A/n: Please try to contain your surprise. Well, the only thing I can do right now is apologize. Anyone who reads TMAS knows the reason for the initial delay (the accident and the subsequent loss of my laptop). When I lost so much of this story I was actually really depressed about it. I got very stuck, even though I knew I'd already written what happened once before. Does that make sense? That probably doesn't make sense. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to wristducky, whose review unknowingly helped break through my funk and get this out. I made this chapter extra long and threw in some extra Naomily that wasn't around the first time just for you all :D Un-beta'd, as usual, so all mistakes are mine, as usual.

(PS: Subtle Hunger Games reference in here. Very subtle.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Skins. I just play-fight in the woods with it sometimes.

"But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable. And life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button, girl. So cradle your head in your hands...and breathe. Just breathe. Oh, breathe. Just...breathe." Breathe (2 AM), Anna Nalick

In moments of panic, the human mind completely loses control of itself and scatters. Sometimes this is helpful and can lead to the brain making connections between two seemingly unconnected things and opening up a world of possibilities. Sometimes it throws up memories long forgotten. And sometimes those are bright and helpful, a memory about a summer day or a joke.

And sometimes it just fucks with your head.

Naomi's trainers were not right for the kind of mad dash across the park that she was participating in at the moment. Her shoes had no traction against the grass and the morning dew; they slipped back and forth and around until all Naomi could concentrate on was the physical.

Keeping her footing. Ignoring the burn in the muscles of her legs and in her lungs. Ignoring the stares of people as they turned to watch the strange teenager in pyjamas and a jacket running past them. That was the only thing filling her thoughts. It was the only thing she could concentrate on and stay sane.

Her footing. The burn. The wind whipping past her face. The need to get away from what she had left behind.

Like in my dream.

Naomi slipped a little bit on the ground. She didn't stop to completely regain her balance but plunged on, towards the more wooded part of the park.

Her dream. That stupid fucking recurring nightmare. She'd had it every night that week except last night. The nightmare where she is being chased without relent, where she is running from a being that is so angry with her that it's hard to comprehend. The sound of wings above it all. Wings and the frantic beating of her own heart.

CAW!

A raven voiced his displeasure at her for getting too close to its home. Suddenly, loudly, and right in her ear.

Naomi screamed and completely lost her footing, crashing into the ground so hard she was surprised the earth didn't shake with the impact. Her hands reached forward to stop herself and slid through the wet leaves. Her knees were not so lucky; her knees hit the gravel of the path and kept going. She yelped at the sharp stinging that erupted all over her kneecaps.

There, in the woods of the park where she'd first made friends with Effy , surrounded by trees and animals and the noise of people having a happy, normal life somewhere beyond the treeline, Naomi felt herself losing control.

Her breath was coming short and fast and in little spurts. She felt like she couldn't get enough but the truth was she was getting too much, the extra oxygen was making her lightheaded and dizzy. She limped over to a tree and sat down, sliding her back down the bark until she was sitting on the ground.

"Quit being such a fucking coward and get over yourself."

That's what her subconscious had said, right? Well she was pretty sure that being brave meant admitting when you couldn't deal with something. When you needed help. First one, then another tear slid out of her eyes and down her cheeks. They made tracks in the dirt there and dripped off her chin as they started to flow harder and faster.

Well I need help now, she thought. I really fucking do.

She sniffled pitifully and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs to try and keep her emotions inside of her chest. If she didn't have the pressure of her body wrapped tightly into a ball she was afraid she'd fall completely apart at the seams. Wasn't this the moment when some people prayed? She wasn't sure if she believed in God and even if He existed she was almost positive an all-mighty being didn't spend a majority of its time listening to the thoughts of random seventeen-year-olds. But...at just this moment?

Please.

Footsteps along the path. It almost made Naomi cry harder; she didn't want to have to deal with some stranger who wanted to know if she was okay and oh my god are you all right how can I help and any other stupid things that people think up when they see someone they don't know in distress.

"Naomi?"

Thank you.

The footsteps sped up until they were flat out sprinting towards her. The person running didn't slow their momentum and almost crashed when they stopped and stooped down to be on her level. Gentle hands brushed the dirt and bits of leaf out her hair, pulled her jacket more tightly around her. Naomi closed her eyes tighter in an effort to stop the tears but that just made a few more spill out instead. The hands quickly wiped those tears away and stayed, thumbs brushing over her cheeks and under her eyes.

"Oh Naomi."

Naomi stopped being such a fucking coward and got over herself. She leaned into the comfort instead of away from it and cried into Emily's shoulder. If Emily Fitch wasn't a godsend at this moment then whatever help Naomi had been asking for before could go throw itself off the nearest bridge.

To Emily's everlasting credit, she didn't complain once about kneeling in the dirt and comforting the girl she'd just been on a date with less than 24 hours ago as she completely and utterly lost it. The small redhead didn't even blink, just wrapped her arms around Naomi and very gently started rocking back and forth, murmuring softly into the blonde's ear.

