☆

"OI, SHELBY!"

Clara's head whipped towards the voice echoing down Watery Lane. At the end of the road, Will stood with his arms in the air, his wild, slanted smile visible despite the distance. The girl chuckled to himself as he barrelled down the lane, whilst she pushed herself off the wall to meet him halfway. The boy was laughing, slinging a singular arm across Clara's shoulder as they met in the middle.

"I saw you three days ago, no need for the dramatics, William." Clara snickered, allowing him to lead her down the road.

"Oh, I just missed you so much!" He smirked teasingly, "The Chain?" Clara nodded, as the two made their way towards the pub. "So, Shelby, where'd ya get that shiner?"

Clara let her fingers skim the fading bruise on the side of her face. "Y'know how it is Will," she shrugged, her lips pulling into a wolfish smile. "I attract trouble."

"That you do," the boy held open the door for Clara, allowing her to slip under his arm. The two entered the smokey room, the overwhelming smell of alcohol and ash enrapturing them.

"God, I miss the Garrison," Clara moaned, as Will placed two drinks on the table. "But of course it had to go and get itself blown up."

"How's that whole 'thing' going on?" Will asked, slumping into the seat across from her.

"God only knows," Clara picked up her drink and swirled it. "They're reconstructing it...I think."

"Reckon your brother would hire me?"

"Not a chance!" Clara snorted, taking a gulp of the drink. "You'd drain the place in hours."

"Nah, I'd be so good at it!" Will defended himself. "Can you imagine me behind the bar pouring drinks?"

"No, I can imagine you on the floor—wasted."

"Right," The boy huffed, downing his drink. "Well, I need a better job."

"Why? Did you get sacked?"

"No...stacking crates on the boats just isn't that interesting." He sighed, "But, hey! At least I got these!" The boy flexed his arms, the built-up muscles showing through his shirt. "So things really can't be that bad."

"Will..." Clara frowned as his frustration laced his features. She could read William Clarke like an open book. Unfortunately, due to his low life of a father, the boy had been forced to drop out a year and a half ago to help his mother pay rent and other bills. She knew part of him missed school, whether or not he had complained about it 24/7 while attending. "Me and Penny miss you in school."

The boy waved his hand dismissively, "Whatever, can't change nothing now." He shrugged, before redirecting the conversation. "So how is Blondie? Seen her lately?"

Clara bit back a smile at the nickname. She had in fact seen Penny recently. The blonde had stayed the night in Watery Lane. With Tommy gone, the home only housed Finn and her, and Finn had opted to stay at Isaiah's. They didn't have to hide. She and Penny spent the night together, they'd kissed, they'd held hands, they'd stolen whiskey and gin from John's office, they'd drank, they'd laughed, and they'd just let loose and had fun.

"I did...saw her yesterday. Stopped by the sweetshop to see her." Clara gulped back the rest of her drink, hiding her smirk. "Said she hasn't seen ya for a while."

"Yeah..." Will scratched his head, "Don't really have an excuse for that."

"You should go see her, I know she misses you being around." Clara suggested, "We could go out drinking?"

"Mhm....well you certainly have my attention now," the boy hummed.

"You heathen." Clara tutted playfully.

"Oi! I'll have you know that I go to church once a week...with my mum...and not by choice."

"Exactly,"

"As if you go!"

"I never claimed to!"

Will sighed, as Clara chuckled. "You lose." She snickered, pointing her fingers in the shape of a gun before 'shooting'. The boy clutched his chest, slumping back into his seat dramatically. The two sat for a minute or two as the noise in the pub spiked.

"So what's up with the..." Will eventually gestured to her cheek, where the long, pink scar lay. Clara's fingers traced the mark. It was a wonder he hadn't said it earlier. The stitches had been taken out two days ago, but the wound was still very much present.

"Got sliced," Clara shifted, rolling her shoulders back. "Does it look that bad?"

"I think you pull it off," Will stated, examining it once more. "Little Frankenstein-y, don't ya think?"

"You never read the book, how would you know?"

"Give it a rest! Look, I'm trying to be a good friend here!"

"Yeah, because calling me Frankenstein is the highest of compliments!" Clara scoffed with a smile. "And Frankenstein is the doctor, for gods sake!"

