AN: Hi there! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews/follows/favourites. Seriously, you guys are the best.
This one is going to be a bit shorter but I hope you'll like it nontheless. To those of you who liked the Nookie friendship: There's lots more of that where it came from. Which would be my mind. So prepare for that.
Disclaimer: If I owned Skins or Himym I wouldn't worry about Uni.
Five – Friendship
"Honey, I'm home!" I arrived back at the flat with a bright smile on my face.
"Someone's in a good mood!" my best mate greeted me from the couch.
"Had a pretty spectacular night."
"A pretty spectacular fook, ya mean." Cook winked suggestively and held up his hand.
"Among other things." I walked over and high-fived him.
"You guys are disgusting!" Came a husky voice from the kitchen.
"Hi Emily, didn't know you were here today." I tried to cover my surprise.
"Anyway, if ya guys are through with the introductions, give me the dirty details on NCT!" Cook patted his thighs in anticipation.
"Do I wanna know what that stands for?" Emily asked as she sat down on the couch, teacup in hand.
"You don't!" I said just as Cook exclaimed "Nice Colombian Tits!" leaving me shaking my head. And he didn't stop at that.
"Ya better get used to the way we speak, little Red, ya're our friend now, after all!" We put his arm around her. Was this his new trademark position?
Emily removed his arm quickly and stood up. "I'm not your friend! And most importantly I don't wanna be your friend. I'm just an observer or have you fucked out your brain and forgotten?" she snapped at him furiously.
"Oi, Red! Slow down! Only Naomikins gets to talk to me that way." An angry Cook is a rare and scary sight.
"Whatever. I'm not sure I wanna talk to you at all!" she grabbed her jacket and went straight out the door.
"Fucking tosser!" I growled at Cook before running after her.
I sprinted down the stairs, hoping I'd make it in time since Emily had taken the lift down. I didn't know where she lived or worked. Christ, I didn't even know what she did for a living. Or her fucking last name. So if she escaped now, there'd be no way to get a hold of her if she chose to ignore her phone.
The last set of stairs made me stumble, almost resulting in me face-planting on the floor, but luckily the way from the lift to the front door crossed mine. Thus, instead of cushioning the fall with my nose, I had a small redhead do that job for me as I unwillingly tackled her from the side. Quick-wittedly, I put my arms around her and embraced her in a tight hug that would keep her from escaping.
"Let me go!" she growled at me.
"Not until you let me explain."
"No explanation needed. You're disgusting. I don't understand how I could surround myself with people like you!" Emily struggled to get out of my grasp. The girl is strong but I'm not too bad either. More leverage because of longer arms might have been the deciding factor why I was able to hold her in place.
"Looking at Cook, I sometimes wonder the same for me." She couldn't help but chuckle at that. Already halfway there. "If I let go now, will you let me speak to you?"
"Ok." She reluctantly conceded.
"Promise?"
"Promise." She sighed in exasperation.
"There's a good girl." I couldn't help lightly patting her shoulder as I let go of her. "I suggest we go for a coffee to talk? My treat."
The café was almost empty of customers. We sat down at my favourite spot, an old but comfy settee in the corner that had a view of the plants outside and the business of the city behind them.
"This is my favourite spot." Emily sighed as she sank down in the cushions.
"You and I have more in common than you might think." I smiled at her. "Listen, Emily. Cook and I sometimes sound like we despise women but you absolutely have to, have to, have to know that we have our reasons for being the way we are. All I ask is that you accept that. And if you find you can't be around us, then talk to me first, ok? Don't just storm off.
Plus, we do treat people decently. We don't just hurt anyone for the hell of it. We make it clear what we want and that's it." Afraid that Emily was gonna run off again, I felt the urge to get all I needed to say out as fast as I could.
"Maybe I overreacted." she smiled at me sheepishly. "I'm sorry."
"No worries. It's not like I don't get where you're coming from. So are you willing to stick with us for a bit? By the way, where were you yesterday?"
"I was at the club watching you. To be fair, NCT is appropriately named." She giggled.
"Oh, she was more than just a nice pair of tits. We had breakfast together, really nice girl!"
"What? You don't have a no-breakfast-rule?"
"Nope, we're free to let beautiful women cook for us anytime we want to." I leaned back and put my hands behind my head.
"If she was such a nice girl, you'll date her again, right?"
