A/N: Sorry this took longer to post. I was caught up in the Holidays. I hope it's not too bad. I feel like it's a bit choppy, but then again I'm quite sleep deprived at the moment. Thanks again for the reviews and follows and favs. xx

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PART: II

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Chapter 2: Hang with Me

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This time around, the friendship is actually exactly that, a friendship. There's no confusion, no lingering touches or looks. They hang out on some nights and when they do, it's always great. Naomi had forgotten how nice it was to be with Emily and how much laughter always comes from it. At school, they often find themselves running into each other in hallways. It's like they're two magnets, forever finding each other. The blonde doesn't know how it can even be possible, but it is. She's not complaining.

They go to Tate Modern one day because Emily insists on seeing a particular exhibition and Naomi can't find a good enough excuse not to go. They walk around the gallery, the redhead excitedly going from one piece to the other while the blonde drags her feet behind. It's not that she doesn't appreciate art or anything, she does, but she's not sure she gets modern art and especially the sort of recycle oriented stuff this exhibit shows. She does enjoy reading the card on the side of each piece though because it's completely hilarious to her the bollocks people will say about art. It's like that pile of garbage shaped as a dog they saw a few minutes after walking in. To Naomi, it's a pile of crap shaped into a dog, but to the explanatory card it represents the fragility of nature. Seriously?

But Emily loves it so Naomi obliges. She follows her around, laughing quietly when the petite looks at something with a concentrated brow. Sometimes, Emily gets so captivated that she remains in the same spot for what feels like hours to Naomi. It's both bothersome and amazing though. Because it's a pain to have to wait for Emily to be done looking at piles of crap- God forbid she'd walk ahead, Emily wants them to experience things together- but it's also quite cute to see the redhead be so enthralled by anything. It's probably one of the things she loves the most about the other girl, the fact that she's so calm and quiet yet so passionate. She's always known Emily loves life, always known she's one of those people who don't only see the glass half full, they see it half full of water and half full of potential. But it still always amazes her nonetheless every time she's reminded of how open about everything Emily really is.

It doesn't help not finding her adorable when, every time she sees something she particularly likes, the redhead shoots her arm out to grab Naomi's wrist and exclaims a big "Oh, look". And it's a bit sad that, most of the time, Naomi has no clue what has gotten her so excited in the first place. Still, the exhibition is nice enough and the blonde doesn't have such a bad time. It's mostly because of Emily.

When they walk out of the museum, the redhead turns to her.

"You don't really like Arts do you?" She asks.

"No! I mean, I do" Naomi defends immediately.

"Truth?"

"I swear I do!"

"But…?" Emily asks with a smirk, knocking her shoulder lightly into Naomi's as they walk along Bankside.

The blonde smirks too before rolling her eyes.

"But I just find the whole ordeal of museums and exhibits to be entirely wanky" she admits.

She holds her breath for a second, worried Emily will be offended, but then the redhead laughs and Naomi smiles in relief. She kind of loves that Emily never gets mad at her for being honest or for having different opinions.

"I'm so not surprised by that statement" the redhead says after a while.

"Am I that obvious?"

"It just fits your haughty personality" Emily teases as Naomi gasps.

"You did not just call me haughty!" She exclaims, trying to look offended, but not quite managing to with the wide smile on her lips.

"Can't face the truth can you?" the redhead quips.

"Take that back!" Naomi demands advancing menacingly on Emily.

The redhead shakes her head defiantly though and screams "Never!" as Naomi bends to grab a few rocks and chases Emily, occasionally throwing a stone at her back. They're giggling like a pair of teenage girls and a few people are looking at them as if they're completely mental, but they don't take notice. After quite a bit of running, they stop to lean on the metallic banister and look at the Thames. They can see the London Eye in the distance, but they're not that close. Still, with the evening settling in properly, the sun has gone and the street lights have surfaced. It's a beautiful sight all around.

They stay silent for a few seconds until Naomi decides to speak.

