MUSIC: I can't stop drinking about you - Bebe Rehxa

Tommy above^

/ / / /

Ryan's P.O.V:

/ / / /

The next morning I walked down the stairs dressed in only my boxers. I wasn't expecting anyone to be up since it was really early. Everyone in my family favoured late nights and late mornings. Instead, I was greeted by a table full of people. Everyone was chatting, laughing, grinning at each other whilst they ate. On the table were bowls of food. My eyebrows furrowed as I stood in the doorway. Everyone turned to look at me and immediately all the girls scoffed and looked away.

"Ryan put some trousers on, I tell you everyday." Cindy muttered and shielded her eyes as she placed another bowl on the table.

"Well usually no one's up at this time! And there's nothing wrong with my body so stop acting like I disgust you." I muttered then sighed.

"Honey, you have a wonderful body, but I do not appreciate seeing my 18 year old nephew in his boxers." Aunt Jenny said and I rolled my eyes as I left to go and put some trousers on. I put on some jogging bottoms then went back downstairs. I sat in the spare seat next to Jade, nearest the door. She was having a conversation with our Nan.

"So what's the occasion?" I asked. I grabbed a plate and started to put food onto my plate. I ended up with a full English breakfast, fried bread included.

"We've decided that we're going to do something today." Cindy answered.

"Like what?" I asked then spooned some beans into my mouth.

"We're not sure yet; though you can invite some friends if you like." Cindy replied and I nodded.

"Ooo, invite Aaron and Derek!" My Nan exclaimed and I rolled my eyes and huffed. "What?" She asked me defensively. "I haven't seen them the whole time i've been down!"

I sighed at her.

"Fine, but only because you got rid of Anastasia." I mumbled and put some more food into my mouth. I had told her everything Anastasia had said and done in the past and she agreed to finally get rid of her for good.

But she told me she was only doing it so that Amelia would never have to be worried about Anastasia coming onto me when we dated.

"Goodie! Love you lots Ryan. Oo, Jade, you can meet Ryan's friends. They're all handsome young chaps you see, all very nice boys. In fact I can see you dating-"

"Jade is not dating any of my friends." I interrupted my Nan coldly and she tutted and rolled her eyes at me.

"Jade is a very pretty girl Ryan, and your friends are very handsome, chances are, she'll have chemistry with at least one of them." My Nan said and I glared at her.

"Not if I have anything to do with it." I growled and turned my glare to Jade who was eating silently whilst her cheeks glowed red. "Stay away from my friends. They're heart breakers. They will-"

"You mean like you were Ryan? Before Amelia of course. It only takes one girl to-"

"Shut up Sean." I growled at him and he laughed. Jade tried to hold back her laughter too. I knew everyone found the moment very commercial but I did not. I may not have had much time with Jade and definitely didn't know much about her but she was still my sister and i'd do anything to protect her. Even if that meant scaring away boys.

"Yeah! Shut up Sean nobody likes you!" Summer repeated after me and I chuckled. She did make me laugh. Sean playfully glared at her. He was sitting next to her. He started to tickle her and she shrieked with laughter.

"Not at the table Sean." Sasha snapped at him and he glared at her. They held each other's gaze for a minute before he sighed and looked away.

"I'll play with you later Summer."

"No! I want to play now! Stupid Mummy never lets me have fun with you!" Summer exclaimed. She huffed and crossed her arms. I sighed to myself quietly.

If only she knew Sean was her real Dad. She would've probably been less bratty and more happy if she lived with him instead of her Mum.

"Summer." Sasha warned and Summer glared at her. "Eat your food." She ordered and Summer continued to glare at her. I didn't blame her. Her Mum was a horrible woman.

"Dad tell Mummy she's being mean!" Summer exclaimed. She looked on the verge of tears as she looked at John but he sighed at her and continued to eat his food. "You never help me!" Summer shouted at him and started to cry. He did't even look at her.

