A/N: Reviewers you are awesome and now immunized against swine flu because I love you so much. Here's the next instalment; things are starting to come to a head so for all you sticking with me, hope you enjoy a bit of drama. I know I do!
Any thoughts, likes, dislikes- would love to hear them.
PURGE
By HeligenaGirl
They spotted Emily almost immediately. She cut a distracting figure, sat alone on a stool at the bar, her back to them. Unlike everyone else in there she was dressed mostly in blacks and greys; a dark spot amongst the tacky carousel of colours and movement on the dance floor. Not so obvious that anyone might take offence but different enough that she had apparently created an unconscious exclusion zone around her. A foot of space that even the jostling, brassy crowd of teenagers at the bar kept away from.
"What do you think?" Katie whispered.
Naomi stared at Emily's slightly hunched back, "I lost the ability to think about thirty seconds ago."
"If we both go over there, she's gonna think we're tag-teaming her." The twin caught Naomi's eye. "And not in a good way."
Trouble was, she was right. The blonde was a little surprised at the red-haired girl's foresight but she urged her muscles not to show it.
They watched as Emily's bag slipped a little off her right shoulder, as if it were weighed down and she dragged the leather strap back onto her shoulder; sheltered, safe, in its rightful place.
Maybe she keeps all her secrets in it. The notion burst into Naomi's mind before she had time to conjure it up. Maybe that's why we can't get to them.
Emily's red hair was pushed back behind her ears, the way she tidied it when she woke up in the mornings and couldn't find a hair band. It'd been so long since she'd seen that.
Christ. Naomi almost wished she hadn't been joking about losing the ability to form thoughts.
"Please don't space out on me now."
She heard the quiet plea come from beside her. Katie. Guilt surged through her spine and she used all her energy to bring herself back to reality, back to the scene in front of them.
Naomi took a hard breath.
"Look, you should go...she probably has more to say to...about...you know..."
She didn't know why, the words just wouldn't come out. It was a true statement and she knew exactly what she meant to say, yet somehow she hadn't expected the flash of selfish pain and stupid betrayal that came with it. All she wanted to do was walk over there and make sure Ems was all right.
She had a sudden blinding image of Emily turning around to show them that she'd sewn her mouth up tight and her flesh crawled at the idea.
Naomi tried again. "I mean...she'll want to..."
Want to what though? Explain. Apologize? Her voice seemed to have come unstuck, everything she wanted to say sat on her tongue with short stubby limbs. And while she was searching for the words she completely forgot herself; couldn't help staring at Katie's bruises in the broken flashes of light. Purple one second and golden the next.
Everything seemed so unreal and fantastical it was hard to keep focused. Every few seconds the disco balls above shattered the lights into blinding shards and every time it felt as if they were catching on her skin.
"If it was me, I think I'd want to build up to the whole 'sorry I fucked you up' conversation." Said Katie.
"Would that be just a guess on your part?"
Fuck. Naomi mentally kicked herself.
There was a flash of something in Katie's eyes; a second where she looked stung but she recovered her momentum almost immediately. "Something like that."
"So you think I should..." said Naomi.
"Yeah. " Katie blinked. "I'll just go check out the smoking garden for a bit shall I?"
Naomi looked down at her and got the strangest impression the usually domineering twin was asking her for some kind of permission. Disconcerting as it was, Naomi nodded uncertainly and gave her a small grateful smile.
She watched as Katie seemed to take whatever it was she was after and started walking off into the clot of people on the dance floor.
"Hey."
She heard Katie's voice over the din and turned back.
"Doesn't make me a coward, though."
".... No, it doesn't." She shouted back.
Then the redhead was gone, obscured by a mass of revellers.
Naomi took a deep breath, herding the butterflies in her stomach and headed to the bar.
"So...How much flesh do I have to show to get you stop staring into that shot glass?"
Emily barely turned but it was obvious from her posture that she'd realised Naomi was standing next to her.
"Do you know what one of the worst parts was?" Emily blankly ran her fingertip around the rim of the small glass. "I couldn't see you; all I could get was glimpses in the rear-view mirror. You didn't look right. It was like your reflection was broken or something, the bits didn't fit quite right."
The crowd behind them chanted as the DJ turned up the speakers.
But Emily was strangely calm; calmer than the blonde girl had seen her in weeks. Subdued almost, despite the thumping heartbeat of the track that splintered through the wooden floor.
"How many of those have you had?"
The butterflies coalesced in her chest.
Emily breathed in quietly. "None actually." She pushed the tumbler an inch away from her with her fingertip. "Don't know whose glass this is. Could be one of a hundred peoples...and now I guess I have their germs"
It should have reassured Naomi that Emily wasn't drinking, the idea had been playing on her mind the whole way there but the new, vacant expression on the girl's face was sending giggling waves of worry through her system.
"Em have you taken something?"
"Just...I took a few of those pills the doctor gave me."
Naomi frowned, "I figured those were mostly placebos."
"Yeah, apparently not." The redhead pursed her lips. "Score one for the NHS."
She's talking. It's what you wanted isn't it.
Naomi knew she should be glad, just go with her girlfriend's newfound talkativeness whatever the reason. The butterflies were forming patterns in her lungs but she ignored them and did her best to marshal herself.
"It was probably just the light."
Emily glanced over, confusion on her face.
"The reflection. Probably just the light."
A sliver of purple illumination washed over them.
Emily nodded distractedly. "Yeah. Probably." She grimaced for a second. "Except..."
"Except?" asked Naomi softly, leaning against the bar.
Emily's face sank.
