A/N: They're leaving! Hurrah! Sorry it's been so long, I'm having severe problems with my internet. As usual. BT sucks. But Vince and Howard and Alena are leaving the squat now. For good. I hope you like this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, because I prefer to borrow.

Howard's POV

We arrived back at the squat about forty minutes later, thanks to the enormous queues of traffic we had encountered. Well, I say 'we'. Vince didn't notice. He was asleep, so deeply that it took me several minutes to wake him up. I didn't think it was possible to fall into such a deep sleep so quickly.

"Vince." I said, shaking his shoulder gently. "Vince. Come on, we're back. Vince. C'mon, little man. Let's go and get our stuff. Vince. Vince." He stirred, and I waited as he pulled himself out of unconsciousness.

"Mm. What?" He said blearily.

"We're back. You have to get out."

"Yeah." He nodded and got out of the van. He tried to stretch, but winced and stopped. I looked at him in concern.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. Remind me never to stretch my arms again." He replied.

"Will do. Come on, let's go and find Alena first, we can tell her to pack."

"Mm." We started to walk towards the building, but Vince was trailing behind. I slowed down and put an arm around his waist to help him. He thanked me quietly and we kept going. It took us a while to reach the second floor, but we got there in the end. Then Vince knocked his heel against the doorframe. Alena came over after a few seconds. She looked like she hadn't slept well, and her face was creased in worry.

"Vince!" She said. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" He asked, holding out his bandaged arms.

"No." She blinked, and tears came to her eyes. "God, Vince, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't think you'd ever do this. I never meant to introduce you to drugs in the first place, and now... You've tried to kill yourself, and it's my fault." She broke down, crying loudly. Vince and I hugged her tightly, trying to calm her.

"It's not your fault, Alena." Vince assured her. "I know that. Finley began all this, and he's going to pay for it, right?" She looked at him.

"How?"

"We're getting out of here, and then we're gonna report him to the police." I told her.

"Really? But all the others will get found out too."

"We know."

"That's not fair."

"Well, if you think someone deserves to go free, tell them what's going to happen, and to get out of here. But you're coming with us."

"What?"

"Pack your stuff up. We've got about enough money to put down a deposit on a flat. You can stay with us until you get yourself clean and find a place of your own." She stared and wiped her eyes.

"That's really sweet of you. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. You tried, Alena. That's all that matters." She nodded.

"Alright. I'll meet you back here in... Half an hour?"

"Yeah, sure. We'll go and get our stuff."

"Okay." She went back into the studio, and I put my arm around Vince's waist again to help him up the stairs. It wasn't as if he'd even done anything to his legs. I thought he was just weak at the moment, maybe from the amount of blood he'd lost. But I was going to help him in any case. When we reached our room, he sat down immediately on the bed. He flexed his left arm and pulled a face.

"Think the morphine's wearing off." he said.

"Really? Well, you've got the painkillers the hospital gave you. Where are they?"

"The glove box in the van."

"You can take one when we get back in there, then."

"Yeah."

"D'you want me to help you with your stuff?"

"No, it's fine. Alena packed most of it up the other day."

"Oh, yeah. There's nothing you've missed, is there?"

"My jumper, again." He pointed to where it was slung on the floor across the room near the now-dry patch of blood. I retrieved it and handed it to him. He put it on and pulled the sleeves down so they covered his bandages, holding the cuffs tightly in his clenched fists. I packed up my things quickly and quietly, trying not to disturb him as he stared, unblinking, into space. But in the end, we were both ready to go, and I needed to alert him.

"Vince?" I whispered. He turned at once.

"Yeah. I'm ready. Come on." He picked up his suitcase, flinched, and dropped it. "Okay. Maybe not." He said.

"I'll carry it. Can you manage the stairs on your own?"

"Yeah." I picked up his suitcase and looked around at the room. It now had our mark on it, at least. The painting on the wall from where I got bored of waiting for Vince that day. The unmistakeable reddish brown stain on the concrete in the corner. I was glad to be leaving. It had brought us nothing but troubles. I went in front of Vince, since he was slower than me, but I waited for him at every landing. In the end, we reached the second floor again, where Alena stood waiting with a large black holdall in her hand.

"Are we ready?" She asked.

"I think so." I replied. "Vince?" He nodded.

"Ready for what?" said a horribly familiar voice.

"Ready to go, Finley." I sighed.

"You're going? Where?"

"As if we'd tell you that." Vince said, shaking his head.

"Oh, Vince. Look at your arms. Your poor arms. Your poor head. Your poor heart." He said. "I think you need some help. Not them. I could help you, you know. I've helped Alena here. Not that she was ever grateful."

"Don't listen to him, Vince." Alena said. Then she turned on Finley. "Helped me? Helped me? You're a liar Finley. You've brought me nothing but bad since I met you. I should have done what Vince did, stayed in college, got a friend, got a job. I came to you, and what's my repayment? Years of hell. You've broken me. I hope you're happy, Finley, you evil bastard."

