After Naomi and Ethan had gone back to Cyberspace from the mall, they told the others they were officially a couple. The others were happy for them, and Conner and Kira suggested that the four of them did a double date the next day. That night, Naomi, now back to staying at her own home, was searching for an acceptable outfit. This was going to be her first date with Ethan and she wanted to look perfect. She didn't stress this much for when she went out with Trent, but it was different that. What she felt for Ethan was much more then what she felt for Trent.
"Honey, dinner's ready." Naomi's mother said, walking into her room. She saw Naomi sitting inside her closet, tossing her clothes about. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing mom, I'll be down in a second." Naomi said. Her mother walked over to her.
"Says the girl who's rummaging through her closet." She smirked. "What's up?" She asked. Naomi sighed.
"I'm hanging out with some friends tomorrow and I want to pick out something to wear."
"And would one of these friends be a boy you like?"
"More like my boyfriend." Naomi muttered. Her mother stared at her.
"Since when do you have a boyfriend?" She asked. Naomi took a deep breath, yet another example of how clueless her parents were. They didn't know about her and Trent because they were too busy with work and other things, now one of the rare moments her mother was being attentive, she wanted to know about Ethan. She sighed and looked at her mother.
"Technically, we've been together for two weeks."
"Why didn't you tell your father and me about him?" Because I might as well not even exist in this house. Naomi thought to herself. She shrugged.
"I dunno." She said. "It just slipped my mind, I guess." She lied.
"Well, what's he like?"
"He's nice." Naomi said. "He's attentive, sweet, kind, considerate of my feelings." Everything you and dad aren't. She thought bitterly. Naomi had gotten used to hiding her feelings and such from her parents. When they first sent her to boarding school, she didn't want to go, but she played the part of the obedient daughter and stayed there for nine years. She never liked the place, but it grew on her. When her parents said they were taking her out of boarding school and putting her in public school, she wanted to stay in the place she had been in for so long, but yet again, she played the obedient daughter and went along with it. Now, looking back, of course she was glad she went along with it-She got Ethan and her friends out of it.
"Well, that's good. So, what's his name?"
"Ethan, Ethan James." Naomi said.
"And how'd you meet?" Oh great, my mom's version of mother-daughter bonding, the third degree.
"In school." Came Naomi's automatic reply. "We've got some classes together."
"And what will you be doing tomorrow?"
"I don't know. We might go to the movies." Naomi said. Okay, Gestapo mom, can I get back to picking out an outfit now? Naomi's mother was silent for a while. She looked at her. Oh dear lord, please tell me she's not thinking what I think she's thinking.
"Honey," her mother began. "Maybe it's time we talked about-"
"Mom, I know about the birds and the bees." Naomi said. Learned it from a health teacher at boarding school, in case you were wondering.
"Oh. And you're not………." Her mother said, her voice trailing off. Oh my god.
"No." Naomi said. Her mother smiled at that.
"Oh, good, I mean, not good, just….Okay, well, dinner's downstairs whenever you're ready." She said. And with that she left. Naomi sighed. Later that night, after she finally decided on an outfit, she went downstairs and ate alone, which wasn't a change for her. She then went and got ready for bed. The next day, she woke up early and took a shower. She stood in her room in her white bathroom, looking at the outfit she had picked out with scrutiny. She sighed and picked up her phone and dialed Kira's number. After a few rings she heard someone pick up.
"Hello?" Came an adult male's voice.
"Hi, Mr. Ford? I'm Naomi, a friend of Kira's. Is she there by any chance?" She asked politely.
"Yes, she is, hold on a second." He said. She heard him put the phone aside and after a moment or two heard it be picked up again.
"Hey." Kira said. "What's up?"
"Hey, do you think you could do me a huge favor?" Naomi asked.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Okay, I kind of need help picking out an outfit and doing all the other stuff that qualifies under getting ready, could you come over and help?"
"Uh sure, but you don't need to dress up, we're just hanging out."
"Kira, the word 'double date' was used yesterday when you and Conner suggested this. Now, this is my first date with Ethan and I'm freaking out here." Naomi said desperately.
"Ok, ok, say no more. Let me just call Conner and tell him to have Ethan and him meet us at the mall instead of picking us up at our houses and I'll be right over."
