Between Daylight And Darkness Chapter Six
Title: Between Daylight And Darkness
Chapter: 6/9 No More Dreaming Like A Girl So In Love With The Wrong World
Pairing: Naomi/Emily
Word Count: 7788
Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own, anything related to Skins. Borrowing the characters and throwing them into an entirely different universe altogether. I also don't own Twilight, and wouldn't ever want to. Chapter title from Florence And The Machine's 'Blinding'. Can you tell I've been listening to them a lot lately?
Summary: Emily, desperate to win Naomi back, opens herself up to Naomi's questions about being a vampire. The problem is, there are far too many before it can even begin to make sense. Before they can be answered, Naomi learns something that hurts, and realizes something that feels even worse.
N.B. I'm going away for a week, and won't have any internet whatsoever so the next part will have a bit of a delay being posted. I do apologise!
Previous Chapters: Chapter One: Cause Anywhere Is Better Than Here
Chapter Two: Like Stars Burning Holes Right Through The Dark
Chapter Three: The Youth Is Starting To Change
Chapter Four: Happiness Hit Her Like A Bullet In The Back
Chapter Five: Who Is The Lamb And Who Is The Knife
No More Dreaming Like A Girl So In Love With The Wrong World
She woke up, frowning for just a moment when she realised she didn’t feel sick, or nervous. She’d become so used to dreading being awake, that it was more disconcerting, at first, to feel so light, than it was relieving. She stretched, kicking the covers off her legs and opened her eyes.
Vampires existed, apparently. Emily’s confirmation meant she wasn’t driving herself crazy wondering about it anymore, and she realised after a moment lost in thought that she should probably be a lot more freaked out than she was.
But, she thought sitting up, confirmation was a lovely thing sometimes, if only because it meant she wasn’t so bloody confused anymore.
She stood up, stretching her back, arms over her head, and actually smiled. Because, vampires! Of all the fucking likelihoods, that wasn’t one of them. Ever. And, if Emily was an example, they weren’t nearly as scary as she’d been lead to believe.
She skipped down the stairs after showering and getting changed, kissing her dad on his cheek as she passed him.
“Morning!” She called, grabbing a piece of bread and throwing a glass of juice down her throat.
“Morning!” Her dad sounded more surprised than anything else. “Everything sorted, then?” He paused, on his way to the back garden, raising his eyebrows at her happily.
She chewed the piece of bread thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, reaching for a jar of jam and then jumping slightly as she caught a glance of the watch on her wrist.
“Shit, I’m going to miss the bus.” She said, dropping the piece of bread on the bench and grabbing her bag off the kitchen table. “Bye!” She hastily kissed her dad on the cheek again, and rolled her eyes when he touched the place she’d kissed with a look of something resembling wonderment on his face.
“Sure you don’t want a lift?” He called after her, but she was already out of the front door. She could make her own way to college, catching a bus wasn’t that hard.
She’d texted JJ asking him to meet her when she got off the bus, and he stood waiting for her looking somewhat contrite. Last time she’d spoken to him she’d yelled at him, but that had been days ago. Days ago, she hated everything. But not today.
“Hey JJ!” She gave him such a smile that he took a step backwards as if in shock.
“Naomi! Hello. You’re marginally happier than I think I’ve seen you ever, which is wonderful because I’m hoping it means you’re not angry with me anymore?” He gripped the straps of his bag, looking at her hopefully.
“Oh, well, that. Not angry, no JJ.” She nudged him as they walked toward the college, noticing him falter slightly when he saw Emily waiting outside. “It’s alright.” She told him, as Emily nervously approached.
“Hi.” Emily said, Naomi noticed, more to JJ than herself.
“Hello. Hi. Bonjour. Vampire. Fangs.” He stammered, and then squinted his eyes shut. “Stupid. Imbecile. Death. Misery.” He slapped his own face then, though not that hard, turning to Naomi and opening his eyes in alarm.
Naomi raised her eyebrows when Emily stepped forward, reaching a hand out and touching JJ on the arm, which made him sharply suck in a breath.
“Are you alright?” She asked, smirking slightly, gazing into his eyes when he turned to her, his eyes wide and his back stiff.
“I’m Emily.” Emily twisted to face her then, sticking a hand out, blinking at her prettily.
“Naomi. So pleased to meet you for the first time.” She couldn’t help it, she smirked, and then shook Emily’s hand. She nudged JJ as he glanced between them, turning quickly one way and then the other.
“Come on, boy wonder.” She grabbed his elbow, dragging him away from Emily, who gave her a small wave and continued to wait outside, as if for someone else.
“What just happened? Please tell me it was something planned or else I’ll most definitely be convinced that I slipped through a hole in the fabric of space time and am not in the universe I was actually born in.” He kept his eyes staring ahead of him, his back still tight as they walked, and Naomi rolled her eyes.
“Just something Emily and I agreed on, alright?” She stopped him walking, turning to look at him intently, placing a hand on his arm. “On account of this whole mess being because of us, yeah?” She squinted slightly, waiting as he processed what she’d told him.
“Right. So. Vampire business is shtum. Nada. Not going to talk about it?” He looked at her dubiously, and she nodded.
“Right. They’ll leave us alone, we’ll leave them alone. End of story.” She gave him a small smile when he eventually nodded, and she hoped, more than anything, Thomas and Pandora would be as agreeable.
V^^^^^V
“I don’t know if I can.” Naomi had answered the day before, as Emily gripped her hand and pleaded with her to forgive her, to want her.
“I’m so sorry, you have to believe that.” Emily whispered back, her hold loosening and her thumb beginning to rub against the back of Naomi’s hand.
“Was the whole thing, was everything, just for my blood or whatever?” Naomi turned her face away, looking at the elderly couple on the other bench, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“No.” Emily reached out, turning Naomi’s chin with her hand. “I’m still Emily. I’m just, also, something else.”
“Right.” Naomi lowered her eyes, looking at their still joined hands.
“Naomi, I really like you. I’ve always really liked you. I just got carried away, I didn’t think.” Emily continued the gentle movement of her thumb, and Naomi closed her eyes.
“Cassie pointed out, among other bloody obscurities, that you could’ve killed me. But,” Naomi bit her lip, looking up into Emily’s eyes. “You didn’t.”
Emily licked her lips. “It’s never been about killing you.”
“So, what then? Help me understand because I’m drowning here.”
Emily gazed at her. “There’s something about you that just fucking intoxicates me. I want to be around you. I want to talk to you, because you make me laugh. I want, I wanted to kiss you. I want to kiss you now.” Emily blinked, and Naomi was grateful she didn’t lean forward because she didn’t think she could pull herself away if Emily kissed her.
“Well.” She said, gently pulling her hand away from Emily’s, but smiling at her all the same. “Excuse me if I’m completely overwhelmed. And hesitant. And,” She narrowed her eyes. “Fucking wary.” Emily nodded , looking out into the park. “Besides, JJ thinks Cook is going to kill him.” She glanced at Emily, and Emily winced.
“I talked him down.” She muttered, and Naomi blinked because, vampires, right. “Katie thinks I should just kill you and be done with it.”
Naomi thought her eyebrows had shot up so high, and fast, that they’d gone into orbit. “What?” Her neck popped as her head turned suddenly, and her face blush when Emily gave her a sheepish grin.
“Fuck, not funny is it? Sorry. Death becomes a bit, er, lighter when you don’t have to worry about it.” Emily shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to do here.” Emily gazed out, looking at the elderly couple, flinching slightly. “I mean, we’ll never be them. I’ll never be like them. But, you will.”
Naomi swallowed thickly, feeling her chest tighten with anxiety. “Jesus, I’m still a teenager, yeah? And you’re talking about, like, marriage. Lesbian marriage. And I’m not, I’m not,” Naomi gestured aimlessly, unable to finish.
“No, I didn’t mean. Like, that. I just meant, in general. Fuck.” Emily shook her head, looking away for a moment. “I don’t know what I mean.”
“So you’re actually immortal?” Naomi felt small parts of her mind exploding, but it wasn’t like the whole thing hadn’t gone into nuclear meltdown already.
“Yes.” Emily looked at her.
“And you’re at college?” Naomi raised her eyebrow dubiously, because, really.
Emily snorted. “Tony’s idea.” She mumbled, looking away again. “He thinks if we learn about, you know, the world now we can fit in better. Live in it better.” Emily snorted again. “Well, not ‘live’ but, you know what I mean.”
Naomi realised, with only slight alarm, that she should’ve completely lost her mind by now. “Jesus.” She whispered, more to herself than Emily. “Why bother?” Naomi turned to Emily, everything depending, she thought, on the answer.
“I don’t want to be a killer.” Emily shrugged a little helplessly. “Katie doesn’t want to be without me, neither does Cook. Besides,” Emily gave her a half smile. “Him and Freddie pretty much do what Effy does, and Effy, I think more than anything, was bored.”
“I can’t even begin to wrap my head around this.” Naomi sighed. “No more lies, Emily. About anything.”
“Thank you, Naomi. Thank you.” Emily reached forward, seeming to ignore that Naomi froze when she hugged her.
“For what, exactly?” Naomi felt her heart racing, because Emily was still a fucking vampire.
