Time continued passing and by now they had all returned their dolls to their teacher and written up whatever they needed to do. Mikey and Alicia's one was well planned because they had shared their notes like they said so they both got roughly the same mark. Angharad and Frank's essay writing was pretty much a fail. Frank had given the doll in early because he was worried that he had broken it; he hadn't but he still refused to take it back and Angharad didn't want it either.

Even though Frank was concerned about what grades he got in most of his lessons, he didn't really care that he was going to practically fail English now – not to mention parenting as well. But it wasn't like anyone really wanted to pass parenting; since when did you need a pass in a class that didn't even give you proper parenting 'skills' in order to be a good parent when you're older?

You don't.

Alicia and Mikey were closer now, and finally after a few weeks of them sitting next to each other at the lunch table and pretending that they didn't like each other, Gerard had finally burst.

“Alright! Enough you two. Mikey, just admit that you like Alicia. And Alicia, just admit that you like my brother. No one is fucking blind or stupid other than you two.”

They had both just blushed when Gerard had said that before leaving the lunch table to go and talk.

Needless to say, they were going out from that lunchtime.

Frank no longer had to talk to Angharad and he was grateful for that because he really didn't like spending time with her. She really did freak him out.

Mikey kept trying to talk to her every time that she fell out from his locker (which was practically every other day; the bullies had found out it was Mikey's locker and started doing it more often for that reason) but she mostly ignored him. Though sometimes she would talk to him. She'd mostly snap at him or have a bitter tone, but it was something to Mikey.

He just really wanted to know more about her. She interested him and the way she was, how she acted and the tone in which she spoke in almost all the time, interested him too. Also there was something about her that was dark, and although he couldn't see it on the surface, he knew it was there. And Mikey wanted to know that about her.

He was nosy.

Frank's birthday had been and gone in the late October time, and because it was Alicia's first time celebrating it with the guys, she didn't know what to expect. Also she was certainly surprised to realise that his birthday was on Halloween as well.

Though, now that she knew that she wasn't too surprised that when they were hanging out together at the Way's house, Frank had turned up dressed as batman.

It was now mid November and despite how cold it was with the weather, Mikey noticed that Angharad always wore her skirt and boots to school. No tights, no long shoes, no trousers.

At a lunch time, when the bell had just gone for it and only Mikey and Alicia were there, Mikey decided to ask her more about Angharad.

“Hey, Alicia?”

“Mhm Mikey?” she said, looking up from the table and at him.

“Why does Angharad wear skirts in the winter? It's freezing right now and she goes around wearing a skirt that doesn't look all that warm, so I was just asking you, seeing as she lives with you and stuff,” he said nonchalantly.

Alicia sighed and blew a strand of hair out her face. “Something to do with the fact that her mum liked skirts or something. To be honest with you, Mikey, I don't know much about her. My mum never told me much – all I know for sure is that she was kicked out of her house over an argument. I don't even know what the argument was about.”

Mikey never knew that she was kicked out from her house; all he knew was that she lived with Alicia. “She was kicked out of her house? No way, that must suck.”

Alicia rolled her eyes. “Of course it sucks. But... just, I never told you that, okay? She doesn't like people knowing much of her business; she's very private.”

Mikey nodded, telling Alicia that he wouldn't say anything about it.

And just in time really, because Gerard came bounding up to the table exclaiming about how they were going to be doing Secret Santa this year (again, Mikey thought bitterly, it didn't go too well last year) whether they liked it or not. It was mostly 'not' but it wasn't like the older Way really cared about what the other's thought.

They were doing Secret Santa.