"Thank you so much." Naomi said. They hung up. Naomi went about putting on underwear and put her bathrobe back on. She then began to attempt to blow dry her hair. "Something tells me this isn't working." Naomi said to herself. Her hair hadn't gotten the sleek effect she had been hoping for, instead it had become a frizzy puffed up mess and the brush was stuck in it. She tried getting the brush out, but the thing wouldn't move. After a while, she heard the doorbell ring.
"Naomi, Kira's here." Her father announced.
"Okay." Naomi said. She quickly wrapped a towel around her head to hide the mess and ran downstairs. Kira was standing there with her hair up in a half pony-tail wearing jeans and a yellow shirt with a black sweater tied around her waist and carrying a black messenger bag type purse that was draped across her shoulders. Naomi rushed over and grabbed Kira's wrist and pulled her back upstairs. Kira was then dragged into Naomi's room.
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Kira asked as Naomi shut the door.
"Probably in my hair." Naomi said. She took the towel off. Kira's eyes widened.
"Oh my god." She covered her mouth and tried her best to stifle a laugh.
"It's not that funny."
"Sorry."
"Please tell me you can help with this." Naomi pleaded. Kira nodded.
"I can help." She said. She let Naomi to her desk. "Sit down." Naomi did so. "Okay, first of all, relax, take a deep breath."
"Kira, this isn't helping in getting the brush out of my hair."
"No, but it's helping in keeping you from having a total meltdown. Don't worry. I may not be the most girly female on the planet, but that doesn't mean I haven't had my share of brush mishaps." Naomi sighed and tried to calm down. "Now, do you have any conditioner?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's in the bathroom right across the hall."
"Ok, I'll be right back." Kira left and returned with Naomi's bottle of conditioner. She applied a medium amount into her palm and then began massaging it into the spot in Naomi's hair where the brush was stuck. "The conditioner will make your hair slippery enough to make getting the brush out easier, and reduce the Diana Ross-ness of your hair." She said as she spread the conditioner to the rest of Naomi's hair. After letting it sit for about a minute, she picked at the brush. She carefully untangled the brush from her hair, trying not to pull it. After about five minutes, the brush came free. "Your hair is now brush free." She said. Naomi gave a sigh of relief. "So now, go and rinse the conditioner out while I examine what we have to work with in terms of clothes." She said. Naomi got up and went to the bathroom. Kira looked through Naomi's closet and found a pair of nice blue jeans with some sparkles going down the legs. She put them on the bed and looked for a top. Deep in the back of Naomi's closet she found a blue tube top. She was a little surprised to find it, seeing as it didn't seem like something Naomi would wear. She shrugged and set it beside the pair of jeans. A few minutes later, Naomi came back, ruffling her wet hair with the towel. "Hey, do you have a strapless bra?" Kira asked, knowing that without one, the top wouldn't work. Naomi quickly ran to her door.
"What? Of course not." She said. She took a quick look outside; making sure her parents weren't in sight before shutting the door. "Bottom of the top drawer." She said. She saw the outfit on her bed. "Oh no, I can't wear that top."
"What?"
"I bought that on sort of a 'maybe I'll spice up my image' moment, but it's too.."
"Perfect for the occasion?" Kira said. She found the bra and tossed it on the bed.
"There is no way in hell my parents will let me walk out of the house with that on." Naomi said. Kira sighed and took off the sweater that was around her waist.
"And that is why god invented sweaters." She said, tossing it to her.
"You've done the whole deceiving outfit for the parents thing before, haven't you?"
"Oh yeah." Kira said. "We'll leave with you wearing the sweater and once we get to the mall, you take it off."
"But what will Ethan say?" Naomi asked. Kira smirked.
"My guess is he'll be to busy drooling to say much." She said. Naomi seemed to like the idea of looking especially nice for him.
"All right." She picked up the outfit and went back to the bathroom. A few minutes later she returned fully dressed holding the bra she had had on before. She put it back in her drawer. Her hair was wrapped up in the towel she had used before. "So, now what about my hair?" She asked. Kira took the towel off Naomi's head. She took the hair dryer and brush and slowly dried Naomi's hair, careful not to have a repeat of the puff performance. After a while, Naomi's hair was smooth and sleek. Kira took a hair tie and took some pieces from the side of Naomi's hair and made a half pony tail, letting the hair tie rest on the top of the back of Naomi's head. Once Kira was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. She made a face.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just, the glasses ruin the whole effect." Naomi said. She smiled. "Which is why this is a perfect time to break out the contacts." She said. "I'll be right back." She said, leaving again. She came back and placed her glasses on her nightstand. Kira looked at her.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you without glasses." She said, amazed how different Naomi looked. Naomi shrugged.
