"What time do you think Ada will come down?" Tilly asked Pol who was sat reading the newspaper.

"Soon, hopefully," the woman muttered. "Eat and get out unless you want to go to school."

"Good of you to join us," Polly commented when Ada walked into the kitchen. "Where have you been all day?"

"In bed," Ada replied. "Couldn't sleep. Then I couldn't wake up. Then I was cold and then I had to go for a wee. Then I was with this bear on a boat but that was just a dream."

Tilly and Polly looked at each other as Ada was listing off the things she had done while she was walking towards the table, plate and jam in hand. Tilly's eyes dropped to her sister's stomach since she was acting weird.

"Then I was hungry," Ada concluded as she sat down. "Why are you reading the paper?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Polly asked.

"Tilly, why are you staring at me?" Ada questioned not taking her eyes off her jam.

"No reason," she shrugged.

"Well, I've never seen you read the paper, I've only light fires with them," Ada replied to Polly question.

"BSA are on strike. Miners are in strike. IRA are killing our boys, ten a day," Pol listed looking Ada up and down.

"What?" Ada asked confused. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

Pol continued to stare at Ada, "Stand up."

"Why?" Ada asked again and Pol put her cup down.

"Just stand up," and Ada did with Pol following walking over to her.

"Side on," Polly told her before cupping her breast.

"What are you doing?" Ada asked.

"Ada, how late are you?" Pol questioned.

"One week... Five weeks. Seven if you count weekends. I think it's lack of iron," she shrugged. "I got some tablets."

"But they didn't work?" Tilly asked, knowing she was pregnant.

"No," Ada sighed.

"Tilly, go on," Polly waved her out of the door.

"Go where?" she asked.

"School, stables, anywhere but here," Polly sighed as the girl stood up.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

She had decided to go to school although there wasn't long left so she wondered what the point was as she walked down the corridor. "Miss Shelby, you're late," the shrill voice of Mrs Smith spoke up as she opened the door.

"Sorry," Tilly apologised. "I'll be on time tomorrow."

"Take a seat," the woman told the girl, knowing full well she either wouldn't show up tomorrow or she'd be late but she didn't have the energy to argue.

There wasn't a lot of options as to where to sit. There was next to Ralph Booker which she just point blank ignored the space. Then there was next to Oliver but she didn't want him to get into an argument with Ralph over it so she also ignored that chair. Then there was next to Hazel but the girl couldn't stand Tilly so she also ignored that seat and made her way to the back of the classroom where Ophelia sat.

"Can I sit here?" Tilly whispered to the girl having felt Mrs Smith's eyes on her.

Ophelia nodded and pulled out the chair for the brunette to slip into before she got shouted at again, "You can use my work to help you catch up if you want."

"Thank you," Tilly smiled as she got her stuff.

As Mrs Smith droned on about whatever they were supposed to be doing Tilly and Ophelia were too busy talking. "Are you coming to the shop today?" Ophelia asked in a hushed tone.

"I will be because Finn apparently needs his sweets before he dies and I need to go get some bread for my aunt Pol," she replied in the same hushed tone. "Have you seen either Penny or Jake today?"

"I saw Penny earlier in maths but I haven't seen Jacob."

"Did Penny go home or stay after maths?" Tilly questioned.

"Stayed I thin-" the door opened again which cut Ophelia off.

"Miss Allen, late again. What's your excuse this time?" the teacher asked, slowly looking to the blonde girl who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. "There is ten minutes of the class left."

"My horse ate my homework. It was a nightmare trying to it off him," Penny lied.

"Well that's a new one. What's your next excuse going to be? Your cat ate it?" Mrs Smith questioned.

"She has a horse?" Ophelia asked Tilly who was struggling to hide her smile as she shook her head.

"No, she just forgot to do it," Tilly chuckled.

The teacher sighed before telling her to wait outside for the last ten minutes, the blonde sending a smirk to Tilly as she was leaving.

"Did your horse eat your homework as-well, Matilda?" Mrs Smith asked.

"No but my nephew drooled all over it while my niece drew all over it," Tilly shook her head.

"Isn't your youngest nephew 3?" Ophelia whispered.

"Yep," she whispered back. "I just forgot about it."

"What was the excuse you gave to Mr Johnson? Was it that the police ripped it?" Mrs Smith asked.

"Yes and that's not an excuse it's the truth," Tilly corrected, holding the ripped paper up. "See."

"Ah," the woman spoke before turning around so she could hide her smile.

"You can go now. None of you were paying attention anyway," Mrs Smith called out and everyone stood up and filed out of the room. Penny, who was stood with her leg against the wall and looking down picking at her nails, looked up to see Tilly and Ophelia stood in front of her.

"Have you seen Jake?" Tilly asked.

"Yeah he's walking down the corridor now," Penny nodded her head in the boy's direction as she kicked herself off the wall.

"Not so fast, Penelope," Mrs Smith called stopping the teenagers in their tracks.

"Fuck," she whispered as she turned around.

"They can wait for you outside," the teacher told her as she opened the door for the girl to enter her room.

"What is she saying to her?" Tilly whispered to Jacob who was not so subtly eavesdropping.

Jake rolled his eyes, "I'll be able to tell you if you shushed."

