AN: I really tried! :( Man I'm sad I didn't manage to post yesterday! I swear to you all I tried so hard! But yeah I just couldn't find enough time! I really want to wrap this tale up on Christmas though so I'll try to find a way to update twice at one point... Maybe once in the morning once late at night, but yeah! I am motivated and you guys are the best cheerleaders!
Warning: rough version again because I don't have time to re-read myself. So yeah, sorry for all the silly mistakes!
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Chapter 5: The fifth year
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The streets were just as bright and decorated as ever. The air was cool, a very small breeze blowing. There was barely any snow, just a very thin layer covering the grass and houses. It was a Christmas Eve just like there had been many before.
As she walked, her hands deep inside her pockets, her knitted hat on top of her red hair, Emily could see families inside their houses celebrating together and she could hear in the distance some adventurous Christmas carol singers. It was the perfect temperature for walking outside, it was the perfect time, the perfect ambience to be filled with the joy of Christmas and despite that, she wasn't feeling it.
It wasn't so much that she wasn't feeling very Christmassy or that there was something wrong with Christmas this year though. By all means, she had had a really nice Christmas Eve dinner with her family earlier that she had enjoyed a lot.
Everyone had been on their best behaviours, even James who had a tendency to say the weirdest things. Katie had brought along her brand new boyfriend, a bloke named Jeremy who was actually rather decent, and both her parents had surprisingly been warm, friendly and welcoming.
Admittedly, it wasn't a weird behaviour coming from their father who usually trusted his daughters' judgement when it came to partner, but coming from their mother, it had been quite a shock.
But even Emily couldn't argue that Jenna had been positively charming and very acceptant of Jeremy. The redhead had almost choked on her stew when her mum had turned to her and asked:
"What about you Emsy love? When are you going to bring a lovely girlfriend home?"
They'd all stared, wide-eyed at the woman for a beat until Emily had asked a strangled:
"Christ mum, how much Sherry have you had?"
Katie had sniggered and Jenna had rolled her eyes.
"Emily!" she'd chastised. "Am I not allowed to ask questions about my daughter's love life?"
"I... sure! I mean I just didn't..." she'd babbled. "Sorry mum... And huh... I don' know actually... Haven't met anyone that special yet"
"Oh well, it's all a matter of time. A girl pretty like you, you're bound to find someone" Jenna had said happily.
Emily had turned to her sister, her face clearly wondering what the hell was going on with their mum. Katie had shrugged, clearly just as surprised as Emily and that had been that. After dinner, they had settled into the sitting room like they always did and they'd watched telly for a bit before Emily had decided to go.
So really, the fact that she wasn't feeling very merry right this instant wasn't because she had had a lousy Christmas, but rather because she was nervous as hell.
The thing was that she was on her way to the same cute and adorable pub she'd been going to for the past 4 years now and it was making her feel a bit nauseous. Because as fucked up as she'd been the year before, Emily hadn't forgotten a single detail.
She hadn't forgotten how completely wasted shed been, how incoherent and how silly. She also hadn't forgotten how lovely Naomi had been, how she'd cared for her, brought her outside and made sure she was okay. She had also not forgotten how the blonde's fingers had felt against her cheek, how they'd made her feel better, warmer.
Naomi had been lovely, that was a fact. But Emily couldn't forget that she'd been a complete mess and the thought was embarrassing as hell. Sure, Naomi had been great, but had she really had a choice? Emily knew the blonde had said she'd cared and she could remember that she had looked worried, but surely she had felt obliged to stay with the redhead.
As she walked closer to her destination, Emily's heartbeat picked up. She knew Naomi had said they'd see each other again, she knew she'd said that the redhead hadn't ruined their Christmas Eve tradition, but Emily was worried nonetheless. What if the morning after, Naomi had changed her mind? What if she'd been disappointed, had thought Emily had ruined her Christmas? What if she just didn't show this year?
Emily could feel her stomach churning uncomfortably at the thought. It was weird in a way, weird that she felt so desperate to see the blonde girl because, really, she didn't know much about her. She seen her 4 years in a row on Christmas Eve. They'd discussed Emily's sexuality and chickenpox. They'd flirted but that was about it. When it came down to it, Naomi was a pretty much a stranger.
Yet, here Emily was, walking into the night, hoping with all her heart that the other girl would be there. Why? The redhead wasn't sure. But she was hoping nonetheless.
She spotted the little pub in the distance, its warm yellow light gleaming. She walked closer, her heart going a bit crazy, her hands shaking.
