A/N: 'What? Another story? Seriously? And it's NAOMILY? You do know who you are, right?' Yes, I do, and I can't help it. :/ I blame FitchSwitch. Have you read her newest story 'What the Heart Sees'? No? What are you waiting for? Go do it!

So I was away for the weekend and I had my iPod on and the song 'Breathe Me' by Sia came on and this story popped into my head. You all NEED to listen to the song before you read if you don't know it. Not even kidding a little on that. The words in italics in this chapter are all lyrics from the song, but you really need to have the music in your head to get Naomi here.

This is a lot shorter than my usual chapter, but it's where I wanted to leave off the start, so hopefully you'll all manage. And to those of you asking what else will or won't get completed: I wish I had an answer, but my writing seems to have a mind of its own these days. Sorry. :/

This chapter goes out to coolbeans17 – I hope your day was better than you anticipated – and to FitchSwitch – thanks for the encouragement and reading it over.

Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the song 'Breathe Me' but they both inspired this...

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Naomi

Earphones in. Press play on iPod (already cued up). Close eyes as first bars of piano music flow into ears. Take deep breath along with the one in the music.

She opens her eyes once the initial checklist is done. The same every day. The same every time she's here. The same before any time she even thinks about setting foot in the water. It's her song, or that's how she thinks of it. It focuses her like nothing else in her life can.

Help, I have done it again.

The first words of the song greet her ears as she slings her towel over her shoulder and pushes through the door leading to the pool. She doesn't bother looking around as the distinct smell of chlorine hits her nostrils. She's the only one who's ever here this time of day. It's the reason she comes when she does. Just a little time to herself before school.

I have been here many times before-ore-ore.

She drops her towel on one of the bench against the wall and places her iPod carefully next to it without removing the earphones.

Hurt myself again today.

She shrugs her track suit jacket off her shoulders and drops it beside the towel.

And the worst part is there's no one else to bla-a-ame.

She wiggles out of her track suit bottoms and drops them on top of the jacket, leaving her in just her swimsuit.

Be my friend.

She picks her iPod back up so that she can listen still as she shakes out her arms a little.

Hold me. Wrap me up.

She cracks her neck and stretches her arms across her chest one at a time, just briefly.

Unfold me. I am small...

She bends over and places her hands on the tiles of the floor while keeping her legs straight.

...and needy. Warm me up...

She stands, tugs out her earphones, but leaves the iPod playing as she quickly climbs onto one of the starting blocks, closing her eyes.

...and breathe me.

She plays out the next lines of the song in her head as she takes a deep breath. She knows the music by heart and she hears it continue in her brain as she dives in with only a small splash. She knows that on her iPod the music has just intensified.

She starts right in on freestyle, her arms pushing strong against the water, her legs kicking steadily, propelling her forward. Each swim gets full effort from her. She doesn't do anything half-arsed.

She concentrates on her breathing as she turns her head to the side, and before she knows it she's across.

Turn. Push. Swim back. Turn. Push. Swim back.

It's all a carefully choreographed underwater dance timed to the music in her head...the music playing on her iPod. She repeats it five times before:

Turn. Push. Back stroke.

She repeats the cycle.

Turn. Push. Breast stroke.

It's just her and the water. Her limbs power her through as she focuses on keeping her breathing even.

Turn. Push. Butterfly.

Each stroke is practiced. Twenty laps total, five for each stroke. It's her morning routine, all the while her mind is calm, clear, and focused. The song she was listening to before she dove in playing in loop as the mental soundtrack to her work out.

It's a short work out, but it's enough. It gets her blood pumping and makes her feel ready to face the day. It's not like she doesn't have proper practice after school anyway. This is just a little something extra.

It's her time. Just her and the water and her thoughts. Nothing but the sound of her own breathing as she holds on to the edge of the pool when she's done, closing her eyes as she leans her head against her hands, feeling the water trickle down her forearms and face. She waits until her breathing's slowed back to the initial tempo of the song, nice and calm, and then she ducks below the surface and surges up. She pushes off the edge of the pool, her strong arms propelling her out of the water that cascades off of her as she finds her footing.

She stands and rings her long hair out, then tilts her head from side to side, smacking lightly against it to knock the water out of her ears before reaching for her towel. She does a quick rub over her arms and shoulders and a brief tousle in her hair before she picks her iPod back up and puts the earphones back in.

The song's still playing, just as she knew it would be. It's on repeat, after all. It's on the instrumental bit at the end, perfect for a wind down.

She sets her iPod back down and sets to work drying herself off better. It's then, as she turns her head to one side when she lifts one leg to set on the bench to make it easier to dry it, that she catches an unexpected sight. A flash of vibrant red mostly in her peripheral vision.

She's completely startled.

She straightens and turns so quickly that her earphones snap out of her ears and she's left with the faint hum of machinery and the gentle slosh of the water still settling down from her disturbance of the surface.

Curious brown eyes are staring back at her with such intensity that she wants to just slide back under the surface of the water and disappear for a moment. Then she remembers this is her time. Her place. She doesn't like that it's been encroached upon by this stranger no matter how adorably apologetic and sheepish she looks.

Annoyance overtakes her. Her jaw sets hard and she glares.

"Who the fuck are you?"

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So thanks for reading. Feel free to click that little button down below and let me know what you thought. And yes, sorry about the meanness of leaving you before there's any proper interaction. I promise you'll get some next chapter. ;)

TTFN. x