Fic: ... And the Battle Began (Chapter Four)

[flister]

Title: ...And the Battle Began
Chapter: 1980
Pairing: Naomi/Katie, Emily
Rating: NC-17 (maybe skip the first 2k if you want to read at work...)
Word Count: 11000
Summary: They're silent then, and Naomi can't figure out how every conversation she has with Emily can be like an emotional rollercoaster. They're joking one minute and deadly serious the next, like they're reading different pages of the same book.
A/N: AU folks - not everyone is the same as we know them. Thanks, as per, to twistomatic

I must have seen it // It's so familiar // Oh, she looks so familiar

It's strange, the next morning, not waking up alone.

Strange, but in a good way, Naomi thinks as her leg stretches out and the heel of her foot grazes something warm, something decidedly human and feminine.

Slowly, mindful of the headache she can feel creeping in behind her eyes, she rolls over onto her back, allowing her hand to fall where it will, which just happens to be along the small of Katie's back.

She shifts, then, under Naomi's touch, and Naomi freezes.

They were both pretty fucking drunk last night but, Naomi hopes, not to the point where they didn't know what they were doing. But still, there's a fear that seeps in then - the worry that everything they'd said with words and touches and kisses was all made for the moment, something to be cherished but never repeated.

She considers running before Katie wakes up - thinks about being in the kitchen when Katie comes down stairs and says I was pissing gone last night, Jesus. Well, see you at school, and slings her shoes back over her shoulder and fucks off forever.

It'd be easier, definitely, than waiting for Katie to wake up in her bed and tell her that she got a bit carried away and that she didn't really want a girlfriend. But, more than that, that she didn't want to be Naomi's girlfriend.

But then... if it's the last time she's going to have Katie this close, she should probably make the most of it, Naomi decides, and rolls all the way over so that she's on her side facing Katie's back.

There's still a bit of a gap between them, but it's so easy to close it, Naomi shuffling forward an infinitessimal amount until she's pushed up against her. She closes her eyes to shield them from the sun that's woken her up, casting a pink glow across them both, and slides an arm over Katie's waist.

Katie stirs again, making a strangled croaking sound as she sets her throat to work, but takes Naomi's arm and wraps it around her tighter.

Naomi's still tense, though, because she's not sure that Katie's quite woken up to her senses, and there's still time for it all to go wrong. So she takes another chance, while she still can, and places a light kiss on Katie's shoulder and it's so soft, the skin there, that she can't help but do it again.

There's a tug on her arm, pulling her closer, and Naomi feels Katie's arse back into her and... oh, Naomi thinks because a whole new part of her is awake now and she can't believe she ever thought of running. Katie's making it easy to stay by pulling Naomi's hand up to her breast and pushing it down.

Naomi groans, then - she can't help it, nor can she help the way her hips move towards Katie as Katie pushes back, right back into her, and then moans herself.

At the very least it's distracting Naomi from her headache and at the most causing a sensation to course through her like she's never felt before, a pulse that starts low and stays there, moving in time with the rhythm of their hips.

Katie moves her hand but Naomi keeps her there, moulding her hand to the shape of Katie's breast as she feels an arm snake backwards over her hips and onto her arse, pushing her in even closer.

"Fuck," Katie gasps, and Naomi hums against her shoulder. "Morning, babes."

And Naomi knows then that she's not alone in this, that Katie's right there with her and she knows who she's with, knows whose hand is sliding down her ribs and then back up the inside of her vest.

It's slow, her ascent back up to where she knows the skin is bare and soft and warm, giving Katie the chance to stop it before they reach somewhere they haven't been before. But Katie doesn't stop anything - neither Naomi's movements or her own, her hand slipping inside the back of Naomi's knickers and onto the skin of her arse - and soon Naomi's got a handful of the best thing she's ever touched and it's just incredible.

The feel of Katie's nipples hardening under her fingertips spurs Naomi on, kisses being plastered now along Katie's shoulders, and she wants more. She thinks Katie does, too, because she's turning awkwardly onto her back, removing her hand from the back of Naomi's knickers and sliding it around until it settles on her thigh.

Naomi adjusts herself around Katie, takes in the sight of Katie's face first thing in the morning and, even with a hangover after a night of hard drinking, she looks so beautiful. Her eyes flutter open and, as they see Naomi, they smile and Naomi leans down to kiss her.