"You see the twinkling lights on the water?" She asks Emily.

"Hum" the redhead nods.

"Well, actually, it was planned to look that way" She says seriously.

"Really?"

"Yes. It's supposed to represent the fleeting nature of modern society. The lights representing the modernity, the advancement of our age, while the water is the foundation of everything, always solid and always adapting. So you see, it's there to show that modernity, when it clashes with the pureness of nature, can only be fleeing" Naomi explains trying to sound as serious as possible.

Of course, the redhead knows her too well not to know that she's being made fun of.

"God!" Emily exclaims with a laugh. "You're such an arsehole"

The blonde just starts chuckling then as Emily pushes her shoulder and walks off. She knows the redhead isn't really mad, she knows that, deep down, the redhead thinks she's hilarious. So she follows her.

"But I'm a nice arsehole right?" She quips and they laugh together again.

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At first, her boys are a bit apprehensive about her hanging out with Emily again, but she assures them they've really got a platonic friendship now and nothing else. It takes a bit of convincing on Naomi's part to make them believe her, but they relent eventually. Of course, the blonde is not surprised when she gets warnings from all three of them to thread carefully. After all, her relationship with Emily comes from a tough place and she knows they all still care about the petite girl even if they try not to show it too much. She finds it endearing in a way that they care about both her and Emily. But she's sure everything will be fine, it has to be.

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Despite Naomi's reluctance, she also hangs out with Mandy's troops more often then she'd like. She's aware that a big part of the reason why she does is because she knows Emily will be there too. It doesn't bother her though that she so obviously seeks the other girl's presence. She doesn't question the fact that she's willing to stand Sophia's blatant crush on her if it means she gets to be with Emily too. It's just that Naomi barely ever gets along with girls so she's finding out that when she does, she tends to cling onto it. At least, that's how she reasons it.

Their friendship with the group is first put to the test though one night Mandy organizes an outing to the restaurant and invites the both of them. After confirming with Emily that she'll be there, the blonde agrees to join and she must admit it's a bit half-heartedly. It's not that she hates the group at all, they're nice enough she guesses, but they're not really her kind of people. Of course it's probably just her amazing ability of being completely antisocial that makes her think that way. Still, when they all go to a pizzeria and Sophia sits next to her eagerly, she wishes she hadn't bothered.

Emily is in front of her, but she can barely articulate one word to her because when Sophia isn't taking all of her time, Mandy has the redhead pretty occupied. It annoys Naomi in a way it probably shouldn't, but she keeps telling herself it's just because she thinks Mandy is beneath the redhead. Not that Mandy is horrible per se, but Emily is pretty great, too great for the tall girl. She's too smart and too funny and too everything to be falling for a girl who recruits every lesbian at school as a hobby.

When they get their food, Naomi barely acknowledges Sophia's exclamation over her choice.

"Mushrooms and cheese! Such a good idea! I love mushrooms!"

By now she's used to Sophia loving whatever she does. She gives the brunette a tight lipped smile nonetheless and cuts a piece of pizza to shove in her mouth to save herself from answering. She chews slowly and always takes a bite before finishing the one she's already got to make sure she really doesn't have to speak. It's not like Sophia notices anyway. She just keeps talking about everything, looking at Naomi with dreamy eyes. If the blonde was a bit braver she'd tell the other girl she's got no chance, but she just can't handle hurting her feelings. She chances a look at Emily and her heart squeezes. She can't help but think she's hurt enough people in her life not to want to go there again. So she listens to Sophia, sometimes even replies when she asks her simple things like her favourite brand of cookies and the likes. She feels nicer in a way, but awful in another. No amount of small talk will make her interested in the brunette, she thinks.

She looks at Emily now and then and every time she does, the petite is talking to Mandy. She frowns at one point and wonders for the first time if, perhaps, the redhead is actually interested in the other girl. Something flares inside her chest at the idea and her frown intensifies. She pushes it away though, reminds herself that she doesn't care if Emily likes Mandy or not. It's not her place to care.

