A/N: Hey guys, I know its been a while since I've updated this one, and I apologize...I've been focused on TRTW because we're coming into the final stretch of that one...

Any and all grammatical errors/typos are mine...

Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or The Beauty and The Beast...

Chapter 13: Digging Deep

"So you need me to comb through your network? That's it?" JJ sat in front of Cook and Kieran, his curiosity having been somewhat sated. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Anything out of the ordinary, JJ. We don't exactly know for sure if it was Mandy that did this, but I don't wanna overlook it, either, yeah?"

At the mention of Emily's stalker, JJ reached into his bag and pulled a thick file and passed it across the desk to Cook.

"What's this?" Kieran asked gruffly, staring at the file.

"I've taking it upon myself to find out as much as I could about Mandy." JJ stated in a no-nonsense manner. "If I had done it before, when Emily had told me about Jenna setting them up on that blind date, I'm sure all of this may have been avoided."

Kieran grabbed the file and started rifling through it. What he had found impressed him, because the minute details JJ had discovered were plenty.

"How deeply did you have to dig for this?" The Irishman asked without looking up.

"It took about four days. It would have been two, but I had other...obligations."

Mandy had quite the tainted past. Starting as young as seven years of age, she'd had discipline issues. Disruption of classes, refusing to adhere to authority, attacking other students, and the list went on. Once the girl hit high school, her record became a training manual for how to spot social disorders and anti-social behaviour.

"Fuck me! Assault on a guidance counsellor?" Cook was leaning over and reading the file as well.

"Yes. She's always had...issues, shall we say?" JJ confirmed.

"Issues? That's a colourful way of putting it! She should cancel her subscriptions! She's a fucking nutter." Cook threw back at him. "So, whatdya say, Jay? Fancy a job, mate?"

"If it helps Emily, then yes."

The three men shook hands and made arrangements to speak with Rob and Jenna as soon as possible. Kieran told them both to get out of his office, knowing that all the kids had plans for the evening.

Cook led JJ through the house, until they came to the lounge where everyone else was. Once he walked in the room, he went to the small bar and started rummaging for drinks.

"Everything sorted?" Emily asked JJ as he sat down next to Freddie. They agreed to keep it from Freddie and Panda, figuring it was for the best.

"Yes. I think we've come to an agreement." JJ stated, as Cook came around passing everyone a drink.

"C'mon, pussies! The night's wasting and that karaoke machine doesn't man itself!"

Naomi and Effy groaned at Cooks words, but stood up and led everybody to the dining room, where they stayed for about an hour, filling up on food and more drinks.

"Ya know, if Cook has his way, we'll all be pissed within another hour." Naomi had leaned in and whispered into Emily's ear, causing the red head to shiver.

Emily turned and smiled at her, raising one eyebrow at her. "I think that's been the plan all along, don't you?"

Naomi laughed and it set the red head off as well.

Emily spent a lot of the night talking with Freddie, whilst keeping an eye on Naomi as she jumped from group to group. The red head liked the fact that she was getting along with her friends, that Naomi was making the effort, even though Emily knew how hard it was for her.

Naomi was strangely drawn to Panda. Oddly enough, the young girls enthusiasm for life was refreshing. She had a positive outlook on everything around her, one that Naomi hadn't had in a long time, and she was learning to appreciate it. Besides that, Pandora was terribly amusing. Naomi could see now why Thomas was so attracted to her.

"So, Naomi?" Freddie called over the noise, getting her attention from a story Panda was telling her about when Emily was younger. "Emily here won't dish any dirt on this secret project she's working on," he said, causing Emily to turn red.

"Freddie! I told you it's confidential!" She hissed at him. "Can you just drop it, please?"

Naomi saw the flushed face of the red head and the angry look in her eyes.

"What? I'm just curious, that's all, Emsy." Freddie stated, not looking sorry at all. In fact, he looked amused.

"You're being a prick, Freds." She snapped at him before quickly standing and leaving the room quickly.

Everyone watched her go, but while everyone else went back to their conversations, Freddie kept watching as Naomi followed her.

"Smooth, Freddie!" Katie said. "Why did you have to push her?"

Freddie looked chastened by Katie's words. "I was just messing about." He replied, as Cook sat next to him. "I should go apologise." He started to stand, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'd wait a bit, Fredster." Cook stated with a grin. "Red'll be fine, you'll see."

"Emily, wait!" Naomi called to her, as she was making her way upstairs.

