Unlike some women in her situation, Kay was in no rush to get married. She said she wanted a Summer wedding, and so the date was set for the beginning of July, giving them three months to properly plan the occasion. Robin took her role as maid of honour seriously, as if it was an actual paying job, because no way in hell was she going to let down someone who trusted her enough to give her such an honour. When she wasn't at college or work, she was at Kay's bedsit flat, planning out intricate details of the day to the extent that she tended to get back home rather late, often missing dinner, much to her mother's annoyance.

It was actually a wonder that Robin and her mother hadn't yet had an argument about her regular absences, but she knew her mother well enough to know that tensions were slowly building. She didn't usually brood over her irritation for this long, and on top of that there was something unusual going on with her mother. She was home even less than Robin, and whenever she was she was different. Robin couldn't quite put her finger on what, and whenever she mentioned it to Albert, he was none the wiser too. Whatever Rita was up to was a complete mystery, but it was one Robin didn't really care about.

Robin had far more important things to worry about than her mother. On top of work and wedding planning, college was getting serious again. Just like before Christmas, the build up to Easter break was hectic, especially since she had signed up to a photography class on top of her other classes. Photography, despite being the only subject she didn't take with either Stuart or John, had quickly become her favourite, though that was probably because the tutor - a middle aged woman with bright ginger hair named Evelyn May, though she insisted they all call her Eve - was one of the most encouraging people Robin had ever encountered in her academic life. Robin was the only girl in the class of eight, so she had worried that there would be some sort of gender bias, that the boys' work would be seen as superior. She had definitely met other teachers like that, but Eve was the complete opposite. She valued students purely on talent and work ethic, and Robin's love of taking pictures had clearly impressed her. She knew how much it would amuse John to see her being such a teacher's pet, but each lesson she sat right at the front, and always had extra work prepared, always turning up with extra notes of research, and was often the first to put her hand up when asked a question. She couldn't help it, she had been utterly inspired, and she, as strange as it sounds, adored Eve. She wanted Eve to like her and respect her, and the harder she worked the more worthy she felt of such emotions.

One Thursday afternoon in particular, upon the bell ringing for the end of the day, Robin began to pack her things up while her mind drifted to the thought of how it was her first night off from work all week. Kay and Frank were going on a date so there was no wedding planning to be done that night, and John was going to the pub and then to Paul's. For the first time in a long while, Robin had no plans, she was free to do whatever she wanted, though she immediately felt a bit lost. To have no plans whatsoever felt so bizarre, though as she glanced up to the classroom door and saw Stuart waiting for her she realized she wasn't completely lost.

The rest of the class had already all stormed out before Eve had finished cleaning the chalk board, so Robin rushed to get the rest of her prints that were scattered on her desk slotted back in her portfolio. Before she had the chance, she felt someone standing next to her, so she looked up to see Eve watching her, glancing over the prints that she was piling together with the faintest of smiles.

"May I see that top one a little closer, Miss Knight?" she asked politely, her accent so clear and lacking in any sort of scouse inclination.

Robin nodded apprehensively as she handed the photograph to her teacher, knowing it wasn't a picture for class and had simply got mixed up in the pile. It was one of the prints she'd made just for fun, and had been taken on George's birthday, when Connie had thrown him a surprise party. It had been a brilliant night, as all parties thrown by John's cousin were, and the photograph had been taken near the end of the night, showing Paul sat up on the kitchen counter cradling an empty bottle of whisky while John stood next to him. The two were looking at each other, both of them severely drunk and looking into each others eyes with drunken love. It was the photo Robin was proudest of, since it seemed to capture their relationship perfectly, though seeing Eve look it over with a curious smile Robin immediately felt self-conscious of it.

"Who are these, then?" Eve inquired, gesturing to the picture.

"That's my boyfriend, John, and our friend, Paul," she told her simply, before deciding to add, "It was our other friends' birthday, they're all in a band together,"

"Interesting," she nodded, handing the photo back to Robin, who slipped it carefully back into her portfolio. "Is there a reason why you aren't submitting that one to me as coursework?"

"I didn't know if it was relevant to any projects you've been suggesting to us," Robin answered truthfully.

