A/N: I spent literally six hours last night writing the next chapter of TI... Don't get too excited, I averaged less than one paragraph per hour in that time, but it's near the end of the chapter... But didn't have the inspiration to finish it today.

I had this chapter in my head instead, so here it is. I know the last chapter was a major angst hit, which is great for those of you who like a bit of tension, but the rest of you are probably scratching your head thinking "what's going on, Nomesy?", and I will admit, reading back the first two chapters if this story, it has not gone how I envisioned it to begin with. I still have not written a plan for it, because I'm a procrastinating motherfucker.

Not absolutely everything I write is all smut and happiness, unfortunately. I think I proved that writing Dousing The Fire months ago when an amateurish TV writer decided to fuck us all over and break our hearts. Yes, I'm still bitter, and I think I always will be. Am I right? Can I get a 'hell yeah'?

Anyway... I guess what I want to say is, I know this fic has had more dark than light moments lately, and while this chapter is a little bit lighter, I cannot guarantee there will not be more darkness to come. Sometimes, I'm just...dark. Whatever.

Plus... In all honesty, the last chapter literally would not leave me alone until I wrote it.

Right, all that said, I'll just get on with it. Emily's still a mess... The rest...eh, just read it.

Disclaimer: I do not own skins. Or the characters. Anyone who says fan fiction is 'lazy' writing can go fuck themselves. If fan fiction can spawn crap like fifty shades of grey (not a comment on fic itself, but FSOG was really lousy. I swear if I read the line "oh my" and references to Ana's inner goddess ever again, it will be too soon. And I could probably write better smut in my sleep) , then it's not THAT bad, is it? Besides, there are several fics I've read which I would by no means EVER class as 'lazy' writing. We can cheer you up and rip your heart out just like the 'professionals' can... Any and all typos are a complete and utter fabrication of your imagination!

(Naomi POV)

There was something that just didn't sit right with me after Emily had left my bedroom. Something about the look in her eyes, filled with such pain and darkness. It gave me a feeling of fear in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't help it, I opened the door and went out after her, dashing through the flat and opening the front door. I ran down the steps and looked in every direction... but she was already gone.

I sighed to myself. "Jesus, Emily..."

I walked back up the front steps to find Effy leaning against the door. "She left quickly. Was it something you said?"

I looked at my best friend, shaking my head. "I wish I knew." I said, walking indoors. I went back into my room and picked up my mobile, searching my contacts for Emily's number, and calling it, crossing the room to sit on the sofa. It rang a few times, and then went straight to voicemail.

"Hi, you've reached Emily Fitch. I'm unable to come to the phone right now, so leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

I frowned, but left a message anyway. "Emily... It's Naomi. Listen, I'm worried about you, will you please call me as soon as you get this? I just want to talk to you. Bye."

"Not picking up?" Effy asked, sitting next to me on the sofa.

"No." I sighed. "Effy, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not happy. I don't know why... But I just feel like she is pushing me away."

"Maybe she doesn't like you?"

"No, she does... I mean, she's told me she does. But almost in the same breath, she tells me she's fucked up, and I should steer clear of her." I explained. "She's confusing me a bit, honestly."

"And you really like her." Effy said, in her matter-of-fact way.

I nodded. "Yeah, I do." I said, softly. "I just... I want to help her, if I can, but... I can't if she won't let me. And I don't think she wants to let me. She's just become so... Distant. Like she's angry at something, but instead of her raging about it, she's just in this deep, dark place, and I can't do anything about it."

"Have you tried talking to her about what she's feeling?"

"I was trying, Eff!" I said, impatiently. "But she left before I got a chance to really listen to her."

"Well...what did she say?"

I thought for a moment. "She said that everything is dark... And I am the light."

"Anything else?"

I nodded. "She also said she was poison...that she would drag me down and she doesn't want that to happen." I said, quietly. "She says she is a lost cause. What's more, I think she really believes it."

"Oh, that's never good." Effy said.

"I know. Here I was thinking I'd cheered her up after this morning... I guess I was wrong about that."

"This morning?" Effy asked. "What happened this morning?"

"Between you, me and the coffee table?" I asked.

"Of course."

I sighed. "She woke up from a bad dream. I think it was more a nightmare, though. She woke me up because she was fidgeting... And when I finally managed to wake her up, she was soaked in sweat. She looked like she had seen a ghost."

"Oh." Effy said.

