Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews! I replied to all the ones I could :)

Obviously, I've decided to go with longer chapters with a longer break between updates, just for my own sanity. I've really got a lot of work at university this semester so this is really the only way I can keep up with updates. Hope that's okay!

So here we begin part two. Basically each part will examine a specific article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - some parts will be shorter than others since some articles have fewer clauses to examine.

And as usual I don't own or have anything to do with Skins.

Part 2: Freedom to Peaceful Assembly and Association

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

- Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Chapter 5: Freedom of Association

That feeling that doesn't go away just did
And I walked a thousand miles to prove it
And I'm caught in the crossfire of my own thoughts
The colour of my blood is all I see on the rocks
As you sail from me

- My Blood, Ellie Goulding

It was my first morning at work and I was absolutely terrified. I'd been answering phone calls for half an hour all by myself and I had no clue what I was doing. Emily wasn't in yet and for all I know I could've already insulted a Bosnian diplomat over the phone. In fact, I'm quite sure I actually did insult a Bosnian diplomat over the phone.

Things have gotten to the point where I've turned on the answering machine just because I can't handle the stress of answering the phone and not knowing if I'm doing it properly or how to take Emily's messages down...or how to speak Bosnian. I'd been here since 8 in the morning because Emily had forgotten to tell me what time I was supposed to come in. She did make me come twice yesterday, though, so she was forgiven.

By the time Emily actually showed up at 9, I was just about ready to pack my things up and call it a day. And maybe head over to Emily's apartment. And demand to know why she was late. And then maybe have some shower sex.

"Naomi! What are you doing here so early?" Emily asked as she put her purse on our coat rack.

"Bosnia called," I replied. Emily stared at me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Right..." Emily replied.

"I don't speak Bosnian," I replied. "And I don't know how to answer the phone properly. Or how to take your messages down. Or how to turn on the computer. So I just put the calls through to the answering machine. And I've just been sort of sitting here...slowly dying."

I could tell Emily was trying her best not to laugh at me, which sort of made me want to punch her in the face. But I was still thankful for the shower sex we had yesterday so I didn't punch her.

"Okay, so obviously I'll have to teach you basically everything today," Emily said as she pulled up a chair and sat next to me. She leaned over me and pressed a button on the back of my computer. "Step one: this is how you turn on the computer."

And the rest of the morning went sort of like that. Emily slowly eased me into the idea of work and basically being her slave and I sat there and listened and learned as much as I could. By lunch I'd learned how to turn on the computer, properly answer the phone, transfer calls, take Emily's messages, manage her schedule, and I'd also learned where the bathrooms are. Emily insisted that we take our lunch break together so she could "go over a few things with me" and I agreed because I was hungry and Emily was wearing a skirt today and I knew it was somewhat windy outside. I was intrigued by the possibilities...and was hoping that one of those possibilities involved Emily's skirt getting blown up by the wind.

We walked to a Pret a Manger and ordered our food. Emily had a veggie wrap and I had a falafel wrap. We both bought water and shared a cookie.

"So what did you want to go over?" I asked. Emily shrugged.

"Can't really remember anymore. You look so...professional," She replied as she covertly tried to check me out and continue eating her veggie wrap at the same time. Apparently, it was okay for Emily to check me out only when we weren't in the office.

I wasn't complaining.

"Mhm," I replied. "And?"

"It's just distracting, that's all," Emily blushed and took a sip of her water.

"Why is it distracting?"

"Because you look fucking sexy in that top, alright?!" Emily replied. Her cheeks reddened and she avoided making eye contact with me. I smiled.

"Well, honestly, Emily, no reason to get so worked up."

Emily huffed and continued eating her veggie wrap while I ate more than my half of our shared cookie. I don't think Emily noticed, or at least, if she did notice, she didn't say anything. Maybe she didn't say anything because I leant over a bit too much to eat my cookie and gave her a pretty good look down my top.

It was going to be fun, watching Emily try to remember that I was her employee and that it would be inappropriate for her to fuck me.

We managed to get through the rest of lunch without Emily trying to eye me up or tell me that I look sexy. We didn't, however, manage to make it back to the office without the wind blowing up Emily's skirt. And we also didn't manage to make it back to the office without me complimenting her on her black, lacy thong. I really liked that part of lunch. Emily didn't seem to like it so much, though.

When we got back to my desk, Emily sat down in the chair next to me. Emily seemed kind of pissed and I hoped the comment I made earlier about her thong wasn't going to bite me in the ass. The phone wasn't ringing and Emily hadn't assigned me anything to do just yet, so I waited for her to tell me to do something.

"I need you to call the UN representative for Saudi Arabia," Emily said. "He prefers to speak in Arabic."

Oh God, it was payback time. Emily knew I wasn't fluent in Arabic and that this call would be almost completely impossible for me to make. The thong comment was definitely biting me in the ass. Emily sat next to me smugly as she handed me a business card with the phone number I was supposed to be calling.

