To his credit there was actually a decent turn out at Cook's New Year's Eve party. After the disaster that was Cook's 17th birthday party they hadn't expected much. That was why Katie had insisted they arrive late, to give the house a chance to fill up, and why she had insisted they have several drinks beforehand, too.
Effy quirked an eyebrow at Naomi when she arrived with Katie.
Naomi made a point of exaggeratedly rolling her eyes.
Effy simply gave her one of those exclusively Effy smug smirks and returned her attention to whatever Pandora was prattling on about.
"Come on let's go get some drinks!" Katie pulled Naomi in the direction of the kitchen, completely unaware of the silent exchange that had just occurred. They commandeered a bottle of vodka and slipped away into the living room, the least crowded room in the house. They spent most of the party sprawled out on the sofa chatting to each other and whoever else wandered their way. It was only when Cook ran through the house shirtless screaming that it was 5 minutes to midnight that they remembered where they were and why.
"Everybody find someone to shag!" he instructed them. "I mean snog!" he winked at Naomi and Katie and headed back into the kitchen.
"Aren't you going to find someone to kiss?" Naomi asked, not wanting Katie to feel obliged to stay with her.
Katie shrugged. "Aren't you?" she shot back.
Naomi shook her head and chuckled wryly. "Even if I wanted to, I doubt there's anyone here that plays for the beaver bashing side," she giggled.
"I don't know about that," Katie shrugged. "I'm pretty certain Effy goes both ways...that girl probably goes every way."
"That might be true but I don't think I want to go that way," Naomi wrinkled her nose at the thought of kissing her friend.
Katie's stomach clenched at the thought of Naomi kissing Effy. She didn't like the idea one bit.
The countdown began in the kitchen, a room full of drunk people all counting down from 10 at different paces.
"Happy fuckin' New Year!" Cook's voice boomed all over the house.
Naomi checked the time on her phone to make sure he was right.
"Happy New Year, Katie," she smiled brightly. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather see the year in with.
"Happy New Year, Naomi," Katie replied, hesitating for only a second before pressing her lips to Naomi's.
The kiss was brief, short and sweet like Katie herself, but it was intense enough to stop both of their hearts beating for a second.
When Naomi opened her eyes again, it was like she was seeing Katie for the first time. What she saw was someone incredible, strong and powerful, but scared and uncertain too. Someone beautiful who just wanted to be loved for who she was. It was only now that Naomi realised that she wanted to be the person who loved her, that everything that had happened in the past month had meant more to her than she had known at the time. She realised that, without her even being aware of it, she had been falling for Katie.
Naturally Naomi dealt with her newly discovered feelings the best way she knew how: by getting blind drunk and pretending they didn't exist. She was in such a state that it took both Effy and Katie to drag her vodka filled carcass back to her house.
"How much did she drink?" Effy asked, struggling to carry her inebriated friend home. She knew there must be something going on, Naomi was no lightweight.
"I don't know!" Katie grunted. It was difficult to support Naomi's dead weight and walk in high heels at the same time. At least they didn't have far to go, as she only lived round the corner. "I went to the loo, and when I came back, she was wasted. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm inclined to blame Cook."
"That's a fairly strong possibility," Effy agreed, happy to see the Campbell residence. She tried to bear most of Naomi's weight while Katie fumbled around searching Naomi's pockets for her key, an activity she was certain that Katie was enjoying, if she was right about their developing "friendship", and, let's face it, she usually was right about these things.
With considerable effort, Katie managed to get the door open and they managed to drag Naomi up the stairs. Naomi was already unconscious when they poured her into bed. Effy watched with great interest as Katie lovingly removed the sleeping girl's shoes and threw a blanket over her.
"You coming? The party's probably still going at Cook's," Effy asked from the doorway, even though she already knew the answer.
"You go on," Katie urged her. "I'm tired I think I'm just gonna stay here."
"Of course you are," Effy mumbled under her breath, and Katie's head snapped round at the sound. "See you later, then," Effy smiled.
