Hello! Sorry for the massive delay in posting this. I've been SUPER busy. Third year of uni is kicking my arse right now. I'm starting to think I'm not cut out for this fanfiction stuff, it's hard! Anyway here's chapter 4. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot :)

'It's beautiful…Absolutely beautiful.'

Emily was captivated. Stretched out in front of her was nothing but peaceful, serene river, glowing orange from the sun's setting rays. Naomi quietly agreed. She smiled contentedly and closed her eyes as the sun dipped below the horizon. I could stay in this moment forever.

It made a nice change from the busy, chaotic and not altogether pleasant day she'd just had. I'm so glad we're flying back to Georgetown she thought as she recalled how she'd been whacked in the face by a low branch as she'd hung her head out the window of the mini bus. Her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she'd eaten nothing since this morning and that the remains of her breakfast were currently splattered on the road about an hour outside of Georgetown.

'Ems, I think the dragon in your stomach is hungry.' She turned to smile broadly at Naomi. 'Come on, let's go get dinner, I'm starving as well.' She said, turning away from her.

'Naomi wait…' I don't want to go. 'Erm, thank you, for today, for helping me. You didn't have to, and I really appreciate it.'

'Don't worry about it, all in a day's work.' Naomi replied, flashing her a grin before turning and walking back to the research centre. 'Don't forget your head torch.' She said over her shoulder to Emily. 'And put your boots on, we need to get everyone ready to unload the trucks after dinner.'

Emily had forgotten until that point that Naomi was a staff member, and she was just a student. So stupid, Emily. It had been ridiculous of her to think that Naomi had helped her out today because she liked her, she'd have done it for any other student, it was her job; she even said so. Emily shivered slightly as the temperature dropped. The sun had now disappeared completely behind the horizon, and it had gotten dark in a very short space of time. She couldn't help but feel a bit dejected as she traipsed back to the research centre.

Her mood was lifted however when she entered the dining room. It was huge and open plan, more like a massive balcony than a room. This, of course, meant that anything could fly in and out at will, with no barriers to stop it. At the moment Emily had walked in there were mosquitoes, moths and other insects buzzing round the electric bulbs on the ceiling, having been attracted by the light, and there were at least a dozen bats swooping in and out to catch the insects from the air. They were literally flying over their heads and on more than one occasion Emily felt one rushing right past her head, ruffling her hair. This is awesome! She thought as she sat down with Panda, a huge grin plastered on her face.

'Alright Ems! This is pretty whizzer innet?' She almost shrieked, her excitement getting the better of her. She continued before Emily could respond 'This is Thomas, he's got a scholarship at Harvard! He's well clever!' She said gazing at the boy sat next to her. Emily had said hello to him briefly last night but hadn't had a chance to speak to him yet. He was tall, dark and handsome, and seemed to have an honest face and genuine smile.

'Hello Emily, so nice to meet you.' That accent…wow. You're a lucky girl Panda. Emily had noticed the way Thomas stared at Panda with adoration in his eyes.

'Likewise, Thomas.' She said, smiling warmly at him before settling into the animated conversation they'd previously been having about donuts.

After dinner they unloaded their bags and allocated their sleeping arrangements. The boys were all sharing one big dorm, and the girls had been split into small groups to take the smaller rooms and lodges, while the staff were staying in the luxury tourist cabins. Emily was staying in a tiny room with Pandora and Effy, and had bagsied the top bunk as soon as they'd walked in. When she was younger, her and Katie had shared bunk beds, they'd argued and fought profusely over who'd get the top bunk, and Katie always won, so it felt like a nice change to get her own way for once. She was glad she was sharing a room with Panda, but Effy…she wasn't sure of. She didn't quite know what to make of the girl. They had spoken briefly a few times and she seemed nice enough, but her eyes were constantly guarded and it freaked Emily out. She had always prided herself on her ability to figure people out, to know what they were thinking or feeling without having to ask, but Effy was a closed book. Plus she's always staring, it's like she's looking into my soul when we make eye contact.

Everyone went to bed early that night, exhausted from their long trip. Emily lay awake for a while though, either because she'd slept so much on the journey and wasn't tired, or because she couldn't switch her mind off. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the image of a certain blonde haired beauty out of her head. She was there every time she closed her eyes, imprinted on the back of her eyelids – hair shining, skin glowing, eyes glinting in the sun. She was magnificent, but even the imaginary Naomi in her head paled in comparison to the real one. Imaginary Naomi in Emily's head was joined by Imaginary Emily, and Imaginary Naomi's smile lit up at the sight of her, immediately seeking out Imaginary Emily's lips against her own. Stop, Emily, this isn't helping she told herself. She eventually fell asleep to the sound of Panda's snores from the bunk below, and the soft thunk-thunk of a moth flying against the light outside their cabin, and the image of soft blue eyes playing over and over in her mind.

