"Mum, where've you put my straighteners? They were in my room this morning!" Naomi hollered down the stairs as she held her bath towel in place with one hand and used her other to keep the towel wrapped around her head in place.
"Well then they'll be in your room dear-"
"They're not there!" Naomi snapped back like an irate child who had just been told the word 'no' for the first time. "You must have moved them!"

Gina's head popped around the bottom of the banister with a bemused expression. "Does it look like I've used you straighteners sweetie?" The older woman's hair was frizzed up and sticking up at odd angles. There was flour on her cheeks and she wore a less than fetching 'kiss the cook' apron. She hardly looked like she was getting dressed up for a night out. "Maybe the spirits moved them?" Gina's expression was deadly serious, though her eyes were full of amusement as she teased her stroppy daughter.

"Eugh! Forget it!" Naomi glared back at her before trudging in to her room and slamming the door behind her. Emily lay on her bed watching her with a bemused smile.
"Are you always this moody when you're getting ready for a date?"
"It's not a fucking date!" The blonde snapped as she started towelling her hair dry. "More like a death sentence. I swear if Sophia's lying about knowing something about you I'll fucking kill her!"
"So she can stalk you after death too?" Emily smirked as Naomi cracked a smile and shook her head at her.
"One ghost stalking me is quite enough." The blonde quipped back. "So what are you doing to entertain yourself tonight then? Hanging around with mum, or checking on Katie?"

"I'm coming with you!" Emily objected, seemingly a bit shocked that the blonde had thought otherwise.
"No chance." Naomi snorted, shaking her head for added emphasis. "This is going to be hard enough without a running commentary from you!"
"What if she tries to spike your drink? Or she drags you done some dark alley to have her wicked way? Hmm? You need backup!"
"She's a teenage girl Emily, not Jack the Ripper. And 'wicked way'? What are you fifty?"

The younger girl huffed at her as she crossed her arms over her chest and sulked. "I'm just trying to look out for you." Naomi sighed as she started applying her mascara, she was making an effort to get Sophia to talk, but she didn't want to overdo it in case the other girl took it the wrong way. She knew Emily was trying to protect her, but there was also a hint of jealousy in her tone. They sat in an awkward silence for few minutes as Naomi applied her makeup. Finally, before plugging her hairdryer in to finish her hair, she turned to the sulking girl and cracked a small smile. "If you think I'm bad before a date you should see me on one. Total bitch." She teased, trying to coax Emily out of her huff.
"I'd have loved to see you on a date." Emily replied in a quiet far away voice, as though her thoughts were on all the dates and nights out she would never get to have now she was dead.

"Where would we go?" Naomi asked, struggling to keep her own voice from breaking. "On our date?" Emily looked like she would rather be anywhere else but having that conversation with her, but she answered anyway. Taking a few moments to think about it she finally managed a small lopsided smile.
"I'd take you to my favourite place. It's by this lake in the woods. I'd take a picnic and we'd drink and talk till our throats were numb. Then we'd lie on a blanket under the stars and you'd complain how shit it was." Emily let out a small giggle as Naomi nodded in agreement.
"I'd have just taken you to a bar or something." Naomi forced herself to smile at the other girl, even though inside she felt like she was breaking. "See, I'm a shit date. You had a lucky escape Fitch."
"It would still be the best night of my life." Emily argued, being a little more forthright with her attraction to the blonde. They had skirted around it since the morning before, but the little ghost seemed to be getting braver.

Naomi decided not to comment, not sure what she could really say back anyway. She set to work on her hair, turning her back on the redhead lying on her bed, her mind filled with a wonderful day by a lake in the forest that would never happen. She had missed her chance with Emily Fitch a long time ago. Instead she was stuck going on a non-date date with Sophia in the hopes of finding something out about Emily's death. God being a teenager sucked sometimes.

Once her hair and makeup was done Naomi took out some underwear from her drawer and slipped it on under the towel. Standing by her wardrobe she called out to Emily, who was still lying quietly on her bed, "No peeking perve."
"Don't flatter yourself love." Emily shot back, though Naomi could feel her eyes watching her as she dropped the towel to the ground. A smile crept over her lips. It felt nice to be wanted.

"So what do you think?" She asked after she'd finished getting dressed. She twirled on the spot to give Emily a good look. The other girl sat on the end of her bed, her brow furrowed as she scrutinized the blonde from head to toe. She wore a pair of form fitting skinny jeans with a blue blazer over a white printed tee. Her long blonde hair was straightened, after she'd finally found the offending straighteners under her bed, and she had just enough makeup on to still pull off a natural look. Her eyes were framed by dark kohl and were staring expectantly at Emily as she took her sweet time replying. She felt her stomach fluttering as Emily's eyes seemed to drink her in.
"Uhm, well…" Emily cleared the lump out of her throat. "Do you own baggy jeans, a thick jumper and some sort of hat?"