When the night comes to its end, they part ways. Sophia offers Naomi to drive her home about a dozen times, but the blonde finds excuses each time. She really doesn't want Sophia to know where she lives, feels like the outcome of the brunette knowing that could be disastrous. Also, Emily gives her a look when they're saying goodbyes and Naomi thinks it means that the petite would like to walk with her. They've barely talked all night so the blonde really wants to do that too. In the end, they're left together to walk and they get to talking comfortably. And, like every time, Naomi is impressed at just how easy it is. They've probably been walking for fifteen minutes when the blonde decides to bring the topic of Mandy.

"So Mandy eh?" she says with a coy smile on her lips.

"What about her?" Emily replies.

"You two seem… quite chummy" she teases.

The redhead's jaw drops as she catches on to Naomi's meaning.

"Oh come on Ems! Don't look so surprised!" she continues.

"What are you even implying there!" the petite says finally finding her voice again.

"Well… She likes you alright" Naomi explains. "And you don't seem to mind"

"What?!"

"You can admit it if you like her"

"I do not!" Emily defends automatically and Naomi can't even pretend she's not pleased.

"You sure about that Ems? I wouldn't mind you know" she assures, her hands deep in her pockets.

"I'm quite sure!" the redhead says with half a giggle. "Jesus! What made you think that?"

"Maybe the fact that she's all over you?"

"She's not!"

"Oh come on" Naomi snorts at Emily's offended look.

"Look who's talking!" the redhead says then, a smirk replacing her gobsmacked expression.

"What d'you mean?"

Emily snorts loudly and rolls her eyes. "Mushroom and cheese? Such a good idea, I love mushrooms" the petite starts in a high pitched voice. "Oh my God! Garibaldis are your favourite?! I love Garibaldis! Are you wearing a black top? That is so marvellous! I love black"

"Alright stop!" Naomi says half stern, half laughing.

Of course, Emily just keeps teasing.

"Wow, did you sneeze? Gosh I love sneezing!"

"I said stop!" The blonde says through giggles and the petite joins in her amusement.

"You can't tell me Mandy's all over me when Sophia can barely contain herself in your presence." Emily says once they've regain a bit more control on their laughter.

"I have that effect on women" Naomi says seriously and the other girl shoves her.

"She fancies you so much, I wouldn't be surprised if she stalked you"

"I'm very stakable"

"You're so full of yourself" Emily snorts.

"Not really though, yeah?" Naomi feels the need to add.

"I know" the redhead reassures.

They're silent for a few moments after that. It's probably because they're still feeling really comfortable that they start laughing hard when Emily adds:

"Seriously though, you should check her locker to see if she's built a shrine or something"

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The next time they hang out, it's still with Mandy and Sophia, regrettably, but it's at the movies this time. The group decides to meet after one day of classes and after a quick text to Emily, Naomi joins. They go to some gross food joint before and then they make their way to the theatre. They're a small group, not just Naomi, Emily and their two other fan girls, so, when they get to the cinema, they start discussing movies. The blonde listens distractedly while she looks as well. She doesn't expect them to choose anything decent and when they all seem to be agreeing to go see some ridiculous new action blockbuster, she's proven right. She cringes though at the idea of paying 8 pounds to see something so shitty though. So when her eyes fall on a smaller poster of another, clearly independent, movie, she doesn't really hesitate before voicing her opinion.

"I'd like to see that one actually" She says and everyone stops talking to look at her.

Sophia, who was just smiles a moment ago, turns to look at the poster and her smile falls. Mandy looks as well, but instead of deception on her face, Naomi can see irritation. She doesn't really mind that she's annoyed the taller girl though.

"You want to see that?" She asks disdainfully.

"Yeah" Naomi confirms.

She's not just doing it to be a pain in the arse, although it's a nice bonus. She really is interested in that other movie and she'd much rather support a small local production versus some giant American crap.

"Well…" Mandy starts. "You're the only one who wants to see that so… are you like, going to go alone?"

