Title: Love Accidentally - Chapter 17
Author: kreia03
Rating: M
Warnings: Some swear words.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and I hate that fact. Seriously.
Summary: Birthdays would always be nice.
A/N: Pretty long chap. I think this is the longest I've ever written lol. Hope you guys enjoy though! Once again, I appreciate all the comments you gave and those you will give!
Emily softly knocked on the wooden door, twisting the handle once she heard a muffled "come in" from inside. She took JJ's hand and stepped in, offering a friendly beam at Freddie who flashed his own warm smile to her. "Hello." She sheepishly greeted.
"Hey." Freddie greeted back. "I was kind of expecting you today. Have a seat please." He motioned for the two new comers to sit down by the couch.
"Thanks." Emily muttered. "This is JJ by the way." She introduced. "My best friend."
JJ in turn mumbled a shy "hello" and timidly waved his hand.
Freddie stood from his swivel chair and joined the two on the couch. "It's a pleasure to meet you JJ." He extended his hand and waited for JJ to shake it before turning to Emily. "I've read your work."
The red head bit her lip. "How is it?" She nervously asked.
"It's got some loose points in it. Some parts need further polishing." Freddie started to explain. "And I got a bit lost on the plot. Now I know what you mean when you told me something was missing." He let out a small chuckle.
"Is it that bad?" Emily was now chewing her bottom lip.
"No, no." Freddie shook his head. "It's not bad, just needs some revising." He smiled. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal."
Emily's forehead folded into a crease. "A deal?"
"Yeah, a deal."
"What's it then?"
"Okay." Freddie stood up and walked towards his table to retrieve the red head's manuscript. "I want you to revise the whole thing. Try to find that thing you say you're missing yeah? If you do, I'll make sure this gets to be published." He handed the draft to Emily. "I've written some comments there. Maybe it could help."
"Do I have any deadlines?"
"None at all. Just take your time."
"Wow, thanks!" Emily exclaimed. "Thank you so much for the chance Freddie."
"It's nothing really." Freddie smiled. "You'll have to give me weekly synopsis though. Just so I could keep track."
"No problem."
"I guess that's the best birthday gift you could get today Ems." It was JJ.
Freddie's eyes grew wide in surprise. "It's your birthday?" He watched in amusement as Emily sheepishly nodded. "I think we should celebrate then!"
JJ and Emily exchanged glances, the brown haired boy nodding at the red head in understanding as he read the agreement in Emily's eyes. Their ice creams will just have to wait. "Well, we don't have anything particular to do anyway. I guess we could." Emily replied, letting out a small smile.
"Nice. I'll just ask my secretary to cancel the rest of my appointments. Won't be too long."
JJ went back to playing with his fingers as soon as Freddie was gone, while Emily leaned her back against the couch. She closed her eyes, knowing too well that JJ could hear her heavy sighs and he's just struggling to keep his mouth shut.
"I know what you're thinking." JJ muttered later on, failing his attempt to shut up. "You're wishing it was her instead, not Freddie."
She remained unmoving, knowing that she needed not to answer because JJ already knew.
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
Naomi had been roaming around the huge mall for hours now, but still, she couldn't find any sign of Emily or her twin, Katie. Her feet were already starting to hurt from walking back and forth the adjoined edifices, her eyes wandering everywhere, behind the black sunglasses she was wearing as part of her disguise. She sat down on one of the benches and dropped the paper bags she was holding next to her, as she tried to reason out why was she here in the first place. As far as she knew, she had already got what she came here for. She had no business left. She sighed out of frustration and rolled her head from side to side, one hand massaging her neck gently, as she failed to find the perfect reason to somehow explain what the fuck she was still doing here. She chewed on her lip and took the sunglasses off, pinching the bridge of her nose absentmindedly as she drew out frustrated breaths. Why was it so hard to find Emily?
Taking the glasses off was probably one of the biggest mistakes Naomi ever did.