It's already hungry, maybe too hungry, but it feels like she's waited for this forever, like Katie's always been there, somehow, and Naomi's just been waiting for the trigger.

It comes in the form of Katie pushing the bottom of Naomi's top up until it's over her ribs and resting just below the swell of her breasts.

"Take it off, babes," Katie says with a definite crack to her voice, and Naomi wonders if Katie's as nervous as she is. But she's asking for something, and Naomi is only too keen to give it to her, so she removes her hand from under Katie's vest and sits up to take off her t-shirt.

As she's doing it, Katie does the same, and Naomi wants to revel in the sight of Katie being almost naked in her bed but she doesn't get the chance because Katie's pulling her back down for a kiss that's as needy as the first and she's whimpering into it as their bare chests meet.

It's a haphazard way of doing it, Naomi thinks, as their hands try to touch everywhere at once: hair, necks, backs, stomachs and thighs, and she's not sure she knows where to put them next until Katie says, muffled against her neck, "Touch me," and Naomi thinks dumbly for a second that she's already touching her but then she gets it.

Katie wants Naomi to touch her. In that place, the one that Naomi's only ever dreamed about, and she's not sure if she can do it.

She stalls, breaking away, grasping for words. And she's floundering, she knows it, but Katie looks up at her through bleary yet wide eyes and nods as she takes Naomi's hand again and gently places it over the top of her knickers.

Katie lets out a breath like nothing Naomi's ever heard before, like her lungs have just started working or someone's just told her she's survived a dangerous accident but then... then it's really nothing like either of those things.

It's new, and it's now and it's Katie.

Naomi wants to squeeze her eyes shut so she can savour the feeling as she pushes a finger down and can feel a dampness through Katie's knickers that she had forgotten might be there. She wants to shut them tight but she doesn't and instead keeps them fixed on Katie's face as she blinks and licks her lips.

They're still, just for a moment, until Naomi pushes down again, and then again, just gently, and Katie lets out a choked and quiet whimper that makes Naomi squeeze her own legs together to stop herself from gyrating against Katie's hip.

"Fuck, yeah... God, Naomi," Katie manages, and it breaks Naomi, to hear her name like that, and then Katie's closing her eyes and biting down on her lip.

There's been enough guidance to get to this point, Naomi thinks, and reluctantly pulls her hand away until it's slipping down the front of Katie's knickers and the coarse, fine hairs that are there that remind Naomi that this is a girl she's touching. A girl who's not her, a girl that's a little different, and is bound to feel a bit different once she moves her hand lower.

And what she finds there is beyond comprehension because Katie is soaking - like, Naomi didn't even know people could get that wet, and she wonders if Katie is just naturally moist anyway - and her fingers take a moment to find what she's looking for.

When they do, though, Katie arches her neck back and digs her nails into Naomi's thigh and everything becomes clear.

She's got no fucking clue about pacing or pressure or anything, but Katie's been a pretty good teacher up until now so Naomi hopes that she continues to help her with... this.

(In her mind she's not quite sure what to call it because she's got a range of references to go on and the one that it's the closest to contains a word that's far too scary to use - now or ever.)

So she follows her own lead, and starts moving her fingers round in a circle, but soon Katie's sliding a hand down over Naomi's again and is moving their hands up until Naomi realises that she'd slipped from her mark and automatically feels like a twat.

"Sorry," she murmurs against Katie's cheek.

"Fuck, babes," Katie breathes. "Don't be sorry. It... it feels really good."

"Yeah?" Naomi asks as Katie tilts her head back down.

"Yeah." Katie kisses her, then, and it feels like she's flying, like they're flying, together, and they're both the pilots.

The territory may be unknown, but Naomi doesn't care. She's seen the map, thinks she could get there blindfolded if she needs to, and is making her way there with her hands.

Katie's body is tensing and relaxing under her fingers, under Naomi's body, and Naomi's not sure if she's still doing the right thing, but she keeps going, wishing she could use the arm that's trapped underneath her to touch Katie somewhere, anywhere.

But that becomes a minor issue when Katie drags her hand over Naomi's thigh and puts it on top of Naomi's knickers, cupping her gently.

Naomi stills - she wasn't expecting it - and Katie opens her eyes.

"Is that okay? I mean, I just wanted to -"

And there's so much vulnerability in her eyes that Naomi almost wants to stop what she's doing completely and kiss her until it all goes away. But they've come too far now and, fucking hell, it's totally okay.

