A/N: You Guys! You really are the best! :D Thank you so much for the cheerleading and the love! It's helping A LOT. Making me work super hard to make sure I manage to stick to my very demanding schedule!

Can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Oh I feel like I should tell you all that this 'story' might feel a bit like a collection of One Shots! It's sort of is that, but every chapter IS tied in to the previous ones! Still, since the concept of the story is that they meet every Christmas Eve, it feels like One Shots!

Anyway, hope you like the new one!

.

.

Chapter 2: The Second Year

.

.

Emily looked a complete mess. If usually she looked quite hot with her beautiful mane of fiery red hair, her soft but carefully applied make-up and her kind smile, she looked the total opposite tonight, her hair all tangled up, her make-up staining her cheeks and her smile nowhere to be seen. She couldn't have cared less though, not tonight, not right now, not ever, she felt.

She walked into the night, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she choked on hiccoughs and tears fell down her cheeks. She had lost track of how long she'd been crying. She'd lost track sometime between leaving her house in a hurry and getting onto a random bus.

This was so not how her night had been supposed to end, she thought sadly, a big hiccough making it through her throat along with a sob. It was supposed to be okay. It had taken her so much strength, so much courage. It was supposed to count.

Yet, somehow, it hadn't and there was nothing she could do to take it back. It was out now, she was out.

She continued to walk, the wind freezing her to the bones, her extremities burning with the cold. Emily welcomed the pain though, it was a nice distraction.

She couldn't believe how badly it had gone. Of course the redhead had known that telling her family she was gay was never going to be simple, she had known it would be unpleasant at best. Still, she hadn't expected it to be this awful. She hadn't expected for Katie to snap and tell her she was lying. She hadn't expected for her mother to look at her as if she'd contracted a particularly disgusting and contagious illness. She hadn't expected for her father to just laugh it off as if it was a big joke. She hadn't expected for her brother to just sit there and pretend it hadn't happened.

She had hoped, foolishly perhaps, that she'd find at least one ally amongst the bunch. Sure she had known full well that it wouldn't be her mother, but she'd thought her twin might have sided with her and if not bloody James was always raving about the weirdest things, surely he didn't mind lesbians?

But no, she'd been alone and even when she'd started crying and had sworn it was all true, she'd remained alone. Then, just because she'd dare thought it couldn't get worst, her mother had told her that she ought not to sit at the table if she was to say such 'foolishness'.

Of course, Emily's response had been that it wasn't foolishness and if no one was ready to accept that not only did she not belong at the table, but she didn't belong in the house at all. She'd waited for someone, anyone, to back track. No one had. Her mother had told her not to be silly while everyone else had remained silent. She'd looked at them all one after the other in complete disbelief before standing up, grabbing a coat and storming off. She'd only been half aware of the shouts following her as she disappeared into the night.

And that was why she was here now, probably a good while later, walking in the streets of Bristol on Christmas Eve on her own. Not even the beautifully decorated houses could make her feel better this year.

She walked for a while, aimlessly it seemed. She walked and cried and when she felt like she was all cried out she started to shiver. She wasn't sure where she had ended up. The more she looked at the neighbourhood, the less sure she was that she'd ever been there before. Yet, there was something familiar about it. Something about the trees and the houses, something that felt like she knew where she was, yet her brain couldn't make the connection.

She continued to walk, sniffling often. Her heart started beating nervously at the prospect that she'd gotten lost. And just when she stared getting actually worried, she turned a corner and saw it in the distance. Small and quaint, with its light-laced ivy and brick front and wooden door. It was the pub she'd gone to with Katie the year before.

And just as soon as she saw it, Emily's feet started to walk towards it, her mind forgetting about her awful coming out for a second to think about a certain blonde she'd met in that beautiful antique looking pub.

It was quite peculiar, Emily thought, how even a year later she could still recall exactly how the blonde's lips had curved when she smiled, how her voice had arranged itself when she'd laughed and how her eyes had seemed to always contain a hint of confidence mixed in with mischief.

Emily felt herself sigh. It had been a year yet she hadn't seen the girl again. She had looked for her too. You couldn't meet someone like that and not look for them. The girl had piqued Emily's curiosity, that much had been certain from early on. So every day at College, Emily had looked for her, her eyes always searching, always alert. After months though, Emily had been forced to conclude that the stranger just didn't go to Roundview.