"Well, how would I know if it is or isn't?!" Will put his hands in the air. "I never read the bloody book! Christ!"

"You're ridiculous, y'know that?" The girl shook her head.

"Take that back!" Will spat dramatically, "I am not, Clara Shelby!"

"Right...Not ridiculous, stupid maybe?"

"Rude."

Clara childishly stuck her tongue out at the boy, her arms folding. "Well, c'mon, go get more drinks." She gestured to the bar, her eyebrows raised.

"What am I? A slave?" Will snapped, before holding his hand out to silence the girl. "No, don't answer that." Clara slumped back into her seat with a grin as the boy went up to the bar and ordered two more whiskeys.

Once he returned, he slouched into his seat. "Y'know the new gym down by the warehouses?" Will suddenly questioned.

"Yeah, I think Arthur goes there, the place stinks." She nodded, wrinkling her nose as she remembered the stale smell of sweat and various other odours.

"Come with me next week?" He asked, "We can finally settle who's better."

"Are you sure you want that answered?" Clara mused.

"Oh, piss off! I'm so much better than you!"

"As if! You're mediocre at best."

Will drank from his drink with a grumble.

"I don't like mean Clara Shelby, she's deluded and rude."

Clara scoffed and kicked the boy hard under the table. He choked on his drink, leaning down to clutch his shin. She snickered, downing the rest of her drink, before leaning forward.

"I wouldn't say deluded...but rude I can get behind."

☆

"PEN, YOU GOTTA GO!"

Clara quietly chuckled as the blonde reconnected their lips once more. The two were sitting on the Shelby girl's bed, their legs interlinked as they merely relished one another's presence. Clara pulled away, leaning her forehead against Penny's. Their noses touched ever so carefully, both of them looking down.

"C'mon, my entire family is gathering downstairs in less than thirty minutes, you need to be gone by then..." The girl let out a breath. "We can't get caught, Pen...you know what they do to people like us."

Killed, jailed, months of hard labour...the words lingered in the tips of each girls' tongues.

"I know..." Penny sighed, her thumb brushing against the girl's lower lip. "Doesn't mean I don't hate it."

"I know, I know," Clara murmured, "I don't like it either, but it has to be this way."

"Mhm..." the blonde girl shifted to sit more upright, "Should I go out the shop door?"

"Nah, the house should be empty, you can go out the normal door."

Clara pushed herself off the bed, fixing her tussled hair by running her fingers through it. "C'mon, I'll walk you down." She urged, clasping her hand in the blonde's. Penny's hand squeezed Clara's before allowing it to fall. "You know I want you to stay."

"I know," Penny's lips lifted into a small smile. The Shelby girl reciprocated the smile before creeping towards her door and peeking her head out to check if any of her siblings were somehow wandering around. Clara grabbed Penny's hand squeezing it once more before letting it go as they slipped downstairs and towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Clara asked as the Blonde girl fixed her hair. The Shelby girl's fingers brushed a strand of Penny's hair away from the girls face, her fingers lingering on the girl's cheekbone. "C'mon, Blondie...I'll visit you at lunch?"

Penny feebly nodded, her eyes flitting from Clara's lips to her eyes. "Lunch." The blonde echoed, a small smile pulling at her lips. "I have an hour free...can we go visit the horses?"

Clara grinned. Penny had slowly begun to adore the horses in Charlie's Yard— she'd even learned how to ride one, however she preferred to ride with Clara. Penny claimed she 'didn't feel confident' by herself, but the fact that Penny's arms would entangle around the Shelby girl with her head rested on Clara's back for comfort, told another story.

And Clara didn't dare dispute it.

She liked it.

"We can go to the Yard," The Shelby girl confirmed, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow..."

Penny hugged the girl tightly before disappearing out of Number Six. Clara watched her waltz down the street before she faded out of view. The girl stepped back into the house, her arms folding as she walked. Grabbing her jumper from the back of a chair in the kitchen, she shrugged it on, letting the wool engulf her. She patted down her hair before pushing open the double green doors leading to the betting den.

The noise roared from all around her, as all the employees of the shop gathered. Clara's eyes darted around the room before they finally landed on Tommy in the dead centre of the room. He was standing with a cigarette in his mouth, looking rather healed compared to a week and a half ago. His fingers idly flicked through one of the books, his eyes scanning over the contents.

