.

"Hey Naomi, how's it going– whoa! Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Damn. No other option now – Naomi has no choice but to stop and acknowledge Freddie, whose body she practically crashed into her eagerness to pass by. Not the best place to stop though. They're both standing at the edge of the crowd now, Thomas and JJ also at Freddie's side, and people are shoving and pushing at her back while they all hop around in their enthusiasm to the band currently playing. Her friend's enquiring and slightly concerned brown eyes are staring down at her, and unwillingly she lifts her frantic gaze up to meet his.

"Nowhere" she lies, her tone clipped. "I'm not hurrying anywhere".

Freddie raises an eyebrow, but an amused grin stretches over his face nonetheless. "Could have fooled me. You nearly knocked me down babe" he replies, chuckling lightly. She sees Thomas and JJ share a smile as well, but Naomi doesn't join in. Can only offer a weak grimace in reply so as not to be completely rude. Her courtesy and patience went out the window ages ago though, and she really wishes Freddie would let her continue her search in peace. Well...maybe not in peace exactly – her muddled brain is seeing to that – but at least let her go.

But her defences crumble the longer she remains under his caring gaze, and she lets out a long sigh in defeat. "Sorry. I'm just a bit jumpy" she says quietly, her voice surprisingly honest. She feels her chest tighten a little.

JJ clears his throat. "I can't say I blame you, Naomi. I'm not very well-equipped to deal with crowds either, especially since I suffer from severe social anxiety sometimes and this large amount of people would normally have me 'locking-on'. But I must actually be enjoying myself tonight because I always get a higher release of endorphins when I'm enjoying myself and that tends to keep the anxiety at bay–"

"JJ, it's not that" she eventually cuts in, somewhat impatiently. JJ stops speaking at once, a quick blush spreading across his cheeks. If it were at any other time she would have backtracked and apologized for her shortness, but right now she's not in the state of mind to do so. Thomas must feel so too; he leans towards her then, his voice raised due to the loud music pounding around them.

"Will you be alright? Would you like me to get you some water?" he asks courteously, concern and something the blonde can't place in his expression.

She smiles in spite of herself. "No, I'll be fine" she says, turning back towards Freddie. "It's nothing, really. Just...if you see Em...um, if you see the twins or anything, let me know. Okay?" she says to her friend, making to move away at last. Her precious time is dwindling by the minute.

Freddie nods, his warm brown eyes narrowing a little. "Yeah sure. No problem" he answers in confusion, giving her shoulder a light pat. She nods in thanks and is finally allowed to leave. Leaves the three of them behind so they can actually enjoy their night, unlike her, as she resumes her futile search for the elusive Emily Fitch.

She can't help but mull over how déjà vu this whole scenario is. The redhead disappeared after her last gig too, but at least the blonde managed to catch her last minute back then. The effort had turned out to be in vain however – Emily couldn't have gotten out faster if she'd tried. But Naomi can only hope that the girl hasn't done the same thing tonight. Can only hope she finds her, because those emotions she witnessed...she needs to know the cause. Needs to know why Emily might be angry with her, because she can't for the life of her figure out why the redhead would be mad. Surprised, maybe. Confused, but not mad.

So the blonde carries on pushing and pressing past people hopelessly, not taking in any faces or voices. Only looking for that one glimpse of red which will point her in the right direction. Her heart beats harder and her stomach bubbles at the thought of it.

But then she feels a hard yank on her arm and is whirled around only to come face to face with Effy Stonem. Can't even begin to stifle her surprise and incredulity before she feels the brunette's lips pressing firmly, roughly against hers. When her mind catches up with her body however, she grabs the girl by the shoulders and forcefully pushes her away. "Eff, what the fuck?" she spits out unceremoniously, glaring at her through narrowed eyelids. Except Effy doesn't seem offended by her resistance. In contrast, she has a genuine, wide smile on her pale face and a distant look in her normally piercing blue eyes.

"Naomi, babe" she whispers in that silvery voice of hers, taking a step closer once more. Then, to the blonde's surprise, those blue eyes look her up and down, taking an extra amount of time to linger on her tits. Despite her current agitation, Naomi can't help but flush under that sudden lusty gaze. "You look fucking hot" the brunette says unabashedly then, leaning into her ear and grazing her teeth along the lobe. It causes Naomi to shudder, despite the mixture of emotions running rampant inside of her. The feeling of an icy hand slipping underneath her top though, coming to rest on the heated skin of her abdomen, snaps her back to the present.

