Finally, an update! I have a few ongoing stories at the moment, and I couldn't decide which one to update next, so I put out a poll on Tumblr asking which story people wanted to see get updated, and this story won! So, to the people that voted for this, here you go! Enjoy!

'Naomi! Naomi, c'mon! We're gonna be late!' Despite the urgency of Roxy's tone, Naomi didn't seem set to put down her book and get up from her bed anytime soon. 'Naomi! We are going to be late!'

'I heard you the first time, Princess.'

'Then why aren't you coming?' Roxy demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Naomi rolled her eyes, still not looking up from her copy of Gallagher Girls.

'Because, as I have told you on multiple occasions, I don't think this is a good idea. Actually, no, I retract that statement. Saying I don't think it's a good idea implies I could think it's an acceptable idea. I don't think it's an acceptable idea. I think it's a terrible idea. Which is why you are gonna go, and I am gonna binge-read about teenage spies.' Roxy, knowing by now that trying to argue Naomi up and on her way was going to take forever, if it even worked at all, huffed and snapped her fingers, causing Naomi's book to fly out of her hands and return to its spot on the overcrowded bookcase.

Naomi blinked at the empty air in front of her face, before slowly turning her head to look at Roxy.

'…Okay, I'm honestly kinda impressed. But mostly, I'm annoyed.' When Roxy just stared at her insistently, Naomi groaned and swung her legs off the bed. 'Why are you trying to force me to have a beach day?'

'Because you'll have fun.'

'Errr.' Naomi made a buzzer noise. 'Guess again.' Roxy rolled her eyes and grabbed a bag from Naomi's dresser. Naomi had been…less than thrilled with Roxy's plan for the day, and had stubbornly refused to leave. However, Roxy had anticipated this, and had started coaxing her roommate about twenty minutes before they actually had to leave.

Despite Naomi's distaste for the idea, Roxy was buzzing for today! They were going to Gardenia! She was going home for the first time in a month! The Winx had earned Sirenix, and so it was time to celebrate with a little beach time.

Of course, Bloom wasn't massively on board with taking time off while everything was going on, but, as Tecna had pointed out, without sufficient mental rest, Bloom's efficiency would only be at seventy-two percent, and so Bloom had reluctantly acquiesced, mostly convinced by the opportunity to see her Earth parents again.

'Naomi, come on!' Roxy wasn't letting Naomi's pessimism make her late; she'd been missing her parents like crazy, and she was overflowing with excitement at the prospect of seeing them.

'Roxy, nobody's gonna want me there.' Roxy sat down next to Naomi, draping an arm over her shoulder.

'I want you there. I want you to see Gardenia! And I wanna introduce you to my parents.' Naomi froze like she'd been hit by a spell from Icy.

'Whoa there, Princess. Your parents? Y'mean Morgana, former Queen Morgana, the woman that started a planet-wide campaign to take revenge on my family? Her?' Roxy nodded.

'Yeah, but I usually just call her 'Mom'.'

'What on Earth would make you think she'd wanna meet me?' Roxy gave Naomi a sunny grin that seemed to do nothing against the dark cloud that had set up camp on her friend's expression.

'You're my best friend.' Naomi quickly looked away in the way that Roxy had come to learn meant she was incredibly touched or emotional but didn't want to let anyone see.

'…Fine. I will give up my stress-free afternoon to have an incredibly awkward meeting with your parents.'

'Yay!' Roxy threw her arms around Naomi, and the shapeshifter squirmed in her grip.

'Okay, okay. I'm glad you're happy, Princess.' Roxy got up.

'Let's grab your things. It's a beach day, so we're gonna need a swimsuit.'

'Ah, complication.' Naomi got up from the bed. 'I don't have one.'

'You don't have a swimsuit?'

'I lived in Alaska. What was I gonna do with a swimsuit?'

'Wear it to a pool?'

'We pretty much stuck to ourselves,' Naomi explained.

'Wait, hold on then.' Roxy frowned. 'Do you even know how to swim?'

'Of course I do.'

'But if you never went to a pool and it was too cold outside…' Naomi grinned.

'It was too cold for humans to swim.'

'What do you…Ohhh.' Naomi laughed.

'I took 'doggy paddle' more literally than most. Duman taught me to swim in a lake just a few minutes from the house. I learned in wolf form.' Naomi grinned sheepishly. 'We may have shaken dry on the others a few times. Ogron wasn't thrilled.' Roxy snorted, picturing the scene and finding that it was the funniest thing she'd imagined in quite some time.