"Oh, you're so imaginative with your insults." He said sarcastically. "Doesn't matter anyway. I was gonna throw you all out."

"We'll go quietly then. We want to go." Vince said.

"Oh? Shame. I was looking forward to my fist connecting with your face again."

"And I was looking forward to my fist hitting your face again." I replied angrily. "Leave off him, or it will."

"Ha!" Finley threw his head back in mock-laughter. "You got lucky knocking me out once. I'd like to see you try to do that again."

"Well, too bad. We're leaving. Now. Come on." I started down the stairs, Vince and Alena close behind me. Finley called after us:

"I'll find you, you know. I've got a knack. I'll get you one day."

"Not if you're behind bars." I muttered as we left the building. We put our suitcases in the boot of the van, and got in. Alena said:

"You dealt with him well, Howard."

"Thanks. Who did you tell about our plan?"

"Basically all the people normally on your floor, though Finley moved them down to ours so he could keep an eye on them. Jane, Yvonne, Keelan... Those people. The ones who've never bothered you or me. Oh, and Jackie, because she's my friend."

"Right. And none of them will tell Finley?"

"No. I made them promise."

"Howard, have you got a drink? I need to take some painkillers." Vince interrupted.

"Yeah." I handed him the bottle of water I had bought at the hospital and never drank. He took the pill quickly, shuddering as it went down.

"I hate pills." he said.

"I know. You'll be alright, Vince."

"Are we leaving now?" Alena said anxiously."

"Yes, we are." I turned on the engine and backed the van out of the car park. I didn't know where I was heading. Just that we needed to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Just away. That was enough.

We drove around the city for a long time, not really knowing what to do. We didn't know whether to look for a place, go to the estate agents, or just give up for today. In the end, I found a public car park and pulled in. As I turned off the engine, Vince said:

"Are we staying here tonight, then?"

"I don't know what else we can do at the minute." I replied. "If we had Naboo, we'd be alright."

"I'd ring him, but my phone battery ran out and I never brought the charger."

"Well, I've got a phone." Alena said, pulling it out of her pocket. "You can use it if you want."

"Really?" I said, taking it.

"Go for it."

"No." Vince said, surprising me.

"What?"

"Not tonight. I'll have to talk to Naboo, and he'll want the full story, beginning to end. I don't think I can tell it today. Wait until tomorrow." I nodded.

"Alright." I handed back Alena's phone.

"Thanks." She said. "Listen, I think we need food and drinks. I've got a little bit of money, I saw a little shop around the corner, I'm gonna go and get us some bread and some drinks."

"Yeah, good idea." I nodded.

"Right, see you in a minute." She got out of the van and walked off across the car park.

"Right." I said. "I think we should out the seats down in the back so we can actually sleep tonight. Or I should, anyway." Vince nodded. I got into the back and set to work. It didn't take long, and we soon also had room to sit down on the floor together. Vince climbed into the back and sat next to me. He didn't say anything, just crossed his legs and leant on my shoulder. I put my arm around him and rested my hand on his shoulder, but he flinched away from me. I frowned.

"What's wrong, little man?"

"It's best if you don't touch me, Howard." He said sadly. "False hope, and all that?"

"Oh. Sorry." I moved my arm and leant on the back of the driver's seat. Vince sighed.

"What the hell am I sayin'? I sound like you. Do what you want." I put my arm back and he nuzzled closer into my shoulder.

"What's the matter, Vince?" I asked, still worried about him beyond belief.

"I'm scared, Howard. I don't know what to do. I thought I'd ended it all, and I'm just stuck here. You and Alena, that's all I've got left now. And one day, Alena'll get herself clean and then it'll just be you."

"But I'll always be there, Vince. I've told you. I'm not gonna give up on you because you tried to kill yourself. You're special, sir. I'm not going to let you down."

"I'm just frightened of everything. Frightened of living. I was frightened of dying too, but I thought that'd be better, you know?" He looked up at me, baby blue eyes boring into mine.

"I know. But, honestly, trust me. Things are gonna get better, you'll see. Take it day by day, and just keep going."

"Yeah, I guess so. But our promise still stands, right?"

"To protect each other? Yeah. I'm not gonna break that promise." He nodded and closed his eyes, sighing. I could feel his breath on my skin. I looked at him, wondering how my sunshine kid had deteriorated into this so quickly. This was the most scared, the most vulnerable he'd ever been. He'd hurt himself so much now, and even with the pills, we certainly wouldn't be out of the woods for a while. I didn't know if I could handle it. But I would try. For Vince, I would always try.

Little bit sad, but at least they're safer now. Reviews are always welcomed with open arms and open inboxes :)

Much love x