"What do you want Effy?" the blonde says, her tone bemused now rather than irritated. Effy pulls back and cocks her head to one side. Surveys Naomi's face for a long time, not one word being spoken. But the blonde's frustration swells again when the girl tucks her lip between her teeth. "Eff, stop fucking about, alright? I said, what do you–"

Thud. Next thing she knows, her back's to the nearest wall and Effy's form is pressed flush against hers. Her eyelid cracks open a fraction in order to grasp what's happening, and she sees that the brunette has steered them towards a darker area of the club. There's still people around, but Naomi's vision and mind is so blurry right now that she can't tell up from down. Can only submerge herself in the sensation of Effy's chapped lips roughly claiming her own; she feels a tongue push past her lips, and the fire between them both increases rapidly. Effy's cold hands are everywhere, and Naomi feels powerless. Feels like a useless mass of pent up energy as Effy's frantic – and almost desperate – touches sear across her skin.

"I want to fuck. I want to fuck you" she growls against Naomi's lips then, and even adds a menacing giggle to the end. But her dirty talk seems to be the wrong thing to say altogether, because it's then that Naomi's common sense kicks in. A burning flash of red kicks her motions into gear, and she shoves Effy hard. Nearly causes Effy to land on her arse on the dirty, sticky floor, but the girl manages to keep her footing just in time. Once there's space between them, the blonde realizes that she's panting profusely. Feels her limbs shaking, like she's exhausted. Her gaze flickers back to Effy, whose eyes are wide and whose head is tilted like that of an inquisitive puppy again. It causes Naomi's incredulity to flare up once more.

"What the hell are you playing at?" she croaks out, eyebrows furrowed. "We're in the middle of a club, Eff". Effy giggles in that weird way again, and Naomi's brow furrows even more. Except then she suddenly notices that those pale blue eyes are very dilated and faraway. Everything clicks into place.

"You never used to mind, remember?" Effy says, her voice hoarse. "It's not the first time I've fucked you up against a bathroom stall, Naomi" she says, her tone practically a growl now.

Naomi feels her top lip curling up in agitation. Feels annoyed by Effy's games, or whatever this ploy of hers is. The brunette could barely even meet her eye earlier, and now she wants to shag? Whatever, the blonde thinks to herself, exasperated. This thought in mind, she shakes her head and sighs harshly. Fixes Effy with a hard stare. "I dunno what you've taken, but I don't have time for this" she says shortly, and goes to stalk past Effy. Finds her path blocked when the brunette steps in front of her once more and runs a hand lasciviously up her arm.

"C'mon babe, don't be like that" she purrs, flitting her fingers downward and brushing them against Naomi's hand. "I'm just trying to have some fun. You can have some stuff too, if you'd like" she murmurs into Naomi's ear, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Then she gestures towards her pocket, and Naomi has to repress an eyeroll. Doesn't feel up to taking anything tonight. She really just wants to find Emily, and her opportunity to do so is being shortened the longer she stays here with Effy.

Their eyes meet again, blue and blue, and Naomi shakes her head. "Not tonight Eff. Just leave it, yeah?" she pleads, pulling her hand away from Effy's. But again Effy stops her in her tracks, only now the playfulness in her stance has all but disappeared. In its place is a look Naomi's never seen before. She can't quite put a name to it, but it's enough to keep any words from leaving her throat.

"Why her?" Effy whispers then, her tone hushed and cracked. Her dilated pupils flash with some indecipherable emotion, and Naomi can only stare into them dumbly. When the girl gets no response however, Naomi watches her face screw up a little. "Why not me?" she asks obscurely, and Naomi's all but lost. Doesn't know what to take from Effy's words, because she's already been confused enough by the brunette all throughout tonight.

But she knows she can't brush off Effy's comment, so answers in a more sympathetic tone. "I'm sorry, okay?" she says. "I'll see you later". Then, not sure of what else to do, she plants a soft kiss to Effy's temple and turns away before she's stopped again, her feet being the only things carrying her forward.

Her brain's gone into overdrive. Emily. Effy. Emily. Effy. Stupid Emily. Stupid Effy. Why do things always have to be so complicated? All she wants is for things to be easy, but her life has never been like that. No matter how much she drives for simplicity, she's never going to get it. So she has no choice but to persevere in her search for her friend, despite knowing that what she might hear might be a bit tough to take in.