"Yeah, have fun!" Katie smiled as Effy walked out of the room.
Once she was outside the house, Effy lit up a cigarette and looked up at Naomi's window. She could make out Katie's shadow as she moved around the room, probably getting ready for bed. The next few weeks are definitely going to be interesting, she thought to herself as she headed back to Cook's.
Up in Naomi's room, Katie had changed into an oversized t-shirt of Naomi's. She knew from experience that her pyjama bottoms were ridiculously long on her. She gave Naomi a gentle shove over in the bed, and climbed in beside her.
The movement stirred Naomi into a semi conscious state. "Katie?" she asked hopefully, not wanting to open her eyes.
"Yeah, it's me," Katie replied softly.
"Katie, I feel sick," Naomi complained, whimpering like a baby while clutching her stomach.
Katie couldn't help but laugh. "That's because you're totally drunk," she informed her.
"Oh," she frowned. "Katie?" she called again after a few minutes of silence.
"What?" Katie giggled, rolling onto her side to face Naomi.
"I like you," she sighed.
"I like you, too, Naoms!" A soft snore coming from Naomi informed Katie that her comment had most likely fallen on unconscious ears. She laughed to herself, then sighed. Leaning forward she pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping girl's lips. "I like you, too," she repeated. For the second time that night her lips were left with a distinctive tingling feeling after they parted from Naomi's, although, admittedly, the tingles hadn't stopped at her lips the first time. Unfortunately for Katie, she wasn't entirely sure what that meant. It was Naomi, after all. Naomi. Her sister's ex girlfriend, Naomi. It was crazy. Wasn't it?
"Oh Christ! My fucking head!" Naomi groaned the minute she woke up, which was sometime in the afternoon on New Year's Day. The first thing she was aware of was her cheek was pressed against something soft and warm, something that wasn't her pillow. The second thing she was aware of was that whatever it was she was lying on was laughing at her.
"There's some painkillers and a bottle of water on the bedside cabinet," the lump told her.
That was when she realised the thing her face was pressed to was Katie. Naomi groaned loudly, unable to find the energy to reach out for the things she wanted so badly.
Katie rolled her eyes and stretched across Naomi to get them for her.
"What happened last night?" Naomi croaked, forcing the pills down her throat with a large gulp of water.
"I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were fucking paralytic!" Katie scoffed.
Naomi frowned. "I remember some things!" she said defensively. She remembered Katie kissing her at midnight. She remembered that was why she'd gotten so drunk. All her memories after the kiss were kind of blurry, not only because of all the alcohol in her system, but also because they just paled in comparison to Katie's kiss. "I have no fucking idea how we got home."
"Well you wouldn't, would you?" Katie scoffed. "Me and Effy had to drag your drunk arse all the way from Cook's house."
"Seriously?" If she wasn't feeling so completely shit already she might have felt guilty, but mostly she was just grateful she had friends who were nice enough to do that for her.
"You were passed out most of the way," Katie giggled.
Naomi sighed heavily. She had a feeling she wouldn't be hearing the end of this anytime soon.
"Snoring a bit too."
"Shut up!" Naomi moaned. She was far too tender to be teased about her indiscretions.
"All right," Katie laughed.
"Thanks, though," Naomi sighed, curling closer to the comforting warmth of Katie's body. "It's good to know I have you to look after me when I've had a bit too much."
"Of course," Katie smiled at her.
It was twice as bright as the early winter sun streaming in though the gap in the curtains, but not half as painful to Naomi's hungover brain.
"You owe me though, next time we go out you have to carry me home!"
"Ok," she agreed.
"Even if I'm sober enough to walk," Katie added and Naomi laughed.
The movement of her laughter increased the amount of pain she was in and caused her to groan once again. "All right," Naomi replied sleepily. Katie was right, she did owe her one, otherwise she'd probably still be lying on Cook's floor beside God knows who covered in God knows what.
"Going back to sleep?" Katie asked.
"Fuck yeah," Naomi scoffed. As if she was going to stay awake and suffer.