'I can't imagine he was.' She rummaged in her own dresser, wincing at how quickly it had gone from its flawless organisation of the start of school to a mad mess of crumpled clothes she had to rifle through. Socks, t-shirt, sweater, headband, socks, socks, socks…okay, why the hell did she own so many socks? Pyjama trousers, parka jacket, scrunchies…how the hell had she organised this?

'Ha ha!' She yanked a swimsuit out of the madness, holding it up as a trophy. Naomi applauded in a way Roxy couldn't figure out whether it was sarcastic or not. 'Here.' She held the swimsuit out, and Naomi stared at it. 'You can just keep it. Aisha says Magix has some great beaches, so I'm thinking you'll get some use out of it.'

'Seriously?' Roxy nodded. '…Thanks, Princess.' Roxy gave her a grin.

'No problem. It's more your style than mine anyway.' She had a point. The bikini was a rich purple; it was right up Naomi's alley. 'Ooh, and…' She returned to the drawers, starting to rummage again.

'Oh, not again.' Naomi flicked her finger and every item of clothing flew out of the drawers, circling Roxy like she was in a boutique. 'Take what you were looking for.' Roxy grabbed a couple of things, and the clothes returned to their resting places in the drawer.

'Oh, you gotta teach me that spell!' Roxy said, staring at her dresser in awe.

'You could just keep your dresser organised, y'know.' Roxy shrugged.

'I have a system.'

'Rifling through your clothes like a raccoon?'

'Yep.' Roxy held up a short wrap-skirt and a pair of flip-flops. 'Now you're ready for a beach day.'

'Huh. So this is Gardenia.'

'Uh-huh! Isn't it great?' Naomi smiled fondly at Roxy's excitement. Her roommate was thrilled to be showing off her home, and, despite her earlier reaction, Naomi was happy to let her.

'So this is the beach!' Naomi nodded interestedly.

'It's a very nice beach. It's got sand, the sea…overweight guys in speedos…all the beach staples.' Roxy giggled.

'You know what else it has?' She grabbed Naomi's arm and took of down the beach. 'The Frutti Music Bar!' She came to a halt in front of an open-air building filled with people chatting and drinking smoothies. 'Welcome to my home away from home, Naomi!' Naomi laughed, allowing Roxy to pull her inside, chattering about every little detail of the bar. However, her good mood quickly vaporised when she saw the man behind the bar, and the dark-haired woman sitting opposite him.

Roxy turned in surprise when Naomi stopped, digging her heels in like when she was small and hadn't wanted to do something.

'C'mon. They're gonna love you!' Naomi managed a weak, terrified smile, forcing herself to put one foot in front of another and wondering how mad Roxy would be if she faked a sudden bout of food poisoning.

Unfortunately, the 'bad shrimp' excuse she'd been concocting shrivelled up and died as Roxy waved to her parents, calling out, 'Mom! Dad!' Klaus and Morgana looked over, their faces breaking into wide grins of delight as they saw their daughter.

'Roxy!' Klaus was out from behind the bar fast enough to give Anagan a run for his money, wrapping his daughter in a warm, loving embrace that Morgana quickly joined.

Watching them, Naomi couldn't stop the pain in her heart as she knew that she was never going to have that again. She was never going to hug her family again.

Morgana turned to look at her, and she quickly quashed the feeling. She could fall apart later. Right now was about making a good impression on Roxy's parents. Or running away. Definitely one of the two.

'Mom, Dad, this is Naomi.' Roxy walked over and put her hand on Naomi's shoulder, effectively assassinating the running away idea.

'Hi.' Naomi raised a hand in an awkward wave. 'Nice to meet you.' Klaus and Morgana exchanged a look, clearly unsure of what to make of her. Morgana, likely well-versed in socially awkward situations thanks to being royalty, made the first move, extending her hand with a warm smile.

'It's a pleasure.'

'It is?' Naomi blurted out, before almost facepalming at her own sudden social ineptitude. 'I mean, um, thank you?' She shook Morgana's hand, trying to work out exactly how one shook a former queen's hand. And why she was suddenly so nervous. She was never worried about what people thought about her. But…these were Roxy's parents. She wanted to make a good impression. And her overall personality was not equipped to do that.

'Hi, Naomi.' Klaus gave her a friendly smile, which she struggled to return. 'It's nice to finally meet Roxy's roommate. She's talked about you a lot.' Naomi grimaced.

'…Great?' Morgana stifled a laugh.

'Oh God, this is awkward, isn't it?' Naomi facepalmed.

'So awkward I'm dying inside.' Morgana sat down on a stool and patted the seat next to her.

'Come sit. We can chat, and it won't be this awkward, I promise.' When Naomi hesitated, she smiled encouragingly. 'Don't worry, I don't bite.' Naomi sat down, managing an uncomfortable smile.

