A/N: Hello everyone:) HAPPY MONDAY! I hope everyone is having a great day. I wasn't going to post this until the end of the week, but because I'm having a marvelous hair day, I decided what the heck, so here you go:)

I wanna take this moment to thank everyone who's read/followed and/or added this as a favorite. You all seriously make my day when you read and review, THANK YOU! I understand that it's a bit slower than my other story, so I appreciate you all for sticking with it:)

Any typos/grammatical errors are all mine and I apologize for them;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Skins, nor do I own the Beauty and the Beast, but man, I wish I did!

Chapter 2- The Beast

December, 2013

Naomi sat in the dark room, waiting to make her entrance. She hated these events, but had to do them nonetheless. After Sophia cursed her four years ago, there were a lot of things that Naomi had to do. She hated the situation she and her family found themselves in, but she knew it was all her fault. The amount of guilt she's had to live with since that fateful night had become almost too much to bear.

She felt the weight of that guilt every time she looked at Effy and Cook, and saw the changes in them. True to her word, Sophia had cursed her two friends and her parents. Now the five of them lived in a limbo of sorts that somehow worked, for the most part. Naomi knew that they got on each other's nerves, but she was really glad she wasn't alone. 'Fuck that sounded selfish!' She thought to herself, but she couldn't help it. It took the whole first year to accept what had happened to her, after a shit ton of self reflection and drinking. She had to laugh at that. That was their answer to everything back then, 'If you can't figure it out, drink it away'. But it didn't make the horrible reality that they were living disappear.

Shortly after that first year, she came to understand that no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't even hate Sophia for what she did, because Naomi knew that what had happened to Ashley, was in fact her fault, entirely. Sophia had been so heartbroken, so shattered over the loss of Ashley, that Naomi felt lucky it was only the curse that Sophia inflicted on her.

The tears that came freely now, whenever she thought about Ashley, started to fall. Naomi made no attempt to brush them away, because she needed the tears to remind her of who she used to be. A cold, selfish, unfeeling cunt! The effects of the curse had been quite simple, actually. Her family was basically stuck in time, whilst the world moved on around them. So even though it had been four years later, her mum, Kieran, Effy and Cook didn't look a day older, but herself on the other hand... to be honest she wouldn't know. Naomi hasn't been able to look in a mirror since the morning after her "talk" with Sophia.

Another stipulation that was hard to deal with, they couldn't be away from each other for more than twelve hours at a time. That was something that Naomi didn't understand, no matter how much she tried. Maybe it was so that none of them would just take off. She didn't know and had given up trying to figure it out a long time ago.

Just like she had given up any hope of breaking this damn curse. She knew that Kieran had searched and searched for a fucking Child of Gemini and had come up with absolute fuck all! Her stepdad had talked with every Greek mythologist all over the world, and nobody knew anything. Naomi also knew that her time was running out. Sophia gave her five years and she had less than a year left.

She let out the breath she was holding without realizing it. Naomi was dreading the time that she would have to go out to the ballroom. It unnerved her to be around a lot of people, but the needs of the family business demand that she makes this annual appearance. She shook her head and wiped her face with her hands, in exasperation. She had a feeling about tonight, but she couldn't tell if it was a bad feeling or a good one, but her whole body seemed to be pulsing with an electrical current.

She looked at her watch and noticed that it was almost time to head out, so she stood up and brushed down the front of her tailored suit, making sure there were no creases in it, adjusted the high collar that covered her neck and brushed her jaw line, and ran a hand through her blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders in golden waves.

Once she was sure everything was in order, she slipped her full faced mask in place. As she did, her mum stepped into the room, along with Effy. She shot a glance at the girl when she noticed her fidgeting, which was uncharacteristic of the brunette.

"What?" She asked looking at them both. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, luv." Gina said with a smile. "Are you ready?"

Naomi hated the fact that she needed to be escorted by her mum and Effy, but she would have a panic attack if one of them wasn't close by.

