So, hey :P I've been thinking and writing and scrapping and writing and thinking some more :L Originally the only thing I was going to post were one-shots, but I had this idea that I felt needed more attention than a short story. So here goes, my first proper story I hope you enjoy, and please don't hesitate to hit that review button at the end of each chapter because I love feedback, it lets me know what yous are all thinking and where I can improve etc. Happy reading J Claire x

Disclaimer: I do not own skins, but boy if I did, it'd be a show of pure Naomily.

Emily stared at the contents of her suitcase. Everything was neatly packed, folded and categorised. Her bra's and underwear were in the bottom right corner of the suitcase. Her t-shirts and tops on the left, the jeans, shorts and skirts beside them, took up most of the room. Then there was a separate compartment in the lid of the suitcase to hold her chargers, hair straighteners, make-up and a couple of pairs of shoes. She raised her eyebrows at it and smiled. Her mother had really outdone herself. Everything was perfect. Or was it? She sat down on her bed and stared around the room. It was almost bare, devoid of the posters and memories that had once covered the walls of both hers and Katie's side of the room. She sighed. Even though most of the memories of their shared bedroom, reminded her of the times she'd cried herself to sleep, because of the pain of not being accepted for who she was. There were some happy ones too and it was still difficult to let it go, leave it all behind.

She zipped her suitcase shut after throwing in a few more t-shirts; ones her mum had obviously, deliberately left out, and hauled it off the bed. When she reached the door, she turned around for one last reminder of her childhood and adolescence, and then shut it behind her. Taking a deep breath and smiling, she began to lug the suitcase down the stairs. It hit each step with a thud and on the last few, she met James. "Hey Emily, need a hand?" he grinned. "Uhm, no thanks James I have four steps to go, I think I'll manage from here, but if you'd asked me ten minutes ago, I would've jumped at the offer." She smiled. "Oh. Well I'm just back, me and Gordon McPherson were chasing this girl, Sophie, from our class, coz she lost a bet and promised Gordon she'd show us her-" "That's alright James," Emily laughed; she really didn't want to know what her pervy little brother was up to. "Have you seen mum?" she asked now shoving the suitcase down the last few steps and parking it beside the front door. "Yeah, she's in the kitchen I think." He called as he ran, on all fours, upstairs.

Emily entered the kitchen to see her mum, putting a couple of pots and pans into a cardboard box labelled: Kitchen Ware. Beside the countertop there were other boxes piled on top of each other. One was labelled: C.D's, D.V.D's and Posters and another one labelled: Books. "Mum, you don't have to do all this; I could've done it myself." She said, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. "Don't be silly Emily, I'm your mother. Besides, I'm just glad you're going to university at all." She said, bending down to pick up a copy of 'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green. Emily rolled her eyes and sat down at the breakfast counter. Ever since her mother had finally accepted her sexuality, (and by that she meant, stopped giving her shit about it, and trying to set her up with every boy that came into town.) she seemed to want to make up for the hell she'd put Emily through, by cleaning her room, cooking her favourite meals and packing for her. She'd even said nothing along the lines of "I-told-you-so." when Emily had changed her mind and decided to apply to colleges. "So have you got everything then?" her mum said turning around and beaming at her. "I don't know," Emily laughed, "you tell me." Jenna smiled and looked down at all the neatly piled boxes surrounding her. "I think so Ems, you're all set." She said and smiled again, though Emily thought she saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes. "Right, I'll help you get them into the car then." Emily said, getting up and grabbing the box labelled: Food.

