Wow! I've officially been writing this over a year now. When did that happen? And I know, I know, "A year? A year, you say? And they haven't even held hands!" I hear ya. One year en counting I just wanted to say thanks for continuing on with this and my mad marathon of a story. I probably would have stopped by now without your lovely reviews and favorites and alerts and whathaveyou. Shall we march on?
Reviewers: fookyeahskins, skinsfan15, Funsponge, YouMeafIsMine, els, SA, R3dN0te, cumbia86, nitaxnitro, Steph81, and Deyanira-chan – I think this may be the most reviews I've had yet for a chapter of this fic, thank you mighty kindly. Always makes my day.
Please do let me know what you think. And as always, thanks for reading.
And I know, I know. Chivalry is Dead – I'm working on it.
I don't own Skins or anything of the sort.
Chapter XXI: It might be for her, but for now it's between green and gray
..
..
Naomi shook her head in an attempt to realign her subconscious priorities. She needed to stop staring. God damn shiny things. She cursed a god she didn't believe in for the creation of all things shiny. She needed to stop staring at Emily's newly pierced lip. Center. Hoop. Shiny. Lips. Dammit. She shook her head again, pointedly staring forward at the black board. Apparently that's what Emily did when she was mad or spiteful or bored – she did whatever the fuck she wanted; she got her lip pierced. Blue eyes swayed from black and chalky to kissable and shiny. Dammit. Naomi hadn't realized she was a fan of lip piercings, but she was. She really, really was.
"Something's new," She had stated at the beginning of class. After the professor was running late and she couldn't not acknowledge it, the metal hoop that currently adorned Emily's lower lip. Because that's exactly what Naomi needed, another reason to stare at the girls lips. And then that husky voice would emit from those lips. She needed to focus. She needed to focus on something else.
Emily smirked as Naomi's eyes finally, laboriously, found the redheads once again. "Felt like a change," she shrugged. Naomi glanced back down at her lips, her smirking lips, she looked away again.
"Nice," Naomi nodded, "err…I mean, it looks…nice. Suits you."
The smirk changed to a smile. "Thanks."
Damn shiny things. Naomi let out a huff of air looking back down to the unenthusiastic equation on the board. So much for learning anything today.
..
Naomi walked back from class with Emily. Another Monday survived. They stopped in her doorway and Naomi closed her eyes fighting the urge to cringe. Sophia was waiting for her in her room. Sophia made her nervous, in a different way than Emily did. Emily and Sophia in the same room also made her doubly so.
"Naomi," Sophia said, stopping when she noticed Emily. Naomi looked between the two girls as they appeared to be sizing each other up.
"Oh, Naomi," Emily began, "Tell that wife of yours if she wants my help with her Spanish homework that I'll be online round seven. Or if that doesn't work for her, she can just Facebook message me."
Naomi laughed through an eye roll. "I'll be sure to let Alex know."
"Okay well, later." Emily said giving Naomi a smirk before throwing her gaze at Sophia then back again to the blonde as she backed away towards her own room.
"She talks to Alex?" Sophia questioned looking slighted.
"Yeah?" Naomi answered. What did Sophia care?
"Are they friends?"
Naomi shrugged, "Sort of."
Sophia huffed, "She wouldn't friend me on Facebook, but they're friends?"
Naomi was slightly befuddled. "Well, you and Alex have never spoken soo…"
"But they have?"
"Yeah?"
"How?"
"What business is it of yours?" She was about the last person Naomi would want to share that story with.
"None, apparently." Sophia spat standing up and exiting the room.
"What the actual fuck?" Naomi said to herself. Not chasing after the girl, instead shutting her door.
..
..
Naomi didn't really consider Tuesday night a drinking sort of night but the boys had called "family dinner" so there it was. They actually called it "family dinner", the saps. These nights were different from normal parties or shindigs. If an event was labeled a "family dinner" it was basically mandatory, like when playing Apples to Apples and someone pulled ninja, pirate, or Barbara Walters; it didn't matter the category – that card won. So too, if "family dinner" was called, you showed up.
This night the excuse was some match Naomi didn't care about, but that wasn't the point of them anyway, not really. The basic criteria consisted of eating a home cooked meal and get pissed with mates. Though this one would be different, also. It was the first family dinner of the semester. It was the first family dinner since Andy didn't live there.