"That's what you think," Katie laughed sadistically. She was awake and wanted to be entertained, and, after the night before, she figured Naomi owed her.
"I'm not going back to sleep?" Naomi seemed confused.
"No! Get up and get dressed, we're going shopping," Katie sounded positively delighted at the thought. "And try to wear something nice. Remember, what you wear reflects on me because I am your friend."
"Shopping?" Naomi whimpered. "Really? It's New Year's Day! Will the shops even be open? Isn't it like, a public holiday or something?"
"Two words Naomi," Katie said with such glee in her voice that it made Naomi nervous. "January. Sales."
Naomi buried her head in her pillow and wailed. There was no greater torture on this planet than the January sales with a hangover. She must be wrong about Katie liking her because no one would ever do that to someone they loved. January sales with a hangover. Her little revelation had now cost her 3 hours of missing time, some liver cells, a small piece of dignity and now her soul was damned to the swarms of sales shoppers. All because of one kiss from Katie Fitch.
"Come on!" Katie urged, jumping out of bed and pulling on her clothes. "We have to get there early to avoid the crowds."
Naomi looked at her incredulously. As if there was any way to avoid the crowds.
"Oh don't pout," Katie rolled her eyes, "I'll buy you one of those ridiculous coffees you love so much. Maybe a bit of caffeine will perk you up!"
"Maybe," Naomi grumbled as she reluctantly climbed out of bed. "But I'm not making any promises!"
Katie remained a frequent visitor at the Campbell household for the rest of the school holidays. The food there was edible and extremely tasty and the atmosphere was much more pleasant to live in.
After her realisation at the party, Naomi had seriously considered spending less time with Katie. She figured that time spent away from Katie would give her time to bury her feelings, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She enjoyed spending time with Katie, and, after all, they were friends now. It would have seemed strange if she'd said she didn't want to hang around with her anymore. Besides, if she did, Katie would want to know why, and Naomi didn't want to lose a good friend over her stupid irrational feelings.
So things remained exactly the way they were before the party, except now every touch sent shivers down Naomi's spine, every smile would make her heart skip a beat, and every lingering gaze would make her mouth go dry. It was sweet torture being around her. She had to constantly remind herself that Katie wasn't gay and even if she did fancy swinging that way, she wouldn't want to do it with Naomi. But, still, a girl can dream.
She felt Naomi's tongue sweep over her lips and press hard against her own. The kiss was intense, passionate and lust filled. It was sending chills right down to her core. Naomi's knee moved to press against her swollen clit eliciting an involuntary moan from her. She was aroused beyond all belief and Naomi was barely touching her. She felt Naomi's breath hot in her ear, expressing her want for her. She could do nothing but whimper as Naomi proceeded to kiss, lick and nibble the sensitive skin of her neck. The trail of kisses continued down the exposed flesh of her abdomen, hesitating at the waistband of her underwear. Familiar blue eyes looked up, seeking permission to continue which Katie gave willingly, imploringly almost. Her already engorged clit almost exploded as Naomi pressed kisses to the insides of her thighs, teasingly avoiding the area where Katie wanted her most. A strangled gasp escaped from Katie's lips when a soft, skilful tongue finally flicked across her clit. Her hands instinctively reached down and entangled themselves in platinum blonde hair, pulling Naomi closer, silently expressing her need.
When Katie woke up she was breathless and her sheets were a mess. Her immediate thoughts were ones of frustration. She cursed whatever it was that had caused her to awaken before she'd achieved release. The next thoughts to fill her head were ones of confusion and panic over what the dream meant. She'd had sex dreams before, of course she had, but usually the star was a very well toned, handsome man. They did not normally star one Naomi Campbell, yet it was one of the most vivid and sensual dreams she'd ever had. Images of Naomi touching her, kissing her, caressing her and pleasuring her flooded back into her brain. She struggled to get rid of them, but part of her didn't want to.