"Yeah, let's get it done with." Naomi said, unenthusiastically. "I know, mum. You don't have to worry. I'll be my charming self." She said, when she noticed her mum was about to kick off about her attitude. "I know the drill." She placed her hand on the older woman's arm to calm her down.

"I have a really good feeling about tonight, Nai." Effy laced her arm through Naomi's and pulled her toward the door. "There are some really interesting people here this year."

"Is Mitchell from the Children's Foundation here?"

It was Naomi's suggestion to dissolve the manufacturing side of the business and work solely on the charities after the curse happened, and her mother was more than happy to do it. But it was hard work at first, mainly because there was a lot of traveling involved and neither one of them were able to do it. So they had to hire someone to do it in the end.

It was a godsend that they were able to find Thomas. He was from the Congo, and had come to England for a better life for him, his mum and siblings. He had been in his first year of Uni, when he came and applied for a position in the company. Gina and Kieran had found him to be very friendly, personable, and intelligent, so they offered him the chance to represent the Campbell Corporation.

Thomas did all the traveling and the rest of them worked behind the scenes, with Gina being the face of the company. Naomi made sure that nothing was ever mentioned about her, much to her mum's disappointment.

"Yes, he arrived a while ago. And Thomas is almost here as well. He said things are working out nicely and not to worry." Gina answered.

They made their way down a hallway of sorts and the closer they got to the main room, the more nervous Naomi got. She could feel a current of electricity pulsing through her, let left her feeling a bit unnerved. She pulled at her stiff collar, made sure her cuff links were perfect and was just about to adjust her mask, when Effy took her hand and squeezed it, to reassure her that she looked fine.

"Nai, relax. Everything is going to be alright, yeah?" Naomi swallowed audibly, but nodded her head.

"Yeah, I know, but I hate this part."

"I know." The other girl said quietly, as they passed through a door and moved into the crowd.

Once they were out there, Gina and Effy both stepped away from her so people didn't think she was an invalid, but they stayed near her. Kieran and Cook saw them come in and made their way over to them.

"Fuck me, blondie! You're pretty fit in that getup." Cook said with a grin on his face that reached up to his eyes.

"Thanks, ya perv!" She laughed at him. That's one thing she loved about him, he could always make her laugh. Effy smirked at the exchange, but Naomi still sensed that something was wrong with her. "You're looking pretty good yourself." She said as she looked him up and down. In the tailored tux, Cook did look good.

Effy looked around the room, as if she was looking for someone. Naomi didn't know what to make of it, when her mum pulled her away to speak with some of the charity heads. Effy finally found who she was looking for and drug Cook over to where the Fitches were.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fitch?" Effy said as she came up to them. They turned around and greeted her with smiles. "I'd like you to meet James Cook. He heads up the security for the company."

"Hello James." Rob Fitch held out a hand to the younger man. "I'm Rob and this is my wife Jenna." He told Cook, who was now shaking hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir. Please call me Cook." He said with a wink to Jenna, making her blush. "I hope you're enjoying everything we have to offer tonight?" He asked and they both gave him smiles and nods.

Effy made sure to keep an eye on Naomi, as she went from group to group with Gina and Kieran.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Fitch? Are your daughters still around? They haven't left yet, have they?" Effy asked, nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh no, dear. They're still here, their friends dragged them off somewhere." She said with a smile. Effy whispered something into Cooks ear, watched him nod at her and she was off in search of the Fitch sisters.

"Naomi, it has been a wonderful experience working with you this past year." Naomi smiled at the slightly older man. "Thank you, Mitchell. I hope you have continued success." She shook his hand and looked around for her mum or Kieran. "Would you excuse me? I need to find my mum." He nodded and said goodbye as she headed over to where they were.

It always took a while for her to feel relaxed enough around other people, she was always afraid they'd see her through the mask. As she made her way over to her mum, she saw Effy heading toward the entrance, so Naomi switch directions and followed her.

As she reached the double doors, she heard raised voices. Effy's for sure, but others as well. Naomi hesitated, until one voice stuck out above the others.

