A/N: Please give me love. XD I'm going to write regardless of how many reviews I get, but I'd really appreciate hearing what you guys think. It does give me the motivation to keep on going.


Emily was sleeping peacefully beside her, but it was eluding Naomi once again. Partly it was her inexperience with the technique Emily used, and partly because she wanted to know more about the brunette's life and, partly it was because she was pretty sure they were going to kiss before Cook shouted, but either way she could safely say that Emily was the reason she couldn't sleep. She sighed softly, not wanting to disturb Emily from her trance, and abandoned her attempts at sleep to join the others downstairs. Freddie was sat at the kitchen table with an unlit spliff in his mouth, deft fingers in the process of rolling another. He looked up when he heard her footsteps and grinned at her.

"What's the point of that then?" she asked. Freddie shrugged.

"Nice to have some fun after a feed," he replied. "Do you want me to roll you one for later?" Naomi sat in one of the empty chairs with a sigh.

"Why the fuck not?" Freddie smiled at her again. "Freddie?" she asked after he finished rolling the joint and had set it gently to the side.

"Hm?"

"Is Cook Emily's sire, too?" Freddie paused measuring his spliff to look at her again.

"The twins are touchy about stuff like that, yeah, especially Emily. You'd be better off asking her yourself. She seems to like you enough."

"I think she just feels responsible for me," Naomi said before she could stop herself. Freddie laughed softly.

"If Emily didn't like you, you'd know. She's as obvious as Katie is in that regard." Naomi rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm, chewing on her lip as she watched Freddie work. "Smells great, doesn't it?" Freddie asked, setting another joint to the side.

"Yeah, much better than the shit I usually get." Freddie chuckled.

"Yeah, well, when you've been around as long as I have you learn where to get the good skunk."

"Are we having a party tonight?" came Emily's husky voice from behind Naomi. The blonde could hear the smile in her tone.

"Nah, just getting some spliffs ready. Effy wants to go clubbing." Emily sat across the table and snagged one of the joints Freddie had set aside, tucking it behind her ear.

"Who's going to watch Naomi?" the brunette asked, casting her a sideways glance. "She can't come out with us, not if we're all going to be getting pissed."

"I'll be fine here on my own," Naomi butted in. Although I'd really like to get drunk. Emily glared at her.

"No, not with the hunters around. And you're still too young to be left alone." Naomi matched Emily's glare with one of her own. "Freddie, will you stay here and watch her?"

"What?" the lanky boy said, the spliff he'd been holding in his mouth dropping to the table. "Come on, Ems, I haven't been out in fucking ages."

"Well you know Cook isn't fucking going to. Where is he anyway? He should be here making sure she doesn't climb out a window and burn to death." As if on cue the front door opened and Cook walked in carrying a large cooler with Effy behind him. Emily stood and followed him down to the basement. After a few seconds Naomi could hear yelling.

"Why're you getting on my fucking dick about it, Emily? She's a big girl, she can fucking look after herself yeah? You can't deny me going out and having fun just 'cos we've got a newbie to deal with."

"We do not have a newbie to deal with, Cook. She's your responsibility. You're her fucking sire!"

"And I'm going to look after her, yeah?"

"Like you fucking looked after Katie?" She shared a glance with Freddie, who looked as uncomfortable as she felt, and even Effy looked slightly bothered. They wisely kept their mouths shut as Emily stormed up the stairs and out of the house. The sound of Cook kicking something repeatedly echoed out the open door to the basement.

"I hope that wasn't the wall," Effy mused. Cook stomped up a few seconds later, slamming the door to the lounge so hard that he almost broke it.

"Where's Emily going?" Naomi asked. Effy shrugged and pushed off the wall she was leaning against.

"Home, probably." Freddie sighed and shook his head, then went back to rolling his joints. Effy sat in the seat Emily had vacated at the table and magically procured a fancy looking cigarette tin from somewhere inside her shirt, lighting the last one up. She pushed the empty tin towards Freddie, who immediately transferred the joints into it. Naomi pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands and pillowed her head on her arms.

Under normal circumstances she probably would have drifted off, but instead she sat at the table until her back began to ache listening to the noises around her.

"When's Karen coming home?" Effy asked.

"Dunno," Freddie replied. "Whenever she likes, I suppose. You know how she is, living it up. I think she's in Vegas now." Something panged in Naomi's chest. She missed her mum, and her home, and her bed. Cook must have sorted something or else there would have been clear signs of her frantic searching. A phone bleeped from Effy's direction. She wanted her mobile, too. She knew Cook had it, he had to. She sighed loudly and lifted her head up slightly, looking bleary eyed at Effy. The brunette offered her a small smile and leaned across to stroke her hair softly for a second. The gesture was so un-Effy like, even though Naomi hardly knew her, that it took her by surprise. But then the moment passed and Effy went back to helping Freddie sort the bag of weed on the table.

