Title: Ghost You Know (4/5)

By: a_lil_nothing

Rating: PG w/ some language.

Summary: Emily, Naomi, & Katie in middle school.

Notes: 1) Could be considered a prequel to A Comet Appears. Some of the same characters are here. This takes place before the start of series 3 (when they're in middle school) so in this universe I guess series 3 is the sequel. 2) I've changed my narrative to a sort of first person. Just trying it out. Let me know if it works or doesn't work. 3) Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks to everyone that left feedback on my other fics and favorited them. 4) Not beta-ed so please point out mistakes and such so that I may correct them. Thanks!

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Ghost You Know

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Emily POV

I noticed her arrival earlier in the evening. How could I not? She was the only bright blond hair in a sea of black, brown and even purple heads. It was Saturday night- Michelle's party. Didn't know the girl very well but the invitation included me when she invited Katie. Maybe it was a twin thing. Like people didn't understand that we were actually two different persons. Definitely not into the same things. The only thing we did have in common was getting wasted. At least we had that.

I was on my second cup of vodka now. There were these two girls with Naomi loud, laughing, joking about whilst Naomi stood with her back against the wall, a drink in one hand and a ciggy in the other. She looked amazingly cool just standing there. But she also looked… like she'd rather be somewhere else. It was still cool though: the way she leaned back on the wall, the way she dragged on her cigarette, the way she exhaled the smoke. Naomi's eyes wandered to mine and she smiled a quick smile. One of those blink and you miss it smiles of hers that infuriated me. Why not just smile outright? There's no harm in acting pleased once in a while, is there?

I carried on my conversation with some guy from our history class all the while sneaking glances her way. I think it was pretty obvious I wasn't paying him any mind the third time I looked away.

"What is it, Emily? Who you looking at?" he asked a bit slurred and gazed across the room. I froze. I had to make something up fast. Or not. "Oh! There's Charley! CHARLEY!" he practically yelled in my ear as he waved a friend over. "Come over here, you tosser! Look! One of the twins!"

I figured that was my cue to escape. I drank the rest of my vodka and unconsciously looked over to the corner of the room again. Honestly, it wasn't a conscious move on my part. I actually wanted to find Katie and strangle her for shoving me off at another wanker but my eyes wandered to where the blonde was instead. A little bit of panic set in when I saw Naomi walking away from her friends and towards the back door. I wanted to talk to her about what happened at the library. She'd looked so disappointed in me and I felt the need to explain.

"Naomi!" I called out trying to get her attention over the loud music and guests. The alcohol was finally starting to kick in and it became a mission to walk around everyone and catch up with her without falling flat on my face.

"Emily. Hi. What you doing here?"

I was momentarily confused by the question. "Katie dragged me along. Michelle is her partner. Assignment partner. For history." I tried again. "Her assignment partner in history class." There, that made more sense now.

Naomi smiled. A real one. It made me giddy, ridiculously so. "You drunk?"

"A bit." I couldn't stop smiling. Her grin lit up her whole face. She needed to smile more often, like, every second of the day. 24/7. "You?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Stoned?"

Her eyes twinkled. Yes, they really did. "A bit."

"Are you leaving?"

"What? No. I'm here with my friends Lucy and Amy." She pointed across the room to those two girls she'd been with earlier.

"Then why are you heading out the door?" I inwardly cursed. I really was turning into a stalker, wasn't I? I couldn't help it. I was so drawn to her it was absurd.

"I need some air. And a smoke if I'm going to survive a few more hours of this dump." She tugged on her lower lip with her fingers like she tended to do sometimes. It was right sexy.

"Mind if I come with you? I could use a smoke, too."

She looked at me sideways and smiled again, "It's not cigarettes."

"I didn't think so." I couldn't stop myself from grinning like a loony bin detainee.

She nonchalantly tugged on my sleeve and made my skin tingle underneath the fabric. "Come on, then, Emily."

As I followed her out, I decided then and there I loved how Naomi said my name.

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"I don't even know what I'm doing here." She mentioned after lighting the spliff and drawing it in. She offered me the joint after her second toke.

I wasn't sure if she was talking about smoking outside with me or… Our fingers lightly brushed against each others as I took the offered drug. I unbelievably lost my train of thought for a second there. Her fingers were soft, cold but soft. "At the party?" I asked, taking a drag of the spliff, "Or in the grander scheme of things?" I handed it back to her as I exhaled.