Katie wasn't blind. She could tell when another girl was attractive, and Naomi was attractive. She might dress like she'd fallen head first into her wardrobe and hoped for the best, but her long legs, quirky smile and eyes blue enough to make the sky jealous more than made up for that. Even so, Katie thought lots of girls were attractive, but she'd never had horny sex dreams about them. Well maybe Effy once, but everyone wanted to fuck Effy, so that hardly counted. It must be because she'd been spending so much time with Naomi lately. That had to be the reason. There was no other explanation for it. It wasn't like she was developing feelings for her sister's ex girlfriend. She couldn't be. That was ridiculous. It had to be the time thing.
She threw back the covers and got out of bed. It was early but she didn't want to risk going back to sleep, so she thought a shower was in order. Maybe a cold one, particularly if she was going round to Naomi's later for tea.
"We've only been back two days and already it feels like we were never off," Katie complained at lunch time.
"That's the thing about freedom, isn't it?" JJ remarked, "You never truly appreciate it until you no longer have it."
"That's wise, Jaykins," Cook nodded at his friend, absorbing his words as if he were some kind of oracle or visionary.
"At least we'll be getting our results soon," Naomi shrugged. She was anxious to find out how she had performed in her exams. Honestly, she was anxious to find out how Katie had one as well.
"In what universe is that the silver lining?" Katie scoffed, staring at Naomi as if she'd just lost her marbles.
"What? You're not looking forward to finding out?" Naomi was equally incredulous.
"I am!" JJ said enthusiastically.
"Not me," Cook shook his head.
"Don't know why you're so worried anyway, Katie," Effy commented casually. "You certainly studied enough for them." She shot Katie a sly smile that made her blush.
"Yeah," Naomi agreed. "I'm sure you've done brilliantly."
"What about me?" Cook pouted. "Isn't anyone gonna tell me I have nothing to worry about? 'Cause I'm well clever and all that?"
"Didn't you show up for the wrong exam?" Naomi's mouth twisted as she tried to contain her laughter.
"Yeah, so? I could still pass that," he shrugged and everyone fell about laughing.
"Maybe," Naomi nodded encouragingly, reaching out and giving his arm a reassuring squeeze.
"We'll find out next week, won't we?" JJ smiled.
"Never mind what results we get, what about the important question?" Cook looked around at the blank faces staring back at him. "How are we going to celebrate?"
There was a collective eye roll at the table, although admittedly they had all been thinking the same thing. Cook proceeded to inform them of his plans and assured them that everyone in school would be going along with him. After the success of his New Year's Eve party, they didn't bother trying to argue with him.
Katie just sort of tuned out the conversation, her thoughts wondering to Naomi and how she suddenly seemed to be incapable of thinking of anything else. She hadn't been able to get that dream out of her head. In fact it kept flashing back into her mind at the most inappropriate times, like in the middle of history class when Naomi was sitting beside her, her bottom lip poking out slightly the way it always did when she concentrated.
"Fitch!" Naomi barked at her and pulled her out of her thoughts.
"What?" she blinked.
"Are you coming to History or are just going to sit there and stare into space all day?" she asked with her typical Naomi attitude.
"The bell rang?" Katie said, realising she had missed it.
"Yeah," Naomi nodded smugly. "You were miles away, what were you thinking about?"
You, she thought. "Results," she said.
"You're really worried about them?" Naomi's brow furrowed, she didn't realise Katie was serious about that.
"I'm not worried. It's just, this is the first year I've actually put any effort into studying. If I don't do well in these tests, then that's it...I won't ever do well," Katie replied with uncharacteristic honesty. Naomi looked at her and saw vulnerability in her eyes like she'd never seen before. In that instant she fell a little deeper.
"Katie," she stopped dead in the middle of the hall and pulled Katie around to face her. "You're smart, ok? You really don't give yourself enough credit. You're going to do great in your exams. I know you are."
No one had ever expressed such unequivocal confidence in her before. Naomi seemed so sure of Katie's abilities that it almost made her believe in them herself.
"Thanks," she smiled brightly. It was nice to be complimented on her brains rather than her beauty for once.
"Well it's inevitable really, isn't it?" she added with a smirk. "You had the best fucking tutor around!"