She hadn't tried to come back to that little pub looking for the blonde though. It's not that she had forgotten about the place really, but somehow, Emily had felt weird about coming back. Tonight though, it fit and as she pushed the door open and was hit with the same odour of gingerbread and hop, her heart slowed a bit. A wave of calmness washed over her and she breathed slowly.

Emily was still feeling pretty low though when she found a table and sat down. She stared at her nails for a bit, breathing in as slowly as she could to try to keep the sudden calmness she'd found by walking into the pub.

It didn't work for long. It was hard to remain calm when the only thing that came to her mind once she'd stopped running was 'now what?'. So she'd come out and her family had shoved her confession back in her face. So she'd stormed out to prove a point, to prove that she wouldn't go back on her words, that she wouldn't pretend she had never said anything. But now what? What was she supposed to do?

She didn't want to go back home, not under these circumstances. She didn't want her family thinking it was all right, that all was forgotten, but she also didn't have the strength to pursue the argument. There was only so much rejection she could take in one night.

But if she didn't go home, where was she supposed to go? It wasn't like she had friends of her own that could accommodate her for the night, she thought sadly and she didn't have enough money to pay for a decent hotel.

Emily was getting a bit desperate, images of herself freezing on a park bench invading her mind, when someone interrupted her musings.

"Well hello Emily. Fancy seeing you here" a very cheeky familiar voice said.

The redhead turned around just in time to see none other than the same blonde stranger she'd met the year before slide into a seat next to her. She was just as gorgeous now as she'd been the year before, Emily thought. Her hair was a bit longer then it had been, falling to her shoulders in soft curls. Her eyes, god her eyes, were still this particular pale shade of blue, filled with mirth and cheekiness. There was a huge satisfied smirk plastered on her face, but the second her blue orbs properly fell onto Emily's face, her grin faded.

"Hey..." she said softly, scooting her chair closer to the redhead. "What's wrong?"

"Hi..." Emily replied weakly, bowing her head to hide the obvious tear tracks on her cheeks as much as possible.

For a few seconds, they remained silent. Emily had the impression that the blonde wasn't too sure whether she should stay or not. Somehow though, her presence made Emily feel better and the redhead was overcome with a sudden urge to make her stay.

"So huh... how have you been?" she tried asking cheerfully, her voice coming off awfully hoarse.

"I... good..." the blonde replied uncertainly.

"Oh well, great" Emily nodded, her eyes falling to her trembling fingers.

She breathed in deeply to try and control the wave of sadness that was quickly engulfing her, but when the blonde placed an uncertain hand on top of hers, a sob escaped her lips and a few tears fell down her cheeks. Emily wiped them up with the sleeve of her jacket and bowed her head lower in embarrassment as she sniffled.

"Emily..." the blonde whispered, her voice softer, calmer than Emily had ever heard. "What happened?"

"I..." she tried to explain, more sobs coming up her throat.

The blonde waited patiently, her thumb making patterns on Emily's hand as she cried. When the redhead had regained some sort of control, she tried speaking again.

"I... came out" she said sniffing as more sobs fought their way up her throat.

She bit them down stubbornly as the blonde muttered a low 'oh', her thumb stopping its motion.

"Wait here" she then instructed, before getting up and walking to the bar.

Emily wiped her tears away as she watched the other girl wave the bartender over. She couldn't believe what a loser she was being. She'd spent the entire year hoping she'd see the elusive blonde again and now, here she was, with the girl and all she could do was cry. Fucking pathetic.

About a minute later, the girl came back with a pint of lager and a steaming mug. She placed the mug in front of Emily and started sipping her own drink.

"I... You don't have to do that..." Emily mumbled, her cheeks red, her eyes fixed on her hands.

"A simple thank you will suffice" the blonde brushed off easily. "Now, congratulations on coming out. Must have taken a lot of courage"

Despite herself, Emily chuckled deeply. Of all the things she had expected the other girl to say 'congratulations' hadn't been part of it.

"Why are you laughing?" the blonde asked, her familiar smirk slowly coming back onto her lips.

"Because this is just... Have you seen us?" Emily continued, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm not sure I'm following..."

"We've met exactly once, a year ago, yet here we are in a pub sitting together and I'm crying and your first reflex is to congratulate me" she explained.

"Well when you put it like that" the blonde replied through a few chuckles of her own.