“Seeing me, and not the monster.” Emily smiled at her, beautifully, and Naomi snorted, trying not to blush.
“Well, as people keep pointing out, you could kill me if you wanted so, you know.” She shrugged, shaking her head because it was still all so unbelievable. “This is so fucked up.” She reached over and squeezed Emily’s hand lightly. “I have no clue what we do about college. It’s a right mess.”
It was obvious, though, after a little while. Emily had recounted that everything had been slightly less than boring before Naomi had arrived and she’d wanted to befriend her, which made Naomi snort because fucking in bathroom stalls was hardly befriending. Though she decided against pointing that out. Naomi had suggested that, maybe, they would just have to leave it, and Emily had looked at her so crestfallen that she’d quickly amended that she meant at college.
“I don’t want to lose you.” Emily licked her lips, and Naomi found herself staring. And then remembered, fuck, vampire.
“I can’t go back to how things were though.” Naomi said softly, looking away when Emily looked at her sadly. “I just, I don’t know. Slowly. Okay?”
“Can we just, I don’t know, start again?”
And that had been that, really. Naomi had left not too long after, Emily looking like she wanted to hug her again, or something, but thankfully holding herself back.
When Naomi had gotten home, she’d felt so relieved that she kept wondering, at points during the night when her mind wandered, wasn’t she meant to be worrying about something? But, strangely, mythical monsters aside, she found that she wasn’t anymore.
V^^^^^V
“I was sure you weren’t coming back!” Pandora hugged her excitedly at lunch, being unable to during philosophy and having to run off after. “It’s whizzer you’re back though! And sitting with us!” Pandora hugged her again, and Naomi awkwardly patted her on the back.
“Yes well, drama aside, I’m feeling better thanks.” She sat down next to Thomas, who gave her a kind smile.
“Would you care to study with us this weekend? You have missed much in class, yes?” He took a bite of a sandwich, and Naomi realised she’d grown so used to not eating at college that she was startled to see someone doing it. She had a sudden, awful, urge to look for Emily, but didn’t.
“I’d love to.” She smiled, because it wasn’t like she had other plans.
She sat next to Emily in politics, her heart beating slightly fast, and she realised she was nervous. And it wasn’t, she thought wanting to roll her eyes at herself, because Emily was a demon from hell, or whatever, but because the girl was so close. She was mental, she thought, because for fuck’s sake she was missing the point. Or was she?
Emily gave her a small smile, and then ignored her for the rest of the lesson, only saying “Bye.” at the end of it and getting up.
“Bye.” Naomi said back, watching as Emily grabbed Katie, who was glaring at her so strongly she thought back to what Emily had said about Katie wanting to kill her, and blinked.
Effy gave her a small wave, and Cook looked at her blankly for a moment, before shrugging at her slightly, and following Effy and the twins out of the room.
“Just, so you know, I’m sorry too.” Freddie said, hands bunched in his pockets, and shoulders shrugging as she turned to look at him, having forgotten he was there. “But also, so you know, none of us wanted to hurt you, yeah?” He gazed at her from beneath his fringe, and she knew she looked as startled as she felt.
“Thanks.” She said, after a moment. “Don’t know if you’re right about Katie, though.” She picked her bag up as he ambled toward the door, turning after a moment, and giving her a half smile.
“We’ll keep her in check.” Freddie raised his eyebrows at her quickly, before disappearing, and she fell back slightly against a desk and took a deep breath. Vampires existed, one wanted to kiss her and another probably wanted to kill her.
Jesus fucking Christ, she thought, because really.
V^^^^^V
She heard a knock on her front door later that day, and was slightly surprised when her dad called out to her.
“Naomi, someone here for you!”
She made her way down stairs, feeling her heart rate picking up dramatically as she hesitantly pulled the front door open and peeked outside. Emily was standing there, looking up at the sky, smiling at her shyly when she noticed Naomi.
“Hi.” Emily said, and Naomi leant against her front door.
“Hi.” Naomi felt decidedly unsure what Emily was there for, but was relieved enough that at least it wasn’t Katie in a high necked cape and monster fangs ready to pounce on her.
“I just wanted to see if you were free at all over the weekend and wanted to maybe do something.” Emily raised an eyebrow at her, and Naomi blinked. “Not go clubbing, obviously.” Emily said quickly, and Naomi wondered if Emily would be blushing if she, well, could. “But I thought perhaps we could have dinner and talk. Or something?” Emily looked at her expectantly, and Naomi blinked again. “Or well, I could watch you eat dinner. And we could talk. Because obviously you don’t want to watch me eat, and.” Emily licked her lips suddenly, rolling her eyes. “Fuck’s sake.”
Naomi snorted, suddenly. “You’re an immortal demon and I make you nervous?”
“In a nutshell.” Emily muttered. “Please go out with me, just me?” Emily shifted from one foot to another, and Naomi frowned slightly. “I’ll still ignore you at college, or at least pretend I don’t know you so well, but you said it only had to be at college, so…” Emily trailed off, watching Naomi intently.
“I did say that.” It wasn’t everyday, Naomi thought, that a vampire was so desperate to be friends with her. “Alright.” She took a breath, glancing to the side of her for a moment. “In public though, sans drugs. Tomorrow night. Studying tonight with the three musketeers.”
Emily gave her a relieved smile. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. Is that good?”
Naomi nodded, as Emily walked backwards smiling, only turning when she’d reached the front gate.
Studying meant, Naomi was slightly surprised to figure out, actually studying, which she hadn’t done in a group situation ever. Pandora brought up vampires only once, and both JJ and Thomas had looked at her sharply, and Naomi rolled her eyes.
Later, she stared up at her ceiling, at the faded stars, feeling dangerous and excited because she hadn’t told them about her date with Emily, and wouldn’t. Not that it was a date, not a real one clearly, because yes they’d had sex but she’d been on drugs then. And maybe she’d wanted it, but that was before she knew what was going on. Or half knew, because she was fucked if she didn’t have a thousand questions rattling around in her head. She wondered if she should make a list of everything she wanted to ask about, hoping Emily would keep her promise and not lie to her.
V^^^^^V
“Do you like Italian?” Emily asked her, parking outside a restaurant, and Naomi fidgeted with her skirt, realising it was the same one she’d been wearing the last time they’d, well, in any case she was glad to be wearing underwear this time.
“Isn’t garlic your mortal enemy?” Naomi replied, unbuckling her seatbelt, and Emily smiled ruefully.
“No.” She just said.
A smiling waiter seated them near the window, and Naomi felt awkward as her stomach rumbled loudly. She ordered pasta, and Emily surprised her by ordering a salad.
“Garden salad made from blood these days?” Naomi quirked an eyebrow, willing herself not to become flirtatious, because that wasn’t what this was about.
“Keeping up appearances.” Emily quirked an eyebrow back. “How are things, then?” She asked, leaning forward on her arms, and smiling at her happily.
Naomi snorted, crossing her arms. “Bit boring, in comparison.” She leaned forward, after a moment, unintentionally mirroring Emily’s pose. “How are things at casa de bloodsucker?” She felt like laughing as Emily blinked, as if surprised that she was joking about it. But what else was there, at this point?
“Strained, actually.” Emily played with her fork for a moment, before looking back at Naomi. “But whatever, right?”
Naomi frowned slightly, for the first time wondering that her and Emily, whatever they were, would have an adverse affect on Emily’s life, or whatever it was, too.
“What do you mean?”
A waiter deposited garlic bread on their table, followed by chilled glasses of water, and Naomi sipped from hers as Emily broke off a small piece of bread, putting it on her plate, and then ignoring it.
“Katie isn’t happy.” Emily lifted the glass of water for a moment, holding it in front of her face. “Not just about you, about the whole college thing. She hasn’t been for a while, I think she’s only sticking it out because I’m adamant about seeing it through.” Emily put her glass of water down, and Naomi blinked at how good Emily was at ‘keeping up appearances’.
“Because it’s a bit redundant, being that you’re well, immortal and not exactly needing a career?” Naomi raised her eyebrows, chewing slowly on some bread, subconsciously keeping pace with Emily’s movements and helping with the deception of her eating. She realised, after a moment, that she was doing it, and was slightly startled to realise she didn’t mind.
“I keep telling her, actually, that you two would get along if she wasn’t so opposed to, well, people.” Emily smirked, as Naomi raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “No, really. You’re not that unalike.” Emily frowned slightly. “Obviously enough that I want to shag you.”
Naomi choked on the piece of bread she was swallowing, sipping the water quickly. “Emily.” She said, though had no idea what to follow that with. A waiter appeared with their food, and Emily looked slightly relieved.
She ate her pasta, watching as Emily swirled her fork through the salad, spearing a piece of tomato and raising it to her lips.
“Anyway, Katie thinks we should cut our losses and disappear. Leave the country for a bit, go back to how things were.” Emily shrugged, putting her fork back in her salad and using a knife to move the tomato off it, spearing a piece of cucumber instead, repeating the action as she talked.
“And how were things?” Naomi asked, swallowing a mouthful of pasta and sipping more water. Emily gave her a dark look, and put her cutlery down.