"Look! It's Naomi Campbell!"
The blonde's head snapped up, turning towards the direction where she had heard her name. Her eyes grew wide in horror upon seeing a fast growing mass of people charging towards her, with pens, papers and cameras in hand, all of them shouting and screaming her name.
"Jesus Christ!" She blurted out. Grabbing all her stuff from the bench, she bolted from her seat and ran towards the closest exit she could find, turning around every corner she would see as everyone whom she came across upon seemed to be interested on taking a picture or asking for an autograph of her too. As a result, she led herself farther to the exit rather than nearer to it.
"Shit!" She cursed out loud once she reached a dead ended corner. She quickly turned around, narrowly evading the crowd that was starting to build up along the hallway. She covered her ears with her hands, seemingly growing annoyed of the deafening continuous shrieks of her name. She ran around again, the paper bags swaying violently as she sprinted, skidding to a short stop when she saw the huge exit doors on the far side of the turn. She glanced behind her, scrambling to her feet all at once as she saw the flock of fans drawing nearer. She managed to reach the exit unscathed, continuously running until she was pretty sure that she had a fair distance away from the edifice. She stooped down, her hands leaning against her knees as she gasped for air, taking long deep breaths and filling her lungs as she waited for her breathing to come back to normal.
But it was far from over.
"Isn't that Naomi Campbell?" A lady cried out loud.
"Yes, it's her!"
"Naomi! Can I have your picture please?"
"Fucking hell!" Wasting no time, Naomi stood right up and started running towards the parking lot. She crisscrossed down the pavement, narrowly missing the by standers and the sauntering people as well. She tripped a few times along her way, but managed to steady herself before completely tumbling over, dashing forward again as soon as she had gained her balance back. She bumped into a few people, earning loud curses as soon as she collided against them, but would scream her name not before long upon realizing who she was. After what seemed like miles of scatting away from the people, she had finally reached her convertible and hopped in at once, breezing down the road to escape the massive loads of fans screaming for her entirely.
It was already dark when she reached home. A loud groan escaped from her throat at the sight of her house. The lights were off and Emily seemed to be not home yet. She gritted her teeth as she walked inside, flicking the lights on along her way. She dropped herself wearily on the couch and buried her face in her hands, scrunching it altogether as she sighed in frustration. Where the fuck was Emily? She could feel her stomach rumbling, the weird sounds it made reaching her ears. She stood up and headed to the kitchen, rummaging around the fridge for anything good and ready to eat. She wasn't in the mood for cooking plus the fact that she never was good in it.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" She blurted out as she failed to find any food that she felt like eating.
"Naomi."
The blonde jumped at the sound of the voice, her head hitting the shelf, causing her to grimace in pain. "Shit! Ow." She grumbled. She popped her head out of the fridge, turning around to face Emily.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The red head apologized as she watched Naomi rub the back of her head.
"S'okay." Naomi replied casually.
"You hungry?" Emily asked, watching the blonde timidly nod in answer. "I'll make you some dinner. I'll just go get changed." She continued, offering a small smile before leaving. She turned on her heels and was on her way to her room when a couple of paper bags laid on the couch caught her eyes. She walked towards them instead of heading directly upstairs, a knowing smirk creeping on her lips. She went back to the kitchen, hooking one paper bag on her fingers, the smirk growing wider as she drew near.
"So Naomi." She called out.
The blonde turned around, a glass of water in her hand. "I thought you were going to get changed?" She placed the glass down the counter. "What's with the bloody smirk?" She cocked her head, pertaining to the smirk that curled up on Emily's lips.
"You went to the town center today."
Naomi snorted out loud. "What? Why would I go there?"
Emily slowly drew out the paper bag she had hidden behind her, letting it dangle and sway from her fingers as she raised it up a bit, good enough for Naomi to see. Her smirk turned into a wide, teasing grin as she watched the colors escape from Naomi's cheeks, making her turn paler than she ever was. "But you went. Why pretend you didn't?"
