Humiliated. Dejected. Hurt.
All the feelings from the night before came rushing back to Naomi once she awoke. She had managed to stuff them back into the deep, dark corner of her mind for several hours before she went to sleep – even managing to convince herself she didn't care. She didn't care about Emily, she didn't care about Katie, and she most certainly didn't care about the kiss. Naomi Campbell put the entire happening behind her, hoping no one would dare bring it up. And as soon as the emotions came rushing back, she stuffed them back where they belonged. As long as she didn't have to look into those sad, brown eyes again, she could hold herself together. But if she looked... she was done for.
They had haunted her for far longer than she would care to admit. She'd spent most of her life trying not to catch them, to meet the eyes of the adorable, brown-eyed, twin. Because if she caught them she'd...feel things. Weird things. Like it became harder for her to catch her breath, and she found herself wanting nothing more then to wrap her arms around the tiny girl, to feel the heat of her against her own body. Like it became harder to concentrate on anything else, and Naomi's thoughts would always go right back to those deep, brown eyes. It was maddening. She was maddening. Still, she did like looking at her. Look, but don't touch had always been her rule. The rule that had been broken last night.
Naomi rolled out of bed, halfheartedly putting her clothes on, not even caring whether or not it matched. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. As much as Naomi wished it wouldn't happen, she knew the moment she walked through the door, she was fresh game for anyone who was in the mood to put anyone down. And as much as she wanted to think that was what she was scared of, it wasn't. She'd spent most of her life as the weird, daddyless kid that bullies had hell of a time with. One thing she'd learned through her youth, was not allowing herself to show weakness. An occasional sarcastic but clever remark usually put anyone off to the idea of talking to her – seeing as she never provided the reaction they had wanted. That wasn't what she was scared of.
She was scared of Emily.
Emily hurt her. In Naomi's mind, her lying may as well been a slap to the face. To Naomi, it said Emily didn't care about their kiss. And the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that Emily might have kissed someone else. She just happened to be around. The right place at the right time. Or wrong, depending on how one looked at it.
She kept her head down when she entered the school, not wanting to find those deep, brown eyes staring back at her, even if they weren't around. She'd have to face her eventually, thanks to the two of them sharing classes. For the first time in her life, Naomi strongly considered skipping those classes. She may not have been the best student at times, but she did take her studies seriously.
Sighing, she pressed her forehead against her locker. She was driving herself insane. It would be cowardly to skip her classes, but that's what she was, wasn't she? A coward? On the inside she was just a scared, little kid. She didn't face her fears. In fact, Naomi spend a majority of her time running from them. It was idiotic. The only thing they did was chase after her, but she just kept running. God knows she was tired of running.
After opening her locker, she gingerly reached for her books. Just as she was about to turn around, she heard a voice.
"N...Naomi?"
She jumped, books falling to the floor beneath her. She closed her eyes, making no movement to pick them up. It was as if she was frozen, her back to Emily. The entire day she was hoping she wouldn't have to deal with Emily, but here she was. Making the first move.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. Just...Look about wha-"
"Go away," Naomi hissed.
She could tell Emily faltered, even if she wasn't looking at her. It was usually the effect she had on people.
"But I jus-" Emily's voice was soft, nervous even.
"Go. Away." She wouldn't allow Emily to put up an argument because she knew she'd fall for it. She couldn't fall for it. She just needed to stay far, far away from Emily for the rest of her life. Being near her caused nothing but trouble.
Naomi heard a shaky sigh then footsteps retreating. When she couldn't hear them anymore, she finally turned around, only to see a group of kids her age staring at her.
"What're you staring at?" She hissed, expecting them to scatter. Instead, they held their ground, slow, cunning smirks spreading across their faces.
"Oh, look. Is the dyke talking to us?" One of them, a girl, said, turning to her friend.
"Yeah, I think she is...Be careful she might snog you against your will." They sniggered between themselves, casting amused glances at her.
Naomi opened her mouth, "It wasn't..." She faltered, her definite intent was telling them what really happened, but then she thought of Emily, and how she nodded her head at Katie. Clearly, she didn't want anyone to know, and although Naomi was as angry as she was, she couldn't hurt her like that. Sure, she could handle what people threw at her, but she wasn't sure Emily could.
Scowling, she bent down to pick up her books, and sped off to class.
In class, Naomi had managed to not meet Emily's pleading eyes even once. She was proud of herself until her eye caught Katie's, whom had been glaring at Naomi with such intensity that she was sure Katie was setting her on fire in her head. To mess with her, Naomi stared back at her then rolled her eyes. Afterward, she turned her attention back to the teacher, and while she couldn't see it, she was sure Katie was seconds away from exploding. Messing with Katie was amusing once you got passed her screaming and shouting, which seemed to do a lot of. With Katie in the class, she made double sure not to make eye contact with Emily. Maybe she'd leave it.
She didn't
As soon as class was over and Emily was out of sight, Katie pushed Naomi against the wall just outside the door.
"Leave my sister alone! She isn't like you!" Katie was shouting at her, directly into her face. Despite the intensity of her words, the meaning confused Naomi a bit. Isn't like her?
"Like me? Whatever do you mean?" Her tone dripped with sarcasm, hoping to piss Katie off even more. Which, of course, it did.
"Don't play dumb, you stupid dyke! Stay away from my sister, got it? I don't need you pawning all over her."
Naomi rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Katie's egocentric attitude. This wasn't about Emily. It was about Katie. It was always about Katie with her. Naomi turned on her heel and walked away.
No, she wasn't like Emily.
Somehow, someway Naomi managed to completely avoid conversation with Emily the entire year. The only times they caught each others eyes, Emily's face would betray guilt and she'd look away. And every time, Naomi's thoughts would flash back to that night at the party. It was unforgettable despite how much she wanted to forget.
It was torture. Emily had tried to reconcile very few times after Naomi had first sent her away before giving up. There were no compromises with Naomi Campbell. There was especially no forgiveness with Naomi Campbell. She was nothing but a sarcastic bitch, and she planned to keep it that way.
A tiny red-headed girl would not break her of that.
And there we have it~ I needed to cut this short to allow for the actual storyline to cut in so we could see the naomily we love in all its glory. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this. It made me happy OvO