“You don’t want to know.” Emily paused, before picking her cutlery back up. “I actually love pretending to eat.” She grinned, though it didn’t meet her eyes when she looked at Naomi. “We don’t do it at college because Katie thinks it’s stupid, and last time Cook pretended he went overboard, poured a beer over his head and ruined someone’s birthday cake.”
Naomi lifted a fork full of pasta to her mouth, and then frowned slightly. “I’m going to assume that if I don’t want to know, you did worse things to people than what you did to me?” She said it softly, watching as Emily looked away from her for a moment.
“Can we not talk about it?” She asked, softly. “Can we just stay like this, for a bit?”
Naomi sighed, eating more pasta, chewing slowly and swallowing. “For a bit.” She said, and Emily gave her a grateful smile. “But I don’t want lies, Emily.”
Emily nodded. “I don’t want to lie, I’d just rather you, well, weren’t eating when I tell you the kinds of things we used to do before we, or I really, started to care.”
Emily paid for her dinner later, waving her off when she tried to stop her.
“We have more money than we need.” Emily said, and Naomi just blinked.
They walked outside, and Naomi hugged herself. “So, what now?” She asked, not entirely wanting their time together to end just yet.
“You could come to the house, if you like. No one will be there. They’ll all be out.” Emily raised her eyebrows, and Naomi just looked at her.
“Not that I’m not intrigued, and vaguely desperate to see it, but no. I don’t think so.” Naomi watched as Emily nodded, looking embarrassed. “Slowly, remember?” She murmured. “Dad has his girlfriend at ours.” She shrugged.
“What about the park? I think there’s a blanket in the back of the car…” Emily licked her lips, gazing at her openly, and Naomi had the impression that Emily was willing her to trust her.
“I don’t know.” She said, hugging herself tighter. Emily gently took one of her hands, unfolding her arm from around her body.
“I’ll answer anything.” She said, her voice low, raising her eyes and looking into Naomi’s. “And I promise that I will never, ever, like ever, feed off you without your permission. Again.”
Naomi took a deep breath, feeling slightly irritated and wanting to point out that there would never be permission to give, actually, when a car drove past them and a man honked his horn and wolf whistled from inside it.
“Fucking hell I hate people.” She muttered, as Emily smirked. “Fuck it.” She said, and Emily cocked her eyebrow for a moment. “What?” She asked, but Emily just shook her head.
“I just keep thinking how well you’d get along with us, that’s all.” And led her back to the car, Naomi wondering exactly what Emily meant by that.
As they walked into the park, a blanket tucked under Emily’s arm, Naomi looked up at the stars and smiled. They didn’t go to her bench, instead choosing a patch of grass far from the trees and lying down on it, side by side, close but not touching.
“There’s something about stars that calms me.” Naomi murmured, feeling her cheeks flush slightly, which they always seemed to when she felt herself opening up.
“I’ve wanted to lie next to you under them since I first saw your ceiling. I used to look at your stars, and think of doing this as you slept.” Emily’s voice rasped, just above a whisper, and Naomi glanced at her.
“You didn’t sleep?” She asked, turning her face back toward the sky and feeling alarmed because that was a bit creepy. As far as she knew, no one had ever watched her sleep before.
“We don’t sleep. Ever.” She heard Emily shift slightly next to her. “I didn’t like, stare at you or anything. Sometimes I read your books, by the moonlight, or stared out of your window.” She realised their shoulders were touching lightly as she felt Emily shrug.
“Right.” She just said. “So why don’t you come to college when the sun is out?” She might as well get down to it, anyway.
“It hurts us. The sun. Burns right through us, takes fucking ages to heal. It’s a bit awful.”
“So vampirism is like an extreme form of being albino?” Naomi snorted as Emily chuckled. “So that part is true, then.”
Emily made a noise of agreement next to her. Naomi stared at the sky for a little while, feeling her chest swell but also feeling small and unimportant at the same time.
“What were you like before this?” She felt the question leave her lips, was slightly shocked because her mind had wondered to other things, staring at the sky, like Cassie’s love for extraterrestrials.
“Monsters.” Emily whispered, and she sat up after a moment, turning to cross her legs, and Naomi did the same. “Killed people, had fun doing it.” Emily’s fingers played with the blanket, and Naomi just looked at her. “Cook and me, we used to do it together a lot. Go after girls together, get fucked up.”
Naomi frowned. “What?”
Emily licked her lips. “When we feed off people who are drugged out of their heads, it affects us too. Half the reason we do it, other than people being a bit more willing and unfocused.” Naomi absently rubbed a hand to the side of her neck, the scabs having fallen off, feeling only the ghost of Emily’s teeth marks. “And Cook and me, well, went all out for a while there. I mean, before that it was just Katie. We did everything together, even dumped bodies at the same time until we realised that we drew too much attention, being twins, and we couldn’t stay at the same place for long. Plus, Effy started hanging round with us again, and Katie and Effy. Well, they had more fun together. And Effy had Cook tagging along with her, and him and I just sort of clicked.” Emily shrugged again, looking briefly at the sky.
Naomi wanted to ask how old Emily was, but half dreaded the answer, wondering if she could stomach it. “Why does Katie not like me?” She asked instead, watching as Emily tilted her head down and looked at her.
“She thinks you compromise us. She hates people, well, mortal people.” Emily licked her lips, fidgeting for a second. “And she can hear what you think about me.” Emily muttered, turning her head away as Naomi screwed her face up.
“What?” She asked, because seriously. What?
“Katie can hear what you think.” Emily repeated, squirming slightly. Naomi felt ill.
“What the fuck?” She asked. “Can you as well?” She felt violated, all over again. Felt sudden anger hotly in the back of her throat, and something stronger in her stomach that felt a lot like hurt.
“No!” Emily shook her head, reaching out to touch Naomi’s leg. “No, that’s just Katie.”
“Right.” Naomi took a breath, her heart beating hard against her chest. “So what can you do, then?” She crossed her arms, sure she wouldn’t like the answer.
Emily licked her lips, looking quickly at the sky. Naomi couldn’t make out much, in the dark, just the shape of her, and her eyes, and her teeth when she talked.
“We can all do something. Something else, that helps us when we, well, feed I guess.” Emily shrugged, and then threw herself down on the blanket again, lying on her back and rubbing her hands over her eyes for a few moments. “Freddie makes people fall in love with him.” She said, taking her hands away, and Naomi felt her stomach drop. “Like, anyone he wants. Doesn’t matter if he’s being a cunt, or the most boring twat that ever lived, people will fall in love with him. Absolutely any mortal he wants.”
Naomi gasped. “Is that what you…” She started, thinking she might vomit or kick Emily if the answer was yes. Vampire or not.
“Fuck no.” Emily answered. “No one falls in love with me unless they want to.”
Naomi felt her eyes close in relief, and she lay down slowly, next to Emily, but left a space between them. A breeze blew through the park, faint music coming from somewhere Naomi couldn’t identify.
“Go on.” Naomi said, frowning at the sky. This was nuts.
“Cook is kind of like Freddie, but he makes anyone want to fuck him. Like, anyone.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Sort of. Cook gets people desperate for him to shag them, consumed with lust, but not love. More instant gratification, than forever. Does that make sense?”
“Is that what he did to Pandora?” Naomi sat up, stomach clenching. “Is that what you can do?” She turned to glare at Emily, as Emily rolled her eyes.
“Yes that’s what he did to Pandora, and no I can’t do that. Again, no one fucks me unless they want to.” Emily raised her eyes pointedly at Naomi, and Naomi felt herself blush and look away. If the answer had been yes, she would’ve stormed out of the park, demanded she go back to London, and never spoken to Emily again. Never thought of Bristol, possibly even invested in wooden stake manufacturing. And, she thought somewhere deep down, be slightly relieved that it hadn’t come from her. Fuck.
“Poor Pandora.” She muttered, lying down again, and Emily turned her head toward her.
“I told you, you didn’t want to know. These abilities, they’re designed to help us. Designed for manipulation. Like Katie, who decidedly uses hers for evil since it makes it so easy for her to prey on people’s vulnerabilities and insecurities.” Emily turned her head back to the sky. “Effy and her work well together, cos Effy can tell the future, in a round about way. Sort of.”
Naomi turned her head quickly, wondering if she’d later have whiplash. “Are you shitting me?”
“Well, not tell the future. But she knows, intrinsically, how people will react. To everything. She knows what they’ll say, what they’ll do, even what they’ll feel. So she anticipates everything, which is almost like telling the future. Not people’s thoughts though, hence her and Katie...” Emily licked her lips, trailing off and going silent as she gazed at the stars.
“And you?” Naomi asked, almost whispering.
Emily’s eyes closed for a moment. “I can put things in people’s heads.” She whispered, after pausing for what felt like eons, and Naomi felt herself go still. “Not like thoughts, like images. Even make them think they’re somewhere else, if I push it.”
The music on the breeze stopped, and Naomi took a shuddery breath. “You did that to me when you fed off me.” Her voice was so low that it trembled.
“Yes.” Emily said back, looking at Naomi fearfully in the moonlight.
“When else?” Naomi sat up, hugging her knees to her chest.
“Sometimes, your dreams.” Emily sat up as well, but Naomi refused to look at her. The hurt had come back twofold, and she felt sick with it.
“And?”
