A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. I've just been off my game with my writing lately and had to take a bit of break from the Skins fandom. Writing for other stuff seems to have helped though and I'm focused on getting this finished. Once again a big thanks to everyone who's still reading and for the feedback; especially from Reddawg82, whose Kaomi fic 'Switch' got me hooked on this pairing :)

"Effy!" I can't breathe. My mouth is open and my lungs are taking in air, but I might as well be trying to breathe under water for all the good it's doing me. Effy and Naomi are standing in front of my work; the exhibit Naomi was never meant to see. The blonde looks shell shocked as she ignores my outburst and carries on staring at the photographs artistically attached to the chain link fence in the corner of the room devoted to my work. There are at least two pictures of her, and I know which one she's focusing on. The oldest one; the one from the barbeque in her back garden, taken that fateful day when both mine and Emily's worlds fell apart. The day we found out Dad was a fuckup and Naomi was a cheat.

Effy's watching me with her cool detached gaze and I'm still trying to figure out whether she's done this to help me, or to hurt me. To get back at me for meddling in her life too much. "I thought you were coming tomorrow with Lara?" I give her the benefit of the doubt and try to keep my tone of voice as level as possible.
"I thought Naomi might want to see your work. She's in to that kind of thing." She shrugs like it was a spur of the moment . She knows damn well I didn't want Naomi anywhere near here; especially not on my opening night when I've got a stomach full of butterflies to start with. I don't need this crap from her. We're not kids trying to one up each other anymore.

"I need some air." Naomi finally turns to look at me and her expression is harder to read than Effy's, which really is something of an achievement, but not remotely helpful for my already frazzled brain. She slips off through the crowd and disappears out of the room.
"What the fuck?" I finally snap at Effy and she looks less than intimidated. Even in my heels I'm a good head shorter than her. She just shrugs her slender shoulders again as she sips at a glass of champagne, waiting for me to challenge her for drinking with her medication. I'm too angry to care right now.
"You need to tell her the truth, Katie. Unless you want Emily to come back and take her?" I feel my cheeks burning with anger as Effy stares me down. She might as well have just clobbered me with a rock again.

I don't dignify her comments with a response. I just turn on my expensive heel and storm out, finding myself chasing after a certain blonde once again. She's sitting on the front stairs, a lit cigarette between her fingers and a faraway look in her eye. I take a seat beside her, pulling my knees up to my chest to avoid flashing anyone in my short dress. She doesn't acknowledge me, so we sit in a silence for a good few minutes while I try to think about how I'm supposed to put years of angst and unresolved feelings in to words.

"Remember I told you I found my first camera?" I bit my lip as she nods at me, still not looking me in the eye. With those first few words come a deluge. I can't stop talking as I tell her how I found the camera in one of her spare rooms and used it to take a photo of her the day of the barbeque, not long after she'd announced to the whole world that she'd fucked Sophia. She'd been sitting in a plastic chair, her long blonde hair pulled back, her mascara running down her cheeks and an old brown cardigan wrapped around herself. She'd looked broken and beautiful at the same time and my finger had just pressed the shutter on the camera, immortalising the moment in black and white for all eternity. Most of my pictures are like that, beauty among urban chaos and ruin. There's something soothing about documenting people at their worst, almost like a reassurance that things can get better. Broken things can mend, given long enough.

"You looked so lost. Watching Ems." I take her hand and lace our fingers together. She doesn't pull away, which is probably a good sign, but she still doesn't look at me. Well here goes nothing. It's time for the truth, the whole painful truth and nothing but. "You were always watching Emily. Even we were younger…you never saw me." My voice cracks as she finally turns her head to look at me. Her brilliant blue eyes bore in to me like a drill, trying to strip away the layers I hide behind.
"What's going on Katie?" She sighs, sounding more concerned than angry with me. "You hated me when we were kids." She goes for a smile but doesn't quite pull it off. She couldn't be more wrong.

I never hated her. In middle school I tried to talk to her. I tried to include her, to make her my friend, but she wasn't interested. She was a loner. She didn't let anyone in. Not until that house party when she kissed Emily. I walked in on them and it hurt. It really fucking tore me apart, knowing that she wouldn't give me the time of day, but she'd kiss my twin. I tell her all of this and she listens intently, not interrupting until I fall silent and stare down at our joined hands. Her thumb's been stroking the back of my hand this whole time. I don't even know if she realises she's been doing it.

"You were jealous?" she asks in a pitifully small voice, like she expects me to scoff at her for suggesting such a thing.
"I was angry!" I snap, living up to her expectations. I don't want her fucking pity. It's not like I spent years moping over her like Emily did. I moved on. I lived my life. "You never fucking noticed me! It was always her! For the first time in my life someone paid more attention to Emily than me, and I fucking hated you for it! Both of you! Emily was so fucking sure about who she was and what she wanted…" I hate myself for the tears I feel pricking against my eyes. I don't want to cry in front of her, not over this; not over her.
"Katie-" she starts, but then abruptly stops. She has no idea what to say to me. I get to my feet, preparing to go back inside. I'm not surprised. It's not like I expected her to tell me she'd fallen for the wrong twin, for her to get down on her knees and declare her undying love for me. I stopped expecting anything from her a long time ago; which is what makes her next words such a shock when she stands and presses her lips to mind, kissing me softly before pulling away and cupping my cheeks in her hands. "I see you now."