The blonde shrugs because she doesn't mind going to the movies alone. It's not worse than doing anything else alone and it's not like it would be the first time. As it turns out though, Emily speaks up a second later.

"Actually" She says drawing the group's attention. "I think it looks interesting too. I've seen the poster around the city and I've been wanting to see it"

Naomi eyes the redhead curiously after that declaration as if she's trying to decide if she's just told a lie. Emily sends her a challenging look though and the blonde keeps quiet. For her part, Mandy looks completely mortified. She stares at the petite in utter disbelief, her mouth wide open.

"What?" she says. "You do?"

"Yeah" Emily nods. "It looks intriguing"

"But no one else wants to see it" Mandy pushes.

The redhead seems a bit uncomfortable then. Naomi looks at the poster quickly, before coming to her rescue.

"So? Look, the movies are playing at the same time anyway. You guys can go see the one you wanted and Emily and I will go see that one" she explains. "It's no problem, is it?"

If looks could kill, Naomi is fairly sure she'd be very much dead. Mandy looks furious at the blonde's suggestion, but the rest of the group mutter their agreement. Except Sophia who's looking at Naomi like a kicked puppy, that is. The blonde pushes away the urge to roll her eyes at that because honestly, she doesn't owe the brunette anything. And it's not like they're shunting her, if Sophia wants to, she can very well join them in their movie choice. She doesn't though and neither does Mandy.

So they just part ways, the group dividing in two for movie purposes. They do tell each other that whatever movie finishes first will wait for the other group in the lobby afterwards. As Naomi and Emily make their way to their movie, the blonde elbows the other girl gently in the ribs.

"Do you think Mandy's family is in the mafia or anything?" She asks.

"What?!" Emily asks half laughing. "No! Why?"

"Phew, it means I probably won't wake up at the bottom of the Thames tomorrow then"

The redhead laughs loudly and shakes her head.

"D'you think she'd maim you?"

"If she could get away with it, absolutely" Naomi confirms with a false serious look on her face. "Did you see how pissed off she looked?"

Emily shakes her head and rolls her eyes, but Naomi knows she's as aware as she is of Mandy's irritation with the both of them. It doesn't make them feel any guilty though.

Turns out the movie is absolute crap. It's almost funny how horrible it really is. It's not for lack of trying, Naomi thinks. The actors are decent and they do their best with the lines they've been given, but the story is just really fucking dull. So they spend most of the movie giggling and throwing popcorn at each other instead of watching and when they walk out as the credits roll in, Naomi still thinks it was better to spend her 8 pounds on that movie than the big blockbuster.

They throw away their remaining popcorn and walk to the lobby. When they get there, no one is waiting for them, so they lean casually on the wall and start talking. When no one has joined them fifteen minutes later though, they start wondering. Naomi fishes her cell phone out of her pocket to see if she's got any new messages, but apart from a few rude ones from Cook, there's nothing. Emily does the same and it's just as blank as Naomi's.

"D'you reckon the movie is still playing?" the redhead asks her.

"I don't think so" she replies shaking her head.

The blonde brings her phone to her ear to call Mandy then, but it goes to voicemail after two rings. She frowns and tries again, but the same thing happens.

"I think she's ignoring me" she says only slightly disbelievingly to the redhead.

"What?"

"Yeah… The call gets cut off after two rings so…"

"I'm sure there's a reason… hang on." Emily assures before bringing her own phone to her ear.

The petite's eyes widen a few seconds later though.

"Mandy, hey!" She says her voice filled with surprise. "Where are you?"

Naomi hears so noise as the taller girl replies, but she can't distinguish the answer.

"Oh… okay… well… yeah alright, see ya" Emily says and brings her phone down again.

She looks back up at Naomi.

"They left" she announces.

"What?"

"They left. Their movie ended before ours and they had to go apparently"

"Thought we were supposed to meet each other after" the blonde states with a smirk.

"Change of plans apparently. Mandy sounded upset"

"Wow!" Naomi snorts.