“Just those times, and once at college. With JJ.”
Naomi remembered, then, one of her first days, when her mind had wandered into an imagined life with JJ. She remembered, too, how confused she had been at the time.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Her voice still trembled, and she hugged her knees tighter to her chest.
“Because I didn’t know you, and I liked you, and I thought maybe you liked him so I…” Emily reached out to touch her, her voice desperate, and Naomi blanched.
“Fucking manipulated me into being wary of him? Jesus Christ!” She stood, suddenly, shaking.
Emily stood quickly too. “No! It wasn’t to manipulate you, I can’t manipulate you, not like that!” Emily grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around when she started to walk away.
Naomi shoved Emily, though Emily, even smaller than her, didn’t move. Acted like Naomi hadn’t just shoved her with all her might.
“You put images in my head and made me feel stupid! Made me want you! This whole thing!” Naomi spluttered, turning around again, hating herself for thinking she would feel relief as opposed to feeling completely used and wanting to cry.
Emily ran after her, stopping in front of her and putting her hands on her shoulders. “No, Naomi, I can’t do that! I can make people see things, but I can’t control how they’ll react to them!” Emily pushed against her, stopping her from walking, and Naomi shook her hands off.
“What does that even fucking mean?” She said, crossing her arms, feeling some of the anger slip away, enough to hear Emily out at least.
“It means,” Emily said, peering intently into her eyes. “That I can put whatever I want into someone’s head. Make them think they’re anywhere. Make them dream whatever I want them to. But I can’t control how they’ll react to it, what they’ll feel or think about it. Like JJ. I didn’t know if you’d like your imagined life with him or not, you could’ve and I would’ve left you alone. Or that first night you came out with us, you weren’t repulsed by the idea of me. Of being with me. Kissing me. Any of it. If you had been, again, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard to be with you.” Emily sounded choked up, and Naomi wondered if she was crying.
Naomi took deep, shuddering breaths, closing her eyes. “I don’t know if I believe you.” She said, gritting her teeth, and looking at Emily when she felt Emily’s hands on her arms.
“I swear it, Naomi. I fucking promise you.” Emily sniffed, a darkness on her cheek, and the sight of it made Naomi stand back. Emily wiped it away angrily.
“I need to go home.” Naomi said, and Emily took a step back from her. “Will you take me?” Naomi blew out a breath, looking away when Emily nodded emphatically.
She waited while Emily retrieved the blanket, and they sat quietly in the car as Emily drove them back to Naomi’s house. Naomi felt herself calming down, though only slightly, still feeling incredibly invaded.
“I’m sorry.” Emily said again. “This is a lot, isn’t it?”
“I’m so overwhelmed I can barely think. Just when I got used to, you know, one of the most impossible things I could think of, and being lied to, and fucking fed off, it’s just the icing on the shit cake, really.” Naomi unbuckled her seatbelt when the car stopped outside her house.
“For what it’s worth, I haven’t done it since that night, at the club. I haven’t done any of it. I’m so sorry, I’ve never, I haven’t, I mean no one has affected me like you before.” Emily looked at her beseechingly. “Please don’t tell me to go away. Anything but that.”
Naomi frowned. “Don’t fucking lie, Emily. You promised you wouldn’t lie. You put Cassie, and you, in my dreams all this last fucking week.”
Emily looked utterly startled, but not guilty, and Naomi frowned even deeper.
“No, Naomi, I didn’t.” Emily looked at her openly, and Naomi felt her frown clear because, actually, she did believe her. “What did you dream?”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, that Cassie was reaching for me and you were like, clinging to her and crying.” Naomi glanced at Emily, seeing the total shock on her face.
“No I, that wasn’t me at all.” Emily looked away from her, looking shocked and slightly confused. And also, something else Naomi couldn’t put her finger on.
“Oh.” Naomi said, opening her car door after a moment. “Well, then. Look. I just need some time, okay?”
Emily looked back at her, nodding quickly. “Of course.” She gave her a weak smile. “I have all the time in the world, actually.”
“Right.” Naomi said, stepping out of the car. “Thanks for dinner.” She gave Emily a curt smile. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
She avoided the living room when she let herself into her house, hearing her dad and Veronica chuckling and she rolled her eyes. She trudged up the stairs, closing her bedroom door behind her and throwing herself on her bed without turning the light on. She stared up at her ceiling, struggling to remember the images Emily had put in her head since she’d met her.
Aside from JJ, it had all been sex related, or making out, or fucking inappropriate touching. And she had reacted to it, hadn’t she? But she’d also thought it was coming from her, not Emily. Fucking hell, what did that even mean?
She closed her eyes, later, falling into eventual sleep and dreaming about nothing that made sense. Scattered images, people who didn’t look like themselves, flashes of confusion and weird feelings. When she woke up, she almost missed the dreams Emily had apparently given her in comparison.
Almost.
V^^^^^V
She gave Emily a small smile when she walked into her philosophy class on Monday morning, Emily returning it with something akin to relief on her face. Cook raised his eyebrow at her, and Pandora prattled on about some television series she loved that Naomi had never heard of when she sat down. In all honesty, she thought, life had become far more interesting than television.
After almost half an hour, when Miss Clark still hadn’t shown up, Cook stood and walked out, with a loud. “Fuck this, yeah?”
She watched as some of the other students started getting up, and following Cook, and JJ raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged. He stood, picking his bag up and walking out of the room, and Pandora stood as well.
“Come on Nai, we got free time! Whizzer!” She waited for a second, until Naomi looked around.
“I might meet you outside, alright?” She looked at Pandora, noticing the way she glanced at Emily, who was yet to leave the room either.
“You sure, Nai? I don’t mind waiting.” Pandora gave Emily a worried glance, being so obvious Naomi wanted to laugh.
“Really.” Naomi said, touching Pandora on the hand, and Pandora walked out of the room, throwing glances over her shoulder as she went.
“Well we’ll be waiting and if you don’t show we’ll notice!” Pandora said loudly, looking half petrified as she did so, before disappearing into the hallway.
“Fuck’s sake.” Naomi muttered, twisting around to see Emily smirking at her. She was leaning back in her chair, ankles crossed, her forearms resting across her stomach. They were the only ones left behind.
“I really like her, actually.” Emily’s smirk softened, and she gazed at Naomi for a moment.
“She’s definitely one of a kind.” Naomi replied, struggling to keep her eyes from looking down at Emily’s legs, stretched out, nor where the short skirt she was wearing began. Or ended, really.
“Alright weekend?” Emily asked softly, raising an eyebrow when Naomi’s eyes flickered down for a second.
“Oh, well, I suppose. Found out some interesting things about vampires, actually. Sneaky fuckers, they are.” What the Jesus Christ was wrong with her? No flirting, she told herself harshly, even as Emily uncrossed her legs for a moment, and then recrossed them. Shit, she thought, as she looked back into Emily’s eyes. She’d just watched. Avidly.
“Well, if one of them told you, they must really like you.” Emily slowly sat forward, uncrossing her legs and standing. Naomi blinked, realising Emily was dressed as if, as if, well, she’d raided Katie’s wardrobe. She was glad Katie wasn’t around, because thinking something along the lines of a nice rack running in the family would probably get her killed. Violently.
Naomi swallowed. “Or she’s a shameless flirt.” Her mouth went dry as Emily leant over to pick her bag up off the floor, and her skirt rode up exposing the alarmingly appealing expanse of thigh and… Naomi shook her head. Christ. She turned around quickly, shutting her eyes for a minute, and then stood up. “Question.” She addressed the front of the classroom, annoyed when her voice sounded slightly breathless.
“You can ask me anything.” Emily appeared in front of her desk, her arms crossed, a knowing look in her eyes.
“You can put images in people’s heads?” Naomi fiddled with her pen, trying to avoid looking at Emily altogether. When the fuck had she become such a pervy boy? Emily nodded, her expression sobering. “Can you, also, as well as that, well can you, uh, tell what images are already in people’s heads?” Naomi bit her lip, hating that her cheeks flushed and she felt her face heat up ridiculously.
Emily paused, and Naomi glanced at her, rolling her eyes when Emily suddenly laughed. “No, Naomi. I can’t tell that.” Emily reached forward then, across the desk, gently touching her shoulder for just a moment.
Naomi noticeably breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded slightly. “Good. Just wondering. Completely unrelated to anything other than curiosity.” She picked her bag up as Emily snorted.
“But Katie can.” Emily laughed, again, at the expression on her face, and walked towards the door. “Don’t worry though, I don’t think she’ll be at college again for a while.” She shrugged. “If at all, actually.”
Naomi watched her walk away, wondering briefly if she’d lied about being able to make people want to fuck her, because seriously. She hadn’t felt that agitated since, well, the bathroom cubicle. Not that she wanted to remember that, or anything, but Jesus Christ.
She met Pandora and JJ outside, sitting on the grass and having no clue what they were talking about because her eyes had unfocused and she kept seeing Emily in her head, her legs and chest, and she felt her pulse quicken just slightly as she remembered the bathroom. Remembered what it had felt like when Emily kissed her, and her hands had slid downwards. Not that she’d forgotten, even though she wanted to. She’d been too preoccupied with the drama of the whole fucking thing lately, it seemed, to remotely think of anything sexual.