For a few minutes after Naomi cried herself out she still stayed there, face buried in the shoulder of Emily's shirt. The world was nice inside the shirt. Even though the early morning was cold her face was warm from the heat from Emily's body and Emily smelled nice, a little citrusy and a little like clean laundry, and the world was just infinitely better, she decided, when she was hidden away in the comfort of Emily's shirt.

She felt a hand hover tentatively over her shoulder and when she leaned towards the touch the hand threaded itself into her hair and started to rub the base of her skull comfortingly.

"Naomi, are you all right?" The hand paused its motion and Naomi got the feeling Emily would have hit herself in the forehead if her arms weren't currently full with a distressed blonde. "Shit. You know what, that was the world's stupidest question. Please ignore it."

"I'm all right," she said without opening her eyes or pulling away. She mumbled it into Emily's shoulder instead.

She heard and felt Emily let out a shaky breathe of relief. "Good," that delightfully husky voice said. "Bringing you to a hospital would have put a damper on our plans for Friday."

This startled a laugh out of Naomi. She pulled away very reluctantly and leaned back against the tree. Emily let go of her, Naomi thought, just as reluctantly. Her one hand sliding out of her hair and the other trailing all the way down Naomi's arms as she let go. When Naomi's eyelids fluttered open at last the first thing she saw was Emily's warm brown eyes watching her with concern.

"Hi," Naomi said. She tried to force a smile but had the feeling it looked more like a pained grimace.

"Hi," Emily answered, her voice low and laced with worry.

They both seemed to realize at the exact same time that Emily's hands had stopped their retreat and were resting on Naomi's bent knees. She pulled away but Naomi grabbed her right wrist before she could retract her hand completely and cupped Emily's hand between both of her own. She wasn't ready to relinquish the comfort that Emily's touch provided at the moment.

Emily squeezed her hand and sat on the ground, nudging Naomi a little with her hip until the blond pushed over to make room so that they could both lean against the tree. They sat like that for a while, Naomi still very much curled up in a little ball and calming down by degrees, helped monumentally by Emily's body warming her side and Emily's thumb rubbing small circles onto the back of her hand.

"What are you doing out here?" Naomi asked after a while. She turned her head to look at Emily and laughed bitterly. "It's almost six in the morning."

"Best time to run," Emily answered simply with a little smile. "The world is still quiet. What are you doing here?"

Naomi really looked at Emily for the first time that morning. Her sneakers were much more suited to keeping balance on the wet grass than Naomi's were and Naomi reached up to touch the damp spot on her t-shirt where Naomi's tears had soaked into the fabric. Her red hair was turned the colour of blood with sweat and sticking haphazardly, and very adorably, to her forehead. If Naomi wasn't so numb at the moment she felt like she could appreciate the shorts Emily was wearing a whole lot better. Or, well, Naomi fumbled internally as her mind raced over the length of Emily's legs and a spike of heat shot through her nerves, maybe not as numb as she thought.

Emily cleared her throat and smirked when Naomi jerked her eyes away from Emily's legs and back up to her eyes. Thankfully the redhead looked more amused than annoyed. The amusement faded a moment later and was replaced with a sad little half-smile. "You don't have to tell me-"

"I got attacked outside the club," Naomi blurted out suddenly. Fucking hell, sodding word vomit, Naomi thought viciously. You couldn't have just said you failed a test or something? She hadn't actually meant for those words to come out of her mouth. It was just...Emily had comforted her without hesitation. She deserved to know why, at least a little bit.

Emily's eyebrows shot up and her grip on Naomi's hand tightened but beyond that she controlled her initial reaction to the confession and Naomi was grateful.

But after a bit Naomi noticed that Emily didn't look surprised. In fact, she looked frustrated. Naomi watched as Emily's hand balled into a fist and she hit her own leg once and then twice.

"Stop," Naomi grabbed her hand before Emily could hit herself again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm an idiot," Emily said despondently. She let go of Naomi's hand and covered her face to avoid looking Naomi in the eyes. "I knew someone got attacked. It happened when you were leaving the club; of course the boss is going to keep an eye on the situation. And I knew, I knew, the victim was named Naomi. And I didn't think to connect...god, I'm the biggest idiot to ever live. I'm sorry."

Naomi grabbed her wrists and tugged until Emily looked up at her. There were tears in those big brown eyes and Naomi's heart clenched painfully, her own pain momentarily forgotten.

"You're not an idiot," Naomi said forcefully. She tightened her grip on Emily's wrist when the redhead immediately shook her head to deny it. "You're not."

Emily stared at Naomi's hands on her wrists for a long time before she twisted them around until Naomi was holding on to her hands again. The sad little half-smile made a reappearance. Normally Naomi liked to catalogue the different smiles she could get out of Emily, but that particular one could go away now. "When did this become you comforting me?" she asked quietly. "I'm pretty sure it started as the other way around."