Emily smiled at the sight. She had to admit the blonde was a lot more beautiful when she was smiling and laughing. There was something in her eyes that just seemed to sparkle then. A bit as if there was this distant star, right behind the blue orbs and every time something made her laugh, it would light up and illuminate the girl's entire face. It was dashing, completely mesmerizing and Emily could barely look away.

She forced herself to though after a few seconds when she realised she'd been properly perving on the other girl. She set her eyes on her steaming mug instead. She grabbed it between her fingers, feeling the warmth instantly. She brought it close to her nose and inhaled deeply. It smelled of apple and cinnamon.

"It's spiced warm cider" the blonde said as Emily blew on the liquid and took a sip.

Her taste buds exploded as the hot beverage ran down her throat and seemed to fill her stomach. Emily closed her eyes and took another sip, a slow smile forming on her lips.

"I... well I thought alcohol would be a good thing and huh... warm cider is usually pretty comforting so..." she heard the girl say.

Emily opened her eyes again and locked them with blues instantly. For the first time ever, she could tell that the blonde was shy, like she wasn't too sure if she'd done a good thing or not, like she wasn't sure if she'd made Emily feel better. Somehow, that simple thought made the redhead smile sincerely.

"Thank you" she said, her voice thick with emotion.

The blonde's lips parted into a huge proud grin and Emily's heart fluttered.

"You're welcome" the girl said with a shrug. "So did you... want to talk about it? Your coming out I mean... You don't need to, but..."

Emily bit her bottom lip as the faces of her family came rushing back to her mind. She exhales shakily and licked her lips.

"I... It just didn't go so well..." She admitted.

"Right... Who did you tell?"

"My entire family..."

"Your entire family? Like... All at the same time?" the blonde asked in surprise. "Jesus! Did you like drop it in the middle of dinner or something?"

Emily blushed and nodded shyly in response.

"I just... Christ... It just came pouring out" she explained. "My mum was badgering me about why I had never brought a boy home and my sister just started saying how I was this difficult cow who never fancied anyone and my dad was laughing and then my mum started saying that I couldn't be that picky and it just felt... for a moment there I was sitting and it felt like they weren't talking about me at all, it felt like they didn't know me at all... And I don't know why but something just broke inside my chest... I... I needed them to know. And it just... I said it"

The blonde nodded slowly, her eyes attentively watching every inch of Emily.

"Wow..." she eventually said. "Like I said, lots of courage"

"Thanks..."

"So what happened then?" The blonde inquired politely.

Emily scoffed bitterly as she remembered just exactly how her family had reacted.

"Then everything froze. They all just stared at me for a really long time before my sister said 'Don't lie Emily'. After that my dad started laughing, saying how it was such a good joke and my mum got really upset, told me I was disrupting Christmas dinner..."

"Well that's shit..." the blonde stated, looking incredulous.

"Yeah..." the redhead muttered, her throat constricting once more.

Emily didn't want to start crying again, so she grabbed her mug and took another sip. As if she could tell she needed a few minutes, the blonde didn't try to continue the conversation and instead drank as well.

"They wanted to brush it all off, you know?" Emily continued when she felt strong enough not to cry. "They wanted me to go back on what I had said so I... I just left. I couldn't go back pretending... I... I couldn't"

The girl nodded again, letting Emily drink a few more sips before speaking up.

"I think you shouldn't have to go back to being someone else. I mean, doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, despite the fact that you stare at complete strangers with no intention of talking to them whatsoever" she teased.

Emily blushed at the comment and rolled her eyes.

"Shut up..." she shot back weakly, making the other girl laugh.

"Alright so you stormed off, then?"

"Pretty much" the redhead confirmed.

"And you found yourself here because...? You were hoping you'd run into that hauntingly beautiful blonde stranger you'd met the year before, weren't you? Thought you'd get her to buy you a drink?" she continued, her eyes flashing with mischief.

"Hauntingly beautiful? Oh my god! Bit full of yourself, aren't you?" Emily shot back with a giggle.

"I'll remind you that you were the one perving on me! I'm just saying what I know you're thinking" the blonde said with a wink.

Emily shook her head, her cheeks hurting from trying to control her grin.

"Seriously though, why here?" the blonde asked.