As she continues pushing past the copious amounts of club-goers however, her sight eventually lands on Cook. She desperately heads in his direction, only to see that he's in the middle of chatting up some girl. Chatting and mildly groping. "'Sup Blondie!" he says in greeting as she approaches, wide and filthy grin in place. "Have you met Candice? She's the girl I was telling ya about earlier–"

"I need you to distract Effy" Naomi blurts out, completely disregarding the caked-up brunette he's trying to introduce her to. "Please".

Cook fixes her with a confused look, his eyes flickering pointedly between her and Candice. "Naomio, I'm kind of in the middle of something 'ere" he says, practically chuckling. It's then that she notices the lipstick kiss still smudged along his throat, except there's also a new one on his cheek. "Can't ya get somebody else to distract your girlfriend?" he continues.

Naomi ignores his words. Needs Cook to understand, to help her out. She can't stay with Effy. But with the state the girl's currently in, she's afraid to leave her alone either. "Please, Cook" she tries again, her tone and stance growing weary now. "Find her and distract her for a little while, okay? There's something I need to do". He eyeballs her questioningly for a couple more moments. Candice is looking huffily between them, clearly not impressed by Naomi's interjection. The blonde represses the urge to snarl at her.

Eventually Cook lets out a defeated sigh. "Bloody hell...fine!" he concedes. "I'll keep her busy for a while, yeah? You've got half an hour, but then I'm gone" he says sternly. Naomi nods enthusiastically, enveloping him in a quick hug just as Candice crosses her arms petulantly.

"Thank you, I owe you one" she says hastily, trying not to throw Candice a filthy before darting past him.

"You're damn righ' ya do!" she hears him call from behind her, and she can't help but laugh. It's only when she's walking away though that she realizes that the other band's still playing. She quickly glances towards the stage, and sees the crowd dancing and cheering and thoroughly enjoying themselves still. This act have been playing for a good forty minutes now. 'Silverflux's' set only lasted just under an hour, and Naomi was off and looking for Emily almost as soon as they'd finished. Unfortunately the redhead had disappeared not long after they'd played 'Monotone'. Naomi can remember the distinctly helpless feeling she'd experienced whilst watching the redhead pushing her way back through crowd, knowing that she couldn't do a single thing to stop her.

But she knows this band have not long until they're finished, and then the club is supposed to pack it in. That means she has to find Emily, and soon. She doesn't particularly want to wait until tomorrow to have her questions answered. But with all the confusion and impatience and desperation currently surging through her system, she abruptly realizes that she's dying for a fag. Bickers with her mind on whether to give in and have one, knowing she'll probably have very little time left if she does. Fuck it. One ciggie can't hurt, she reasons, hurriedly steering herself towards an exit.

She's currently on the second floor, so has to make her way downstairs to find a path outside. The nearest exit she finds leads to a dark and dingy alley, but she figures it'll do. She's not going to be spending a long time out there anyway, so she pushes open the heavy steel door leading to the alleyway and steps into the cold, wintry air. "Jesus" she groans quietly to herself, running her hands briskly up and down her arms. She curses herself for not having brought a jacket, but nevertheless shoves her hand into her pocket and pulls out her cigarette packet and a lighter. Sticks the fag in her mouth and fumbles with the lighter for a few seconds, although she's met unsuccessfully. "Fuck fuckity fuck" she curses in an angry murmur, her fingers desperately fiddling with the valve in hope of some sort of ignition.

"Need a light?"

Her hands freeze their actions, along with her entire body. She tries to register if she's hearing things, or if she really did just hear that familiar husky voice speak to her. Glances up from her slightly blue fingers to the opposite side of the alley.

It's Emily alright. The redhead is leaning against the wall across from her, ankles crossed and a sparked-up cigarette hanging from her pouted lips. She's openly staring at Naomi, and even from this angle Naomi can see the darkness in her normally bright brown eyes. But the blonde's initial surprise turns into lust the longer she eyes the redhead standing there. She looks damn sexy right now; all sultry and sophisticated looking as smoke drifts up from her lips. But then the lust is overcome by confusion and panic.

