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"𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙔 𝙄𝙎 𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙔.
𝘼𝙇𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙂𝙃, 𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙆
𝘼𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙄𝙏, 𝙄𝙏'𝙎 𝙆𝙄𝙉𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝘼 𝙈𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙀𝘿
𝙐𝙋 𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙔 𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀."

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"𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐀 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓...𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆." Cory lowered his voice, conscious of the fact that he was standing in the middle of the school corridor and practically anyone could hear.

"Good." Mollie muttered, shutting her locker and leaning against it. Her face was pale other than the dark circles that had developed under her eyes from the lack of sleep, but she managed to send Cory a small smile. "I think he can really help us."

"Me too." Cory nodded optimistically, although there was still a hint of hesitance in his voice. Pulled from his thoughts by the sight of two girls shuffling awkwardly behind Mollie, he cleared his throat. "I think there might be some people that wanna talk to ya."

Mollie followed Cory's gaze in confusion, before letting out a frustrated sigh when her eyes landed upon the people he was referring to. Missy and Nas.

Seeing that Mollie had spotted them, the two girls stopped fussing and stood up straight. Shaking her head, Mollie turned back to her brother but in that time, he'd managed to make a swift escape and was already halfway down the corridor.

The Wilson girl drew in a sharp breath and tried to walk straight past them without stopping, but was ultimately unsuccessful as a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"You can't ignore us forever." Missy quipped, looking straight at the girl.

Mollie instantly rolled her hazel eyes, not at all interested in where the conversation was going. "You underestimate me, Booth." She replied bluntly, folding her arms over her chest defiantly.

Surprised to even receive a response, Missy completely dismissed what Mollie had actually said and gave her a pointed look. "But you just spoke to us!"

"Yeah, and I'm hoping it won't be a regular occurance." The brunette retorted as she shot them both a glare. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go."

She pushed past them and started down the corridor. As bad as she felt speaking to her best friends like that and walking away from them, it only took Mollie a second to remember what they'd done to her, to her family. With their betrayal in mind, she shook off the guilt and continued on.

Nas, on the other hand, let out a sigh as she leant back against the lockers and watched the Wilson girl walk away. "We're never gonna get through to her, are we?"

"Course we are." Missy nodded. "We've just gotta persist."

"Miss, I don't think that's the best idea." Nas shook her head. "We've already hurt her and her whole family, I don't think she'll appreciate us bombarding her all the time to be our friend again. If we want to get her forgiveness, we have to actually do something to prove it."

"Like what?" Missy asked, causing Nas to simply shrug. "I get what you're saying, Nas, I really do. But right now, we've got no other options, so I think constant apologies will have to do."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Nas couldn't help but wish there was something more they could do to make up for their betrayal. But nothing came to mind, and so she figured that Missy had a point. Reluctantly, she sighed. "I guess so."

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𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐙𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐁𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐑 𝐇𝐘𝐀𝐓𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍, far too anxious about the meeting with Mr Bell later to even give cell biology a second thought. Staring out of the classroom window, she didn't even notice the knock on the classroom door until he heard someone say her name.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr Hyatt, but can I borrow Mollie and Cory Wilson please?" Mr Quereshi asked in a professional tone.

Mollie heard a few gasps as all eyes shifted to her and Cory, but quite honestly she didn't care. No one in that classroom knew what her family was going through and that was the way she wanted it to stay.

She sighed before silently swiping her things from the table and into her school bag. Before she could stand up, she felt a hand squeeze her own gently under the table, and when she looked at the person beside her, she saw Riz send her a soft but reassuring smile.

She smiled back appreciatively, glad to have had him over the past few days. Her smile lingered as her eyes travelled over his face, and she felt her heart swell a little when her gaze stopped on his deep, comforting brown eyes.

However, the sudden screech of a chair across the ground snapped Mollie out of the moment and she turned towards the door to follow Mr Quereshi. When they got into the corridor, the teacher looked at the two students with a sympathetic expression.

"I know you guys are probably feeling a bit weird about this, and that's understandable. Its nothing too formal, just me, Miss Carter and Mr Bell." He explained as they walked. "We'll ask you some questions about what happened, but you guys are our priority, so if you want to stop at any point, we'll respect that. We just want what's best for you guys, alright?"

Mollie nodded gently at Mr Quereshi, finding a sense of reassurance in his words. Cory, too, gave the teacher a half-hearted smile. It was hard, but it definitely felt like they were doing the right thing.

They approached the school reception to find Jordan standing with Mr Bell, having been pulled out of his own lesson. His expression was stony as he looked at both of his older siblings for a second before breaking eye contact.

