Looking up at the builing, she sighed, rubbing her brow as she hauled another box out from the back of her car. She'd suprised herself with how much she could fit in it let alone the ammount of breakages.Resting the box against her hip she wrapped and arm around it, fumbling for the keys as she shut the boot. This was the final box to be moved.

Reaching her floor eventually, mumbling curses under her breath she slipped the key in the door and flung the door open. Stacks of boxes were littered around the floor. Frowning she slipped in, leaving the door open behind her. The windows were already open to air the place. Leaving the box on a stack she weaved in and out of the cardboard sea making her way to the kitchen.Pulling the fridge dor open she frowned. Empty. A great start to a new begining.

She couldn’t quite remember how many glasses the doctor had said was allowed, not having had the leaflet on her at the time, but she was fairly sure it was somewhere between the region of one and two. Not wanting to hurt the bairn or ready to be denied what was due to her, she’d gone for one of those huge glasses only seen in bars, the sort that let you say you’ve only had a glass when the actual measurement is closer to a pint.

Drinking almost a pint of wine will play merry hell with anyone. This effect is increased when the person hasn’t drunk in half a year and can’t afford much to eat.

Jessie stumbled up the stairs, then cackled because this is obviously the most hilarious thing in the world.

On seeing the open door she turned wide-eyed to her partner in crime. "So' pr... some poor sod's left his, his, his door open! We should... investigate! Yes." So swaying ever so slightly, she pushed the door ajar even further.

Diane would like to say that she hadn't had that much to drink. She's not exactly sure how much she had, though. Some obviously. The give away is her accent. The North-East American coast drawl that she normally sports gave away at some point in the evening, and she now sounds almost as incomprehensible as Jessie.

She's also dripping wet from the unstoppable rain. Wine, however, cures many ills. She doesn't really mind that she's chilled to point of shivering. In fact, her coat is slung over one arm. Previously it had been balanced on her head.

"Investigation," she agrees, close on Jessica's heels, "'s obviously wha's nesa... neca... required, anyways. It's... most unsafe... to leave one's door open. Late night an' all. Never know when, when a bunch of drunkish and disordered... people.. might come in."

Sort of like they're doing now.

Resting her head on the shelf on of the fridge, she breathed in the cool air. The thought of trying to get the mattress completely onto a proper frame wasn't appealling, the floor would do fine. It also had less risk of falling out. Sighing she closed the door and shuffled round the kitchen opening and closing cupboards with no real purpose. Running her heand threw her hair she grabbed a glass and poured out some water, moving it slightly with the flick of a finger. What little energy she had left she didn't want to waste it on her little tricks.

Walking back into the hallway she froze at the sound of voices. She put down the glass on a table before walking further towards the commotion.

"Hello?" she peered gingerly around the cornor before slipping around fully.

Great, no food, probably going to be attacked and robbed and then go to the police station.Brilliant start!

Jessie nodded in solemn agreement at Diane’s justification, her ratty curls bouncing round her chin. “Specially if issa girl. S’dangerous city for girls. We should, should look after the place until the owner comes back.”

She slides in through the door, one hand on the doorframe and one on the doorknob so she can thrust the upper half of her body through without falling over. Anyone standing on the other side of the door would’ve been able to see right down her ample cleavage, so it was just as well the place looked deserted. Except for all those… whaddatheycalled… boxes. Boxes for moving. Someone moving out?

“Someone moving out,” Jessie announces in a stage hiss, and tumbles through so she could walk around the front room as well as letting Diane have a look. “Or in.” She gives one of the boxes a kick. Then she freezes.

“Ah. Hello. We’re the… the neighbourhood welcome committeetee. Committee. Welcome to the neighbourhood.” Of course, the neighbourhood welcome committee don’t usually turn up drunk and barefoot (she’s not quite sure where she lost her shoes) with their bra-straps showing looking like they’ve just been caught stealing candy, but this is a very unusual neighbourhood.

Following Jessica into the flat, Diane looks around. The stupid spagetti straps of her shirt are both trying to slip off, showing off a quantity of cleavage and the 9-10 tattoo on her back. She doesn't seem to have any bra straps to reveal.