"Of course it's relevant, it's excellent, it shows a real natural eye for photography and you should be rather proud of it," Eve told her before she looked at Robin with slightly narrowed eyes. "Have any of your other tutors mentioned the Summer Showcase to you yet?"

Robin shook her head. She'd heard it be mentioned to Stuart in one of their other classes, and it was apparently a great honour to be recommended for it, though since none of her other tutors had told her about it, she was none the wiser about what it actually was. Eve seemed surprised at that, raising one of her eyebrows.

"That's a surprise, you seem just as excellent in all your other classes as you are in mine," Eve said, and Robin felt surprised at how proud her tutor sounded. "Well it would be my pleasure to put you forward to represent this class. The showcase is an exhibition opportunity where one student is selected from each course as a representative to display their best work. Students' families and friends are invited to come along, but the invitation is also extended to employers or university admission officers, it's an excellent opportunity for you,"

"Are you sure you want me to represent?" Robin asked, stunned.

"Is there anyone else you think would be a good choice?" Eve raised her eyebrow again, ever so slightly intimidating. Robin paused, before shaking her head, and the smile appeared on her tutor's face once more. "Well, you've two months to prepare. Pick out your best work, though as I always say, you might not have even produced your best work yet! You'll need to run your selections by me at least a week before, but we can chat about the finer details closer to the time,"

"Okay, brilliant, thank you," Robin breathed out, a little amazed that she'd be included in such an important event.

As soon as she scurried away out of the class room Stuart was still waiting for her, and based on his pleased grin he had heard everything that had been said between Robin and Eve. He threw his arm around her shoulder as they walked the corridors together, with Robin trying to get her head around Eve's offer, hoping the excited, proud blush would fade soon.

"Honestly, Rob, it's brilliant, I was hoping you'd get asked for the Showcase, mostly cause John can't tease me for being a swot if you're doing it too," Stuart said, making Robin roll her eyes in amusement. "There's always a few buyers invited along as well, maybe you'll be able to flog a few prints,"

"I only take pictures of you lot, who's gonna want to buy those pictures?" she pointed out with a slight laugh, though she found the whole concept of the evening rather exciting.

She'd never done anything like an exhibition before. She didn't even know if she'd feel comfortable inviting people along to it, not since her art was something so personal and expressive to the point that she couldn't imagine displaying it for everyone to see. It was different making pieces for college, because they were for the sole purpose of class, but the exhibition invited new potential to show a part of herself that she usually kept hidden.

If she was going to be working on the exhibition with anyone, she was glad it was with Stuart. After all, he was her first friend, the first person she met at college, and the first person she had told the truth to about her move to Liverpool. Even if she wasn't massively comfortable with putting her work on display, John would be invited, that was a given. There was nothing she could portray in an exhibition that he wouldn't have already seen or known about. Maybe the invitation would extend to Albert too, since he was the one who'd put in her application for college and bought her camera, it felt like best way to pay him back for everything, to show him that his efforts hadn't been in vein. The thought of inviting her mother to the exhibition was a little daunting, but she'd have to come to terms with it. She was her mother, she should be invited, even if the thought bothered her.

The exhibition was still months away, Robin didn't know why she was worrying, and she certainly shouldn't be so worried about asking people along rather than the work itself.

***

It was good to be home before nightfall for once, though as soon as Robin was through the front door she could tell something was different about the house. For one, it seemed a bit more alive than it usually did at that time, considering Albert was meant to still be at the restaurant and her mother was usually at work, yet Robin could hear the sound of voices coming from the living room. Another difference was that there was another pair of shoes on the rack by the front door.

Robin kept a pair of boots and a pair of pumps downstairs on the shoe rack just in case, and Albert kept his rather stylish brogues next to hers. Robin's mother kept her heels on the row just below, and next to hers was the gap usually reserved for guests. Some evenings Robin was used to spotting another pair of male shoes, normally quite smart and very well maintained. That normally meant that Albert had one of his friends over, most of the time it was his record-shop-owning friend Brian, but Robin had never interrupted them to meet him personally. That night though, the shoes next to Rita's heels, while a pair that would have initially appeared smart, seemed a little scuffed around the toes as if their owners didn't care to keep them in good shape. They looked a cheaper make too, not that there was anything wrong with that, but usually Albert's visitors would only have the best. Instantly Robin knew it wasn't one of Albert's usual friends, and she felt a little twist in her stomach when she heard a laugh that sounded distinctly like her mother's coming from the living room.

