Disclaimer: I don't own Skins, or its characters.

Chapter 2

Naomi POV

I look at Emily again, and see her eyes shut so tightly that they might actually just sink in. I, hesitantly, put my hand over hers, and ask her to relax. She opens her eyes, and looks at our hands, and then nods towards me, shutting her eyes yet again, although her shoulders are no more stiff and uptight. She's relaxed.

After we are mid-air, and the seatbelt sign is off, Emily reopens her eyes, retracting her hand from mine.

"Thank you. I just always feel a great deal of paranoia during take-off and landing, you know? I am never able to handle it."

I smile, nodding my head in understanding, and then look at little Eli again. She is sleeping so peacefully, that I'm scared to even breathe in case I wake her up. I've never gotten along with children…maybe because I was too scared to approach them? I don't know. But I feel some kind of a connection with Eli, even though I've just met her. I'm unable to comprehend how she's such a peaceful baby. I mean, she didn't even wake up during take-off…now that's saying something! Really.

"So Naomi, how old are you? And why are you going to Dubai?"

Looking at Emily, I reply, "I'm 24 years old, and I'm going there on business actually. Have to meet up with some people about the opening of my hotel over there."

"Oh, I see…which hotel? Maybe I've heard of it!"

"La chance"

"Oh my god…you're THAT Naomi Campbell? The owner of one of the largest hotel chains in the world? Fuck, that's good shit."

"Yeah. Anyways, that's enough about me for the time being. You tell me about yourself. How old are you? What do you do?"

"Yeah sorry again…I just seem to lose control sometimes. It's very easy to excite me….Shit! Did I just say that?" I burst out laughing…she really is adorable! Emily joins in, and after a while, replies to my question, "I am 23 years old, and I don't really do anything at the moment, although I have a degree in Architecture."

Architecture. So she's intelligent and dexterous…she's pretty cool! "But then, you must do something in that field. Maybe in a few years, when Eli has grown up a bit, and stuff, you know?", I tell her.

"So how old is Eli?", I ask her.

"Yeah that's what I'm thinking of. She is around 8 months old…was born on the 16th of October last year."

"Hmm…so tell me more about yourself, Emily…the things you like and dislike, maybe?"

"I enjoy rock and pop music, while I hate rap songs. My favourite singer is Avril Lavigne. I enjoy Castle and 90210, as they are centred around romance, you know? I absolutely adore Robert Pattinson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson! And I also think that Harry and Hermione should be together…I mean, that'll be perfect, don't you think?"

"Hmm…although I'm not a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, I understand why you might like these stars. About both of them, frankly…I don't really care, you know? I mean, it's just a story! Anyways, Avril Lavigne…good choice! She just sings with a lot of feeling, which is so hard to resist for me, even though I am not a big fan of pop music. I love classical music…Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Chopin….I listen to all! But I like rock too…inspiring songs! All in all, you seem like a hopeless romantic…do you think that everything in live is peachy? That everyone gets their happy ever after?"

"No, I would not put it like that. I'm…more of an optimist, you know? I think that every problem has a solution, which can then lead to happiness. I think of the world as a happy place, Naomi. For me, despondency is something that can be avoided if one tries hard enough."

"Utter bull shit, Emily. The world is not a fairytale…how can you even think like this? Happiness is not prevalent everywhere…people starve everyday, others are killed in accidents or are murdered. How can one fucking avoid despondency if their loved one dies or leaves them? Huh?"

"You are taking this too personally. Please, I'm sorry if you're offended or something. That was my viewpoint, you know? You don't have to agree with what I'm saying, but at least respect my opinion. I would certainly appreciate that!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I am a little too passionate about some issues, and you hit the nail on the spot on which it hurt the most. But yes, you're right…it's your perspective, and I must respect it. I apologize."

"No problem. Care to share?"

"Um, no! I'm sorry, I'm just not very comfortable talking about this matter…I hate talking about the past. So if you would not mind, could we talk about something else?"

"Oh, um, yeah sure. Where are you living in Dubai? And for how many days are you there? We must meet up for lunch or sometime?"

"I'm living in Jumeirah. I'm going to be there for about 15 days or so. Yeah sure, we'll exchange numbers, and I'll surely give you a call. What about you?"

"We're expected to be here for about 20 days, and are staying at some hotel…I don't remember its name, since David made the booking!"

"Oh okay, anyways, tell me something more about yourself, Emily…you seem like a very interesting person."

I was, unconsciously, flirting with her, and I hoped she didn't realize. She has a boyfriend for God's sake! I breathed a sigh of relief when she started answering my question, confirming that she didn't catch on to anything.

"I have a twin. Her name is Katie, and I think she is gay. I mean she has not confirmed it or anything, and seems far off from even accepting it, but she certainly seems gay to me. I mean she really looks at girls, you know? Like she can't stop looking…you know what I mean?"

"Hahaha…yeah, I get it. But why hasn't she accepted it?"

"I think it is because of our mom…Jenna. Her thinking is pretty orthodox, and 19th century! She might even disown Katie because of this."

"Are you kidding me? What kind of a woman is she? Sorry to say, but I already dislike her, Emily", I laugh and tell her.

"No, no, it's okay…she gets on my nerves too! Anyways, there's this best friend of ours: Effy. She has the hots for Katie, but would never admit it to her, as she is too scared to lose their friendship. But in actuality, both of them blatantly flirt with each other…I've seen them groping each other at times too. Maybe they have even slept together…I really don't know. I mean I know that Effy is not going to initiate a serious conversation about it, as she wants to have something with Katie, rather than nothing. And so, there lies the familiar face of insecurity and fear."

"Whoa…all this sounds so complicated! I sympathize with Effy…maybe if we meet someday, I can help her win Katie?", I say, winking at Emily.

Emily begins to tell me that Effy and Katie are going to in Dubai too, but then, I think her brain catches onto what I said. Her mouth is open in shock, although nothing comes out of it. "Eli's sleeping…I don't think you should react loudly on this, although I know you are excited!", I tease her while closing her mouth. I, then, give her a smirk that brings her out of her reverie.

"Holy shit…you're gay!" Okayyy…I didn't think she would have a problem! I mean, she's virtually admitting facts about her sister's sexuality with so much ease.

"Emily…is that going to be a problem?", I ask her, confused.

"No, not at all. I'm just shocked, you know? I have absolutely no problem with you being gay, bi-sexual, straight, transgender...euh…I should stop before I make a complete fool of myself! I am so sorry again…it seems like I've only been apologizing to you today!"

"Emily, oh my god, you're adorable, you know? Your little speech was kind of cute. And for your information, I'm gay. Not bi, or straight, or a transgender!", I laughingly tell her.

Her cheeks are completely red, and she seems as if she can't stop blushing. She looks exotic. In order to lessen her discomfort, I hand Eli to her, and excuse myself to go to the lavatory.

Oh fuck…how I hate these suffocating, small, grotesque-looking toilets! One can't even move one's legs around here…I must buy my private plane. I could have bought one, but the problem is that I feel scared flying all alone in a jet…I mean I don't trust the pilot to control the small jet, you know? It's foolish, I know. At least I can have a bathroom the size of a suite in there, and people wouldn't stroll past me to get there! Ugh well, chuck it. I'm going back to my seat. Oh but Emily's there…fuck me! I don't know why I'm attracted to her…usually, I never think about a girl twice! But Emily, I can't stop looking at her. Maybe it's because she's unavailable? I do like challenges actually. However, I need to stop with this shit. I mean, she has a boyfriend, and a kid! Control. That's exactly what I need.