"Give and take," Naomi answered lightly. "Up and down, left and right. Isn't that how all good relationships go?"

The word dropped between them like it had actual weight; Naomi could hear the air whistle between Emily's lips as she sucked in a breath. Her own heart had stopped for a moment and then started again at twice the speed. The only coherent thoughts running through her mind were a string of curses, mostly directed at herself.

Then Emily squeezed her hands. "Top and bottom?" she added, and she turned to grin at Naomi with an absolutely breathtaking smile.

Naomi snorted and bumped her shoulder into Emily's. "You have the dirtiest mind," she accused.

Emily shrugged. "What can I say? If it wasn't for the gutter my mind would be homeless."

Silence hung in the air between them again, but it was far more comfortable than before. Emily's thumb returned to its former divine duties of tracing patterns onto the back of Naomi's hand. After a while Naomi let Emily tug her up and onto a fallen tree nearby, up off the cold ground. They sat on the log and watched for a bit as the sun broke out between the usual Bristol clouds and the trees and threw scattered beams of light over the park. The additional sun did nothing to warm the air, but that was to be expected.

"Have you talked to anyone about it?" Emily asked quietly, as if the gentle peace of the moment would be broken as soon as the words left her mouth.

Naomi took a deep breath and her hand tightened. "Once or twice," she admitted reluctantly. "Mum thinks if I just told the whole story to someone it might help but..." she raised and lowered the shoulder that wasn't pressed against Emily diffidently.

The redhead nodded pensively. She lifted their combined hands and studied them before she spoke again. "You could talk to me," she offered, and her eyes flicked over to gauge Naomi's reaction.

So many people had offered that. Had used that exact sentence to try and get her to open up. Her Mum, Effy, a few of the nurses at the hospital, even Kieran had offered half-heartedly (although he had obviously been uncomfortable and looked rather relieved when Naomi had told him he could 'go watch football now'). But Naomi had refused with each and every one of them. Only here, only now, only with Emily, had she even felt the compulsion to talk about it.

What would happen if she let that feeling go? Would it ever come back? So she did it; she turned her body so that she straddled the log, one leg on either side and Emily copied her. Still keeping a tight hold on her hands, slowly but surely, Naomi started talking.

She started with the beginning of the day, getting up and getting ready. Going to school and being asked out (she stopped here to assure the beautiful redhead holding her hand that the guy had been "a complete twat" who she had only agreed to go with "because he offered to pay the cover"). She continued on to getting ready and having the shittiest time of her life after the band left. Naomi was proud the way her voice didn't change at all when she got to the part about meeting Mikes and Leeds in the street.

About that point in the story Naomi felt Emily start to tremble and she whipped her head up, already frowning with concern. At first she thought it was just a reaction to the story, but as she watched the redhead shake the realization hit that Emily hadn't exactly woken up this morning and gotten dressed with the idea in mind that she was going to be sitting for any length of time comforting a distressed blonde.

"Shit," she cursed.

Emily jumped. "What?" she asked, matching Naomi frown for frown.

Naomi tugged their hands apart and started rubbing Emily's arms, trying to warm them with the friction. "You must be fucking freezing!" she exclaimed

Teeth clattered together when Emily chuckled at her. Naomi pulled back to look at her like she was crazy and Emily laughed harder. "I'm sorry," the redhead apologized through her giggles, "it's just you're telling me such an emotional story and I thought you cursed because you were upset, but you're worried about me being a little cold. Don't even think about it!" she ordered when Naomi started to take off her jacket.

"You're freezing," Naomi snapped. She ignored the order and continued to fumble with the zipper until it obeyed her and she got her jacket open. The cold blast of air that rushed in when she opened it up made her regret the action almost immediately.

Emily grabbed the front of her jacket when Naomi tried to take it off. "Quit it," she ordered seriously.

Naomi gave the redhead her very best 'you've got to be joking' look. "I've been wearing it the whole time," she said stubbornly. "The heat has stored up. I'll be fine for a bit."

"You're wearing pyjamas underneath!" Emily pointed out in such an exasperated voice that it was almost funny.

"You're wearing shorts!" Naomi said back in the same tone.

They both glared at each other, neither willing to back down and let the other win. Naomi felt Emily's grip on her jacket tighten even as she shivered.

"Stop being stubborn," Emily growled.

"Stop being stupid," Naomi snapped back.

"Yeah, well, you seem to inspire it in me."

It was such a cryptic comment, said in such a strange tone of voice, that Naomi almost forgot about their stand-off in favor of examining it further. Then another set of shivers made Emily almost lose her grip and Naomi used the moment of weakness to tug herself away from Emily's hands. An idea had crawled up into the back of her mind and nested down comfortably. Naomi mentally considered it, twisted and turned it to look at it from all angles, weighed the pros and cons. If it played out Naomi would officially dub it the best fucking idea she'd ever had.