Did her mother have a male friend over? Part of Robin didn't want to care, especially as she kicked off her heeled boots and placed them on the rack, knocking off the intruder's shoes. Her mother was a grown woman, she could do what she wanted, and to be bothered would to be quite hypocritical. She'd always been annoyed whenever her mother had tried to weasel her way into knowing about her social life, so she could hardly do the exact same. However, something about the situation put her on edge, her insides bubbling uncomfortably as she felt curiosity get the better of her.

Robin headed into the hallway and stood by the closed living room door, hating herself for being so desperate to know what was going on. She could still hear her mother laughing, and the unfamiliar sound was followed by a male voice. Without a second thought she opened the door, trying her best to act as though she hadn't heard anything and simply wanted to go in and watch television, but she wasn't the best actress, and certainly not when she saw the sight of her mother and an unknown man sat on the sofa, cuddling together. They hadn't noticed her yet, and Robin felt disgusted as she saw, in the exact spot where she and John had been kissing only a few weeks before, the mystery man had his lips on her mother's neck.

"Fucking hell," Robin breathed out, feeling as though she'd had all the wind knocked out of her, especially as she realised her barely audible shock had been heard.

The two darted apart, and Rita, obviously flustered, jumped up off the sofa and met her daughter's shock with a furious glare. She quickly composed herself, as if remembering that it wasn't just the two of them, and her fury dissolved into a nervous smile, reaching out and putting her hand on the man's shoulder. He glanced over at Robin with vague interest, though Robin couldn't muster the same feelings. He looked rather unremarkable, wearing a neat suit that contrasted the scuffed shoes she'd seen, and his face, if not bright red from embarrassment, would have been indescribably mundane.

"Hello, love," Rita greeted her, feigning friendliness. Perhaps if the man wasn't there her behaviour would be significantly different. "Watch your language while we have guests, will you? Have you ever heard of knocking on a door before bursting in?"

"I wanted to see if the football results were on," she gestured to the television, feeling like an idiot but unable to think of anything else to say until she felt a bit of her confience recover, glancing between her mother and the man. "Have you ever heard of not shagging in communal areas?"

"Roberta!" her mother exclaimed, desperately trying not to sound furious in front of the aforementioned guest. She gestured for the man to stand up and he did, wrapping his arm around her waist. Robin felt sick. "This is Philip, he's my manager from work, he's been a really good friend to me lately,"

He seemed better than a 'good friend', but Robin bit back that comment, not wanting to seem rude or stir up her mother's anger even more. Inside though, she was feeling overwhelmed, unsure if she was confused, upset, angry, she didn't have a clue what her emotions were. She could feel herself shaking a little, but she tried to take a few deep breaths. She'd told John repeatedly to keep a hold of his temper, it would be no good letting her own conquer her.

"Hello, Roberta, it's nice to finally meet you," he said, and Robin ignored the way he looked her up and down slightly. "Your lovely mother has told me plenty about you,"

Philip offered her a smile, holding his hand out for her to shake, and she reluctantly took it, feeling completely uncomfortable with everything. What made it worse was what she spotted on his hand as she shook it, noticing with dread the gold band on his ring finger. She could feel her mother watching her, willing her to be polite with a small glare, though when Robin still felt herself unable to speak, Rita let out a laugh as she rolled her eyes.

"This is a surprise, Roberta normally never stops talking!" Rita joked, and Robin knew she was lying at her expense to kill any tension. "She's never normally in at this time either, she's always at college or in town with her friends, this is a rare treat,"

"Yes," Robin muttered, trying not to sound bitter, wanting nothing more than to flee the scene. "I've got work to do, see you,"

With that she quickly left the living room, feeling as though she was burning up, her chest tightening. She didn't feel as though she wanted to cry, she just wanted to scream. She ran silently up the stairs, wanting nothing more than to hide, and never face the world again. She was probably overreacting, but she could hardly think rationally, especially as she got to her room and locked the door, spinning around and sinking to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

It was none of her business what her mother got up to. It wasn't anything to do with her, but yet it still hurt. She knew her mother had fallen out of love with her father, she had her suspicions about affairs, but her father hadn't even been gone for that long. To catch her with another man in the house... it was just too much, brought up too many feelings she'd tried to bury.