She surveys the boxes. "It's an invasion," she tells Jessica solemnly. "They look like... like... boxes, right, but really they're from another planet." She giggles. "Killer cardboard from the stars. Maybe they assimalized the occupations. Occupants. Right."

"Yeah," Diane agrees to Jessica's suggestion of their identity. "We're the neighbourhood... The welcome neighbourhood, tha's us." She points a finger at Jessica. "Tha's Jane Aus'en, she wrote a lot a... books, yeah. They weren't much good, but she did write 'em."

She pauses. "Oh, an' I'm Diane. From that TV show, y'know."

She relaxed slightly as she looked the stumbling drunks over.

"Un huh, So why don't you have shoes on and smell like a brewery?" her voice cold and sharp as she took a few steps forward.

She looked at the door checking there was a lock there for future referance. she quickly thought about calling the police but they seemed relatively harmless. Maybe if she threw something shiny out the door they might follow and leave her in peace.

“Well,” Jessie replies, throwing her head up haughtily and making her necklace jangle (necklace? Where did that come from? Oh, right. The guy who’d broken up with his girlfriend earlier in the day). Her bottom lip starts to wobble. “We were jus’ bein’ hoshpita… hospit… friendly. An’ we’ve been out celebratin’ like girls do an’ we came back an’ saw the door open, an’ since we’re both on the neighbourhood welcome committeetee,” Jessie glances at Diane at gives a wink that makes her look like she’s having a stroke, “We thought we’d welcome you.”

Harrumph harrumph.

"Un huh,"she nodded slowly smilling as sweetly as she could. They really did remind her of little children caught out. She brushed a strand of hair off her face watching them both.

"Well thank you for this........."she paused carefully picking out her words "pleasure." She hadn't thought the area was that bad when she picked out the apartment but obviously it was.

Smothering an internal grin, Diane gives the irritating girl a serious look. "An' we don' even smell like a brewery," she says, "it's a vineyard. Like a junkyard... only... more valuble. And welcome... ing... neighbourhoods is what you're gonna get if go 'round leaving your fucking door open. This is a... pippy... no, no, a... corey... Oh! Seedy! It's a seedy... place. You can tell cause I live 'ere. You shoulda lock the door, or icky people will come in."

Q.E.D.

As if she's suddenly noticed Jessica's wobbly bottom lip, she pouts slightly. "Now look," she chides, "you're 'a make her cry. How mean's that, going aroun' making poor wee pregnant girls cry. I call it bloody un... hospital. Not friendly, anyway."

She sticks her tongue out for added effect. "Rhymes with witch..."

"Right well seeing as this place smelt like a cat pissed in here for seven years soldily I thought it best to leave the windows and doors open. I'm a big girl and can look after myself thank you very much."her sharp green eyes stared straight into Dianes, challanging her to turn away.

"If your friend is pregnant then why the hell is she drunk?I don't think me making her cry is gonna make any differance to the baby at this stage." She rested her hand on the door moving it slowly.

Aha!!That's it make enemy's with your drunk neighbours, you're gonna end up living in a social cave Hannah!The little voice in her head started murmering

She’s not a particularly big girl. Jessie and Diane are big girls who could probably squish her flat were they to sit on her.

Jessie throws her arms round Diane and starts to wail for real as Diane scolds the uptight Hispanic-looking woman whose flat this actually is. It’s very comforting sniffling away in Diane’s ample bosom, so she remains there for a while as the fight goes on around her, occasionally muttering Americanised questions like “why she gotta be so mean, Diney?”

But when the woman snaps that she shouldn’t be getting drunk, Jessie raises her blotchy red and tearstained face. That’s fightin’ talk. It is on, and you really don’t want to it be on with a girl whose ancestors ran naked and screaming into battle with the English. “An’ I suppose you’re a, a doctor are yeh? Because the doctors said I could ‘ave two glasses an’ I haaaad less than tha’ so yer’ll want tae take up up wi’them if yeh’ve got a problem.” Standing there defiant, she adds as an afterthought: “no’ tha’ ahsee wha’ business it is o’yers.”

