Chapter Text
John leaves the next day and Alan is there, toeing the line this time, curbed maybe now that John knows his secret.
He makes nice with him in front of Gemma and when she isn't looking gives the kid a little wink, payback for the all the times he did it.
Alan almost smiles but for once he doesn't quite make it, the pearls only glint a little and for what it's worth he seems to have talked Gemma down.
She forgives her uncle yet again and he's grateful for it, saying good bye all around and even speaking to Tony who's useless mood does no one any good, least of all his family.
He hitches a ride back to London and low and behold it's only a few months before Cheryl calls and say's Gemma and Alan broke up.
They split over plans for a Friday night sometime in the future.
Simple as anything and yet bound to happen.
The next time John pays his sister a visit he swings by the rotting house but it's empty, no books, no candles and no bodies.
Only broken windows and circles burned onto the floor.
Alan had evidently moved on and perhaps the world would be a little worse for it, who knew?
One more kid taken off and split but there was just a chance he'd be alright.