"I guess I just don't bother with the whole dealing with contacts on a daily basis thing and just use them on special occasions."
"Well, I mean I'm your friend and you look fine either way, but you should consider wearing them more often, they really do make a difference on you." Kira said. Naomi smiled.
"I'll consider it. Okay, now, let's see how this looks." She turned to the mirror. "Oh my god." Naomi said.
"What?" Kira asked.
"I'm hot." Naomi said, both girls laughed. She noticed that a fair amount of cleavage was visible because of the top and instantly became self conscious. "Maybe I shouldn't wear this." She said.
"You look fine, and no, you don't look slutty." Kira said, picking up on what Naomi might've been thinking.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Kira assured her. "Now, for the final touches." She said. She sat Naomi down and proceeded to apply makeup to her face. Halfway into it, Naomi's phone rang. She got up and answered it.
"Hello?" She said.
"Hey, Naomi, it's Conner, listen, Ethan and I checked by the movie theatre in the mall, nothing good's playing, so we figured we'd hang out at the park."
"Oh, okay." Naomi said.
"So, we'll be waiting for you guys by the fountain, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure, I'll tell Kira. Bye." Naomi said. She hung up the phone. "Change of plans." She told Kira.
"Oh?"
"We're going to the park instead of the mall."
"Okay." Kira said. "Well, let me finish your makeup." She said. Naomi went over and let Kira finish up. Naomi then put on Kira's sweater and they left the room.
"Are you guys off now?" Naomi's mother asked as they walked to the door.
"Uh huh. I'll be home later." Naomi said.
"Well, isn't Ethan picking you up? Your father and I would like to meet him."
"Maybe some other time. Bye." Naomi said. And with that she and Kira left. They were a few feet from Naomi's house when Kira finally looked at her.
"Ok, what was that?"
"What was what?" Naomi asked.
"That. The whole icy air between you and your parents."
"It's nothing." Naomi said. She took off Kira's sweater and handed it back to her. "Thanks." They continued their walk to the park.
-
"Man, I'm nervous." Ethan said. He and Conner sat at the fountain, waiting for their girlfriends.
"Why?"
"Well, this is my first date with Naomi, sorry, my first date ever." Ethan groaned.
"You can't be nervous about being with Naomi. I mean you guys have been together for two weeks, which, by the way man, I'm a little hurt you kept me in the dark about, I thought we were best buds."
"We are, I just wanted to make sure there was something to tell. I mean for the past two weeks all we did was make out, it's different now. Now we're an actual couple…..Like you and Kira. I don't know if I can pull off the suave lovey dovey stuff you do. I mean, I feel it and I want to, but I'm just……I'm a newbie in the world of women."
"Dude, chill out." Conner said. "Just go with the flow." Ethan sighed and turned around facing the fountain. He put his hands on the stone surrounding and leaned forward. Conner sighed and shook his head. He looked off, waiting for Kira and Naomi to show. They soon appeared. "Oh my god." Conner said.
"What?" Ethan asked.
"Whatever you do, do not turn around, you might die of shock." Conner said. Ethan looked at him.
"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked.
"Hey guys." Kira said as she and Naomi walked over. Conner was still a little shocked by Naomi's outfit to respond. Ethan turned around and nearly fell backwards into the water.
"Na-Naomi?" He stammered. Kira smirked and leaned over to Naomi.
"See, what I tell you?" She whispered. Naomi giggled softly. Kira looked at Conner who was staring at Naomi. Thankfully, not the same way Ethan was. "Hey, Conner, mind looking over here?" She asked. Conner blinked and looked at Kira. He gave her a smile.
"Hey." He said. He went over and kissed Kira.
"Much better." She said. Conner smiled. He looked at Naomi.
"You look great, Naomi." He said. Naomi blushed and looked down shyly.
"Thanks." She said. She looked at Ethan.
"Doesn't Naomi look nice, Ethan?" Kira asked. Ethan was still too stunned to speak. "Ethan!" Kira said, trying to get his attention. Ethan blinked and looked at Kira.
"Uh…Yeah." He looked at Naomi. "You look beautiful." He said softly. Naomi's blush deepened. Ethan walked over and took her hand. He didn't dare kiss her, afraid he'd never want to stop.