Emily stopped at the top of the stairs, afraid now of what Naomi was thinking. Stupid Freddie! Sometimes he just didn't know when to let some things be. No, he had to push. Always pushing.

Naomi got to the top landing and came to stand in front of the red head. "What's wrong?" She asked quietly, trying to get the other girl to look at her.

"Nothing." She murmured.

"Something is. Emily, I don't care if you talked to Freddie about what we're do-,"

Emily looked up quickly, cutting the blonde off. "I didn't say anything to him, I swear!" She stated vehemently.

"Ems, calm down. I'm not saying you did, yeah? I'm just saying that if you wanted to, you could talk to him, that's all." Naomi said, finally able to look into those brown eyes that she adored. "Look, I wanted you to be able to hang with your friends and have a good time, not get all moody."

The way Naomi said the words made Emily laugh. "Sorry, Naoms, he's truly like a brother sometimes, ya know? He knows how to push my buttons and wind me up."

"I get that. It's the same with Cook." Naomi grinned at the thought. "Been that way ever since meeting the cheeky fucker."

Naomi felt Emily's laughter wash over her, making her feel happier than she'd ever felt before. It was a strange and unusual feeling for her, but one she felt she could get used to.

"C'mon, let's go back, that karaoke machine doesn't man itself." Naomi stated, doing a spot on impression of Cook, causing ripples of laughter from Emily again.

Freddie looked up as Naomi and Emily stepped back into the room, he had a sheepish look on his face, but he waited until Emily came over to him before saying anything.

"I'm sorry, Emsy." He said sincerely, standing up to give her a hug. "I was just messing about, you know that."

Emily sighed into the embrace. "You're such a twat sometimes, Freds."

"Yeah, I know, but you love me anyway." He replied, getting a faint "yeah, I do" from Emily.

After that little hiccup, the night went smoothly. The drinks flowed freely, the occasional spliff was passed around and true to his words, Cook herded them all into the ballroom again. He refrained from the Disney songs this time, much to Naomi's relief. Freddie didn't bring up Emily's job again and nothing was said about Mandy.

Things got messier as the night went on, but it was a really good time and Emily couldn't help but be grateful to Naomi for making it happen.

Emily felt like she was dying. Every muscle in her body ached and it felt like there was a whole marching band playing in her head.

She cracked her eyes open just a bit, to see if she was dead or alive. The piercing scream that came out of her mouth sounded inhuman, as the bright sunlight assaulted her already abused head.

"What the fuck? What's wrong?" Naomi's voice came from the end of the bed, causing Emily to scream again.

"Oh my god!" The red head clutched her head in pain. "How the fuck am I still alive?" She wondered out loud, causing Naomi to giggle at her, as she laid back down and snuggled into the covers. "Um, Naoms?"

"Yeah."

"Not that I mind a beautiful woman in my bed, but...um, what are you doing here?"

Naomi felt herself flush at Emily's words. No one had called her beautiful in so long, it was almost foreign to her, the concept of it. And the fact that it came from Emily, that she thought it, well, that was fucking amazing.

Naomi was lost in thought, that she didn't hear Emily talking to her. It took a nudge from Emily's foot against her side to bring her back.

"What?" Naomi asked in confusion.

"You went somewhere...in your mind?" Emily clarified when Naomi looked more confused. "Where'd you go?"

The blonde shook her head, not wanting to let Emily in on where her mind had taken her. "I'm sorry, that happens from time to time."

Emily chuckled. "Yeah, I know. So, uh...why are you in my bed?"

"Don't you remember anything from last night?" Naomi asked.

"I remember vodka and tequila and then...nothing." She admitted after a few minutes of thinking hard about it. "Did I do something bad?" She asked, suddenly afraid that she embarrassed herself.

"No, not really. But you and Freddie tried to slide down the bannister...," Naomi started explaining, as Emily cringed at the thought, "standing up, mind you...,"

"No, no, no...seriously?" Emily whined, and Naomi nodded.

"Freddie made it down, but you however, fell and hurt your ribs again."

"Well, that explains the reason why my body aches, but it doesn't explain why you're in my bed...," she trailed off as a thought but her hard, "I didn't try anything with you, did I? Oh, God, I did, didn't I?" Emily laid herself back down and threw her arm over her eyes, trying to ease the embarrassment she felt.

"If only it had been that simple, Ems." Naomi said, quietly and then added even quieter, "I wish that's what had happened."