"Come on Summer, lets go and eat in the front room so you can cool down a bit before we go out." Sean said. He helped Summer down from her chair and held her hand, along with her plate, as he walked out. As they crossed the door threshold I heard Summer mutter,

"I wish you were my Dad Sean. You're so much better."

To which he only sighed and averted the topic.

"I was thinking we could go to a Zoo or something. That way there's stuff for everyone to do." Aunt Jenny suggested and I sighed.

"A Zoo, are you kidding me?" I asked and she glared at me.

"Do you have a better suggestion? There is nothing wrong with a Zoo. They do all sorts. You can do rock climbing, or zip-lining or something if you don't want to look at the animals." Aunt Jenny suggested and I stayed quiet.

"That's a wonderful idea, Jenny. Let's do that. Everyone needs to be ready by 10, so if you're inviting anyone Ryan now would be the time to call them." Cindy said and I nodded. I finished off my food quickly. I scraped the remains into the bin then put my plate in the sink. I rushed upstairs and grabbed my phone.

I called Cher first since she was the only one likely to be up so early. She answered on the 2nd ring.

"Ryan! What can I do for you today?" She asked me cheerfully. I had no idea how she could be so cheerful so early in the morning.

"My family are going to the Zoo and said I could invite people and I have a feeling there's no way I can get out of it. I thought i'd start by asking you first since you're probably the only one up." I said and she stayed quiet for a minute. "Hello?" I asked and pulled the phone away from my ear to make sure she hadn't hung up on me.

"Hmm. Sorry, I was mentally checking my calendar to see if I was busy. Luckily i'm not. I'll come, what time?" She asked.

"Be at mine by 10."

"Alright. Aaron!" She shouted and I winced. "We're going to the Zoo with Ryan put some clothes on." She said and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why are you with Aaron?" I asked suspiciously and she stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Um, we kind of-"

"Ryan! My man!" Aaron greeted me over-enthusiastically through the phone. I heard Cher shouting at him to give the phone back to her in the background. I heard a door shut and I couldn't hear Cher anymore so I assumed Aaron had locked himself in the bathroom or something.

"Aaron. So you and Cher huh?" I asked and he sighed.

"Yep. Shouldn't have done it I know but she-"

"Don't blame it on her, you and I both know you're hopelessly in love with her." I interrupted and he scoffed but didn't say anything. He sighed after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, I am."

"I think she feels the same way you know." I tried to re-assure him and he laughed.

"I know. She told me."

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah the other night. I guess we're kind of dating, but I just haven't officially asked her yet. We've made a deal, a bet kind of thing."

"Carry on." I said. I was interested. I knew they liked each other but I didn't think they'd ever do more then hook-up.

"Well pretty much, if you have the balls to ask Amelia to be your girlfriend in the next month then I have to take Cher on a first date and ask her to be my girlfriend then, but if not then I just get to ask her. She'll say yes either way but it's not the point." Aaron rambled.

"Alright then." I said and chuckled. That was an odd way of starting a relationship, but weirdly enough it didn't surprise me.

I mean, we're talking about Aaron and Cher.

"So the Zoo?" Aaron asked me.

"Yeah, be at mine by 10. I'm going to call the others."

"Alright, see you then."

"Bye." I muttered and hung up. I dialed Jimmy next and he was quick to answer me too.

"Yo Ryan."

"Hey Jimmy. My family are going to the zoo. Cher and Aaron are coming. You in?" I asked him.

"Family?" He asked me and I sighed.

"Yeah, mostly Cindy's side. My sister's here though."

"Your sister? Dude that's amazing!"

"Yeah, ran into her at that garden party thing I took Amelia to." I said and he laughed slightly.

"That's great. I look forward to meeting her. Is she hot?" He asked me and my face contorted into a disgusted look.

"Jimmy that's my sister."

"Oh yeah. I'll just see for myself. What time?" He asked me.

"Be at mine by 10."

"Alright, i'll go wake Tommy up. He stayed round last night." Jimmy muttered and I heard him yawn. I heard footsteps and a door being opened. "Tommy get your fat arse up, we're going to meet Ryan's probably hot sister." Jimmy shouted then I heard the door close again.

