It has been a very long time and I am very sorry for that. Amongst other albeit more fun adventures this summer I moved again (I know, again). BUT a year lease has been signed and I am quite excited at the prospect of not having to lug my furniture up or down any flights of stairs in the near future.
An update for Chivalry is Dead is currently in the works.
Big thanks to: ash, Steph81, R3dN0te, fookyeahskins, skinsfan15, Crevette, I got caught, frostythesnowgirl3, sookieheartsbill, and hopelessnaomilyaddict – thank you for all your lovely reviews and sticking with this through the Sophia and the mandeh and the painfully slow trudge and what have you. You're all ace.
(frostythesnowgirl, thank you for the review – though I am a fan of the tumblr flailing as well haha :) )
Please do let me know what you think! (Or if any of you are even still reading this?) And as always, thanks for reading.
I don't own Skins or anything of the sort.
Chapter XXII: We all do what we can
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How she found herself sandwiched in the back of Effy's car between Panda and Sid she still wasn't sure, though it wasn't disagreeable. Tony and Effy were in the front and they all were en route to Casa de Stonem…she needed to stop talking to Alex so much. Even with the recent lack of communication due to Alex being grounded Naomi still found the other girls phrases invading her vocabulary.
Alex had been less than enthusiastic when she heard of Naomi's trip; its destination being mobile phone service adverse, or at least that's what Effy had called it.
..
"What?!" Alex had exclaimed. "I finally talked my way into getting my mobile back and you're going to the country? Beyond civilization? Rude. And honestly why would you willingly go to the bloody country? Where there is no service?"
"It's only for the weekend. You'd think I'm, I dunno skipping out of the country for an undisclosed amount of time," Naomi retorted. "You'll be fine."
"I can't believe you're abandoning me," Alex said dramatically, ignoring her friend's teasing. "What am I supposed to do? I'm still grounded," she lamented before explaining how she used the 'emergency' credit card her parents had given her to purchase the two play tickets to Wicked, a hotel in London, limo to the show, and an outfit for the evening.
"Alex…" Naomi chastised.
"I had nothing to wear, that was actually an emergency."
..
It's funny, she didn't know why but she always pictured Effy being from some city, smoking her way through the days and rolling from grungy club to grungy club by night, and maybe in some alternative universe she did. But the Stonems lived in more of a manor than a high rise where trees outnumbered people and stars, lights. Sitting in George's field being passed the tin of pumpkin pie, after the spliff from Effy herself – this – all of this nature, and calm, and unexpected peace, Effy fit in an impossible sort of way.
..
"So where exactly are we going?" Naomi had asked as she pulled the collar of her jacket tighter around her face, tucking in her chin. They had parked the car by a wood and had been walking a solid ten minutes before coming to a small river, or large steam. They stopped in front of a makeshift bridge by the way of two trees with two vertically aligned ropes crossing the river.
"To George's," Effy said in her simple way. As if two words held the weight of two hundred.
"And who is George exactly?"
"Maxxie's wet dream," Tony offered with a smirk. Naomi found his words about as useful as Effy's, a Stonem family trait she had come to realize. Sid laughed at Tony's description. Damn the Stonems and their tiresome answers that were not answers.
After crossing the rope bridge they passed through a field to another. Naomi could see a fire and as they approached a tent.
"This is George's?" she asked, unimpressed.
"This is George's," Effy repeated. "He's usually not out this early, but I guess he's being a bit ambitious with the lack of snow here. He lives out here as much of the year as he can, you see. Only when it gets too cold or there is too much snow does he go back to stay at his parents in the village." Like Sid, they had grown up with George.
He greeted them as warmly as his fire. Instantly Naomi took appreciation in Tony's description of the lad. He was beautiful. Tall and dirty blonde, he reminded her of a young Heath Ledger, of one of those young bright stars that burn out and die much too soon. He was radiant.
..
This had been exactly what she needed without realizing it. Naomi felt relaxed as she hopped down from the rope bridge. They weren't staying the night.
"Did no one bring a torch?" she asked as they began the last leg of the trek to the car.
"It is bloody dark," Panda added.
"The lights just make you see worse."
"Right," Naomi said not entirely convinced.
Unlike the walk to the car, the car ride seemed doubly long.
"Is it just me or is it taking us longer to get back than it did to get there?" Naomi voiced after sometime of watching trees pass in the night.
"We're going back a different way," Effy said from the front seat without turning around.
"A longer way?"
"Yes Naomi, a longer way."
"Why?"
"This way has the hills."
"The what?" Again, with the answers that's weren't answers. Tony and Effy were up front again with Naomi and Panda in the back seat and George and Sid in the row behind them.
"Open up," George said, grabbing the headrest of the seats in front of him as he climbing from the back of the car. "We're almost there."
Naomi heard the sunroof open and the loudness of air rushing by. She leaned to the left a bit in an attempt to gain more personal space. George stood up, his top half disappearing out the confines of the car. She felt the pull of the engine working the car up the first hill.
It was that moment before the fall, that limbo before gravity would then inevitably did its job. Naomi wondered if he were mad as he let out a joyful yell and spread his arms out to either side. He wasn't flying, but he was as the car careened down the first knoll.
"He could get killed," Naomi said over the rushing noise of the air.
"He could do doing anything," Effy replied evenly.
A minute later he was back down in the car breathless and smiling. "Absolutely fantastic," he proclaimed as he climbed back next to Sid.
"Sidney take the wheel," Tony said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Why me? Effy's right there."
"Because Effy is going to want a go and I know you're to much of a pussy."
Naomi thought she heard a muttered "tosser," as Sid climbed over the seats and Tony disappeared through the sunroof.