She was shaking, and as she realised she could hear both her mother and Philip's voices downstairs she quickly got up and put a record on, turning it up as high as it would go. Even then, the music wouldn't drown out her frustration, not as her mind circulated on Philip. There was nothing particularly wrong with him, her mother seemed besotted, but maybe it was just a horrible reminder that her mother had moved on from the memory of her father much quicker than she did.

In her anger she was surprised she heard the quiet knock against her window, and when she turned around she saw John, perched at the top of the garden ladders, waving at her with a sarcastic grin. She was still so frustrated she was tempted to just draw the curtains and ignore him, wanting to be completely alone, but she knew that wasn't logical, nor was it fair on him. It wasn't his fault that her mother was downstairs shacking up with another man, so she forced a small smile and opened the window, holding her hand out to help him through.

"Alright, birdy," he greeted cheerfully, not noticing her frown as he jumped down from her window ledge, pushing a kiss to her cheek.

"I thought you were going to the pub and then to Paul's?" she reminded him, shutting the window behind him.

"Nice to see you too, dear! The lads I was going with cancelled, and Paul's got some girl he'd rather go out with," John shrugged, placing his hands on her hip and pulling her closer. "So... d'you want to-"

"Not right now," she shook her head, and John immediately dropped his hands from her, stepping away. "Sorry, I'm just not in the mood,"

"That's alright, what's wrong?" it was his turn to frown as she crossed the room and sat down on her bed, gesturing for her to sit next to him.

She stayed where she was for a moment, unsure of what to do. She was glad he was there, but she knew that she'd have to tell him what she'd just seen. With a huff she quickly flopped down onto the bed at his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Her wrapped his arms around her, stroking his fingers through her hair as she sighed.

"I got asked to do the Summer Showcase, for college," she mumbled quietly, remembering her pride before her mother had brought her back down to Earth. "Eve wants me to display some of my photos,"

"Bloody hell, you little swot, that's brilliant!" he cheered, wrapping his arms around her tighter in excitement. "Honestly, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you," she sighed, leaning over and kissing his cheek gratefully. "Stu's doing it too,"

"So it's just me that's the underachiever then," John teased, making Robin roll her eyes.

"No, you're just as talented, but you know you actually have to hand in coursework to be considered for the showcase," she reminded him, and he grunted annoyedly with a shrug that told her her words were no quick fix for his bad academic habits. "The problem is I dunno what photos to choose. It's not like I've been at photography long, and if a load of important people are looking my work over I need to put my best stuff on show or risk looking like an idiot,"

"I don't think you could look an idiot even if you tried," John pointed out, laying back on her bed and pointing the the paintings above the head board, the ones of Park Hill flats, Debbie Reynolds and Ella Fitzgerald. Just looking at them felt like looking at another person's work compared to the standard her work was currently at.

Before Robin had the chance to respond she heard the noise of footsteps running up the stairs, thundering across the hall and stopping just outside her door. For the briefest of moments she had forgotten the scene downstairs, John's company being the perfect distraction, but she had been so distracted she hadn't heard her mother say farewell to Philip or the front door shut, and now Rita believed it was just the two of them home alone. Robin felt her chest tighten again, realising that either her mother was going to discover John in her room and be even angrier at her, or John was going to hear her mother berate her. Perhaps it wasn't even a question of either, as both scenarios seemed entirely inescapable as the sound came of Rita's pounding fist against the door.

"What the-" John began, shooting up from his position and jumping to his feet defensively but Robin cut him off before he could curse.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, trying to figure the situation out, but Robin wasn't looking at him. Instead she was trying to find a place for him to hide, even if the door was locked. There seemed to be nowhere but the wardrobe, and even then it would be a squeeze for him to fit considering the amount of clothes she had packed in there.

"Roberta!" her mother's voice screamed, and though Robin had previously been prepared for confrontation she didn't think it would be so soon, and not while John was there as witness. "Open this door now, you silly little cow!"