The next morning Emily woke up early to take a very cold and very unsatisfying shower. The water at the research centre was an off brown colour and she subsequently came out feeling dirtier than when she went in. Slightly more awake though.

Emily had not slept well. She'd been way too hot the whole night and had woken up covered in sweat on more than one occasion. That, coupled with incessant mosquitoes buzzing around her ears constantly had left her in a foul mood. She grumbled as she scratched viciously at her left butt cheek which had somehow received the brunt of mosquito bites. She grumbled even more as she tried in vain to drag a comb through her knotted hair, before giving up and pulling it into a bun, accepting that she'd just have to look like shit today.

Since she had some time to kill before breakfast, she decided to explore a little. She wasn't technically allowed to leave the perimeter of the centre and enter the forest alone, but just walking around was okay right? She slapped on some insect repellent and left the student accommodation, turning right towards the river. She could feel morning dew cool against her feet as she strolled down the lawn to the river bank. Emily relished the quiet of the morning, before everyone else had risen; the peace of it washed over her making her feel immediately calmer. She knew it was probably against the rules to walk around bare foot in a place like this but she threw caution to the wind and kicked off her sandals anyway, burying her toes into the wet grass and sighing contentedly. I like it here just as much at sunrise as I did at sunset she thought, thinking back to the previous evening when she'd stood in the same spot, admiring the view with Naomi. I wish she was here now. A small, sad smile crept onto Emily's face at that thought. She stood for a while longer and watched her shadow grow longer in front of her as the sun rose steadily behind her.

She was just thinking about heading to breakfast when she heard her name being (very loudly) whispered from somewhere behind her.

'Oi! Emily!' She turned round and found Naomi crouched behind the fence of the vegetable garden, gesturing for her to come over. Her curiosity was immediately piqued.

'Fucks sake Em I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes, are you deaf?' Naomi whispered, only half joking.

'What the fuck are you doing Naomi, planning a morning cabbage raid?'

'Don't be ridiculous, they don't grow cabbages here. Look.' Naomi pointed through a gap in the fence.

Emily couldn't see anything at first, but then saw a brown shape move through the shrubs at the other end of the garden. What is that? Emily was intrigued.

'Red-rumped Agouti.' Naomi answered her unspoken question, looking quite pleased with her find.

It was about the size of a rabbit, with long and powerful hind legs, but looked more like a giant rat than anything else. It was foraging around in the grass, unaware of their presence, and Emily found it rather charming with its dexterous little paws and beady eyes.

'Awww, it's so cute.' Emily squeaked out as the Agouti stopped and began to clean itself. 'You think I could get it past airport security?'

'With Freddie's research permits you can get anything past airport security, trust me.'

'Sounds like you're speaking from experience there…do tell.'

Naomi laughed loudly and the Agouti spooked and ran off into the undergrowth. 'That's another story, not one for the innocent ears of a naïve young volunteer.' She said mischievously.

'Oi you're like three years older than me, don't pull that crap.' Emily said indignantly as they got up and began walking back to the centre.

'Yeah but I'm very mature for my age I'll have you know, and you clearly have a mental age of about 10. So that makes me like 20 years older than you.'

'Yeah you can tell an'all, those wrinkles really give you away.'

'Har-de fucking har.' Naomi grumbled, and Emily couldn't help but grin at how adorable a grumpy and slightly offended Naomi could be. Whoops, best fix this.

'Just kidding.' She replied.

Yeah?'

'Yeah…it's your saggy tits that really give you away.'

For that Emily received a well earned thwack on the arm.

At breakfast, Naomi sat with JJ and Freddie while Emily went to sit with the other students. She ended up sat next to some American called Kristian who she took an automatic dislike to, although she was sure Katie would have loved him. He was the kind of person who gave off an air of arrogance and self-confidence that Emily usually avoided like the plague. He had blonde, perfectly styled hair and well-trimmed stubble that most girls would fawn over, but Emily just found annoying. She also noticed that he flexed his biceps every time he moved and said the word 'like' at least five times in every sentence.

