I need to stop having to start these with sorry it's been so long...but yeh...sorry...

previously on BIBB...
Cat and Danny finally met again for the first time since the messy break up
Cat is having some confused feeling between Danny and Eoin
Guy is determined to try and help Luke now
Mark has been acting odd, not going home and not being himself
Glen is determined to fix everything and make a list of Things Autumn would have wanted.
Kara has tracked down Danny is waiting to make her move to avenge Dan
Joey has befriended a little girl called Gale at Kara's place
We were introduced to a girl Louise who is a old family friend of the O'Donoghue's who Cat talks about how she has been in love with Luke for years yet he hasn't noticed her
Someone was in a confession box confessing to murder...Guy then sees Mark leaving the church...humm..
Luke was out running when he got caught in some young boys game with fake guns and had a flashback to when he found out his friend Jay had died
Glen bumped into a girl named Kara in the park who was new in town...

So yeh I hope that fills any gaps in your memory! Enjoy!

****

Chapter 19- Free

*Joey's POV*

"Now listen, Kara, she's gone away for a bit, so till she is back I'm in charge 'ere alright? So, I feel we can boost our income, don't you? Now scrat, see if ya can make old 'arry proud eh?"

The streets are very crowded, even just after Christmas, and yet still nobody is interested in us. If anything they are less interested. We only have enough for two or three boxes of Fish and Chips at most. Harry won't be happy with us.

"Come on Small." I sigh, putting the coins from the old coffee mug into my pocket and gently prodding Gale who is asleep on a bench. She moans and coughs but doesn't get up. I sniff deeply and rub my red nose on my sleeve – wasn't there a song about someone with a red nose? Maybe he had a cold too.

"Gale, we have to go." I say, my voice wavering a little; I'm not used to being in charge of someone. "Gale." I say but she won't respond. I shake her softly and she moans. Her skin feels warm against mine and for a moment I am distracted by how nice it feels against my cold hands- almost as if I had those gloves Amber gave me again.

"Gale?" I try again and she weakly opens her eyes for a moment before they fall closed again. I begin to panic, what do I do? What do I do? I need them to tell me what to do! I need them to help!

"Help!" I find myself saying, calling out to them even though they are not here. "Help me!" I cry, my body is shaking and I vaguely remember Amber telling me being cold to long you can catch your death. "Help!" I try again.

"What's happened?" A voice suddenly asks and I jump.

"Help her, please. I don't know what to do." I blurt out. The man looks past me at Gale on the bench and his face becomes concerned. He goes to her, bending down and placing a hand to her head.

"Sweetie, can you open your eyes for me a moment?" He asks. I watch him closely as he frowns and bites his lip.

"She has a high fever, she needs warmth and rest. Where do you live?" He asks and I frown. "Where's your home?" He asks again. I stiffen; home, no not home, please. Home is scary, it hurts, I don't want to go back. Please don't take me back there; Dan said I never had to go back there.

"Alright, okay then." The man says with a sigh. He looks down at Gale on the bench and then up the street. "Look, I guess, if you have nowhere else, you could- ugh I suppose, you could come back with me." He says and I nod immediately, he can take charge, I don't want to be responsible anymore.

"Okay, come on then we need to get her warm as quick as possible." The man says, lifting Gale into his arms. "Follow me." He says, and I do. It feels right to be following someone again, I like this man; I mean he has a ginger beard! Suddenly everything feels a little bit better, even if I still can't afford enough fish and chips.

*Louise's POV*

I stare at the blank page, hoping for just a bit of divine intervention. I hate essays; I hate them almost as much as I hate working in this crummy little shop. Just selling a paper and a bag of sweets to someone every half hour or so while Davy's stupid playlist plays on and on. I have begged to change it up a bit so many times but he always replies the same "Who owns the shop? Oh, me. My shop my decision." The bastard. I stopped actually trying to think of words a long time ago, I'm now just staring and willing them to write themselves.

Suddenly the bell rings loudly and I look up to see three young boys burst in, fake guns in hand. One darts behind the sweet shelf, taking cover as the other aims.