"Again, gross. And don't be making moves on my sister, that's just not right." I mumbled and grabbed a top and some trousers from my draws.

"Sorry bro, if she's hot, she's hot. I'll see you at 10." Jimmy said bluntly and I glared at a spot on my wall.

"See you." He hung up and I sighed.

It was destined to be a long day.

I jumped in the shower quickly as it was only half 8, and was out in 15 minutes. I got dressed into a blue top and some jeans before I called Derek.

"Hello."

"Hey, Derek. You busy today?" I asked him.

"Uhh, no. Why?"

"My family is going to the zoo, my sister and Nan included. She hasn't shut up about you since she got here. If you're coming I need you at mine by 10." I said.

"Your sister?"

"Yeah, I bumped into her when I took Amelia to that party. She's staying at mine for a bit." I explained.

"Oh right, it'll be nice to finally meet the girl. Is Amelia coming?" Derek asked me and I swallowed.

"No, I haven't invited her." I muttered.

"What? Why not?" He asked me. "Are you guys in another fight?"

"No, the opposite actually. Derek... She told me. She told me everything." I said and I heard him gasp.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Absolutely everything. She's in trouble Derek. We need to help her." I said. I know she didn't want me to get the rest of the guys involved but I had ideas on how we could help her get out of the mess she was in. But I needed help.

Cher already knew everything. She knew everything about Amelia and she knew stuff about the gang and how they worked because of her brother; and so, she would help with ideas on how to help Amelia without getting her hurt or in trouble. The guys, believe it or not, were pretty smart and were good at plan making. Albeit, some of their ideas were ridiculous, but that's why we needed Cher.

The Zoo was a perfect place to talk about everything. It was enclosed and no one would know who we were. Amelia had told me that Gilbert had eyes on everybody that she cared about but I doubted it. And even if he did, I doubt they'd follow us to a Zoo.

"I knew she was in trouble, god damn it!" Derek exclaimed and I moved the phone away from my ear slightly. "I should have gone with my instinct when I saw Georgina." He said angrily, but I knew he was talking more to himself then to me.

"Georgina's gone Derek. She's part of it still." I informed and I heard a bang which I assumed was Derek punching something.

"What a b*tch. I knew it." Derek murmured.

"We shouldn't talk about it on the phone, just in case. But come to mine by 10 so we can go to this crappy Zoo." I ordered and hung up on him.

I was determined to help Amelia. And if that meant going behind her back to do it then so be it.

I wasn't going to stand by and watch her be taken away from me.

/ / / /

Derek pulled up at precisely 9:30 am. He knocked on the door but before I could open it my Nan did. When she spotted him, her face lit up like a child's on Christmas.

She looked happier to see him then she did to see me when I picked her up.

"Hi, Nanny Russell." Derek greeted and wrapped his arms around her small frame. If she looked small compared to me, then she looked tiny compared to Derek. He'd grown a few inches since I last saw him.

"Derek! My sweet boy! I'm so glad you could make it! How have you been? Any girlfriend yet?" She questioned him as she let him through the door.

"I've been good. No girlfriend yet though, i'm sorry." He said and she tutted at him.

"You need to stop fooling around and breaking girl's hearts!" She chastised and I rolled my eyes. She gave him the same speech every time she saw him.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"I can forgive you. Now, I best go and check on Cindy and make sure she isn't over-working herself again! I don't want her to harm my grand-baby!" She exclaimed and headed for the kitchen.

"She pulls on my heart strings more and more every time I see her. I'm starting to consider getting a girlfriend just to make her happy." Derek exclaimed in a disgusted tone as he watched my Nan walk away from us.

"Tell me about it. I had a lucky escape this time because of Amelia." I said and he sighed.

"Shame she's not your actual girlfriend though, isn't it?" Derek asked me. A smirk played on his lips as his hand rested on my shoulder. I glared at him.