"Who was that?" Naomi asked. Effy glanced at her.

"Emily," she said.

"Is she okay?"

"Home safe and sound. Still pissed off at Cook, though."

"What'd she mean when she said that thing about him looking after Katie?"

"That's the twins' place to tell you if they want, not mine." Always left out of the bloody loop. Naomi huffed and left them to it, seeking out Cook. He was watching footie again, stretched out on the couch.

"Alright, Blondie?" he asked when he saw her, smiling. Naomi shrugged and sat next to him. He slung his arm over her shoulder and Naomi found herself leaning willingly against his side. Despite her bouts of annoyance with him, she still felt a bond. She wondered briefly if they ever could have been friends. Proper friends. If any of them could have been.

"Are you lot actually going to leave me all alone here while you go clubbing?" she asked.

"No, I'll take you out hunting then bring you back to Emily and Katie's and stay with you there until one of them comes home," he replied.

"Right. Thanks." He gave her a squeeze then moved his arm. Naomi sat up.

That night was much less eventful than the previous one, much to Naomi's relief. However, to her surprise, when Cook and her arrived at Emily and Katie's, Emily was sat in the kitchen reading.

"Would you look at that?" Cook exclaimed when he saw her. Emily gave them both a fleeting glance. "Our little bookworm all tucked up inside when she could be having a stellar night on the town with plenty of fit birds to ravage."

"Go away Cook. Go out and get pissed just like you always do. Would you kindly try not to kill anyone this time?" Emily snapped. All Cook did was laugh and hook his thumbs through his suspenders as he walked out.

"He says I'm getting better," Naomi said awkwardly, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the floor. Emily glanced up again.

"That's great, Naomi," she said with a small smile. She nudged out a chair with her foot, then returned to her book.

"What's that about?" Naomi asked as she sat down.

"Victorian lesbians. And before you ask, yes, I'm gay." Gay. Emily's gay. Emily likes girls. Emily likes to kiss girls. Emily almost kissed me. I almost kissed Emily. Fucking hell. "I can practically see the cogs in your brain turning. You alright?" Naomi nodded.

"Yeah, just... didn't peg you as a muff-muncher is all."

"Well I hardly do much 'muff-munching' nowadays," Emily replied with a somewhat coy grin on her lips. "Why d'you think I feed off mostly girls? They taste better. And smell better." Naomi chewed on her lip.

"Did I smell good to you?" she asked, cringing at how awkward it sounded. Emily levelled a penetrating stare at her. Naomi resisted the urge to physically shrink into her seat.

"Best thing I've smelled in my entire life," she answered completely seriously. Emily went back to her book, and Naomi watched her. Eventually, the brunette put the book down and poured herself a glass of blood. It looked almost like wine.

"So, how did you all end up together?" Naomi asked.

"Curious one, aren't you?" Emily teased.

"Well, I'm part of it now, aren't I?" Emily sat down.

"Effy's the oldest. Born in 1700 something," she began.

"Jesus," Naomi muttered.

"Freddie was her lover for a time. She turned him, and he ended up having to turn Karen by mistake. That's his sister, you haven't met her yet. She likes to travel. He served in both the World Wars, I think. I know he did the second one, because that's where he met Cook."

"What about you and Katie?" Naomi asked. Emily shrugged.

"Another time, maybe."

"Emily..." The brunette sighed.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" she asked, not looking at the blonde. Because I like you, Naomi's brain went. She immediately berated it.

"Because you're sort of a permanent part of my life now," she said instead. Emily shook her head.

"Tell me about you instead." Naomi bit her lip.

"Mum's a hippie. We've got five people living in our house right now. Or at least we did last time I was there. Someone's probably taken the telly from my room again."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen, why?"

"Me too," Emily replied. Naomi looked at her, confused. "I mean. I was nineteen when it happened."

"Oh. Right."

"Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"I'm taking a gap year. I planned on travelling to Cyprus. Guess that won't be happening anytime soon. Shouldn't you be in school? Keeping up appearances or something?"Emily's gaze grew distant.

"I want to," she said sadly. "But it's complicated."

"How?"

"We live in secrecy, Naomi. Uni would be too much of a risk."

"I think you should give it a go," Naomi told her. Emily smiled sadly at her, then picked up her book again.