"Jesus!" The blonde rolled her eyes. "I went. What's it to you?"
"Did you go there to find me?" Emily bantered, desperately ignoring that tiny spark of hope igniting inside her.
"Who? Me?" Naomi cried out, lifting her forefinger to point herself. "Why would I even try to look for you?" She scoffed. "It's just t-that, I was bored and, and I haven't gone there in a long while." She stammered. "That's it. Don't think anything."
Emily crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing Naomi with a smug look on her face. "I didn't go there today, just so you know."
"You didn't?" The blonde blurted out all of a sudden, gnawing on her bottom lip as she realized the sudden outburst. "I-I mean. So what if you didn't?" She muttered, her gaze falling everywhere except at Emily.
"Did you wait that long?" Emily asked, her eyes softening with a glint of appreciation dancing in them.
"I didn't wait! I said I wasn't there for you."
The red head sniggered, biting on her bottom lip to stifle her laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" Naomi asked, her lips quivering. "Don't fucking laugh."
"You should've just called me you know." Emily replied, grinning from ear to ear before turning around and leaving Naomi all flushed and blushing.
She could feel her heart swelling ten folds, butterflies in her stomach fluttering all over. Naomi might not want to admit it, but she knew far better what to believe.
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
"You're weird you know."
"Excuse me?" Emily cried out, Naomi's sudden remark bringing her out of her daze. She bit her lip, having realized that she had just spaced out in front of the blonde.
"You're weird." The blonde repeated. "One moment, you got a stupid grin plastered all over your face and now you're being all sulky in there." She added, placing a forkful of lean meat on her mouth after. "What the fuck's with you now?"
"Naomi, I wanna go to a theme park." Emily muttered, pursing her lips as she gently laid her hands down on the dining table.
"Christ Em!" Naomi cried out. "It's bloody late already and the theme park's a two hour drive from here."
"But I really wanna go."
"You're asking for such a fucking ridiculous thing."
"I never got to eat cake or ice cream. At least I deserve to go to a theme park." Emily pouted, her eyes begging please.
"I'll buy you a bloody cake." Naomi replied, returning her attention back to her meal. "A huge one if you want."
"I don't want a cake." The red head moaned, earning a miffed glare from the other girl. "I don't want ice cream either."
"Fuck's sake Emily. Will you stop being so childish?"
The marbled floor creaked with the scraping of Emily's chair as she harshly pushed herself away from the dining table, springing up to her feet at once, and dashed straight to her room. Naomi was left greatly exasperated, her hand pinching the bridge of her nose, after slamming her fork down to the table. Her fingers molded with her temple, massaging it absentmindedly, finally deciding to follow the red head upstairs.
She saw her sat on the bed, her knees buckled up against her chest, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Normally, this sight would make Naomi's eyes roll, but it didn't. Instead, it brought to her a certain pang of guilt, thinking that somehow it was her fault. She shouldn't have been harsh like that. It still was Emily's birthday after all. She pressed her lips in a tight line, taking two quick huffs before approaching the red head.
"Listen Em." She tried to speak softly, tried to sound gentle as she was afraid to send Emily into another fit of tears. "I can't bring you to a theme park." She watched as Emily remained unmoving, head still hanging low. "But we're going somewhere else. Okay?" Naomi didn't wait for the red head to answer, grabbing Emily's hand straightaway and towing her down the stairs. She led her in into her convertible and hopped to the driver's seat after, the car speeding off in just a few seconds.
"Stop sulking Em." Naomi blurted out, throwing sideway glances towards the girl next to her. "You look like a sick puppy."
Emily furiously wiped the trail of tears on her cheeks and her eyes, hating the fact that she lost to Naomi again. She couldn't think of any insult to throw back at her current state, not when the only things running on her mind was her now broken family and her wasted birthday. She remained silent during most of the ride, her eyes fixed on the car window and the blurring trees they passed by.