"I don't know..." the redhead replied. "I just sort of found my way here... I... I guess I like it though, you know? It's... there's a vibe in this place I can't help loving... It feels old, but like... beautiful old"

"Beautiful old?" the girl asked, her lips curved and her eyebrow raised.

"Yeah! Like... antique, you know?"

"I'm more of a modern kind of girl" she said with a shrug.

"No!" Emily counter argued immediately. "Antiquities have souls. Like this bar! You can tell it's seen so much!"

"It's a bloody bar! It's not like it's alive" the blonde laughed.

"But it is! All things have souls!"

"Righttt... I think you've had enough cider..."

"Oh shut up!" Emily giggled, her cheeks red. "I just like antiques... I've always liked it better... Even when I was little. Every time we'd go to my grandparents I would be obsessed with their stuff, whether it was my gramps' football collection or my nana's old jewelery... I just... I like old stuff"

The blonde didn't reply anything this time, but looked at her curiously for a moment. The longer she stared, the more nervous Emily became. So nervous that she eventually felt like she had to break the silence.

"I guess I did get a drink from an okay looking blonde though, so that's a bonus" she said cheekily, making the girl burst out laughing.

"Okay looking? Ouch" she replied, looking highly amused.

"Just being honest, sorry"

"Yeah, course you are" the girl replied sarcastically.

They giggled together and Emily was finally feeling good when her mobile started ringing. She picked it up frowning, her heart falling to the bottom of her stomach when she saw the word 'home' flashing across the top. Her laughter died in her throat and she quickly ignored the call. When she looked up again, the blonde was looking at her curiously.

"Are you sure you shouldn't take that?" she asked her carefully.

Emily stomach lurched uncomfortably.

"No... I don't want to talk to them..." she said bitterly.

"Maybe they're calling to apologise..." the girl suggested.

"You don't know my family!" Emily scoffed.

"No... that's true... But..."

"But what?"

"Well I know you... Sort of... And I just... well I just don't think you're the kind of person who can turn their back on their family"

"You've got it backwards, they're the ones turning their backs to me"

"Clearly not if they're calling you..." the blonde argued.

In that moment, Emily hated her a bit for making so much sense. She bit her bottom lip uncomfortably and when her phone started ringing again, Katie's name flashing this time, she grabbed it and stared for a second.

"Just answer Emily... Give them a chance to make it up to you" the blonde whispered softly, somewhere very close to her ear.

Emily nodded before taking in a huge breath and pressing the answering button.

"Ems?" the voice of her sister immediately came through.

The redhead had to bite hard on her bottom lip not to burst into tears as she pressed the phone against her ear. She felt a hand grab hers on the table and found encouraging blue orbs staring right into her soul, it seemed.

"Hey" she muttered back to her sister.

"Oh my god Emsy! Where are you? Please come back, mum and dad are freaking out!"

"I... I don't know if I can..."

"Look, is this about what happened a dinner? Like forget about it" Katie said quickly.

"That's the thing Kay, I don't want to forget about it. I can't"

"Oh god you're still on about that? Please Emsy you're not gay, you're just being stupid"

"No" Emily interrupted her, her voice wobbling dangerously.

Somewhere between her anger, sadness and disappointment, she realised that her hand was being squeezed and she calmed down.

"Look Katie, I'm not being stupid, alright?" she said firmly. "I'm gay and if you can't accept that... Well... If you can't accept that then I don't think I should come home"

There was a short silence on the other end of the line, a silence that didn't feel quite so short to Emily. She held her breath as her sister seemed to think.

"Okay" she eventually said, her voice softer, gentler than it usually was. "Okay Emsy"

"Okay?" the redhead repeated.

"Yeah, okay. Just... please come home..." the other twin whispered.

"What about mum and dad..."

"Well dad seems to have figured out it wasn't a joke and he said he didn't care who you loved as long as it made you happy" Katie started.

Emily fell her lips turn into a smile as tears of relief sprung to her eyes.

"And mum?" she said with a sniffle.

"Mum said that she was confused and that she doesn't understand it, but she also said that it's Christmas and you don't belong anywhere else than home with us. She said to tell you she's sorry she asked you to leave the table"

Emily swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat at her sisters words as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. They were tears of joy and relief though and when her eyes found the blonde's, her disbelieving smile morphed into a huge grin of pure glee.

"So like... are you coming home? D'you need a lift?" Katie asked a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah... yeah I'll come home" Emily said nodding along even though Katie couldn't see her. "I'll take a taxi"

"Okay!" her sister exclaimed happily. "Hurry up Bitch!"

