AN: Hello, lovelies! This chapter had to be split in half because I don't know what I was thinking when I was writing it but it ended up hella long... So here's part one. I have a review to address. To alexberkeley: Weren't you paying attention, love? It's magic! :) So anyways... here it is. Enjoy!

Emily

I wake up tangled with Naomi and a smile lights up my face. I let my eyes travel every visible inch of her and like always I'm breathless. She's so beautiful. I trace my fingertips lightly over her cheek and she smiles in her sleep. That's when the tears come again. Why did she have to pick me? She's perfect; and she could've done so much better. All I've done is hurt her.

Naomi stirs and I quickly try to compose myself. I practically sing praises when my phone rings, giving me an excuse to hide. I quickly grab it from the night table and run into the hallway. Still wiping at my eyes, I answer it.

"Morning, Kay." I say to my sister and my mind is wiped completely clean when she replies.

"Emmmssssyyyy!" she all but shouts down the phone. Always count on Katie to be a good distraction.

"Fuck's sake, Katie, what have you taken?" I ask her and her immediate reply is to giggle.

"No idea." She tell me and I roll my eyes.

"Jesus" I sigh, pulling the phone away so she doesn't hear me. I replace it to my ear. "Kay, are you alright?" I ask.

"Tip-top, Emsy! She giggles and a long silence follows. I scrunch up my brow.

"Err, Kay, was there a reason you called?" I ask her. Usually Katie doesn't waste time with words, ever. She just says what she's thinking and gets on with it.

"I want to see you." She says. That's more like it. "I need to see you." She adds and her blissful, drug induced tone has vanished. I nod, even though she can't see me.

"Alright." I tell her, "We'll have a night out, yeah? Have everyone to a club." I know she's smiling on the other end. Whenever Katie needs to clear her head there's only one way for her: Party.

"Perfect" she says, "You call everyone, yeah? Meet at Effy's at 9. Love you." and with that she hangs up. I roll my eyes and walk back into the room.

"Were you crying?" is the first thing I hear from a now wide awake Naomi. I sigh. No point in lying to her. She'll squeeze it out of me anyway.

"Yeah." I nod, "I'm always crying." I add, bitterly. Naomi frowns.

"What was it this time?" she asks and my heart melts at how helpless she looks. She wants so badly to make me ok.

"Nothing." I shrug, "Just me." Her frown gets bigger and I kiss her temple to show her I'll be alright. She smiles lightly and my heart soars only to crash and burn when I remember that it's my fault this isn't real. We're not really together and it's because I'm a chicken shit.

"Who was on the phone?" she asks me and I'm glad for the distraction.

"Katie." I tell her, "We're going out tonight." I search her eyes, seeking approval. She simply nods as if she doesn't care, one way or the other. "Club." I tell her, "We're meeting at yours at 9." She nods again, with a small smile this time.

"Good, I've been missing Eff, anyway." She says and I start to feel guilty again. Not only am I jerking her heart around but I'm taking time from her best friend as well. Naomi notices my expression.

"Hey," she says, pushing hair from my face, "I'd rather be with you. That's my choice, ok?" God. I want to kiss that sweet look right off of her. How did she get so perfect? And why is she wasting it on me?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX

The rest of the day goes by with Naomi and I just hanging about, watching telly. We decided we would get ready for tonight at Naomi's and at half eight that's where we are, approaching the Stonem/Campbell house.

"I haven't been home in ages." Naomi comments, "I wonder how Mum is."

"Well let's go find out." I tell her and I grab her hand, dragging her toward the house. When we get inside it is quite the sight to behold. There is Karaoke again but this time it's just Gina, singing off key and completely munted while Anthea sits on the sofa behind her, shaking her head. Gina kneels in front of Anthea and sings to her and Anthea gets up, stomping out of the room.

Naomi and I stare, wide eyed. I look around and find Effy sitting on the stairs, fag in hand, and watching Gina with her brow furrowed. I nudge Naomi with my elbow and point to her. She walks over and I follow.

"What's going on?" she asks Effy, her voice full of concern. Effy shrugs.

"Been like this for days." She says, "One day it's Mum, the next it's Gina and the other just sits there and glares." She shakes her head and Naomi frowns.

"And your mum hasn't mentioned anything to you?" she asks her best friend and Effy shakes her head.

"Yours?" she asks.

"Haven't spoken for days." Naomi tells her. They both stare at the floor in thought for a moment until Naomi suddenly perks up.

"We agreed it wasn't our business, yeah?" she says and Effy nods, though still looking concerned. Naomi sits down next to her best friend and smiles. She places a hand on her knee.

"Missed you, Eff." She syas and suddenly she is wrapped in a tackle of a hug.

"I missed you, too." Effy says, her voice muffled from being tucked into Naomi. Naomi laughs tearily and pulls back to look at Effy. Suddenly she's frowning again.

"You've got news. What is it?" she demands and Effy laughs.