Which was alarming. Incredibly alarming. Because she hadn’t dealt with the idea of vampirism, or manipulation, or being fucking fed off. Not completely. But, she realised, she’d made marginally more progress in the matter than she had with her sudden overwhelming apparent homosexuality.
Pandora burst into happy applause next to her, and she looked at JJ, an expectant look on his face and a deck of cards he was holding, and belatedly clapped her hands as well. He gave them both a happy smile, and fanned them out, and she looked away.
Emily and Cook were standing a ways off, deep in conversation. Emily was laughing, and touching his arm, and to anyone else it would look like they were flirting. To anyone else, the way her skirt clung to her hips, and the darker shade of lipstick, one Effy usually wore, would’ve seemed designed to drive him crazy. She bit her lip, because fuck if she hadn’t felt this form of jealousy before.
Emily had manipulated her, she reminded herself. Put images in her head. Was a fucking fictional being. But, another voice piped in, it wasn’t her fault that she liked it. No, her own voice whispered, it wasn’t Emily’s fault that the thought of fucking her was actually appealing.
She had to stop flirting, had to stop encouraging Emily. Because she wasn’t gay, maybe, and Emily was a vampire, apparently, and that was like playing with fire in a house made of match sticks. Extremely attractive match sticks, that made her want to push Cook out of the way and throw Emily on the ground and rip her skirt off with her teeth.
She blinked, Pandora applauding again, and she clapped her hands slowly. The thought startled her, but not in the confusing way Emily’s images had on the dance floor. Those had seemed to take her away, had told her a story. But now, it was her own thoughts conjuring images, her own wants fuelling them.
Fuck, she thought. Licking her lips, remembering. Her eyes closing when she felt the phantom touch of Emily’s tongue pressing back against her own.
“They seem awfully close, or closer than usual, wouldn’t you say Naomi?” JJ’s voice broke through, and she snapped her eyes open. He was looking at her sympathetically.
“Who?” She asked dumbly, her eyes glancing between JJ, and where Cook and Emily stood. She felt something awful when she saw that he had his arm around her, and they were laughing.
“I was certain she was gay, and they’ve certainly always been together, but not together, that is to say, more friends, or so I thought, but who knows with,” JJ seemed to catch himself. “Those types. I can’t imagine it’s easy living forever, and it must be hard to be interested in people, like you and me, on account that we’re barely around for a flicker of time, comparatively. We’re just blood bags, aren’t we?”
“JJ! We’re not meant to talk about it!” Pandora shushed him, and after a moment he looked incredibly guilty.
She felt somewhat numb, all of a sudden.
“Shit. Balls. I’m sorry Naomi, I didn’t think. I never think. I over think. Stupid fucking idiot.” JJ balled his hands into fists.
“It’s alright.” She heard herself say blandly. “It’s the truth.”
She felt like she’d been hit in the chest, felt the air leave her lungs, when she realised that if Emily wasn’t feeding off her, who was she feeding off? And further more, how often did they have to feed anyway? Was Emily sucking the necks of other girls even while she’d been sucking hers? The thoughts were awful. The questions made her heart hammer in her chest. She shouldn’t care. She had to excuse herself, run to the toilets, and splash water on her face.
She looked at the side of her neck, the faint reddish marks of where Emily’s bite used to be. Wondered how many other girls had stared in the mirror at the same thing, and whether she was just another in a long line of lovesick fucking idiots.
Later, she sat next to her dad on the couch in front of the television and listened as he laughed at a mindless programme she could barely follow. After all, she thought sulkily, that’s what people like her did. Mortal people. They didn’t traipse around with vampires and forget what she was to them. Didn’t delude themselves that they were anything special.
Didn’t flirt with immortality, no matter how much it flirted back.
V^^^^^V
Chapter Seven: It Tastes Like Death But It Looks Like Fun
Chapter: 6/9 No More Dreaming Like A Girl So In Love With The Wrong World
Pairing: Naomi/Emily
Word Count: 7788
Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own, anything related to Skins. Borrowing the characters and throwing them into an entirely different universe altogether. I also don't own Twilight, and wouldn't ever want to. Chapter title from Florence And The Machine's 'Blinding'. Can you tell I've been listening to them a lot lately?
Summary: Emily, desperate to win Naomi back, opens herself up to Naomi's questions about being a vampire. The problem is, there are far too many before it can even begin to make sense. Before they can be answered, Naomi learns something that hurts, and realizes something that feels even worse.
N.B. I'm going away for a week, and won't have any internet whatsoever so the next part will have a bit of a delay being posted. I do apologise!
Previous Chapters: Chapter One: Cause Anywhere Is Better Than Here
Chapter Two: Like Stars Burning Holes Right Through The Dark
Chapter Three: The Youth Is Starting To Change
Chapter Four: Happiness Hit Her Like A Bullet In The Back
Chapter Five: Who Is The Lamb And Who Is The Knife
No More Dreaming Like A Girl So In Love With The Wrong World
She woke up, frowning for just a moment when she realised she didn’t feel sick, or nervous. She’d become so used to dreading being awake, that it was more disconcerting, at first, to feel so light, than it was relieving. She stretched, kicking the covers off her legs and opened her eyes.
Vampires existed, apparently. Emily’s confirmation meant she wasn’t driving herself crazy wondering about it anymore, and she realised after a moment lost in thought that she should probably be a lot more freaked out than she was.
But, she thought sitting up, confirmation was a lovely thing sometimes, if only because it meant she wasn’t so bloody confused anymore.
She stood up, stretching her back, arms over her head, and actually smiled. Because, vampires! Of all the fucking likelihoods, that wasn’t one of them. Ever. And, if Emily was an example, they weren’t nearly as scary as she’d been lead to believe.
She skipped down the stairs after showering and getting changed, kissing her dad on his cheek as she passed him.
“Morning!” She called, grabbing a piece of bread and throwing a glass of juice down her throat.
“Morning!” Her dad sounded more surprised than anything else. “Everything sorted, then?” He paused, on his way to the back garden, raising his eyebrows at her happily.
She chewed the piece of bread thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, reaching for a jar of jam and then jumping slightly as she caught a glance of the watch on her wrist.
“Shit, I’m going to miss the bus.” She said, dropping the piece of bread on the bench and grabbing her bag off the kitchen table. “Bye!” She hastily kissed her dad on the cheek again, and rolled her eyes when he touched the place she’d kissed with a look of something resembling wonderment on his face.
“Sure you don’t want a lift?” He called after her, but she was already out of the front door. She could make her own way to college, catching a bus wasn’t that hard.
She’d texted JJ asking him to meet her when she got off the bus, and he stood waiting for her looking somewhat contrite. Last time she’d spoken to him she’d yelled at him, but that had been days ago. Days ago, she hated everything. But not today.
“Hey JJ!” She gave him such a smile that he took a step backwards as if in shock.
“Naomi! Hello. You’re marginally happier than I think I’ve seen you ever, which is wonderful because I’m hoping it means you’re not angry with me anymore?” He gripped the straps of his bag, looking at her hopefully.
“Oh, well, that. Not angry, no JJ.” She nudged him as they walked toward the college, noticing him falter slightly when he saw Emily waiting outside. “It’s alright.” She told him, as Emily nervously approached.
“Hi.” Emily said, Naomi noticed, more to JJ than herself.
“Hello. Hi. Bonjour. Vampire. Fangs.” He stammered, and then squinted his eyes shut. “Stupid. Imbecile. Death. Misery.” He slapped his own face then, though not that hard, turning to Naomi and opening his eyes in alarm.
Naomi raised her eyebrows when Emily stepped forward, reaching a hand out and touching JJ on the arm, which made him sharply suck in a breath.
“Are you alright?” She asked, smirking slightly, gazing into his eyes when he turned to her, his eyes wide and his back stiff.
“I’m Emily.” Emily twisted to face her then, sticking a hand out, blinking at her prettily.
“Naomi. So pleased to meet you for the first time.” She couldn’t help it, she smirked, and then shook Emily’s hand. She nudged JJ as he glanced between them, turning quickly one way and then the other.
“Come on, boy wonder.” She grabbed his elbow, dragging him away from Emily, who gave her a small wave and continued to wait outside, as if for someone else.
“What just happened? Please tell me it was something planned or else I’ll most definitely be convinced that I slipped through a hole in the fabric of space time and am not in the universe I was actually born in.” He kept his eyes staring ahead of him, his back still tight as they walked, and Naomi rolled her eyes.
“Just something Emily and I agreed on, alright?” She stopped him walking, turning to look at him intently, placing a hand on his arm. “On account of this whole mess being because of us, yeah?” She squinted slightly, waiting as he processed what she’d told him.
“Right. So. Vampire business is shtum. Nada. Not going to talk about it?” He looked at her dubiously, and she nodded.
“Right. They’ll leave us alone, we’ll leave them alone. End of story.” She gave him a small smile when he eventually nodded, and she hoped, more than anything, Thomas and Pandora would be as agreeable.
V^^^^^V
“I don’t know if I can.” Naomi had answered the day before, as Emily gripped her hand and pleaded with her to forgive her, to want her.
