Thanks for the reviews, I'm absolutely thrilled! So keep 'em coming they make my day!
(fcuk love. lets dance: I adore Bon Iver, their songs will feature throughout!)


Chapter 2

Bristol was dull as ever. Well, as dull as she ever remembered it.
Rolling grey clouds obscured the blue sky as a summer breeze floating through the humid air. Unaccustomed to the chillier air, Naomi drew her jumper tighter round herself, folding her arms around her chest as she waited for her mother to answer the bloody door.

Nothing.

She rang the doorbell again, letting out a frustrated groan as she rolled her eyes skywards.

' No me jodas'.

Her eyebrow shot upwards in amusement at her own actions. It seemed the Spanish was engraved in her brain, spilling out of her effortlessly.

Christ.

She did miss the place, Spain that is; it was bright, friendly, comfy, warm she thought as she shivered helplessly in the breeze. With a final sigh, she heaved her belongings along the side of the house, hiding them behind the fence separating the front garden from the back and set off down the familiar street.

Bristol was like a map engraved in the back of her head that she had forgotten all about until she found herself wandering aimlessly around the vaguely familiar streets. It was refreshing to know that not much had changed; even some familiar faces remained behind shop tills and restaurant windows. Naomi found her way to the park and sat on one of the benches over-looking the city and lost herself deep in thought.

She really didn't mind this place, despite the grief she had given her mother when they had first moved here when she was 9. There was a feeling of comfort around the brick buildings and congested roads which she really hadn't noticed before she'd left. She guessed her reasons for leaving where still unknown. Well, that was a lie; I do know why I left, I'm just unsure of my reasoning behind it.

Of course it was ok to be scared when you suddenly found yourself being kissed by a girl, a girl that had moved something slightly within you to make room for herself from the moment she had stepped into that party all those years ago. What made Naomi more confused is that that she hadn't objected to it, maybe even enjoyed it.

She shook her head suddenly, riding herself of those thoughts. Of course she was straight. She had never thought about girls that way before, not once. Never suddenly saw flashes of red hair as she kissed Spanish blokes in bars and clubs while she was abroad. Never imagined soft lips as her hand dipped below the waistband of her...

No!

The whole reason of her leaving her mother to live with friends in Spain was to get away from this in the first place. For fucks sake, pull yourself together girl, maldito idiota, she internally scolded herself as she removed herself from the bench, snapping herself from the thoughts that had plagued her mind since her arrival home. It's just because you're back where it started, of course it's going to bring back memories, she tried reasoning as she wandered back out of the park.


The sky was beginning to darken as she made her way back towards Gina Campbell's house, clouds shifting slightly to allow brief glances of the lavender sky as the sun ducked behind the horizon. She stopped short of the front door, smiling slightly at the many memories shared lying just beyond it. Suddenly feeling slightly nostalgic, she rapped quickly on the door and threw herself into her mother's arms as soon as it was opened.

She felt her mum wrap her arms around her, after the shock of having some lunatic who looks shockingly similar to you practically jump into your arms had subsided. Naomi melted into the familiar scent of her mother's perfume, the familiarity of her house and distinct aura of her bedroom. It was all very comforting.

"It's good to have you back dear," Gina's voice sounded from the doorway, as she watched her daughter sink into her bed and sigh contentedly.

"I've missed this," Naomi mumbled, by means of a reply, before blushing slightly. She had never realised that she would miss her bed, her friends, her hippie mum as much as she really had. She figured she'd protected herself behind walls, afraid to let emotion show while she was away for fear of making herself look weak.

Gina merely smiled at her, before disappearing back down the stairs. Naomi sighed once more as she sat up, eyes scanning her old bedroom. It certainly portrayed her 12-year-old self; walls covered in posters of bands she never listened to anymore, photo's of friends she hadn't talked to in years sat on shelves and teddy-bears surrounding her bed. Nothing had changed; it was just as she'd left it, just as she'd asked Gina to keep it.

She got up and approached the suitcases and boxes lying on the floor at the foot of her bed. She began unpacking them, sending her clothes in heaps on the floor, bits and pieces of her life in Spain scattered along with them, until the room was a complete tip, but the suitcases were empty. She began stripping her wardrobe of clothes that no-longer fitted, re-hanging the clothes she had brought home with her, replacing most of the photos surrounding her desk and bookshelves with ones she had taken on her travels, apart from ones of her and Cook together. She smiled at the one sitting on her nightstand, running a finger over her best friends face. They had taken it at her 12th birthday party, Cook was grinning up at the camera, quirking an eyebrow cheekily and she was looking at Cook with a look on her face that clearly said 'what the fuck'. She really missed him.

Note to self: find Cook tomorrow.

She guessed he would be at Uncle Keith's pub. That's where they had spent almost all their childhood together, watching Keith serve his customers and listen to the ridiculous stories he would tell them. He hadn't changed in all the years she'd known James Cook, so she reckoned that would still be what he was up to.

She resumed the 'make-over' as such that she was giving her room, ridding herself of the things she would never use again, replacing them with trinkets of her most recent life. Until there was nothing left for her to replace and her eyes rested on the one thing she treasured most, the one thing that could truly take her mind off anything; the old 12-string acoustic she had inherited from a guy in Spain.

Reaching over, she pulled it from its case, resting it on her legs and she sat on her bed, allowing her fingers to explore the frets and strings before allowing her right hand to slowly strum and pluck while her left hand pressed the metal string into notes and chords, producing a smooth melody to float through the house.

"I didn't know that you played."

She nearly jumped from her skin as she whipped her head round to see Gina standing in the doorway, carrying a tray with scrambled egg and toast on it, plenty of red sauce smothering it; just the way she liked it.

"I, uh, I learnt in Spain," she replied with a shy smile towards her mother, throwing a grateful nod her way and Gina set the tray on her bed beside her.

"I like what you've done with the place," Gina said appraisingly, looking around the room.

"Yeah, I figured I should redecorate."

"It's nice."Fucking cliché.

None the less, Naomi smiled over at Gina before her mother took off, disappearing around the door once again.

Getting up,she rested the guitar against the wall, devouring her food, and delving into the covers of her bed after removing the clothes she was wearing and replacing them with a large baggy t-shirt.

She found the deep pink sheets comforting, their musky scent reminding her of every time she had hidden beneath them if she was upset or when she had pulled them tightly around her if she was cold. She sighed a final time before drifting into a dreamy state.


Thats it for chapter 2 guys, it may be a slow starter but I'm getting into the swing of things here.
I promise to include Emily in the next chapter! Just needed to get Naomi's background in before the fun starts :P