A/N Thank you to those of you who reviewed or followed this story, it's very much appreciated :) This chapter is short, but it's to set up the next chapter which will be longer.

"Oh, Jesus." I walk through the front door, the others following close behind and immediately I can see my Mum has gone overboard. There are balloons everywhere, a big happy birthday sign and party hats on the dining table. There's no bloody way I'm wearing one of those.

"This is mint, Gina!" Cook shouts and goes over to give her a hug.

"It's nothing," she gushes, secretly she's overjoyed at having people to fuss over. I can tell she misses people occupying every room, always having something to do. I forced her to get rid of all the hippy randoms in my last year of college. I couldn't focus on my exams with wannabe Jesus' all around.

"Okay, take a seat everyone," she gestures around the room and then her face lights up in surprise, "Emily?" Oh no.

"Actually, I'm Katie," she smiles sweetly at Gina, instead of kicking off like I expected her to. She hates being confused for Emily.

"Oh, of course!" Mum laughs, "How could I forget Emily had a twin!" I roll my eyes and shake my head. Five minutes and she's already embarrassing me. "It's lovely to meet you Katie, have a seat."

We all sit around the table and Cook puts his party hat on, big grin on his face. The others follow suit, even Katie and Effy. I'm still not going to wear one of those things. I hate how the elastic pinches my chin, not to mention they look bloody ridiculous.

"Come on Naomi, put your hat on," Katie smirks at me from across the table.

"No thanks, I'm allergic."

"Allergic to what?"

"Allergic to looking like a twat."

"You wouldn't think it after all the floral shit I saw you wear in college. Now put your hat on, your Mum's gone to a lot of trouble yeah?" Is Katie Fitch lecturing me? The cheek of it. I sit there and cross my arms, staring back at her defiantly, daring her to say something. Just when I think she's going to give up, she reaches across and picks up my hat, placing it around my head, making sure to snap the elastic against my chin.

"Oi, that hurt!"

"Shouldn't have been such a stubborn cow then, should you?" I start to argue back but I'm cut off by Mum putting food down on the table. I have to admit, it all looks great. Everyone cheers and thanks her, my Mum beaming proudly as she sits down. Everyone starts to tuck in and it tastes even better than it looks.

"Mm this is so good, Gina," Katie compliments, looking genuinely happy, "My Mum could never cook like this. With her it was all lentils and soups, but this is fantastic."

"Thank you, Katie," my Mum flashes a big smile at her in return, "I'll have to teach you some time."

"How long you staying in town then, Blondie?" Cook asks, between mouthfuls of food.

"Just a week or two," I reply, avoiding my Mum's eye guiltily, "I'm going back to London to find a job, maybe with a newspaper or something like that." I didn't spend all this time getting my degree to come back here and get a dead end job, did I?

"You could always find a job like that here you know, love?" Mum says innocently.

I scoff loudly, "There's only one newspaper in the whole city and it's hardly ground breaking news is it? I want to do something worthwhile."

"Isn't there a writing job going at your magazine, Katie?" Effy doesn't even look up from her dinner.

"Uhh, I don't think that's something Naomi would be interested in Eff," Katie says pointedly.

"Why not? It's a women's magazine, I'm sure it has all kinds of interesting articles, not just about fashion," Effy dismisses Katie's objections.

"I suppose, but it's not ground breaking news," Katie says, quoting me from earlier. For once, I find myself agreeing with her.

"It would be a foot in the door though, wouldn't it? A chance to start writing for an actual publication. Naomi would still have time to do some freelance stuff on the side."

"Statistically speaking, you are more likely to succeed at a new job with the support of family and friends," JJ points out while Lara smiles at him fondly.

"It would be nice having you around, Naomi," Mum smiles at me hopefully.

"Think of all the chicks! It's a women's magazine. There's bound to be loads of fit birds, Blondie!"

I look around the table and take in all of the encouraging faces staring back at me. Katie is the only one who looks a bit weary, but that's to be expected given our past I suppose.

"Do you think you could get me an interview, Katie?" This is new to me. Asking Katie Fitch for a favour. She looks like she's about to list another reason that it's not a good idea, but I cut her off. "Please?" I look pointedly over to my Mum and she seems to understand that I'm asking partly for her as well.

"Alright, I'll set it up for Monday yeah? Just don't wear anything floral. Or plaid," she says, pointing her fork at me, almost threateningly.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I reply, rolling my eyes. After I've finished my food, I excuse myself to go outside for a fag. What a day. I never thought this morning that I'd be here having dinner with my best friends from college, deciding to stay in Bristol. It's true what Effy said, it is a good opportunity. I didn't expect to find a job in political journalism anyway and at least this would give me some experience and material for my portfolio. Hope I don't fuck up this interview, I've never been good with authority figures. I take one last drag and put my cigarette out before heading back inside.

Katie texted me yesterday that my interview would be at nine on Monday with the Executive Editor and ever since then I've been anxious. Don't get me wrong, I'm good at what I do. I love to write and I got top marks at university, but I'm still nervous about having to convince other people I'm valuable. I've never been great in interviews, always nervous and underselling myself.

So here I am, Monday morning, sitting and waiting at Smash. That's the name of the magazine. It sounds a bit wanky to me but hey, I read through a couple of their previous magazines in preparation for the interview and I have to admit, it was better than I expected. I'm surprised Katie didn't insist on picking out something to wear for me, considering how worried she seemed at me showing her up. Three years ago she wouldn't have hesitated to barge in to my room and pick out what she deemed appropriate. I'm definitely grateful that she's changed in that regard.

As I'm waiting, my mind shifts to Emily. I haven't asked Katie or Effy what Emily is doing now or where she is. The last I heard, she was traveling around Europe. But that was over a year ago. It feels weird being back in Bristol without Emily. Everywhere I go, there are memories of us, even in my own sodding house. There's no escaping it.

"You can go in now," the blonde receptionist smiles at me, gesturing towards the frosted door with the words 'Executive Editor' written across it. This is it. I clutch my portfolio and straighten out my clothes. I knock lightly on the door before entering, out of politeness even though I know I'm expected. I enter the room fully and my eyes fall on the lady sitting at the desk.

"Katie?"