Author's Note

Previously on Boy Meets Girl Meets Skins: 'Cook' began her daunting task of eating the whole chocolate cake single-handed. Katie got into a fight with Naomi after she tried to eat a piece of the cake herself and both girls had to be prised apart by the rest of the gang. 'Cook' finally succeeded in eating the entire cake but almost immediately had to run to the ladies to be violently sick. Katie left the pub after directing a volley of abuse at Naomi who went to comfort 'Cook' in the toilet.

'How do you feel now?' asked Naomi, as she sat next to Emily on the floor of the cubicle with an arm casually draped around her shoulders. It had been almost fifteen minutes since Naomi had entered the ladies' to see how Emily was but more than five minutes since her friend had last vomited any more of the cake.

'Better,' replied Emily, still in a slightly shaky voice as she forced a weak, yet still warm and genuine smile at her blonde companion. Emily was so grateful that Naomi had come in to see how she was. Not that she enjoyed throwing up in front of people, far from it. Being violently sick is an activity that is probably best done without an audience of any description but if she had to do it in front of anyone she would have chosen Naomi rather than any other person in the world.

'Do you think you might be sick again?' Naomi looked at Emily closely to see if some colour was returning to her cheeks and was relieved to note that she definitely looked much less pale and sickly than she had done when she had joined her in the toilet. She had stopped heaving and retching and was seemed to be breathing a good deal more normally now.

'I don't think so. Besides, I don't think there's any more of the cake to bring up,' she said with a wry grin, turning her face towards Naomi as she made the joke. Naomi grinned back at her and Emily thought this was perhaps the right moment to take a chance and lean in against the blonde a little more. She held her breath as she did so, fearing that Naomi might resist her bold advance and lean back away from her to maintain the same slight distance between the two of them but to Emily's silent relief and joy she didn't. Instead Naomi allowed Emily to settle snugly into the side of her body and Emily positively glowed with pleasure at the feeling of the blonde girl's warm, sensual body pressing up against her own.

Unfortunately this immediately heightened sensation of sexual excitement that suddenly rippled through Emily's body, causing her to tingle with desire all over, had a sadly predictable but hugely embarrassing effect on the redhead. She could sense an immense stirring in the area of her groin and before she could think 'you horny little cow' she knew she had a full blown erection on her hands, or rather in her trousers. Instinctively and hurriedly she went to cross her legs in an attempt to hide it from view, terrified that Naomi might notice it and promptly get up screaming and backing away from her in disgust.

Fortunately it appeared that Naomi's attention was directed somewhere other than Emily's crotch at that moment. After concentrating extremely hard for a few moments on horrible, depressing and completely non-sexual thoughts, Emily managed to make the offending erection go away, though she wasn't sure for how long. She was still cosily snuggled up against Naomi and the sensual warmth of the young girl's shapely body and the gorgeous smell of her perfume and her breath on her neck were soon beginning to drive her wild with excitement all over again. This was no good, she concluded. She couldn't stay like this for much longer – not without running the risk of thoroughly embarrassing herself and freaking out Naomi.

Not for the first time Emily found herself feeling a little bit sorry for guys who frequently had to struggle to conceal the obvious physical manifestations of their sexual urges and desires at wholly inappropriate moments. At least if she was a girl again her strong feelings of desire and lust for Naomi wouldn't have been quite so obvious and physically noticeable.

'I think I 'm well enough to get out of here now,' said Emily and she slowly got herself up on her feet, helped by an attentive Naomi who steadied her as she did so, putting a comforting arm around her waist.

'If you're sure, Ems,' said Naomi, smiling at her again, which melted Emily's already rapidly beating heart still further. 'What do you want to do? Do you want to go back and join the others?'

'I'm not sure if I can face the piss-taking about throwing up. I think I'd rather go straight home.'

'Home being……where, exactly?' Naomi had a point, Emily had to admit. She longed to go back to her real home and get some tlc from her Mum and Dad, even if not Katie, but she knew she couldn't – not still looking like Cook. It would have to be Cook's own drab, uninspiring student accommodation where she would seek refuge and wait with ever increasing tension and nervousness to see if the master plan had worked.

Emily was desperate not to spend the rest of the evening on her own but she couldn't face being with the whole gang any more despite the moody and argumentative Katie having left the scene. What she wanted more than anything else was to spend the rest of the day with Naomi but she was almost too scared to ask her in case she said no. She knew she would feel so lonely if Naomi declined her offer to come back with her but she willed herself to throw aside her usual shyness and lack of self-confidence and just ask her.