"We want to make sure that this never happens again, alright?" Mr Bell said supportively as he led the group towards Miss Carter's office. "That's all any of us care about."

Miss Carter, who had been waiting for their arrival, looked to Jordan with a gentle smile. "You ready?"

Unexpected to all, Jordan shook his head firmly as he began backing away. "No, I'm not doing this."

The two older Wilsons paced after him, and Cory grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey. We do this together, alright?"

"It's gonna be okay, Jord." Mollie added as positively as she could, despite the growing pit in her stomach.

Approaching the three siblings, Mr Bell took charge. "Listen, your dad needs to know that this is not acceptable behavior-"

"It were Cory." Jordan shot his older brother a glare, causing Mollie's eyes to widen in shock. He continued on, however, with his voice filled with venom. "He did it, he beat me up. They're lying."

Jordan stormed towards the door despite the calls of his teachers behind him. Sharing a look of both confusion and frustration, Mollie and Cory knew they needed to follow him. Once they were out of the school building, Mollie grabbed his arm to pull him back.

"What the hell were that about?" She asked with an incredulous shake of her head. "They're trying to help us, Jord."

"Help us?" Jordan repeated. "You don't actually believe them, do you? What, you think they're just gonna wave a magic wand and make everything okay again?"

"They're not miracle workers, but they're doing what they can. Maybe if we cooperated with them-" Cory began, but was cut off by an unbending Jordan.

"Do what you want, but I don't wanna be a part of this anymore. I'm done." He said with finality, before giving them one last glare and walking away.

Throwing her hands into her hair, Mollie let out a frustrated sigh. "Fuck's sake."

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"𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓, 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄." Stewart suggested, glancing out the window at the dark evening before offering his niece a soft smile. "We barely get any customers at this time, but if we do, I'll get this one to cover for you. Just as long as he gets off that bloody phone."

The shopkeeper sent a glare towards his son, who was leaning against the shop counter with his eyes glued to his phone.

"Who're you texting, Lew?" Mollie smirked, reaching out to nudge her cousin playfully. "Got a girlfriend already?"

"Piss off." Lewis rolled his eyes as he hit Mollie's hand away before slipping his phone into his pocket. "Anyway, what was that thing about with Mr Quereshi earlier? Are you and Cory in trouble or something?"

"Oh, that was nothing." Mollie shook her head dismissively, thinking on her feet. "Just a meeting about, you know, attendance and that."

"Attendance?" Lewis narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, attendance. Which, as it happens, is pretty boring actually." She said with a chuckle, avoiding the boy's stare by slipping on her jacket.

Sensing the slight uncertainty in the girl's voice, Stewart looked her in the eyes. "You would tell me if something was going on, wouldn't you, Mol?"

"Course I would, Stew." She nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "Everything's fine, I promise."

Still unsure if he fully believed her, Stewart thought it best to drop the subject. If there was one thing he knew about his niece, it was that she was almost as stubborn as her dad, and Stewart knew it was a battle that he likely wouldn't win.

Instead, he grabbed a chocolate bar from the front of the counter and threw it in her direction. "Here."

As Mollie caught it, Lewis gasped loudly in offence. "Oi, why don't I get free chocolate?"

"Because you're a pain in the arse." The man said with a completely straight face, making it hard to tell if he was joking or not.

"But I'm your son." Lewis replied with a pout.

"So? Doesn't make you any less of a pain in the arse." Stewart shrugged, before sending his son a playful wink to let him know it was all in jest. Turning back to Mollie, Stewart threw a protective arm around her shoulders. "You know we love you, yeah? All of ya."

Mollie nodded, smiling up appreciatively at her ever supportive uncle. Ever since she could remember, Stewart had always been a caring figure and she was grateful to have him in her life. The same went for Lewis too, but of course she would never admit that to his face.

"We love you too, Stew. Lewis...I guess you're alright." She giggled, earning a middle finger from the boy. With a chuckle, she pulled away from her uncle's hug. "Now if you guys don't mind, I should head home. I've got an essay due in tomorrow that I should probably make a start on. Have a good night, guys."

The father and son said their goodbyes to Mollie, wishing her a safe journey. As soon as she stepped out of the shop, she felt the cold air consume her and made a mental note to buy a thicker jacket when she got her next pay check. It was a relatively short walk home, but damn did it get cold.

Snapped out of her thoughts, she heard a familiar voice. "There you are. We thought your shift would never end."

"Stalking me now?" Mollie replied in annoyance, not even bothering to check who it was. She already knew, and she was certainly not in the mood.

"Please, Mol." Another voice pleaded. "At least hear us out."