Her feet move forward of their own accord. For all the searching she's been doing, she finds she's utterly unprepared now that she's actually found Emily. Has no clue what to say to her. "Uh...you don't smoke" she says stupidly instead, coming to stop a few inches in front of Emily. The redhead doesn't even bat an eyelid. Merely exhales another puff of smoke before shrugging.

"I know. I'm making an exception for tonight" she says monotonously, and Naomi can't help but notice how dead her voice sounds. Her hand reaches into the bag hanging off her shoulder. "Need a light?" she repeats, taking one out from her bag.

Naomi gawks at her. Doesn't say anything else. Just takes the lighter and lights up her cigarette at last. "Thanks" she says quietly, then falls silent and drags on her cigarette. The rush of nicotine through her system feels like home, and abruptly she has a better grasp on where she is. Realizes why she came to find Emily in the first place. "Why are you out here?" she asks quietly, surprised by how vulnerable her voice sounds.

Emily glances away. Trains her eyes on a flickering lamplight hanging overhead and then takes another long drag of her cigarette. "I just needed some air" she eventually replies, coughing a little on her exhalation.

Naomi can't help it. She grins. "Lot good that'll do you" she says, gesturing towards the cigarette clutched in the girl's fingers. Her attempt at lightening the situation backfires entirely. Emily's eyes narrow to a glare and she steers it towards Naomi. It causes the breath to be sucked from the blonde's lungs. Emily's eyes can be very powerful when she wants them to be.

"What do you want Naomi?" she asks curtly, stubbing out her fag on the wall behind her and crossing her arms. Naomi hesitates. Fills in her time by dragging on her own cigarette, rapidly trying to come up with a plausible reply. I want to know why you're out here, and not with me. I want to know why you're angry with me. I want to know why my heart's beating so fast right now, her mind rattles off hastily, although none of it reaches her cowardly lips of course.

"I wanted to see you" she says softly instead, her tone growing even more vulnerable if possible. She might be imagining it, but she's pretty sure Emily flinches then. Except her stony demeanour quickly falls back into place a second later. "You, um...took off rather quick during our act. That's all" she lies, raising her fag to her lips once more in an attempt to mask the ache she feels.

Emily fixes her with a raised eyebrow. Then bites on her pink bottom lip. "I'm just thinking, okay?" she says, her tone much gentler now.

Naomi can feel her heart stalling a bit. Curiosity gets the better of her. "About what?" she pushes in a whisper.

Emily stares at her for a long time. Naomi doesn't move. The cigarette remains idly clutched in her fingers, the skin rapidly being eaten up by ash while she waits. But eventually Emily lets out a long sigh, and the blonde observes as a torn look flashes across her beautiful face. "I'm thinking about a lot of things, Naomes. A lot of confusing, fucked up things. And I don't know what to do about them" she says, her voice husky yet honest. The blonde feels her brow furrow in confusion. But Emily's not done. "Tell me something" she says, leaning back off the wall and standing directly in front of Naomi. The blonde searches her eyes, silently imploring her to continue. Emily chews on her lip again, cocking her head to one side. "Was it Effy's?"

Naomi stalls. Drops her charred cigarette and raises her eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?" she asks uncomprehendingly.

Emily's expression doesn't waver. "'Monotone'. Was it Effy who wrote it?" she explains, her voice becoming lifeless once more.

Oh. That, she realizes, trying not to add a mental 'duh' to the end. But the redhead's question takes her aback nonetheless. She expected to be out here talking about Emily, and now the spotlight's been turned onto her. And if Emily's unfaltering stance is anything to go by, neither of them are leaving here before she gives an answer. "Um...no. She didn't". The blonde watches Emily's eyes flash, and automatically predicts the follow-up question. "I...I did" she mumbles, the words barely audible.

Emily's eyelids slip closed and she takes a deep breath in. Naomi watches, fascinated, while at the same time her heart continues to race at a million miles an hour. Something tells her that they're about to steer into dangerous territory. It's what she's been dreading for weeks.

But then the redhead's dark brown eyes reappear from weary lids, and Naomi almost has to gasp at how emotional they are. She can see Emily's walls flickering through them. "Who?" she asks, her husky voice brittle.

"Who what?" the blonde responds, brow furrowing.

"Who was it for?" she asks, and a hint of hysteria creeps into her tone at the end. Naomi winces. Feels her throat grow dry and her palms grow sweaty. Suddenly wishes she had her cigarette back, because Emily almost looks...pleading right now.