"That's none of your business. It-"

"Technically it is my business because i'm your best friend and she's my cousin."

"Shut-up being a smart-arse all the time." I growled out and he laughed. He looked extremely happy today. "Why are you so happy?" I asked him.

"Oh no reason." He said, but by the smile on his face I knew he was lying.

"Tell me." I ordered and he shook his head. "Why not?" I asked him.

"Because it's not that big of a deal I-"

"Hi." A voice said from next to us. We both looked to see Jade standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi. Jade, right?" Derek asked her and she nodded. She smiled at him and he grinned back. They shook hands but his hands lingered on her's for too long. I snatched his hand from hers and put myself between them.

"That's enough touching." I growled and Derek laughed. There was definitely something up. Jade rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't worry Ryan, as much as your sister's beautiful-" He stopped and winked at her. She blushed and I glared at him. He smirked at me as he continued. "- I am not looking for a relationship right now. In fact, right now, my future is looking like amazing parties with models all over the place." Derek said and zoned out slightly. I looked at him. I was confused.

"Models?" I asked and he smirked at me.

"Models." He nodded.

"Wait. You're not... Derek. You aren't..." I trailed off and his smirk turned into a grin.

"Yes Ryan. I am officially a model." He said proudly and my eyes narrowed at him.

"Wow, congratulations!" Jade said and he smiled at her.

"Thanks."

"When did this happen exactly?" I asked him and he turned to me.

"Last week."

"You don't just become a model in a week Derek." I said. I was really confused. He'd never told me he wanted to model before.

"I was scouted last week. It's an agency in London. They're starting to become more popular and are needing new models. They have scouts all over the country at the minute and apparently I fit their criteria. We're just going through all the paper work and stuff at the minute." He explained and I nodded.

"Well congrats!" I said and he smiled.

"Thanks. I'm really excited but I refuse to do any jobs until the whole-" He looked at Jade wearily. "-The whole thing is sorted." He said and I nodded. I knew what he meant. Jade took that as her cue to leave and headed towards the front room.

"That's nice of you. I really need your help." I said and he nodded at me.

"Anything Ryan. I won't let Amelia get hurt again." He said and I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me either. I can't risk loosing her to him." I said distastefully and Derek patted my back.

"You won't Ryan. We'll get her out of this."

/ / / /

We were all sat on a bench in the Zoo. All being, Cher, Aaron, Derek, Jimmy, Tommy, Jade and I. Unfortunately for me, Jade and Tommy were really hitting it off.

I needed to talk about a plan to help Amelia but I didn't know how to bring it up with Jade around. I didn't want to stop her from hanging out with us because it was nice to spend time with her and let her into my life; but I needed to talk to the guys and Cher without making her suspicious.

"So, this Amelia thing-" Jimmy started and burger fell out of his mouth.

"That's disgusting Jimmy." Cher said. "I think you've just put me off of my food." She muttered and put her burger down on the plate. Aaron rolled his eyes at her. His arm was resting around her shoulders as he ate. They were disgustingly perfect for each other.

"We all know nothing grosses you out enough to stop eating; stop trying to act all girly in front of Jade." Aaron chastised and Cher gasped dramatically at him.

"I am not!"

"You're doing it again." I said and she huffed and took a massive bite from her burger. It was the biggest bite she'd taken so far.

"Don't worry Cher, i'm the same." Jade said and wiped some sauce from her chin as it dribbled from her mouth.

"Well thank god for that because I was getting tired of taking small bites." Cher agreed. They were sat opposite each other at the end of the bench. Aaron sat next to Cher; meaning he was opposite Tommy, who -much to my dismay- was sat next to Jade. I was sat next to Tommy and Derek was opposite me. Jimmy had pulled up a chair and sat at the end of the bench since there wasn't enough room for us all.

"Anyway!" Jimmy exclaimed after everyone had stopped talking. Luckily, there was no food in his mouth this time. "- As I was saying, this whole Amelia thing, what's going on?" He asked and I sighed. I looked at Jade wearily who was looking away and eating her burger, pretending not to listen. Cher caught my eye and shrugged.