I choke back a sob as I bury my face in the side of her neck and hold on to her like I'm about to lose her. Effy was right. I needed to be honest with her. I needed to speak up, to try and stake my claim on her before Emily gets back. I can't lose her. I won't lose her, not after how hard I've fought to get her. I played the good sister all those years ago. I let Emily have her, but she's had her chance. Now it's my turn.

We stay outside for a few more minutes while I dry my eyes and fix my makeup. Thank god for whoever invented water proof mascara or I'd be looking like a deranged panda right now. When we make our way back inside I have to go back to talking to all the movers and shakers that Sean wants to introduce me to, and I have to leave Naomi with Effy and the Brazilian guy she seems to be drooling over. She doesn't show much interest in guys anymore, so it's nice to see her flirting. I even forget that I'm mad with her as I press my lips to her cheek and whisper a soft thank you in her ear. She might have been a bitch about it, but she's made me realise I need to step up to the plate if I want to keep whatever it is that Naomi and I have.

The rest of the exhibit thankfully runs smooth. I sell a few prints, which will go towards paying the bills this month and maybe updating my wardrobe a bit. It quietens down towards the end of the night and I get a chance to grab a glass of champagne and introduce Naomi to my agent, Sean. I know she stills feels like a right prick for being jealous of the middle aged, bald (and very gay) man and I make sure to rub it in just a little when we get a minute to ourselves.

It feels good to get back to the flat around midnight, kick off my heels and open a bottle of wine. Effy excuses herself to go to bed, thankfully alone as she didn't invite the Brazilian guy back. I don't know what's gotten in to her this week, but hopefully she'll wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow. Naomi sits on the side of my bed as I remove my makeup and get changed for bed. As I slip out of my dress, a gorgeous little number in vibrant blue, her eyes are glued to me. I smirk as I catch her staring at me. She definitely sees me now.

"Perv." I laugh as she holds her hands up at being caught out. "You staying over tonight?" I try to sound casual about asking her, but given what has happened tonight it's a little hard to play it cool. She knows I want her to stay over. She knows just how badly I want her full stop.
"Sure. I should probably check with Eff though, she was my date tonight after all." She smiles, her eyes alive with mischief as she makes as if she's heading for the door. I cut her off by taking hold of her hand and pulling her in close so I can kiss her. I'm dressed in only my matching bra and underwear set and my skin feels cold pressed against the material of her dress. Our lips linger together for a while until I pull away and head to the door myself to go in to the bathroom.
"You left some of your stuff; I washed it and put it in the bottom drawer." I nod towards the drawers in the corner of my room before slipping out the door for the bathroom.

It's only as I'm standing alone, staring at my reflection in the mirror hanging over the sink that I realise just how fucking domestic that sounded. I washed and ironed her clothes and cleared out a space for her without really thinking about it. Which is a pretty big deal, seeing as I have a fuck-load of clothes to start with and I need all the space I can get; yet I've cleared out an entire drawer for a few of her t-shirts, some pyjamas and some odd socks. Fuck, I'm definitely whipped. I don't have long to dwell on what's going on in my bedroom as Naomi follows me in to the bathroom. She picks up her toothbrush, the one she left here last week, and just stares at it like she's not sure what she's supposed to do with it. As I watch her I know the feeling.

"Works better with toothpaste babe." I shake my head at her as fumbles with the toothpaste and almost drops the top from it down the sink. I think she's freaking out over the drawer. "Don't be long." I kiss her cheek, hoping that she'll follow me back in to my room and not make a beeline for the front door. She doesn't. After a few minutes she comes back in to my room and finds me already under the covers, propped up on my elbow and watching her as she shuffles in to the room. Something's wrong. I can see it written all over her face. "What?" I try to push for her to talk about whatever's eating at her, but she carries on just staring at me for a few long awkward moments that seem to stretch out for a life time. Is this when she runs? When she does what she does best and shuts out the rest of the world; me included.

I wait for her to speak, almost forgetting how to breathe as I feel my chest tightening. Her soft pale skin and platinum hair almost make her glow in the darkness off my room. She could be an angel; a beautiful broken angel that it about to rip my heart out without even knowing it.

"I think I might be falling in love with you."

Ok. Not what I was expecting. Fuck, remember to breathe Katie; in, out, in, out, you've been doing it for long enough. I stare at her, dumbstruck by her admission. I know we've grown close, but I never expected her to say those words to me. The most I've let myself hope for is that she likes me for me. That she's not just doing this to have some part of Emily back. She looks terrified as she waits for me to respond. Eventually her nerves get the better of her and finally mumbles, "Well say something then…"