"Always so fucking full of yourself, aren't you, Campbell?" Katie laughed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Naomi's arm and pulled her in the direction of History class. "Come on, we're already late!"
Katie stood in the hallway locked in a strange staring competition with the classroom door. That classroom door was all that stood between her and her exam results. She felt physically ill with the anticipation of what was behind that door. Emily had already been in and came out with an A, a B and a C. Of course she had done well, she was the "smart twin". She always did well. She had waited for ten minutes for Katie to go inside, but after that she had gotten fed up and left her to continue her staring match.
"Are just going to stand here all day then?" A familiar voice stole her attention from the door.
"No," she sneered. It was stupid and hard to believe, but Naomi's appearance had managed to soothe some of her anxiety, even though she had no idea how or why.
"Liar," Naomi smirked.
Katie's jaw tightened and she glared at Naomi.
"Come on, we can go in together."
"You haven't got yours already?" Katie could hardly believe it. "I thought you would have been the first one in as soon as the bloody doors opened, you were so keen."
"Yeah well...that's the thing when you get a lift to school with Kieran, his car doesn't always...start." Naomi chuckled.
"I wouldn't really call that thing Kieran drives a car," Katie laughed.
"Shall we?" Naomi stepped forward and held the door open. Katie took a deep breath and one last look into Naomi's eyes to settle her nerves before nodding and walking inside the room.
Naomi approached the desk first, receiving her results on a neatly folded piece of paper from Harriet while Katie waited for Doug to find hers. He smiled at her brightly as he handed her the sheet and she hurried away for fear of throwing up on him. Her hands were shaking when she unfolded the paper. She had to read it three times before she believed what she was seeing, then she checked to make sure the name and candidate number definitely belonged to her.
"Three fucking B's!" she squealed, rushing out the door to find Naomi standing outside waiting for her.
"Campbell, I could fucking kiss you!" she screeched, throwing herself at Naomi.
Naomi's heart stopped at Katie's comment. She tried not to think about how much she wished Katie meant it.
"I take it you did well?" she smirked sarcastically when Katie eventually released her.
"Three B's!" she beamed. "Three fucking B's can you believe it?"
"That's brilliant, congratulations, Katie!" she smiled. She was thrilled for Katie. "I told you you could do it!"
"Not without you," Katie shook her head. "I never could have done it without you."
"Yes, you could," Naomi said with certainty.
"Anyway how did you do?"
"2 A's and a B!" she smiled somewhat smugly.
"Naomi, that's fucking fantastic!" Katie squealed again and threw her arms around Naomi once again.
Naomi wrapped her arms around her friend and allowed the scent of Katie Fitch to overload her senses.
Katie hesitated before she let go, wondering why she had a strong urge to kiss Naomi. Those dreams were really messing with her head.
"This calls for a celebration! Come on, the first drink is on me!" Katie announced, heading towards the door.
"Uh, Katie, you know we have class today, don't you?" Naomi asked.
"I was just sort of hoping you'd be too pleased with your results to care," she replied giving Naomi a hopeful look.
Naomi chewed her lower lip. She knew they should be in class, but Katie's offer was just so tempting and she looked so cute standing there holding her hand out to her. "Fuck it!" she shrugged and took Katie's hand. The promise of escaping the monotony of another school day to spend time with Katie was just irresistible.
They headed back to Naomi's, as always. Gina didn't say anything about them bunking off school, she just congratulated them on their results and left them to it.
Katie almost wished they'd gone somewhere else, somewhere public with lots of people, because every now and then she caught herself staring at Naomi's lips and wanting to kiss that smug smile off her face. Because sitting on the bed that had recently been featuring in the dirtiest dreams she'd ever had was making her horny. Because she's clearly lost her mind and would welcome a distraction from that. She was thankful when Gina shouted up the stairs to tell them she had made lunch. She was even more grateful when Gina stayed to eat with them. With Gina there to act as a buffer, Katie's racing mind was able to relax slightly.