"Yeah. I made her take a shower after that. Reluctantly..."

"And after that?"

I sighed. "I took her to see Gina." I said. "I thought it might help her, y'know? To get a dose of cheeriness... I think it even worked, for a bit... And then... Her sister called, and she had to go. I walked her home and came back here... The next thing she was knocking on my door, half drunk."

"You feel like she's shutting you out?"

"Shutting me out, warning me off... She's all but screaming at me to fuck off... But, I don't think she wants me to." I said. "At least...I hope not. I haven't done anything wrong, except offer her an ear, and my friendship."

"Or something more." Effy added.

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, it would be nice. There's chemistry there, and all... She's just so broken, and I don't know how to help her." I said. "I don't know whether to go over there and try to talk to her, or whether it would just do more harm. I hate this feeling, this...fragility."

"You feel like you're walking on eggshells around her?"

"I guess so. I don't want to push her, in case it makes her feel worse. But I feel like she needs to talk to someone. I just wish I could help her." I said. "I'm really worried about her, Eff."

"People sometimes need a push... And they do stupid things when they are drunk." She said, softly, as she looked into my eyes. "She probably shouldn't be alone."

I dialled Emily's number again, and again it went to voicemail.

"Fucking voicemail again." I muttered, standing up. "Fuck it, I'm going over there."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Naoms?"

I shrugged, picking up the small bag I put Emily's clothes into after I had washed them. "I don't know, Eff. But I can't sit here and do nothing, it's driving me nuts." I said, as I opened the front door and walked out of the flat.

It was dark by the time I got to Emily's. I'd tried her phone again on the way, but it still went straight to voicemail.

"Emily, I don't know if you are listening to these and just ignoring me, but I'm coming over, because you won't answer your phone. I'll be around shortly."

All it did was make me more worried, on the verge of panic that she might do something stupid. I knew what Effy was like when she got bad, I know Emily didn't hear voices like Effy did, at least not while she was lucid, but I know there were things that were troubling her, even if she didn't want to talk to me about them.

Once I got there, the windows were dark, but I could hear music coming from inside, so I knew there had to be somebody there. I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Emily!"

I waited about thirty seconds and then knocked again, calling her name louder. "Emily! It's Naomi. Please... I just want to talk to you."

"If she answers, get her to turn that bloody music down. It's been going full blast with the same song half the afternoon and all bloody night so far!" One of the neighbours said, from the house next door.

I smiled politely. "I'll see what I can do." I turned back to the door and banged on it harder. "EMILY! Will you please just answer the door?"

Another thirty seconds passed before I heard the click of the lock on the front door, and then...nothing. I reached for the door handle and twisted it, feeling the mechanism open. I pushed the door open, into the darkened flat, the music still blaring from the stereo. There was a single candle that was burning in a high-walled glass on the coffee table. It was scented, filling the room with a tropical, fruity scent. Peach, or mango... Not sure. Emily was lying on the sofa, facing the backrest, half curled up into a ball. There was a nearly empty bottle of vodka on the table, and her poetry journal was open next to it. But some of the pages had been torn out, and ripped up. I walked over to the stereo and turned the volume down.

"Don't." Came a weak, husky voice from the sofa.

"Your neighbours are complaining." I said, carefully walking towards the sofa. I placed the bag onto the table, then kneeled down next to it, reaching out and placing my hand on Emily's shoulder. "Emily..."

"Go away." She said, sounding so very broken. It tore at my heart to hear her that way.

"No." I said, softly. "I'm worried about you, babe."

"I don't want you to see me like this." Emily mumbled.

I sighed, squeezing her shoulder. "Emily... You woke up sweating in my bed this morning looking like you'd seen something awful. You've already tried to push me away twice today, and I think I can say it's not exactly having the effect you want." I said, gently. "I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me."

"Why?" She asked. "I've already told you I'm bad for you."

"Hey..." I said, trying to make her turn around. "Emily... Please... turn over and look at me."

She shook her head, the candlelit glow of her red hair moving as through it were passed by a gentle breeze. "Go home, Naomi. Please."

"I can't." I said. "If I do, I'll-"

"It's easy, Naomi." She said, louder and a little more flatly. "You get up, open my front door, walk out of it, shut it behind you. Then you walk away. Just... Fuck off and save yourself the trouble." Her last words had an edge to them, and they were slightly slurred, so I knew she was still a bit drunk, if not more so, judging by the lack of the majority of vodka in the bottle on the table.