"Yeah, I want you to." It's punctuated with a kiss and Katie closes her eyes as she feels her way inside Naomi's knickers and, apparently, Katie isn't the only one who's incredibly wet.

She gasps and scrunches her eyes shut even tighter as she takes a moment to feel. Naomi can't help but close her own eyes then because Katie is touching her and, not just that, but she's feeling her. Delicately, slowly, tentatively.

"Jesus, fuck..." Katie says, and Naomi feels lips pressed against her neck. "You are so fucking wet, Naomi. I didn't..."

"Yeah," Naomi says. "Yeah, you did." And she's not quite sure what she means, but it sounds like confirmation, and she begins moving her fingers again, faster this time as Katie slides up and down Naomi's cunt, only dancing across her clit occasionally before moving away again.

It's apparently all Katie needed, just to feel, and soon she's tensing her entire body and pressing her lips hard against Naomi's as all the air in her lungs is pushed out in short bursts through her nose until it's too hard to do that. And then she's breathing into Naomi's mouth, and making short, sharp squealing noises that Naomi has no desire to stifle and then her hand stops moving, cups Naomi again, gently, and she cries out a soundless wail as her body convulses under Naomi's fingertips.

Naomi knows enough from doing this to herself to keep going until the waves have stopped, knows to keep rubbing softly against Katie's clit until her breathing has evened out again and she's going limp at Naomi's side.

It's a moment or two before Naomi steadies her own breathing and realises what she's done. That she's just made someone, other than herself, come. That she's just had sex. With a girl. With Katie.

And she knows, as Katie opens her eyes and shakes her head and bites her lip through a smile, that they're not done yet.

****

When Katie touches her properly, when she presses down onto Naomi's body, her fingers teasing her with circles that start out slow but quickly increase in speed, Naomi almost can't believe it's happening.

There's a look of concentration on Katie's face that Naomi's only half-seen before. She's noticed Katie in class with her pencil tapping against her lip and her mouth turned up at the side, examining her work. She considers it carefully, wants to plan her next move so that it's perfect, and, when she finally puts her pencil down and draws in quick, sharp lines she's so involved that Naomi's not sure anything else in the world exists to Katie at that moment.

But now the look she's wearing is so much more refined than that, and instead of a pencil in her mouth it's Naomi's tongue, and when her fingers move they do it blindly. Yet they're still seeking perfection, still craving that end product that will make her beam and flush and relax, finally.

When she makes Naomi come she leans back to examine her work and Naomi wonders, as she sucks in a shaky breath, if Katie makes art of everything she does.

"Jesus, Katie, that was..."

"Yeah, it really was." She smiles, but it's shaky, full of awe, like she believes as well as Naomi that this is all some kind of beautiful dream. She swallows so gently that Naomi only just catches it. "Did you... I mean, did I make you..."

Naomi takes a moment to respond because, really? She has to ask?

Instead of using words she uses her body, tells Katie Yes, emphatically yes with her kisses that are now given completely, no holds barred, and without a hint of the former concern that this was all about to end any moment.

All because Katie's shown her how to do it. And neither of them are running away from it yet.

****

At around midday they join Gina for breakfast and Naomi feels herself return to normal, rolling her eyes at her mum as she grins at them from behind her coffee.

"Well then, girls. I wasn't expecting to see you for a while longer."

"Oh, well..." Katie starts, and Naomi wants to hug her for feeling like she has to give some kind of answer when Katie really doesn't have to tell Gina anything.

"Katie needs to get home, Mum," she chips in. "New Year's Day lunch and stuff."

"Ah, well. We'll be seeing you again Katie, hmm?" Gina says and Naomi begins to wonder who's more desperate to have Katie back round out of the two of them.

"Yeah." Katie nods and takes Naomi's hand, telling her too. "Definitely."

****

When Katie leaves, with a sweet kiss and a cheeky grin and the promise to text later (Naomi knows she will), Naomi drags herself back into the kitchen where her mum's made a coffee and has it sat waiting on the opposite side of the table.

"Now," Gina starts. "Would you feel better if I told you it was or wasn't a surprise?"

Naomi wants to be a cock about it but she's not going to let her mum ruin this moment for her, not with the memories fresh in her mind and the ghost of Katie's touch still lingering all over her, so she smiles and blows on her coffee.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you it wasn't a surprise to me?"

Gina considers it for a moment and then flashes a big toothy smile.

"Definitely. But, I mean - as long as you're happy. It's nice to see you with someone. Are you happy, darling?"