"Fine," she said. She held her jacket open, arms outstretched as much as the piece of clothing would allow. "We'll share."

Emily's eyes widened and Naomi watched as the back of her neck and the tips of her ears got red. It was probably only the cold wind that kept her blush at bay on her face. It was utterly adorable.

"I - I, um," she spluttered.

Naomi bit her lip to contain her laughter. Emily always seemed so confident and smooth that the idea that she could be reduced to one syllable answers and stuttering was almost too funny for words.

"Let's go, Fitch," she tried very hard to keep her laughter out of her voice but she didn't think she succeeded very well. "Sun won't shine forever."

"I'm just...are you laughing at me?" Emily accused. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Absolutely not," Naomi said with a straight face.

Emily stuck out her tongue. Her piercing glinted in the early morning light. "Funny, Campbell," she said.

Naomi laughed and wiggled around to emphasize the open jacket. She felt another spike of heat run through her when Emily's eyes roved over her thinly-covered pyjama-clad torso and darkened. Naomi licked her lips nervously but held firm. "Offer expires in ten seconds," she said, her voice lower.

The redhead squeaked and very quickly scooted over, swinging both legs to one side of the log so they wouldn't clash with Naomi's. This put her directly between Naomi's legs and she immediately slipped her arms around Naomi and pressed herself close so the blond could wrap the jacket around both of them. It was warm and intimate and Naomi felt herself melting on the inside.

Honestly, it scared her a little bit, these flashes of deep affection and genuine care for Emily amidst all the attraction and lust. She thought that with Emily pressed so firmly up against her, their skin flushed and overheating underneath the coat, that she would think of nothing else but how much she desperately wished that Emily would just ravish her already.

And yes, there was that flood of desire, and yes, Emily's hands locking together and pressing against her back sent little sparks of electricity along the nerves there, but that wasn't all. She was more focused on the content little smile that she could just make out from her awkward vantage point and the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach when Emily tucked her head comfortably under Naomi's chin. She paid more attention to the happy little noise that Emily made under her breath and the way their bodies seemed to lock together.

Then again, it felt just as natural as allowing Emily to comfort her had felt before. Maybe she should start taking her own advice and let go for once.

"Finish the story?" Emily requested softly, abruptly knocking Naomi out of her internal monologue.

Naomi nodded very slightly, careful not to dislodge the redhead in her arms, and continued on to Leeds's attack. She was positive that Emily could feel her heart and the way it was pounding and racing but that was okay, because they were pressed so tightly together (for warmth, obviously) that she could feel Emily's heart too. It was just as fast.

So she kept going. She got all the way through the attack and on to the rescue. By the time she reached the bit where she passed out in the ambulance Emily was smiling into her shoulder.

"What?" Naomi asked quietly. It felt like they were in their own little bubble of space, hidden inside Naomi's jacket. The world was muffled around them and if she spoke too loudly it would break.

"You have good friends, Naomi," Emily answered, just as quietly. Maybe she felt the fragility of the bubble too.

"They weren't even my friends at the time," she couldn't stop herself from pointing out.

Emily shrugged a little bit and Naomi's body shifted with the movement. They were pressed too closely together for one to move independently of the other. Naomi felt like this should be awkward, sharing such an intimate moment with someone she hadn't known for all that long. But something in the back of her mind said that this was okay; that this wasn't just anyone this was Emily and for some reason, some strange twisted reason, maybe after all they'd shared that morning, maybe because she'd already sobbed her heart out onto Emily's shoulder and that made it okay.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Emily said pensively. "From what you've been saying they've been your friends for longer than you think."

Naomi made a low questioning sound in the back of her throat and Emily's breath hitched. "Explain?" the blonde prompted.

Emily swallowed once and cleared her throat. "Hmm. You said yourself that you were a bit of a loner before, yes?" she asked, and waited for Naomi's nod. "How does the general student body react to loners?"

"Bit of teasing, bit of mocking, some odd looks," Naomi replied instantly. "Bullies latch onto them as easy targets for harassment."

"And did that ever happen to you?"

Naomi opened her mouth to say of course it did but the words died halfway up. She quickly brought up all the memories of school that she could latch on to and sifted through them. There were days spent eating lunch quietly out in the courtyard and afternoons curled up studying in the library. Kids passed in the halls but she was never shoved around or jeered at like some. If the bullies of the school weren't nice to her they weren't outright mean either. It seemed that no one really found it worth their time to harass Naomi Campbell.

"Well, no," she admitted.

Emily nodded against her shoulder like this made perfect sense. "And if everyone listens to Effy Stonem and her friends, and Effy Stonem says 'Don't bother Naomi'..." she let the sentence trail off.

Naomi pulled back just far enough to create space while still keeping them both inside the jacket. She did this so she could stare at Emily in awe. "That makes a twisted kind of sense," she breathed.