When she took her seat, Kristian was in the middle of what Emily suspected to be a bogus story about how he became captain of his school's basketball team by scoring five shots in a row from the halfway line, and he seemed unaware that nobody was really listening. Cook caught her eye from across the table and smirked as they both had a silent laugh at the guy's expense. After he'd finished Cook began his own story about how he'd knocked out Mike Tyson with a single punch, and Emily snorted loudly into her coffee, trying and failing to cover it up as a cough. Kristian shot her an indignant glare.

Thankfully they were saved from that awkward situation by Freddie standing up and announcing their schedule for the day. They were to have some introductory lectures in the morning and a practical on how to set up their hammocks in the afternoon.

When breakfast was over everyone moved downstairs into the classroom, where JJ was busy setting up a projector. Emily noticed Kristian glance at her and smirk, before whispering something to the guy sat next to him and she was suddenly paranoid. Arsehole, she thought and resisted the urge to flip him off.

As Freddie began talking she began quickly jotting down everything he said; there was SO much to remember. First there was the obligatory health and safety shit. Take your malaria tablets everyday, wear insect repellent, don't walk around bare foot, always wear boots after dark, check your shoes for creepy crawlies before putting them on, check for ticks regularly etc. etc. etc. The list of things that could go wrong was endless. Then Freddie got onto his subject: Herpetofauna. The number of species they could find in the area was huge, and Freddie wasted no time in listing all of the venomous snakes that could possibly kill you lest you accidentally stand on it in the dark.

JJ then went on to talk passionately about invertebrates and what they would be looking for. At this point Emily had to poke Panda who was sat in front of her and had fallen asleep with her head on Thomas's shoulder. JJ spoke at length about the number of dangerous invertebrates in the jungle. There were Brazilian Wandering Spiders - the most venomous spider in the world, tarantulas with urticating hairs that could stick in your skin, bullet ants with the most painful insect bite in the world (so named because it feels like getting shot, apparently), white-ass wasps, centipedes, bot flies (whose larvae grow underneath your skin), ticks blah blah blah.

This was all very interesting to Emily but the heat in the room was almost unbearable and she was starting to feel quite sleepy. She'd stopped making notes on the signs and symptoms of certain diseases you could get and was just hoping someone else would point it out to her if she did actually get any of these diseases.

She was very pleased when JJ shut up and Naomi began her talk on bird life in the area. Naomi was going through the different kinds of birds they might find and how to recognize them and tell them apart from each other, but Emily already knew it all after endless hours of internet research and purchasing a book called 'Birds of Northern South America'. So instead of listening she zoned out and began unabashedly staring at Naomi. Because it's okay to do that, everyone else is staring at her. Just probably not in the same lustful way I am. She was undeniably beautiful, even in the blazing heat and glare from the projector screen. Her hair was tied up and a few loose strands were plastered to her forehead with sweat, but Emily somehow found even that attractive on her. She watched as a bead of moisture formed at the base of Naomi's neck and slowly travelled down her back and beneath her vest.

Oh what I wouldn't give to be that bead of sweat, you lucky, lucky bastard.

Wow I'm a perv.

Emily snapped her head back up to Naomi's face and tried to concentrate again. Naomi was in the midst of talking very animatedly about a bird called the Amazonian Royal Flycatcher, and Emily was sucked into those blue eyes as they lit up happily. If there was one thing Emily wanted to do in life it was to be the cause of that brightness in her eyes, even just for a second. I wonder if there's anything else she's so passionate about.

Naomi was now playing them recordings of different bird calls and giving tips on how to distinguish them. She really was extremely knowledgeable, and Emily was totally turned on by her intelligence.

They broke for lunch after Naomi had wrapped up her talk, which everyone seemed quite relieved about. Three hours in a stuffy, cramped room is never much fun, but Emily could have easily sat there for another three hours if it meant more opportunities for Naomi watching.

After shoveling down some sort of bean and rice mixture, they were led out into the forest by the Amerindians for one activity Emily was secretly dreading; hammocks. Emily was not particularly talented when it came to complicated physical activities. When she was younger her family had refused to let her help pitch their tent during camping trips after she had accidentally pinged her mum in the eye with a guy rope. She viewed their hammocks and mosquito nets with some trepidation as they were being shown how to clear an area with a machete. A fucking machete?! Someone is definitely going to die on this trip if they make me use one of those. They were next told how to tie their basha (a piece of tarpaulin to stop them getting rained on), and how to thread the hammock through the mosquito net, before being told to go off and try it on their own.