The coffee's not even hot but Naomi blows on it again and when she says, "Fuck off, Mum," she knows her smile betrays her.

****

There's no time for Katie to come over again before school starts up and, even though they've been in constant communication, Naomi misses her. She doesn't want to, tries to push it away under the bed with all the other reminders that she's already in way too deep, but it's really no good.

She's locking her bike up, fumbling with the chain that's gotten wet from the light drizzle that's enveloped Bristol to assist with everyone's brilliant Monday morning mood, when she feels someone behind her. It makes her panic a bit because she looks like she just swam her way to school and she's not quite ready for Katie yet so she tries to sort her hair out before she straightens up and turns around.

"Oh," she says, when it's not the Fitch she was expecting. "Hi, Emily."

"Hi. How was your Christmas?" Emily's trying to smile but not quite managing it. Naomi wants to ask her what's wrong but she's fairly sure she's never asked Emily anything up until now and she doesn't want to change any more habits so she decides to just keep it nice. Simple.

"Yeah, it was all right. Bunch of fucking hippies round my house as usual, making a mess, but other than that..."

Emily giggles, like Naomi's just told her a secret, and Naomi can't laugh with her because she's already shared that secret and she doesn't want to give Emily the idea that they can suddenly be friends now because they really, definitely can't. Especially not now.

"Oh, and thanks for your card. It was nice." Naomi does produce a small smile then, and the one she gets from Emily is like Naomi just told her she bought her a pony for her birthday. Or something else that normal girls like Emily like.

"It's fine. I'm surprised Katie even remembered to give it to you. I forgot to in Art anyway, and I knew that she'd see you so..."

"What?" Naomi asks, startled. "You knew?"

Emily's smile disappears and a frown forms in it's place.

"Yeah, you know. In Graphics. Why, did you -"

"Oh, oh yeah," Naomi cuts her off before she can say any more. "Obviously. I'm just... sorry, first day back and everything."

"Yeah," Emily says, and the smile's back but it's not quite as bright this time. "Well, do you want to... I mean, I don't know where Katie is so do you want to come to assembly with me?"

Naomi feels her stomach twist a little bit because, if Katie's not with Emily, then who is she with? And Naomi should have noticed as soon as Emily turned up there alone but - well. It takes a lot of effort to focus on Emily because her eyes always say something different than her lips, like Emily thinks she knows Naomi better than she actually does.

But Emily's looking at her expectantly - not like Katie often does with impatience and irritation - and Naomi just can't be around her right now, not while she's panicking about the now unknown location of her secret girlfriend and Emily's just being so fucking nice.

"Actually, I need to go to the loo quickly," Naomi ends up saying in a rush, dropping her head to pretend to find something in her bag, not wanting to look at Emily while she lies to her. "Sorry. But, I'll see you later, yeah?"

It's more of an invitation than Naomi intended to extend and, as Naomi chances a look back up, Emily seems like she's more pleased about it than she's letting show.

"Yeah, okay. See you," she says with a small wave and turns away, starting walking towards the main block.

She doesn't walk the same way that Katie does, Naomi notes. Not so full of confidence, not with her arse swaying, and if it were a time other than now Naomi might think that the way her white school socks are already starting to slide down her calves is sort of cute.

But right now she can't think of anything other than Katie. She's jealous already. And she's not enjoying it one bit.

****

It only worsens when she gets to the hall and actually sees who Katie's sat with.

None of her female friends are there, those ridiculous girls that Naomi thinks Katie keeps around just so she can look cool or however it is she wants to appear to everyone, and instead she's with boys. Or, more precisely, a boy: fucking Jamie from that party.

Naomi had put all thoughts of him to the back of her mind after Katie had turned up and made everything more right than it had been before so she doesn't get why Katie's letting him lean in close to her and why she's then pushing him away with a laugh.

She's flirting, that much is obvious, and the burning is so intense that Naomi considers abandoning her day and going straight home. But then the Head is there and urging everyone to sit down so Naomi has no option but to take the seat closest to her, fold her arms and block out everything that the Head's saying and everything she can see Katie doing.

****

The day's first two classes go by with Naomi only tuning in now and again to listen to important parts about when coursework is due in and what they need to be doing for their GCSEs.

And it's pissing her off how she can't focus because of a girl. She's only there to learn, for fuck's sake, and Katie is getting in the way of it all.