Mollie stopped at the top of an alleyway and turned the face the two people, her frustrated expression illuminated by the streetlight above her. "Look, I don't care for your explanations. Nothing you can say will change what happened, so don't even waste your breath."

Their faces dropped and Nas stepped forward with a look of desperation. "Please. Maybe we can't make things better, but we can at least apologise. Again."

"You hurt me, and I don't think an apology is gonna change anything. So just leave me alone, please." She said defiantly, although she was interrupted by a sudden ruckus of startlingly loud voices.

"What the hell was that?" Missy said with a panicked expression.

Mollie listened again to the noise, but felt a slight lump in her throat when she recognised one of the voices. "That's Jordan. Sounds like he's down this alley."

She took off quickly down the alleyway, with Missy and Nas running after her without a second thought. When they got to the end, they were all out of breath, but the sight of a scuffle involving Jordan and two of Khadim's dealers was crystal clear.

"Where's the money, you idiot?" One of the men snarled.

"I don't have it i swear." Jordan defended himself, though his voice was muffled since one of the men had him firmly gripped in a headlock.

"Oi, leave him alone." Mollie yelled, rushing over and trying to pull Jordan away.

"Aw, this your girlfriend?" The other man sneered, looking Mollie up and down and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Watching the scene, Missy and Nas shared a panicked look before giving each other a nod. Without even needing to discuss, they both rushed forwards. "Get your dirty druggy hands off them right now." Missy fumed.

"Or what?" The man smirked, turning his attention from Mollie to Missy instead. "What you gonna do, princess?"

"This." Missy said simply, before kicking the man straight in the shin. He gasped out in pain, almost keeling over completely. At the shock of it, the other man became distracted and loosened his grip on Jordan. Nas grabbed the Wilson boy's arm and pulled him out of the dealer's grasp.

"Run, Jordan." She muttered, causing him to look at her hesitantly.

"But, you three-" He began, but Nas simply shook her head.

"Run. Jordan." She repeated, this time through gritted teeth. Not wanting to disobey, Jordan took off in the opposite direction. Once he was safely out of sight, she hissed at Mollie and Missy. "Come on girls, lets peg it."

While Missy and Nas started running, Mollie gave the second dealer a sharp kick to the shins before she could even stop herself. She wanted to make sure neither of them would follow her, but she also couldn't deny the pure satisfaction that it brought her to see them both in pain after the pain they'd caused her younger brother.

With a smug smile, she took off in the same direction as Nas and Missy, ignoring the angry voices of the dealers behind her. Running as fast as her feet could possibly carry her, she managed to catch up with the two girls and, once they were sufficiently far away, the three came to a halt to catch their breath.

"That's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever done." Missy said between breaths. "We are bad ass." She added in a singsong tone.

"Where did Jordan get off to?" Mollie questioned, looking around.

"I dunno, but when Missy kicked the first guy I told him to leg it. He wanted to stay and help us, but I thought it was best that he got as far away as he could." Nas explained.

Mollie looked up at the two girls opposite her that, for the past few days, had been her enemies. But the realisation began to dawn on her that they'd both just risked their lives, or their safety at the very least, for her and Jordan. Without hesitation, too.

"You guys really did that for me? For Jordan?" She asked, trying to wrap her head around it.

"Believe it or not, we do actually care about ya." Nas chuckled at the brunette.

"You're family, Mol. And that means your family is our family, too." Missy said, before scrunching up her face. "Although when you think about it, it's kind of a messed up family tree."

"I think what Miss is trying to say is that we love you and we would do anything for you." Nas said sincerely. "We screwed up by stealing Jordan's money and not telling you about it, and you don't even know how sorry we are for that. But at the end of the day, we're always gonna look out for you."

"You might still hate us, and I honestly wouldn't blame ya. But as long as you know how much we love you, that's all we care about." Missy said with a soft shrug.

Mollie bit her lip. It was alot to take in.

Yes, they'd betrayed her. But they seemed genuinely sorry, and not to mention the fact that they'd willingly jumped into a fight with two drug dealers just to save Jordan.

She couldn't help but think that people made mistakes. Big, ugly, hurtful mistakes? Yes. But had they proven their love and commitment to her? Yes.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, or some kind of hysteria, but she couldn't stop herself from breaking out into a smile. "I love you too. Just never do anything like that again, alright?"

"Promise." Missy and Nas said in sync, causing Mollie's smile to grow even more as she threw out her arms.

"Alright get over here, you idiots."

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high key hate this chapter with a passion but i wanted the girlies to be friends again so we needed something dramatic.

lotsa love <3