Emily didn't think that last bit was meant for her ears, but she couldn't help smiling at the words. "So if I didn't try and...sex you up," she smirked at the blonde, "what happened?"

"After the free slide, and the ultimate free fall, you said you were in pain. After Katie looked you over for cuts, you took off. It wasn't until after you were back, when Effy and Katie noticed something wasn't right. When I finally got you to tell me where you had gone, you told us that you'd taken one of your pain pills."

"Oh." It came so quietly, that if Naomi hadn't of been looking at Emily, she never would've know it had been said.

"You scared me, Ems. I stayed to make sure something didn't happen to you." Naomi told her, sadly.

"I'm sorry about that, Naomi, I really am." Emily told her, as she pulled herself up and crawled over to the blonde, wrapping her arms around her. "I didn't mean to scare you guys, I swear...it's just, vodka and tequila are never a good mix for me."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Naomi laughed into Emily's hair before pulling away to look at her. "I figured that out before the pill incident!"

Emily lightly shoved Naomi, causing the blonde to fall back into bed.

"Did you at least have fun last night, Ems?" Naomi asked, suddenly serious.

"Yeah. I did, thank you." Emily replied, thoughtfully. "Thanks for doing that, Naomi. I know it's not easy for you to be around people, so for you to even offer was cool."

"I just wanted you to have a good time, Emily. I know I'm not always the best person to be around, and I didn't want you to think I was keeping you from your friends." Naomi told her, feeling strangely pleased. "So, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Like microwaved shit, to be honest."

Laughter filled the room, causing Emily to groan. "Sorry." Naomi replied instantly. "How about we get you a huge breakfast? There's something I want to show you, if you're up to it."

"Sure, just give me a few minutes, yeah?" She asked, getting a smile from Naomi.

An hour later, after a shower and a full breakfast, Emily felt human again, as she sat across the table from the blonde.

Naomi watched her push her plate away and lean back. "Feel better?" She asked, grinning at the red head.

"Fuck yes." Emily smiled. After a slight pause, she leaned forward placing her elbows on the table and cradled her chin in her hand. "So, what did you wanna show me?"

"Oh, right." Naomi stated, totally forgetting about that. She had been caught up in spending the morning with Emily. "Come with me." She pushed her chair away from the table, Emily following suit and they walked out of the kitchen.

Naomi was silent for most of the walk through the house, until they came to a door. "This part of the house has been off limits to everyone for years." She told Emily, her voice quiet. "Mum felt it would be best to just leave it, and only Thelma has been allowed in here, once a year, to clean."

Emily's curiosity was peaked as she stared at the large oak door. "What's in there?" Her voice was soft, as she asked, not wanting to push the blonde.

Naomi stayed silent as she turned the handle, opening the door slowly, and the hinges squealed in protest. "C'mon, Ems." She beckoned her with a wave of her hand.

They traveled down a short hallway and once they got to the end, Naomi reached out, flicking a switch and waited until the lights came on.

Emily took a step into a large room, taking in everything around her. The room, if that's what you wanted to call it, was bigger than the library Naomi had her in. From what she could tell, it looked to be a study, and took up the whole section of this part of the house.

"Holy fuck, Naoms!"

"I know." Naomi stated, simply. "This is, or was, my father's study. It's where he did everything." She stood a few meters inside the room and slowly turned in a circle to look at it all. "I used to sit at the desk with him, while he worked and he would tell me about his day, or what he was working on...he would ask me about what I learned in school that day...," she paused, her emotions getting the better of her, so Naomi took a few seconds to get them under control. "Everything in here is exactly how he left it."

Emily had walked over to the desk while Naomi had been talking, and she saw maps spread out, along with research reports, a hand written journal sat open next to them, with a pen still laying in the crease of it. An empty tea cup still sat on the corner of the desk, with the saucer underneath it. There was another desk, placed next to the large one, with a couple of old computers on it.

"Do these still work?" Emily asked, pointing to them.

Naomi shrugged, "They should. No one has touched them in years."

"JJ would love to see these. Jesus, Naomi. Your dad had top of the line stuff here." She said, in awe of everything in the room.

Naomi went to the far side wall, switching on another set of lights. "This is his research material."

Emily looked over at the stacks of books and papers, once again floored by the amount of literature she saw. Her heart sped up, telling her what a geek she truly was. "Fuck me! What did he research, Naomi?"

"Everything. He wasn't happy unless he was finding something new to learn about."

Emily was confused about why Naomi would bring her here. "Why show me this?"