"Mandy, you need to leave me the fuck alone!" The voice said. It was deep, but not so deep that you didn't know it was a girl's voice. It was also husky and distinctive and made Naomi shiver with anticipation. She felt the need to hear that voice again. Naomi shook herself out of her reverie when she heard another, more unpleasant voice.

"Why are you acting this way?" The other voice asked with a hint of a whine. This voice was not pleasant at all and only grated on Naomi's sensitive nerves. "I thought we were coming here together, I was a little hurt when I got to your house and James told me you were already here."

"Listen, bitch! Why don't you take a fucking hint and leave her alone, yeah?"

Naomi was starting to get confused now. This new voice sounded a bit like the first one, but not as husky and raspy. She pushed the door open, and silently made her way over to the group of people standing in the foyer. She saw that Effy was standing there, observing the scene, as usual.

Along with Effy, there were two guys and four girls, but one of them was clearly an outsider, because the rest of them seemed to be surrounding one of the smaller girls in a protective circle. The tallest girl looked as if she was trying to get to her. As she reached her hand out, Naomi watched the smaller girl recoil with disgust.

"Don't touch me!" The husky voice came from the small girl, but the other girl didn't listen.

"Oi! She said don't touch her, slag!" Naomi heard the other small girl shout, with a lisp that was more pronounced when she got angry. It looked as if the second small girl was going to throw a punch, so Naomi knew she had to react.

"Is there a problem here?" She asked in a calm and stern voice and then cringed when every head turned toward her, but she held her ground and just scanned all the faces standing there. Naomi didn't miss the smile on Effy's face. She had to do a double take, yup! That's a smile, and holy fuck! It reached her eyes!

"Hello Naomi." Effy had a gleam in her eyes, and she was seriously starting to get on Naomi's nerves. She went over and placed her arm through Naomi's and brought her closer to the small group. "I'm glad you're here, I want you to meet some people."

Naomi felt trapped, as usual when faced with meeting new people. God, she just wanted to go home, but she knew she couldn't do that just yet. With a defeated sigh, she let Effy start making introductions.

"This is Freddie McClair." She gestured to the tall, lanky, olive skinned boy and he smiled. "This is JJ Jones." The other boy with curly hair. Effy kept going around the circle, "This is Pandora Moon." Pandora bobbed her head, enthusiastically.

"You can call me Panda, everyone does." She smiled at Naomi and Naomi felt compelled to smile back.

"And this is Katie and Emily Fitch." Naomi got the strangest feeling in the pit of her stomach when she was presented to them.

She couldn't explain it, it was just there, so she pushed down the feeling and turned to look at the tall girl. "And who is this?" Naomi asked and Effy shrugged.

It was Panda who spoke up. "That's just Mandy." She rolled her eyes at the name, as Naomi glared at the outsider.

"Is there a problem here?"Naomi asked again, keeping her eyes on her.

"The only problem here is everybody sticking their fucking nose into my business." Mandy crossed her arms as she huffed out a breath. "I was trying to have a conversation with my girlfriend, when these fucking tossers showed up!" She sneered at Katie and the rest of them.

"For fucks sake, I am NOT your girlfriend!" Emily stated through gritted teeth. Naomi grinned at the girls' feistiness. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull?"

"Emily, I don't know why you keep fighting it. Even your mum knows it could be special between us." Mandy tried again to reach out to her, but once again someone was there to stop her.

Naomi grabbed Mandy's arm before she could reach out too far. "I believe she asked you not to touch her." Mandy sneered at her a wrenched her arm way. "I don't think it would be wise to start any trouble here." Naomi stated in a quiet, calm voice.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I like! And there's nothing you can do about it." Mandy spat at her, as Naomi went to stand in front of the sisters, along with Effy. "You should really mind your own business, bitch! Do you know who I am?"

Naomi smirked at her question, "I don't, actually. And right at this moment, I couldn't give two fucks!" She was getting angrier by the second.

"Naomi? You need to calm down." Effy said when she saw Naomi stiffen up. "We'll sort it, yeah?"