Emily replaced her hat above her ears, steeled herself as she came up to the front door. Then, she took a deep breath and walked in. The warmth hit her instantly, enveloping.
Emily's heart was beating so fast, it was uncanny. She walked further into the pub, trying not to panic when she didn't spot Naomi anywhere after a quick first glance. She tried to talk to her frantic heart, reasoning that the blonde never arrived first so it was no reason to panic, but it didn't listen.
Her legs were feeling a bit weak and Emily couldn't believe how nervous she was. Christ, she'd gone on plenty of dates in her life and none had ever made her feel quite like this and this wasn't even supposed to be a date. It was pathetic really.
She walked towards the bar, determined not to let her nervousness get the better of her and as she walked past a large group of teens, she stopped. Because there, sat at a table in a corner, looking absolutely magnificent, her blonde hair glinting under the lights above her, there was Naomi. She had skinny jeans with black boots and thick woollen socks. She had a deep red Christmas jumper, white reindeers and snowflakes patterns on it. There was a glass of lager in front of her, half empty and she was playing absentmindedly with a coaster, her delicate eyes checking a clock on the wall every few seconds.
Emily's heart caught in her throat as her eyes travelled all over the other girl's body, then it released as she realised that she had come. Naomi had come and Emily really hadn't ruined their Christmas Eve tradition.
With that happy thought, the redhead walked to the bar, ordered drinks for both her and the blonde and walked over. She had half hoped she'd surprise the other girl because, it had always been the other way around, but of course, when she was about half way there, Naomi turned around and blue eyes fell onto Emily's body.
The redhead tried to control her ecstatic grin, but when the blonde's lips curved happily, hers could only follow. Emily arrived at the table shortly after that, placing the brand new drink in front of the blonde before sitting down.
"Hi!" she greeted a bit breathlessly.
"Hey" Naomi replied.
"I... you came" the redhead wondered out loud.
The blonde chuckled and tilted her head cutely to the side as she observed the petite woman.
"Were you afraid I wouldn't?" she asked.
"Well... I wouldn't have blamed you after last year..." Emily explained, her eyes falling onto the table.
Naomi chuckled again.
"Oh please Ems, that was nothing" she assured her.
"No it wasn't" the redhead argued. "I was completely embarrassing and I wouldn't have been surprised if you hadn't shown up this year"
"Emily" the blonde said firmly. "You were highly intoxicated. It happens, it was fine. So stop fretting. Besides, I couldn't not show, being a Christmas spirit and all..." she finished, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards.
Emily blushed profusely and groaned as she hid her face behind her hands. She heard the blonde giggle.
"Gosh... I'm so sorry about that" the redhead whined.
"Don't worry about it, it was sweet actually! You were hilarious"
"I was stupid!"
"Well... maybe a bit silly... But good silly, yeah? Please stop being so embarrassed. It was hilarious I swear! At least until you started feeling bad" Naomi finished, her expression turning serious.
They stared at each other in silence after that.
"Anyway, enough about last year, yeah?" Naomi said confidently, breaking the silent contemplation. "Let's make most of this year"
Emily nodded, another blush forming on her cheeks at the blonde's suggestion.
"This is weird" she voiced out loud.
"Why?" Naomi asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"This is the first year we're meeting and it's... well... planned... I feel like I've never just sat there to talk to you"
Naomi nodded, biting her bottom lip.
"It is a bit weird, isn't it?" she agreed as Emily nodded eagerly.
"Good weird though" The redhead added and it was Naomi's turn to nod.
Emily stared again, feeling a bit like this was all she did when faced with the blonde.
"So... you're here on your own this year?" the blonde eventually began, her voice a bit shaky.
Emily guessed that perhaps she wasn't the only one feeling nervous.
"Yeah, Katie stayed at home... She brought her boyfriend along and they were all cuddled up, soppy twats" Emily joked.
"Really? Your sister cuddling? I wouldn't have pegged her for a cuddler" Naomi mused.
"Why?" the redhead asked genuinely curious.
"Because she's been bloody rude every time I've met her!" the blonde exclaimed with a laugh.
"Oh... well... yeah, that's Katie" Emily conceded with a blush. "Sorry about that"
"That's fine. I'm just not sorry she's not here" the blonde replied cheekily.
"I'm not sorry either" Emily admitted and they laughed together.
Silence fell as they drank for a bit. Emily looked at the blonde from under her fringe. She couldn't believe she was actually sitting there with the other girl and they were just talking. She was boiling with questions, not sure if she ought to ask.