"Because, JJ is going to need a place to work, so I figured you and I could work in here while he takes your library...if that's alright with you?" Naomi was suddenly feeling very self-conscious, as Emily looked at her. "We don't have to if you don't want to...it was just a thought, so don't feel as if...you know, don't feel like you have to say yes, becau-,"

"You're rambling, Naomi." Emily cut her off, thoroughly amused. 'God, could she get any cuter?' She asked herself, as Naomi blushed. "If that's what you want to do, then that's what we'll do, I don't mind." Emily told her with a smile.

"Cool. If you want, we can arrange it however you like, yeah?"

"It's fine just how it is, Naoms." Emily stated, looking around to confirm her answer. "We don't have to change anything. Can I...," she started to ask, but suddenly became uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Well, don't get mad, but I was wondering...if I could look over your father's stuff?"

Naomi thought about the request as she turned to look at the desk, not really knowing how to answer, because for years she wouldn't let anyone near it. But this was Emily. Naturally curious Emily, who had always asked questions and looked for answers, so Naomi figured what could it hurt?

"Sure. I don't see why not. But," Naomi said, turning to look back at Emily, "I need you to promise that you won't let anything get ruined, yeah? This stuff...well, it's all I have left of him, ya know?"

"Of course." Emily replied, a thought popping in her head. "How about you give me a couple of days, let me go through everything and if you want, I'll catalogue it and box it up, yeah?"

Naomi smiled at her. "Yeah, that would be great...thanks, Ems."

"I wanna kiss you." Emily blurted out, the rush of emotions she felt flowing through her knocking down the filter in her brain. She was embarrassed by her outburst, slapping a hand over her mouth, as if that would pull the words back.

Naomi's eyes widened in surprise at the statement, but then she started laughing, the slight tension that had been following them since their date broken at her words. "Is that right?" Naomi asked, smirking at her, as she took a few steps toward Emily.

"I'm such a dork." Emily stated. "I didn't mean to just say that." She lowered her eyes, not wanting to see Naomi laughing at how stupid she was.

"Oh, I was hoping you did mean to say that." Naomi whispered, as she stepped closer to her. "Because it just so happens that I want to kiss you to."

Emily felt Naomi's breath on her cheek, and when she looked up, she found her lips captured by Naomi's. It wasn't a feverish kiss, but it was different from the last one they shared. It was a mixture of everything. Passion and sweetness, along with desire, all wrapped up into one hell of a kiss that made Emily's head spin and when she reluctantly pulled away, she found that she was breathless.

"Whoa." Emily whispered, with a smile on her face.

"I know." Naomi said as she started to lean back in for another, only to find a hand stopping her, as Emily placed her hand on Naomi's shoulder to hold her off. She pulled back with a puzzled look on her face.

Emily chuckled. "Sorry, Naomi, but...if we keep kissing like that, we may do something we'll both regret." She tried to explain.

"Speak for yourself." Naomi grumbled quietly, and Emily giggled again. "I wouldn't regret it at all."

"I don't doubt that for a second, but I think we need to talk more first, don't you?"

Emily raised one of her eyebrows in question, which only served to fuel the flames that the red head brought to life in Naomi's body.

"Fine." Naomi pouted. "Would you like to go out with me again? Tonight?"

Emily didn't miss the hopefulness in Naomi's voice and smiled. "That would be lovely. But nothing too entertaining, yeah? I'm gonna need some time to recover fully from last night."

"I'm thinking just another quiet dinner, would that be alright?" Naomi felt herself becoming entranced by Emily's eyes.

"I think that would be perfect. Now, how about you go away for a bit and let me get started with this." Emily stated, wanting to get busy. "The sooner I can get this done, the quicker we can set up in here."

"alright, I'm going, but I'm not happy about it." Naomi huffed, trying to sound angry, but she wasn't quite able to keep a smile from her face. "I'll be at your door about eight, so be ready."

"Yes, ma'am." Emily said smartly, throwing the blonde a wink, as she left Emily alone.

Once Emily heard the large door close down the hallway and she felt she was really alone, she turned to look at the maps and journal on the desk, knowing exactly where she wanted to start.

"Alright, Gareth, let's get acquainted, shall we?" She said out loud, sitting down and picking up the journal.

Naomi ended up hanging out with Katie and Effy because she had run out of things to do while she was waiting for eight o'clock to roll around. It had been interesting to see the older twin interact with Effy.