'Back to Cook's place, I guess. I can't see Mum and Dad welcoming me with open arms into their family just yet. Will you come with me? Please!'

Naomi looked at Emily's gently pleading expression which looked so incongruous and comical accompanied by Cook's masculine features and burst out laughing.

'What?' asked a momentarily stunned Emily, although Naomi's infectious giggling soon started her off in similar fashion and both girls ended up in fits of laughter.

'You wouldn't believe…….. how hilarious it looks……. to see you talking like that with Cook's face on,' chuckled Naomi in between huge guffaws of laughter.

'Like what?' replied Emily, still giggling, as much at Naomi's reaction as at her words.

'You know…like a girl!' She proceeded to mimic Emily's words in Cook's deep masculine voice but in deliberately exaggerated fashion. 'Pleeeease come back home with me, pretty pleeease!'

Both girls were now hanging on to the wash basins for dear life and were literally having to hold their sides because it hurt so much to carry on laughing. Soon Emily could feel a stitch coming on, so hard were they giggling and they both needed a minute or two to compose themselves before resuming their conversation.

'Do you really want me to go back with you, Emily?' asked Naomi in a serious tone and Emily nodded silently, looking the blonde girl full in the eyes as she crossed her fingers behind her back and prayed she would agree.

'Okay, then. Let's go, shall we?' Emily would have been tempted to let out a scream of delight if her stomach hadn't started hurting again, a renewed aching which presumably had not been helped by the hysterical fits of giggling she had been indulging in just then. Emily paused for a few seconds to look at herself in the mirror, adjusted her hair, wiped her face with a tissue and made sure she was properly dressed before following Naomi out of the ladies toilet and back into the pub.

'Jesus Christ! How the hell have you put up with living in this dump?' Naomi was looking around Cook's bed-sit with a look of complete revulsion and disbelief etched all over her face.

'God knows. I've spent as little time here as possible. Basically I've only come back here to sleep at night.' Emily wrinkled her nose and pulled a face as she looked at Naomi who was stretched out on the bed just a few tantalising inches away from her. She was fighting hard with her feelings of desire, trying not to stare too obviously at the tall, slim blonde but it was proving a difficult challenge. Naomi was just so damn hot that she could look at her all day, given half a chance, if she knew she could get away with it without being noticed.

'I don't blame you. It's so…….' Naomi searched for the right word to describe the awfulness of the room they were in but in vain. No one single word seemed sufficient to do the place justice or could adequately encapsulate the many appalling impressions it gave to anyone who had the misfortune to have to live in it.

'Shitty? Depressing? Cold and uninviting?' Emily gave a few suggestions at random, all of which she had used at some time or other to sum the place up in her own mind over the last few weeks.

'Yeah, all of them. It's so not….. you!'

'Well, at least you're here to brighten the room up. That makes it so much more bearable.'

Naomi looked across at Emily and gave a half grin before quickly turning her face away as if to indicate that she didn't take what Emily had just said too seriously.

'No, seriously, Naomi. You're the only person I've brought back here since……..well since it all happened and this is the first time I've wanted to stay in here for more than five minutes.'

'Thanks,' said Naomi smiling across at Emily whose heart started to flutter again at the warmth of the blonde girl's smile which sent a little shiver up her spine. The two fell silent for a while and Naomi leant her bed back on the bed and looked hard up at the ceiling as if seeking divine intervention on Emily's behalf. 'Do you really think it's going to work tonight?'

'Oh God, Naomi, I hope so. I don't think I could bear if it doesn't. I can't face the thought of being Cook another day longer. I miss being me SO much it hurts. I miss my Mum and Dad, I miss my little bedroom, even if I do have to share it with Katie, and I miss being a girl. I hate being a guy, it's fucking horrible.'

'I miss you being a girl too.'

'Really? I thought you might have preferred me as a guy. At least as a guy I can't embarrass you like I did as a girl.'

'You didn't embarrass me……. not really.' Naomi's voice had changed to almost a whisper during the course of the conversation and she hadn't once looked over at Emily since they broke the last period of silence. 'Actually I quite liked the chance it gave me to wind Katie up and piss her off sometimes.'