Half an hour later and Emily was not doing well. First, she had picked two trees that were far too close together so that her hammock dragged on the ground. Then she had picked two trees too far apart. Then she had had a paddy and given up briefly before seeing Kristian, topless, all muscles rippling, tying his hammock off with a flourish, and decided that if that oaf could do it, she most certainly could too.

She was attempting to tie one half of her hammock up when Naomi turned up. Emily was deep in concentration; brows furrowed and sweat dripping down her forehead, desperately trying to stop her hammock from falling down for the fourth time. She didn't notice Naomi until she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck as she reached up behind her, to tie the rope for her. Emily would usually have felt disgruntled at the insinuation that she couldn't do the task herself, but she was far too distracted by Naomi's presence so close to her, and the feel of her breasts brushing against her back to form coherent thought.

'You're not using the right kind of knot.' Naomi murmured into her ear as she finished the knot triumphantly. Emily shivered slightly despite the blistering heat in the forest. The chills Naomi's voice had sent running up and down her body rendered her speechless.

'Hey, you alright Em?' Naomi asked with concern as she stepped away slightly, bringing Emily back down to earth as she did so.

Emily turned around on the spot and was brought so close to Naomi's face that she could count the flecks of darker blue surrounding the ice blue of her eyes, and Emily didn't think she'd ever seen eyes so pure and beautiful. She got lost in them for a moment before glancing down to Naomi's slightly parted lips, knowing that this would be the closest she'd ever get to them.

'Emily?'

Shit. 'Yeah?' She responded finally, more than a little embarrassed.

'Thought I'd lost you for a sec then. Did you see the way I tied that knot? You have to get it tight enough that it doesn't slide down the tree.'

'Umm, yeahh, thanks.' Why did I just say yes, I have no fucking idea how she tied that knot. How can I concentrate on tying knots when she's so close to me?

'Right, well get going on the other side then.'

'Oh, yeah! Okay.' Shit shit shit shit shit.

Emily moved to the other side of the hammock, trying to ignore the hint of amusement in Naomi's eyes. Right, what did she do? Uhmm, she got this rope and made a loop and pulled the other rope through…right? Emily watched as the ropes fell away and her hammock fell down once again. Naomi was full on laughing at her now, and Emily tried to shoot her best death stare but couldn't quite manage due to Naomi's laugh being so exquisite.

'Sorry! Sorry, it's just…' Naomi broke down with another round of giggles before composing herself.

'…You just look like you're trying so hard.'

'Oh shut the fuck up Naomi, this IS hard!'

'Chill out Ems, it's cute.'

Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. Emily rolled the word around in her head and forced herself not to break out in a massive grin as she tried the knot again. Naomi was wearing a lazy smile and it only served to distract Emily more.

'Fucks sake! I give up!'

Naomi walked over to her and her feeble knot and looked her straight in the eye, making Emily's heart stop briefly.

'You can do it, Emily. You can do anything.'

And she seemed to genuinely mean it. Hence, so did Emily.

Naomi went through the knot again more slowly for Emily to follow, and finally after a few more minutes, Emily managed to keep the hammock off the ground.

They tested it gingerly with their weight to make sure it wouldn't fall down, before settling next to each other and rocking back and forth gently. Emily couldn't help but relish being pressed against Naomi in the middle of the hammock. Her skin was smooth and left tingles where it met Emily's own. It was actually quite comfortable, and she relaxed as they observed other people struggling with their own hammocks. There was a light afternoon breeze drifting through the trees making her feel sleepy, and their basha provided a degree of shade, and Emily suddenly found herself completely content. It shouldn't have come as much of a shock when she realized that she would rather sit in comfortable silence with Naomi than she would socializing with most of her actual friends. When did I become such a sap? And when did I become so bloody infatuated with this woman? She would have been angry at herself for falling so fast for an almost complete stranger, who was also completely out of bounds, but the tingly sensation of Naomi's hair brushing against her shoulder in the breeze was more than enough to make her feel at peace with the world. She was brought out of her ponderings by Naomi's voice:

'Good thing you managed to get this thing up, otherwise you'd have ended up bunking with me when we got out to camp.'

Her voice was soft and tired, and her head came down to rest on Emily's shoulder as she spoke. Bolstered by some unknown source of confidence, Emily decided to just say what she was thinking.

'I don't think that would have been such a bad thing.'

'Yeah?' She felt Naomi smile into her shoulder.

'Yeah.'

A few moments passed before Emily only just heard a tiny, sleepy reply.

'Yeah…me either.'