So when she receives a text asking her to meet Katie in the toilets in the D&T block (even though they haven't even got Graphics today) she almost ignores it. The cheeky winking face Katie puts at the end does nothing to alleviate Naomi's irritation and only serving to make her angrier that Katie's putting on some kind of facade to try and convince Naomi that nothing has changed.

When she meets Katie there during the first break of the day her resolve almost breaks because Katie's looking at her like she hasn't seen her for days.

She doesn't speak and instead greets Naomi with a kiss that Naomi resists and pushes her back from.

"What? What's up, babe?"

"Look, Katie, drop the fucking act, okay? I saw you this morning. With Jamie."

"Ah, that..." Katie says, playing with the ring on her middle finger, twisting it around.

So that's it, then, Naomi thinks. Katie's changed her mind, just like that, and has gone back to boys. She can't believe that she's let this happen again - that she let Katie in and allowed herself to fucking feel something only for Katie to take it all away again.

Naomi's worried she might cry, but she stands her ground, just for a moment longer.

"Yeah," she sniffs. "So, if you'll excuse me..."

She drops her head, not wanting Katie to see how bothered she is, and reaches for the door handle.

"Hey," Katie stops her, wrapping a hand gently around Naomi's wrist. "Where are you going?"

"I think you've made your feelings clear, Katie. Have fun with Jamie."

Katie's soft laugh is thoroughly unappreciated and Naomi raises her head to glare at her. Because, what? Katie's fucking about with someone else now and it's supposed to be funny?

"Naomi, I don't fucking want Jamie, for fuck's sake. I'm your girlfriend, remember?"

"Do you remember? It seemed like you'd forgotten when you were flirting with him in assembly." She's got no choice but to be bitter, and she's not sure why she's still bothering to be a part of this conversation but Katie's rubbing her thumb over the back of her wrist and there's something keeping Naomi from pulling away altogether.

"Jesus," Katie says, letting out an exasperated sigh. "How many times are we going to do this? Didn't I show you how much I want you?"

Naomi shudders, because she thought that she knew. But she's starting to realise how little she knows about everything.

"Right. But then, what about this morning?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about this," Katie says excitedly, her mood changing in a heartbeat. "I had a fucking brilliant idea."

She stops like she's waiting for her enthusiasm to catch on but when it doesn't, and Naomi stands firm, she sighs and leans against the sinks, pulling a reluctant Naomi around to face her.

"Okay, please stop looking like I've just, like, burned your favourite book of lezza short stories - yes they weren't that well hidden so don't look so shocked - because this is a good plan. Right, so, we need don't want people to know that we're going out so I need someone to help cover for us."

"You've told him?" Naomi says in a voice way to high to sound rational.

"Of course not, you moron. I'm just going to flirt with him and stuff. It'll take the heat off us when I want to do this." And before Naomi can stop her Katie's pulled her down for a kiss that's so slow and sweet that Naomi can't resist it and it only takes her a second to melt into it.

"So, you see. It's the perfect plan," she whispers against Naomi's lips before lowering herself back down.

"I don't know, Katie," and Naomi regrets saying it a bit because now Katie's dejected and, well, she hasn't actually done anything wrong. "Isn't it a bit mean? You know, leading him on like that?"

"Oh please," she snorts. "Don't pretend like you give a fuck about him. I saw how jealous you were just now," and then she's cheeky again, raising an eyebrow as she smirks. "It was hot."

Naomi laughs then despite herself because jealousy is never hot on anyone. It's ugly, both the way it feels inside and what it makes you do and say. But Katie finds the most ridiculous things hot, so it seems, and it's kind of nice in a way that she's thought up this plan to protect them both.

"Okay," Naomi concedes with a wary sigh. "But if I see his hands go anywhere they shouldn't I will not be held responsible for my actions."

Katie shakes her head. "Honestly, if his hands go anywhere I'll be the first to chop them off. Now, can we please stop talking about him? We've only got about three minutes left of break and there are much better things we could be doing."

They kiss until the bell goes and Naomi has to leg it halfway across campus just so that she doesn't get detention.

Even if she had been given one, she rationalises, it would have been completely worth it just for the few minutes she got to spend kissing away her worries and helping formulate a strategy that would no doubt protect them both.

****

So the plan, now set in motion, seemed to be working fine.

Katie and Jamie are seen together in public all around the school and she hangs off his arm and pushes him away, all fake-coy and giggly, when he gets too close and he high fives his mates when Katie skips off to the toilet quickly before the end of every break and lunchtime.