Emily let out an involuntary snigger which made Naomi turn her head and smile at Emily again, although a little shyly for once. Emily closed her eyes tight shut at the sight of that beautiful smile of Naomi's that filled her heart with such overwhelming happiness and yet sheer, agonising frustration at the same time that she couldn't keep her emotions in check any longer. She gave a little cry, almost a wail in fact and started sobbing uncontrollably, burying her head in her hands to hide away the misery of the dilemma she was in.

Naomi immediately crawled over on the bed towards her and wrapped her arms around Emily, holding her so tightly that Emily could feel every inch of her curves and contours on the upper half of her body. She stroked Emily's hair, whispered 'It'll be okay, Ems, I promise you,' and 'Please don't cry, everything's going to be fine, you'll see,' repeatedly in her ear and generally comforted the weeping young girl for a good two or three minutes until Emily felt that she had cried herself out enough.

Even when her sobbing had finally subsided Naomi still didn't make any move to let go of her but continued to hold her close, stroking her face and hair and softly telling her everything was going to be fine. Emily couldn't remember when she had last experienced such a sharp contrast in emotions all at the same time – utter misery and despair combined with an unimaginable joy and happiness. Despair at the thought that she might have to face a life as Cook for ever if things didn't right themselves overnight and yet unbridled joy at being physically and emotionally closer to Naomi right at that moment than she would have believed possible at the start of term.

Eventually Naomi loosened her hold on Emily and the redhead reluctantly drew herself back from the blonde, but not too far – their faces were still right up against each other, noses nearly touching and Emily could feel Naomi's hot, sweet breath blowing lightly against her face. She didn't know what on earth possessed her to ask the next question – it seemed to have a life all of its own and was out in the open before she could argue about whether this was the right time or the place to pose it.

'Do you think you could really like me as Cook? I mean, could you….. fancy me as a much sweeter, gentler, warmer, kinder version of Cook? Could you possibly face…. being with an Emily version of Cook?'

Naomi looked into Emily's wide, brown eyes which seemed to speak a thousand sorrows and agonies and bit her lip softly, always a sure sign that she was nervous and unsure about what to do or say.

'I…. I don't know. Maybe. I mean, it's possible I might, I suppose.'

Emily looked right into Naomi's beautiful blue eyes and then slowly down at her soft red lips and instinctively licked her own lips ever so slightly and so quickly Naomi thought at first it must have been a trick of the light or something. Then Emily ever so gently and almost in slow motion inclined her head to one side and brought her lips towards Naomi's while the blonde seemed riveted to the spot, unable or perhaps unwilling to move a muscle. Emily's lips touched Naomi's incredibly softly as they pressed lightly against one another before moving away a fraction yet still staying within kissing range.

Emily was holding her breath out of fear and nervousness that Naomi would recoil, disgusted at what she had done but she didn't. With her heart pounding furiously Emily moved in a second time to repeat the kiss, only this time making it last a little longer and putting a lot more passion and sensuality into it as she took enormous encouragement from the fact that Naomi hadn't backed away one inch from her position. She closed her eyes again as she went in boldly for this second kiss and almost let out a squeal of pleasure when she felt Naomi put a hand around her waist, even though she was fervently regretting that she was lumbered with Cook's much less tiny and slender waist compared with her own.

Emily couldn't be absolutely sure how many times they kissed before they finally pulled themselves apart to take a much needed breather from the incredible excitement that they had been generating. She thought it might have been six or seven times but quite honestly she had completely lost all awareness of what was happening to her other than focusing on the indisputable fact that she was actually kissing Naomi time after time. These moments of pure ecstasy which went way beyond her wildest dreams seemed to have more than compensated for the last miserable few weeks during which she had had to endure emotionally a hundred deaths a day stuck inside the body of James Cook.

'Was that nice?' Emily asked in barely more than a whisper after they had pulled back from each other enough to be able to look each other in the eyes again.

'It was….kind of strange, I guess,' stammered Naomi, in a total daze.

'How do you mean, strange? Strange as in unpleasant or strange as in nice?' Emily could hardly bear to wait for the answer which came hesitantly from Naomi after a few seconds silence which felt like a lifetime to Emily.

'Oh, strange – nice, I think. It was like… kissing a guy but… not like kissing a guy at the same time. It was like a kissing a very sweet and gentle guy who doesn't kiss like a guy but more like a girl, I suppose. Not that I know what it's like to kiss a girl, of course, but I would imagine that's how a girl would kiss.'

'So, it wasn't the most revolting thing you've ever done in your life even though you know it's really me you were kissing?'