"She might as well know. I mean, Amelia's going to be her sister in law within a few years." Cher said and Jade looked at us with wide eyes. I glared at Cher as the boys laughed.

"I doubt i'll be proposing anytime soon. She isn't even my girlfriend yet." I growled and Cher smirked at me.

"Yet."

"Shut up." I muttered and continued to eat my food.

"Okay, so i'll explain as Ryan is to embarrassed about his crush to open his mouth and talk-"

"I-"

"-Uh uh uh." Cher put her hand up and tutted. "I'm talking. Don't be rude." She said and I sighed. "Right Jade. So Amelia... I'm pretty sure you've realised this but your brother and her both love each other but he hasn't had the balls to ask her out yet and she won't ask him out because she's too worried about her past coming and biting her in the arse." Cher started and I rolled my eyes.

"Right." Jade said.

"Yeah and pretty much, Amelia was in care and got fostered by some type of gang leader who forces people into joining. A prime example is my brother. Amelia and him were in the gang at the same time, except my brother was more like your age, and Amelia was about 13, or 14. He was a bad man and eventually the police got involved and Amelia was sent to live with her Dad. But, the guy, Gilbert is his name, was never actually caught and now holds a grudge against Amelia and wants her to join the gang again. He attacks her and threatens her with out lives until she will eventually snap and agree to join. Which is why we need a plan. We need to catch Gilbert and get him locked away for good, so that Amelia and your brother can live happily ever after." Cher finished and clapped once. She spoke so fast that I could barely understand her.

"Right, I understand. Poor Amelia. So do you guys have a plan?" Jade asked and I shook my head.

"No, that's what we need to discuss." I said and everyone nodded. Everyone pretty much knew what happened to Amelia now, they didn't know in great detail but they didn't need to. They would've never needed to.

"What about we all go and attack Gilbert wherever he lives and force him to turn himself in?" Jimmy asked and Cher sighed.

"Jimmy, he has a whole gang of people that own guns and knives and things. They would be there at the drop of a hat for him so no. That plan will not work." Cher reasoned and I nodded to show that I agreed. That's why I wanted to have Cher with us; she was the reasonable and responsible one.

"Oh. Good point." Jimmy muttered. We all sat in silence for a while, trying to think of something we could do to help Amelia.

"I can't think properly because every time I so much as think of that pr*ck Gilbert I want to kill him." Derek growled and I made a sound of agreement. We all sat in silence for a few more minutes before Jade yelped. We all jumped in our seats and she stood up.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed. Her hands were above her head in excitement and I glared when Tommy moved her hair out of her face.

"You have?" Tommy asked her and she nodded. She sat down again and leant forward so that we could all see her.

"You said Gilbert attacks her right?" She asked and we nodded. "I'm assuming he attacks her at her house because that's the only place he could without being caught. So, all you need to do is lure Gilbert into attacking Amelia again. You have to make sure she's there but you have to make sure she doesn't know about him turning up. You can be there, there's enough of us to take out any people he has watching the house and him. So, that way, we only need someone to distract Gilbert until the Police turn up." Jade explained and we all nodded as we tried to process it and think of any flaws.

"Yes! That way, he is by himself. He would only have one or two men around the house to make sure no one else is in otherwise it would look suspicious. There's 7 of us, excluding Amelia. All you need is 3 out of the house, and 4 in. The ones outside are watching. They take out Gilbert's men, and phone the police when they're given the signal. You can't phone them too early otherwise he'll flee." Cher explained further and I nodded. It was all coming together nicely.

"So, the 4 people in the house, they would be Cher and Jade, and two of us guys. The guys can take down Gilbert easily, and the girls can focus on keeping Amelia calm and making sure she doesn't do anything stupid until the police turn up." Tommy said and I nodded.

"It works. It works really well." I agreed.