"Well I have a twisted brain," Emily teased. She eliminated the space between them again so that she could rest her head against Naomi's shoulder and the blonde let her. They stayed wrapped up in their comfortable silence until the sun was well and truly over the horizon.

"I should probably tell you what happened today," Naomi said as the sun finished sneaking up on the world.

"You don't have to," Emily assured her.

"I want to."

Emily kept quiet as Naomi gathered her thoughts together. Idly her hand start tracing patterns across Emily's back. The redhead's breath hitched and Naomi grinned. It was nice, knowing the she had the same effect on Emily that Emily had on her. The feeling faded quickly when her thoughts swerved back on track.

She finally settled on how she wanted to phrase the next part. "My mum hid a letter from me. The county wants me to go talk to my attacker."

"WHAT?" Emily exploded out of the jacket and out of Naomi's arms. Her eyes were wide and angry and her hands clenched themselves into fists seemingly of their own accord. "Bastards. Is that even legal?" Calm, comforting Emily was gone. This Emily looked ready to attack anyone who so much as came close to touching Naomi.

And damn if it wasn't hot as hell.

Also frustrating, though, because Emily started shivering again almost the moment she left the confines of the jacket. Naomi cleared her throat impatiently and held the jacket open again for emphasis. Emily flushed a little, probably in embarrassment over her shouting, and quickly scooted back over to wrap up in the jacket again.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Go on?"

Naomi controlled her laughter, barely. Emily Fitch was cuter than a kitten with a string.

"It's legal," she answered Emily's outburst. She hurried on when Emily stiffened and seemed likely to explode again. "Because they're not forcing me to. As far as I could gather before I started panicking they're not going to make me do anything I don't want to do. It was just the idea, you know, of seeing him again and..."

She couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine. Emily made a comforting little humming sound.

"I just don't know why," Naomi burst out suddenly. "I suppose I just want to know why. Why that night, why me, why anything. It doesn't make sense right now and I think that's what bothers me the most."

Emily was silent for a long time. So long that Naomi thought maybe she wasn't even going to say anything.

"I think you should go."

Naomi controlled her surprise, but just barely. She also controlled her initial reaction, which was a feeling of betrayal. Emily probably had a good reason for saying that. This was the same girl who, not five minutes ago, had been just as angry as Naomi at the thought of Naomi seeing her attacker again. She must have a good reason for changing her mind. Still...

"You want me to?" she hated how little her voice sounded right then.

"Absolutely not," Emily said so vehemently that it was impossible to doubt what she was saying. "But you're always going to be thinking about it, if you don't go and ask him. You're always going to be wondering why. Unfortunately, the only way to know why is to ask the man himself."

That made sense. That made completely perfect sense. The feeling of betrayal went away and was replaced with a warmth around her heart. The warmth kept the fear that Emily's words had sparked in her at bay and allowed her to make up her mind, at least a little bit.

"You're right," she said. "I'm never going to get control of the situation until I face it head on. So, you're right."

"Of course I am," Emily said smugly.

Naomi flicked her ear and Emily yelped indignantly. Apparently the physical abuse was not enough to make her pull away though and they continued to sit in silence as the world woke up around them.

"Control," Emily said suddenly.

Naomi's grip tightened around her momentarily in surprise. She bit her lip to stop any kind of sarcastic retort and limited herself instead to saying, "What?"

"You said you want control of the situation," Emily explained. "I bet that was one of the scariest bits of the whole thing. Not having control."

Naomi mulled this over in her head. Sometimes talking to Emily was like talking to Effy. She said things that were completely out there that, upon further inspection, made an appalling amount of sense.

"Yes," she said finally, with conviction. "I hated feeling so helpless and losing so much control."

It occurred to her suddenly, the way all good ideas do, that she was lucky she had that dream about Emily last night. She very much doubted she would be as responsive to Emily picking holes in her walls today if the redhead hadn't also been doing so last night in the form of Naomi's own subconscious.

"All right, then," Emily said. She pulled back and scooted herself backwards until she was completely out of the jacket and back into the open air. Naomi felt oddly cold, even though she was the one who was still wrapped up in something warm.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Emily bounced to her feet and held out a hand for Naomi to take. "I'm giving you back control," she said.

Naomi raised an eyebrow and let Emily pull her to her feet. The little redhead started to lead her back into the woods and Naomi stopped, tugging on Emily's hand to make her stop as well.

"What are you doing?" she repeated.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Will you just trust me for five seconds?" she demanded, and started towing Naomi along again.

Yes, Naomi thought internally. I'll trust you. And that was the scariest thought of all. That she trusted Emily.

Emily led them a few more feet in, to an area that was a little more cleared of trees. It wasn't a clearing or a meadow by any stretch of the imagination but they could probably move around comfortably without smacking into foliage.

"Please don't tell me you sparkle," Naomi said dryly.

"What?" Emily spluttered.