“I’m so sorry, you have to believe that.” Emily whispered back, her hold loosening and her thumb beginning to rub against the back of Naomi’s hand.
“Was the whole thing, was everything, just for my blood or whatever?” Naomi turned her face away, looking at the elderly couple on the other bench, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“No.” Emily reached out, turning Naomi’s chin with her hand. “I’m still Emily. I’m just, also, something else.”
“Right.” Naomi lowered her eyes, looking at their still joined hands.
“Naomi, I really like you. I’ve always really liked you. I just got carried away, I didn’t think.” Emily continued the gentle movement of her thumb, and Naomi closed her eyes.
“Cassie pointed out, among other bloody obscurities, that you could’ve killed me. But,” Naomi bit her lip, looking up into Emily’s eyes. “You didn’t.”
Emily licked her lips. “It’s never been about killing you.”
“So, what then? Help me understand because I’m drowning here.”
Emily gazed at her. “There’s something about you that just fucking intoxicates me. I want to be around you. I want to talk to you, because you make me laugh. I want, I wanted to kiss you. I want to kiss you now.” Emily blinked, and Naomi was grateful she didn’t lean forward because she didn’t think she could pull herself away if Emily kissed her.
“Well.” She said, gently pulling her hand away from Emily’s, but smiling at her all the same. “Excuse me if I’m completely overwhelmed. And hesitant. And,” She narrowed her eyes. “Fucking wary.” Emily nodded , looking out into the park. “Besides, JJ thinks Cook is going to kill him.” She glanced at Emily, and Emily winced.
“I talked him down.” She muttered, and Naomi blinked because, vampires, right. “Katie thinks I should just kill you and be done with it.”
Naomi thought her eyebrows had shot up so high, and fast, that they’d gone into orbit. “What?” Her neck popped as her head turned suddenly, and her face blush when Emily gave her a sheepish grin.
“Fuck, not funny is it? Sorry. Death becomes a bit, er, lighter when you don’t have to worry about it.” Emily shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to do here.” Emily gazed out, looking at the elderly couple, flinching slightly. “I mean, we’ll never be them. I’ll never be like them. But, you will.”
Naomi swallowed thickly, feeling her chest tighten with anxiety. “Jesus, I’m still a teenager, yeah? And you’re talking about, like, marriage. Lesbian marriage. And I’m not, I’m not,” Naomi gestured aimlessly, unable to finish.
“No, I didn’t mean. Like, that. I just meant, in general. Fuck.” Emily shook her head, looking away for a moment. “I don’t know what I mean.”
“So you’re actually immortal?” Naomi felt small parts of her mind exploding, but it wasn’t like the whole thing hadn’t gone into nuclear meltdown already.
“Yes.” Emily looked at her.
“And you’re at college?” Naomi raised her eyebrow dubiously, because, really.
Emily snorted. “Tony’s idea.” She mumbled, looking away again. “He thinks if we learn about, you know, the world now we can fit in better. Live in it better.” Emily snorted again. “Well, not ‘live’ but, you know what I mean.”
Naomi realised, with only slight alarm, that she should’ve completely lost her mind by now. “Jesus.” She whispered, more to herself than Emily. “Why bother?” Naomi turned to Emily, everything depending, she thought, on the answer.
“I don’t want to be a killer.” Emily shrugged a little helplessly. “Katie doesn’t want to be without me, neither does Cook. Besides,” Emily gave her a half smile. “Him and Freddie pretty much do what Effy does, and Effy, I think more than anything, was bored.”
“I can’t even begin to wrap my head around this.” Naomi sighed. “No more lies, Emily. About anything.”
“Thank you, Naomi. Thank you.” Emily reached forward, seeming to ignore that Naomi froze when she hugged her.
“For what, exactly?” Naomi felt her heart racing, because Emily was still a fucking vampire.
“Seeing me, and not the monster.” Emily smiled at her, beautifully, and Naomi snorted, trying not to blush.
“Well, as people keep pointing out, you could kill me if you wanted so, you know.” She shrugged, shaking her head because it was still all so unbelievable. “This is so fucked up.” She reached over and squeezed Emily’s hand lightly. “I have no clue what we do about college. It’s a right mess.”
It was obvious, though, after a little while. Emily had recounted that everything had been slightly less than boring before Naomi had arrived and she’d wanted to befriend her, which made Naomi snort because fucking in bathroom stalls was hardly befriending. Though she decided against pointing that out. Naomi had suggested that, maybe, they would just have to leave it, and Emily had looked at her so crestfallen that she’d quickly amended that she meant at college.
“I don’t want to lose you.” Emily licked her lips, and Naomi found herself staring. And then remembered, fuck, vampire.
“I can’t go back to how things were though.” Naomi said softly, looking away when Emily looked at her sadly. “I just, I don’t know. Slowly. Okay?”
“Can we just, I don’t know, start again?”
And that had been that, really. Naomi had left not too long after, Emily looking like she wanted to hug her again, or something, but thankfully holding herself back.
When Naomi had gotten home, she’d felt so relieved that she kept wondering, at points during the night when her mind wandered, wasn’t she meant to be worrying about something? But, strangely, mythical monsters aside, she found that she wasn’t anymore.
V^^^^^V
“I was sure you weren’t coming back!” Pandora hugged her excitedly at lunch, being unable to during philosophy and having to run off after. “It’s whizzer you’re back though! And sitting with us!” Pandora hugged her again, and Naomi awkwardly patted her on the back.
“Yes well, drama aside, I’m feeling better thanks.” She sat down next to Thomas, who gave her a kind smile.
“Would you care to study with us this weekend? You have missed much in class, yes?” He took a bite of a sandwich, and Naomi realised she’d grown so used to not eating at college that she was startled to see someone doing it. She had a sudden, awful, urge to look for Emily, but didn’t.
“I’d love to.” She smiled, because it wasn’t like she had other plans.
She sat next to Emily in politics, her heart beating slightly fast, and she realised she was nervous. And it wasn’t, she thought wanting to roll her eyes at herself, because Emily was a demon from hell, or whatever, but because the girl was so close. She was mental, she thought, because for fuck’s sake she was missing the point. Or was she?
Emily gave her a small smile, and then ignored her for the rest of the lesson, only saying “Bye.” at the end of it and getting up.
“Bye.” Naomi said back, watching as Emily grabbed Katie, who was glaring at her so strongly she thought back to what Emily had said about Katie wanting to kill her, and blinked.
Effy gave her a small wave, and Cook looked at her blankly for a moment, before shrugging at her slightly, and following Effy and the twins out of the room.
“Just, so you know, I’m sorry too.” Freddie said, hands bunched in his pockets, and shoulders shrugging as she turned to look at him, having forgotten he was there. “But also, so you know, none of us wanted to hurt you, yeah?” He gazed at her from beneath his fringe, and she knew she looked as startled as she felt.
“Thanks.” She said, after a moment. “Don’t know if you’re right about Katie, though.” She picked her bag up as he ambled toward the door, turning after a moment, and giving her a half smile.
“We’ll keep her in check.” Freddie raised his eyebrows at her quickly, before disappearing, and she fell back slightly against a desk and took a deep breath. Vampires existed, one wanted to kiss her and another probably wanted to kill her.
Jesus fucking Christ, she thought, because really.
V^^^^^V
She heard a knock on her front door later that day, and was slightly surprised when her dad called out to her.
“Naomi, someone here for you!”
She made her way down stairs, feeling her heart rate picking up dramatically as she hesitantly pulled the front door open and peeked outside. Emily was standing there, looking up at the sky, smiling at her shyly when she noticed Naomi.
“Hi.” Emily said, and Naomi leant against her front door.
“Hi.” Naomi felt decidedly unsure what Emily was there for, but was relieved enough that at least it wasn’t Katie in a high necked cape and monster fangs ready to pounce on her.
“I just wanted to see if you were free at all over the weekend and wanted to maybe do something.” Emily raised an eyebrow at her, and Naomi blinked. “Not go clubbing, obviously.” Emily said quickly, and Naomi wondered if Emily would be blushing if she, well, could. “But I thought perhaps we could have dinner and talk. Or something?” Emily looked at her expectantly, and Naomi blinked again. “Or well, I could watch you eat dinner. And we could talk. Because obviously you don’t want to watch me eat, and.” Emily licked her lips suddenly, rolling her eyes. “Fuck’s sake.”
Naomi snorted, suddenly. “You’re an immortal demon and I make you nervous?”
“In a nutshell.” Emily muttered. “Please go out with me, just me?” Emily shifted from one foot to another, and Naomi frowned slightly. “I’ll still ignore you at college, or at least pretend I don’t know you so well, but you said it only had to be at college, so…” Emily trailed off, watching Naomi intently.
“I did say that.” It wasn’t everyday, Naomi thought, that a vampire was so desperate to be friends with her. “Alright.” She took a breath, glancing to the side of her for a moment. “In public though, sans drugs. Tomorrow night. Studying tonight with the three musketeers.”
Emily gave her a relieved smile. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. Is that good?”
Naomi nodded, as Emily walked backwards smiling, only turning when she’d reached the front gate.
Studying meant, Naomi was slightly surprised to figure out, actually studying, which she hadn’t done in a group situation ever. Pandora brought up vampires only once, and both JJ and Thomas had looked at her sharply, and Naomi rolled her eyes.
