stare at while I'm working." Tilly laughed, then quickly kissed Jen and left to find the others. Once she'd left, Jen sighed before turning back to her work. She knew that Sinead and she were supposed to be alone in the house that night, so it didn't surprise her that she was bringing people back. It was just her luck that one would be Tilly.

Jen spent most of her time after school at home on her own. She began to wonder if Sinead was actually going to bring the others back, or if they'd all just collapsed on a pavement somewhere. It wouldn't be surprising really; those girls had a habit of drinking far too much. A small voice perked up at the back of her mind telling her that she should probably be worried, just in case that had happened. She dismissed it. They were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Just as the voice left, the door opened and Sinead walked in, with Tilly right behind her. Jen looked up and smiled at the girls, shocked to see that Sinead hadn't brought back an entire party. Tilly happily smiled back at Jen, and Sinead gave her the usual 'why are you smiling at me?' look before stalking upstairs. Tilly giggled slightly and followed behind her. Shaking her head, Jen turned her attention back to the marking she had been doing, laughing to herself when she realised that she got her work done a lot quicker when she wasn't wondering where Tilly was.

Barely ten minutes passed before Sinead strode back down the stairs and out the front door, without even glancing in Jen's direction. For a few seconds Jen just stared at the door, wondering what was going on, then Tilly came down the stairs and she got distracted.

"Something happened?" She asked as Tilly took a seat opposite her.

"Sinead's just going to get some drinks. She'll be back in a minute."

"Oh, got bored of her sober?" Jen teased. Tilly playfully went to hit Jen's arm, but Jen moved and caught her hand mid-air, holding it gently in place. She stroked Tilly's hand with her thumb as Tilly spoke to her.

"Jen, don't be horrible! Actually, I had a bit of a plan."

"Ooh, go on."

"Well, as much as I love Sinead, I would really rather spend time with you."

"Aww, bless."

"Shut up. Anyway, I know what Sinead's like on alcohol. She's great fun for a while, but has a habit of passing out pretty quickly. So, if I get enough down her, I can put her to bed and spend the rest of the evening with you."

"Hmmm, sounds like a plan. Just don't drink too much yourself or that could completely backfire."

"Yeah, I know," Tilly laughed. "Don't worry, I won't." They smiled at each other for a moment, then Tilly leapt up as the front door swung open and Sinead stumbled in, carrying far too many bottles for just two people. Tilly laughed and went to help her. Jen immediately got back to work – if the amount Sinead was carrying was anything to go by, she wouldn't have long to finish it before Tilly joined her for the night.

She was right. Only an hour later Jen heard a door shutting above her and Tilly's footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Out already?"

"Yep. Told you she didn't need to drink a lot."

"Good, 'cause I've wanted to do this all day." At that, Jen stood up, walked over to Tilly and wrapped one arm around her waist, tangling the other in her hair, and pulled her in for a kiss. At Jen's touch, Tilly relaxed against her and wrapped her own arms around the older woman. Time seemed to stop around them; nothing mattered when they were together. So what if they weren't really allowed?

The two girls spent the entire night together, loving that they could finally spend just a little time not worrying about other people. Although they had to be quiet in order to make sure Sinead didn't wake up, it didn't stop them from joking around and teasing each other, or lying next to each other and swapping stories and secrets. It was only when the girls heard movement from upstairs that they noticed how much time had gone by. Realising that their night had come to an end, Tilly gave Jen one last kiss before getting up to make coffee, and Jen ran upstairs, hoping to get to her room before Sinead emerged from hers.

By the time Sinead had finally stumbled down the stairs, Tilly had already made her a cup of coffee, and she presented it to Sinead as she collapsed on to the sofa.

"Why the hell are you already up?" Sinead asked Tilly, turning to look at her. "God, you look dreadful. Did you actually get any sleep?"

"I'm sure I look no worse than you!" Tilly laughed in return. "I'm just a little hung over. Seems we're in the same boat."

"Yeah well, don't forget whose idea it was to get through enough alcohol for eight people."

The morning continued to pass in a regular, hung over fashion, Tilly even managing to ignore that Jen looked just as bad as them. Fortunately, in the brief time that it took for Jen to leave that flat, Sinead didn't seem to notice. Tilly smiled to herself, and decided that she was definitely taking care of the relationship now – her ideas were always better than Jen's.