A very warm thank you to everyone who's been reading this little fic of mine. And a special thank you to those of you who took time to review this. I only have a second to post this, so this is a quick note, but to coolbeans17-I have an outline of this story as I wrote something similar to it for a class, but I have been changing it up a bit. So we'll just say that I have a "tentative" overall plan...that I happen to be pulling out of my bum as I go. : ) suffice? I hope it ends up working for everyone. Thanks again, enjoy!
Skins isn't mine at all.
Turning Slowly: Chapter Four
It's been two weeks since the construction guys arrived. Two entire weeks. I quietly watch them out the window in complete envy and awe. Men came and went every hour in the place, just as they pleased. They could leave. Just get up and leave, and that baffled me.
I noticed, within the first couple days, this building took great interest to a few of the men across the way. They would stand and stare at the building for minutes, seeming deep in discussion. It would be so easy, so incredibly easy to flap my arms like a banshee and get their attention. But, something was holding me back. I still haven't figured out what.
"It's that kidnapping loyalty thing," Naomi had said to me one night when I picked her brain on why I might be too scared.
"I'm sorry, the way?"
"The thing, you know, the thing where you become wicked loyal to the one person who treats you like complete shit?"
I vaguely recall being lectured on something to that nature in one of my basic psychology courses. Although, it didn't seem to fit entirely.
"I don't think that's it," I said.
"Well then, I don't know Emily," Naomi said evenly.
"Okay," I said.
"Don't do that. Fight me," Naomi suddenly said. I had been leaning my head against the window and lifted it out of surprise.
"Excuse me?"
"We're both bored out of our fucking minds, the least you could do is argue with me," Naomi said, again completely logically and evenly.
"I only argue when I really care about something."
"Okay, then let me scheme up a scenario," Naomi said, a hint of excitement hitting her voice. I waited patiently. I didn't have any other choice. "Alright, alright, okay, you once told me you're vegetarian right?"
"Yes."
"Well then you're boyfriend has taken you out on a date. A fancy date, one you've been looking forward to a very long time."
I begin laughing before I can stop myself. I could already tell this story wasn't going to get me passionate enough to argue about anything. Then I felt my ears flood with heat. Shit. I hadn't exactly told Naomi this yet...
"What's so funny?"
"I just don't see myself in that situation. It's already unbelievable."
"Really," Naomi deadpanned.
"Yes."
"Fancy dinner too much?"
"Boyfriends too much."
"Okay then imagine it's your friend and it's a birthday dinner or...," Naomi stopped trailing off. Then was hit with realization "Ooooh."
"Yeah," I said, offering up few words. Naomi would definitely be getting her passionate argument if she wasn't as opened minded as I was giving her credit for.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were gay?"
"Didn't come up."
"Oh."
"Is that a big deal?" I asked, feeling a spark to my voice. This got old much of the time, and fast.
"No, no," Naomi said quickly. "I just didn't know."
"We're stuck between four walls. Who I fancy sleeping with doesn't exactly come into play," I said, thoroughly annoyed. In reality I was terrified. Terrified it would change things if Naomi couldn't handle it.
There was a beat of silence.
"You always surprise me Emily," Naomi finally said.
"In what way?"
"I think I know you, know your personality. You come off as pretty calm and even headed. Somewhat docile and reluctant. Then you pop out with cut's like that one, and remind me that I don't really know you."
For some reason that made me really sad.
"You know me well," I insisted quietly.
"I guess I do. I think these walls trick me into thinking I don't know you."
"They are the best facade. We could hide behind them all day."
"Yes, yes, we could."
Some days I shock myself with how comfortable I am with all of this. Then again, I was never someone who freaked out in weird situations. I'm definitely the girl who stands about, frozen in shock and not uttering a word while waiting for my brain to catch up with my emotions. Perhaps that is why I find myself panicking less and less about being in the middle of god-knows-where, in a small room, in some kind of danger I have still yet to figure out.
I blame Naomi. She completely calms me. She calms me to the point where it's been nearly three months now and I haven't taken action on why I'm in here. Naomi keeps telling me not to ask because there aren't any answers to find. That this whole situation is random, but for some reason I don't buy that. Maybe she's telling me this to keep me from finding out stuff I shouldn't.
The biggest reason I think this is because she DOES talk to these men. These men only yell sharp commands at me yet I have heard Naomi have entirely rational conversations with them. Granted I can never hear the words, but when Naomi leaves the window open I can hear them.
I have decided I am going to talk to Naomi about what she knows. Get something out of her. Which it should be known, will be no easy task. Naomi can open up, but only when she wants to open up. Then even when she does open up, she's still cryptic and everything.
"Shrimp, what took you so long?" Naomi asked later that night, implementing the nick name she started using when she found out I was only 5'2''.
"I had to finish my sit ups," I exclaimed. That wasn't a lie. I had fallen into a routine. Purposefully put myself into a routine. It made things enormously easier to handle. I would wake up straight before first meal, then clean myself up. Read until second meal, then busied myself with a work-out regime of sorts and would either take a nap or lay around until Naomi or I knocked.
"If you keep doing those sit ups, you're going to get the stomach of a man," she accused.
"A six pack isn't a horrible thing."
"No, not on a guy. But on a girl? It seems sort of unreal."
"Well, good thing my stomach won't be bothering you any time soon, yeah?" I ask, feeling oddly hurt by the comment. I lifted my shirt and examined my stomach, noticing the muscles forming.