"What's so funny?"

"I think you just broke the poor girl's heart" she says amused.

"Oh will you shut up with that" Emily replies with a snigger.

"No I mean it! She's clearly ignoring me and she's short with you. By the way I hope you're right about the mafia connection, I like the Thames but I bet the bottom is rancid"

Emily laughs and shakes her head.

"Let's go" she says and Naomi follows.

They walk in comfortable silence like they always do for a few minutes until Naomi breaks it.

"It's too bad though" she says almost reminiscent.

"What is?"

"About Mandy. Fitch and Fischer had such a good sound to it!"

Emily gasps and tries to shove her, while she lets the bubbles of laughter in her stomach erupt through her throat. So the rest of the walk is really more like a run as they throw playful insults at each other.

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They don't really hear from either Mandy or Sophia after the movie night. At least, Naomi doesn't. She knows Mandy is ignoring Emily though, but she's definitely not as forthcoming as she used to be. The blonde finds it hilarious. She doesn't understand why Mandy made such a big deal out of a simple movie choice. It's not like she's never split up for a movie before. Whenever she goes with the boys, Cook and Freddie end up in one room while JJ and she end up in another. It's not like Emily chose her over the tall brunette or anything, she chose a movie and that's it.

She's telling Freddie exactly that one night they're standing outside the boy's den smoking a spliff casually.

"It's just childish you know?" she explains her voice thick with smoke as she hands the spliff to her friend.

He takes a slow drag, his eyes squinted as if he needs to be concentrated for this, and lets the smoke go and looks at her.

"I don't know D'Art…" he starts carefully. "You sure there was nothing for Mandy to get jealous about?"

"Of course there wasn't!" Naomi huffs.

"Yeah? Cause I don't mean to be a prick, but since you've started hanging out with Emily again it's all you talk about"

"Is not…" The blonde defends, crossing her arms across her chest. "Is it?" she asks after a pause.

"Sort of is" he nods, taking another drag. "And I don't give a shit or anything, but like, if there's something there, there's something there ya know? It's normal for other people to get jealous"

"But there's nothing" Naomi assures.

"You sure about that?"

"Course I am… Why would you think I wasn't?"

"You haven't dated anyone in a while"

"I haven't met anyone" she defends rapidly.

"If you say so mate. I'm just observing"

She's annoyed with the tall boy, but she doesn't want to show it. She doesn't even know why she's so annoyed with him. She can understand that he'd think that of hers and Emily's relationship, but it isn't like that. Okay, so maybe she hasn't dated anyone in a while, but she could. She definitely could. And so could Emily.

"We could you know" she says. "Date other people. We both could and it'd be totally alright"

Freddie nods and tosses the spliff away. He looks at her and Naomi feels a bit self-conscious, but then he smiles gently and she feels relieved. He's not trying to make her uncomfortable, she knows he's not, he's just looking out for her. So she uncrosses her arms and shuffles over until she's leaning her head on his torso, his arm secured around her shoulders. He smells of laundry and spliff and spices and it's all Naomi needs right now.

"I think I will" She announces and they both know what she means.

"I think you should" he whispers and they both notice he sounds guilty.

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It's not a long time after that she starts dating Daphne. It's a good thing. Daphne is pretty, with shoulder length black hair and pale green eyes. She's nice too and smart, has a lot of ambitions and a love of large earrings of any kind. They don't really have anything in common, but it's not that bad, not as bad as Naomi thought it would be when she'd first met the girl.

When she tells Emily, the redhead is surprised, but she's also genuinely happy for the blonde. Naomi's not sure if this is a victory or a defeat. She doesn't know why she doesn't know though.

They see less of each other for a while, Emily and her. They still hang out of course, but they don't have as much time as they did before. Naomi spends more time with Daphne and it's understandable. Still, at least once a week she takes the time to go for coffee with Emily or to another exhibition. The amount of time they spend in museums is actually outrageous and Naomi seriously thinks Emily makes her go to the weirdest exhibitions to test her snarky commentary abilities. Test or not, Naomi is certain her abilities are top notch.