Later, she stared up at her ceiling, at the faded stars, feeling dangerous and excited because she hadn’t told them about her date with Emily, and wouldn’t. Not that it was a date, not a real one clearly, because yes they’d had sex but she’d been on drugs then. And maybe she’d wanted it, but that was before she knew what was going on. Or half knew, because she was fucked if she didn’t have a thousand questions rattling around in her head. She wondered if she should make a list of everything she wanted to ask about, hoping Emily would keep her promise and not lie to her.
V^^^^^V
“Do you like Italian?” Emily asked her, parking outside a restaurant, and Naomi fidgeted with her skirt, realising it was the same one she’d been wearing the last time they’d, well, in any case she was glad to be wearing underwear this time.
“Isn’t garlic your mortal enemy?” Naomi replied, unbuckling her seatbelt, and Emily smiled ruefully.
“No.” She just said.
A smiling waiter seated them near the window, and Naomi felt awkward as her stomach rumbled loudly. She ordered pasta, and Emily surprised her by ordering a salad.
“Garden salad made from blood these days?” Naomi quirked an eyebrow, willing herself not to become flirtatious, because that wasn’t what this was about.
“Keeping up appearances.” Emily quirked an eyebrow back. “How are things, then?” She asked, leaning forward on her arms, and smiling at her happily.
Naomi snorted, crossing her arms. “Bit boring, in comparison.” She leaned forward, after a moment, unintentionally mirroring Emily’s pose. “How are things at casa de bloodsucker?” She felt like laughing as Emily blinked, as if surprised that she was joking about it. But what else was there, at this point?
“Strained, actually.” Emily played with her fork for a moment, before looking back at Naomi. “But whatever, right?”
Naomi frowned slightly, for the first time wondering that her and Emily, whatever they were, would have an adverse affect on Emily’s life, or whatever it was, too.
“What do you mean?”
A waiter deposited garlic bread on their table, followed by chilled glasses of water, and Naomi sipped from hers as Emily broke off a small piece of bread, putting it on her plate, and then ignoring it.
“Katie isn’t happy.” Emily lifted the glass of water for a moment, holding it in front of her face. “Not just about you, about the whole college thing. She hasn’t been for a while, I think she’s only sticking it out because I’m adamant about seeing it through.” Emily put her glass of water down, and Naomi blinked at how good Emily was at ‘keeping up appearances’.
“Because it’s a bit redundant, being that you’re well, immortal and not exactly needing a career?” Naomi raised her eyebrows, chewing slowly on some bread, subconsciously keeping pace with Emily’s movements and helping with the deception of her eating. She realised, after a moment, that she was doing it, and was slightly startled to realise she didn’t mind.
“I keep telling her, actually, that you two would get along if she wasn’t so opposed to, well, people.” Emily smirked, as Naomi raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “No, really. You’re not that unalike.” Emily frowned slightly. “Obviously enough that I want to shag you.”
Naomi choked on the piece of bread she was swallowing, sipping the water quickly. “Emily.” She said, though had no idea what to follow that with. A waiter appeared with their food, and Emily looked slightly relieved.
She ate her pasta, watching as Emily swirled her fork through the salad, spearing a piece of tomato and raising it to her lips.
“Anyway, Katie thinks we should cut our losses and disappear. Leave the country for a bit, go back to how things were.” Emily shrugged, putting her fork back in her salad and using a knife to move the tomato off it, spearing a piece of cucumber instead, repeating the action as she talked.
“And how were things?” Naomi asked, swallowing a mouthful of pasta and sipping more water. Emily gave her a dark look, and put her cutlery down.
“You don’t want to know.” Emily paused, before picking her cutlery back up. “I actually love pretending to eat.” She grinned, though it didn’t meet her eyes when she looked at Naomi. “We don’t do it at college because Katie thinks it’s stupid, and last time Cook pretended he went overboard, poured a beer over his head and ruined someone’s birthday cake.”
Naomi lifted a fork full of pasta to her mouth, and then frowned slightly. “I’m going to assume that if I don’t want to know, you did worse things to people than what you did to me?” She said it softly, watching as Emily looked away from her for a moment.
“Can we not talk about it?” She asked, softly. “Can we just stay like this, for a bit?”
Naomi sighed, eating more pasta, chewing slowly and swallowing. “For a bit.” She said, and Emily gave her a grateful smile. “But I don’t want lies, Emily.”
Emily nodded. “I don’t want to lie, I’d just rather you, well, weren’t eating when I tell you the kinds of things we used to do before we, or I really, started to care.”
Emily paid for her dinner later, waving her off when she tried to stop her.
“We have more money than we need.” Emily said, and Naomi just blinked.
They walked outside, and Naomi hugged herself. “So, what now?” She asked, not entirely wanting their time together to end just yet.
“You could come to the house, if you like. No one will be there. They’ll all be out.” Emily raised her eyebrows, and Naomi just looked at her.
“Not that I’m not intrigued, and vaguely desperate to see it, but no. I don’t think so.” Naomi watched as Emily nodded, looking embarrassed. “Slowly, remember?” She murmured. “Dad has his girlfriend at ours.” She shrugged.
“What about the park? I think there’s a blanket in the back of the car…” Emily licked her lips, gazing at her openly, and Naomi had the impression that Emily was willing her to trust her.
“I don’t know.” She said, hugging herself tighter. Emily gently took one of her hands, unfolding her arm from around her body.
“I’ll answer anything.” She said, her voice low, raising her eyes and looking into Naomi’s. “And I promise that I will never, ever, like ever, feed off you without your permission. Again.”
Naomi took a deep breath, feeling slightly irritated and wanting to point out that there would never be permission to give, actually, when a car drove past them and a man honked his horn and wolf whistled from inside it.
“Fucking hell I hate people.” She muttered, as Emily smirked. “Fuck it.” She said, and Emily cocked her eyebrow for a moment. “What?” She asked, but Emily just shook her head.
“I just keep thinking how well you’d get along with us, that’s all.” And led her back to the car, Naomi wondering exactly what Emily meant by that.
As they walked into the park, a blanket tucked under Emily’s arm, Naomi looked up at the stars and smiled. They didn’t go to her bench, instead choosing a patch of grass far from the trees and lying down on it, side by side, close but not touching.
“There’s something about stars that calms me.” Naomi murmured, feeling her cheeks flush slightly, which they always seemed to when she felt herself opening up.
“I’ve wanted to lie next to you under them since I first saw your ceiling. I used to look at your stars, and think of doing this as you slept.” Emily’s voice rasped, just above a whisper, and Naomi glanced at her.
“You didn’t sleep?” She asked, turning her face back toward the sky and feeling alarmed because that was a bit creepy. As far as she knew, no one had ever watched her sleep before.
“We don’t sleep. Ever.” She heard Emily shift slightly next to her. “I didn’t like, stare at you or anything. Sometimes I read your books, by the moonlight, or stared out of your window.” She realised their shoulders were touching lightly as she felt Emily shrug.
“Right.” She just said. “So why don’t you come to college when the sun is out?” She might as well get down to it, anyway.
“It hurts us. The sun. Burns right through us, takes fucking ages to heal. It’s a bit awful.”
“So vampirism is like an extreme form of being albino?” Naomi snorted as Emily chuckled. “So that part is true, then.”
Emily made a noise of agreement next to her. Naomi stared at the sky for a little while, feeling her chest swell but also feeling small and unimportant at the same time.
“What were you like before this?” She felt the question leave her lips, was slightly shocked because her mind had wondered to other things, staring at the sky, like Cassie’s love for extraterrestrials.
“Monsters.” Emily whispered, and she sat up after a moment, turning to cross her legs, and Naomi did the same. “Killed people, had fun doing it.” Emily’s fingers played with the blanket, and Naomi just looked at her. “Cook and me, we used to do it together a lot. Go after girls together, get fucked up.”
Naomi frowned. “What?”
Emily licked her lips. “When we feed off people who are drugged out of their heads, it affects us too. Half the reason we do it, other than people being a bit more willing and unfocused.” Naomi absently rubbed a hand to the side of her neck, the scabs having fallen off, feeling only the ghost of Emily’s teeth marks. “And Cook and me, well, went all out for a while there. I mean, before that it was just Katie. We did everything together, even dumped bodies at the same time until we realised that we drew too much attention, being twins, and we couldn’t stay at the same place for long. Plus, Effy started hanging round with us again, and Katie and Effy. Well, they had more fun together. And Effy had Cook tagging along with her, and him and I just sort of clicked.” Emily shrugged again, looking briefly at the sky.
Naomi wanted to ask how old Emily was, but half dreaded the answer, wondering if she could stomach it. “Why does Katie not like me?” She asked instead, watching as Emily tilted her head down and looked at her.
“She thinks you compromise us. She hates people, well, mortal people.” Emily licked her lips, fidgeting for a second. “And she can hear what you think about me.” Emily muttered, turning her head away as Naomi screwed her face up.
“What?” She asked, because seriously. What?
“Katie can hear what you think.” Emily repeated, squirming slightly. Naomi felt ill.