"I don't speak Arabic well," I said as I punched the numbers in. Emily smiled.

"You'll be fine."

Oh God.

So I called the UN representative for Saudi Arabia. And that conversation was anything but fine, thank you very much. I'm pretty sure he told me to fuck off at one point, and I'm pretty sure I accidentally insulted his daughter and he definitely hung up on me. Emily didn't seem to mind so much. She simply smiled at me before sauntering off into her office and shutting the door.

If that was Emily's form of punishment, I doubt I'd be stepping out of line again any time soon. That phone call was massively embarrassing and I think Emily was pretty out of line for making me do that. I felt upset and embarrassed and just plain shitty.

I finished all of my assigned work for that afternoon, which Emily brought out a few minutes after the infamous "Arabic phone call disaster," as I now called it. At 5 o'clock, Emily grabbed her coat and I grabbed mine and we walked into the elevator together and to the tube station and almost all the way home without really saying anything to each other. Emily didn't ask me to come up to her flat, and obviously I didn't ask her to come to mine.

I felt upset. The day had made me feel upset. Emily's phone call punishment had been really embarrassing for me and I normally wouldn't feel embarrassed by something like that. But I realized that I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to impress Emily. And the way that phone call went down was anything but impressive.

But why? Why was I letting Emily under my skin like this? I've had jobs before and I didn't give a flying fuck about impressing my bosses. Something about Emily made me want to impress her. I didn't want to feel like this after a day of work – like I'd failed, like I was incompetent.

I came to the realization that I cared too much about what Emily thought of me.

And then I made the decision to change that. I had to do something tonight, something to get my mind off Emily.

I walked up to my flat, trying to think of ideas of things I could do tonight to get my mind off of Emily. Effy was sat on the floor in the living room with Cook, both of them drinking a beer. Cook smiled when he saw me.

"Naomi! I finished that forged police record check for you a day early. And because I did that, you owe me a night out!" Cook said.

I took off my coat and hung it up in our hall closet and took off my shoes. My mind was a bit more at ease now that I wouldn't have to think of something to do tonight. I'd go out with Cook, get completely fucked up, and maybe find a fit girl to really take my mind off Emily.

Effy got up and handed me a beer as I made my way over to sit next to Cook on the floor.

"Sounds good, Cookie. I'll get changed as soon as I finish this one off," I replied, gesturing to my beer. Cook handed me the sealed police record check.

"Nearly had to prostitute myself to get that for ya, Naomikins," Cook said as he nodded towards the police record check. I laughed.

"Glad you didn't need to resort to such drastic measures, Cookie. Eff, when the fuck are we going to get some actual fucking furniture?" I asked as I shifted uncomfortably on the hard wood floor. Effy shrugged and tossed a pillow at me. Yes, we don't have any form of furniture, but we have fucking throw pillows for decoration.

"As soon as you can afford to pay for half. And hopefully, now that you've got a job, that'll be soon."

I nodded and finished my beer in one swift gulp. For my own sake, I certainly hoped I'd be able to afford to pay for half of the furniture fucking soon – I was in dire need of a couch to sit on rather than this damn floor. I grabbed the empty beer bottles that were sat in the middle of our little threesome and threw them out before I went into my bedroom to get changed for my night out with Cook. When I went back out into the living room, fully dressed and ready for tonight, I found Cook alone in the living room.

"Where'd Effy go?" I asked. Cook shrugged.

"She got a call and said she had to go...something work related, I think," he replied. "Ready to go?"

I nodded but I guess Cook could tell I just wasn't myself tonight. He frowned at me.

"What's eatin' ya, girl?" Cook asked me as he draped an arm around my shoulder and slowly lead me towards the door. I sighed in response. Cook understood that I didn't want to talk about it just yet. "Come on then, Naoms, we need to get you a fit bird to shag as soon as possible. I haven't seen you this down since your two-week dry spell last year."

When Cook and I got outside, I offered him a cigarette, which he took. I lit up as well. We were headed to the same pub we always went to. It was a grungy mess and definitely wasn't even close to a decent pub but we both liked it.

"You ready to talk about it yet?" Cook asked as we paused in front of the pub to finish off our cigarettes.

"It's just my boss," I replied, rolling my eyes. Cook raised his eyebrow at me. He knew that wasn't the whole story. "I fucked her. Twice. And she pissed me off today and treated me really shitty and I shouldn't even care that she did that. Why do I care?"

Cook took a deep drag on his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and putting it out.

"Dunno, Naomikins," He replied, smoke blowing in my face. "Maybe your shag isn't just a shag."

I finished off my cigarette and nodded. I think part of me knew Emily wasn't just a shag. But another part of me was arguing that she was just a shag.

"And if she isn't just a shag?" I whispered. Almost like I couldn't entertain the idea too loudly.