"You should really make more of an effort, is all I'm saying."

Naomi stared at Katie as if she had grown another head. Before she could reply, Effy stepped in.

"And you're referring to...," Effy looked at her questioningly, smirk firmly in place.

"The way she's dressed of course!" Katie spat out, her lisp more pronounced. "Seriously? This is my sister we're talking about here, not some random slag."

Effy couldn't help but laugh, while Naomi glared at the older twin.

"Don't you have some work to do?" Naomi growled out, looking pointedly at Katie.

"Listen here, Campbell, I'm your employee not your fucking slave! So I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't treat me like one. Don't think for a minute that Emily didn't tell me about the rest of your curse." Katie stated, effectively stemming Naomi's anger. "I'm just saying, if you want her to fall in love with you, you should try harder."

Naomi was shocked on three levels. One, that Emily had told Katie in the first place, second, that Katie hadn't tried to rip her limb from limb, and third, it sounded like Katie actually believed the curse could be broken.

"Naomi, you should probably close your mouth." Effy said calmly, because the blonde was doing a good impression of a fish out of water.

"She...told you?" Naomi knew the answer, but felt the need to ask anyway.

"Of course she did. Who else was she going to talk to? Look, I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, and let me tell you, I was ready to kick your arse, but Emily explained it to me, in words I could understand. After thinking about it, I might have done the same...I mean, if I didn't believe in the outcome and all." Katie finished, speaking softly.

Naomi didn't know what to say. She was relieved that Katie decided against killing her, but she didn't know how to take Katie's acceptance. "I don't belie-,"

"Believe in love...yes, I know." Katie finished her sentence, looking at her. "Yeah, I know. Emily told me that to. It doesn't mean you can't try, Naomi."

Effy sat quietly, looking back and forth between them, as if she was at a tennis match. She caught Naomi's eye, and pinned her with a look, trying to understand what she was thinking.

Naomi slumped deeper into her chair, feeling exhausted. "Yes, I suppose I could try harder, but think about this, Katie...what happens if she falls in love with me and it doesn't work? What happens to Emily when I'm gone?" she asked, watching Katie think about it. "I like Emily...a lot actually...and I enjoy spending time with her, who wouldn't? And I wish to God I believed in that part of the curse, but I can't."

"You won't, Nai. There's a difference." Effy finally joined the conversation, although, the fact that she spoke at all was something. "But I've got a feeling that you're not going to be given a choice about it."

"What does that mean?" Naomi asked, trying to figure out what she meant, not noticing that neither Effy or Katie was paying any attention to her.

"Sorry, I know I'm running behind...," Emily's voice came from behind Naomi, and the blonde tried to slow her heart rate down, as she turned around to look at the younger twin.

'Fuck!' was Naomi's only thought, as she took in every detail. Like Naomi, Emily was dressed more casually than the last time they went out, skinny jeans and a long sleeved shirt, but she still looked stunning and the effect it had on Naomi was huge. Desire started pulsing throughout her body, matching the electrical pulses that always ramped up in intensity whenever the two of them were together. She wondered if Emily felt the same.

"Naomi?" Emily didn't like the look she saw on the blonde's face. She looked lost and scared, and that didn't sit well for Emily. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...um, yeah. I'm good." Naomi responded, feeling a little disorientated, but she pushed that feeling down, as she stood up and smiled at Emily. "I was just a bit distracted. You look wonderful."

Emily smiled back at the compliment, blushing slightly. "You look great yourself. I wasn't for sure what you had planned, so if I'm not dressed prop-,"

"No, it's perfect. You're perfect." Naomi told her.

Katie and Effy watched the two of them dance around each other, batting back compliments back and forth, highly amused.

"Ugh! Get a fucking room you two!" Katie snapped, but couldn't hide the smile. "Shouldn't you two lezzas be off?"

Effy tutted, giving Katie a stern look. "Be nice." she said, before turning to look at Emily and Naomi. "She's right, though. It's almost eight, so you two should go...you wouldn't want to be late."

"Fine! I can tell when we're not wanted. Let's go, Ems." Naomi said, leading Emily to the door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Effy hollered to them and then laughed as Naomi flipped her off. "I'm sure you could find a better use for that finger, Nai...be creative."

Katie and Effy laughed as they watched Naomi and Emily both blush as they finally left. "Well done, Effy." Katie said in admiration.

"I do my best." She replied, nudging Katie with her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go find Cook and see what kind of trouble we can get up to."