The longer the night went on, the more appealing getting munted on a Tuesday became. By half nine Naomi was halfway through her fourth drink. The food was gone, the match was boring, the new flat mate was a bit flirty, and then there was Sophia; clingy, well on her way to getting pissed, Sophia.
"Shot?" Jared asked, producing a bottle of clear liquid. He had light brown hair and was maybe a hair taller than Sid, his new roommate.
"Thank fuck someone brought vodka," Naomi praised raising her arms in thanks as she removed herself from her spot on the couch. She would have willingly gotten up for something lesser than vodka if it meant creating a bit of breathing room between her and Sophia "I'm a drunk close talker" Moore. The vodka was just an added bonus. "Jared, I may just like you yet."
"It's not vodka," Jared scoffed as she stood next to him at the table. "It's gin."
"Gin? Why the fuck would you get gin?"
"Um, because it's delicious and I'm classy," he retorted.
Naomi laughed.
"Have you never had it before?"
"No," Naomi made a face.
"Well we'll fix that," he smirked pouring two shots and handing her one.
Naomi coughed as the liquid burned down her throat. She clanked the shot glass back onto the table, her face crinkled in disgust. She looked like a cat with a particularly unpleasant hairball. "That was awful! Why would you make me drink that?" she shoved at his arm with some force, in a friendly way.
"And this is why we can't have nice things," He laughed. "That is some quality gin I just wasted on you."
Naomi stuck her tongue out of her mouth as if trying to free her taste buds from the residual gin in her mouth. "Jesus," she whined with a cough, "that is like old man and pine needles. Disgusting."
"You've tasted old man?"
"No," she rolled her eyes, her mouth still pulled into a foul face. "But if old man was a flavour – that's what it would taste like," she yucked.
She lifted her eyes at the movement in the kitchen doorway. Effy stood with a cat that got the cream smirk on her face and a half drunk bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand. "Andy forgot his secret stash of Jack," she grinned victoriously.
"You knew that was there?" Naomi questioned abandoning Jared and his gin.
Effy gave her a look, "I know everything."
Naomi rolled her eyes, of course she did.
It was no longer Tuesday as Naomi surveyed her surroundings. Maxxie had disappeared a half hour ago after a booty call from Toga Sam. Tony was contently smoking a spliff silently on the couch next to a passed out Sid who had marker drawn all over his face (the poor bastard had fallen asleep with his shoes on). A shoeless Panda was passed out next to him Sharpie still in hand. Sid had a half drawn smiling flower next to a detailed penis on his forehead. "He never learns," Tony had said mid drawing, "four years on and still Sidney neglects to remember his shoes." Effy had disappeared at some point, in usual fashion, though only after kindly removing Panda's shoes for her. Overall it was relatively successful family dinner.
Naomi stood up from her chair. "Whoa," she placed her hand on the table as everything in view wobbled a bit. She was drunk. It was definitely a successful family dinner.
She had been bantering with Jared and sidestepping Sophia most of the night. Sophia was currently in the bathroom. Where was that other bugger?
Naomi stopped in the open doorway of his room.
"This is disgusting," she stated as she surveyed the piles of clothing, dirty dishes, and unmade beds. In the lads defense his side looked tidy comparatively to Sid's half, but it was still proper filthy all around. No wonder Tony refused to share a room with Sid.
"You could help me clean it," Jared smirked, attempting his best puppy dog face.
Naomi let out a burst of laughter.
"Oh, you're serious," she said after a moment before resuming her laughter. She was definitely a bit drunk and he was more than a bit absurd if he thought he could convince her to clean up his room.
"Aw, come on," he grinned, "You'd do a much better job of it than I would."
He was just being funny but she raised an eyebrow at him, the lazy pounce.
"What are you doing?" Naomi heard from behind her. Sophia appeared clogging the rest of the doorway. Naomi took a step forward to avoid contact.
"Naomi here was just offering to help tidy this place up a bit," he winked at Naomi. She rolled her eyes as they shared the joke. Lazy pounce. "Thought we'd make a start with the bed," he said leaning back onto his elbows, atop the pile of clothing on his unmade bed. "Care to join?"