What she did next was positively shocking and made me wonder if she wasn't a bit wasted already. Miss 'I don't find anything amusing' actually… fucking… giggled. Really. It was one of those adorable stifled laughs you want to hear over and over again for the rest of your life. "At the party, silly." She replied as she took another hit. "We have to be up early tomorrow."

I wanted to ask who 'we' were but I didn't. "Why?" And why the holy hell did Death Cab for Cuties' version of 'Earth Angel' suddenly have to start playing? One of Katie's boyfriends had been obsessed with Stubbs the Zombie gameplay and had downloaded the soundtrack for her. He thought the ripping of arms and eating human brains was funny. That should have been Katie's first warning that he was a bit mental. Although, I had to admit, the dance off segment of the game between the copper and Stubbs was pretty fucking hilarious. Especially when high. And drunk. And MDMA'd out of your skin.

Naomi's voice brought me back to the topic at hand. "A group of us are heading to the wharf at sunrise."

"Ew. Why?"

"Protesting the trawlers." My face must have showed I thought she was insane. "We need to ban trawling. They kill a lot of innocent animals with those nets." She said it like it was so obvious.

I watched her smoke again. And by watching her smoke, yes, I mean watch how her chest expanded as she inhaled. Either she had a stuffed bra or she'd developed more than just her height already. "Like Greenpeace?" I moved my eyes up quickly, "Not the trawling part, the protesting part."

"Yeah, like Greenpeace." Naomi smiled softly and looked over at me for second. She offered me the joint again.

Jesus H. Christ! Did she just glance at my lips? I felt a blush rising, my breath coming in rapidly. I had to be very careful as I inhaled the drug- didn't want to start a coughing fit, choke and die. Not yet at least… And this fucking song!

Naomi leaned back on her hands, "So…"

"Yeah…" I smoked the joint again to pass the time, "What are you doing this summer?"

"Not sure. Maybe go on some dig with my mum. Her mates are working on some digs in Turkey. Greece. I may go with her." The way she swung her trainers back and forth was so adorable.

Having never been outside England I thought that sounded like fun. I wondered why a social anthropologist would go on a dig though. Wasn't that what proper anthropologists were for? "What if you don't?" I asked as I gave her back her spliff.

"Probably head to London." She paused, as if she were about to divulge too much personal information or something. That, or the joint was kicking her hard. I know I was feeling it all over. "Visit my dad. What about you?

"I dunno." I really didn't. I hadn't actually thought that far ahead yet.

"What's Katie doing?

"I don't know either…" I frowned at her. "It's not like we do everything together."

"Really?"

"God, no. I can't stand to- I mean…" I knew Naomi was teasing me for the very first time when she nudged my shoulder with her own.

The music inside had since changed to The Feeling's new album and we just sat there in comfortable silence. Sweet silence until Katie yelled "Emiiiiily?! Fucks sake, Emilyyyyyyyy?!" like a banshee as she walked out of the row house.

"Over here." I called out to her, wishing I hadn't.

"What the fuck you doing? Party's inside." She asked, looking at the ground as she walked over to the side of the house. High heels and a backyard were not good friends for a reason. "Oh. Naomi." She said once she came up to us. "Hi." She added as well though I knew she didn't mean it.

"Katie." Was all Naomi said by way of a greeting. She then proceeded to offer my sister the spliff.

Katie looked at me for a second and then back to her. "Right." She took the joint and brought it to her mouth. "Party's inside, yes?", she said in between inhalations. "Get a move on. Boys aren't going to wait forever." She smoked it one last time and handed it back to the blonde. "Move yer arse, Em. Come on." And with that she turned and began to walk away. A part of me hoped one of her heels would get stuck in the soft ground and twist her ankle. That would have been both payback and entertaining

"Fucking cow." Naomi grumbled looking at the spliff. "It's spent. Didn't even bother to say thank you." She chucked the remainder to the side and stood up- although a bit unsteady. I chuckled- Naomi Campbell Greenpeace member littered the Earth? I looked up to tease her but I was shocked mute when I registered she was holding her hand out to me. That friendly gesture ceased my brain from working properly. Therefore, I was surprised to see my arm extend over to hers of its own accord. Maybe brains were overrated. "Come on, Ems. Can't keep the boys waiting." She winked and helped lift me up.

I died a little bit at that very moment.

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