'I suppose not. No…it definitely wasn't the least bit revolting.'

Emily was filling up inside with happiness and just about resisted the temptation to throw herself on top of Naomi and smother with even more strange-nice kisses that were not quite like a guy kissing her. But she wisely held back, not wanting to destroy the wonderful moment they had just shared.

'Can we lie down on the bed and cuddle up together? I'm feeling very tired all of a sudden and really need to have a rest. Please say you will. I really don't want you to leave me on my own tonight. I'm so scared at what might happen later on, I don't want to be alone and I don't want to face this with anyone else but you, Naomi.'

Naomi smiled at Emily's plainly emotional plea from the heart and nodded. They stretched out on the bed side by side and as the bed was really only big enough for one person with any degree of genuine comfort, they snuggled right up against each other, just lying there in complete silence. After a few minutes, Naomi asked 'Are you comfortable enough?' to which Emily replied in all honesty, 'Well, I guess the bed isn't made for two really, but I'm fine.'

Naomi lifted up an arm and put it round Emily's shoulders, making it as obvious as she could without actually putting it into words that she was inviting Emily to cuddle up even closer to her. As a light-headed Emily, almost giddy with longing and desire, responded by turning into Naomi's side even closer and burying her head into Naomi's chest, the blonde girl slipped her other hand around Emily's waist. They lay there wrapped in each other's arms like that for what seemed to Emily like ages, chatting quietly from time to time about all sorts of inconsequential and silly things until they both eventually drifted off to sleep.

Naomi blinked several times through half open eyes as the sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the curtains and made her squint under the strength of its rays. She yawned inadvertently and stretched out her arms to set in motion her usual waking up ritual which normally took at least five minutes to complete before she felt ready and willing to confront a brand new day.

As she lay there trying to recall the last few moments of the previous day so as to enable her to put this new day into some sort of meaningful context, she gradually came to realise that she hadn't woken up in her normal surroundings. In fact she didn't recognise where the fuck she had woken up at all. She panicked for an instant and sat up hurriedly, looking around her to try to figure out where the hell she was. Then she remembered. This was Cook's room and she had been here last night with Emily, just the two of them all alone, lying on the bed together.

They had been talking and cuddling each other to sleep, that was right. Emily had been terrified of being alone last night, she remembered now, because it was the night that she was hoping to go to sleep as Cook and wake up as Emily once more.

FUCK!! JESUS CHRIST!

After letting out those highly understandable expletives as the full significance of the previous day's events and the crucial outcome of this new morning hit her like a ten ton truck, she cried out 'Emily?' at full volume but received nothing by way of an answer. There was clearly no-one else in the room – it was too small for anyone to be hiding in it and in any case why would anyone, least of all Emily – or was it still Cook? – want to be hiding from her? No, whoever had woken up next to her that morning had left the room, whether temporarily or for good. She was definitely all alone.

She got up and started to look around for her jumper which must have fallen on to the floor during the night as she eventually found it lying next to her shoes which she vaguely remembered slipping off when she and Emily got back there the previous evening. Suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps outside the room and she froze in something approaching icy terror and unbearable anticipation, waiting to see who was about to come through the door.

She watched, her eyes riveted to the frame of the door, as the door handle slowly turned and the door was pushed open to reveal the unmistakeable figure of James Cook standing in the doorway. She let out a small scream and put her hands to her mouth as Cook looked over at her, gave a huge, cheeky grin as he entered the bed-sit and closed the door behind him.

'Naomikins! What a wonderful surprise. How nice of you to wait for me to come back. I was afraid you were going to rush off without saying goodbye.'

Naomi's mouth dropped open and she stared at Cook, hardly daring to believe the evidence of her own ears and eyes. Could it be true? Was this the real Cook back as himself again? And if it was, this could mean only one thing – that Emily was back to being Emily as well? She was speechless with fear and apprehension, not trusting herself to speak in case she said the wrong thing or made a fool of herself in front of him – or her.

'What's up, Naomi? You look like you've seen a ghost! Are you alright?'

'Is it really you, Cook? It looks like you, it sounds just like you but how can I be sure it really is you?'

'Hey babe, do you want me to get my cock out again and prove who I am?''

Naomi groaned and stuck her fingers into her mouth, pretending to want to be sick.

'Okay, it's you, you've proved it. Only you could come out with something like that. So have you heard from Emily? PLEASE tell me she's back to being herself again as well.'

'What are you talking about, Naomi? What do you mean, 'back to being herself again'?'

