A/N: Hello kiddies! Thanks for your reviews and messages and I hope everyone is doing fan-diddily-tastic! I'm okay, thanks for asking, (and for those of you who didn't: poor form)...sorry for the lack of delay but life has been busy...I ran my 10kms in my fastest time ever yesterday and mostly in the rain (go me!)...and then I went to Maccas with a friend and was practically force fed five cheeseburgers (my friend Travis was trying to flirt with the guy at the counter and he kept needing an excuse to go up there so he kept buying me food, and then the two of them would laugh about what a pig I am and where do I put it all blah blah blah :/ ) Travis pointed out that I didn't have to eat everything but...*shrugs*...I can't let food go to waste...so Travis ended up with the guy's number and I got a stomach ache...now that's taking one for the team :P

Hope you all had/have a lovely Father's Day...my dad's doing okay for those of you wondering...he's having another round of chemo so hopefully that helps...but we all had a fun lunch today with lots of playful bickering...my family shows it love for each other with insults...

Anyway...back to Naomi's nightmare date...I'm not 100% happy with the standard of this chapter but I thought I better post something...hope you enjoy :)

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Naomi tries to pay attention to Freddie, tries to focus on the words coming out of his mouth, but her eyes kept flicking over to the redhead and her date at a table across the room. Emily looks like she always does, effortlessly beautiful, like she threw on whatever her eyes saw first but somehow it looks stunning. She seems to have paid a bit more attention to her hair and make-up though, and Naomi hates the idea that Emily is trying to look good for her date with the skank. For her part the skank looks like she's trying to impersonate a Barbie, a short tight dress and overdone big blonde hair. She's pretty, but in an obvious and tacky way that Naomi hates. She thinks the girl doesn't look like Emily's type, not that she really knows what that is, because from what she has seen it just seems to be girl.

Emily is sitting opposite the skank at a small table but she's facing Naomi, and every now and then when their eyes meet the redhead simply looks amused. Naomi finds herself vacillating between curiosity and anger, but as the minutes pass she moves closer to anger, simply because she's frustrated with the lack of answers to the questions firing through her brain. She wants to know why Emily is here and if the redhead knew she would be too. Wants to know who that skank with Emily is and why Emily brought her here. Wants to know if Emily is doing this just to mess with Freddie or with her.

She can't help thinking that someone is playing a nasty joke on her...and that maybe that someone is Emily. All of her insecurities bubbling to the surface.

Almost as if to enforce her paranoia, Naomi hears an eruption of laughter from the other side of the restaurant and immediately recognises it as Emily's, throaty and hoarse, as well as an annoyingly high pitched giggle from the skank. Her eyes dart over to them instantly, wondering what it is they are laughing about. Wonders if they're laughing at her. If maybe Emily has told the skank everything about her and now they're laughing at how pathetic she is.

The only thing she's thankful for is that Freddie has no idea she's ever even met Emily. That as far as he knows they've never spoken, and nobody is aware of her various run-ins with the redhead...except maybe the skank. She's glad that no one knows, glad that no one else knows how foolish she feels.

She has a scowl on her face that she can't seem to shake, and Freddie lets her get away with it for a while, continuing to push through forced conversations and letting the noise of the restaurant fill in their silences. But halfway through their mains he drops his fork into his plate, the sound drawing her attention.

"You don't have to stay," he mumbles despondently, "you know...if you're having a shit time. You can go."

Naomi looks at him then, looks at him properly for the first time since Emily and the skank arrived, and finds his eyes studying his plate and his shoulders slumped. She feels like the biggest asshole in the world. Realises that Freddie thinks it's his fault that she's acting this way, that he thinks she's not enjoying the date because of him, when that couldn't be further from the truth. She'd actually been having a wonderful time all afternoon and evening until Emily arrived, and as far as first dates go she'd been quite happy that this was hers, but obviously Freddie had no idea why her mood had suddenly changed. He blames himself. She never considered that someone as popular and easy going as him could ever feel insecure, but looking at him now Naomi can sense how rejected he feels.

Her scowl fades immediately, her chest heavy with the guilt she feels. None of this is Freddie's fault, it's all Emily's fault and Naomi's own confusion, but she can't tell him that. So instead she reaches her hand across the table to cover his, watches as his eyes flick up to hers curiously. She gives him a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry. I've just been a bit distracted with something else."

She can't tell him the truth and she knows she's rubbish at lying, settles for something somewhere in the middle.

Freddie nods, a small smile of understanding on his face. "Is this about Emily?"