Naomi arranged another quiet dinner, but at a different restaurant this time, and they stayed in Bath, opting not to drive into Bristol. It wasn't just the two of them, but the place wasn't packed either.

They had been seated at a corner table in the back of the room, and they sat sipping wine and talking about normal everyday things. They talked about work as they enjoyed their meal. They talked about Emily growing up with Katie and James as they dug into dessert. And they talked about Naomi's curse and Sophia as they lingered over one last glass of wine.

It was the best date Emily had ever had and she enjoyed every second of it.

After dinner, they ended up going for a walk through the Parade Gardens, even though Naomi was concerned about Mandy showing up suddenly, Emily showed no such fear. They had already completed a lap of the park, when Emily broke the silence that had settled over them.

"Naomi, what did you want be when you were younger?" Emily asked as she reached for Naomi's hand, interlacing their fingers together, reveling in the warmth she found.

Distracted by the gesture, Naomi didn't answer until Emily gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Sorry...I was...,"

"Distracted?" Emily asked grinning at her.

"Yeah...distracted. You should really stop doing that." Naomi said. "What did I wanna be? Well, when I was around ten, I wanted to be a nurse."

"Really?"

Naomi nodded her head, "Yup. My grandmother had fallen and had to spend about a month in hospital, so Mum and my dad would take me to see her everyday after school. I would see the nurses go around, tending to patients, helping them when they were in pain...it seemed like a decent profession." she explained, thinking about the woman who was in the same room as her grandmother.

"It's a noble profession, to be sure." Emily agreed. She steered them over to a bench, where they sat and looked up, trying to see the stars.

"There was another woman in the same room as my grandmother, her name was Clair. She was an older woman, and she was very sick. I asked her one day where her family was and she explained that she didn't have any, she was a resident at a nursing home and she was dying. I was so sad to hear that, because she was a sweet little old lady and she deserved someone to be there for her when she passed, ya know?"

Emily nodded, but didn't say anything, content to let Naomi go at her own pace With the story.

"The day she died, it was a Saturday, so I was spending the day with my grandmother. We had been talking with Clair, and I was making them laugh as I told them about things that had happened at school...it was a good morning. Clair stopped talking for a while, but then she looked over at me and waved me over to her bed. She said thank you and when I asked her why, she said because I made her last day her best one yet. Then she closed her eyes as she held my hand."

"Oh, Naoms." Emily whispered, squeezing her hand gently again.

"My grandmother knew what was happening and had called for the nurses. About five nurses came rushing in the room, pushing me out of the way, and they all stayed by her side until she took her last breath. When I asked why they didn't save her, one of the nurses explained that she didn't want that. She had a DNR order in place, so they couldn't do anything." Naomi finished, tears in her eyes. "I thought what those nurses did that day was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

"So what happened with that plan?" Emily asked her quietly.

Naomi wiped the tears from her eyes before answering. "Dad left and never came back. That was the beginning of my downfall, really, but then Chelsea happened and at first it was great. I felt happy again, but then she turned out to be a massive cunt."

Emily felt her heart clench as Naomi talked about her past. She knew from Effy and Cook that Naomi used to be the sweetest person they knew, so to hear about bad things that she had gone through, things that turned her into a monster, it made her sad.

"I know that my dad and Chelsea are just excuses. I realised that years ago, I allowed them to change me when I shouldn't have, ya know? I should have controlled myself better, but I didn't. I allowed myself to take my anger at dad and Chelsea out on everyone else around me...everyone else who stayed." Naomi stated, tearing up again. "Why they stayed back then, I will never know. Effy and Cook stuck with me when they should've walked away. And my mum? I was fucking terrible to her, I blamed her for almost everything, even knowing that none of this was her fault. She could've kicked me out, but she didn't. Why didn't she? Why didn't leave me?"

Emily thought about how to respond. "You know, you keep talking about how you don't believe in love, but Naomi...I think you know why, deep down you know exactly why they stayed."

Naomi thought about what Emily said. Even after they got up and started to walk back to the car to head home, she thought about Emily's words. She was right, Naomi realised, deep down she knew that her family loved her and always had.

She felt happier after that small realisation, but as she helped Emily into the car, another thought hit her.

And it hit her hard.

She, Naomi Campbell, was in love with Emily Fitch!

Alright! Another chapter down! I hope you all like it:) I've gotta rush to my nephew's play...

let me know what you think? It really helps to write when you guys give feedback:)

Love ya!

Marci