"What are you thinking about?" Naomi asked her suddenly. "I can see you looking at me, you know?"
The redhead blushed hard and bit her lip shyly.
"I... I just have so many questions..." she admitted.
"You always do" the blonde replied with an eye roll.
"Can I ask you things? Have we finally progressed to that point in our friendship?" she teased.
"Well... I don't know... Just you asking and getting answers sounds far too easy" Naomi explained.
Emily rolled her eyes.
"You do realise that's how friendship works, right? How getting to know one another works..."
Naomi smirked at her and raised her eyebrow.
"Well maybe boring, typical friendships... This is neither... So I think... Yeah, you'll have to earn your answers" she announced, looking pleased with herself.
Emily chuckled disbelievingly.
"And how do I do that?"
"How about..." the blonde started, seemingly thinking hard. "Oh I know! How about I answer a question for each drink you buy me?"
"What?!" the redhead exclaimed. "How cheap is that?"
"Well? You in or what?" Naomi shrugged, a huge grin on her lips.
"No! One question? That's a rip off! I get 5 questions for each drink!"
"Five?! That's way too many!"
"Well one is too little"
"Alright, what about three? You get three questions, but for each set of questions I get one veto"
"A veto?"
"Yes, a veto. Like the right to refuse the question..." the blonde explained slowly.
"I know what it means!" Emily shot back. "If you get a veto every set of questions, I deserve at least one right to cancel any veto!"
It was Naomi's turn to ponder.
"Just the one time overall?" she inquired.
"Yeah okay, just the once" Emily agreed.
"Okay then" Naomi agreed with a nod. "Deal"
"Great!" Emily replied excitedly. "So I have three questions!"
"What? You need to buy me a drink first!" the blonde argued.
"And what do you suppose that is?" the redhead demanded as she pointed at the glass of lager she'd brought along earlier.
"It doesn't count! It was before the deal!" Naomi shot back.
"You're drinking it, aren't you? Then it counts"
They both tried to stare each other down for a minute. If Naomi had expected Emily to back down though she was disappointed. The redhead held herself firm and unwavering until Naomi starting giggling.
"Alright, alright..." she conceded. "Go ahead"
Emily did a little victory dance on her seat and Naomi rolled her eyes in fake exasperation. The effect was a bit undermined though by the smirk that was also on her face.
"Okay... first question... What's your last name?" Emily asked.
"Vetoed" Naomi replied right away.
"What?! You're using your veto on this?"
"Yes I am!" the blonde confirmed.
"Why?!"
"We never agreed that I had to explain the vetos! I'm just using it!"
"But why don't you want me to know your last name?" Emily wondered, a bit hurt.
Naomi's face changed instantly.
"Oh no, it's not that!" she said. "It's just... my last name is ridiculous... just... I don't want you to laugh so just forget it"
"What? What is it? Beaver? Cummins?" Emily asked, half giggling.
"No" Naomi replied pointedly. "Nothing like that"
"Then what?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"How bad can it be? Oh! Is it a shared name?"
"Huh..." Naomi gulped nervously.
"Because my mum was going out with a bloke called Marvin Price before meeting my dad and we always make fun of my sister because if that guy had been our dad then she would be called Katie Price! So is it something like that?"
Naomi stared at her with wide eyes, not saying anything so Emily continued.
"Is it? Gosh I can already imagine your name being... I don't know... Naomi Campbell? Ha! That'd be perfect!" Emily joked.
When she spotted Naomi's open mouth and look of complete horror though she started laughing hard.
"Oh my god! You name is Naomi Campbell, isn't it?" she said through a fit of giggles.
"How did you even... Christ!" Naomi complained. "That's it, laugh it up..."
"I'm not!" Emily said, trying to control her chuckles. "It's just... unfortunate"
"Yeah well..." the blonde said grumpily.
Emily couldn't help thinking she was adorable with that annoyed pout on her face.
"I'm sorry! Not laughing" she said when she finally managed to stop.
"Yeah, you didn't laugh at all" the girl shot back with an eye roll.
"I'm sorry!" Emily pushed, biting her bottom lip.
"Yeah yeah... just get on with your questions..."
"Okay!"
And just like that they started talking. At first, because she didn't want to scare the other girl, Emily asked simple questions. What is your favourite colour: green, what's your favourite meal: I'm quite privy for curry... stuff like that. After a few drinks in though, she decided to ask more serious questions. After five years of meeting this girl, it was about time she reckoned.
"Alright" she began, looking at the blonde. "So what do you do?"
"What do I do...?"