I huffed. "Emily, if I leave here, as you're asking me to, all I will do is worry all night that you are ok. That you don't do something stupid you can't take back later."

"You couldn't stop me if I wanted to." Her voice was so hollow, and it scared me.

"I'd bloody well try." I replied, my words belying the fear I was feeling. "I don't care, Emily. Talk to me, don't talk to me. Yell at me, scream at me, tell me what a cunt you think I am for not leaving you alone... I'm not going anywhere, because I care about you, do you understand me?"

She turned over, finally, and looked into my eyes with brown, watery, sad ones. "Why?" She whispered. "Why can't you just do as I ask?"

I stared into her eyes with my own. "Because if I was on my sofa pissed out of my brain scaring you, you wouldn't leave me alone either." I said, softly stroking my fingers through her fringe. "And, I don't think you really want me to go."

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, a large, lone tear. slipping out the side and down her cheek. Her fingers linked with mine and she weakly gripped my hand. "I don't know what to do." She whispered, reaching for my shirt and pulling me closer.

"I know you don't, baby." I said, softly, as I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"I'm...so broken...and I don't know what to do..." She mumbled, her words dissolving into sobs that wracked her body as she buried her face into my chest. What more could I do, but hold her as she cried? Once she had calmed down a little, she took a long sniffle and then looked at me. "Why are you here? You must have somewhere you'd rather be, other than here dealing with fucked up me..."

I shook my head. "No." I said. "I am right where I need to be."

"Oh yeah?" She said, sarcastically. "You'd rather hang out with someone who doesn't even want to be around themselves?"

I tried to keep myself calm, knowing that in a normal, sober state, Emily wouldn't say this to me. "I would rather help a friend in need, than to stand aside and watch them crumble."

"Again." Emily added. "To watch them crumble again. I warn you, it's even less attractive than the first time."

I stood up. "Come on..." I said, pulling Emily up so she was sitting rather than lying on the sofa. "I'm taking you to bed."

Emily laughed, but it was dull, humourless. "I'm not shagging you."

I raised my eyebrow. "I never said anything about us having sex, Emily. But you could do with being a little more coherent, and sleep is good for that."

"Oh... Huh... Sensible, then."

I nodded. "Yes."

"Booooooring." She said, slurring her words before giggling. It made me smirk a little, because even though I knew Emily was having trouble, seeing her this drunk was sort of adorable. "Uhm..." She added, biting her bottom lip. "...you...might need to help me, I'm a bit drunk."

"Hadn't noticed, really." I said, keeping it light, as I pulled her arm over my shoulder and stood up with her. "C'mon, drunky... Let's get you into bed."

We made it to her room, and I pulled back the duvet on her bed, sitting her down. Emily sat patiently as I went back into the sitting room to make sure the candle was blown out before going back into her room. I went over to Emily's side of the bed and slowly took my shirt off her, and also my shorts. I laid her down, and pulled the covers over her. I felt her watching me as I stripped down to my underwear, and slid into bed beside her. She turned into her side and stared at me, her red-ringed wide eyes glistening somewhat from unshed tears. "You...you don't have to stay." She slurred.

"Yeah..." I said, reaching across to stroke her fringe out of her eyes. "I do."

"Why?"

"Would you trust yourself...if I left...not to do anything stupid?" I asked.

Her eyes fluttered shut, she exhaled slowly, and then sniffled a bit as she shook her head. "No..."

"Then you know why I'm not leaving." I said, moving closer and pulling Emily into my arms. I gently kissed the top of her head as she nervously cuddled into me. "I care about you too much to leave you alone right now, Emily."

"Mmm." She murmured.

"Go to sleep... We'll talk about it tomorrow, ok?"

"Yeah..." She said, softly.

I felt her lips graze gently against my neck, kissing my skin. Slowly, I stroked my fingers through her fringe, in an absent minded manner. But, I knew it gave her some comfort, and my mind was put at ease when her breathing evened out, and she softly began snoring. I knew while I couldn't help or solve all her problems in one night, the least I could do was to help her get to sleep.

"I hope you have better dreams tonight, baby." I whispered, placing a soft kiss against her temple and closing my eyes.

A/N#2: Ok, I might have needed a Fluff Warning™ for the ending...

Next chapter will be up when it's done... Methinks it might be hangover time for Emily... Oh dear.

Review if you wish...

Until next time...

~GN~ xo