'Sometimes I do. But only if I feel threatened.' Oh God, why had she said that? What was wrong with her? Thankfully, Morgana didn't seem to be running away, so maybe it was okay.

Roxy hopped up onto the stool on her mom's other side, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning, and Klaus headed back behind the bar.

'So, can I get you girls something?'

'You already know my order, Dad,' Roxy replied, and Klaus nodded.

'Yep. Strawberry-pineapple. Naomi?' Naomi spent a few seconds processing the situation, before her brain reconnected to her vocal chords.

'…Um…you know what, surprise me.' Klaus nodded, grabbing fruits and starting to blend like a pro. Probably because he owned a smoothie bar, and was therefore a pro.

'So, Roxy, how's Alfea going?' Klaus asked, dropping berries into a blender.

'Great!' Roxy enthused. 'I kinda totally sucked at first - still do, a little - but I'm picking it up. Thanks mostly to Naomi's determined tutoring.' Klaus and Morgana turned to look at Naomi, who blushed and looked away.

'It's not a big deal. I'm just…more practised.'

'Naomi's top of the class,' Roxy praised, and Naomi blushed harder.

'Really? That's very impressive, Naomi.' Klaus handed her a glass filled with a dark purple liquid. 'Here you go. Blackberry and cream. You said to surprise you.' Naomi thanked him, taking a sip from the drink.

'Ooh!' She licked her lips. 'That's delicious! Good surprising, Mr Wilde.' Klaus shook his head.

'Call me Klaus. Mr Wilde makes me feel old.'

'Well…' Roxy began, a teasing tone in her voice. 'You do meet a lot of the criteria of being old… Like how you're always asking me how to use TikTok.'

'It's complicated! What was wrong with Facebook?'

'Nothing. There are just new platforms.'

'Well, why are there so many? I'm happy with Facebook and Twitter.'

'Oh, it's not Twitter anymore, remember, Dad? It's X now.' Klaus stared at his daughter in bewilderment, and Roxy shrugged. 'I don't know why Elon Musk changed it either.' Klaus shook his head and changed the subject.

'So, what's your favourite class at Alfea?'

'Magical Creature Studies!' Naomi grinned at Roxy's enthusiasm. 'It's the only class I have no trouble with at all. I could study it forever! Did you know that there's a kind of fairy animal called a kangourmet which will transform into a huge, rampaging monster if it eats any form of processed sugar?'

'Y'mean like a gremlin?' Roxy blinked with surprise before vehemently shaking her head.

'What? No. Gremlins turned into monsters if you got them wet, and they multiplied. The kangourmet reacts to specific carbohydrates and drastically increases in size. It's nothing like a gremlin.'

'Ah, yes, my mistake.' Klaus reached across the bar and ruffled Roxy's hair. 'Look at my baby girl, all grown up and correcting me on gremlins.'

'Dad!' Roxy blushed, shooting Naomi an awkward grimace. 'He's not usually this embarrassing.' Naomi shook her head, laughing softly.

'No, no, this is great. Klaus, talk more about gremlins.'

'Please don't!' Roxy interjected desperately before Klaus could start talking. Klaus thought for a moment.

'I was sixteen when I first saw 'Gremlins'…' Roxy covered her face with her hands and groaned, prompting Klaus to laugh.

'I'm just messing with you, Roxy.' Roxy glanced up.

'Seriously?'

'Well, I was actually sixteen when I saw 'Gremlins.'' Roxy playfully punched him over the bar, and Naomi giggled into her smoothie while Morgana rolled her eyes fondly at the pair, before turning to Naomi.

'So, Naomi, do you have a favourite class?'

'History of Magic. Oh, and Introduction to Runes. And Enchanted Objects. And Cultural Studies. Oh, and…' She trailed off as she realised she'd just listed four subjects. 'Sorry. I like a lot of stuff.'

'She's got top marks in all of them,' Roxy remarked offhandedly, and Morgana gave Naomi an approving nod.

'You're quite the accomplished student, Naomi.' Naomi blushed and played with a blackberry on the rim of her glass.

'I try.' Wait, is this actually going well? Oh thank God. To her surprise, her first meeting with Roxy's parents was actually going well. Not only was it going well, she was actually finding herself smiling. She'd expected Klaus and Morgana to hate her on sight, but it looked like she'd found where Roxy got her friendly, welcoming nature from. Maybe today won't be so bad…

'As much as we both wish you'd just stay here with us for all of time, your friends are out on the beach,' Klaus said, and Naomi internally facepalmed. Seriously, universe? Roxy seemed far more enthused by the news that the Winx were outside, hopping down from her stool.