"It...it wasn't for anyone" she says in a hushed tone. It's not a total lie – the song is about someone, and technically that someone was never supposed to hear it in the first place. But Emily isn't having any of her excuses; the redhead lets out a growl – one that could match one of Katie's – and whirls around, her back now facing Naomi.

"You're so bloody annoying!" the redhead exclaims then, and Naomi winces again. Feels her resolve growing weaker by the minute as they both stand there in this dark, dirty alley in the cold cold night. All she wants in that moment is to embrace Emily. To protect her from the cold, from whatever is causing her anger. No. What she really wants is to rewind time so that she never wrote that stupid fucking song in the first place, so that they still might be able to leave here as friends.

"I'm sorry" is all she can say, although she's not really sure what she's apologizing for. Her effort has the opposite desired effect – Emily whirls around again, her face screwed up in frustration. It pierces Naomi's chest. Makes her feel tiny and awful.

"You should be fucking sorry" Emily growls, and her voice is on the verge of breaking. Naomi can only stand there hopelessly. It's clear. Emily's figured it out. She's figured out that Naomi likes her, and now wants absolutely nothing to do with her. Who can blame her, really? She never was a very good friend in the first place. Emily deserves better. Emily doesn't deserve a selfish person like her, who can never make her mind up when needed.

Nevertheless, the blonde can only watch helplessly while Emily begins to pace frantically before her. The girl stumbles in her heels, but bats Naomi's hand away when she attempts to help her. "No, don't touch me" she growls again, and Naomi immediately obliges and withdraws her hand. Feels her heart clench at the pained look on Emily's face. "You can't touch me, alright? You can't touch me. Not after everything I've done. Not after everything I've put myself through to be a good friend to you" she babbles, her voice broken and rushed.

Naomi bites down hard on her lip. Feels tears beginning to pool in her eyes, as she realizes just how much she's fucked things up between them. "I didn't want this to happen...it just did. I'm sorry" she apologizes again, her words weak and hopeless. Emily continues to pace, her expression completely overwrought with confusion and despair. Naomi doesn't know what to do. Emily's normally so calm, so cool, so laid-back. She's never seen her like this. Can't understand how she's this upset.

"You fucking write a song like that...and expect me to be okay with it? No. I can't do this, I can't fucking do this anymore. It's too hard" she murmurs, although it's said more-so to herself. Naomi merely remains a bystander, watching the redhead while she attempts to keep her own self together. Attempts to keep silent while her heart beats painfully in her chest.

"I know. I'm sor–"

"And you don't even care. You're off fucking Effy, acting as if everything's okay between us, when I'm fucking going crazy here. When I'm fucking feeling like this. Nobody should have to go through this, it's too hard" she continues, her eyes becoming glossy now. Naomi pauses. Runs over the girl's words in her head, and suddenly realizes that not everything is adding up. "I can't be your friend when you don't even care. It isn't going to work. I'm always going to feel this way, and I can't even do anything about it because you're with Effy and I'm nothing more than a friend to you–"

Emily's rant is well and thoroughly cut off as Naomi lunges forward. She can't help it. Emily's words. Emily's voice. The misery. The defeat. The utter agony. It doesn't sound like something a friend would say. So it's then – while Emily's eyes are blazing with fire, while her body is wracked by grief – that Naomi finally puts two and two together. And suddenly she can't get close to Emily fast enough.

She throws her arms around the petite girl's body, one arm locked around her waist and the other wrapped up in her long red hair, and crushes their lips together. Emily squeals against Naomi's lips in surprise, but soon gives up any attempt at resistance when Naomi guides them back towards the wall. Their bodies collide, flush against one another, and Naomi is left to drown. Drown in the exquisite taste of Emily's lips finally, actually against hers. And better yet, Emily is kissing back. Those lips are kissing her back, and they're softer and needier than Naomi can ever have imagined. It's too much. It's too much fucking happiness for one person to handle.

She glides her hand from around Emily's waist and clutches at her hip instead, her nails digging in. Emily's hands come up to link around her neck in response, the sensation sending ripples up Naomi's spine. Then the blonde untangles her fingers from Emily's hair and places her hand gently on the girl's cheek. Opens her mouth further to deepen the kiss and slip her tongue into Emily's mouth, to which the redhead obliges.