"Ha, you're funny. I don't do dates."
"Is that in the rules?"
"No, that's just me. Cook sometimes goes on dates when he's bored."
"But you'll see her again, won't you?"
"Nope. Been there, shagged that. She was nice to talk to but I don't need that."
"Don't you ever want more than that?"
"Why would I? That'd just mean I'd have to work for my fun."
"Hmm." She looked thoughtful. "I wouldn't be able to do that."
"You don't have to. That's less competition for us. Win-win."
"Speaking of competition, give me a number!"
"What? Forty-two?"
"No, I mean, like, rate me. You know, the way you and Cook rate girls."
"No way."
"Why not?"
"I don't see you that way."
"Like a girl? I am a girl, you know."
"I'm still not gonna do that. Cook and I don't rate each other either."
"So that's just something you do to anonymous strangers?"
"There she is again, the little know-it-all. Welcome back!"
Emily glanced at her watch. "Shit, is that the time? I'm sorry, I have to leave now. Train to my Mum's leaves in a bit."
"Will you be back by the 15th?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It's Carl's birthday, so the bar's closed and we're having a barbecue on the roof with some friends."
She agreed to come to the party and I walked her to the station and waited with her, chatting until her train arrived. Time to say goodbye.
"And just so you know: You might not be there yet, but I'd love to consider you my friend one day."
I didn't quite know how to say goodbye, seeing as I normally greeted her by handing her a drink or with a small wave. I started to do just that – waving at someone who's standing right in front of you, what a dork – when Emily suddenly hugged me.
I held her close to me, inhaling the fruity smell of her hair and could barely resist the temptation of kissing the top of her head.
We let go of each other and she boarded the train, pulling a paper tissue out of her pocket and waving it out the window while laughing at her own cheesy joke.
I playfully flipped her off and muttered to myself "I'm gonna miss you, too."
Six – A galaxy far, far away
Flat cleaned, an entire week's work done – believe it or not, I do have to work for a living – and I had just finished reorganising my books. But time still refused to pass. I was looking forward to Carl's birthday like it was my own and even though I hate to admit it; a petite redhead might have to do with my exaggerated anticipation. This time, with any luck, she wouldn't just be watching me; she'd actually spend time with me. I'd be able to talk to her about something deeper than Cook and my conquests. We could really start getting to know each other.
"Ya know what's been almost three years?" Cook entered my room as per usual without bothering to knock first waving a box of Star Wars blu-rays at me.
"The trilogy." I smiled at him.
"Hell yeah. Ya got time for it in, say, fifteen minutes?"
"Sure. You're a fucking lifesaver."
"For making sure we don't neglect the trilogy for more than three years? No prob. I'ma sprint down and get us some wings, ok? See ya in a sec."
As I was left alone in my room again, I decided it was time to not only keep busy but proactively interrupt my nervous train of thought.
"I thought I was too old for this shit." I muttered as I opened the bottom drawer of my antique wooden dresser and retrieved a small metal box out of it. Though I'd never met its original owner and creator, it was in honour of him that I still used it for the same purpose he had made it for. If Cook knew I still had it, I'm pretty sure he'd kill me. Years ago, he'd banished all reminders of that time from his life. I removed some of its contents and then put the box back into my drawer covering it with some old tees just in case. Cook would never go snooping around my room but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
After preparing some snacks for our movie night, I didn't have to wait much longer for Cook to come back.
"Player ready?"
"Check." The star wars logo was already visible on the flat screen.
"Comfy pants?" he asked as he entered the flat.
"Check." I pointed at the tracksuit bottoms I always wore when it was just me and him and Star wars.
"Snacks in bowls like we're a bunch of sophisticated folks?"
"Check." There were Nachos, cheese and salsa dips as well as a variety of crisps on the table. In bowls, because Cook is the only savage living in this flat. Call me uptight but growing up with my hippie of a Mum made me appreciate this kind of stuff.
"And if my eyes don't deceive me there's a little something extra to chillax our minds."
"Your eyes are just fine. And don't you ever say chillax again. We're not twelve anymore."
"Secret stash?"
"Secret stash." I nodded.
"Fookin top, Naomikins." He plopped down on the sofa and lit up the spliff I'd positioned on the table next to the snacks putting it between his lips and gave me his brightest smile as I started the film.
"Remember when we watched this on that old tube TV set at Gina's?"
