A bit of a Fitches showdown and an obvious but late compromise. Enjoy!


Effy POV

As time rolled by the nurse stopped by to tell us visiting hours were long over and we needed to get a move on. Panda and Thomas had left over an hour ago since Panda's mom had wanted her home and so the same had happened half an hour later with JJ but we'd stayed, just the four of us. Much to Cook's complaints and protests and downright flirting the nurse told us she couldn't allow us to stay any longer since she'd already had allowed us two hours over the original end time. We all sighed and started shuffling towards the door, promising Cook we'd be by soon enough. He grinned but you could see the impeding sadness settle in his eyes, knowing he was going to have to face the night on his own again and this time without the help of alcohol or drugs – any other drugs than he was given by the nurses. I nodded sadly at him, understanding all too well what he was feeling. I was facing the same fate tonight, alone in my bed. The alcohol was gone, so were the drugs after trying to better my life and all that shit. Mother, god knows where she was now, would probably be too out of it to offer me any money to get some. Besides I had no clue where to go get my shit. Most of it I bought off of Freddy or in clubs anyways. And this wasn't the time to go hit the dance floor I thought. I was startled out of my daydreams by the force of Katie's hand crushing mine. I had just closed the door behind me and hadn't noticed the rising tension in the almost abandoned hallway between the two Fitch sisters. I quickly tuned in and tried to catch the gist of the impeding argument. Naomi looked torn between calming Emily or stepping in between the two. They were slowly invading each other's space, snarling and sneering things at each other.

"I'm your sister!"

"Well I am not your pet project Emily so back the fuck off!"

"You're coming with us!"

"Fuck that I'm not! I'm going with…"

"Why? Why her and not me? Your sister?"

"I..I.. Stop pitying me like this! I'm not a fucking vase I won't break! Just spit it out Ems!"

I tugged at Katie's arm but she refused to acknowledge me, when I wriggled my fingers in her grips she just loosened it automatically tiny bit, enough to get the blood flowing again. I tugged harder but again received no response. I saw Naomi's hand being shaken off and our blue eyes met. This wasn't going to be aborted by touches, it was time I clued in to what this was about. But i should've know the second I listened to their words, I was the reason they were fighting. Of course I was.

Emily's voice sounded shrill and accusing to my ears as she sprouted on.

"Goddammit Katie, I need my sister with me tonight okay? We just lost a friend and I know you said you got over him but I know deep down a part of you still loves – loved – him!"

She made a move to step forward but Naomi blocked the attempt with another arm that was once again shoved away.

"Fuck you Ems! You have no idea what I'm feeling right now and stop playing the sister card! You've got your better half with you to take care of you! I am the one who's all alone here, so is she!"

Emily got a sympathetic look on her face after that.

"I'm sorry you've been feeling so lonely Katie, I know I've been gone a lot with moving into Naomi's! I'm sorry for leaving you there with mom! I really am you need to forgive me Katie!"

Katie sighed at that, exasperated.

"This isn't even about that Emily! Damn you! This isn't about you, it's about me. I want to go with Effy. Is that so hard to understand? We're both alone right now, both mourning the same friend and maybe we can be lonely together instead of alone!"

Emily looked flabbergasted at that and leveled me with an angry glare. I stared right back without blinking.

"She hurt you, Katie."

I flinched at that. It is true after all. I hit her with a rock. I was the reason she had a small scar on her forehead. I was the reason she sent her sister to do her exams. I was the freaking reason why Katie Fitch had become so broken, so lost.

"Oh not that again! How many times do I have to tell you I was fucking choking her!"

I gasped at the admission. I had no idea people knew about that, or at least Emily did. But what would it change? I still fucked Freddy after leaving her unconscious body to lie there.

"And she LEFT you there to go fuck YOUR boyfriend!"

Katie winced at that, it was a sore spot and Emily just hit it square on.

"See? That's why I don't want to go with you right now. Emotions run high, I'm fucked up and so are you guys but you keep each other strong and who do I have? I don't want to watch you and Naomi be perfect for each other as I sit there. I don't want to be the victim in your eyes every time you look at me! I don't want to be your pity project Emily!"

Emily bristled at that and looked ready to protest but Katie held her hand up to silence her.

"Nothing I say will be received objectively by you. You just push on and on about this. I know I didn't do any better with Naomi but you'd think you'd get it of all people Emily. You're acting the way I am supposed to. This isn't your battle to fight, your mess to get over. It isn't your place to not forgive Effy because I already have."

Now that took me by surprise. She'd forgiven me? When? How? Why? I hadn't done anything to help her forgive me, to earn it. I fucking left her there in the woods and in her room, I left her twice. God I really am a shallow bitch. I felt the sickness come up, the bile in my throat rising.

"Okay? I don't know why it is that I feel better being around her right now but I do. Maybe it's because we both had this bond with Freddy, maybe it's just always been there ever since my pathetic attempts to rule college but it's how I feel."

Emily looked angrily at me but relented as her shoulders sagged. For a minute there I had seen the Katie Fitch that had been missing these past months. The irony struck me immediately. I had made her vanish in the first place and now as she defended me of all people, it was back. Just for a fleeting second I saw a fire in her eyes again, a passion other than hidden depths of sadness. Emily noticed too because she gasped and wriggled out of Naomi's hold to push her sister against herself hard. My arms stretched forward for a minute but I refused to let go of her hand. If it was uncomfortable for Katie she'd let go eventually. I owed this to her, this and so much more. I started wondering what it was I could do for her to make up for what I did. What would make things easier on her?