Naomi nodded, but took a step forward, into Mandy's personal space. "Do you know who I am?" She asked in the coldest voice she could, the one she used to use all the time and watched with glee as the other girl gulped and took a step back. "I'm Naomi Campbell." Naomi put emphasis on her surname and noticed as the girl became aware of who she had just angered.

Mandy shrank back visibly.

"You can pretty much fuck off now, yeah?" Katie told the dark headed girl.

Mandy started to leave, but turned back around to look at Emily, "This isn't over, Emsy!" With that, she went back into the ballroom.

Naomi glanced around as everyone stood there, with smiles and grins. "Sorry about that."

"Naw, don't worry about it. That bitch needed someone to put her in her place." Freddie said.

"Yeah, she has the worst habit of just showing up, no matter where we are." This came from Panda.

"Well, it was nice to meet you all. I hope you can enjoy the rest of the evening. I'll leave you to it." Naomi was going to head back inside, but a small hand on her arm stopped her. "Are you really Naomi Campbell?" It was one of the sisters, but at the moment, Naomi was having trouble remembering which one. There was something about the small girl that was scrambling the blondes' brains and the pulsing feeling was getting stronger. She could only nod at her. "I'm Emily. First of all, thanks for that."

"For what?" The girls' voice sent shivers down Naomi's spine. It was sexy to listen to. She looked past the mask, into her eyes. They were a soft brown and Naomi could see rings of green in them.

"For the whole 'Mandy Incident'. She's such a conceited cunt, it's actually unbelievable." Emily sneered at that last bit. "She always has a way of finding me wherever I am."

"Who is she?" Naomi asked.

"Her name is Mandy Bhatnagar."

"As in, Bhatnagar Industries?" Naomi asked and Emily nodded her head. "How the fuck did they get tickets for this event?" She asked more to herself, than the girl in front of her. She was more than a little bothered by the fact that one of the largest violators of more than five EPA laws was here tonight.

"I don't know how she got tickets, but I wish she hadn't of." Emily said quietly. "Anyway, the reason I came over was because I wanted to talk to you about your aspect of the business."

"My aspect? What do you mean?" Naomi asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Yeah, you head the software division, right?"

"How do you know that?" The blonde was starting to get just a little bit freaked out.

"I did a research paper in my last year of college about your company and I learned about it." Emily explained. "But I wasn't able to get a lot of information, so I'm curious about it."

"Why would you do your research on us? We're kinda boring." Naomi asked, surprised at the smaller girl. She had to have dug pretty deep for that info. Emily shook her head.

"Contrary to what you may think, I found it quiet interesting. I passed with an A, by the way." She said with a smirk.

As they talked, Effy and the others came over. "We're going back inside if you two would care to join us?" Effy asked.

"Sure, I need to go see mum anyway." Naomi told them, and then looked at Emily. "Will you all accompany me? I would love for you to meet my parents."

"Whizzer!" Panda practically shouted. Naomi shook her head, as she led the small group inside. They were kind of strange, but somehow, refreshing.

It had been awhile since she had met new people. She didn't go out to blow off steam like Effy and Cook did. Naomi preferred the quiet of home and didn't like for people to stare at her. But she didn't kid herself. She knew that if it wasn't for the mask she was wearing, this group of people wouldn't even talk to her.

Normally, that thought wouldn't have bothered her, but right at this moment it did and she couldn't say why. She pushed those feelings deep down, promising herself she'd come back to them later, as she looked around the room.

Naomi's eyes caught sight of her mum and stepdad and she led the rest of them over.

"Hello luv. Making friends, I see." Gina said with a smile.

"Yeah, you know me. Miss Popular." She replied, and Kieran chuckled at her sarcastic answer while Effy laughed. Naomi looked at them all, as she tried to figure out if she had somehow been transported into an alternate universe.

"Mum, Kieran, this is Freddie, Panda, JJ, Katie and Emily. Guys, these are my parents." Her parents were busy shaking hands with the group, when Gina got to the sisters she paused.