Naomi pulled up out of nowhere, skidding the car into a complete stop. She turned to face Emily, her hand snaking into the red head's chin, forcing Emily to look at her way. "Stop crying." She said, though it was more of an order than a plea. Naomi took out a hanky from her pocket, gently dabbing the soft cloth on Emily's cheeks. "Nobody cries during their birthday. Only stupid twats do." She hissed. "Are you stupid?"
Emily inattentively shook her head, her thoughts scattered just everywhere.
"If you say so, you'll stop crying." She gently let go of the red head, her gaze focusing back on the road. "It's your birthday for Christ's sake. Not your bloody funeral or shit like that."
Emily fidgeted with the white hanky, letting out muffled sniffs as she tried to calm herself down. "Where are we going?" She finally managed to speak, her voice huskier, after such a long while of silence.
The blonde didn't answer, but parked the car instead, stepping out from the driver's seat and beckoning Emily to follow her. The red head wandered her gaze around, her puffy eyes adjusting to the post lamps and hanging lights around what she recognized as the town center. She was about to ask when she felt a soft, smooth hand slipping alongside hers, dragging her into an unknown direction, their fingers intertwined unconsciously. Emily could feel the sudden blush spreading across her cheeks as Naomi held her in tow, her nimble steps matching the blonde's giant strides. Her eyes grew wide as soon as Naomi pushed the giant doors they stopped in front of open, revealing a wide indoor skating rink, well lighted but totally empty.
"I can't bring you to Thorpe Park or Alton towers." Naomi spoke, eyes glued to the rink, but a small smile could be seen curling on the corner of her lips. "The closest thing I could think of is this."
Emily, who had been staring at the blonde ever since she started speaking, broke into a sheepish smile.
"You're not gonna stand there forever yeah?" Naomi turned her head, smiling at Emily. She watched as the red head smiled back at her, giving her hand a tight squeeze which knocked her back to her senses. She flinched, dropping Emily's hand too quick, and turned around, hiding the shocked look on her face and that small blush she could feel on her cheeks. Emily's hand instantaneously felt cold, the warmth of Naomi's hand leaving hers, the iciness of the rink enveloping her and sinking into her skin, reaching her heart. She felt an abrupt shudder traveling down her spine, causing her to wrap her arms around her shoulders to somehow ease the piercing cold that the rink and Naomi's baffling actions was giving off.
"Why didn't you bother bringing a coat or even a jacket?" She turned around, the smile she saw curved on Naomi's lips earlier now gone. She was back into her bitchy state, the side she'd love to hate.
Emily's lip's quirked, making her nose scrunch. "As far as I remember, you just dragged me here without even telling me anything."
The blonde rolled her eyes. Shrugging out of her thick coat, she inched closer to Emily and covered her with it. "Don't fucking ruin my coat." She hissed, biting her bottom lip to stifle a smile as she tried to keep a straight face. She stooped down and reached for a pair of pink ice skates with shades of blue in them, handing it over to Emily.
"Naomi? Seriously?" She grimaced, eyeing the pink skates. "What the fuck is with you and pink?"
"I don't know okay?" The blonde hissed. "It's just that, it, it looks good on you." She barely whispered, averting her gaze instantly, her hands still stretched out.
"What?" Emily asked, failing to make out what the blonde was mumbling about. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Jesus! Wear these already."
The red head poked her tongue out, grabbing the skates from Naomi's hand. She sat down on one of the benches, next to Naomi, and busied herself on tying the laces. She stood up when she was done, heading in into the skating rink at once. She let out a giggle as she stood on the ice, breathing in deeply before starting to glide. It had been so long since she last skated, way back when she was young. Katie and her loved to skate. But that was before, now everything's changed. A sad smile crept on her lips as she wiped the lone tear that escaped her eyes. She swallowed hard, pushing back the lump that had started to form in her throat. She shouldn't cry, because nobody cries during their birthday. It's what Naomi said. She quickly skidded to a stop upon the thought of the name, her eyes wandering around the rink, looking for where Naomi could have been. She turned around, smiling a little as she saw the blonde standing near the side rails, Naomi's blue eyes glued on her own pair of skates.