"Like, in life... Do you study or...?"
"Oh... yeah. I'm in my last year of Uni" the blonde said.
"Me too" Emily replied happily. "Well, I could be finished, but I switched programs after the first year" she explained with a wave of her hand.
"Yeah? What were you in and what are you in now?" the blonde asked curiously.
"Oh no! If I have to buy you a drink for every three questions, so do you!" Emily replied with a scoff.
Naomi chuckled softly before nodding.
"Alright, fair enough" she said, getting up confidently and walking towards the bar.
When she came back, she had 4 shot glasses between her fingers.
"Shots can't count!" Emily tried to argue, but the blonde shook her head.
"Course they do! It's not my fault you didn't think of that, is it?" she said cheekily.
The redhead tried to be mad at her, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't do it when Naomi was looking so charming in that damn Christmas jumper.
"One question. They will count for one question" Emily conceded, grabbing a shot and drinking it in one motion.
She cringed a bit at the strong taste of what she recognised to be vodka and replaced the glass on the table.
"So?" Naomi reminded her with a smirk.
"So, I did a year of English at Westminster and despite the fact that I did really like it, I decided to switch into photography at the Royal College of Arts"
"Westminster at first?" the blonde giggled. "Wow... Anyway, so photography? I didn't know you were an artist" she continued, looking pleased.
Emily giggled and shook her head.
"Well I wouldn't say an artist... I mean, what is an artist? What does it take to be an artist? I just... I like photography... I like capturing images, I like finding special images to capture whether its inanimate objects or actual living things"
"Don't tell me, you put souls into your pictures, yeah?" Naomi teased.
Emily bit her bottom lip.
"Well... I try..." she explained shyly.
"You keep saying I'm poetic, but I think you'll find you're the poetic one miss..." Naomi started, but stopped with a frown.
She pointed at a glass shot.
"Drink up and tell me your last name" she said.
Emily made a point of rolling her eyes, but drank nonetheless.
"It's Fitch" she said once she was done.
"Okay, so you're the poetic one miss Fitch!"
"Maybe we both are?" the redhead suggested.
"Yeah okay... both sounds good"
They smiled for a bit until Emily decided to continue.
"Now I believe I still had 2 questions... So what do you study?"
"I'm in Politics and International Relations"
"Wow! That sounds serious! What do you want to do with that?"
"I'm not sure... Maybe work for a consulate or an organisation like World Wildlife Fund or Oxfam... I don't know yet" the blonde explained with a shrug.
Emily tilted her head to look at her. She couldn't actually believe it.
"What?" Naomi asked.
"I'm just... impressed, I guess" she said honestly.
"Why would you be?"
"Sounds to me like you're getting ready to change the world and that's impressive"
Naomi blushed cutely and averted her eyes at the compliment. Emily's chest warmed up at the sight. Wanting her words to really sink in and since she had used all her questions, she decided to go get another drink.
Naomi looked a bit less shy when she came back and placed another pint in front of her.
"Ems, this is the... what? fourth, fifth drink you've bought me? Are you trying to get me drunk?" she said with a smirk.
"Humm... And what if I was? Would you mind?" the redhead teased, fully aware that she had moved her chair a fair few inches closer to Naomi when she'd sat back.
Apparently the shots she'd taken had started having some effect on her because all she wanted was to be closer to the blonde. Naomi blushed and bit her bottom lip, but she didn't move away. Perhaps she didn't mind Emily's sudden playful mood.
"Nan, I wouldn't mind" the blonde finally answered, her voice thick. "I was just checking"
They stared at each other for a second too long for it to was just casual and then Naomi took a long gulp of her larger. When she had placed it back on the table, Emily breathed in slowly before continuing her questions.
"So you're studying politics... But like.. do you have a passion? I mean... not necessarily equality or stuff like that... but something more... I dunno... something else... Do you?"
Naomi blushed again and nodded.
"What is it?" Emily asked eagerly.
"Vetoed" the blonde shot back instantly.
"No! Counter vetoed! This is too important" the redhead argued.
Naomi bit her bottom lip and squirmed on her seat. It was clear to Emily that revealing this particular piece of information was a big thing for the blonde, so she reached a hand out and grabbed Naomi's.
"Please?" she asked softly. "I'd really like to know... And I... I'm not sure why, but I feel like any passion of yours would be a too important part of you for me not to know... So... Please?"
Naomi looked at her curiously for a long time after that. The redhead had no clue if she would answer or no and frankly, the blonde didn't look like she knew either. But then she licked her lips, sighed and her shoulders relaxed and just like that Emily knew she would.