"Yeah...good thing," Naomi said quietly. A huge silence fell over us. I lived in silence 18 hours of the days. I was not about to let any more of it creep into my life.
"I think I'm going to try to talk to the guys the next time they come in," I said abruptly, tossing out the first thing I thought would be a rise out of Naomi.
"What? NO!" Naomi shrieked. Yes, that's right, she yelled. Calm, cool, collected Naomi just freaked out on me.
"Why not?"
"I just...well...I don't think we know enough yet."
"I don't know enough yet. You clearly do. It's been three months Naoms! Time isn't standing still for us in these fucking cells."
That shut her up. My first instinct was to take back what I had just said, but I knew I had to stand my ground.
"I need to know. If you know anything, I need to know. Please tell me. If our friendship means anything..." I started desperately.
"I think," Naomi interrupted me. Then stopped. It was quiet. She was obviously trying to word herself. "I think I'm trying to protect you, can't you understand that?"
"Protect me?" I asked, shocked. That definitely wasn't what I was expecting to hear.
"Nothing i've heard is good. Nothing. Can't I just withhold information, just to keep one of us sane? I need you sane to keep me sane."
"But what if I need to know more?"
"Then I can't stop you from talking to those men."
"If you tell me, though, I won't have to risk that!" I said, getting frustrated.
"The guys who are here had nothing to do with our abduction," Naomi finally spit out.
"Right," I said. I had gathered that. They didn't appear to be the brightest bulbs in the box.
"They work for someone else. Someone who's never been here," Naomi rushed out. "There were seven of us when I arrived here, now there are only three. I haven't been able to figure out what happened to the other four."
"So...this is like, a fully functioning machine," I breathed out in shock. I couldn't wrap my head around it. If what Naomi was telling me was true, we were a part of something bigger. If someone had taken the time to form these rooms, kidnap teenagers, have guards watch over us and never even been to the building? It was so business like, it was almost scary.
"Yeah, and that makes it quite a bit bigger then you or I can handle by ourselves," Naomi said.
It brought me back to a conversation we had a couple days ago.
"What sort of life do you have to go back to?" Naomi asked me one night, after we ran out of animals to name alphabetically.
"I didn't have anything set. I was planning to travel, but obviously this isn't where I had planned to travel too."
I heard a soft chuckle.
"I had been planning to travel too. Before Uni," Naomi said.
"Same."
"Do you ever wonder what it's going to be like? To go back after all of this?"
"It'll be really odd. Makes me wish London and Bristol were closer. That way when all my friends and family start to irk me with their questions and constant nagging, I can escape to the one person who gets it."
"I've thought about that too."
"Yeah?"
"How it'll be not talking to you every day. I think, beyond myself, i've grown a little bit fond of talking to you every day," Naomi said. I felt a surge of happiness grip my stomach. It wasn't often Naomi got sappy on me. I had to take moments like these and bottle them up for when she was being a right cow.
"We'll still talk," I encouraged softly, hoping I wasn't overstepping a boundary.
"Yeah, but once we get back into our lives, it'll get different," she said. My happiness was immediately squashed by her comment. She was right, it would be different. But I couldn't imagine not talking to Naomi after this. I think it scared me just as much as not getting out of here.
"Yeah."
"Luckily, or perhaps unluckily though, we've probably got a while before we have to worry about that."
I leaned my head against the window and puffed out a breath of air, seeing the heat of my voice contrast with the cool window. Fog appearing. I drew an E in the fog and erased it. Then that's when something caught my eye.
The construction site had huge lamps set up, and they had forgotten to turn out of the their big lamps. It was shining directly to the left of the building we were in. Onto the building. Something white had caught my attention.
I leaned my head out as far as the bars would let me, smooshing my face flat against them. The white object came clearly into view. It was a FOR SALE sign. What in the world?
"Naomi, do you see that sign?" I asked, hurriedly.
"What sign?"
"It's over to the left of my window. You might not be able to see it, but the construction light it shining onto it."
I heard shuffling, then a "hmm" in deep thought.
"That's a FOR SALE sign," Naomi said.
"Yes, brilliant eye there," I said sarcastically.
"Is this building for sale? How can it be for sale? It's been abandoned for ages."
"Is it ploy?" I asked, the sudden thought occurring to me. "To keep people away from searching the building?"
"I don't know, possibly. It's a good thought, but with construction workers across from us, reconstruction on another old building, it seems kind of risky."
"True."
"I'll see if I can grab anything out of these guys. This entire thing is getting way over our heads."
I wondered if Naomi had asked about the FOR SALE sign, and just hadn't told me the answer. I wouldn't put it past her. Naomi did have a very odd protective hold over me. In all reality she's a month and two days younger than me. But she still feels the need to protect me. I don't argue with it. It provides a sense of comfort.
As Naomi and I continued chatting randomly, I let my mind begin to wander. What if this situation is bigger than the two of us. We could be in Iceland for all we knew, just encased liked sitting ducks, awaiting our doomed fate. I often wonder if I'll see another human being up close before anything rash happens. I wonder if my twin sister will even get the opportunity to make fun of my clothes again. If I'll get to endure another Fitch hug. I wonder if I'll get to kiss another individual, or even see my own fucking reflection. But most of all, I wonder all the time if Naomi looks anything like the person I picture in my head. And I'm suddenly boosted with another bought of motivation to get out of here.