In the end it had taken the three of them, Jenna, James and Emily, to lift the bulging suitcase into the boot of their car. The back seats were wedged with the boxes, and Emily had the suspicion that she wasn't going to use half of the stuff her mum had packed. They stood awkwardly around the car, it was time for goodbyes. None of them knew what to say. Suddenly Jenna burst into tears. Emily looked at James who wore the same expression as herself; shock. "Mum?" Emily said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Emily!" her mum sobbed. Emily laughed in disbelief and pulled her mother into a tight hug. "It's okay mum." She mumbled into her shoulder, "Come on, stop crying. What would Katie think? You're a Fitch, remember?" she said softly. Jenna pulled back but kept her hands on Emily's shoulders. Then, she sniffed and steeled herself. "I'm so proud of you Ems," she smiled, Emily rolled her eyes. "Now, you come home and visit every other weekend, yes?" Jenna said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Of course, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She said and turned to James to say goodbye, but was shocked to see he was crying too. "Don't go Emily!" he cried, "I can't live with mum and dad on my own!" Emily laughed and hugged him hard. "Jesus, two Fitch's crying in one day? Next there'll be headlines of natural disasters headed this way." She laughed and let him go. "Don't worry James, just find Gordon McPherson if you need to get away from them." She said, loud enough for only him to hear. James smiled and hugged her again before wiping his face on his sleeve.

Emily pulled her keys out of her pocket and headed for the car. She took one last look at her mother and brother, smiled, waved and got into the front seat, slamming the door behind her. The car started with a bit of a stutter but then the engine ran smoothly. She rolled the passenger window down and yelled as she was pulling away, "BYE FITCH- BITCH, BYE PERV!" Just before she rounded the street corner, she caught a glimpse of Jenna's seething expression and James grinning like a twat. Some things were never going to change.

Two hours later she was blasting music through her car speakers as she pulled into a café parking space. She switched off her engine, locked the car and flicked the butt of her cigarette to the side. Wrapping her jacket tighter around herself, she shivered as she went inside. It was bloody freezing in London. The café was lovely, inside there was a long counter with everything gourmet you could think of; muffins, spectacular cakes, brownies and cookies to name a few. She wanted to eat the whole cabinet. More delightful than that however, was the pungent and beautiful smell of coffee that was in the air. She closed her eyes and inhaled it for a few seconds. When she opened them again, an attractive young guy was staring at her from behind the counter. His eyebrows were raised questioningly and the corners of his mouth were turned up into a smirk. He had dark brown eyes and dark curly hair that matched and he wore a black shirt, buttoned up to his throat with the words; 'Kingston Café' embroidered on the right breast. "What?" Emily smiled as she moved towards the counter. "Have you never just enjoyed the glorious scent of coffee?" she asked. He shook his head and smiled. "Not really, I work here so I smell it all the time, even when I go home, my clothes reek of it." He grinned and grabbed a pen and pad. "What can I get you then Mrs. Coffee?"

"Uhm...a latte anyway," she said and smiled when he rolled his eyes. "Aaand…one of those." She said pointing to an almond croissant in the cabinet. "Coming right up." He said and passed her, her table number. She thanked him, payed and sat down near a window. She wanted to get a feel for the city. Or at least part of it, it was so big and from what she could tell, she wasn't even close to the city centre yet. When the guy came over with her order, he must've noticed she was frowning because he asked; "Are you lost or something?" "What? Oh no I'm not…well actually, I'm just wondering, how do I get to U.C.L from here?" she asked him, tucking into her croissant. He smiled again, "Oh, you're studying here? You've just got here haven't you? What are you studying?" Emily swallowed a lump of croissant to answer him. "Yes and yes and I'm studying psychology." "Cool," he grinned, "Well, if you take a right out here," he said pointing out the window, "then keep going straight for about ten minutes, then turn right again you should arrive near Bloomsbury campus." "Alright, great, thanks very much…uh?" "Freddie." The guy grinned again and stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Well thanks Freddie," she smiled shaking his hand "I'm Emily." "Nice to meet you Emily, good luck with Uni and I hope I see you around again." He said and with that he was gone. Emily grabbed her bag and got up. Heading for the door, she realised she had something in her hand; a piece of paper, she opened it when she was outside and laughed. The guy called Freddie had given her his number.

'Sorry Fred's' she thought. 'That isn't ever going to happen.' She shoved the piece of paper into her pocket and got into her car. Starting the engine with the familiar jolt, she pulled out and turned right. Following the road for ten minutes, just like he'd said, then turning right again she was glad to see a large sign that read 'U.C.L. Bloomsbury campus.' and an arrow pointing straight ahead. She smiled and continued driving. For the first time, in a long time she was excited to start school.