"Right, well, I'm going to go home and get ready for tonight," Katie said when they finished lunch.
"Really?" Naomi pouted.
The look on Naomi's face was almost enough to make Katie change her mind. "Yeah," she nodded. She had to leave. She didn't trust herself to be there while Naomi was getting ready. Naomi didn't seem to have any problem stripping off in front of her, as her hippy upbringing seemed to have rendered her devoid of shame about nudity, and Katie wasn't sure she'd be able to control herself.
"I'll just nip home, have a shower, get dressed and then I'll come back here, and we can go meet Cook and everyone wherever it is that we're meeting them," she smiled. A shower was definitely what she needed, possibly a cold one.
"All right," Naomi tried to smile back but she didn't like having to part with Katie.
"Thanks for lunch, Gina," Katie smiled and got up from her seat.
"You're welcome, love!" she smiled warmly at her.
"Naomi, go get ready!" Katie ordered her before she left.
Naomi rolled her eyes and watched Katie leave the room. Her eyes didn't flick back to her mother until she heard the front door click shut.
"What's going on there, then?" her mother asked, raising her eyebrow curiously.
"What do you mean?" Naomi asked, acting innocent.
"With you and Katie," Gina pressed, never one to drop an unwanted subject.
"There's nothing going on with me and Katie," Naomi replied adamantly. "That's mental. I mean, we're friends now, yeah, but that's it: friends," she added quickly.
"Really?" Gina smiled knowingly.
It drove Naomi nuts. She heaved a sigh of exacerbation and pushed herself out of her chair. "Yes, really," she said with some certainty. It wasn't a lie either. Her mother hadn't asked if she wished there was something going on with her and Katie. "I'm going to get ready to go out."
"With Katie," Gina added, smiling at how flustered her daughter was getting. Naomi might try hard to put on a front but Gina could always read her like a book. She always knew when there was something Naomi wasn't telling her.
"With my friends, yeah. Katie is one of my friends!" Naomi said almost defiantly.
"Ok," Gina grinned, knowing she should quit now before her daughter threw a strop.
"Yeah it is!" Naomi nodded.
Gina heard her mutter the words 'friends' once again under her breath as she left the room.
After a long shower and a lot of telling herself to get a grip, Katie felt much better about returning to Naomi's. She was sure she had put all that ridiculous lust out of her head. She hurried out of the house before her mother or Emily could get back to grill her about where she was going. When she reached the Campbell household, she just walked on in. She had passed the point of ringing the doorbell and waiting over the Christmas break.
"Are you ready?" she asked as she pushed open the door to Naomi's room.
"Yeah," Naomi nodded, looking at Katie through the mirror.
Katie stopped in the doorway, and stared at her. Naomi was looking absolutely gorgeous in a figure hugging charcoal grey dress that stopped a good distance above her knee. Her hair had dried naturally and was falling in soft waves around her perfectly made up face. It was one of the few times in her life that Katie Fitch had been stunned into silence. All those ridiculous feelings she was sure she had gotten rid of had reappeared suddenly, and they were back with a vengeance.
"Katie," Naomi sang her name, fighting the smug grin that threatened her lips because she had achieved what she was trying to do to Katie. She waited for those brown eyes to meet her blue ones before adding, "you're staring."
"I'm sorry," she stammered shaking her head. "It's just...your outfit...it's gorgeous! And you picked it yourself...and you accessorised!"
"What was it you said at Christmas? If you can pass history, I could wear an outfit that doesn't make you sick?" she chuckled.
"Well, congratulations, you succeeded," Katie managed to say, her mind still thinking about pushing Naomi hard against the wall and kissing her senseless.
"Thanks," Naomi smiled proudly. "You want to have a drink here before we go?"
"No," Katie answered quickly. They should definitely go now, to a crowded pub where there would be plenty of distractions.
"All right," Naomi gave her a strange look and grabbed her jacket from behind the door. "We'll just leave now, then."
"Let me guess," Katie sighed as they headed down the drive. "Uncle Keith's?"
"Where else?" Naomi chuckled.