Naomi lifted her hands to indicate their surroundings. "We're in a meadow, sort of. In the woods. This is vaguely Twilight of you, Emily. If you start to sparkle I'm out of here."

"Number one, I am not a vampire," Emily huffed and crossed her arms. "Number two, even if I was a vampire I would never do something as pathetic as sparkle. Number three," here she paused and raised her eyebrows at Naomi, "how in the world do you know about that?"

Naomi flushed from her neck to the tops of her ears. "I saw the movie, okay?" she grumbled. "Let's just move on with our lives shall we?"

"You brought it up."

"Shut up, Emily."

"I'm just saying if you didn't want to talk about it you shouldn't have accused me of sparkling."

"Emily!"

"Well I wanted you shouting my name, but not like that."

Naomi's jaw dropped as she gaped at Emily in astonishment as she blushed darkened significantly. All thought of letters from the county and attackers and friends with little brothers disappeared in favor of the electricity currently shooting through her veins. The dirty little devil that lived inside of Naomi's brain made an appearance, jumping up and down and rubbing its hands together gleefully at the thought: Emily thinks about doing dirty things to me.

The redhead was smirking and she looked so absurdly proud of the reaction she got out of Naomi that the blonde couldn't think it was anything but funny. And the smirk. The smirk was killing her. It was one part sexy but the other two parts said, I have a smirk. It's cute. Look. Look at how cute my smirk is.

"So if it's not to prove that you're secretly a supernatural being in disguise, why did you bring me over here?" Naomi asked.

Emily's eyes flicked over Naomi's shoulder suddenly. It could have been a trick of the light but she could have sworn that a very deliberate shadow had fallen over their little clearing. Two seconds later Emily's smile was back. She lifted her arms and spun around once. "The room," she said.

"The room?" Naomi echoed.

Emily nodded and lifted her hands up in a guarded position in front of her face. "You want control," she said. "You're going to learn how to control something like that again. Hands up."

It clicked suddenly in Naomi's head. "You're going to teach me how to fight?" She asked incredulously.

"Yup," Emily said simply. "Hands up."

Naomi ignored her. "How do you even know how to fight?" she asked.

"I work in a club. My father is a fitness buff. I grew up in London with two siblings. Choose one," Emily shot back. She made a little 'come on' motion with her hands. "Let's go, Naomi. Hands up."

Naomi sighed and brought her hands up until they mostly mimicked Emily's. "This is stupid," she said just before Emily shot forward and knocked her off her feet.

One moment she was standing the next Emily was leaning over her and offering a hand up. "You want to try that again?" Emily asked.

Naomi scowled at her and let Emily pull her to her feet again. Slowly but surely Emily ran her through moves. Feet more evenly spaced and grounded, it was tougher for people to knock you over then. Hands more to the sides, protecting your whole face and not just the front. Emily taught her how to break a hold by hitting the side of someone's wrist, how to lift her arm up and around and back down on someone's elbows if they were trying to choke her, how the higher up on the instep is much more effective a target if you want someone to be completely unable to follow you. Finally she had Naomi bring her hands up again and she tried to knock her off her feet like she did the first time.

Naomi was ready, though, and this time they both went rolling to the ground. The both rolled and giggled and twisted around, wrestling like a pair of five year olds until finally Naomi surrendered and Emily rolled onto her side, still laughing. Naomi chuckled, staring up at the clouds overhead as the day well and truly began. It was probably time for school soon. She heard Emily sigh and turned her head to look at the redhead. Brown eyes were staring at her intently.

"What?" she asked, abruptly self-conscious under the look Emily was giving her.

"You're fucking gorgeous," Emily said in that special way people talk sometimes when it's obvious they're not actually thinking about what they're saying.

Naomi snorted and felt another blush work its way up her neck. Honestly, she'd blushed more in the few days she'd known Emily Fitch then she ever had before in her entire life. "I'm in my pyjamas and covered in dirt," she deflected.

"Exactly," Emily agreed. She reached out and brushed a hand through Naomi's hair, carefully picking out a stray leaf. "And you're still gorgeous. How do you do that?"

It was an innocent question. It wasn't contrived or used to work an angle. It wasn't said with a leer or in a dirty tone of voice, like it could have been. It wasn't fake. Emily was being completely open; she honestly wondered how Naomi could still look good covered in dirt with leaves in her hair.

And Naomi honestly and completely could not help herself for what happened next. For being a lesson that was all about giving her control, it was completely out of her control when she leaned forward and kissed Emily. She couldn't not kiss Emily in that moment. It was a physical impossibility.

It started off as a quick and sweet kiss and got very hot, very quickly.

Emily's breath hitched and she reached up to thread her fingers through Naomi's hair and pull her closer. Naomi rolled a little to the right so that Emily was completely beneath her, relishing the roaring sound in her ears and the fantastic feeling of the full length of Emily's body against her own. One of Emily's hand remained in Naomi's hair and the other snuck under her shirt to run up her back, trying to pull the blonde impossibly closer. She bit on Naomi's bottom lip and quickly soothed the spot with her tongue a moment later.