'Don't act dumb, Cook or at least don't act dumber than you normally are. If you're back to being Cook again, then Emily must be back as herself, right?'

Cook stared at the blonde with a look of utter confusion and bewilderment. 'I haven't got the foggiest idea what you're talking about, babe. You must have taken even more of that shit last night than I did. I thought I must have been off my head to pick a fight with Johnny White but obviously you're even more spaced out than me. Mind you, it was still a fucking ace birthday in the end.'

'What?!!' It was Naomi's turn now to stare at Cook open-mouthed in amazement and disbelief. 'What the fuck are you talking about, Cook? Your birthday was weeks ago!

Cook threw his head back and let rip a typical James Cook belly laugh. 'Jesus! How fucked up are you? My birthday was yesterday, Naomi or have you forgotten it already?'

'So, if it was your birthday yesterday, what the fuck am I doing here, then?' Naomi's voice was shaking as she asked the question. She couldn't think what the answer to it could be that wouldn't freak her out, that's if Cook wasn't deliberately at his old tricks again, trying to wind her up .

'How should I know, babe. You just turned up a few hours ago and I let you in. We chatted for a bit and then we both fell asleep. I woke up, went out for a walk and came back to find you awake. Is last night really a complete blank for you?' He chuckled some more as he searched for his cigarettes, lit one and then, as an afterthought, held out the packet to Naomi to offer her one which she declined with a shake of her head.

Naomi felt a tremendous pain shoot through her entire body and had trouble catching her breath. It was almost as if someone had just punched her in the stomach and the effects of the blow were spreading to all other parts of her. She tried to speak several times but nothing would come out so she just went through the motions of opening and closing her mouth like some demented goldfish on acid. The room felt like it was spinning and she had a desperate need to get out and get some fresh air. Eventually she managed to speak and it was short and sweet.

.

You're dicking me about, Cook, talking out of your arse as usual. I'm not listening to any more of this bullshit, I'm off.'

'Suit yourself, babe.' Cook shrugged his shoulders, leaned back on his bed and puffed a few rings of smoke into the air and watched them as they gently climbed up the wall behind his bed. Naomi's mind was in such a confused whirl that she didn't even think to give Cook a bollocking for calling her 'babe' time and time again.

On her way home Naomi tried calling Emily on her mobile but to no avail so she just left a message, asking Emily to call her as soon as possible. She didn't know what to think about Cook's behaviour but she knew that she had to speak to Emily or preferably see her to put her mind at rest. When she got home, she showered, hoping the hot water would clear her confused and fogged up mind, dressed and was out of the house and cycling to college within half an hour.

When she got to college she tried phoning Emily again and this time she was in luck. Emily's unmistakeable voice came over loud and clear, much to her relief.

'Emily. How are you?' she began, realising that this was a pretty dumb way to start trying to found out what had happened since the previous night but she couldn't think of a better question to start with.

'Hi Naomi! Um, I'm fine. How are you? It's nice to hear from you.'

Not a very promising beginning, thought Naomi. She's not giving much away with that.

'Is everything alright with you now? I mean, are you your old self again?'

'Um, I suppose so. Do you mean, after what happened last night?'

Naomi suddenly felt much happier and more optimistic. Was she going to tell her that the chocolate cake plan had worked and that she had reverted to being Emily once more? She crossed her fingers and closed her eyes in silent prayer.

'Well, I admit I was upset when you left the party so early but I'm over it now.'

'What party?' said Naomi, aghast. Her head began to spin out of control and she found she was holding her breath yet again.

'The engagement party we gate crashed, of course. Are you alright? Don't you remember? Surely you didn't get that wasted. You weren't there long enough.'

Naomi's heart was now racing at about a hundred miles an hour and she felt her knees shaking and her legs start to give way underneath her. She almost fell over with the shock of what Emily was saying to her. First Cook and now Emily. Both seemed intent on making her believe that the last few weeks had never happened and that they were back at the day after Cook's birthday when both of them were supposed to have woken up to find they had switched identities. What the fuck was going on here?

Naomi didn't know what to say next so she mumbled an excuse about having to go and said she would talk to Emily later and then hung up. She felt about as freaked out as she thought it was possible to feel without actually admitting to being a complete basket case. She stood rooted to the spot by her bike as dozens of other students appeared from all sides and went up the steps, making for the college entrance. Hang on, she thought. For fuck's sake, she was being a complete idiot. Look at your phone, dickbrain! That'll tell you what day it is!