"Except, when I looked in the bathroom mirror the morning after, my face, it was just like that." She stroked the edge of a wet patch on the dark wood. "Do you think reflections show us things we shouldn't see..."
Naomi felt her chest constricting at the raw pain in Emily's face. Doused in the jerking lights of the club, her face only seemed comfortable, less drawn when the odd wave of shadow fell from the disco ball and the thought sliced right through her.
Reaching her hand out, she let it rest gently on the back of the redhead's neck.
The smaller girl stiffened, "I'm sorry; I know we came here to get over all this. I should be shutting up right about now."
"Don't be sorry for telling me how you feel. Ever." It came out more aggressively than she'd planned. And Naomi was disgusted that she couldn't disguise the plaintive note in her own voice. Somewhat fortunately though the hypnotic drumbeat vibrating through the air shattered the sound into pieces as soon as it was out.
Naomi smiled weakly, "Anywhere, anytime. Thems the rules, right."
"I love you so much," the smaller girl whispered sorrowfully, gazing at the glass. "I have all these stupid things elbowing each other inside my head, it's hard to keep track."
But before the blonde could respond, could reassure her that she was on the right path Emily suddenly swung herself round to face her girlfriend with a new intensity. Her eyes burned into blue.
"I don't...what I mean is...when did I become the Gingerbread house?"
"Huh?" Naomi shook her head with confusion and the redhead dropped her eyes again.
"This whole mess. When he...I couldn't quite work out how...the trail of breadcrumbs, somehow you followed it. You found me." There was a sense of wonder in her tone that leant her an old innocence; one that was so achingly familiar to her girlfriend but then her face fell, dispelling the illusion. "You shouldn't have put yourself at risk."
"But you're so sweet and nutritious," smiled the blonde.
"Naomi..."
"Em," Naomi brushed her fingers against her soft face, unable to remain dispassionate observer anymore. "When have I ever not done the things I shouldn't. If the window hadn't smashed, I would have kicked the door in. And if the door was solid I would have...fucking...rappelled down the ventilation system from the roof. That's just the way it is."
She couldn't quite bring herself to believe that Emily didn't know that already but she angled the girls face upwards with her palm so that she could see the truth in her eyes.
"I keep having these dreams. You're lying there instead of me and your hair..." Emily, almost mesmerized touched the tips of the blonde fringe in front of her. "...it was the first thing that caught. And then your skin. I couldn't stand it."
She shrugged, her grey cardigan rubbing against Naomi's fingers. "I had to know what that would have felt like."
Naomi suddenly remembered the burn mark on Emily's palm and was hit with the realisation that she'd gotten it trying to pat out a flame that she'd started on a clump of hair. Trying to inject the real world, real pain into the awful fears in her head.
She couldn't hold back any longer. It was too hard. Naomi leant over and pulled Emily into a hug, completely enveloping her in her arms. So she could feel her skin against hers, see that it was unblemished. Unharmed.
"You don't have to be afraid, Ems." She murmured. "You don't need to prove anything."
God Naomi hoped that was true.
For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to just feel Emily's body in her arms. It felt incredible. Warm and familiar; almost more than she could bear.
"So, does this make you Hansel or Gretel?" came a muffled voice from beneath her hair.
Naomi held back her first real grin, "Well I do look exceptionally sexy in lederhosen. It's been remarked on in highbrow circles."
"I don't doubt it." Emily chuckled a little against her neck and the taller girl found to her surprise that it felt just as amazing to laugh again. To be stupid and trivial. She hadn't even noticed how much she'd missed such ridiculously inconsequential things.
"Maybe I could show you when we get home."
Emily pulled back a little and couldn't help giggling as the blonde hitched her skirt up and pretended to pull on a pair of invisible braces.
"Such promises." Emily murmured, staring at her.
Out of nowhere, the piercing blue eyes of her companion lit up with something that looked a lot like bravery.
"Well, since we're indulging our inner pervertedness...would you dance with me?"
Naomi stood up straight and held her hand out, trying to cover her nervousness with a crooked smile.
She didn't know why it was so important but she had the feeling that if Emily turned her down, everything they'd just said would have been next to worthless.
And she froze as Emily hesitated for a second.
But then to the blonde's all encompassing relief she slipped her hand inside the waiting one.
"Come on then. Jesus would want us to dance."
They left the bar behind. Making their way onto the dance floor, amidst the juddering chaos, it occurred to Naomi that Ems hadn't asked once about Katie but she instinctively put the thought to the back of her mind as Emily started swaying to the beat. A little stiffly at first but then freely, appreciatively.
Dancing alongside, Naomi watched her for a moment, breathlessly, and if she was being honest, a little hopefully as the track merged into another and they were pushed together. Moving close to each other, they placed their arms on each others shoulders and danced, finally enjoying the semblance of closeness they'd found in the middle of a shambling bunch of strangers.
Strange how these things work.
Emily looked up for a second and caught Naomi watching her and the blush when she realised she was busted. The twin smiled at her then, a full smile.
An old smile.
Comfortable.
In fact, Naomi was just about to reach over and stroke her beautiful face when she heard a cold, bitter voice ring out behind them, loud enough to weigh over the music.
"Which one of you two killed my brother?"
With a sinking sensation, everything moving in slow motion, she watched as Emily pushed forward, barely breaking her smile as she tried to get a better view of the voice's owner.
Naomi's jaw physically dropped as Emily warmly held out her hand to the speaker.
"That was me, sorry about that. Can I buy you a drink?"
A/N: Review and I'll cook you a stew...