Naomi moaned at the sensation and it seemed to ignite a fire inside the redhead. Emily took control and flipped them over, pinning Naomi beneath her and straddling her waist, breaking the kiss only for as long as it took to attack Naomi's mouth from the other side. Naomi reached down to grab the tops of Emily's thighs and bring their hips closer together. It was Emily's turn to moan and Naomi swallowed the sound, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss and feeling fire dance through her blood when she felt Emily's tongue touch hers. She tasted fantastic, like mint and coffee.

Somewhere close by, maybe on the path they'd just left, a jogger playing loud rap music ran through. Emily pulled away with a gasp and Naomi almost groaned aloud at the loss of contact. She was ready to pull Emily back down again but the brief moment of respite let them both clear their heads.

They were both breathing hard and fast as if they'd finished running a mile. Naomi couldn't stop herself from staring at the way Emily's chest was heaving as the redhead fought to regain her breath.

"We're snogging in the middle of a park," Emily said after a few minutes of the sounds of them both trying to remember how to breathe properly again being the only noise in the clearing.

"We are," Naomi agreed. Mostly because that was about the limit of her brain's capabilities at the moment.

Emily did groan out loud and she rolled off Naomi (who was very disappointed when this happened). "My hormones say let's go," Emily said with a sigh, "but my head says that's a little too fast. I try not to snog girls amongst foliage until at least the second date."

Even with her heart still going a million times a minute, Naomi knew she agreed with that. She bit her lip to keep her laughter in check. "Duly noted. Can your head have a chat with my hormones?" she asked plaintively, and Emily laughed.

"Sure," Emily said. "Just give my head a few minutes to remember how to form coherent thoughts and we'll be good."

Naomi laughed again and looked over. Emily was lying next to her, her face turned up to the sky but her eyes closed. She was still breathing hard, although not nearly as much, and her mouth was swollen from being kissed. From Naomi's kisses.

The heat was back. To battle the urge to kiss Emily again she lifted her arm around and hugged the other girl instead. Emily giggled and wrapped her arms around Naomi's arm, running the hug awkwardly without moving from her current position.

They stayed like that for a bit, but then finally Naomi sighed. They were so close together that the outburst of breath moved Emily's hair a little bit. She knew if she didn't leave now to get ready she'd never make it to Roundview in time for classes. "I don't feel like going to school today," she whispered.

"So don't," Emily said simply.

Naomi frowned. "I'm not going to spend the day moping in my room. I've done that enough to last a lifetime, thanks."

"So don't do that, either. Meet me back here in an hour," Emily offered instead of an answer.

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Emily Fitch, are you actively helping me bunk off classes for the day?"

Emily opened her eyes smirked at her. "That depends on what your answer is."

It was pretty obvious, to Naomi at least, what the answer was going to be. Go to classes where she probably already knew the material, where she was going to be miserable and overthink everything, or spend the day with a pretty redhead who made her heart race. Tough decision, right?

There was a little smudge of dirt on Emily's nose. Probably from Naomi, who had dirt just about everywhere at this point. Naomi smiled and her arm reached out without permission from her brain at all. She brushed the dirt off affectionately. "Thirty minutes it is, then." She rolled away from Emily and stood up. She watched as Emily bounced off the ground and started jogging back in the direction that Naomi assumed she came from. Naomi's eyes watched flickered up and down her body as she watched the redhead leave.

Emily waved a hand over her shoulder as she started jogging again. "Stop perving at my arse and go get dressed, Campbell!" she ordered.

Busted, Naomi thought sheepishly. She smiled to herself and started back towards her house, silently running scenarios through her head for how to explain to her mum that she wasn't going to school today.

Gina Campbell was either the worst mum ever or the best. There didn't seem to be a happy medium that existed between the two. She was still sitting at the kitchen table, tapping her fingers against the wooden surface (in a move that would be intimately familiar to Naomi if she had ever had the opportunity to watch herself be nervous) when Naomi walked back in. The older woman immediately jumped up and rushed over, probably expecting having to comfort an emotional mess, and stopped short.

"You're smiling," she said obviously.

Naomi rolled her eyes at her mother and walked past her upstairs. Gina followed.

"You're smiling," Gina repeated. "And you're not upset."

They reached Naomi's room and she started opening and shutting drawers, looking a bit desperately for something to wear. Emily hadn't actually said what they were going to do so she figured she couldn't go wrong with a jeans, jumper, and jacket combo. Maybe with a hat for good measure since it was getting awfully chilly out nowadays.

"You're smiling and you're not upset and you're getting ready for school?" Gina looked torn between being confused and being exasperated. "Have we entered a different dimension?"