"It's... dancing..." she relented with difficulty, not meeting Emily's eyes.
The redhead had to admit she was surprised at first, but then she guessed it at least explained the blonde's gorgeous body.
"Tell me about dancing..." she requested calmly. "What is it about dancing that you love so much?"
Maybe it was because Emily hadn't laughed, maybe it was because she was still holding her hand, but Naomi seemed to lighten up, a smile slowly forming on her lips.
"Just... the freedom of it" she started. "I've been dancing since I was a little kid and I... It's my safe place... And I don't mean the studio because I don't need a studio to dance, but like... when I start moving, when I'm doing movements, I fall into my own safe place. It's just me and my body and the music and no one can touch me there. I just feel... completely free and it's just a really fantastic feeling"
When she was done, it felt to Emily like her heart was overflowing with warmth.
"I knew you always were the poetic one" she tried to joke, her voice a bit too husky for it though.
She squeezed the blonde's hand in hers and both their eyes locked naturally. The air around then thickened, it seemed and neither one of them dared to blink.
How was it even possible that they always only saw each other once a year? Emily wondered. Why couldn't they see each other all year round? Because Emily wasn't sure she'd ever gotten along with anyone quite like she was getting along with Naomi... So why not?
"Where did you say your Uni was?" Emily asked, her eyes still firmly on the other girl's.
"I didn't"
"Well, where is it?"
"You're out of questions..." Naomi told her.
"Hang on" Emily replied instantly, but then the lights flickered and she knew it was too late to buy a drink. "No!" she swore as Naomi giggled.
"Better luck next year" the blonde said, disconnecting both her eyes and her hand from Emily as she stared to get up.
"No, wait!" Emily cried out, panicked. "Naomi please, where do you go to Uni?"
Then, in a spur of the moment, she took out 5 pounds out of her pocket and placed it on the table.
"Here, I'm buying one of your shot. Now drink and answer!" she demanded.
Naomi chuckled a bit surprised.
"Jesus! Calm down, will you?" she said with an eye roll, grabbing the shot glass and drinking it. "There"
"So?" Emily pushed.
"I go to Westminster... In London" Naomi admitted and Emily gawked.
"What?! You... What?!"
"It's not that special" the blonde giggled.
"Yes it is! Please give me your mobile number, we could go for coffee sometime or..." Emily began, but Naomi shook her head.
"I... Actually, I've been studying abroad..."
"Oh..." Emily said, her heart falling to the bottom of her stomach.
"I'm only ever around at Christmas because my mum is in Bristol... But yeah... I'm enrolled at Westminster, but I'm constantly in exchange programs. I did a year in Madrid, a year in New York and this year, I'm going to a University in Moscow..."
"Oh..." Emily repeated, disappointment filling her completely now.
Naomi looked at her guiltily for a bit before stepping towards her.
"Hey..." she said softly. "I'm sorry..."
"You don't have to apologise" Emily scoffed.
Even if she was disappointed, Naomi really didn't need to apologise. It was great that she had the opportunity to travel like this.
"Take the last shot" the blonde told her.
Emily did without hesitation. Somehow, she felt like she needed it.
"What's your question?" she asked when the blonde didn't say anything.
"Will I see you next year?" Naomi whispered uncertainly.
"Of course you will" Emily replied instantly, feeling like her answer just couldn't have been otherwise.
Naomi smiled brightly and together, they walked outside. Once there, the blonde stepped confidently towards Emily and pulled her into her own body for a hug. The redhead fell into it without hesitation. They hugged for what seemed like too long for random friends, but Emily didn't argue and just let herself be enveloped by the other girl.
Eventually they had to let go though.
"I... There's one thing I want you to know" Naomi said before Emily had time to walk away.
"What?" the redhead asked, her heart beating unexpectedly fast.
"I... I could have stayed in Moscow for the holidays... or in New York or in Madrid... Every year, I have the choice to stay over there... Of course, I think my mum would be really disappointed if I didn't come home, so I do, but... Well... There is also huh... well there are traditions I'm not willing to break so... So I guess what I'm trying to say is... we'll always have Christmas... I'm sorry if it's not much, but... just know that there will always be that" Naomi explained.
Suddenly, the disappointment Emily had been feeling didn't feel so heavy. Naomi was right, they would always have Christmas and Emily was okay with just that. At least for now.
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Soooo we've finally learned a few things about Naomi! yay! Hope you're still enjoying this! Just a few days till Christmas :D
MM xxx