A soft moan escapes Emily's mouth, and it causes another shudder to fly through Naomi's system. She's on fire. Emily's tongue is frantically pressing against hers, and she's ablaze. Are things capable of being this heated? She can't even remember if she ever felt this dizzy, this euphoric with Effy. If so, then it was a long long time ago.

But then a thought manages to cross her mind – which is quite a feat – and she abruptly pulls away from Emily's lips, resting her own lips against the redhead's ear. "It...it was for you. It's always been you, Ems" she whispers softly, and she's shocked by her own honesty. She's never felt so controlled by her emotions before – normally it's her head that does all the talking. But it seems to have been the right thing to say, because Emily pulls back and looks deep into Naomi's wild blue eyes. That sparkle is back in those brown eyes, and Naomi's never been happier to see it. All that anger and despair from just a few moments ago has all but disappeared, and in its place is one of the softest looks Naomi's ever seen. It makes her stomach fizzle with happiness, her heart thump in triumph.

"Did that really just happen, or am I imagining things?" Emily asks, and her voice is unbearably husky and tentative. It makes Naomi blush. Makes a beam break out over her face as she stares down at the redhead.

"I think it did" she replies, laughing awkwardly. She rearranges her hands, linking her fingers around Emily's back against the wall. "Otherwise we've both gone crazy" she adds, her smile turning into a smirk.

Emily giggles happily then, and fuck Naomi if it doesn't sound girly. It makes the butterflies flutter around her stomach some more. But then Emily's expression changes, and a seriousness sweeps over her face. She lowers her hands, leaving one to rest at Naomi's collarbone and the other to twirl with the ends of her blonde hair. Naomi watches her all the while, eager to know what the redhead is thinking. What's brought them to this. Does Emily feel the same way as she does? Is she actually gay? Or is this just a thing, an experiment? Convenient?

"Ems?" she pushes gently, and feels Emily's body quiver underneath her fingertips at the use of the pet name. The redhead lets out a long sigh then and finally raises her eyes to meet Naomi's. Remains silent for a few more moments, before eventually parting her slightly swollen lips to speak.

"Naomi, I...I don't know–"

"Emily! Where the fuck are you?"

The loud, obtrusive voice of Katie rings through their ears, and suddenly Emily's pushing Naomi away as if she's being scalded. The blonde ends up several feet from her, and abruptly feels ten times more cold than she did when she first stepped out here.

"Emsy! Em– oh thank fuck, there you are you silly cow!" the blonde hears then, and unconsciously turns her head toward the top of the alley. There stands Katie, arm slung through the arm of some polo-shirt wearing, creatine-muscled guy. She's wobbling a bit in her heels, and has a sloppy grin on her face. Shitfaced, Naomi thinks automatically. "Hey Naomi" the twin says to her, throwing her a hasty smile. Then she looks back at Emily. "Jesus, where you been Ems? This place is brilliant! This is Brian, I met him here" she says, her slurred voice turning very generous whilst she gestures to her bloke. He looks thoroughly disinterested in introductions, but is making a fine job of looking like a lecherous creep while he eyeballs Katie beside him.

Naomi drags her gaze away from them and – with great effort – looks back at Emily. Her stance is rigid, and there's a fixed smile on her face. More notably though, she's not looking anywhere near Naomi. "Nice to meet you" the redhead murmurs, stepping forward and waving in greeting. The guy's eyes light up as he takes Emily in.

"Hold up...are you guys twins? Wicked! Today's my lucky day" he says in a gruff voice. He jostles Katie's arm a bit with his and wiggles his eyebrows, but Katie merely rolls her eyes and scoffs. Emily smiles awkwardly. The blonde can see that she's wringing her hands anxiously.

"Don't listen to him. He's a tosser" Katie says, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. Brian chuckles, but then Katie returns her attention to Emily. "Anyway, as I was saying, the club's finished up now and I was thinking that Brian could come back to our place with us, yeah?" Katie explains, her glazed eyes flickering pointedly back and forth between Emily and Brian.

Naomi looks past Katie's shoulder. There's a steady stream of people strolling past the alleyway. Everyone's leaving, which means she'll have to go find the others soon. But there's something in Katie's words that irks Naomi, and she can't help herself when she voices it. Finds that her emotions are thoroughly in control of her today. "It's not your place, Katie. It's Emily's" she points out, her tone stern. Naomi senses Emily's gaze tentatively flicker over to her then, and the feeling pierces at her like a knife. She tries to meet those eyes, but Emily looks away too quickly.