"I'll tell you later." She says, "go get ready." They have a short conversation with nothing but their eyes and I smile at the fact that I can read them both. Naomi smiles and stands up, jerking her head up the stairs.

"Come on, Em." She says and I follow her, catching a smirk from Effy as I pass. I raise an eyebrow but keep walking.

"Think your mum's ok?" I ask Naomi as we enter her room. She shrugs.

"Eff and I agreed to stay out of it. They wouldn't tell us, anyway." She says with finality, though still sounding concerned. I nod and walk over to Naomi's wardrobe, opening the drawer with clothes she picked out for me a while ago. She wouldn't let me take them home.

"Those look far too good on you to allow Katie access to them." She had said. I smiled at the memory as I picked out what I would wear.

"Babe?" I close my eyes and scold myself for my mistake. I sigh as I open them again and turn to see her smiling at me in a pair of jeans and only her bra to cover the upper half of her body. My breath catches and I have to shake my head to keep myself from staring.

"Which shoes do you think?" I ask, holding up my outfit and looking anywhere but Naomi. From the corner of my eye I see her open the closet and look inside. She comes out again with a box and hands it to me.

"These." She says. I take the box and stare determinedly at the floor.

"Thanks." I say, quietly. We finish in silence and as we descend the stairs we find that the others have all arrived. My eyes fall on Katie and see that her own eyes are glossy and wandering.

"Kay." I grab her attention and she grins dreamily at me.

"The best sister in the world is here!" she sings and throws her arms around me. Over Katie's shoulder I look at Effy questioningly. She shrugs but won't make direct eye contact. I frown and scan my eyes around the group. They all shrug as well and I sigh, pulling Katie away so I can look at her. I stare long enough to wipe the grin off her face. I know she won't tell me what's going on, if she was going to she would have done, already. So I do the only thing I can.

"I love you." I tell her, making sure she meets my eyes. Her own eyes instantly become watery and she throws her arms around me again.

"I love you, too." She says in an almost whisper. After a few seconds of holding her, another body joins our embrace.

"Group hug!" Cook bellows, joyfully, and the rest of the group joins in, smiling. Except for Effy who seems to have left the room. I look around for her until I hear a horn blaring outside.

"Fantastic!" Cook shouts, "Love is all around, now let's get going!" He separates the group and practically runs out the front door. We all follow and find Effy sitting in the driver's seat of Anthea's car.

"We're driving?" I ask to which Panda nods enthusiastically.

"I'm not drinking" she says, "So I can drive home if you're all too fucked." I smile at her. Panda is the best. She's so bubbly and she just sort of glows. You can't help but be happy in her presence. We all pile into the car and when we make it to the club I catch Katie by the arm.

"Be careful, yeah?" I tell her, knowing she'll understand my meaning. I don't think I could handle a trip to the hospital right now. She nods and I kiss her cheek. I give her arm a light squeeze and head off to find Naomi. The second I spot her I grab her hand and pull her toward the dance floor.

"I haven't even had a drink!" she protest and were miraculously saved when Cook pops up at our side with a tray of shots.

"Two, please, girls! Bottom's up!" he says and we both do as he requests, downing two shots each and placing the empty glasses back on the tray. He grins widely at us.

"Just a tick and I'll bring you birds a bottle." He announces and disappear. We both chuckle at him and I turn to Naomi.

"Happy now?" I ask and I don't wait for her to answer but drag her, again, towards the dance floor. I choose a spot with fairly open space and press myself into her. We dance that way for a while and I quickly realize that this wasn't my best idea. It's driving me crazy, being so close to her, and I'm pretty sure my knickers are completely destroyed. I turn to face her and lean into her ear.

"Gonna take a break." I tell her and make eye contact to make sure she heard me. She nods and I wander off to find somewhere to sit. Cook takes my place and I smile at him before scanning around the room. I spot Panda sitting alone at one of the sofas and my way over to her.

"Where's Thomas?" I ask as I sit down. She points to the DJ booth where he is speaking to the DJ and snooping around. I breathe out a short laugh and turn back to her.

"So why no drinking?" I ask her.

"Oh, doctor says I'm not supposed to." She says and my eyebrows shoot up.

"Doctor?" I ask her and she nods, "What doctor?" I ask.

"The baby doctor, stupid!" she says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. I take a second to let it sink in and then turn to her again.

"You're pregnant? Have you told your Mum?" I ask. She looks horrified.

"Oh I can't do that!" she says, "She'd only do an agony flip and go rah-rah!"

I bite back a laugh at her way of saying it and try to be srious.

"You've got to tell her, Panda." I reason and she nods, suddenly serious.

"I know, but not yet." She says and then smiles, "Me and Tommo are gonna be the best parents ever." She adds and I look between her and Thomas and smile.

"Yeah, you will." I tell her. We sit quietly for a few minutes and I was the rest of our friends moving about the club. I watch Cook and Naomi dancing and smile at them.

AN: Sorta weird place to stop, I know, but I really just didn't want a monster chapter... Part 2 up tomorrow. See you next time. :)