"Hello again, Emily." The older woman was warm and friendly. "I see you've met my daughter. She didn't bark at you, did she?" Naomi felt herself flush, but Emily just laughed it off.

"No, Mrs. MacFoeinaiugh. She's been nothing but pleasant." Emily stated and noticed the look of shock on the older woman's face. "I take it this is not a normal occurrence?" She asked, as she saw Naomi shuffle from foot to foot, Effy smile even more and Gina look at her husband as he shrugged.

"Let's just say, that Naomi doesn't always play well with others." Gina told her, and then turned her attention to Katie. "So, Katie? How are you enjoying the party?"

"It's been great." The girl started in about everyone she's talked to.

As the brunette talked, Gina had started to see the similarities in the two girls. Maybe Effy was right, and the two were twins. But how could she find out without being too obvious. As she thought about it, Cook bounded over toward them.

"Alright! All the geriatrics have left the building!" He was giddy with excitement, as he looked to Gina.

Naomi and Effy gave each other a look, but the rest of the group were clueless as to what was about to happen.

"Come on, we've been good all night."

Gina sighed as she looked at her three children. She smiled at Cook and nodded her head. She knew that this was for Naomi more than the other two. He jumped up and hooted as he ran down toward the bar that was on the other side of the room. He leaned over to talk to the bartender, and then they both went into another room.

Emily was standing there wondering what was going on, when Effy answered her unspoken question. "After the older guests leave, we break out the adult beverages." She explained as she inclined her head to where Cook and the bartender came back into the room with a few cases of vodka and tequila. "Gina makes us wait until then, so we don't embarrass her." She said with a grin.

"That is not true, Effy Stonem! You know very well that you lot embarrass me all the time." Gina said, with mock offence. She couldn't hold onto it for long, though and a smile broke out on her face.

"If you'll excuse me I need to use the restroom." Emily said to everyone and headed off. Naomi watched as the smaller girl made her was to the other side of the room.

It wasn't long until Cook came back with a tray loaded down with shots. As he got to the table, he finally noticed the extra people. "Sorry. I didn't see we had company." He said.

"This is Freddie, J-," Naomi was cut off, as Cook's eyes lit up.

"Freddie? From the other day?" Cook asked the taller guy.

"Yeah, that's me. Thanks for the tickets by the way." Freddie said as Cook thumped him on the back.

"Not a problem, mate! I see you got a date after all." Freddie blushed under his mask, as Cook laughed at him.

"So, who do we have here?" the shorter boy asked.

Freddie made the introductions and as he finished up, Emily came back to the table.

Cook was too busy checking out Emily to hear anything else from the taller boy. "I don't believe I caught your name babe?"

Emily screwed her face up in disgust at his blatant come on. "That's because I didn't throw it." She said as politely as possible, without offending him. Cook just threw his head back and howled.

"I like her! She's tip top!" he said enthusiastically.

Effy saw the look on his face. Even with the mask he wore, it was plain to see that he was excited by what he saw. "Settle down Cook, she doesn't play for your team." Effy told him.

Everyone watched his face fall at her announcement. "No!" He clutched his hands over his heart. "You ladies are killin' me, yeah?" Everyone at the table laughed at his playfulness, "Fuck it! LET'S GET MENTAL!"

The drinks came freely and regularly. So much so that two hours later almost everyone was either wasted or on their way to being wasted. No one noticed it when they had one extra person at the table. Effy had been busy talking with Panda, Katie and Emily while Naomi, Cook, Freddie and JJ were having a deep discussion about football.

"Emsy?" A voice cut across all the conversation. All heads turned to the newcomer, but it was Emily who groaned. Mandy had made her way over to their table.

"When are you gonna take the hint, and FUCK OFF?" Katie screamed at her. "Why can't you see that my sister doesn't want anything to do with you? Are you that fuckin' stupid?"

Mandy sat there, unaffected by Katie's shouting. She just looked at the small girl as if she was something on the bottom of her shoe. Freddie and Cook were keeping Katie away from Mandy, but they were drawing attention to the table.