"So, how about we go get something to eat?" Conner suggested.
"Sounds good." Kira said. The other two nodded and they all made their way to an area in the park that had a lot of food vendors and picnic tables. Ethan and Conner insisted the girls get tables and they'd get the food and drinks themselves. Kira and Naomi went to find a table.
"Should we sit together or…Separately?" Naomi asked. Kira shrugged.
"It's up to you." Kira said. Part of her wanted to sit with Conner alone, but she knew that Naomi was still a little nervous and probably would want to sit with them. Naomi thought for a second. She looked over to the guys who were standing in line. Conner seemed to be talking to Ethan, but Ethan wasn't paying attention, he was just staring at Naomi. Naomi turned back to Kira.
"I don't know. I mean, I'm afraid if we sit separately I'll say or do something stupid or something and just get totally nervous and not move."
"So we'll sit together." Kira said.
"Okay." Naomi said. She stopped. "But maybe sitting with just Ethan would be a good idea, you know, so we could get some time together and sort of make the foundation of our relationship a little more solid."
"Okay, so we'll sit at different tables." Kira said. Naomi nodded.
"Good idea." She said. "But what if-"
"Naomi!" Kira said, laughing. "How about you guys sit by yourselves, and if you start to get nervous or whatever, say something like 'oh, how about we go see what Kira and Conner are up to?' or something like that?" Kira said. Naomi smiled.
"Great idea. You're a genius." Naomi said.
"Well, can't deny that." Kira said. Both girls laughed before they parted to get their own tables. Over at the hot dog stand, Conner looked at Ethan.
"Dude, if you keep staring, you'll burn a hole right through her." He joked. Ethan sighed and looked at Conner.
"Sorry, I just…" He looked back at Naomi. "She looks………really great……..doesn't she?" Conner laughed.
"Yeah, she looks nice. I'm telling you though, if she had dressed like that on a regular basis for school, you would have had a whole lot more competition from the guys in school." Conner said.
"I'm just……Nervous."
"Ya don't say." Conner commented.
"And I feel so….I mean, look at her…….and look at me….." Ethan said. He had worn a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a plaid blue over shirt over it. "I feel so inadequate."
"Dude, will you shut up? You are so not inadequate." Conner said. They soon purchased hot dogs and sodas and went to the tables to join their respective dates. Naomi smiled up at Ethan as he set the food down and sat across from her. He paused for a second.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He said. He got up and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a necklace. Naomi instantly recognized the tear drop and smiled. "My sister had some chains she used to use when she was younger in her old room, so I just took one. I mean, it's only temporary, until I can get a brand new chain." He said. Naomi shook her head.
"No, no, its fine just the way it is." She said. She looked at the necklace. "Could you.." She said, her voice trailing off.
"Oh, yeah, of course." He said. He quickly climbed over the bench and went over to her. Naomi lifted her hair up and Ethan put the necklace around her neck. He fastened the clasp. Naomi looked down and saw the pendant resting on her chest. She smiled and placed her hand on it. She let her hair go and looked up at Ethan.
"Thank you." She said. Ethan smiled. He bended at the waist and put his hands on the top of her arms. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her neck. Naomi smiled. Ethan let go and returned to his seat. From another table, not too far off, Kira was carefully watching the couple.
"Would you like a pair of binoculars?" Conner asked. Kira looked at him.
"What?"
"It'll make spying much easier." He said with a smirk.
"I'm not spying." Kira said. "Just, making sure everything is going okay."
"I'm sure they're fine." Conner said. He reached over and took her hand in his.
"I know. I just…Ethan and Naomi are our friends, and it's taken them a long time to get to this point."
"Yeah, it has." Conner said. "But we've got to step back and let our little ones grow up." Conner joked. Kira laughed. Back at the other table, Naomi and Ethan were eating their hotdogs and drinking their soda.
"So, how freaked did your parents get when you walked out of the house like that?" Ethan asked. Naomi chuckled.
"Not freaked at all. But that's because Kira gave me her sweater to cover it up." She said. She looked down. "All though sometimes I think I could probably walk out of the house stark naked and my parents wouldn't bat an eye." She muttered. Ethan looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked. Naomi sighed.
"It's nothing." She said. Ethan took her hands in his.