Naomi feels her heart fucking stop. Her eyes dart back to his quickly, wide with panic, searching for an explanation.

"I know it's weird that she's here, because you know we used to be friends." He shrugs, doesn't seem bothered by it all that much. "I don't know why she's here, but I wouldn't put it past her to try and ruin our date out of spite."

Naomi exhales the breath she'd been holding, relief relaxing her tense muscles. Unless he's a damn good actor Freddie has no idea she even knows Emily, which is the way she'd like to keep it.

But then she thinks about what Freddie is implying, that Emily being here has nothing to do with messing with her and everything to do with messing with him, and she doesn't know if that makes her feel better or worse. All she knows is that she doesn't want Freddie to know her lacklustre attitude has anything to do with Emily at all.

"No, it's not that," she says shaking her head. "It's just something that's going on with mum." She locks eyes with him and smiles. "I've been having fun, really."

He seems to accept it and smiles in return, his hand turning and folding over hers, squeezing back. His hand is large and warm and covers hers completely, and Naomi thinks that it feels nice. Comforting.

"Do you want to talk about the stuff with your mum?" Freddie asks, his dark eyes warm and sincere. "I might not have any good advice but I'm a good listener."

Naomi feels a rush of affection for him then, because clearly she's been a dick to him for the last hour but he's still being kind and considerate.

"No, it's okay," she says shaking her head. "I'm want to just forget about it and go back to enjoying our date."

He smiles at this, and Naomi finds herself feeling bold.

"Because I am, you know," she looks up at him shyly, "enjoying our date."

And it's mostly the truth. Because running around that afternoon at the aquarium and the bridge had been the most fun she's had in ages, the most fun she can ever remember having. She feels comfortable around Freddie, even though they haven't known each other long, but he just seems like a genuinely nice guy. Someone she might be able to rely on.

He lifts their joined hands then and Naomi knows what he's going to do before he does it, watches as he kisses the back of hers and smiles at her. It's a little forward and something that Naomi would normally find awfully tacky if she were watching it happen to anyone else, except now that it's happening to her she finds it rather charming.

A waiter comes over to top up their drinks, and Naomi looks to her side to say thank you, her eyes scanning across the room and finding Emily's inadvertently. It startles her because for a few minutes she'd managed to forget that the redhead was even there. She feels something twist in her stomach then, because Emily doesn't look amused anymore, not like she has all night. She looks pissed off, her dark eyes narrowed and her mouth a cold line, and Naomi can't help thinking that she's done something wrong, even though she knows she really hasn't.

She looks away and pulls her hand back from Freddie's gently, reaching for her water glass and taking a sip, knowing that flinching out of his grasp would send the wrong message and they'd be back where they'd started. He doesn't seem to take issue with it, picking up his knife and fork again and attempting to restart the conversation.

"So tell me about Australia. I visited Sydney when I was younger but..."

Naomi tries to listen, honestly attempts to pay attention again, but she swears she can feel Emily's eyes on her, feel the weight of her glare. She can't stop her own eyes from flicking back over to the redhead, no matter how much she tries to force herself not to. She's drawn to her like a magnet.

When she does finally look she finds Emily reaching across the table and stroking the skank's cheek in a way that seems so tender and gentle that Naomi feels like the air has been sucked out of her lungs. Feels another twist in her stomach. Emily isn't being aggressive and brash with this girl, not like she usually is. Naomi thinks about the time she freaked out in the library about her dad and how gentle and concerned Emily had been then, how different to how she normally behaved every other time Naomi saw her, and she had stupidly thought that maybe Emily was only that way with her. Obviously not.

The truth is like a punch in the stomach, and she can't seem to catch her breath. Can't seem to slow her thumping heart beat.

"I'm just going to go to the restroom," she says with a forced smile, struggling to keep her voice steady.

Freddie nods and points out where they are and she moves through the restaurant to them quickly, brushing past a waitress hastily and almost knocking her over, not stopping to help her and throwing an apology over her shoulder.

She bursts through into the restroom, relieved to find it empty, and leans her hands onto the sides of the sink. She drops her head and concentrates on breathing in and out, a concept that seems foreign to her body at the moment.

She tells herself that she has to stop doing this. Has to stop living in some kind of Emily fantasy world in her head where the redhead actually cares about her. Actually likes her. It's looking more and more likely that Emily is playing some sort of game to mess with Freddie, or even just to mess with the new girl. Either way Naomi looks at it, really looks at it without her Emily-tinted glasses on, she knows that she needs to stop hoping for something that isn't going to happen.

