It was the last week of school before the Christmas holidays. Everyone had brought their presents for each other and on the Monday they gave each other their presents, including the Secret Santa presents which each person had to open in front of everyone.

Needless to say, it had been a laughter filled lunch as they each opened their presents.

Of course Mikey never gave Alicia her proper present and neither did Alicia give Mikey his. They had gotten each other presents that they could give in front of the others, but also presents that were due to be opened on Christmas day. It had been arranged that Alicia could come over in the afternoon to Mikey's house so they could exchange presents and so that she could have Christmas dinner with them. Mikey was going round to hers for New Year's dinner.

On the Tuesday, when Alicia came into school, Mikey couldn't help but frown. She normally came in with Angharad and today Angharad wasn't with her. Also the fact that she had a troubled expression on her face.

“Hey, Alicia, what's up?” he asked when she got over to him. Like always, he was standing by his locker waiting for her.

“Is anything special happening this week, Mikey?” Alicia asked, completely ignoring what Mikey had just said.

“Not that I know of,” he frowned. “Why?”

Alicia chewed on the end of her scarf as if she was thinking. Well, at least that's what it looked like to Mikey. And she was thinking, but she didn't really know what she was thinking because it wasn't like she knew herself.

“Alicia?”

“Have... have you spoken to Angharad lately, Mikey?” she finally asked, looking at Mikey for the first time that morning instead of staring forward.

Mikey furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah... I took her to the nurse 'cos her head was bleeding. Why?”

Alicia chewed her lip. She wasn't too sure whether she was panicking for any reason or not. There might actually be no reason for her to be panicking. It wasn't like Angharad had given her any reason to be panicking, she just couldn't help it. Because after what she had seen in Angharad's bedroom before, she couldn't help but think that it was something to do with why she wasn't at school today.

Alicia knew that the reason she had given her mum was a lie but it wasn't like she could call her out on it.

“I... I'm just being paranoid, Mikey. Forget,” Alicia said in the end, realising that although she was panicked about whatever it was, she didn't even know if anything was happening in the first place.

Mikey was about to say something to Alicia when he was interrupted by someone shouting at the two of them.

“Mikey! Alicia!”

They both could recognise the voice before they saw the person. It was Frank, and without a doubt Gerard would be with him as well.

“Ray's not in today. I think he's just dodging today and isn't ill like he said,” were the first words Mikey and Alicia were greeted with by Frank.

Gerard just rolled his eyes at him. “You know Ray, Frank, he doesn't just dodge for the sake of it.”

This made Mikey snort. “You wouldn't think we would dodge for the sake of it, Gee, but we do at times. So you don't know – he could be dodging.”

Gerard huffed at his brother. “I hate you sometimes, Mikes.”

This made the younger brother just smile innocently at him.

“You two dodge for no reason?! Am I the only one here who is only off when I'm ill?!” Frank screeched, disbelieving over the fact that the two brothers would be like that.

Alicia rolled her eyes at the boy, “You have more time off then any of us do, Frank. You're always ill!”

“Not my fault I have a bad immune system.” he grumbled.

Mikey made a note to himself to ask Alicia about their previous conversation some other time.