"Naomi." She called out and motioned her hand, beckoning the blonde to follow her.
Naomi in turn chewed her lip, unable to move or even slide her skates. She took a deep breath and tried moving her foot, but she lost her balance so quickly that her bum ended up landing on the icy floor.
"Naomi!" Emily shouted, gliding towards the blonde at once. "Are you alright?" She crouched down, meeting Naomi's eyes.
"I'm good." The blonde replied, biting her lower lip.
"You don't know how to skate, do you?" Emily bantered as she tried her best to stifle her imminent grin.
Naomi chuffed out loud. "What are you talking about? Of course I know how-"
"Fuck's sake. Stop lying yeah?" The red head hissed, cutting Naomi off. She stood up and stretched her hand out, waiting for Naomi to take it. She watched as the blonde rolled her eyes before taking her hand as she helped her stand up. "I'll teach you alright?"
Naomi shook her head. "I told you I-"
Emily's finger flew to Naomi's lips, shushing her completely. "Don't be so fucking stubborn." She hissed, throwing an aggravated glance towards the blonde, yet her finger not leaving Naomi's ruby red lips. Suddenly, she could feel the softness of it, becoming fully aware of the warm breath hitting her fingertips, sending a thousand shivers down her spine. Her eyes met pristine blue ones, seeing a glint of something she can't really define dancing in Naomi's eyes. She wanted to lean in, to replace her finger with her own pair of lips, but she couldn't move, her feet frozen on the spot as she stared on those deep blue eyes. They were like black holes, absorbing her everything, sucking her in. Until she got lost in them, completely lost that when asked for her name, she wasn't entirely sure she could answer.
It was Naomi who quickly pulled away, the glint her eyes once mirrored suddenly disappearing altogether, replaced by that familiar glare, that hard, cold stare. "Did you just shush me?"
It was all what Emily needed to break from her daze, to break from that momentary trance she had once been captivated, spell bounded. She averted her gaze, fixing her eyes on the icy ground as she tried to hide the hasty blush starting to spread across her cheeks, like fire being blown by the wind. "It's because you're being so stubborn." She lifted her gaze, once she was sure that she could look at Naomi again, without feeling so awkward, without feeling like she was burning inside. "Come on then." She cried out, grabbing Naomi by the hand as she glided along with her. She brought her on the middle of the rink, steadying the blonde first before letting go.
"Okay so it's like this." Emily started to explain. "You just go with the flow of the skates yeah?"
"But it's slippery."
Emily snorted. "Of course it's slippery. It's supposed to be."
"I'll end up falling again."
"No you won't. Just go slowly."
"I don't want to."
Emily could feel her lips quirking. "Come on."
"No."
"Christ! Don't tell me you're just gonna fucking stand there?"
Naomi didn't answer.
Emily rolled her eyes. "Suite yourself." The red head dismissed, skating away from Naomi. She poked her tongue out, seemingly teasing the blonde, shoving it to her face that she could skate and Naomi Campbell couldn't. She circled around her, laughing out loud at the sight of Naomi's clenched teeth and flaring nostrils.
"Fucking show off." Naomi blurted out, her eyes growing wide when she felt a strong tug on her wrist, a pair of hands holding both her own. She saw Emily skating fast with her in tow, their hands now intertwined together. Fuck knows how it even happened.
"Just hold on to me." Emily shouted, glancing backwards to Naomi shortly before bringing her gaze back to where they were heading, skating around the whole rink. She could feel the blonde's warm hands tightening their grip to hers, giving it a little squeeze in return, as if reassuring Naomi that she's not going to let her fall.