Naomi laughed again. Partly because of the alcohol and partly because she knew he was half expecting it to work. Sadly, it probably did on some freshman girls.
Sophia looked affronted glaring between the lad and Naomi before turning out of the door.
"Are you coming?" she asked Naomi, turning round.
"I'm alright."
Sophia left in a huff.
"Someone's got their knickers in a bunch," He observed still lounged on his bed.
Naomi let out a laugh turning to watch Sophia grab the bottle of gin off the table. "You've no idea."
"Little girl needs to learn to take a joke," he added "though I was completely serious bout the cleaning, how bout it sweetheart, care to stick around?"
"Don't call me sweetheart," she said leaving the room. It was an honest, dirty proposition and part of Naomi just wished she were the type of girl that would be flattered and would want to stay. But she wasn't.
..
"Can we just talk?" Sophia said forlornly.
"About what?" Naomi sighed, stopping in the stairwell of their dorm. "What could there possibly still be to talk about, Sophia?"
It was becoming more than tiresome, these drunk talks. They were also becoming a much unwelcome regular occurrence.
"You act different around me now," Sophia said, "You act differently than before…"
Naomi sighed. She didn't want to be having this talk. She especially didn't want to be having this talk in a stairwell for it to echo for all to hear. But the alternative was bringing Sophia back to hers as Effy had gone back to theirs ages ago. She really didn't want Sophia in her room so really that wasn't an option. Projecting stairwell it was.
"What did you expect?" Naomi breathed leaning against the whitewashed cinderblock wall.
"Can't things just go back to the way they were?" Sophia implored.
"I don't know."
"You never know."
"So why do you keep asking then?" She hated this, all of it; the awkwardness, the accusation in her eyes, the ceaseless drunken chats. Naomi stared out the dark window at the unnatural yellow light the streetlamp produced, anywhere but the brunette's eyes. There was a resentment festering insider her and she knew it, felt it. Yet she was trying because however fucked up this situation was they had become pretty good mates at one point and if nothing else you owed a friend a bit of effort, did you not? Besides, she was nothing if not an avoider. And to tell Sophia off would mean being emotional and that was an unnecessary endeavor.
"You never want to hangout anymore."
"I've been busy…"
"No, you just hangout with other people."
"What am I not allowed friends?"
"No…that's not what I'm saying," Sophia sighed, frustrated. "I just miss you. And what we had, what we had before I bogged everything up."
Naomi sat on the small edge of the windowsill. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all.
"Do you like him?" Sophia blurted out of nowhere.
"What?" Naomi asked perplexed.
"Jared," Sophia elaborated with accusing hazy eyes. "You were chatting with him all night."
"I don't want to shag everyone I talk to, you know," she replied, folding her arms.
"But you were flirting."
She had been, looking back, she hadn't completely shut down his flirting, but there was no crime in that. Besides it was harmless, with everything currently going on in her university life, she could go for a bit of harmless banter.
"Stop, okay?" Naomi breathed pinching her fingers over the bridge of her nose as she shut her eyes, "Just stop."
..
Naomi shut her door. Letting her head thud back against the wood. Her buzz had faded into a dull tired headache, the kind that settles behind the eyes, after the unnecessarily long unnecessary chat with Sophia.
She thought she might explode if she had to listen to Sophia talk any longer. Trying to follow the girl's train of thought was like attempting to follow a drunken sailors meandering path by night with no torch. "I miss our friendship, you're different, I don't like you, we're friends, you've become distant, imagine if we'd of been more than friends?" They said Da Vinci could draw a perfect circle freehand. Sophia was no artist with her words.
She had just climbed into bed when there was a knock on her door. After a second knock persisted in the silence of Naomi's indecisive pause, she turned back climbing down: bed to chair to floor.
She opened the door to find the face she had been so relieved to rid herself of not moments ago.
"What?" Her voice was neither pleasant nor curious. It was bone creaking tired, it was annoyed.
"They're doing stuff again…" the brunette stated hugging her SpongeBob SquarePants pillow to herself. Naomi assumed she meant Effy and her current boy. "Can I stay here?"
Naomi sighed and turned from the door, but she left it open. Without a word Naomi hit the lights and climbed back into bed. She felt herself sink into it. It had been one of those nights where once finally in bed it had felt earned.