I let my eyes roam the hallway as I thought of things. It took me by surprise how much I wanted to make things right between Katie and I. It almost felt like I had been when Tony was still around, trying to fix him and his friends, our parents and their marriage; back when I still had the power to fix things instead of making it all crumble upon my touch. My eyes settled on a hardened pair of brown eyes staring hard into me. I met het challenging gaze with the same amount of force. Damn her if I wasn't going to do whatever it took to help Katie. I smirked to myself. Emily wasn't going to stop me. Katie needed me just as much as I needed her in this moment and even though we had no idea what that meant, or why it was that was how it was anyway and she better deal with it. I looked at her with an my annoying all-knowing smirk as I placed a mask of aloofness on my face just to spite her. Something about her suddenly irked me. I'd given her advice back in our first year of college when she was still hiding behind her sister. I'd seen how she wanted but not dared to step out and be a person herself. I had been happy to see Naomi, her love for the blonde specifically, had given her that bit of strength she needed to be her own person. But right now that was coming to bite me in the ass. Now that Katie was the weaker one, the one with secrets, regrets and scars I saw the dominating side of the Fitches come right back and do the same to her own twin sister. She almost growled at me , seriously they could not have been each other more in that single moment as Katie pulled out of the embrace and punched her sister in the arm. The red head looked accusingly at her sister but relented again under Katie's harsh glare. She muttered an 'I'm sorry' towards me and sighed before tucking herself in Naomi's side. I decided I would have a chat with her later, the protectiveness towards her sister was taking on the lengths that Katie's had until a year ago and I knew Emily had no wish to be as overbearing as her sister had been back then. She just didn't know she was doing it obviously. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I stepped closer towards Katie and opened my mouth. The words however choked in my throat and I rubbed my eyes in frustration. Katie just smiled gently and squeezed my hand. I begged her with my eyes to forgive me. I wanted to stand up for her just now but my legs suddenly felt so weak and my head so heavy. There was a crushing fist around my heart and it was squeezing. I realized I was close enough to my own panic attack, or at least to fainting. The lights hurt my eyes and I felt dizzy. Without realizing it I pulled Katie firmly to my side to keep me ground as I squeezed my eyes shut. Her other arm wrapped itself around my waist from the front and she grabbed my hip firmly, grounding me in that moment.

I choked a sob and opened my eyes to gaze down into her concerned ones. I melted in her chocolate orbs and allowed her to see my fear and exhaustion for a minute until I pulled myself back together but before I could open my mouth Katie had taken the wheel again.

"I'm going with her, no arguments. She needs me and her mom is god knows where. I feel more myself, more together if I can help her and call me selfish but I need to help her just as much as she needs my help. Please Emily, understand this isn't about you or our own issues. This is about Effy and I. Okay?"

Emily nodded warily, anything for her sister I could see her thinking. Naomi had wrapped herself around her lover from behind and rubbed her arms up and down. They may have made up but they still had issues too. But for tonight we all just needed each other's company. I understood how Emily wanted both her girlfriend and her sister with her but in the end I would stick with Katie and if she wanted to come with me, who was I to stop her? Katie was right, we needed each other.

Naomi however came with a solution we all should have thought about before entering this damn discussion, maybe it was the heaviness of Freddy's death that somehow had not only their emotions heightened but their IQ lowered.

"Look we can all just go to my place alright? Mom is out saving the world with a group of hippies for the night so she'll be back in the morning to cook us some breakfast. For now though we've got the place to ourselves yeah? So just stop the bickering and the glares you guys and get a move on. I am actually hungry and tired and I'm sure we all are."

Emily looked up at her with wonder and a deep sense of appreciation, as Naomi smiled back gently clearly pleased with herself for thinking of this. I looked at Katie who raised her eyebrow at me to ask if I agreed with this possible solution. I nodded at her and smiled a little to assure her I was okay with the idea. It was a good compromise. Katie and I would share a room together and Naomi and Emily would but we'd still be close enough to ease up on the worries.

Emily looked at her sister with innocent, hopeful eyes and Katie sighed before nodding her consent.

We all sighed as WWIII had just been avoided and we walked towards the elevator. I allowed Emily and Naomi to walk before us and slowed my pace a little to leave some space in between. Katie took the hint and slowed down as well, looking at me with a curious expression. I leaned down and allowed my lips to ghost over the shell of her ear as I whispered, noticing how a shiver ran over her spine.

"Thank you babes. It's nice to see Katie Fucking Fitch make an appearance again."

I smiled a bit smugly at that and got a light punch in the arm but as I tucked another strand of her auburn hair behind her ear I saw the flush creeping up her neck. However it was the admiration and appreciation shining back in her eyes that threw me for a bit. I just shrugged and upped the tempo again to not fall too far behind. Katie however let a small smile bloom across her face for a whole minute before she winked and speeded up even more. All the while I wondered, one – we were still holding hands and two – would we be spooning again tonight?


R&R!