"Tell me." He said. Naomi opened her mouth, unsure what to say. She had been feeling these things for as long as she could remember, but she never let it out. She never talked about it. She never wanted to. You don't share your dirty laundry with others, she always thought. But something about Ethan's eyes made her not want to hold back anymore. Naomi looked down.
"Sometimes I think that my parents wished they didn't have a child." Naomi said softly. Ethan stared at her, urging her to continue. "They were always more wrapped up in their own lives then with mine." She gave a short bitter laugh. "They're the reason I do so well in school. I always wanted to get perfect grades so teachers didn't feel the need to call them in, and I'd have to explain why they can't come to a meeting." She looked up at Ethan. "I mean, what kind of parents stick a seven year old in boarding school?"
"But, I thought you and your parents got along all right. I mean, the first day you came to school and I came over to your house, your mom seemed-"
"I was being hopeful that now that we were here and I was out of boarding school, things would be different." Naomi said. She sighed. "But, I was wrong." Naomi pulled her hands back and crossed her arms on the table, feeling a little vulnerable after telling him that. "They're not the most attentive bunch. I remember when I was younger, like three or something, I would call the nanny 'mommy' because I saw her more often then I did my actual mother." She paused, as she seemed to bring up that memory in her head. "Her name was Carmella. She was so nice, and warm. But, my parents fired her."
"Why?"
"Because it was my 7th birthday and they weren't there and she told them that they should spend more time with me and that it wasn't right what they were doing, blah blah blah." She said. "They didn't like the 'help' talking back to them, so they fired her. After that, I ended up in boarding school."
"Did you ever talk with your parents how you feel? I mean maybe-" Ethan began. Naomi gave another short bitter laugh.
"People don't 'talk' in the Carlton house." Naomi said. "At least not like that. We say civil things like hello, see ya, and when either of my parents ask me something I answer like the good little girl I am. I don't know, maybe it's my fault. I always thought that if I didn't make waves and was the perfect little girl, they'd love me more and spend more time with me. After a while, I realized it was a futile effort, but I just kept on going. By that time, I didn't want my parents digging in my life, so I kept getting good grades, kept smiling, kept doing everything I had to do to make them think I was all right." She looked down. As much as she hadn't wanted to talk about it before, talking about it to Ethan did help. She felt like she was breathing easier then she had in the past ten years. She looked up at Ethan. "You know the world is ending when even the most seemingly all together girl's life has some cracks in it." She said cynically. She couldn't bring herself to look up at Ethan, afraid what he might say. Ethan reached over and pulled one of her arms back, taking hold of her hand with both of his. Naomi looked up a bit, but not completely. He didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say. Naomi took a deep breath. "And I've now officially brought down the date." She said. Ethan shook his head.
"No." He said. "I just wish you told me sooner." He said. Naomi looked up at him.
"I've never told anyone. I just," she paused, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "I didn't want to have the whole pity thing and I just didn't think it was important."
"Your parents not being around for you is important." Ethan said. He looked at her. "Have you guys ever thought about going to family counseling?" Ethan asked. Naomi shook her head.
"My parents don't think there's a problem." She said. "I spend most of my nights in an empty house and they don't think there's a problem." Naomi said, her chin quivered as she tried to hold in tears. "And even when they are home, they might as well not be." A few tears slid down. She sighed and wiped at them. She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "They do the whole providing for me thing, you know, clothes, allowance, stuff like that so it's not like I'm neglected it's just…." She looked off for a second. "And the funny thing is, I don't want it to change. I've gotten so used to them not being involved that I don't want them to suddenly be involved."
"So, you have no intention of ever talking to them about it?" Ethan asked.
"No, I don't." Naomi said. "It's gone on for too long for it to change. Besides, if I ever did say something and they became attentive and everything, I'd always wonder if it was real or was it just because I said something." She cleared her throat and sat up straight, signifying she was trying to get out of the teary mood she was in. She put on a smile. "But it's okay." She said. "I mean, I've got you, Conner, Kira, Dr. Oliver, Dr. Hart, Trini and Haley. I'm happy." She said. She gave a small nod. "I think the most happy I've been since I was a little girl." She added. Ethan looked at her. He was a little shocked. He was so sure that the happy Naomi he first met was the real one and that all the changes that happened when they stayed with Tommy were because of the stress. Apparently it was the other way around. Ethan returned the smile.
"I'm glad I could be a part of the whole making Naomi happy process." Ethan said. Naomi laughed. The happier mood of the two returned and they continued to eat their food and drink their drinks.