'Awesome! I'll be back soon, okay?' She gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek and hugged her mom, before grabbing Naomi's hand and pulling her towards the beach.

'Uh, you sure you don't just wanna stay here…?'

'You worry too much about what people think.' Naomi made a shocked, affronted noise.

'Excuse me? I don't worry about what people think of me. I worry about…oh, damn.' Am I worrying about what people think of me? Dammit. As much as she wished she didn't care about what the Winx thought, she was nervous about being surrounded by people that may or may not hate her.

'Don't worry about it, Naomi,' Roxy assured her. 'They're really nice!'

'Yeah, to you,' Naomi muttered, frowning as a group of people came into view by the water. As well as the Winx, she could see the Specialists, and two people she didn't know, but from conversations with Roxy, deduced were Bloom's adoptive parents, Mike and Vanessa.

'Hey, Winx!' Roxy waved, but to both girls' surprise, the Winx didn't turn, seemingly captivated by something on the shore. 'Uh, Winx?' Roxy ran up to them, Naomi following, and she gasped at what the Winx were staring at.

'Oh my God.' The ocean was filled with trash! Trash, everywhere! It was disgusting. Her nose wrinkled at the rank stench wafting from the ocean. Most people may not be able to smell it, but she could. What the heck was going on?

'What the heck is going on?' Roxy demanded, and Naomi smirked at her friend voicing her exact thoughts. Bloom sighed, staring out at the trash-filled waters despondently.

'We don't know. We came out here, and it was just like this.' She sounded like she was trying damn hard not to cry, and Naomi privately thought that it really wouldn't take much for Bloom to snap right now. 'Our beach…' Sky pulled Bloom into a hug, and Roxy scowled.

'This is unacceptable! People can't treat the planet like this!'

'If only there'd been fairies around to keep the environment safe,' Aisha remarked, shooting Naomi a glare. Naomi shot one right back. Yeah, cause you know so much about Earth Fairies, Aisha.

Turning her attention away from the evidently grudge-holding princess of Andros, Naomi's gaze roved across the beach. The trash wasn't just in the water; it was littered across the golden sand, marring the perfect coastline.

She winced as a guy lowered his foot, about to stand down on a broken bottle, and she snapped her fingers, turning the bottle into paper. Didn't fix the trash problem, but at least that guy wouldn't have to go to the ER.

'We can't leave it like this!' Roxy declared, staring sadly at a little girl crying over the ruined beach. 'We need to clean this up.'

'Yeah!' All the Winx and Specialists seemed to be very much on board, and Roxy turned to Naomi questioningly. Naomi rolled her eyes.

'I'm a little offended you're actually wondering whether or not I'll help.'

'Yay!' Stella cheered as Roxy's face split into a grin. 'Beach cleanup party!' She snapped her fingers, and Naomi found herself holding a trash bag. 'Trash bags! Biodegradable, of course.' This fairy was weirdly enthused about picking up trash, but Naomi found herself smiling at her exuberance despite herself. 'We can make it like a game! First one to fill their bag wins!'

'Wins what?' Riven asked, evidently already in the competitive spirit.

'Hm…' Stella thought for a moment. 'How about…a Stella makeover!' Riven looked fairly unenthused by that prize, but his eyes still glinted with competition.

'Okay, sure. Musa can have the makeover when I leave you guys in the dust!'

'Let's make sure we sort things so everything recyclable can go to the recycling plant,' Flora suggested. 'Bloom, Stella, Sky, you guys take care of the cans, Tecna, Timmy, Aisha and Nabu handle the glass, Helia, Brandon and I will cover the paper, and Roxy, Musa, Riven and Naomi can gather the plastics. Everyone clear?' Everyone nodded. Stella grinned.

'In that case, on your marks! Get set! Gooooo!' Riven shot down the beach, grabbing every plastic bottle he could see, and Musa rolled her eyes.

'Seriously?'

'He's picking up the trash,' Flora offered, grabbing an old newspaper from the sand.

'True…' Naomi headed down the beach, grabbing bottles and old food containers. Disgusting. She shouldn't have to pick this stuff up; the idiots who didn't give a damn where their trash wound up should. But since they didn't give a damn, looked like it was up to her.

She bent down and reached for a water bottle, gasping with surprise as a hand darted out and grabbed it just as her fingers brushed against it.

'What the hell?!'

'Too slow!' Riven held the bottle out, smirking. Naomi rolled her eyes. Oh, come on. 'I'm leaving you guys in the dust!' The mature thing to do would be to shrug and leave him to his childishness. But sometimes the mature thing was just too boring.