"The floor is really uncomfortable," she heard a small voice say.
Naomi kept her eyes closed.
"Can I sleep up there with you?"
"No."
There was a pause. Naomi hoped that was the end of it, but it was just that: a pause.
"We could sleep head to foot?"
"No."
There was a sigh from below.
"Could I have an extra pillow then at least?"
Naomi squeezed her eyes shut tighter.
"No."
"Naomi – "
She cut her off, "You have your own room with your own bed."
That was the end of it.
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..
Naomi was tired, thankfully not too hungover, and cranky. Emily had not been in maths today. Naomi had spent all class wishing she were sleeping instead. She had spent all class wishing Emily were there to pass unimportant notes with and to poke her when her eyes would shut for more than just a lazy blink.
It had been the kind of day where closing your eyes was lovely and opening them again tedious. She sat in her chair at her desk, quietly being unproductive as Panda mirrored her on her respective side of the room. The door was closed, for a change. It hadn't been the best of days; she didn't need it to get worse with unwanted visitors.
A knock sounded on the door. Naomi and Panda froze mid movement. Their wide eyes instantly found each others. Neither said a word. Panda slinked up to the door and peered through the view. She snapped her head back toward Naomi who still sat motionless at her desk.
Panda pointed at the door and opened her mouth to speak. Naomi instantly brought her finger up to her lips creating the universal sign for "be quiet" and hoped Panda would take the hint. She knew Panda would attempt to whisper, but Panda didn't quite understand that talking with a hush in your voice and actually whispering were not in fact the same thing.
Panda smiled, vigorously nodding her head.
"It's Sophia," Panda shout whispered.
Naomi winced. In that moment she was sure of a few things: One, Panda had said that loud enough; two, Sophia was still outside the door; and three, Sophia had heard that.
She sighed, "It's open." She watched the knob turn and Sophia enter.
Naomi felt something twist in her stomach, and unlike when with Emily, Naomi can actually place a feeling to it; dread. It definitely wasn't dread she felt around Emily. She wasn't thinking about Emily, she reminded herself.
Call the devil and he shall appear, Emily walked by just then as Sophia stepped into the room. Naomi had found it odd that she wasn't in maths earlier that day. Sometimes the redhead would skive off class, but it was usually on a Friday, which today was not. Her brow furrowed, an unfamiliar brunette walked by at Emily's side.
The tectonic plates of Naomi's forehead shifted further creating new mountain ranges across the scope of her face. She didn't register a single word Sophia said. Like stop-motion, blue eyes followed the pair as they walked by. She didn't know her, the tall brunette with Emily, but she did. Alex had done enough creeping or "recon" as she called it for the both of them all those months ago. So she didn't know the brunette, but she did. Naomi leaned back in her chair. So that was Mandy. So they had gotten back together.
…
…
Alex wasn't texting her back. Alex always texted her back, especially when it was about things of this nature. When it was Emily related. That meant one of two things. One, she killed her mobile, wouldn't be the first time. Or, her mother had found her out on something, and not for the last time.
Aurora K. as they lovingly referred to her as was a lovely woman, whom had never been anything but kind to Naomi. She was sort of a second mother to her, the two friends being inseparable since that fateful day all those years ago. But like most mothers, Aurora K. was also a force to be reckoned with.
Eventually she received a confirmation text.
Alex: The eyes of the hawk are upon me. Aurora saw the charge card bill…woops. I'll sneak a call later.
And that was it, all day.
..
They walked by again. Not just her, but they, them. She sat at her desk unmoving as she stared into the deserted hallway. The day had been a slow and arduous. She had stopped attempting to ward off Sophia by closing her door. It was futile.
She should be relieved, really, she told herself as the two girls disappeared from view without so much as a glance. It could never really be an option. It was just a silly infatuation perpetuated into something it was not by her over enthusiastic best mate. She needed to tell Alex to get a new hobby, one that didn't involve her and encouraging girls. That was it. Simple. So why did she have this feeling in the hollow of her gut?
Her body position unchanged and her brain cogs whirred, that was how Will found her.
The smiling boy bopped into her line of vision whistling a tune, he held a CD case up triumphantly.
"Every bit of Dispatch music released and some live stuff," he grinned waving the case in front of the blonde's face. Naomi blinked as if to clear her mind.