She got out her mobile again and quickly checked to see what the date was. OH MY GOD! FUCK ME!! It was the day after Cook's birthday!! Now she felt like she was going to faint and she had to find a wall to sit on for a minute or two to take some incredibly deep breaths and calm herself down, which wasn't an easy thing to attempt considering her mental state at that moment. All the evidence seemed to be pointing to a whole part of her life having mysteriously been erased from existence.

The bell was ringing for the start of classes and she forced herself with an almighty effort of will power to get up from where she was slumped and dump her bike in its usual spot before heading for the college building and her first lesson.

Naomi had been looking at the clock on the wall almost constantly for the past ten minutes. Only another five minutes to go until class finished. She was practically willing the clock hands to race round to half past ten, so desperate was she to talk to Effy, who she instinctively knew held the key to the question of her own sanity. She hadn't had a chance to talk any further with Emily as she was last in to the classroom just as the lesson was about to begin.

She had managed to pass a note to Effy secretly during the class which asked if they could meet up straight after class finished and she had looked across at Effy and had noted her nod her head impassively. The brunette seemed fairly unconcerned and relaxed when she read the note and gave her reply but that meant nothing, Naomi thought. Effy was always cool and laid back about everything.

Eventually the class ended and never had Naomi been so keen to get out of a lesson to which she had paid absolutely no attention at all. Her mind was playing a thousand tricks and games on her and while the teacher was talking she had all the attention span of a goldfish, so preoccupied was she with trying to make sense of what had happened that morning, without reaching any meaningful, logical conclusion. She moved towards the door and made a motion with her head to Effy to indicate she wanted them to go off together and talk right away. She could see that Emily was hanging back, trying to wait for her so they could leave the room at the same time but Naomi ignored her attentions, not for the first time, it has to be said, and made off out of the room and headed off down the corridor, closely followed by Effy.

The tall blonde dived into the nearest empty classroom and impatiently waited for Effy to join her which she did after a few seconds, closing the door firmly behind her.

Naomi didn't waste any time, going straight to the point.

'Effy, have you spoken to Emily or Cook this morning?'

She nodded without any great fuss. 'Both of them, briefly.'

'And? Do they seem themselves again? Do they remember what happened to them?'

'They seem completely normal and neither of them had the faintest idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the cake and having switched their identities back.'

'Effy! What the fuck's going on here? Do you know what day it is today? It's the day AFTER Cook's birthday!'

'So it appears. Strange, isn't it? I wonder what happened to those last few weeks.'

Naomi wasn't sure what was freaking her out more – the apparent loss of three or four weeks of their lives or Effy's total lack of concern about it.

'Aren't you bothered about it? Why isn't it completely freaking you out like it is me? How can you be so laid back about it? It's as if the last few weeks which you and I experienced had never taken place, for fuck's sake!!'

'Look at it this way, Naomi. I don't pretend to have the faintest idea what's going on here. All I know is that the Cook and Emily that we knew before are back again and as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters. All's right with the world once more. If none of it makes any sense, who gives a fuck? I don't. Why should you?'

Naomi looked at Effy who was smiling at her and seemed even more relaxed, laid back and cooler than she had ever seen her. Why couldn't she be more like her in that way? Maybe that was her problem – always desperately searching for answers to everything when it wasn't really necessary to think so hard about everything. Just be. Just let things happen and accept that some things make no fucking sense at all and live with it.

'So you think we should just forget what we know has happened and carry on as before?'

Effy smiled again, grabbed Naomi gently by the hand and pulled her towards her as she headed for the door. 'Has anything seriously awful happened? Has anyone died?

No. So let's just get on with our lives, shall we? Besides, you've got enough on your plate with the present, never mind the past.'

'How do you mean?' said Naomi, intrigued by Effy's comment and feeling calmer and more contented than at any stage of that morning so far.

'Well, unless I'm very much mistaken, you've got a lovesick redhead waiting for you outside this classroom who desperately wants to carry your bag for you.'

Author's Message

As you may have guessed, this is the end of the Boy Meets Girl story! I've loved every minute of writing it and I hope those of you who have followed it all the way through to this point have enjoyed reading it. If you have any comments to make on this final chapter or the story as a whole I would love to hear from you. Big thanks to the many people who have sent me reviews already – you have been fantastic. I probably wouldn't have made it this far without your loyal and encouraging support!