Naomi rolled her eyes, a pleasant smile on her face from Emily's response. The other girl's eyes were practically popping out of her head. How had Naomi never noticed her looking at her like that before? The little redhead looked at Naomi like she was some sort of goddess; and it made her feel nice. No, more than nice, she felt hot. "Sorry, my balaclava's in the wash." She smirked as she faffed with her hair in the mirror.
"For not being a date you're really making an effort." Emily remarked a little dryly.
"Trust me Ems, this isn't me making an effort."

She hadn't meant to sound quite so flirtatious, but thing just seemed to slip out of her mouth when Emily was about. It was like the other girl's presence instantly severed the connection between Naomi's brain and her mouth. "I wish I'd had the nerve to ask you out now." Emily said it as a joke, but there was an edge to her voice. A bitterness that she would never get the chance to go on a date with the girl standing in front of her.
"Me too." It was another instance of her mouth working before her brain and the blonde hid the slip with a shy smile. "I'll be back in a few hours to tell you how awful it was. No following."
"Maybe you should tell that to Sophia before you come home?" Emily teased, helping the awkwardness between them pass. "Have fun."

Naomi rolled her eyes at the cheeky spirit before slipping out of her room. After a quick word with her mother, a thinly veiled threat to keep an eye on Emily lest she go wandering, she left the house to face what would possibly be the most excruciating non-date of her life. She was meeting Sophia after cadets, probably so the other girl could show her off to her friends.

Naomi was a little early and when she turned up the cadets were still on parade in the front yard, all dressed in their camouflage gear and marching to the orders of the sergeant in front of them. Another older man in full dress uniform stood by the gate, watching them with an intense scrutiny. Naomi came to a stop beside him, not wanting to interrupt the proceedings. Sophia stood at the front, her expression serious and her eyes dead ahead on the drill sergeant. She wasn't a bad looking girl, though her army fatigues hardly showed off her figure as much as the jeans shorts she had been wearing the afternoon Naomi had first met her. They'd dated for a few weeks. At first she'd seemed nice. They shared a couple of classes and even a similar taste in music and books, though Naomi was a pacifist like her mother and did not believe in war. Sophia however had been just as passionate as her belief in the army and they'd had many the drawn out argument about it. It had been refreshing to meet someone so passionate about something for a change and they'd had enough in common to keep Naomi interested long enough to sleep with her.

After that night the other girl had changed though. She'd become possessive and jealous, continuously insisting Naomi was her girlfriend, despite the fact that the blonde didn't remember them ever having that particular discussion about their relationship. She's called it off after Sophia had gotten too intense, going as far as threatening Cook to stay away from her. The stalking had started shortly after and Naomi had done her best to avoid the other girl all together. Yet there she was, throwing herself in to the lion's den.

"Why aren't you in uniform cadet?" The sergeant glared down at her with a curled lip like she was something he'd just stepped in. "It's bad enough we have to take you girls on without you dressing like beatniks!"
"I'm not a cadet. I'm waiting for someone." Naomi snapped back, glaring back at him just as sternly. The officer sneered at her and returned his attention to the cadets as they were dismissed. Sophia spotted Naomi standing by the gate and walked straight over to her the, there was a confident swagger in her hips, and a satisfied smirk on her lips, as though she had already won whatever game she was playing.

She stood to attention in front of the officer and saluted him. He nodded at her before dismissing the two girls and striding off, following the cadets inside.
"Sexist prick." Naomi muttered as soon as he was out of earshot.
"He's a nice guy." Sophia remarked. "Just from a different time Naoms." They both watched as the officer walked through the solid brick of the building the cadets had just rushed in to.
"Don't call me that." The blonde grumbled, irked by the pet name coming from Sophia's lips.
"He survived both world wars you know? Had a heart attack here at the base in the middle of training." The other girl carried on as though Naomi hadn't said anything. "Poor old thing still thinks he's running the place."

One of the attractions of Sophia had been the fact that she could see the lingering spirits of the world too. She wasn't particularly 'gifted', as far as Naomi knew she could only move things with her mind, which was pretty basic compared to what some of the psychics Naomi had encountered could do. Sophia certainly couldn't read minds or pick up on a person's emotional state. If she could have she would have known how much Naomi didn't want to be anywhere near her.
"I'm not here to talk about ghosts." She finally lost her patience as Sophia started talking about the other wanderings spirits on the base.
"Oh?" Sophia asked, that little smirk of hers never wavering. "And here I thought you were here to talk about Emily. I suppose you haven't told her I can see her too?"
"I don't want you anywhere near her!" Naomi growled out, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be keeping the other girl on side. Sophia's smile didn't waver.
"She doesn't remember Friday night does she?"
"And how do you know that?" Naomi's eyes narrowed as she stared down the other girl.

"Because you wouldn't be here talking to me if she did." Sophia replied flippantly. "So why don't you wait here while I get a shower a change of clothes? Then we can talk about Emily."
"You better have some worthwhile information Sophia, or I fucking swear…" She trailed off as Sophia held up her hands in mock surrender.
"Trust me; you're going to want to hear what I have to say."

She flounced off in to the building the other cadets had gone in, leaving Naomi to wait outside for her. Twenty minutes later she emerged wearing jeans and plaid shirt under her leather jacket. Her hair was still damp and beginning to curl as it was held up in a ponytail. She went to take Naomi's hand but the blonde jerked it away. "So, where are we going?" She tried not to curl her lip at the thought of going anywhere with the other girl.
"There's a pub just around the corner."

