A/N: Greetings, everyone!
This chapter gets a bit strange, well I think it does, anyway... I seem to be obsessed with music, well, what's in my own collection, anyway, and I've been a music fan since the late 80s, which gives you more of an indication of how old I really am..ha! and getting older soon...sigh, but they say you're as young as you feel (or the person you're feeling), so mentally I'm still a teenager a lot of the time, but intellectually, I think I'm well above my current years lol
Anyway, I digress, as usual. Emily digresses in this as well, as you will find. I suppose I wrote this part while channeling my thirst for music trivia. It also contains a little word gift from the fandom, and a cameo by one KFF.
Anyway, I'll shut up and get on with it, shall I?
Disclaimer: I do not own skins. I own a strange imagination. The outtake of the Beatles song mentioned in this chapter can be found on Anthology Volume 2, if anyone is interested. Any and all typos are a mystery, I think they snuck in while I was sleeping.
(Emily POV)
About an hour later, Naomi has started to cook her mum's spaghetti, which I am very much looking forward to. I'm watching her in the kitchen, busying herself with chopping garlic and tomatoes.
"Want a hand?" I ask, casually.
"Nope. I'm good." she smiles at me.
"Ok." I look over at the chalkboard on the wall. "Hmmm..." I'm not sure I noticed that when we came to view the place. "Back in a tick." I said, wandering off to find my sketch box. I'd packed it into my backpack with my sketchbook, but hadn't actually used it since leaving London. I dug into the front pocket and pulled out the long, much used sketch box. I opened it up to find an array of pencils, crayons and markers, and found the chalk I was looking for. Ironically, the colours were red and blue. Perfect.
I wander back into the kitchen, pausing to set up my laptop so we can have some music. I hit the random button and Metallica's "The Call of The Ktulu" begins to play.
I get to the chalkboard, and pick up the cloth that sits on the shelf under it, wiping the board completely clean. And so, while Naomi started to cook, I began to draw on the board, as the kitchen filled with a delicious aroma.
"Babe... What are we listening to?" she asked, chopping tomatoes.
"Mmm? Metallica." I answer, distracted by what I was drawing.
"Oh. Haven't heard it before."
"One of their long instrumentals from their early years... Ride the lightning."
"Huh?"
"That's the album it was on. You'd know it if you saw the cover... Has Old Sparky on it." I say, absent mindedly going into music facts mode while continuing to draw on the blackboard.
"Old Sparky?"
I pause, rubbing out a stray blue chalk line. "..."if a man is considered guilty for what goes on in his mind, then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes."..."
Naomi laughed. "Ok, Ems, now you're not making any sense whatsoever."
"Ever see Batman? The one that came out in 1980 something..."
"Uh... The one with the guy that played Beetlejuice?"
"Michael Keaton, yeah."
"Yes, but babe, what does that have to do with Metallica? Or Old Sparky?"
I realise I've lost her with my odd music related jargon. I put my piece of chalk down on the ledge under the blackboard and turn to look at her. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes…" I blush. "...it's all relative, though... Prince did a soundtrack for Batman, which had a song on it called Batdance. That line about the electric chair is in it. In Texas, the electric chair is colloquially referred to as "Old Sparky", and the album title "Ride The Lightning" is an informally used term for, well... Being executed in...Old Sparky."
Naomi just stares at me with her mouth open. "I..." she starts, before her brow furrows. "...that's... Sort of awesome and morbid all at the same time."
"Metallica aren't known for their love songs."
"Yes, I know. But... How do you connect all that together?"
I shrug. "It's all related somehow."
"But they're completely UNrelated."
"Ok, connected in some way, then."
She just shakes her head at me, staring at me in complete amazement. "You are full of surprises, Em." she smiles, walking up to me and kissing me softly. "What are you drawing?" she asks, nodding towards the board.
I smile. "You'll see."
She raises her eyebrow at me and smirks, going back to the saucepan. I pick up my chalk and continue drawing as the song fades out and is replaced by the opening notes of Roxette's "Dangerous."
"Metallica to Roxette?" Naomi asks.
I laugh and shake my head, continuing to draw. By the time I'm done, about six more songs have played, and the flat smells absolutely amazing.