She hears the door open and the sound of the restaurant float in, closes her eyes and sighs, wishing for another minute to herself.

"Having fun?"

Her head whips up instantly at the husky voice. She stands up straight and turns to the side to find Emily staring back at her, that amused glint back in her eyes.

She feels her breath catch in her throat, then anger surging through her body. She's sick of Emily's games. Narrows her eyes and steels herself.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

The redhead doesn't seem fazed by her harsh tone and words, simply shrugging casually.

"I was thinking of taking a piss if you must know."

Naomi scoffs, not in the mood for bullshit, despite the playfully teasing smile Emily is giving her.

"I meant here." She waves back out in the direction she'd just come in from. "At Freddie's family restaurant. Why are you here?"

Emily simply shrugs, looks her right in the eye, her voice low when she says, "Why do you think?"

Naomi feels her stomach flip again, that hope that Emily actually likes her not willing to die, some small voice in the back of her head whispering 'she's here because she likes you'.

A small voice that gets crushed a second later.

"I'm here to eat," Emily adds, taking a step further into the room and forcing Naomi to turn around to face her.

Naomi crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against the sink. Fires another question.

"Did you know I'd be here with Freddie?"

"No."

She stares at Emily hard, and eventually a sly smile graces the redhead's lips.

Naomi finds herself growing more irate at how amusing Emily finds all of this.

"Okay, so I thought you might be. Freddie usually takes his dates here."

The confession troubles Naomi for two reasons, the first being that Emily did know she would be here and brought that girl with her, the second being that her whole date with Freddie might have been a routine that he's tried with lots of other girls. She cares much more about the first reason right now.

"So why did you come if you knew we would be here?" She pushes off the sink and stands up tall, feeling herself gain some sort of power in the argument as she towers over the redhead. "And why did you bring some girl?"

She regrets it as soon as the question leaves her lips, as soon as she watches Emily's eyes narrow and the smirk on her lips grow. She knows she's given too much, exposed too much about how she's really feeling, the power shifting back to the redhead.

Emily steps toward her, and Naomi rests back against the sink again, uncomfortable with being so close to her.

"Why do you care that I'm with some girl?"

"I don't."

The words sound weak coming out of her mouth, and she's sure that Emily knows it's a lie, but the redhead doesn't push the matter. Instead she moves over to the sink next to Naomi, paralleling her posture and resting against it.

Naomi is very aware of how close she is standing to her. Knows that if she moved to her right a little their arms would be touching. She can still remember how her skin hummed each time Emily has touched her. How it sent a thrilling shiver rippling through her body.

Shuffles to the left just to be careful.

"So are you having fun with your new boyfriend?"

Emily's tone is soft and curious rather than the accusing it has been, and Naomi turns and blinks at her, confused at the rapid change in the conversation and Emily's suddenly relaxed demeanour.

"He's not my boyfriend," is the first thing she says, mostly because it's the first thing that comes to mind. She doesn't want Emily thinking that she and Freddie are more than they are.

She tries to gauge Emily's reaction, but as usual the redhead doesn't give anything away, so Naomi decides to go on the offence.

"Are you having fun with your girlfriend?"

The image of Emily gently caressing that skank's cheek flashes in her mind and her stomach twists again.

She isn't expecting it when Emily sighs wistfully and shakes her head.

"Not really."

The answer throws Naomi off balance, and she turns to face the redhead, her brow furrowed equally with curiosity and confusion.

"She's not the sharpest tool in the shed," Emily continues. "Doesn't even know who Gordon Brown is. She thought I was talking about Gordon Ramsay."

Emily shakes her head again and turns her head to meet Naomi's gaze, the blonde finding herself grinning along with her.

"Hold on," Naomi holds up a hand. "Why were you talking about Gordon Brown? That's not exactly date conversation."

"I was making a joke."

Emily rolls her eyes, a small throaty chuckle escaping.

"So clearly a date isn't going well when I'm cracking jokes about ex-Prime Ministers."

Naomi feels her heart swell a little, buoyed by the news that Emily doesn't actually like her date. That little spark of hope flickers inside her again, though she tries not to pay attention to it. Doesn't want to get her hopes up just to have them dashed again.

"She thinks that Belgium is a city in Germany."

Naomi tries to stifle her laughter but fails, the two of them chuckling for a moment, and it strikes her then how strange this conversation has been, the two of them now laughing about Emily's dumb date. She marvels at how relaxed she can feel in Emily's presence, while at the same time feel completely on edge.