Naomi was starting to relax as she let herself be led by Emily, even smiling a little as they glided along the middle. She could feel the cold breeze in her face as they slithered around, but ignored it completely as she basked on the feeling of Emily's warm hands within hers. She tried inching to her closer, but the motion caused her to lose her balance that she tumbled down, bringing Emily with her. She landed flat to the ground, her back sticking on the icy floor with the red head on top of her. She could see the surprise on Emily's face, but couldn't help to find it adorable when the red head's cheeks began to taint pink. She met Emily's eyes, the first time she ever appreciated the color brown because she had always hated it, an incognizant smile crawling on her lips. She could see Emily smiling back, their grins turning into fits of giggles and loud laughter later on.
"I told you it was slippery. I'll just end up tumbling down."
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
"I guess you do have talent for something."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily squinted her eyes as she leaned on the car pulled up against the curb, her gaze fixed on a smirking Naomi.
"You know how to skate." The blonde replied casually, taking a sip from her orange juice.
Emily turned her head, facing the hanging bright lights. "Katie and I used to skate. She taught me how."
"I gotta give Katie that, teaching someone like you." Naomi muttered, shaking her head. "It's a miracle." She blurted out. "I should know. I tried teaching you once."
"Hey!" Emily cried out, slapping Naomi in the arm. "It's still my birthday yeah?"
"Alright, alright. Keep your knickers on."
"I got a deal today." The red head announced happily.
"What deal?"
"Freddie's gonna publish my novel. I just need to fix some parts." She let out a small squeal. "I can't believe it." She heaved a deep sigh. "People will finally be able to read my work. I just hope my novel could make them feel better, like paintings and music, you know."
"That's great then." Naomi replied, turning to face Emily. She lifted her bottle of orange juice and motioned for a toast. "To your birthday and your novel."
Emily lifted her own bottle and accepted the toast with a beaming smile. "Naomi." She softly called out.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." She mumbled as she leaned on her toes, planting a soft kiss on Naomi's cheek. "You don't know how much this means to me."
A small smile curled up on the corner of Naomi's lips. "Come on, let's go home."
O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O
Emily woke up early the next morning as she planned to work on her novel the whole day. She sat down the computer desk, her manuscript sprawled all over the table as she reviewed the comments that Freddie had made. She stooped down, her nose almost sticking on the paper she was editing, her hands busy scratching out mistakes when she heard Naomi clearing her throat, making her a little bit jumpy.
"Are you sitting there because you're done cleaning?"
"I'll do it soon." She replied, eyes glued on her draft.
"I'll be going out." Naomi stated. "I want this house gleaming when I come back yeah?"
Emily turned her head, her eyes barely catching Naomi's walking figure as she disappeared on the front door. She took a deep breath and took her glass, heading to the kitchen to fill it up with water once more. She was making her way to the fridge when a medium sized box placed on top of the dining table caught her eyes. She glided into a stop, putting her glass down on the counter as she walked towards the table. Grabbing the folded note, she opened it, a huge smile falling on her lips as she read the note.
Be a writer who touches hearts.
Happy Birthday.
She untied the ribbon and lifted the lid curiously, her eyes growing wide with surprise at the sight of her gift.
A black pocket pc and a silver expensive looking pen with 'Emily' engraved on it in elegant script.
Oh my dear lord.
She gasped, her mouth hanging ajar as she continued to stare at her present with unbelieving eyes. The screeching of tires was what broke her from her daze, quickly running out, hoping that she could still catch up with Naomi. She darted out of the front door but Naomi's car had already skidded down the road, leaving tire tracks on its trail. She clutched the note in her hand tighter instead as she watched the car drive away until it was far from her sight, making a mental note to thank Naomi properly when she'd come home.
They say there's no such thing as a bad person. Just moody ones.