"Then you're always gonna get your heart ripped out somewhere, aren't ya?" Cook sent me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Naoms. I'll find you a proper fit bird tonight and she can solve all your problems. Just forget about your boss, mate. She ain't worth it."

Cook grabbed my hand and lead me into the bar and to our favourite booth. He got the first round in and before I knew it, we were six rounds in and I was knee deep in Emily-feelings. I was mad that she could get to me like this. Who did she think she was? Who gave her the right to fuck with my head like this?

Cook came back with the next round accompanied by two blondes. One smiled at me and sat next to me, while the other sat next to Cook. I didn't pay much attention to Cook's blonde.

"Hi," the blonde next to me said. "I'm Jessica."

I smiled at her and tried to be cool.

"Naomi. Do you want to come outside with me for a smoke?" I asked as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. Jessica nodded and we headed outside.

"So what do you do?" Jessica asked as I lit up. I handed her the pack and the lighter and took a deep drag from the cigarette.

"I'm a personal assistant. What about you?"

Jessica shrugged and took a drag from her cigarette.

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" She looked straight at me and smiled. "Shall we fuck now or later?"

So I pushed her into a nearby alleyway as my answer.

I pushed her against the brick wall and ignored how her lips felt too full against mine. Not like Emily's lips.

I ignored how her tits were too big and how her moan sounded different. Not like Emily's.

And I ignored how she didn't whisper my name when she came. Not like Emily does.

And I pulled my fingers out of her and I didn't feel any better. I thought I would. I thought fucking this girl would fix things. That I'd maybe forget about Emily just a little bit.

But I just felt more alone.

Jessica or whatever wandered off after she pulled her panties back up and I stayed in the alleyway for a minute. I tried to pull myself back together. Eventually I gave up. I wasn't going to pull myself back together. It just wasn't going to happen. Because instead of pushing Emily to the back of my mind, fucking that girl had brought Emily right to the forefront of all my thoughts. And maybe I missed her just a little.

I sent a text to Cook to let him know I was headed home. He didn't reply back. Was probably too busy fucking that other blonde that had sat with us. I didn't mind, though.

I got home far too late and felt upset and stupid for even going out on a Monday night. I'd have to wake up in four hours and I was going to be in a bad mood when I saw Emily tomorrow.

I don't know why I think I can solve all my problems with a random shag. It used to work. But ever since Emily came along, it doesn't work anymore. Maybe because I don't want to have sex with anyone but her. I only want to feel her beneath me. I want to feel her come around my fingers, in my mouth. I want to taste every inch of her skin.

And I want her to want me to do those things and not care that she's my boss and that we shouldn't be doing it. Because I don't care about those things.

I just want her.

But I suppose she doesn't want me enough to ignore those things.

Emily

I went home that first day feeling like shit. I was regretting hiring Naomi. Not because she was a bad employee or anything. Naomi was fantastic, even on her first day when she shouldn't be so fantastic. She learned quickly and I didn't even have to spend the whole day training her.

I was regretting hiring her because I couldn't resist her. And my job wouldn't let me have her. And fucking hell, Naomi was all I could think about anymore. My whole walk up to my flat, I was thinking about her hair – how it smelled, how it looked today, how it felt between my fingers when I pulled at her hair while she went down on me.

I got into my apartment and stripped down to my bra and panties right away. I spent almost the entire night touching myself and thinking about Naomi. Wondering what she was doing, who she was with. If she was out fucking somebody else. Did she miss me?

Was I allowed to miss her?

I drifted off at some point and woke up to the sound of my mobile ringing. I walked into the hallway, where I'd left my phone on a small table, and saw that Naomi was calling me. I wondered what she had to say at two in the morning. Maybe she really did miss me. Maybe she wanted to come over for a shag. I wouldn't refuse.

I answered and heard the sounds of a woman moaning. And the unmistakeable sound of that woman getting fucked. Except those moans weren't Naomi's.

She was fucking somebody else.

I didn't want to hear anymore than I already had. I hung up and I went back to bed, silently seething. I had to remind myself that Naomi was allowed to fuck other people. Hell, I was allowed to fuck other people. Maybe that's what I'd do. I'd go out tomorrow night and find some fit woman and fuck her.

Except I didn't want to do that. Not really. I just wanted Naomi. And I wasn't sure that Naomi wanted me anymore.

Even if I did fuck some other woman, I'd be doing it just to spite Naomi. This wasn't some kind of fucked up competition and I wouldn't let it turn into one.

My anger simmered down and turned into sadness. Because Naomi and I couldn't work. I should've known that right away. But my biggest fault is my hope and I really wanted us to work somehow.

Naomi obviously wasn't as hung up on me as I was on her. And I shouldn't risk my job for someone who didn't really care for me . . . right?

Whatever feelings I had for Naomi had to just be put on a back burner. I couldn't lose my job over her. No matter how badly I wanted her.

I'd just have to stop.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought.

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