"Hey! You! Out!" I bark at them but they take no notice. I sigh, getting up from the till. Seeing me coming one sneaks back towards the door but the other two continue their game. I smile slyly as I recognise one of them "Aaron Edwards don't make me call your mother!" I yell and Aaron looks startled for a moment at the use of his name.

"Go on, out!" I say, slowly herding them out of the door. I watch as they run off down the street, shaking my head in exasperation. Then I catch sight of him heading towards me, headphones on, jogging with the wind in his hair. It's weird seeing him around again, yet it is almost like he was never gone.

I am about to head back inside when he stops, suddenly clutching at his side. I hover, unsure of whether I should go to him, and that's when he falls.

I am by him in moments; I didn't even know I could run that fast. He is curled in on himself on the ground, his breathing choked, his face a picture of terror.

"Luke? Luke talk to me! What's wrong?" I ask, my arms on his shoulder. A couple of other people have stopped in their tracks to gather and stare. Suddenly I feel him going limp as he starts to slip out of consciousness and desperately try and keep him awake. I notice one pulling out a mobile but I stop him quickly. "It's okay, I'm a nurse." I find myself saying even I'm still a good two years off being able to call myself that. "I know him; please just help me get him inside." I say, the man looks unsure for a moment, glancing around at the small group of people who have all turned their attention towards him. Eventually he puts away his phone and bends down with me. Luke seems to have lost consciousness completely by now and we each take an arm and lift him- which is a lot easier said than done. Grunting under the strain we slowly carry him into the small corner shop.

"Take him into the back, I work here." I say. 

"I thought you said you were a nurse?" The man says and I sigh,

"Can I girl not have a Saturday job now?" I snap and he falls quiet, doing as I say. We lay him down on the small sofa Davy has in the back.

"Sorry, thank you." I say with a sigh of relief. The man smiles and waves his hand.

"Don't mention it; I just hope the poor guy is okay." He says and I smile,

"Here-" I say, reaching into my pocket.

"Oh, no please, there is no need." He tells me and I smile, picking up a Twix from a box instead and tossing it to him.

"I insist." I say as he catches it.

"Thank you, very kind. I had better get going, I hope he is alright." The man says and I smile, waving and calling a final thanks as he leaves. As soon as he is gone I turn to Luke who is splayed out on the sofa.

"Luke? Luke, can you hear me?" I ask, checking his pulse. He doesn't respond but his heart rate is pounding. His skin is warm and he is drenched in sweat so I begin removing his jacket, also to check if there is any obvious physical reason for him to have clutched at his side.

Once his jacket is open I pull up his shirt to reveal his torso and can't help the small gasp escaping me. The scar twists its way up his side and I realise this, this is what he was grabbing at.

I quickly pull out my phone and dial Danny's home number. Tapping my fingers nervously as it rings out. Finally the line crackles into life.

"Hello?"

"Danny? It's Louise." I begin,

"Sorry, it's Guy; you want me to find Dan?" He asks.

"Um well, I don't know, it's just, well, I-" I stutter,

"Louise? What's wrong?" He asks, suddenly sounding concerned, an emotion I don't think I have ever heard from him before now.

"Well, it's Luke, he was running and then I don't know what happened but he collapsed not far from the shop- you know? On the corner? Yeh well I work here and so I brought him inside and I don't think it's anything medical, not physically medical anyway, you know what I mean? God I don't know I just thought I should tell you seen as-."

Suddenly, before I can register what's happening I am knocked backwards by his flailing arm. I let out a small squeal of surprise and the phone falls from my grip. I pull myself up and back to his side as quickly as possible. He is yelling out and thrashing so violently I fear he will hurt himself. Unsure of what else I can do I attempt to grab his arms, pinning them down to prevent him from harming himself or me for that matter. "Luke! Luke! Can you hear me!?" I yell.

All of a sudden his eyes are open, his pupils wide in fear and tears spilling from them. "Luke? Luke it's me! Please, calm down please!" I beg, tears stinging my own eyes at the state he is in. Suddenly I recognise something amongst the noise coming from him, a name; Jay.