Gina followed her as Naomi walked into her bathroom and didn't blink an eye when the teenager stripped down and jumped into the shower. It hadn't been lost on her at all how dirty and roughed up Naomi had looked upon arriving back home.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Gina asked as Naomi attempted to take the world's quickest and most thorough shower as she tried to get all the dirt off her in the shortest amount of time possible.

"Not really," was the muffled answered over the sound of water. Gina was silent the whole time Naomi was in the shower, frowning thoughtfully, but did not stay silent when she got out. Naomi jumped out, actually, with a little bounce, and checked herself in the mirror. When she was satisfied that she was completely clean she went back to her room to get dressed.

"You can't do that!" Gina protested. "You left here running like a bat out of hell and I was worried sick that you were going to come back a mess. Which you did," she added as an afterthought. "just not the kind of mess I thought you would be."

Naomi paused halfway between putting on her new shirt and rolled her eyes at her mother again. She hesitated for a moment before striding over and giving the older woman a quick hug. "I was upset," she admitted. "But I met a friend in the park and she helped me talk about a few things."

Gina's eyes lit up. "You talked to someone?" she asked excitedly.

"You make it sound like I'm mute," Naomi muttered dryly.

"Sorry," Gina apologized with a flip of her hand, lightly brushing away Naomi's grouchiness. "It's just such a rare occurrence, love. I'm happy though. It looks like it did you a world of good. You're not going to school today, are you?"

Oh Gina Campbell, you're a quick one, Naomi thought. Out loud she said, "No." All the way home she had run through different ideas in her head before settling on the truth. "I'm meeting Emily at the park again in a little bit and we're going off for the day."

"Emily?" her mum's whole face lit up this time. "Coffee-date Emily?"

"Could you please, please not act so happy that I actually have a social life?" Naomi begged. "It makes me feel like a social leper or something."

Very wisely, Gina did not comment on that. "Cook and Effy already left for school," she offered up instead. "Paddy's still asleep on the couch downstairs. It looks like he'll be staying there for a bit. And about that letter..."

Naomi paused again, this time in the act of tying up her shoes. "I'll make my decision today," she said, mentally adding that she'd kind of already made her decision so it wasn't a complete lie.

She had both her mum and her dog following her as she went back downstairs. She turned on both of them when she got to the front door. "I'm perfectly capable of seeing myself out," she said blandly to her mother. "And you, little girl, cannot come with." Ellie whined and looked dejected. The dog might not know human speech but she could probably hear the word 'no' in that sentence.

"Be good, have fun, make good choices" Gina said. "Various other motherly platitudes that I'm supposed to tell you about now."

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to tell me to go to school," Naomi pointed out.

Gina shrugged. "Yes, well, since when have I ever done anything I'm supposed to?"

"Touché." Naomi leaned forward quickly and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Thanks for this, mum. For not making a big deal out of it I mean."

"Oh, I'm making a big deal out of it," Gina teased lightly. "You better be bringing this Emily home with you soon. I want to meet this person who has turned my daughter into an actual human being."

"And now you've ruined the moment," Naomi sighed. "Bye."

"I'm serious about you bringing her home, Naomi!"

"Goodbye." She shut the door firmly behind her and let the cold wind wipe away her blush on the way back to the park.

If she wasn't skipping on the way back to the park it was mostly due to her iron self-control. Naomi Campbell does not, on principle, skip happily. She does on occasion, however, have an extra bounce in her step that may or may not be directly related to a tiny, cute little redhead that she could just see lounging on a park bench near the spot that they'd vacated less than an hour ago.

Fucking Emily Fitch, she thought incredulously, and ignored the dirty little devil that had reappeared suddenly in the back of her brain and added, yes you'd like to be, wouldn't you?

"Fancy meeting you here," she said lightly as she walked up to her. Emily looked scrumptious, with her jeans and her long-sleeved green shirt and her leather jacket. Naomi decided right then and there that she'd made the right choice. A dose of Emily Fitch was exactly what she needed today.

"Isn't it a wonderful coincidence?" Emily replied in the same tone. She hopped up and casually grabbed Naomi's hand, intertwining their fingers together as she led them away from the park and towards the bus stop.

"So," Naomi said. "You said you had a cure for stressed blondes who worry too much about school and friends and attackers."

"I do." Emily looked back over her shoulder and grinned proudly just as they reached the bus stop. "You and I, Naomi Campbell, are going on a date."

Naomi blinked. "We are?"

"We are."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

Very slowly a smile spread across Naomi's face, until it was matching the grin Emily was shooting at her.

Oh yes. Definitely the right decision.

A/n: Oh Emily Fitch. You make everything better.

I always wonder, when I write these chapters, did you catch any of the important bits? I know some of you do because you mention it in your REVIEWS (was that too obvious? I'm begging too obviously now.) Anyway I've learned my lesson about promising when the next chapter will be up. Suffice to say if its really long again you'll get another long chapter for putting up with me!

~FS