And Naomi can handle it all the time Katie's turning up on her doorstep just after 10pm having gotten Emily to cover her. Katie's assured her that Emily, too, thinks that she's sneaking off to Jamie's and Naomi feels a little bad that, because of her, Katie's lying to her sister, the person she's supposed to be closest to in the world, but she can't let it bother her all the time Katie is running a hand down her stomach and inside her knickers with that same look of fascination that she's been wearing since the first time.

The sex is getting better, too (though Naomi's not sure how - the first time felt near enough to perfection as it was) and they're taking the time to explore each other in a way that Naomi never thought happened in real life.

They use their mouths to plant seeds all over each others' bodies that Naomi knows will grow the more they nourish them, turning them into more than just kisses.

And they use their fingers to trace lines, to tell stories about how they love this bit of skin, here, just along Katie's thigh, or this bit, here, under Naomi's chin, and they know that they're tales they'll be able to remember by heart if they were ever asked to tell them again.

They do lots of firsts together: the first time Katie goes down on a girl; the first time Naomi does; the first time Katie's fucked from behind; the first time Naomi has to bite down on a pillow to keep from crying out.

Naomi wonders if there are other firsts that they'll get to experience along the way. She can only hope that there will be.

****

One of the unfortunate side-effects of Katie spending time with Jamie, however, is that Emily is left to her own devices a lot more often.

It's almost February half-term when Emily plonks herself down on a bench next to Naomi and starts wrestling with the lid of a plastic container of salad.

Naomi's not quite comfortable with it, Emily just sitting herself down, not saying anything and acting like they do this every day. But she's not sure how to say What do you think you're doing, Emily? without sounding like a massive twat and, besides, Emily's usually the first one to speak to her anyway.

"Fucking hell," Naomi can't help but say, though, once she sees what's inside Emily's plastic container. "What the fuck is that?"

Emily looks up from behind her hair and her eyes smile in that usual way, and Naomi's struck with how she's much closer than she is normally and she has to look back down into the salad on Emily's lap just to stop from shifting away completely.

"Fuck if I know," Emily says, sighing as she stabs a bit of something green and slimey with a fork. "Our mum made it - she's a big health freak, so she forces us all to eat this shit. And Dad pretends to like it, but then he's always too oblivious to notice what's going on anyway."

"Right." Naomi clears her throat. "Why don't you just tell her you don't like it?"

Emily levels Naomi with one of those gazes that tells Naomi that she's missing fucking something.

"What's the point in telling anyone anything if they never listen?" is what Emily says back, too seriously and world weary for a girl her age, Naomi thinks. Too weary for anyone of any age, really.

But then Emily lets go of whatever it is that's bugging her and she's 16 again. (Or nearly 16, Naomi thinks, and wonders when the fuck Katie's birthday actually is. They just haven't gotten that far yet, is all.)

"But, fuck it, it doesn't matter - me and Katie always sneak away to get chips when Mum's being too ridiculous with the salads and Dad's punishing our brother for being a dickhead."

"Ah," Naomi says, taking a bite out of her ham and pickle sandwich. "You mean when he's perving on you in the shower?"

"Yeah," Emily grins, bewildered. "How did you...?"

"Oh," Naomi starts, realising she might have made a bit of a cock-up. "Katie told me, about James. Just, you know... in class. The topic came up." She hopes that her cheeks don't look as red as they feel and goes back to her sandwich to try and ignore the panic that she senses building.

"Right. You two must be a lot closer than I thought," Emily says, her voice dropping to a low pitch. "She never really talks about James because he's a bit embarrassing. We think he might be gay and - well. That's not exactly something that Katie approves of."

They're silent then, and Naomi can't figure out how every conversation she has with Emily can be like an emotional rollercoaster. They're joking one minute and deadly serious the next, like they're reading different pages of the same book.

And it sucks quite a lot that, obviously in Naomi's eyes, Katie isn't all that bothered about being gay, or at least being a little bit gay, yet she's made it clear to her brother and her sister that she's not cool with it.

It makes Naomi wonder if Katie is the person she thinks she is - whether she really knows her at all.

They eat in silence, then, until Naomi checks her watch and realises the time. She makes her excuses to Emily and leaves her on the bench picking at her salad while she goes to meet her girlfriend in the toilets where nobody can see and nobody must ever, ever find them.

Part Two