"Jay?" I whisper and suddenly he seems to calm. He stops thrashing and just sits perfectly still, choking on breath. He looks at me, confusion creeping into the pain etched across his face. It's as though he is just waking from a dream, well more a nightmare.

I can see him shaking and I reach out to him, taking his hand to try and ease this. At the contact his features contort in grief, a small sob escaping him. I quickly wrap my arms around him, cradling his head to me as he sobs.

We sit for what seems like hours but can't really be more than a few minutes, until finally he has no more tears left in him leaving him choking on sobs. "Shush, shush just breath." I try and say as he gulps in air. All of a sudden the sobbing has become retching. I quickly move out of the danger zone but Davy's sofa isn't so lucky- ah well it will serve him right for being a dickhead.

Once Luke has lost the contents of his stomach he seems to calm down a little bit; finally beginning to breathe along with me in deep long breaths until finally he has his breath back again.

"Sorry." He croaks, his voice as rough as sandpaper.

"Don't be, you can't help it it's fine." I say, grabbing a teatowl from the mini kitchen and attempting to mop up the mess.

"I, I don't know what happened, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have lost it like that I shouldn't have put that on you I'm so sorry." He gushes, his breathing increasing again.

"Hey, hey shush, come on, in...and out...in...and out. Okay? Look, don't apologise. You didn't put anything on me I promise." I say and he seems to calm a little again, looking down. I quickly fetch him a glass of water, going and sitting beside him as he takes small sips.

"Luke..." I begin hesitantly. "How have you been coping? Honestly." I ask and he looks down at his shoes.

"I can handle it." He mutters quietly.

"Luke...you just had a full blown panic attack. You need to talk to someone." I say but he doesn't move. "It's...it's about Jay isn't it?" I whisper and his breath catches in his throat, his hands shaking once more.

He opens his mouth to reply, hesitating for a moment.

"I-"

He is cut off by the sound of the bell chiming and Guy's voice calling out my name. I silently curse the bad timing, looking apologetically at Luke who has shrunk back into silence. I had forgotten all about the phone call. I sigh before finally calling out.

"We're in the back."

Okay, so maybe Guy O'Donoghue wasn't exactly the best person for this situation...but hey at least he seems to be taking a interest for once; although there are probably better times for building bridges between them.

Ah well, at least things can't get any worse...I hope...

*Glen's POV*

I honestly don't really know what I was expecting, probably more of what I have found almost every time I have been to Danny's flat these past few months: the sea of god knows what crap littering the floor, the smell of a boys locker room and a very miserable Danny, only occasionally fully clothed. What I most certainly didn't expect was to find a spotless room, a smiling clothed Danny and the smell of – what is that? Lavender?!

"Glen! How you doing man? Hey listen to this been working on it all morning." He says. I just stare blankly as he precedes to play a verse or two on his guitar.

"What'd you think?" He asks eagerly. I blink rapidly, trying to remember how to speak.

"Um yeh, yeh sounds great." I say and he smiles.

"Course I'll have to get Mark to have a listen, he will probably want to improve the guitar and-" He pauses for a moment, "You okay?" He asks, sounding worried.

"Uh, yeh, yeh I'm fine. Just, tired, you know." I stutter.

"You want tea?" He asks, putting down the guitar.

"Never say no to tea." I say with a smile. I watch as he heads to the Kitchen, saying something about redecorating. I don't understand it, one day he is a heartbroken wreck the next he is the cheeriest he has been in years; it just doesn't make sense.

"I'm thinking a light blue, what do you think?" I tune back in to the question and quickly smile.

"Sounds great." I say instinctively. "So, um where's the other three?" I ask

"Oh Luke's gone for a run, Sean is house hunting – he and Kay broke up you know, such a shame- And Guy, well to be honest I have no idea, he had a phone call then hurried out a little while ago- although he is probably just at the pub knowing him. Speaking of pubs we haven't all been for a pint in ages." He says. I don't like to mention that the reason for that being that he and Mark refused so many times recently I had given up asking.

"I thought perhaps Friday night we could go out, make a night of it." He says.

"Yeh, yeh that sounds great."