Emily felt herself giggle in response, the insult feeling oddly comforting because of its familiarity.

"Oh and Emsy... I love you, yeah? Like... yeah..." her sister finally added, her voice filled with regret.
"It's okay Kay. I love you too" Emily reassured.

She had never been good at being spiteful and as she hung up the phone she knew that despite how badly her family had reacted, she had already almost forgiven them.

Emily placed her mobile back into her coat pocket and the blonde let go of her hand. The redhead blushed when she realised her fingers missed the contact the second it was gone.

"So that didn't go too bad, I'm guessing?" the blonde inquired, her voice sounding a bit tight.

"No..." Emily conceded. "I mean, it's not perfect... My sister said that my mum doesn't understands it, but... well, they wanted me to come back and they're not asking me to pretend it didn't happen"

"Good thing"

"Yeah..." she agreed, getting up slowly from her seat.

Emily had expected the blonde to stand up as well, but even as she buttoned her jacket, the other girl didn't move.

"So huh..." she started shyly. "I sort of have to go..."

"I'd gathered as much" the blonde replied with a smirk.

"Right well..."

Emily stared at the other girl, unwilling to move. She knew she had to go and she wanted to go in a way, but in another, she really didn't want to leave the blonde. The fact that once again Emily didn't know if she'd ever see her again wasn't helping.

"You don't go to Roundiew, right?" she asked. "Because I've never seen you there and... yeah..."

The blonde continued to smirk and looked at the redhead for a while before replying.

"I guess I can admit that no, I don't go to Roundview"

"And if I was to come back here... On another night I mean... I... would I see you there... maybe?" Emily inquired nervously.

Her smirk unwavering, the blonde shook her head slowly.

"Oh okay..." Emily replied a bit crestfallen.

"Sorry"

Emily stood there again in silence, the blonde observing her in amusement. She shifted her weight on her feet before asking:

"And I don't suppose... I don't suppose you'll tell me your name before I leave?"

The blonde chuckled this time as she shook her head.

"Why?" Emily asked her a bit dumbfounded.

"Really? You don't see the poetry in not knowing?" the blonde asked.

"Not really" the redhead admitted.

"Oh well... That's too bad then"

It was Emily's turn to shake her head. She continued to stand there for a few seconds as she slowly built up the motivation to leave. Then something in the corner of her eye caught her attention and her heart leapt in her chest.

"I... Thank you for listening to me... You really didn't have to do that" she told the blonde.

"It was nothing" the girl assured her. "I have a thing with leaving crying girls on their own anyway so..."

Emily nodded, biting her bottom lip for a second, before taking a step forward. She leaned in and pressed her lips delicately against the other girl's cheek. Her heart did a somersault in her ribcage as she caught a whiff of the blonde's perfume and as her lips took in the utter softness of the girl's skin. She lingered there perhaps a second too long before finally taking a step back.

When her eyes found the blonde's blues a second later, she noticed that they were a bit darker, a bit wider.

"What was that for?" the blonde asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Because I truly am grateful for you being there tonight... Also, mistletoe" Emily replied, pointing at the ceiling.

The blonde followed her finger until her eyes had set on a small branch of mistletoe tacked a bit clumsily to beam.

"Oh, well okay then" she said when she brought her gaze back down.

Another silence stretched between them and Emily sighed. She really had to leave.

"So I guess this is goodbye then" she said slowly, feeling like her disappointment could be heard in her voice.

"Yeah I guess..." the blonde replied.

"I... Maybe... Maybe I'll see you next year?" Emily asked uncertainly.

Her heart did an excited lurch when the blonde smiled widely and nodded.

"Yeah maybe" she said cheekily.

"Good" the redhead shot back pointedly. "Merry Christmas"

"Yeah, Merry Christmas"

When Emily turned around and walked away, she couldn't stop smiling. As she waved a taxi into the street and realised her lips were still tingling from the kiss she's placed on the blonde's cheek she figured that perhaps the girl had been right, all this mystery was making it all a bit poetic.

Still, her last thought as she climbed into the taxi was that perhaps the girl would tell her her name the next year.

.

.

.

Another one down! Please keep up the cheerleading! It's making my days! Really want to hear some feedback :) I love you all!

MM xx