Fast as lightning, her hand shot out, sharply hitting the bottom of the bottle and sending it flying out of Riven's grip, landing in her outstretched palm. Riven gawped at her, and she smirked with satisfaction, dropping the bottle into her bag.

'Too slow,' Naomi quipped, grinning mischievously at Riven. The purple-haired specialist glared back.

'Oh, you're on.'

'Bring it.'

'No fairy magic,' he added as an afterthought.

'Oh, of course.' She smiled sweetly, before shifting into a wolf and pelting off along the sand, grabbing bottle after bottle and filling a quarter of her bag in thirty seconds.

'Hey! I said no fairy magic!'

'But you didn't say squat about shifting!' she yelled back, jumping up and back into her human form. 'Oh, look at that, I'm ahead.' If they had been characters in an anime, there would have been lightning crackling between their gazes right then. Riven scowled, then whipped around, grabbing every piece of plastic he could find. Naomi grinned, finding herself swept up in the competition and loving it. Did she want a makeover? No. Did she want to show up this conceited braggart? Yes, very much.

As everyone else picked up trash calmly and efficiently, Naomi and Riven whipped up and down the beach, locked in a furious race to fill their bag first. At last, their bags were almost full, and the beach was almost clear of plastic.

Naomi glanced around, her face breaking into a grin as she saw one final water bottle lying in front of the Frutti Music Bar. Riven's eyes landed on it at the same time, and their eyes locked. Musa, who had been about to pick the bottle up, wisely stepped back. Naomi's lips quirked into a smile, and she pelted forwards, Riven matching her pace. Just as it seemed they'd collide, all in the name of a discarded plastic bottle, Naomi dropped and slid forwards on the sand, grabbing the bottle just as Riven started to bend to pick it up. She popped back up, dropping the bottle into her bag and tying it off.

'Yes!' Riven turned and glared at her. Funny, she'd been so worried about Roxy's friends sporting that expression, but all she did was grin.

'Winner!' Roxy cheered, high-fiving Naomi and laughing. 'Sorry, Riven. Looks like you're outmatched.' Musa walked over, giggling.

'Man! That was intense. You two barely left any plastic for me and Roxy.' Riven frowned, still evidently annoyed by his loss, and Naomi grinned.

'Aw, don't be so sulky,' she laughed. 'You came a really close second.' She nudged him playfully, and he managed a smirk.

'Yeah. And I'd've won, too, if you hadn't got lucky enough to be closer to that last bottle.'

'In your dreams.'

'Wow, guys!' Bloom enthused, staring out at the clear sand. 'Everything looks so much better!'

'High-five!' The Winx high-fived, and Stella turned to Naomi. 'Congrats, Naomi! You win! Your Stella makeover is waiting for you.'

'Oh…cool.' Naomi tried for an enthused-by-a-makeover expression, and Roxy stifled a giggle.

'Seriously, look less like you want a makeover.'

'You'll love it!' Stella assured her. 'I'm a great designer. You know what, I've actually been inspired by this morning!'

'You've been inspired by trash?' Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

'No, no… The environment! I'm going to design a new, environmentally-friendly, all biodegradable clothing line!' The grin on Stella's face was making Naomi a tad nervous, and the sun fairy turning and running towards the Frutti Music Bar, calling that she was 'off to whip up a prototype' did nothing to reassure her that things weren't about to get fairly ridiculous.

'Um, I hate to be the one to bring this up, but…Stella knows clothes aren't really supposed to be biodegradable, right? They're supposed to last.' Roxy shrugged at Naomi's words.

'She probably knows that.'

'You're giving Stella a lot of credit there, Roxy,' Musa remarked. 'Has anyone else noticed that, since Stella decided to become a designer, her clothes have become kinda…'

'Ridiculous and impractical?' Tecna supplied. 'Yes. It's concerning.'

'I'm sure it's just a phase. She's figuring herself out,' Brandon interjected. 'I'm gonna go see if she needs any help.' As the brunette specialist headed inside, Naomi turned and followed him, needing to get out of the sun for a bit. Sure, owning Riven in that little contest had been fun, but she was melting. Damn California. I miss Alaska.

Roxy followed her, plopping down at the bar next to her.

'So…' Naomi rolled her eyes as her friend grinned at her. 'Admit it, you're having fun.'

'I don't have to admit anything, Princess.' Roxy continued to beam at her, and she groaned. 'Alright, fine. I might be finding today semi-tolerable. And that's all you'll get.' Roxy laughed and flung her arms around her, and Naomi squirmed in the hug. 'Gah! Okay, okay! I'm glad you're happy.'

'You guys see where Stella went?' Brandon asked, appearing behind them. 'I've checked backstage, but I can't find her.' Naomi shrugged.