"Smells awesome, Naoms!" I say, putting down my chalk and moving to the sink to wash my hands. "Well... What do you think?" I ask, motioning to the blackboard...
(Naomi)
I put down the spoon I've been stirring the sauce with and wander over to the blackboard. The board is completely covered in red and blue swirly French text that reads:
"BIENVENUE À
LA MAISON DE
NAOMILY"
"...welcome to..."
"...the house of Naomily." I finished translating. She stared at the blackboard, open-mouthed, and then stared at me, breaking into a wide grin.
"I love it." she said, pulling me into her arms and kissing me slowly. "It's perfect." she smiled.
I grin at her. "I'm starving. Is it nearly ready?"
"Almost. About another 20 minutes."
"Ok, I'll set the table then." I replied, kissing her softly, before busying myself setting out plates and cutlery.
"Hey Em..."
"Yeah?" I said, retrieving a bottle of wine I had stored in the fridge a couple of days ago.
"How did you come up with Naomily?" she asked.
"It came to me a couple of days ago..." I explain, walking towards her and wrapping my arms around her waist,"…In a brief moment where I was watching you sleep. Felt about as perfect as you looked while you were quietly dozing. Plus... It's the best way our names fit together, don't you think?"
She thought for a minute. "You're right, I couldn't think of a better combination." She paused. "There's a reason you used red and blue, isn't there?" she asked, quietly.
I nod. "Red hair, blue eyes... The most distinctive things about us." I say,
Just then, my phone started ringing with the tone I had set for Katie's number. "Oh, this should be good..." I grin, answering the phone, placing my finger over my lips, telling Naomi to be quiet while I press the speakerphone button, "Bonjour, maison de Naomily, how can I help you?" I smirk.
"House of- …Ems, what the fuck?" she rants.
I snicker. "Oh yeah, sorry Katie, meant to text and tell you we found a flat." I laugh. Naomi grins at me.
"Right…" she says, in her usual sarcastic tone. "...anyway, I haven't heard from you since Wednesday, how's things? My baby sister still safe and well?"
I roll my eyes, "Yes, Katie, your mere six-minutes-younger-than-you doppelgänger is safe and sound and really quite fabulous, cheers." I say, taking that moment to uncork the wine, with an audible "pop". "Actually, make that WE are doing fabulously." I add, pouring two glasses of wine. "Cheers, babe." I say to Naomi, clinking our glasses together.
"You really are a soppy git when you're getting some, Ems."
"I'm in a romantic mood and about to dine on a lovely home cooked meal with Naomi, so sue me." I said, dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh yeah? What did she cook you?"
"Spaghetti bolognaise." I grin. "And it smells fucking awesome." I blow a kiss to Naomi, who smiles at me.
"Oh, so it's well fortunate I rang now then, and not while you're in a sex coma later." Katie snaps, as Naomi stifles a giggle.
I laugh. "Well, we've already christened the kitchen, might try the sofa or actual bedroom later. Got plenty of time." I joke, and watch Naomi blush, as her mouth drops open in shock. "Bitch!" she mouths silently. She has that "You're SO going to get it!" look on her face. I smirk back at her, challenging her back just as silently.
"EMILY! TMI, babes, yeah?" Katie's harsh voice crackles over the line.
I hear a bleep and look at the display on my phone, seeing the low battery warning. "Shit, Katie, my phones about to die, I'll call you later-…shit. Ah well." I shrug. "Can we eat, now?" I grin.
She crosses the closing distance between us and crushes her lips to mine, and I muffle a wordless protest into her passionate kiss, which ends as giggles in between the touch of her lips on mine.
"Yes. Because if we continue this right now, it would go cold and that would be a shame." she murmured in a lazy distracted voice… she gave me a lopsided grin before unentangling herself from my embrace.
"Do you always kiss and tell?" Naomi smirks at me as she grates Parmesan over her pasta.
"No! Well, certainly not to just anyone..." I laugh. "She IS my sister, though. Plus..."
"...Plus?" she says.
"...it's a bad habit picked up off her. She was rather... Outgoing...? in our teen years."
"So she was the town bike?"