"Well, technically ours, too. At least the attic."
"Fook me, that was a long time ago."
"In a galaxy far, far away." I chuckled.
"Ya didn't just go there! No more spliff for Naomikins!" He snatched the last bit away from my fingers just as I was about to put it to my lips.
"Give it back, tosser!" I jumped in his lap and wrestled him for the rest of the spliff. It was nothing sexual, but I loved being physically close to Cook and fooling around like that. With each other, we never had to put up any sort of front like we did with other people. We knew and loved every bit of each other. He was the love of my life and I was his. Like we were born to be partners in crime.
He gave up and put the spliff between my lips "Cause I love ya more than spliff." He commented.
Finally, I felt my mind and body relax.
We were an hour into The Empire Strikes Back when I began feeling a bit melancholic, reminiscing about all the crap Cook and I had been through together. Saying it has been rough would've been as much of an understatement as saying we'd slept with a fair few women, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.
I put my head in his lap and cuddled into him, his arm quickly landing on my shoulder, caressing it lightly. "Remember, back then in the attic, all we wished to achieve 'til the next trilogy session was having our own roof over our head instead of living under my mum's. Literally."
"Whataya reckon we should wish for now? Everything's just fookin' dandy, innit?"
"For three years from now? I want this" I patted his knee "to still feel the same. I want us to keep doing our thing, not giving a shit about the world. I want to hang out with you all the time. And Emily could come over–"
"Woah, Emilio's still gonna be around by then?"
"Why wouldn't she be? Unless you scare her off, prick."
"Just figured one of us would've boned and dumped her by then."
The way my best mate talked about Emily cleared my senses abruptly. I got up off Cook's lap and stopped the film.
"Listen, Cook, Emily's straight and you know my personal codex, so I'm definitely not gonna sleep with her. And you keep your filthy hands away from her if you know what's good for you, understood?" I used my best don't-mess-with-me voice and it seemed to work. He knew that from time to time there where issues he'd better not argue with me about.
"Woah, ok. Got it. I'll just pretend it's a case of rule number five."
"It's not! Are you purposely trying to piss me off? She's not my sloppy second. I'm just asking you – for once I'm fucking asking you to not bang a girl – cause I wanna be her friend. Can you fucking do that?"
"Friend my arse." He mumbled as he flipped the film back on deeming the conversation over.
We finished watching the trilogy in semi-awkward silence sitting next to each other without touching. Unfortunately, the movies alone weren't enough to keep my mind from drifting to Emily. I wondered what she was doing right now and if maybe, by any tiny chance, she was thinking of me at all.
It wasn't until the next day that I realised what a prick I had been towards Cook. Seeing as I didn't have to worry about work, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen preparing a little surprise for him to apologise. I might not be the most talented in the kitchen – whereas Cook could conjure up yummy home-cooked meals out of almost anything, hence I called him my kitchen MacGyver – but knowing my best mate, he'd appreciate the thought.
I placed the cake on the living room table and finished the icing just minutes before he came back from what he called work.
"Honey, I'm home!" hearing the familiar greeting relieved me immensely cause it meant he wasn't mad at me even though we hadn't talked since watching the trilogy yesterday. "What's this? A cake? Just for me? It's not even my birthday or have I slept through a year?"
"Look at the icing." I commanded with a smile.
"Sorry for being an arsehole." He read out before digging his hands in the cake and stuffing it into his mouth. "Well, I'm not. If ya hadn't been an arsehole, I wouldn't be munching this right now."
Normally I would have reprimanded him for eating like a pig and talking with his mouth full – not that it changed anything – but these days hardly felt normal anyway.
"I'm sorry for being so goddamn irritable, too, mate. You know I love you to pieces, right?"
"It's hard to tell lately, but yeah." He shrugged in fake nonchalance.
"I just really miss her." I sighed. "Which is crazy. Obviously. I barely know that girl for Christ's sake."
Thankfully, then, he knew just the right thing to do and put his arms around me enveloping me in the most-comforting hug this world had to offer.
AN: Still there? Seriously? You must be crazy. I like that. Further craziness might result in reviews.
Next week, we'll have a look into the mind of another character I absolutely adore. Feel free to guess who that may be.
In the worst case, I might not be able to update before the 29th. I'll try my best to do it by Friday in a week, though. See you then!