"What if he's armed? When Amelia first started living with her Dad again she used to carry a pocket knife and a pistol. She never used it but it was for protection. She stopped using it within a couple of months and told me she threw it out. Why would she have to have a gun to protect herself, unless he has one too?" Derek asked and I swallowed. He had a point.

"She never threw it out, she started wearing it again when Gilbert started to bother her. I know because the time I saw her and realised what as going on, I hugged her and found the knife on her." Cher said.

"Then what are we going to do? We can't go in there if he has a gun. By the sounds of it he'll do whatever it takes to get her to join again. He won't kill her, but what's to say he won't kill one of us?" Aaron asked and I gulped.

Maybe the plan wasn't coming together as well as i'd hoped.

"Don't worry guys, I know a guy." Cher said suspiciously. There was a glint in her eyes that screamed trouble She was thinking, she was planning, she was trying to out-think Gilbert - the man that had avoided the police for years.

"You know a guy, should we be worried?" I asked her and she shook her head. A smirk was on her lips and in that moment I realised that we needed her more then I thought we would. I knew she'd be helpful, but I didn't realise she'd be that good at putting together a plan that could otherwise end in murder.

"No Ryan. You've met him, silly." She laughed and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Who?"

"My brother, duh." She said and I sighed in relief.

"That's alright then. I thought you were going to say some drug dealer or something." Jimmy said and held his hand on his heart.

"I'll talk to him tonight, tell him the plan. Everything will be finalised tomorrow. Everyone at my house by 12." Cher ordered harshly and we all nodded. "Now, let's go and see the penguins!" She squealed and pulled Jade and Aaron up. We started to follow her slowly.

Cher was one heck of a girl.

/ / / /

During the car journey home I decided to ask Jade a question that had been bugging me since I saw her at the party.

"How's Mum?" I asked quietly. It was just us in my car, we'd dropped Jimmy and Tommy off and were heading back to my house. She let out a breath of air and I held my breath whilst I waited for her to answer.

The last time I saw my Mum she told me she was sick and couldn't see me or my sister anymore. Jade got shipped off to live with our Uncle Jack and I was left to live with my Dad. She never told me what her sickness was, or how bad it was. She left me wondering for years, and I never got an answer.

"She's...She's good."

"She is?" I asked. I was relieved. I didn't know how I would react if she was getting sicker.

"Yeah." Jade smiled at me. "She is. She's still weak, but it's not half as bad as it was. She's got her own place and has a job now. She is getting a lot better." Jade said and I let out a breath of air in relief.

"Thank god for that. What was wrong with her in the first place?" I asked her and she shrugged.

"I was never told. She wouldn't tell me and neither would Uncle Jack."

"Do you still live with him?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah, but I travel most of the time for gigs. I do online schooling and stuff so that it doesn't interfere with my studies. I never really see him much anymore. Anytime I am home, he's usually working."

"What about Mum? Do you see her?" I asked her quietly and she sighed.

"I do, occasionally. We got into an argument last time I saw her though, because she didn't agree with me doing online schooling. We haven't really spoken since."

"Oh." I muttered. "Why did she never contact me?" I asked simply. The question wasn't really aimed at Jade, it was simply a question that had crossed my mind plenty of times before, that i'd never had an answer to.

"I think she's scared. Scared that you hate her for leaving you, scared that you won't love her. Scared that she won't live up to your expectations." Jade answered and I nodded my head in understanding.

"I could never hate her."

"I know, I tried to tell her that but she never listened. I guess she thought you probably had a better life here, a more stable one, at least, and didn't want to interfere."

"Oh." I said. It was understandable but it still hurt. "Do you have her number?" I asked Jade quietly as we pulled up to my house. She gave me a small smile and nodded.

"I was wondering when you'd ask. I'll give it to you when we get in."

/ / / /

And so that night, when everyone else had gone for dinner, I picked up the number Jade had written down on a post it note, typed it into my phone and hit call.

"Hello?" A quiet voice asked on the other end of the receiver. She sounded the same as always, quiet and loving.

"Hey, Mum, it's me, Ryan."