'Sorry, but unless she's hiding under the bar, she isn't here.' Brandon frowned.

'If she's making a dress, I'd have thought she'd be backstage…'

'Brandon?' Brandon and Roxy froze, while Naomi raised an eyebrow at the excited shriek. 'Brandon!' A girl with long black hair flung herself onto Brandon, staring up at him like a lost puppy. 'What are you doing back in town? I thought you went back to school!' Brandon stared down at the girl with what looked strangely like blind terror. Staring at the girl, Naomi placed her. Mitzi Richmond. Some mean-girl bully from Bloom's childhood, who apparently hung out at the bar a lot and acted like a bitch to Roxy and anyone else that worked there and didn't happen to be a cute guy. Roxy had described her as Gardenia's Olivia, and Ogron had described her as 'a truly dreadful investment of power' after he'd imbued her with dark magic as part of a plan, that, had he called Naomi before putting it into action, she'd have reality-checked the heck out of. Frankly, she couldn't for the life of her see what on Earth had made Ogron view this girl as a decent vessel for power. (Though, in all fairness, she was pretty inclined to believe that, going off that and a number of other plans, Ogron had slipped back into his unfortunate habit of depriving himself of sleep in favour of planning while he'd been in Gardenia, so he may not have been thinking super clearly.)

'Um…Mitzi…it's great to see you…but…' Mitzi apparently heard nothing beyond it being good to see her, talking over Brandon's explanation that he had to be somewhere.

'It's great to see you too! Say, you want to get a drink? For old times' sake?'

'What old times?' Brandon asked blankly, finally detaching Mitzi from his arm. Mitzi laughed, and Naomi imagined that her laugh was what it would sound like if you put a cheese grater into a blender, and then put them both into a washing machine. She fought to keep from wincing, then remembered she really didn't care what this girl thought of her, and winced. Rather dramatically, actually.

'Look, Mitzi, it's been…well, something, but I have to go find Stella…sorry.' The second the words had left his mouth, he ran towards…well, wherever Mitzi wasn't, like his legs were on fire. Mitzi scowled after him, before turning around and raising an eyebrow at Roxy.

'You know, I've been standing here for five minutes, and you still haven't taken my order. I have half a mind to speak to the manager.' Roxy flushed, and Naomi decided to screw maturity and a lack of confrontation.

'She's not working today. I can see how someone as imperceptive as you might miss that, but if you want a smoothie, go order elsewhere. Preferably somewhere I don't have to smell your perfume. What'd you do, take a bath in that stuff?' Mitzi turned to Naomi, hands on hips.

'How dare you!' She looked her up and down. 'Who are you, anyway? You're not a Winx.'

'Nope. And you're not leaving. Which is interesting, as I could swear I just told you to beat it.'

'Nobody talks to me that way!'

'Then it's long overdue.'

'Look, I'm-' Naomi held up a hand.

'Mitzi Richmond. Yeah, I know.' Mitzi smirked, evidently feeling very self-important that someone had heard of her. 'Ogron mentioned you.' Mitzi frowned.

'Who? Oh, wait! You mean the leader of those wizards? The ones that gave me and my friends dark magic?' Naomi nodded.

'Yep.' Mitzi was practically preening at the revelation that the wizards had been so impressed with her. Naomi couldn't wait to wipe that smirk off her smug face.

'Well I can see why he'd mention me.' Naomi loved how dumb this girl was. She wasn't even asking why the hell Ogron had been talking to her. If science didn't tell her that Mitzi had a brain, she could honestly believe there was nothing in her head but bitchy remarks.

'Mm. He said that giving you dark powers was the worst plan he ever had, and next time he'd just imbue a toaster with dark energy.' As she said the last part, Roxy exploded with barely-stifled laughter, covering her mouth and shaking with giggles as Mitzi's face turned the colour of a ripe tomato, her mouth opening and closing like some dumbfounded fish.

'Listen, loser-' Naomi snarled, and whatever demeaning remark Mitzi had been preparing died on her lips as she caught sight of Naomi's nails sharpening into claws and her sharp canines glistening in the October sun. In a move far smarter than Naomi would have expected from someone with the IQ of a particularly vacant gnat, Mitzi turned and stalked away, Naomi glaring after her.

'Okay, are we sure she's not just Olivia in disguise? Because if she's not, then there's two of them. Which would mean it's the end of the world.' Roxy snickered, watching Mitzi with amusement.

'Oh my God, that was awesome. I've been waiting for someone to stick it to her for years.' Naomi inspected her nails, smirking at the deadly points they'd sharpened into in intimidation.

