A/N: Well, I would've liked to do more than one chapter today but there's been a million and one interruptions, I aim to update soon though I'm out tomorrow so I'm hoping to have another chapter done by the end of the week before the books I need for my coursework arrive. Also, I decided that I needed to edit chapters before adding them to the story since it's always easier to read when the story is neatly layed out, hope it looks good and works for you.
Huge thanks to Shadow Apparation for the reviews on each chapter, they really make me smile and push me to keep going.
I haven't forgotten the band, so if anyone's thinking about that please don't think I've forgotten, I'll be getting back to it as soon as I find a point that fits in with my other plans for the gang.
Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned Skins I'd be spending all my time watching Kat and Lily rehearse, not writing through the night when I get a dozen ideas at once.

Effy

"We didn't see you and Naomi this morning." I informed Emily when she appeared at the door to the student lounge, she gave me a sarcastic smile and sat down next to me.
"Have you seen her today?"
"Nope, neither of them," I responded, unsure of whether she meant Naomi or her sister.
She nodded and looked thoughtful, "me and Naomi were late this morning, I didn't have time to go home before coming in so I had to put my clothes from last night back on as you can see. I feel bad for making her late, she wouldn't have forgotten to set her alarm if I wasn't there."
I shook my head at her and pulled her into a hug. "She cares about you Em, trust me, I'm sure she doesn't mind being a bit late on your behalf." I whispered into her ear as the younger Fitch clung to me.
"Eff, what about Katie? You know what she's like," she whimpered as she pulled away.
"I know," I said, gently wiping a tear off her cheek with my sleeve, "it'll be okay. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, we'll get through this." I pulled her into another hug as more tears slid down her face.

I looked up to see Katie staring at us from the doorway and squeezed Emily, keeping her from turning to see her upset looking twin glaring at us, I gave Katie a look of warning and she scoffed at me before turning and strutting away. At least she was still listening to me, I would be able to keep her from ripping a chunk out of Emily when the almost guaranteed fight came around.

When lunch time came, I left Emily with Pandora and Thomas in the student lounge while I went to search for Katie, taking a small detour on the way to the food court, turning into one of the music rooms.
"Naomi, great, you're here." The blonde looked up from what I assumed to be coursework and smiled at me.
"Yeah, I got your text. Are you sure Em will want me there when she talks to Katie? I hardly know her."
"You really came through for her last night, I see her relax when you're together. You two are fascinating, I've never seen anything like this before, you may not know each other that well but she'll need support and I need to support Katie. She's not as tough as you think and she just doesn't understand why Emily likes girls, their mother has always been homophobic and they've both been told that they can't be gay time and time again. Katie doesn't have any trouble with that since she's boy crazy but our Em isn't like her twin and guys simply don't work for her. I've always known Emily wasn't like Katie, the three of us have been best mates since we were four years old, deep down I know Katie knew too but she would never let anything happen with Em and a girl, instead she did her best to make Emily like her clone."
"Then why is Katie so mad at Emily if she knew?" Naomi frowned.
"I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure she's scared of their mum's reaction, and having a gay twin will make people question her own sexuality." Naomi nodded and put her coursework in her bag before standing up.
"Well then, I supposed I'd better go find Em so I know when I need to make sure I'm close by for the confrontation. She's in the hall with everyone like normal right?"
"Nope, she's avoiding Katie so I left her in the lounge with Panda and Thomas, I'm going to find Katie and calm her down as much as I can before she sees Emily."
"Ah, good luck, if anyone can it's gotta be you." She said with a smile before she disappeared into the corridor. Now for Katie.