She introduces Daphne to her lads and she's a bit nervous, but, after Micah, her boys are pretty much ready to accept anyone. She's a bit unsettled though when JJ admits that he thinks that, perhaps, she is too. She defends it immediately of course, because that's who she is. But when things with Daphne don't exactly go as easily as they should, Naomi reckons JJ might have had a point.

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She whines to Emily, of all people, about it when Daphne seems to be giving her the cold shoulder one day after a fight they had. The blonde thinks she doesn't deserve someone as kind and selfless as Emily Fitch in her life when the redhead just listens to her and gives her sound advice on how to talk to Daphne.

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It's not exactly a surprise when things with the black haired girl turn sour and they decide it's best not to keep seeing each other. What is a surprise though is that Naomi does feel a bit shit when it happens. She's not depressed or anything and it's nothing to how she felt after things ended with Micah, but she's still a bit blue and it's annoying.

But of all things surprising, what really, ultimately gets her happens on a night of hang out with Emily. They're in the library, the very one they first met in, and they're checking books. It's not for school though, so neither of them is that attentive, showing each other their interesting or funny finds once in a while. They've been there for a while when Emily decides to question Naomi about Daphne.

"So… how are things going with Daph?" she asks casually.

"Hum… actually… they aren't going any longer" Naomi admits, her cheeks reddening.

"What? Oh no Naoms! I'm so sorry!" Emily exclaims turning around to put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Naomi shrugs it off though because she's not that bad, really, and she doesn't want Emily's sympathy. She really doesn't deserve it. Still, the redhead looks sincerely sad for her, almost to the point of worry.

"It's okay Ems" She assures. "I promise it's fine"

She smiles at her, but Emily only barely responds, her eyebrows in an uncharacteristic frown.

"What's up with you?" The blonde asks. "I'm really fine! You don't need to worry"

"It's not… I believe you…"

"What is it then?"

"It's nothing. Forget it" Emily says quickly before turning around.

Naomi grabs her arm though and makes her face her.

"Ems… You're absolutely horrible at lying. Seriously, I reckon Big bird is a better liar than you are. So just... tell me"

Emily's frown worsen and she starts chewing on her bottom lip, but the blonde stares her down and never let's go of her arm. She gives the redhead an encouraging smile and Emily sighs.

"It's just… I really didn't think things wouldn't work with Daphne! I mean… It's such bad timing and it's not even important so…"

"Emily…" Naomi says slowly, her confusion growing by the second.

"I… I met someone" the redhead admits with a look that is half gleeful and half guilty.

Naomi let's her arm go right away.

"Oh?" she says, her mouth forming a perfect circle.

She lets herself wonder for a second why the petite thinks it matters that she's newly single. Why she hesitated to tell her about this new person just because Naomi is single. Could Emily mean…? Does the other still… like her? She can't help but notice how her heart picks up a bit faster at the thought.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know you had just broken up and here I come with my love announcement! I feel like shit!" Emily explains fast. "I don't want to like rub my brand new relationship in your face!"

The blonde nods with a tight lipped smile, because, of course, that's why Emily cared. She wants to scoffs at herself for even thinking for a second that the redhead wasn't over them.

"So you've got a girlfriend" Naomi states.

"Yeah" Emily confirms with a nod and a smile.

"And she makes you happy?"

"Yeah"

"Well… That's good Ems, I'm really happy for you" she manages to articulate.

She's not sure if she sounds sincere, hell, she's not sure if she is sincere, but she wants to be for Emily's sake. The next second, she's got the petite's arms around her neck and is pulled down in a hug.

"Thank you… I'm really sorry about you and Daphne" Emily mutters.

"Yeah… me too" Naomi replies.

Only, she's not sure what she's really sorry for anymore and she's not sure she wants the answer to that particular question.

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So that is that! Any good? Still interested? Happy weekend to everyone.