I laugh out loud as she hands me the cheese and grater. "Well that certainly sounds better than 'local slut'. Anyway, whenever we went out, I'd always have to track her down at some point," I explained, as I finish grating cheese and pick up my fork, beginning to twirl my spaghetti. "...and if I didn't find her shagging some bloke, I'd run into her wearing that 'just shagged' expression and being all defensive about it." I said, as I gathered some spaghetti onto my fork and took a bite. I chewed carefully and my god, if I wasn't in heaven already dining with this gorgeous woman, I was now. It was fucking delicious. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, thoroughly enjoying it.
When I swallowed, I opened my eyes to find hers staring into mine.
"That's the second best thing I've tasted this week." I say, in a low voice, as we stare at each other, our eyes burning with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.
"The second? But… Oh." she says, stopping dead in her tracks as she blushes bright red. "Soooo taking that compliment." she mutters, her voice shaky. I break into a wide grin. She slowly eyes me as she picks up some spaghetti and takes a bite. She slowly chews and swallows, before drinking some of her wine. "I also think that's the dirtiest comment anyone has ever made about my mum's spaghetti." she laughed.
"It's really good, though. Is it her original recipe?" I ask, sipping some of my wine.
She nods as she eats another mouthful. "Yeah. She was always a good cook."
"Well then, I toast her skills." I nod, and take another sip of wine, before going back to my pasta. "My mum always cooked this health food crap which was more like torture. Stuff like artichoke and beetroot soup," I made a gagging motion, and Naomi giggled. "My aunt made spaghetti because it was her favourite, and Katie, James and I were just glad to eat something that didn't classify as what James called 'bollocky wankshite.' Pervy little bastard." I smiled.
"Your family sounds like a madhouse." Naomi laughs.
I smile, swallowing another mouthful. "Does this taste better the day after, as well? Because if it does, I may just take you right here on the table.." I say, shooting her a lust-laced glare.
She grins, and with a wicked smirk, she says, "You will just have to wait and see, Ems."
I chuckle and then become serious for a beat. "Thank you, Naomi. This is the best meal I've ever had prepared for me." A content smile crosses my lips.
She blushes almost as red as my hair. "You're welcome." she smiled.
God knows how we managed to finish the meal, but we did. I pulled a bottle of vodka out of the freezer and we retired to the sofa.
About an hour later we are still talking, now listening to Dark Side Of The Moon, after I literally leapt off the couch to stop the media layer from going random when I heard what was playing.
"What the?" Naomi laughed.
"Nonono, this is one of the best albums ever made!" I answered, as I walked back to the sofa, now barefoot. "I've really grown to like Pink Floyd..."
"I like the odd song, but only what I've heard on the radio."
I smiled. "You are going to have such a learning experience with me, I can tell. Well, you have already..."
"Oh yeah?" she asks, raising her eyebrow. God, she can melt me with a look alone.
I nod slowly, collapsing back into the sofa, and snuggling into her, kissing her slowly and deeply. "Oh..." she smiled, "I see what you mean." she says, before kissing me again.
"Actually it stems from when Mandy..." I paused, unscrewing the lid off the vodka bottle for the umpteenth time that night and take another sip, "anyway… I've always been fascinated by lyrics, and have always had a love for music, so..."
I trail off into silence as Naomi is running her fingertips across the exposed part of my chest in circles. "I get it, babe. I like wordplay myself."
She kisses me softly, and then lays her head back on my chest. We are both slightly drunk now, and we are enjoying a quiet moment together.
Both of us have our hands under the others shirt, just feeling the contact of our skin.
"This is so perfect." I whisper. Naomi looks up at me and kisses me slowly. I slide my hands to her back and pull her into me, returning her kiss slowly.
A/N#2: I really hope I didn't lose anyone in the middle of that...lol
Let me see, what's coming up next... *checks*
Oooh... *snicker*
You're just going to have to wait. HA! :-P
Fot those of you reading SF, I am still working on the next chapter, it's either 1/3 or 1/2 done, I'm not sure yet. For those of you who are following GA (my new brainchild), I am gravitating between the two, and trying to channel the brain of one Effy Stonem... Ha. So that will be up when it's done, too.
Until next time...leave me a review if you wish...
~GN~ xo