Clara squeezed past the employees until she was standing in front of her older brother. "So..." Tommy looked up at the sound of her voice. "Looks like you didn't bloody die after all— what a shame." The girl's lips pulled into a mischievous grin as her brother shook his head.

"How're your stitches?"

Clara tilted her head towards him, her finger pointing to the dark pink streak across her face. "They're out, but it's still scarred as you can so obviously see. Nice going by the way, Polly killed me when she found out you left."

"Well I'm back now, aren't I?" Tommy dismissed, smiling ever so slightly. "And you seem to still be alive."

"Yeah, barely!" Clara exclaimed, "I swear she'd have given me the strap if I hadn't told her she was left in charge." Tommy made a small 'hmpf' of amusement at the girl.

Clara rolled her eyes at her brother's unusually happy mood. "I suppose London was fun?" She pushed as she scrunched her nose up.

Tommy chose to ignore her question, his eyes looking back over the books causing the girl to huff. "This is your handwriting." He finally stated, his finger pointing to a sentence on the page.

"...no, it's not."

"Stay away from the books, Clara, we had a deal," Tommy warned, yet his mood didn't seem to drop. "No traces of illegality, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, illegality, smegality..." The younger girl mocked, Tommy opened his mouth to say something back but was interrupted as clapping erupted through the shop. He brushed past Clara, his hand patting her shoulder, as the crowd cleared for him. The girl watched as he greeted Polly, who was looking around in bewilderment.

"I didn't want to miss your birthday, Pol." Tommy boomed, slinging his arm around the woman. Arthur shifted on his heels, looking around.

"Back to work." The eldest Shelby ordered, leaving the crowd to disperse and return to their jobs. Clara moved to stand beside Finn and John, both of them standing idly, watching Tommy and Pol. The girl slipped closer to John, as his eyes scanned the betting book in his hands.

"So, John...how's the books?" She asked calmly, her hand inching towards his jacket pocket where a pack of ten cigarettes precariously stuck out. Finn's eyes darted down to Clara's goal.

"Tommy said you're not meant to be working with the books," Finn cut in, sending her a curt smile.

"Well, Tommy's a bit preoccupied right now, "Clara gritted as John merely glanced between the two youngest Shelby's. "Don't be a dick." She mouthed to Finn who merely shrugged.

"The books are fine," John answered, still flicking through the book in his hands. "And Finn's right, weasel, you're not meant to be working with the books." Clara's hand locked around the packet in his pocket, slowly pulling them out millimetre by millimetre.

"C'mon, John, since when does Tommy control everyone?" She scoffed, her hand quickly stuffed the packet into her pocket. "It's stupid!"

"Mhm..." it was clear the eldest boy was no longer listening.

"John, Finn, Clara, bring the car 'round," Tommy ordered, walking past them with Pol at his side. John huffed ever so quietly, closing the book and dropping it on a table. Finn and Clara grabbed each of their coats from the coat rack, following their brother out to the garage. The girl faltered outside of the structure, her mind willing for her to move but her body did not agree. She remained planted on the asphalt, her chest rising and falling as she swore she saw Sabini flash her a grim smile from out of the corner of her eye.

"Clara, c'mon!" Finn whined as John started the engine. The girl glanced to the inside of the garage before her fingers softly traced the scar on her face.

"I'll get in once the cars out." She answered bluntly, hiding the shakiness through gritted teeth. Thankfully, neither one of her brothers argued and once John pulled out of the garage, Clara hopped into the car beside Finn.

She didn't know how the entirety of the Shelby family had crowded into the car. Clara was shoved tightly against the side of the backseats, Pol beside her in the middle and Tommy to her far left. Arthur and John had taken up residency in the front seats and Finn had been squashed into the middle of them. The girl almost cried with happiness when they stopped outside of a house on a nice road. John opened the backdoors, allowing the girl to jump out, her hands jamming themselves into her pockets.

The Shelby's looked out of place here. The road and houses were pristine, the neat gardens and flowers far from the likeness of Watery Lane's gravel roads and muddy ground.

