Apologies! But GCSEs are over now and I have a month before I go away. So I should be updating much more regularly. (Your reviews will definately be spurring em on!!)

DISCLAIMER : Me no ownie!

"Get away from her. Now." James's voice was dangerous, his anger barely contained. With his fists clenched and his body in an almost feral crouch he made a crap inducing sight. "I said get away from her."

"James stay out of this," Lauren demanded, the adrenaline rushing through her body made her twitchy and restless. "He's begging for it."

Amidst all this the boy in question looked relaxed. The splif hung from between his lips in what he probably considered a devil may care look but all it did was make the rest of his face look lopsided. Skilfully talking around it he asked, "Get your mouthy sister out of here before I smash her pretty little face in. You never know when she might change her mind about me and her getting together." He grinned, relaxed against the kitchen worktop. It seemed as though the tension would trickle away, emphasis: seem.

He suddenly leapt away from the side and grabbed at Lauren who was dragged out of the way, with millimetres to spare, by James. James followed his half turn through and slammed the tip of his steel toed boots into the boy's bottom rib. The crowd that had already been gathering contracted and eyed the fight hungrily as a crack resounded and the boy buckled to the floor.

Lauren stood over him. Sarcastically, though it was hard to tell with her rough voice she said, "Touch me again, I beg you." James stood close to her eyeing the crowd menacingly in a half crouch. "Please I need you," her voice was becoming increasingly hysterical in its mockery. Alerted to Lauren's increasing pitch, something to do with his eardrum getting very close to more permanent damage than usual, James grabbed her arm and began to steer her away from the scene of the battered boy, the sobbing and cursing battered boy. But Lauren had already reached her breaking point as James had feared she would. Bodily contact had just pushed her over.

Before James could process the situation he was already on the floor clutching his jaw and blinking stars out of his eyes and Lauren was proceeding to dislocate the toes of her original attacker by ripping off his shoes and socks, then physically pulling the joints out of their sockets. Such systematic brutality from anyone would have been disturbing on its own but from his own sister?! However James wasn't quite together enough to do anything, he was busy holding his jaw to his face. The carer who was supposed to be taking care of them finally seemed to realise that the crowd of children in the TVless kitchen weren't there to watch the football and attempted to drag Lauren away from her-...victim. Lauren turned on her and knocked her out with one blow. That broke the spell on the rest of the children and screams rose as well as the room of the care home. Suddenly chairs were being thrown around, wallpaper being torn down, beds were broken and most importantly of all, children began to run from the care home as far as their legs could carry them.

James grabbed Lauren round the waist and anchored her where she was as the rush of children squeezed out of the door to descend on the rest of the house like locusts. Eventually all that was left was the thankfully, for him, unconscious boy. Not even the social worker was left in the room having been carried away at some point in the tide of children.

"You alright? James tried not to let his momentary aversion to Lauren show in his face. Her face was blank though, she didn't even seem to be present, like in her own body.

Seeing as they'd caused the mass breakout of kids they were supposed to twenty minutes early, James led Lauren upstairs to triple-check their belongings again.

--

It was as they were waiting at the bus stop, bulging packs over their backs that Lauren finally spoke. "James we can't get the bus. They all have CCTV cameras now and if we take a train they'll see us at the station we got on and off."

James immediately headed away from the bus stop. "Give me your bag and cover your face with your hair. Look small."

For once Lauren didn't ask questions and just did what she was told. Miracle.

"Do you have a hat and glasses in your bag?"

"'Course! What's the plan?" It couldn't have lasted long. She rummaged through the outer pocket of her bag hurriedly and rose with them already in place. James had already hung a chequered scarf loosely around his neck so it covered his chin and lips as well and tried to pull as much of his hair across his face as possible. Voila messy emo, gracing London Fashion week soon.

"We're taking the train. Just try and make sure no one can see our faces. Put your headphones in and turn the volume up high, pretend to be absorbed in it, that'll give you an excuse to keep your head down."

Do you reckon the others have escaped yet?" James worried slightly.

"We've escaped that's all that matters. Let the others take care of themselves." Lauren strode ahead of James. He just mimed strangling her roughly and soon caught up to her.

--

James felt his heart dissolve as he walked. Shit no one's here. Are we the only ones?

"God; where the hell are the others?" They'd easily seen the tree Jessica had described. Its branches twined together to form a face and a body if you looked at it long enough. It was eerie. And damn it was wearing a very unrevealing dress. "They'd better not have screwed up."

"Lauren," James shoved her hard in the back before spinning her around to stare her down. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"A lot of things James. One of them is having you bugging me constantly. So just leave me alone okay!" Lauren sniffed suddenly and turned her back to him. James didn't bother waiting for her and just walked past her towards the tree. Suddenly he felt her winding her arm through his tenderly, hesitantly. He only toyed with the idea of shrugging her off; the gesture was just too innocent to reject. Lauren definitely had something munching on her. He'd have to bother her later though; he had something more immediate to worry about.

That something being a Jessica the Cheshire cat smirking from at them from within the branches of the tree. Alone.

I'm sorry the flow isn't amazing I didn't write this all in one go and it really shows. No here's your homework. I want your predictions. What do you think will happen in the next couple of chapters?

Review!!

xxbluehyperpixiexx