"I thought we could invite Cat and that friend of her's, smooth things over a little from Christmas?" He asks, his face suddenly embarrassed at the mention of Christmas.

"Hum, yeh sounds good...so...about that...you're good? With Cat? Being friends?" I ask slowly, not sure how he will react. He shrugs as he pours the hot water into some mugs.

"Yeh, she's moved on, I need to as well, I get that now. She's my friend you know; I can't let anything ruin that, not again." He says, handing me the cup with a small smile. I take it slowly, watching him, trying to figure him out. I don't know if this is genuine moving on, or if it's just a front, but it's better than how he was before, surely?

"Yeh, yeh good. I'm glad." I say, taking a sip of the tea. "Mm good tea by the way." I say and he smiles.

"Thanks." He says, "So, how you been?" He asks and I begin some boring recap of my rather boring last few days. I don't know what to make of this- have I just got number two of 'Things Autumn would want' ticked off? Or have we somehow stepped even further away from happiness than before?

*Cat's POV*

I really should try and sleep...

I don't even know what I'm scrolling through anymore, it's just a blur of cat memes and celebrities.

I sigh, finally dropping the phone onto the bedside table.

It's 2:30am for gods sake this is ridiculous! I read somewhere it's evolutionarily wired into us to sleep at night, that are body will go into the processes needed for sleep in the dark...clearly my body didn't get that memo.

I roll over, hugging the pillow and gazing at the window. I can hear one of the kittens moving around in the dark and I smile to myself - they are becoming like children to me I swear.

Suddenly there is a loud clink sound followed by the crack of breaking glass. I let out a small shriek, backing away from the window, defending myself with the duvet covers.

"Shit!" Someone exclaims from outside.

Hang on, I know that voice.

Hesitantly I move towards the window, pulling back the curtain to reveal the cracked glass spiderwebbing out from a small impact point.

Then I see the culprit, stood awkwardly in the street, swaying slightly.

I grab my dressing gown, turning on the lights and hurry downstairs to the front door.

"What the hell Eoin?!" I yell, taking him by surprise.

"Sorry..." He says, sheepishly, quickly catching on to the angry in my voice.

"It's 2:30 and you just broke my window!" I yell and he looks back up at the window.

"I...I was trying to...you know...like in movies... When they wake the pretty girl by throwing a pebble at the window..." He stutters and I just stare at him. He smells like a walking bar, even from this distance and I know I should be angry, I mean the man just broke my window for goodness sake!

But somehow, as I look at him, standing there, all puppy dog eyes and a look like a scolded child on ha face I can't help but smile.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I say, my tone softening.

Suddenly he beams, drunkenly throwing his arms out,

"Electricity, Sparks inside of me and I'm free, I'm free!" He sings loudly, putting on a Geordie accent.

I furrow my eyebrows at him,

"You got a role in Billy Elliot...?"

"I'm free! Free from her!" He yells and suddenly I realise what he means; Eoin Knight is single...

Oh.

What the hell happens now?

****

So, hello again everyone. Yet again, sorry for the late late update. College takes up a lot more time than previously anticipated. But I was determined to update before new year! And with one day to spare till 2016 I did it! So yeh Happy New Year to everyone hope u all had a great Xmas as well!

So yeh, idk if this chapter was any good tbh it is mostly setting up stuff isn't it? But yeh,
I wonder who this kind stranger could be helping Joey and Gale?
What will happen with Luke Louise and Guy?
Danny has moved on...or has he?
And Eoin is now single...

Let me know what u think of all these developments would love to hear from anyone who has had the patience to stick with me (thank u so much to anyone still reading this like from the bottom of my heart it means so much!) but yeh, thanks so much, I really hope you enjoyed it! Please do vote and comment if you did means a lot to know if people are still here! (Plus I have missed u guys and would love to just hear from u in general!)
Btw The little bit of song at the end there is Electricity from the musical billy Elliot (Fab musical really recommend) idk y I wrote that ngl it just got in my head when thinking of what to write so I just went with it XD

Happy new year! Hope 2016 brings u great things cause you all deserve it!

Love, Jess :)

P.S. Don't forget KETTLE :D