But her laughter only lasts a few seconds longer, because in the next moment Naomi finds her eyes trailing down to the redhead's chest, watching as her breasts bounce up and down quickly as Emily laughs.

She feels her whole body tense, her laughter dying in her throat and her face sobering.

Remembers that she doesn't just want to be Emily's friend.

She tries to recover quickly, tries to fix her smile back in place, but when she drags her eyes back up to Emily's it's obvious that the redhead noticed.

Emily stares back at her intently but with an expression Naomi can't read, and she finds her own eyes flicking down to the floor, holding her arms tighter over her chest.

They stand in silence for another moment, and Naomi can feel the tension thickening so fast that he knows that if she doesn't get out of this small Emily-filled room she'll suffocate.

"I guess I better get back out there."

She doesn't move for a second, some part of her still unsure about whether she actually wants to leave, but then her legs finally wake up and she moves toward the door.

Something catches her wrist and tugs her back, and Naomi knows it has to be Emily before she turns back to face her. Finds the redhead staring at her with something that looks a lot like regret.

Emily takes a step closer to her so that their bodies are half a foot apart, and Naomi's heart is thumping so loud in her ears that she's sure the redhead can hear it. Emily's still grasping her wrist, and Naomi can feel her skin burning. She briefly wonders what it would be like if Emily touched her in other places, the thought making her blush.

They stand like that for a brief moment, their eyes locked and the silence heavy with everything that Naomi wants to say, but neither of them speaks. She tries to look away but she can't bring herself to, her gaze held by Emily's.

It's not until the redhead's hand starts to move around Naomi's that the blonde realises that she's been holding her wrist this whole time. Emily shifts her hand down and folds it around Naomi's until their fingers interlink, and when the redhead's thumb brushes against the back of her hand gently she can't suppress the shiver that runs down her spine.

In some ways it's not as intimate as the way Emily caressed her date's cheek but in other ways Naomi knows that it means a lot more, as does the look in the redhead's eyes when she looks up from their joined hands and offers her a small smile. A smile that makes Naomi's heart feel full, because even though she doesn't really know Emily at all, she knows it's a genuine Emily smile. Not her usual smirk or exaggerated grin. It's honest.

And Naomi is torn between wanting to stand there like this forever and wanting to run out the door. It's all gotten a lot more serious and intense than anything she's ever felt before, and she can't stand that she feels herself quickly losing control of her own body and thoughts.

But her feet are held in place when Emily leans toward her and lifts herself up on her toes, Naomi's heart almost stopping completely as the redhead's soft lips lightly brush her cheek.

She hears herself gasp. Wants to cringe with embarrassment but doesn't get the chance, her body already reacting to Emily's mouth moving across to her ear, her soft breath tickling as she whispers, "You deserve someone better than Freddie."

Emily smells like soap and cigarettes and Naomi instantly decides that that's her favourite smell in the world. Thinks that being this close to a girl she likes should be paralysing, but instead she just wants to pull Emily closer to her.

She never has the chance because suddenly Emily is gone, her mouth moved away and her hand taken back, and Naomi looks up to find the redhead smirking at her, winking once before walking right out the door without another word.

She stands there dumbfounded, staring at the ground with her eyes darting around wildly, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Her breath is shallow and she inhales deeply to calm herself, practically falls back against the sink again.

She has no idea what the fuck that was.

She turns around and twists the tap on, the cool water soothing the skin of her hands that feels like it's on fire. She pats her wet fingers on her cheeks to cool down, aware of the fact that she's washing off Emily's kiss.

Emily's kiss.

The thought of it makes her stomach flip again, a small smile tugging up her lips. Emily kissed me.

Emily.

Kissed.

Me.

She knows it was only on the cheek, but to Naomi it means more than any kiss she's ever had, which is really only Freddie. Closes her eyes and can still feel Emily's lips lightly pressed against her cheek. Opens them again to find herself looking in the mirror, a dazed smile on her face.

The smile fades though as she starts to ponder what Emily meant when she whispered in her ear. Wants to think that maybe it was something close to an offer, an invitation from the redhead. Naomi's just not sure what she's being invited to.

The other possibility isn't as lovely and hopeful, and that's that this is again all part of some plan to get back at Freddie. The possibility of that being true deflates Naomi instantly, because she knows that Emily hates Freddie and that she came here to ruin their date.

If she's being honest with herself it seems a far more likely scenario.