'Taking bitches like that down a peg easily makes my top five favourite things.'

'Ladies and gentlemen!' Naomi raised an eyebrow, looking round Roxy to the stage.

'…Is that Brandon?' Roxy nodded.

'Yes…not sure why he has a microphone, though…'

'It's my great pleasure to present the latest design from Stella Allbright!'

'Oh boy,' Naomi muttered. 'Fifty dollars says this gets ridiculous in the first ten seconds.'

'You don't need to be so cynical. Stella's a good-' Stella paraded out onto the stage wearing a dress made of vegetables.

'You owe me fifty dollars.' Roxy just gaped as Stella strutted along, a hat atop her head, adorned with tomatoes and lettuce, while Brandon continued his commentary.

'This dress is the smart choice for the woman who wants to be both fashion-forward and environmentally conscious.' Naomi facepalmed as a carrot dropped to the floor. Oh my god. She glanced around the bar and caught sight of the other Winx looking like they sort of wished they were anywhere else. What was that girl thinking? She had a horrible feeling that things were about to get a lot worse as Bloom's rabbit started eyeing the dress the way a rabbit looks at carrots. Because he was a rabbit, looking at carrots. The princess of Solaria was wearing carrots. Not for long, though, as Kiko leapt onto her outfit and started grabbing at the vegetables.

'What? Kiko, no!' Stella shrieked, and Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose as a guardian fairy started hopping around, unbalanced, trying to shake off a hungry rabbit.

'It's not a dress; it's rabbit food!' came a spiteful call from the back of the bar, and Naomi made a mental note to obliterate Mitzi at some point. She winced as Stella's eyes filled with tears, and the sun fairy turned and ran offstage, sobbing her eyes out.

'Oh god…' Naomi muttered, rolling her eyes at the trail of lettuce falling after Stella. 'Is this girl real?' Roxy shot her a glare and hurried over to the other Winx.

'I'll go after her,' Bloom offered, but Brandon held up a hand.

'No. I'll go.' He turned and followed the trail of vegetables, and the Winx exchanged awkward glances.

'Let's go back outside,' Musa suggested. 'Stella will come join us once Brandon's calmed her down.' The others agreed, heading back to the beach, but Naomi hung back, staring after Brandon.

'Naomi?' Roxy turned, confused. 'Are you coming?' Naomi shook her head.

'I'll catch up, Princess.' Roxy nodded and followed her friends, while Naomi hopped up onto the stage and followed the lettuce, rolling her eyes as she inhaled and smelled that the leaves were already turning. A dress made of lettuce? Really? It'd go off before the day was up.

She headed out of the back of the bar, spotting Brandon sitting next to a crying Stella by the shore. As she watched, Stella flung her arms around Brandon, but pulled away a moment later. She wasn't eavesdropping, since Roxy had told her to stop as it was 'slightly unnerving. Okay, a lot unnerving,' but Stella's annoyance was evident in her body language. She got to her feet, raising her voice enough that Naomi could hear her without trying.

'Is that what you think?' She didn't hear Brandon's response, but the way he looked away and how Stella's expression twisted told her all she needed.

'Screw you, Brandon! You're all wrong!' Wow. Diva much? Stella stalked back towards the bar, leaving Brandon sitting, staring despondently out at the water.

As the blonde stalked past, muttering furiously while obviously choking back tears, Naomi cleared her throat.

'Gah!' Stella whipped around, glowering as she saw Naomi. 'I'm so not in the mood right now. My boyfriend just called my designs crazy and impractical.' Naomi snorted.

'Yeah, cause nothing's more practical than wearing a salad.' Stella scowled at her, and she shook her head. 'Are you seriously throwing a tantrum because nobody wants to wear lettuce?' She flopped down on the wall at the edge of the sand, patting the spot next to her. 'C'mon, I want to show you something.' Stella looked like she was considering storming off, but her curiosity evidently got the better of her and she joined Naomi on the wall, sniffling.

'What?' Naomi pulled out her phone, bringing up a social media site, going to a page filled with pictures of the Winx. Stella leaned in, raising an eyebrow. 'SparkShare? What do you want to show me on here?' Naomi pointed to a picture of the Winx performing at the Frutti Music Bar.

'Those are cool outfits. Where'd you get them?' Stella sniffed, wiping her eyes.

'I…I designed them.'

'Hm… And what about this?' She scrolled to an image of Stella at some music producer's wedding, wearing a cute pink and green dress. 'Where'd you get that?'

'Made it.'

'Interesting. And this?' A picture of Bloom in a pink cardigan and jeans came up. 'I gotta know where Bloom bought that.'

'She-she didn't buy it. I designed it.'