Katie snorts, undeterred. "Whatever. She's my sister. That makes it as good as mine" she says brashly, and Naomi can't help but raise an eyebrow. Can't help but wait for Emily to fight back, to say anything, and more importantly acknowledge her presence rather than just stand there like a mute. But Emily says nothing; the redhead nods slowly, letting an empty smile flash across her face.

"Sure. Of course" she says, her voice now back to that dead sound again. Naomi grimaces. Feels utterly confused and pained by Emily's drastic change in demeanour. This isn't the girl that Naomi knows. The girl Naomi just – holy fuck – kissed. She finds that Emily turns into a whole other person around her sister. She's not sure if she likes this Emily. Emily's stronger than this. Emily's not a pushover.

Katie smiles widely, biting her lip. "Great. I already get your coat for you, babes. Let's go now, yeah?" she instructs, lowering her arm and linking her fingers with Brian's. Panic rushes through Naomi's veins as she watches Emily step forward to retrieve her coat from Katie. Feels her chest seizing and her palms growing sweaty again.

"Wait!" she shouts, a little more desperately than she would have liked. All three of the others stop, and Naomi hesitates. Fixes her gaze upon Emily, who's looking very white all of a sudden. "Can I...can I just speak to Emily for a sec? Please?" she asks, her voice weak and pleading. Emily still doesn't look at her, but Katie sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Fine. Me and Brian will go get a taxi. Be ready in two minutes, okay Emsy?" the twin says, her gaze flashing between Emily and Naomi in confusion. Then she steers herself and Brian towards the main street, and immediately Naomi stalks forward until she's right in front of Emily.

"Emily, what's going on? What's this all about"

Naomi's urgent questions are abruptly cut off when Emily rushes forward and grabs her face with both hands, hastily pushing their lips together. Her words die in her throat as she feels Emily's soft pink lips caressing her own again, the pace much more gentle and tender this time. But there's also a desperation Naomi can sense, can feel the redhead's fingers are gripping her face a little too hard, and she can hear little whimpers escaping her throat.

"Hey, hey" she coos while pulling away. She takes Emily's hands in hers and looks deep into the girl's suddenly fearful brown eyes. "It's okay. What's wrong?"

The redhead reluctantly meets her concerned stare and bites down hard on her lip. "I'm sorry. Katie, I mean...it's just bad timing" she mumbles inarticulately, her eyes hastily flickering all over the place. Naomi doesn't speak, although remains silently dubious. The last thing she wants is for Emily to be regretting what just happened. Especially when she's not sure what to make of all this herself. In a matter of minutes, they've gone from being friends to being...what exactly? And the funny thing is that although she never chases ordinarily just gets up and moves on this time she's actually dreading whether or not Emily will reject her. It was bad enough contemplating the loss of their friendship...but this has the potential to be something. Something she doesn't want to lose.

Eventually Emily lets out a soft sigh, raising her hand to stroke it along Naomi's cheek. "I can't do this. Not tonight, anyway" she says quietly, although hastily adding the last part upon feeling Naomi twitch in panic. A sheepish smile spreads over her face, and Naomi's eyes search hers expectantly. She tries desperately to conceal the hurt she secretly feels at Emily's words. "Tomorrow. I promise. We'll talk tomorrow" she whispers reassuringly, and leans forward to place another soft kiss to Naomi's lips before backing away entirely.

Naomi's struck dumb. Just about manages to mutter out a silly, "Okay", at Emily's retreating form.

The redhead pauses just as she's about to round the corner, and offers a soft, "Goodnight Naomes", before disappearing.

And Naomi is left in that dark and dingy alleyway. Is left to think about the rollercoaster of emotions she's experienced tonight – the fear, anxiety and dread; all morphing into lust, euphoria and happy disbelief; turning back into sorrow, loneliness and grief again. And she knows she couldn't feel more alone right now if she tried. Can only pray that Emily keeps to her word, and talks to her tomorrow. Because no matter how much she'll try to brush things off like she usually does, like with Effy for instance...she knows she'll end up wanting and waiting to hear that husky voice again.

.