It's then that the real world comes smashing back to her, and she realises that she's been in the restroom for a remarkably long time, long enough for Freddie to be wondering if she's legged it. She starts to panic then, because she doesn't know how she's supposed to go back out there and act normal on her date with Freddie when Emily is sitting across the room.

She takes a deep breath and resigns herself to the fact that she has no choice, before pushing through the door and back out into the bustle of the restaurant.

Her eyes search for Emily's fire-red hair almost automatically, glancing over to her table to find it empty. She's not sure if she's relieved or not, decides she's not when images of what Emily and the skank might be doing right now flash through her mind.

She shakes them away and walks back to her table, a little unsteady on her shakey legs, thankful that Freddie's seat is facing away from the restrooms so he wouldn't have known Emily was even in there.

She finds him texting on his phone, and he looks up at her with relief when she takes her seat, quickly followed by a look of confusion.

"Sorry I was a while," she offers lamely, her brain too clouded to come up with anything other than a feeble, "I wasn't feeling too good."

She cringes internally at what she's just implied and watches as Freddie's expression shifts from curious to concerned.

It reminds her that he doesn't deserve any of this. Doesn't deserve the way she's treated him all throughout dinner, and that he's been nothing but kind and generous to her since they'd met. Guilt settles in her stomach again and she tries to think of a way to stop this before it gets worse, relieved when Freddie offers an end to the evening.

"Are you okay? Should I take you home?"

"I think that might be best."

They take the bus back to the stop near her house and Freddie walks by her side, minimal conversation passing between them. She hopes he's putting it down to her not feeling well and not blaming himself again.

It's when she's replaying Emily's whispered words into her ear for the hundreth time already that Naomi realises she still doesn't know why Emily hates Freddie. Not really. She can't stop herself from asking.

"What happened between you and Emily?"

She looks up at him then, her gaze strong and unwavering, and Freddie must sense that he can't blow her off again because he slows his pace slightly and sighs.

"We were best friends since we were four," he begins, his voice low and sombre, eyes focused straight ahead. "We did everything together, lived in each other's pockets...I thought I knew everything about her, so when I found out she was gay it kind of shocked the fuck out of me you know."

Naomi nods even though Freddie can't see her, and he sighs again and slips his hands into his pockets.

"I didn't react very well when she told me. I acted like a bit of a tit to be honest, not very supportive at all. I just wasn't there for her like I should have been. I mean we were only fourteen..."

He trails off then and Naomi knows he's lost in a memory. She gives him time with it, waiting silently for him to continue. She couldn't miss the regret and sadness in his voice as he spoke, and though she feels for Emily in this situation too she can't help thinking that Freddie isn't exactly the villain she's made him out to be.

The silence stretches on for another minute and Naomi realises that they're standing at the gate outside her house.

"I tried to make it up to her but she hated me, rightly so I guess. And then all that stuff happened with her family and everything just got a whole lot worse. She's never been able to forgive me. I don't think she ever will."

He shrugs dejectedly and glances around, a look of recognition on his face when he notices they're at her house.

"I guess this is where I leave you."

Naomi nods, shuffling her feet around nervously and trying not to meet his gaze. She doesn't want him to kiss her goodnight, and it looks like he's debating it with himself.

He must get the message because he leans over and kisses her on the cheek quickly, the same cheek that Emily kissed and Naomi almost wants to laugh at how ridiculous the situation is.

He pulls back and smiles at her, but it's nowhere near how bright it usually is and it's coloured with the slightest sadness.

Naomi takes a step back through the gate and offers her own small smile. "Thanks for tonight. I'm sorry it got cut short."

Freddie shrugs, his hands still in his pockets. "I hope you're feeling better tomorrow."

"Thanks. I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah. Night."

It feels awkward and strained but Naomi has no choice but to smile tightly and turn back towards her house, Freddie watching as she does.

She rolls her eyes and cringes when she catches her mother standing at the window waving. Hopes Freddie's hasn't seen her even though she knows he probably has.

She walks through the front door and locks it behind her, closing the door on what has been without a doubt the strangest night of her life.

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Hmmm...do we think Freddie's telling the truth?

Okay...I think I've teased you long enough...so next chapter we find out Emily's side of the story...one mystery solved! And there might even be some real Naomily kissage! Get ready for the sleigh-ride into Naomily angst peeps...it's going to be a bloodbath...emotionally speaking of course...

Thoughts? Comments? Hate mail? Press that review button and send them my way...you know you wanna...

:)