Jenna, Rob, Gina and Kieran had all made their way over to the kids.

"And what might the problem be over here?" Gina asked, but nobody answered her.

Mandy was getting visibly upset that Emily wouldn't even talk to her.

"I'm stupid? That's rich coming from you, Katie!" Mandy stared at both sisters. "Out of the two of you, I don't know which one is the bigger slut!" She spat out, seemingly on a roll. "I mean, let's face it. Emily will shag just about anything in a skirt and you," Mandy sneered at Katie, "you'll fuck anyone with a cock!"

Jenna made a distressed sound as Mandy unleashed her temper on the girls. Rob tried to intervene. "Mandy! There's no need for this kind of behaviour."

"Really, Mr. Fitch? I think there is. You see, I had it on good authority that Emily would be overjoyed to date me, but I find out she's just a bitch." Mandy was clearly losing it as she continued to rage on, unleashing her temper on Jenna as well, and making Emily cry.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A voice roared above them all.

Naomi was standing there shaking with her anger.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the blonde who had commanded all the attention in the room. She was so furious that she didn't even care that they were all looking at her. "I'm only going to say this to you once. You have overstayed your welcome and I am telling you to leave."

Mandy was about to kick off again, but this time Cook signalled two security guards over. "Who are you here with?" he asked.

She knew she would not get another chance at the younger twin. She started to pout, but she answered him.

"My parents are here with me."

"Right then." Cook turned to the guards. "Find her parents and escort them out of the building." They both nodded at him and drug the tall girl from the table.

Emily was still in tears as her family gathered around her. Naomi and her family could only look on. The blonde was furious with Mandy for ruining their evening. She felt compelled to make sure the girl was leaving. Nobody saw her leave the table and she made her way to the entrance of the building. She got there just as Mandy and her parents did, and Mandy sneered at her.

Naomi just stood there and waited to see if she was going to do anything. She saw the look of pure hate in the other girl's eyes, but could find it in herself to care.

"You think you've done something nice for her, but you haven't." Naomi blinked in confusion as Mandy continued. "So you can try all you want, but Emily will never be with you."

The girl's words had venom in them, and if Naomi was any less of a person, if she had been the same girl as she was years ago, she would have felt the poison coursing through her veins. But she wasn't that same girl, she had been through too much shit and changed so many times, that to her they were just words. Naomi looked at the girls' parents and noticed that they didn't look the least bit ashamed of their daughter. This is what made her finally react.

"You should really put a leash on your pet when you're out in public, if you can't control her." She smirked at the family.

Mandy started to make a move when one of the guards caught hold of her.

"Ma'am, you really need to leave now." He said to her as she shrugged off his hand.

"Fuck off! I'm going." She followed her parents toward the door, but then looked back at Naomi with a quick glance past her. "Oh, by the way Campbell, if I can't have her, no one will."

With the Bhatnagars' outside the building, Naomi took a deep breath, to calm herself down. She still had a temper, that was something Sophia couldn't get rid of, but she was a lot better at controlling it. She just stood there for a few minutes before turning around. When she did, she thought maybe she'd had more to drink than she assumed, because she was seeing double.

As she stared at the two scared, unmasked girls standing before her, it finally sunk in.

Naomi's body started tingling all over, just like the night that Sophia cursed her, only worse. She wasn't sure her legs would hold her up any more, because now it felt as if that electrical current was pulsing harder through her body. She faintly heard shouting, but it didn't register in her brain as felt herself slipping into a blackout. She was, however aware of the arms that wrapped around her before she was unconscious.

The last thought going through her head, 'Holy Fuck! Twins!'

And another one down!

Y'all still with me on this one?

Still liking it? Yes? No? Maybe?

Reviews are welcomed, appreciated and replied to when I can:) Questions? Concerns? Still hoping to see talking dishes and flying candelabras?

Should I have the character breakout into random songs?

Let me know:)

Love you all,

Soupy:-)