The pub was quite quiet for a Thursday night and they managed to get a table at the back. Naomi slipped off her coat and settled herself at the table as Sophia went to the bar, insisting she would get the drinks in. She returned with two large glasses of red wine and sat one in front of Naomi. Emily's words of warning about spiked drinks were ringing in her ears and she examined it closely before taking a sip. "What do you know about Emily?" Naomi didn't beat about the bush. She wanted to be home as quick as she could. Sophia however had every intention of stringing things out.
"Lots of things. I know she's a twin, she has red hair, Effy Stonem is her fake girlfriend-"
"About Emily's death." Naomi corrected in a harsh whisper, mindful of the people sitting around them.

"Oh, that. Well I know she left the club to come tell you about her little crush." The other girl smirked as she watched Naomi squirm uncomfortably. "I heard her on the phone to Cook outside the club. She said she was going to tell you how she felt. She fancied you you know? I see a lot of things at college. Just like I saw the way that Effy and Katie look at each other when they think no one's looking. I saw the way Emily used to look at you, she didn't have to hide it, she knew you'd never see her anyway."
"That's not true!" Naomi hissed, though she knew it was. She didn't need someone like Sophia throwing it in her face. The other girl chuckled as though the blonde had just told a funny joke.
"You never noticed her Naomi. It was quite pathetic really…I told her that. She didn't like what I had to say though. She ran off crying."

"What did you say her?" Naomi growled, her voice rising higher the more Sophia spoke. Had Emily run off after an argument with Sophia and ended up falling in to the canal? Or worse throwing herself in to it? No. Naomi shook those kind of thoughts from her head. Emily was not the suicidal type. She wouldn't just throw her life away over Naomi not liking her back. Sophia had been the last one to see her. She had to have said or done something. She was involved somehow, Naomi just knew it.
"I told her you were my girlfriend. And that you'd never be interested in a slut like her-" Sophia paused as her wine glass exploded in front of her, sending shards of glass spraying out all over. Luckily she managed to guide the glass harmlessly to the floor before it could harm anyone. "Careful Naomi, anyone would think you were losing control. I could help you with that you know? You just need some stress relief…" One of her feet had slipped out of her trainer and was rubbing up and down Naomi's leg. The blonde felt her anger bubbling over again as her own glass began shaking on the table. Sophia reached over to take her hand, but Naomi knocked her hand away from her and got to her feet. She was shaking herself as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. If she lost control with Sophia she would probably bring the whole pub down with her.
"You had no right to say that to her, you manipulative bitch! If I find out you had anything to do with her death I swear I'll kill you myself!" She glared at the other girl before storming out of the pub.

She was still raging when she got home. After kicking her boots off at the door she went in to the living room to find her mother and vent some of her anger. Instead of her mother she found Emily lying on the sofa watching television. She was glaring at the remote that she couldn't touch as though she could change the channel by sheer will power alone. Naomi swiped it from the arm of the chair and switched from whatever had been on to an old horror movie. She left it on, quite happy to deal with make believe creatures of the night. "Where's mum?" She quizzed the other girl as she pulled off her blazer and slung it on the back of the sofa. Her white T-shirt was covered in spatters of red wine from the incident with Sophia's exploding glass.

"She went to bed not long after you left. Something about not wanting to be up when you came in bitching about how shit it was?"
"Lovely." Naomi remarked dryly. "Well it was shit and I need someone to bitch to." She told Emily more or less what had happened, omitting the small detail of Sophia being a psychic too. When she finished Emily was scowling.
"What a bitch! I think I remember arguing with someone…it's still a bit fuzzy though." She rubbed at her eyes as though it would clear the fog in her head.
"If you could remember anything soon that would be real helpful." The blonde muttered bitterly. "Because I am not going though that ordeal ever again!"
"It's not like I'm not trying!" Emily huffed. With her arms folded and her lower lip jutting out in a pout she looked more cute than angry. Naomi found herself chuckling at her. "What?" She snapped,that cute little pout just getting bigger.
"Nothing." Naomi shook her head as she lost her smile. She'd really missed out. It seemed the whole world had known Emily liked her before she did. "I'm tired, thanks for listening to me rant, but I need to get to bed. We can start fresh in the morning, and I'll let Blunt know about Sophia arguing with you. Maybe she can arrest her for something."
"I don't think you can arrest someone for being a bitch."
"I hope not. I'd be serving a life sentence." Naomi laughed as she got to her feet. "Look, if you get sick of hanging out in my mum's head…you're welcome in mine, ok?"
"Ok." Emily nodded, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "Maybe not tonight though, I don't want to be in your nightmares with Sophia. The real thing is bad enough."

Naomi chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Well the offer's there. Goodnight Ems."
"Goodnight Naomi."

Two updates in two days, not bad for me! I did have three days off work…haven't got another one this week though and I need to work on finishing Stockholm, so the next update may take a little longer! Once again thanks to everyone's who reading and for all the great reviews!