A few hills later Panda popped back down into her seat, a smile taking up her entire face.
"That was bloody brill!"
"Last one, Naomi you up for it?" Effy asked as the car steadily climbed the last incline.
"Naomi you've got to try it!" Panda enthused.
"No way," Naomi wasn't convinced. As fun as it looked she couldn't ignore that little voice in the back of her head repeatedly saying 'they are all fucking insane, every one of them.'
"You sure?" Effy asked, "You've just got to let go, you'll be fine."
"I'm alright, thanks."
"Alright," Effy said with a shrug, not pushing it before climbing up herself.
There was a part of her that wanted to, really, but for some reason she just couldn't let herself. She was risk adverse. This was not. There is no way she could do it. Something could happen.
"Hit it Tone," she heard Effy call from above before she felt the immediate push of more horsepower. Effy unfurled her arms like wings, flying through the air with her head up like a girl hippy dancing at a festival to her favourite guitar solo. Naomi wondered what song was playing.
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Naomi's nose was an inch away from actually being in her book. As of this morning she had a public policy exam on Friday. She had some catching up to do if she wanted to be ahead before then and the downtime before Maths started was as perfect a time to start as any.
She felt the whoosh of something go by her and heard the thump of weighted down cloth hit desk. She peered to her right discovering the distracting culprit to be a red rucksack. Emily's red rucksack. The corner of Naomi's lip twitched into a smirk.
..
"Sorry about last week," Emily said as the two turned down the path toward their dorm, walking back from class.
"What?" Naomi said, not really knowing what else to say.
"For sort of disappearing," Emily explained. "With Mandy up it was just sort of…weird, I duno?" she faltered with her words a bit as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "I mean I couldn't exactly introduce you two, could I?"
Naomi didn't say anything, imagining that scenario and how it would have been an awful sort of awkward at best.
"Yeah that would have been a bit awkward."
"I mean anytime I mention anyone she gets all jealous – even my friend Michelle, who is as straight as they come. No thank you. It's ridiculous. Even guys! And I just didn't want to deal with it." She let out a long breath. "Sorry, I did miss hanging out with you though."
A smile pulled at the edge of Naomi's mouth. She didn't want to look too pleased with herself, even if she was.
"Did you go away this weekend?" Emily asked as Naomi held the door to the dorm building for her. "I saw the door was closed."
"Yeah, I went home with Eff."
"How was that?"
"Surprising fun, actually," Naomi stated as she rounded the stairwell.
"Surprising how?" Emily asked.
Naomi just shrugged, "Just wasn't what I expected in a good sort of way."
"Okay…"
The two walked down the rest of their hallway in a relatively comfortable silence.
"Right well, I told Effy and Panda I'd hangout with them," Naomi said as they reached Effy' and Sophia's room, "so this is my stop."
"Okay."
"You're welcome to join, we're probably just going to watch some shite program."
Emily laughed, "Well as exciting as that sounds, I think I'll pass. I've got some course work to get done before my shift tonight anyhow."
"Alright."
She gave Naomi a wave as the blonde turned into the darkened room.
Her friends were engrossed with the television as she entered. Naomi looked to the screen to see a scary movie playing. She turned abruptly, bolting from the room as if it were on fire, catching up to Emily a moment later.
"I thought you were hanging out with them?" Emily said with the raise of an eyebrow.
Naomi shrugged, "I can hangout with them later. They're watching some stupid scary movie."
Emily perked up a bit looking back toward the room, "Which one?"
"I duno, a scary one."
Emily cocked her head to the side, "Hold on, are you scared of scary movies?"
"I'm not a fan, no," Naomi defended.
"Well maybe you've just seen bad ones. Which was the last one you saw at the Cinema?"
"I've never."
Emily paused as a serious demeanor took over her face.
"What do you mean you've never seen a scary movie?!" Emily said appalled.
"Well I mean I've seen a scary movie before, obviously," Naomi rolled her eyes at Emily's reaction, "just not many, thank you very much."
"How? Why?"
"Because they're shite?" Naomi shrugged. "I don't understand why people like that sort of thing anyway, getting scared. No thank you. I can make things bad enough up here," she said tapping her temple with her finger, "don't need some shite movie to add fuel to the fire."
Emily just stared, "I love getting scared."
"Why?"
"It's fun."
"I think we have different perceptions of what fun is," Naomi said with a skeptical eyebrow, "but if you say so."
"I do," Emily said before clapping her hands together, "and we are going to watch a scary movie."
"What?" Naomi stuttered, "no…no, no, no,"
"Oh yes," Emily smirked that mischievous smirk that made Naomi nervous. She also liked it, which in turn made her more nervous.
"I think we'll start with the classics."
"Start?" Naomi retorted, "as in more than one?"
"The Exorcist is a good starting point," the redhead thought aloud, "ease you in with a classic."
"What?" It seemed about all she was capable of saying at the moment. It was all she was currently thinking.
"I can't tonight," Emily continued on more so to herself than Naomi, "but some night later this week or something?"
They were outside Naomi's doorway, as they had been for most of the current conversation. With one more smirk Emily continued on to her own door and disappeared behind it.
Naomi wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. There were many contributing factors to the butterflies currently rampaging in her stomach. She couldn't quite say she'd agreed to it, but it seemed she was watching scary movies with Emily later on in the week. If she wasn't such a wimp when it came to horror films she thought she might be more excited. Who was she kidding; she was still excited, in a completely terrified sort of way.
Last week if you had told her the turn of events from Emily practically ignoring her to asking her to watch a film, Naomi would have laughed. Now, she was still laughing, it was just a nervous sort of laugh.