"Good morning!" Arthur announced loudly, tipping his hat to the neighbours standing at their doors. Clara rolled her eyes, falling into step behind Finn, who had been playfully pushed back by John. Arthur opened the door to the house, allowing Polly to enter first. Clara removed her grey hat, holding it carefully between her fingers as she closed the door behind her.

"You said you were gonna buy Ada a house," Pol spoke up, walking around the spotless dining room, her eyes tracing every inch.

"Yep, that's right," Tommy nodded, following his aunt as she wandered. "I did." Clara glanced around, her eyes wide and bright as she examined the house. "Just had a bit of cash left over."

"This is ours?" The older woman asked, looking at Tommy in confusion.

"No, Polly..." He half-smiled, shaking his head. "This is yours. 'cause you deserve it."

Polly glanced towards the four other Shelby siblings as they stood watching shock roll over their aunt's features. Clara smiled, not a false one she'd often adapt, but a real, genuine smile. Her aunt deserved this more than anyone.

"What would I do with all these rooms?" She questioned in disbelief.

"Well, you could, uh, relax for one." Tommy suggested, "Come here at weekends. It has a garden, eh?" He walked towards the window pointing outside. "You love gardens. You can grow roses, Pol. I don't know, have a piano. Have people round, they can have a singsong, eh?"

"God help the bloody neighbours," John remarked,

"Fuck the neighbours," Arthur smirked.

"Then god help the entirety of bloody Birmingham," Clara muttered to Finn, who in turn let out a breathy laugh.

"Welcome home, Pol." Arthur handed over a set of keys to the woman, his smirk unfaltering. The woman sat down in shock, her head down. Clara watched, tilting her head as the silence grew. She looked at Tommy before he cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Arthur, why don't you take the boys outside," Tommy suggested, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "...wait by the car?"

Clara's mind ran in rings trying to figure out what'd she'd done this time to piss off Thomas Shelby. She could obviously think of multiple things, yet she couldn't think of a singular one she could've been caught doing. She watched as the boys left, shooting Finn a quick wide-eyed glance. The girl remained frozen in her place, watching as her aunt removed the hatpin from her hat before taking it off and placing it on the table in front of her.

"Pol...I know you haven't been happy for a while. And I know why." Tommy began, his eyes flitting towards Clara as it finally dawned on her what this was about. "Heard a few whispers..." he raised an eyebrow as he looked at the girl. "And Esme is all right, you know? She's got a good heart, she has. Had her and Clara come to me. I've spoken to her and she told me...they both did."

"Told you what?" Pol asked, looking at Tommy as he handed her a lit cigarette before looking at Clara who was sheepishly looking down at her feet.

"She told me what it is that would make you happy. I've spoken to our contacts in the police. They have contacts in the council, and they have contacts with the people who keep the parish records." Tommy explained, "Records of adoptions, and of confidential forced removals." Clara's heart pounded, a smile tweaking at her lips yet she forced the happiness down. "Now, with your permission, I'd like to grease a few palms and take a look at the records they never showed you."

Polly shifted, her eyes welling with tears that glinted in the dim light. "Pol..." Tommy spoke once more, "I am going to find your son and daughter and I'm gonna bring them home. That's what this house is for. So that you can bring your family home where they belong."

Polly subtlety nodded, reaching forward to grasp Tommy's hand. Clara watched awkwardly, her eyes lingering on the carpeted ground.

"We're moving up, Pol." Tommy smiled, as Polly sadly allowed her mouth to turn up. The older woman's eyes flitted to the younger girl, gesturing for Clara to sit beside her. She tentatively moved towards the couch, sitting down on the cushions before her hand was gripped by her aunt. She felt a soft squeeze and she knew what it had meant.

Pol was thankful, it shone in her eyes along with her tears. Clara merely grinned, repeating the squeeze. Her heart light at the sight of her content aunt.

☆

HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL READERS!

The first half of this chapter is completely and utterly filled material so enjoy! Also, may I add that Clara and Will make me so happy to write??

Anyways, how is everyone this Friday?

I, for one, am exhausted! I have tests next week so I will not be updating next Friday, sorry but I need time to study and try to get good grades <3

I LOVE YOU ALL AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER!

HAHAHAHAHA....anyways-