By the time Jacob had listened to what the teacher was saying it was too late because Penny opened the door and Jacob fell through the door. "Seriously?" Penny sighed.

"Can we just go?" Tilly sighed.

The four of them started walking to the sweetshop. Tilly fell into step with Jacob while Penny fell into step with Ophelia.

"Are you coming to the bakery after the sweetshop?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll walk you home."

"Okay."

When they got to the shop they were greeted by Mrs Boyd before they made their way to get their sweets.

"Can you grab that a minute?" Tilly asked Penny who was staring at Ophelia. "Christ. Penelope!" she shouted making the blonde drop her rhubarb and custard sweets.

Tilly gave Penny a pointed look, "Thought you didn't like her."

"I don't. Shut up," she shoved the girl. Tilly sighed before putting Finn's sweets in the bag.

Penny had eventually got her sweets before the three of them had made their way home. Penny had walked in the other direction while Tilly and Jacob had walked towards the boy's mum's bakery.

When they got to the bakery Jacob got Tilly her loaf of bread for Polly before the boy walked the girl home.

"Do you think Penny likes Ophelia?" Jacob asked the brunette who was walking beside him.

"If she does she won't admit it."

"She'll tell us in her own time. Don't worry," Jacob said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they turned onto Watery Lane.

Ada appeared by the duo and snatched Tilly from Jacob's grasp.

"Ada! What the fuck?" Tilly exclaimed.

"We're going to the pictures," Ada replied.

"Do I not get a say?" Tilly asked.

"Nope. Jacob, take Pol her bread and take Finn his sweets," Ada told the boy as she walked away with Tilly following.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

The two sisters sat in their seats, Tilly was sat eating her sweets while Ada was sat eating her popcorn. "Are you pregnant then?" Tilly asked her sister.

"Yes," Ada nodded.

"And it's you know who's?" Tilly asked again, since she wasn't allowed to nor dared to say Freddie's name out loud in such a public place.

"Yeah. Pol doesn't want to keep it though," she whispered.

"Do you want to keep your baby," she asked, whispering the word 'baby'.

"Yes, I want to keep my baby," Ada nodded.

Tilly smiled, "Congratulations,"

"Thank you," Ada grinned as the theatre lights faded and the black and white film started.

Tilly wasn't sure how much of the film they had watched before the door opened harshly and the light from the outside seeped into the darkness. The two Shelby sisters peeked backwards to see Tommy marching down the centre of the theatre and sitting next to Ada on the other side to where Tilly was sat.

"Tell me the man's name, Ada," Tommy's voice was scarily low.

"Rudolph Valentino," she replied in the same tone as Tommy not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. Tommy suddenly stood up and walked out of the theatre.

"Do you really think that worked?" Tilly asked her sister as they both watched the film come to a stop and the lights came back on as Tommy marched angrily back into the theatre.

"Get out!" he yelled as people looked in confusion. "All of you! Go on! Get out!" he yelled again to the people who were still in the theatre.

"I said tell me his fucking name," he snarled at Ada.

The three siblings sat in silence.

"Freddie fucking Thorne!"

Tommy's nostrils flared in both anger and surprise.

"Yeah. You're best mate since school. The man who saved your life in France. So, go on. Go and cut him. Cut him up and chuck him in the cut," Ada continued enraged.

Tommy walked away calling Tilly's name but she refused to leave Ada and Tommy couldn't be bothered arguing with her. Ada stood up and turned around, "Oi, we're Shelby's too, you know. Put our fucking film back on!" Ada sat back down with sigh and went back to eating her popcorn, smiling sadly as Tilly laid her head on her sisters shoulder.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Night had fallen over Small Heath and Tilly was laid in her bed reading, Alice in Wonderland when her bedroom door opened. "Tommy, I'm not having this conversation with you again. I'm siding with Ada because-"

"Not Tommy, glad to disappoint," Jacob said as he walked further into the girl's bedroom.

"Oh, thank god it's you, I'm sick of Tommy," she chuckled, looking up from her book. "Isn't it past your curfew?"

"Dad's drunk and I don't want to be there when he eventually flips," he admitted. "Pol said I could stay."

Tilly patted the space next to her on her bed and Jacob kicked his shoes off and laid next to her and watched her read.

"Til," he tapped her leg and she hummed.

"It's one in the morning, let's go to sleep now."

"Okay," she yawned placing her book on her bedside table as she blew up the candle that she kept there. Tilly laid down beside Jacob and faced him.

She looked over his face to see his black eye had faded into a yellow colour which she gently traced her finger over carefully not to hurt him.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," he whispered.

"It shouldn't be there in the first place," she whispered back.

"I know but it is," he shrugged.

They fell into a silence as Tilly's eyes grew heavy. Once Tilly was sound asleep the door opened and Polly walked in.

"I thought she'd still be awake," she commented looking at her sleeping niece.

"I made her go to sleep when I saw the time," he smiled at the woman. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"We told you when you were fourteen you were welcome to stay. Nothings changed now that you're eighteen,"  Polly told him smiling at him.

Polly left the two teenagers to sleep which annoyed Tommy when he checked in on Tilly because she was still his baby sister who shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed as a boy. Even if he knew the boy and even if she was eighteen. He looked at the two teenagers who were both asleep with Jacob's arm around Tilly's waist.