Except for her current location, of course.

She rested her head against the door frame, picking out the words that seemed to represent some form of proper English. She looked up at them, damn she hated being small and only one of her. Stupid brother staying behind to look after stupid family.

"I'm not but my mother is. I'm only saying it if you want to keep you're baby well just don't drink at all ." her eyes seemed to soften slightly as she watched for the slightest flicker of realisation that she 1. was tired and getting pissed off and 2. really wasn't going to fight them.

"Nonsense," Diane said, putting her arms comfortingly around Jessica. "Teetotalling babies invariably end up in drunken knife fights that ultimately contribute to the miserably high crime rates of the Strathclyde area."

The sentence was perhaps a bit too coherent for someone who was drunk. "Anyways," she adds, brightly, "my mam drank 'an look at me! Perfect! Charming. Intelle... intellegous. Damn fucking purty, too. And there's so much of me."

She drops her voice and strokes Jessica's insane hair. "I'm sowwy, is dah mean lady hurtin' your feewings?"

She nodded pouting slightly looking down at the ground before looking back up at them both. "So are you guys gonna leave me in peace or what?" She was tired and getting severly pissed off now. Hey what would she know about baby's or pregnacies anyway?

"I just really want to unpack and get some sleep if possible, drink a good bit of water before you go to sleep,"she closed the door slightly hoping they'd get the hint. Maybe a few water tricks in the bath would be relaxing and then fall straight into bed. She really couldn't handle dealing with drunks at the moment. It was tempting just to turn on the tap and be rid of them with a little bit of water but then the whole plan to lie low would be out the window.

“Mhmm,” she mumbles into Diane’s chest. Dah mean lady is hurting her feewings, and preying on the insecurities of every young mother as she does so.

The mean lady starting to close the door was odd. It would make sense if Jessie and Diane were on the other side of it, Jess thinks as she sees it shutting over Diane’s shoulder, but as it is she’s getting seriously mixed signals. If the lady wants them to go why is she shutting the door behind them? With them all on the inside?

“Come on then, Diney,” says Jessie in an accent that could clothe naked mole rats. “Someone o’viously knows it all already, an’ dunneed any advise about the neighbourhood. Or welcoming. Because we were bein’ welcoming to the neighbourhood.” She puts her head on Diane’s shoulder, her arm around her waist, and kicks the door back open with one unshod foot. No point hanging around with wet blankets.

((Whoops forgot they were actually inside the aparment ))

She grabbed the door as it swung back, refusing Jessie the pleasure of damaging her new home. She looked them up and down again before sighing.

"I think it's probably best that you leave now and come back tommorrow for a neighbourly welcome...."She began trying desperatly to pick out words, any words that wouldn't get her attacked. Not that her opinion of these two would change very much.

And I never really thought that you would ever leave this town, you're not the kinda gal to ever let us down...... The tune started playing from her pocket, pulling out her phone quickly she glanced at the girls before answering the phone.

"Hello.......Kit? What no I didn't take your board with me!"She glanced over her shoulder before watching the girls again. "No tell mom and dad that! No!" Urgh fine, I'm going now!"

The phone clicked shut as her patience finally snapped.

"Ok will you two just get the hell out of my house already?!"

"C'mon," Diane says, steering Jessica out the door. "This person is... obvs.. of... ost... not really much fun. An' she made you cry. I don' wanna be her friend at all, lesh go. You can come home with me."

As she steps out the door, she turns to give Hannah one last radiant smile. "I live right down the hall," she assures the girl, "if you ever want anything."

Then she kicks the door shut behind herself and Jessica.

A good riddance, from all points of view.

Turning she slid down the door. Pressing her face into her hands. So this was what her new life would be like her, a pair of drunks for neighbours.

Looking up, resting her chin on her knees she looked over to the corner of the room.Leaning against the wall stood two surf boards, one shorter than the other.

"I'll be damned if I give his back" she muttered as she hauled herself up to find sheets and a blanket for bed.