She smiled at him, "Seriously?"
"Yup," he continued, "It's a data CD, so you've got to convert it all to listen to it, but all the files are there."
"Right," she nodded placing the CD on her desk. She used technology, doesn't mean she truly understood it. She'd ask Alex what the hell a data CD was later, if she would ever actually call her that was. The smartarse was still MIA. Aurora K must have taken her phone. Of all the times Aurora had to strike down…it just had to be now.
"So what'd ya say?" Will asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Sorry, what?"
"Tomorrow night, house party, in town, should be pretty grand," he reiterated. "Would you like to go?"
"Oh," Naomi said as she heard a door close and Emily appear with Mandy walking by again. "Yeah, sure. Yeah I'd love to. It'll be fun."
He smiles, "Brilliant. I'll talk to you more bout it in psychology tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yeah."
..
..
"The kegs tapped," Sarah announced sidling up next to Naomi and Will who were midway through a game of flagship. Coincidentally the fab four were happened to attend the same party. It wasn't that big of a school or town. God she felt a bit mashed. Why she had agreed to flagship, she didn't know. It was like beruit only the first cup was always filled to the brim. It wasn't her brightest moment in agreeing, but thankfully their opponents didn't make the front cup too often.
"There's another party going on round the way at my mate's flat," Brandt said joining them as Naomi watched their adversaries (thankfully) miss the front cup. "Shall we head there when you're done?"
"Ace," Will said as he passed Naomi the ping-pong ball. "You're up Secret Weapon."
He called her that because she was good and because the wankers they were playing assumed all girls couldn't hit a cup to save their lives. It was satisfying, the shocked faces they would make every time she sunk a cup. It was priceless every time it was the front one.
"SECRET WEAPON!" Will shouted joyously as she stuck again. He spun her round in usual fashion. How she wasn't dizzy from all the spinning and the drinking was beyond her.
..
"So where are we going?" Naomi asked as she walked with Will and the rest of the group.
"Duno," Will shrugged, "Some mate of Brandt's is having a party supposedly."
The two were side by side as the rest of the group was a few paces ahead. Naomi chuckled to herself as Sean vaulted himself onto Brandt's back, handling his piggyback ride as if Brandt were a bucking bronco: hand up, hat in hand.
"Thanks for inviting me," Naomi said bumping Will with her shoulder. "I'm having fun."
"I'm glad you came," he smiled, "and same."
She wasn't sure who reached for whose hand, or if they had simply brushed together and settled there, but Naomi found her hand in Will's. She couldn't remember the last time she'd held hands with a boy, the sizing seemed all wrong, her hand easily engulfed by his. Though it wasn't unpleasant, just different.
They both laughed as Sean fell off of Brandt with a thud onto the sidewalk. A surprised Brandt hunched over his follow comrade, doubled over in laughter.
This was nice, Naomi thought as the two swung their joined hands between themselves as they continued their walk.
Sarah turned around and spotted them. "Awww," she cooed, "How cute."
Naomi rolled her eyes, flipping the girl off. Sarah was just taking the piss, as friends do, before promptly turning back around leaving them to it.
"This is it!" Brandt said a few blocks later as they stopped in front of a loud house. He rubbed his hands together. "Shall we help kick their keg as well?" he smirked before leading the way in.
..
..
Effy followed Naomi's eye line, in turn watching Emily and an unfamiliar tall brunette walk past. She looked back at the blonde who stared at the now empty hall.
Emily had not been in maths again today either. It's not like they talked everyday or anything, but somehow Emily had become a constant in her university life. They hadn't talked properly since maths class on Monday, which seemed eons ago now. She didn't like it it was weird. Naomi felt a pang in her stomach. She wasn't hungry. She missed Emily she realized.
"Come home with me this weekend."
"What?" Naomi asked, blinking, bringing herself back to the present.
"Yeah, come home with me this weekend. We've got the holiday Monday – might was well make use of it."
"Well…" the blonde stammered, debating. Effy took her indecision as a yes.
"Good, sorted." She said slipping off of Panda's desk. "Tell Panda to start packing when you see her. She's coming too."
"What?" Naomi asked, confused.
"Oh and were leaving at seven." The brunette added as she left, just as enigmatically as she had appeared.