"No, thank you," Robin called back defiantly before looking to John and hissing just below her breath, "Wardrobe, now please,"

John seemed confused, and reluctant to move at all, but he caught her pleading gaze and with a small sigh he surrendered. He remembered once upon a time hiding her from his aunt behind his bedroom door, though this scenario was completely different. Mimi hadn't been furious like Robin's mother seemed to be, and though his instincts screamed at him to stay where he was and protect her from whatever danger, he quietly opened her wardrobe up and sat down on the shoe shelf amongst her boots, being hidden in a shroud of dresses and jeans.

Even with him hidden, Robin still didn't open the bedroom door. She still sometimes thought about Boxing Day, and she didn't want to come to blows with her mother again. Somehow, even though she'd never apologised and they'd never addressed it since, the two had formed a stalemate, one that Robin was reluctant to break. That was inevitable though, she realised, as she paced towards the door and placed her hand on the lock, not to unlock it but to make sure it stayed firmly in place.

"You're such a horrible little embarrassment! For the first time in my life I'm actually happy and you storm in and ruin it!" Rita screamed through the door, her fist still pounding against the wood as if she wanted to break it down. "You're lucky Philip is kind enough to ignore how rude you were, he's such a wonderful man!"

"Yeah, that wonderful he's going to cheat on his wife for you," Robin said calmly, pressing her back against the door and shutting her eyes, wishing more than anything that John wasn't across the room listening to all of the drama. "Can we just talk about this later? I've got loads of work to do,"

"That's fine, just avoid me like always! Do you think I've not noticed you running about town constantly finding any excuse to avoid coming home to me? You're so ungrateful, Roberta," Rita shouted back, though her words just floated right over Robin, like each spiteful word was a raindrop and Robin had remembered to put up an umbrella. She was more than prepared to be insulted. "And you're certainly one to talk, judging me for my choice in men! Philip might be married, but at least he's not some common scouser. He's from London, he owns a chain of department stores, and he's promising to take me back down there with him once he divorces his wife. I'm going up in the world!"

"Okay, brilliant, good for you," Robin said as she folded her arms across her chest tightly as if to hold herself together. "Just don't expect me to go with you to London. You're insulting the scousers like you didn't say seven months ago that we were going up in the world moving here,"

"Oh, please! You can't surely like it here," Rita laughed, and Robin remembered how resentful she had been packing up her life in Sheffield, the feeling being completely alien compared to how much she loved her new city. "Or are you just too preoccupied by that boy? Are you just going to make all the same mistakes I did and end up nowhere with a life full of regret? I wouldn't be surprised, you stupid girl,"

At some point Robin had tuned her mother's voice out. She'd stopped banging on the door, but was still shouting her insults, though it wasn't as if she needed to listen considering she'd heard it all before. She wasn't sure how long her mother had been ranting for, but at some point she heard the wardrobe door slam open, and she opened her eyes to see John heading over to her, a furious yet hurt scowl on his face. In fear of him making a noise that would be heard she shook her head at him, and while he still looked frustrated he softened a little, kneeling next to her and pulling her into his arms. He pushed a dozen little kisses to her forehead, stroking her hair, and she quickly buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"It's okay," she whispered to him, though she knew her mother wouldn't hear her, too concerned with her rant. "I'm okay. You can go home if you want,"

"Bugger off if you think I'm leaving you alone with her," he said firmly, his kind tone contrasting the continual shouting from the other side of the door. "Is this how she always talks to you?"

Robin shrugged, unsure of what to say. It was utterly embarrassing, so when her mother let out one final burst of insults and a final kick to the door before her footsteps stormed away back downstairs. The two of them hesitated for a moment before Robin let out a long sigh of relief and John let go of her, pacing her room as he clenched his jaw and his fists. She watched him carefully, trying to figure out where his head was, until he threw open her wardrobe door again and rummaged through before pulling out her suitcase that she hadn't looked at since moving in.

"Come on, shove some stuff in here, you're not stopping here tonight," he said, tossing the case onto her bed. When she didn't move from the floor he moved back over to her and pulled her off the ground. "I have no idea what she was actually going on about but you're not staying anywhere near that woman. Mimi's got a spare room, you're having it,"

Robin couldn't find the energy to protest. Not even the thought of having to meet John's aunt for the first time since becoming his girlfriend could stop her as she packed her overnight things and clothes for the next day into the case, as well as gather her things to take to college. She couldn't imagine Mimi would be thrilled to see her, but anything was better than staying.

***

Word count: 4806

***