Authors note - Three in one night! Hope this makes up for my lack of updating lately :) Thank you once again for all your lovely reviews, follows etc. Ruben x

She pushed open the door to the common room, exuding an air of confidence that was a far cry from the inner turmoil she was feeling. She scanned the room and her eyes fell on George and Pheobe, laughing at something on George's phone. Tilly felt a small sense of relief as she watched them, the familiarity of her friends a tiny comfort to the daunting prospect of the weeks to come. Maybe this was what she needed. Maybe once she settled back into a normal routine, with the people she cared about, the weight of emotions she'd been carrying around since Esthers suicide attempt would slowly lift.

Taking a deep breathe, she walked over to where George and Pheobe were sat and threw herself down next to them.

"Hey you!" she said lightly to George, as they turned to look at her. George looked at Pheobe, who raised her eyebrows, before glancing back at Tilly.

"Still alive then", he stated coldly. Tilly felt momentarily confused, looking to Pheobe then back at George.

"What do you mean?" George didn't answer, just looked down and fiddled with his phone. Tilly looked at Pheobe and raised her eyebrows, silently asking her what was going on. But Pheobe just turned away and pulled out her own phone.

"Georgie?! You're not honestly annoyed that I haven't been in, are you?!" Tilly asked, nudging him slightly to get his attention. What was this? She knew she'd missed a few of his calls, and hadn't replied to his texts over the weekend. She'd been too restless about that meeting with Mr Blake to be able to concentrate on replying to his neverending questions about her whereabouts. But it wasn't like George to be so off about something like that. Finally, he looked up from his phone and looked at her.

"No, of course not. But we haven't seen or spoken to you since that day in Keelers office, then you disappear with nothing but the odd text. Incase you'd forgotten, Pheobe got suspended that day. Did you ask her how she was? Reply to her texts?" Tilly looked down, guilt settling uneasily on her chest. She'd been so caught up in the events that had happened to her that day, she'd completely forgotten that Pheobe had been suspended.

"And what about Esther. You've visited her ONCE since she tried to kill herself." George was raising his voice and Tilly couldn't stand it. Because she realised exactly how it looked like to them. Pheobe had been suspended, Esther was lying in hospital, and as far as they were concerned she'd just completely disregarded all of them because she 'needed some time on her own.' She had no doubt that George would understand, if she told him the truth. But she couldn't. Jen had seen to that. God, what else was she going to lose because of that woman? The lump was forming in her throat again, but this time she didn't try and fight it. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes as she grabbed George's hand.

"I'm sorry. I know I've been a crap friend. But I'm here now and I swear I'll make it up to you. To ALL of you", she said, looking at Pheobe who was staring straight ahead with a hard look on her face. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, and brushed it away roughly with her palm. She looked back to George and squeezed his hand. He looked at her sadly and pulled his hand away.

"We're all hurting, Tills. Doesn't mean we just swan off when it suits us though, does it?" He stood up and grabbed his bag.

"Coming?" he asked, looking at Pheobe. She stood up and gathered her stuff, before turning to Tilly.

"Esther's fine, by the way. Incase you care. The transplant went well." With that, they walked away and out of the common room, leaving Tilly sat on the sofa alone. God, why hadn't she asked? She'd just assumed that Esther was doing ok, knowing George would have told her if things had taken a turn for the worse. But she should have asked anyway, instead of being such a coward.

They'll come round. Give them time.

Even though Tilly knew it wouldn't take long for George to cool down, it didn't make her feel any better. She felt awful that she'd distanced herself so much from them and completely understood why they were angry. She swallowed hard, trying to make the lump disappear just as the bell went. She breathed in and out slowly before standing up and rummaging in her bag for her locker key.

The day dragged slowly, but without incident. She'd seen George and Pheobe in the common room a couple of times, but kept herself to herself, absorbed in catching up with her assignments. She'd surprised herself with how easy she'd found it to get back into her work. She was actually finding it a welcome distraction. After not being able to concentrate on anything over the past couple of weeks, she was relieved to be able to switch to autopilot and plough through the essays she'd missed. Her heart still jumped into her mouth everytime the common room door opened, knowing the reason why but not wanting to admit it to herself. But all in all, considering the mixture of emotions churning in her stomach, it hadn't been too bad. She practically ran from lesson to lesson, keeping her head down and trying to not to think of anything but getting to her next class. At the end of the day, she went to her locker to offload her uneeded textbooks. She unlocked the door and was about to chuck the books in when she noticed a folded up piece of paper with her name on the front, sticking out from the air vent on the door. She slowly reached and pulled it out, before putting her books into the locker and shutting the door. Her heart was thumping as she unfolded it with apprehension. When she opened, her stomach dropped.

'FOLLY 6PM'

Despite the non-descript capital letters, and lack of detail, Tilly knew exactly who it was from. She carried on staring at the note in disbelief, instantly torn. Oh, how she wanted to go. How she wanted to see those big brown eyes, and be held in those strong arms. She could already feel the pain and turmoil lifting at the thought. But who had caused that turmoil? Who had caused the unsettling depression, the anxiety of not knowing what the future would hold. Tilly knew how weak it would be, to go running at the drop of a hat. She also knew that if her heart took another beating, it could finish her. She was barely holding it together as it was.

She stood against the lockers, her head battling with her heart. Finally, she reached a decision, and began walking out of the college on shaky legs.