Emily

I took my shoes off and curled up on the student couch and sighed, Panda and Thomas had just left me in favour of food so I was making the most of being alone and sleeping seemed like a good use of time.
"Em?"
Naomi. I sat up and smiled at her, thankful for her arrival.
"Hi, I was just thinking of having a nap since I've lost my appetite and can't risk bumping into Katie just yet," I mumbled, "what brings you here?"
She smiled and came closer, sitting next to me on the arm of the couch.
"Just thought I'd come see you since that's what friends do," she smiled at me and put her bag on the floor, "you alright?"
I looked up at her and nodded, "yeah, I'm just nervous for when I talk to Katie."
Naomi stood up and moved to sit next to me on the same level, then put her arm around me and pulled me into a hug.

"It'll be okay, you've got Effy and you've got me." She told me, still hugging me. I wrapped my arms around her and relaxed into the hug, believing every word she said.

When I pulled away, Effy was sat on the table about a metre away from us, a serious look on her face.
"Katie won't talk to me, she took one look at me and bolted."
My heart sank, no matter how bad Katie's mood was Effy could always talk to her and get a response. I stood up and shot Naomi an apologetic smile before running out of the room, if Katie had disappeared to be alone I knew exactly where she would be.

I stopped running when I was three blocks away from Roundview and at the end of the road that lead to our dad's gym. When Katie and I were kids we used to hide when our dad tried to get us working out, the small wood behind the gym was a perfect hiding place as one of the tallest trees was climbable from half way up, thankfully there was an easily climbed pine tree right next to it, and there was an old wooden platform at least three quarters of the way up where we would sit and talk for hours, even though we had grown up we still went there if we needed to be alone.

I jogged towards the gym and down the side, popping out at the back and at the edge of our wood. I took a deep breath and made my way through the undergrowth, careful not to get tangled up like I used to when the bushes came up to my waist.

As I got closer to the tree I could hear the faint sound of Katie singing above me, it would take me at least five minutes to get all the way to the platform and I mentally thanked our dad for giving us good upper body strength as a result of the naughty bar. I pushed my way past the prickly branches of the pine tree so I could climb next to the trunk where the branches were stronger, I hoisted myself up and weaved my way up the tree until I reached a point where a branch from our tree stuck between the pine branches and I was able to jump across, gripping the trunk of the tree as I landed, before jumping carefully from branch to branch, pulling myself upwards when I could, getting nearer to Katie. I could make out what she was saying when I was about five metres away from the platform, she must've had her iPod with her since she didn't hear when a giggle escaped my mouth, music was always Katie's way of escaping from the world.
"What makes you so special? What makes you so special? I'm gonna leave you, I'm gonna teach you, how we're all alone, how we're all alone. Guild me, build me, it's your club so let me in, knowing how heart warming it is inside your skin. My head's in heaven, my soles are in hell.."

I took a moment to prepare myself for an argument when I reached the platform and she jumped when I peeped over the edge and came face to face with her. I hooked my fingers over the edge and pulled myself onto the platform, putting one leg on the edge to lever the rest of my body up to safety. Katie grabbed my arms and pulled me the rest of the way before bursting into tears. I pulled her into a Fitch hug, surprised at her reaction to me following her. She pulled away and pawed at her cheeks, rubbing away a few tears. I leant forward and wiped an eyeliner smudge from the edge of her eye with my thumb.
"Katie, I'm sorry, I-"
"No, I'm sorry. I've always pushed you into being with guys even when I could see you weren't happy with it. I just, I, mum always told us, and I, I was scared of, I didn't want, I couldn't lose you. You're my twin, I need you, she hasn't spoken to Aunt Tracey for four years because she's, I couldn't let you be, I couldn't let you get chucked out. I never, I didn't meant to get mad.."
We were both in tears when she finished so I took her hand and held it tightly.
"You won't lose me, I'm not going anywhere, but I can't fix this. We can't keep it from mum. I don't know what she'll do but I'll never leave you, I promise."

A/N: Any thoughts? Please let me know! I'm guessing you'll have been expecting a fight but I wanted to show that Katie is mature enough to think about things, and I really enjoyed bringing out her more vulnerable side that makes her so loveable.

Chapter Title – Without You by Three Days Grace
Katie's Song – W.A.M.S by Fall Out Boy