'Uh-huh. You know what I'm noticing about all these designs?'

'W-what?'

'They're gorgeous.' Stella blinked with surprise at Naomi's words. 'And y'know, I don't see any salad anywhere on them. And they don't blind you when you look at them, and the shoes qualify as shoes, not stilts…' Stella wiped her eyes, and Naomi offered a smile. 'Stella, you were a designer long before you said you were gonna be one. If you want to be a fashion designer, you can be. And you don't need to act pretentious, or create weird vegetable outfits to make that happen. You were already amazing. I mean, just look at this…' She brought up a picture of Musa and Flora on the first day of Alfea, a few weeks back, dressed to kill. 'Now look at this…' She felt a bit guilty going to YouTube and clicking on a video that had already hit four thousand views in the last five minutes, but Stella had to see this.

The video played, and Stella's mouth dropped open as she saw herself sashay onstage wearing salad.

'Solaria's Second Sun…' Kiko started eating the dress, and she covered her face with her hands. 'Oh…oh…oh…' Naomi patted her on the shoulder.

'Yep.'

'I look ridiculous!'

'You really do.' Stella groaned.

'Oh, Brandon was right…that dress is the definition of crazy and impractical. How could I have thought it looked good?' Naomi shrugged.

'That's what happens when everyone around you handles you with kid gloves.' Stella frowned.

'The Winx don't handle me with kid gloves.'

'They kinda do. Not their fault, they're just scared of eliciting a tantrum.' Stella scowled.

'I don't throw tantrums!'

'You just said 'Screw you!' to Brandon because he rightly pointed out that wearing carrots was impractical.' Stella fell silent.

'…Fair point.' Naomi sighed, touching Stella's arm reassuringly.

'Look, if you wanna be a real designer, you're gonna have to learn to take criticism. Even if most people think something you've made rocks, someone's gonna have something to say that you won't like. And you can't turn into a weepy mess every time someone doesn't like your design. Wizgiz turned you back from being a three-year-old, remember?' Stella nodded.

'Yeah…' She wiped her eyes again, taking a deep breath. 'Great Dragon…I really acted like a drama queen.'

'Yep.'

'…Thanks for calling me on it. I think I needed to hear that.' Naomi shrugged.

'My pleasure, Sunshine. Glad to help.' Stella's brow furrowed, and Naomi raised an eyebrow. 'What?'

'…How come you're being so nice to me?' Naomi rolled her eyes.

'God. Why are people so surprised that I'm nice? Is it my family? Or is it the eyeshadow?' She gestured to the thick, dark makeup adorning her eyelids. 'It's the eyeshadow, isn't it?' she deadpanned, and Stella snickered.

'Sorry. I don't know why I'm so surprised. I shouldn't be. I mean, Roxy speaks really highly of you.' Naomi blushed. She knew Roxy liked her - she was officially considering her her best friend - but it still felt amazing hearing that Roxy was saying nice things about her.

Stella beamed at her, and Naomi smiled back. When she wasn't throwing a tantrum, Stella had an amazing smile. She lit up the room, or beachside wall, as the case may be.

'Thanks for the reality-check. And I know how I can pay you back! I believe I owe you a makeover.' Naomi shook her head vehemently.

'Ohhhh no. No way. You may be a great designer, but I don't let people mess with my look.' Stella smirked.

'You say that now. But I guarantee, when I make you over, you'll love it.'

'Keep dreaming.' Stella laughed, before a shadow settled over her expression.

'I should apologise to Brandon. I really messed up back there.'

'Yeah. You did.' Stella winced.

'You don't pull any punches, do you?'

'Not my style.'

'Wish me luck.'

'Good luck. Act like an adult instead of a whiny toddler and you'll do just fine.' Stella rolled her eyes.

'Just 'good luck' woulda been fine.'

'But very boring.' Naomi gave Stella a casual salute as the blonde walked back towards her boyfriend. As she watched, Stella touched Brandon on the shoulder, sitting down next to him and starting to talk. Brandon, for his part, looked a tad wary, but seemed to be listening, nodding along to Stella's explanation. After a minute, the two hugged, and Naomi grinned. Atta girl. Casting a final glance at the now-happy couple, she turned and headed to find Roxy.

Sorry this chapter wasn't hugely action-packed, but I really wanted to write Naomi meeting Roxy's parents, and I just had to have Naomi call Stella on how insane she was being. From now on, Stella is going to design actual clothes. And Mitzi...I just couldn't resist having Naomi eviscerate her like that. And the idea of Naomi and Riven having a race to pick up trash was too fun to ignore. Naomi's beach outfit is posted on my Tumblr, if anyone wants to see!