“What the fuck?” She asked. “Can you as well?” She felt violated, all over again. Felt sudden anger hotly in the back of her throat, and something stronger in her stomach that felt a lot like hurt.
“No!” Emily shook her head, reaching out to touch Naomi’s leg. “No, that’s just Katie.”
“Right.” Naomi took a breath, her heart beating hard against her chest. “So what can you do, then?” She crossed her arms, sure she wouldn’t like the answer.
Emily licked her lips, looking quickly at the sky. Naomi couldn’t make out much, in the dark, just the shape of her, and her eyes, and her teeth when she talked.
“We can all do something. Something else, that helps us when we, well, feed I guess.” Emily shrugged, and then threw herself down on the blanket again, lying on her back and rubbing her hands over her eyes for a few moments. “Freddie makes people fall in love with him.” She said, taking her hands away, and Naomi felt her stomach drop. “Like, anyone he wants. Doesn’t matter if he’s being a cunt, or the most boring twat that ever lived, people will fall in love with him. Absolutely any mortal he wants.”
Naomi gasped. “Is that what you…” She started, thinking she might vomit or kick Emily if the answer was yes. Vampire or not.
“Fuck no.” Emily answered. “No one falls in love with me unless they want to.”
Naomi felt her eyes close in relief, and she lay down slowly, next to Emily, but left a space between them. A breeze blew through the park, faint music coming from somewhere Naomi couldn’t identify.
“Go on.” Naomi said, frowning at the sky. This was nuts.
“Cook is kind of like Freddie, but he makes anyone want to fuck him. Like, anyone.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Sort of. Cook gets people desperate for him to shag them, consumed with lust, but not love. More instant gratification, than forever. Does that make sense?”
“Is that what he did to Pandora?” Naomi sat up, stomach clenching. “Is that what you can do?” She turned to glare at Emily, as Emily rolled her eyes.
“Yes that’s what he did to Pandora, and no I can’t do that. Again, no one fucks me unless they want to.” Emily raised her eyes pointedly at Naomi, and Naomi felt herself blush and look away. If the answer had been yes, she would’ve stormed out of the park, demanded she go back to London, and never spoken to Emily again. Never thought of Bristol, possibly even invested in wooden stake manufacturing. And, she thought somewhere deep down, be slightly relieved that it hadn’t come from her. Fuck.
“Poor Pandora.” She muttered, lying down again, and Emily turned her head toward her.
“I told you, you didn’t want to know. These abilities, they’re designed to help us. Designed for manipulation. Like Katie, who decidedly uses hers for evil since it makes it so easy for her to prey on people’s vulnerabilities and insecurities.” Emily turned her head back to the sky. “Effy and her work well together, cos Effy can tell the future, in a round about way. Sort of.”
Naomi turned her head quickly, wondering if she’d later have whiplash. “Are you shitting me?”
“Well, not tell the future. But she knows, intrinsically, how people will react. To everything. She knows what they’ll say, what they’ll do, even what they’ll feel. So she anticipates everything, which is almost like telling the future. Not people’s thoughts though, hence her and Katie...” Emily licked her lips, trailing off and going silent as she gazed at the stars.
“And you?” Naomi asked, almost whispering.
Emily’s eyes closed for a moment. “I can put things in people’s heads.” She whispered, after pausing for what felt like eons, and Naomi felt herself go still. “Not like thoughts, like images. Even make them think they’re somewhere else, if I push it.”
The music on the breeze stopped, and Naomi took a shuddery breath. “You did that to me when you fed off me.” Her voice was so low that it trembled.
“Yes.” Emily said back, looking at Naomi fearfully in the moonlight.
“When else?” Naomi sat up, hugging her knees to her chest.
“Sometimes, your dreams.” Emily sat up as well, but Naomi refused to look at her. The hurt had come back twofold, and she felt sick with it.
“And?”
“Just those times, and once at college. With JJ.”
Naomi remembered, then, one of her first days, when her mind had wandered into an imagined life with JJ. She remembered, too, how confused she had been at the time.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Her voice still trembled, and she hugged her knees tighter to her chest.
“Because I didn’t know you, and I liked you, and I thought maybe you liked him so I…” Emily reached out to touch her, her voice desperate, and Naomi blanched.
“Fucking manipulated me into being wary of him? Jesus Christ!” She stood, suddenly, shaking.
Emily stood quickly too. “No! It wasn’t to manipulate you, I can’t manipulate you, not like that!” Emily grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around when she started to walk away.
Naomi shoved Emily, though Emily, even smaller than her, didn’t move. Acted like Naomi hadn’t just shoved her with all her might.
“You put images in my head and made me feel stupid! Made me want you! This whole thing!” Naomi spluttered, turning around again, hating herself for thinking she would feel relief as opposed to feeling completely used and wanting to cry.
Emily ran after her, stopping in front of her and putting her hands on her shoulders. “No, Naomi, I can’t do that! I can make people see things, but I can’t control how they’ll react to them!” Emily pushed against her, stopping her from walking, and Naomi shook her hands off.
“What does that even fucking mean?” She said, crossing her arms, feeling some of the anger slip away, enough to hear Emily out at least.
“It means,” Emily said, peering intently into her eyes. “That I can put whatever I want into someone’s head. Make them think they’re anywhere. Make them dream whatever I want them to. But I can’t control how they’ll react to it, what they’ll feel or think about it. Like JJ. I didn’t know if you’d like your imagined life with him or not, you could’ve and I would’ve left you alone. Or that first night you came out with us, you weren’t repulsed by the idea of me. Of being with me. Kissing me. Any of it. If you had been, again, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard to be with you.” Emily sounded choked up, and Naomi wondered if she was crying.
Naomi took deep, shuddering breaths, closing her eyes. “I don’t know if I believe you.” She said, gritting her teeth, and looking at Emily when she felt Emily’s hands on her arms.
“I swear it, Naomi. I fucking promise you.” Emily sniffed, a darkness on her cheek, and the sight of it made Naomi stand back. Emily wiped it away angrily.
“I need to go home.” Naomi said, and Emily took a step back from her. “Will you take me?” Naomi blew out a breath, looking away when Emily nodded emphatically.
She waited while Emily retrieved the blanket, and they sat quietly in the car as Emily drove them back to Naomi’s house. Naomi felt herself calming down, though only slightly, still feeling incredibly invaded.
“I’m sorry.” Emily said again. “This is a lot, isn’t it?”
“I’m so overwhelmed I can barely think. Just when I got used to, you know, one of the most impossible things I could think of, and being lied to, and fucking fed off, it’s just the icing on the shit cake, really.” Naomi unbuckled her seatbelt when the car stopped outside her house.
“For what it’s worth, I haven’t done it since that night, at the club. I haven’t done any of it. I’m so sorry, I’ve never, I haven’t, I mean no one has affected me like you before.” Emily looked at her beseechingly. “Please don’t tell me to go away. Anything but that.”
Naomi frowned. “Don’t fucking lie, Emily. You promised you wouldn’t lie. You put Cassie, and you, in my dreams all this last fucking week.”
Emily looked utterly startled, but not guilty, and Naomi frowned even deeper.
“No, Naomi, I didn’t.” Emily looked at her openly, and Naomi felt her frown clear because, actually, she did believe her. “What did you dream?”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, that Cassie was reaching for me and you were like, clinging to her and crying.” Naomi glanced at Emily, seeing the total shock on her face.
“No I, that wasn’t me at all.” Emily looked away from her, looking shocked and slightly confused. And also, something else Naomi couldn’t put her finger on.
“Oh.” Naomi said, opening her car door after a moment. “Well, then. Look. I just need some time, okay?”
Emily looked back at her, nodding quickly. “Of course.” She gave her a weak smile. “I have all the time in the world, actually.”
“Right.” Naomi said, stepping out of the car. “Thanks for dinner.” She gave Emily a curt smile. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
She avoided the living room when she let herself into her house, hearing her dad and Veronica chuckling and she rolled her eyes. She trudged up the stairs, closing her bedroom door behind her and throwing herself on her bed without turning the light on. She stared up at her ceiling, struggling to remember the images Emily had put in her head since she’d met her.
Aside from JJ, it had all been sex related, or making out, or fucking inappropriate touching. And she had reacted to it, hadn’t she? But she’d also thought it was coming from her, not Emily. Fucking hell, what did that even mean?
She closed her eyes, later, falling into eventual sleep and dreaming about nothing that made sense. Scattered images, people who didn’t look like themselves, flashes of confusion and weird feelings. When she woke up, she almost missed the dreams Emily had apparently given her in comparison.
Almost.
V^^^^^V
She gave Emily a small smile when she walked into her philosophy class on Monday morning, Emily returning it with something akin to relief on her face. Cook raised his eyebrow at her, and Pandora prattled on about some television series she loved that Naomi had never heard of when she sat down. In all honesty, she thought, life had become far more interesting than television.
After almost half an hour, when Miss Clark still hadn’t shown up, Cook stood and walked out, with a loud. “Fuck this, yeah?”
She watched as some of the other students started getting up, and following Cook, and JJ raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged. He stood, picking his bag up and walking out of the room, and Pandora stood as well.
“Come on Nai, we got free time! Whizzer!” She waited for a second, until Naomi looked around.
“I might meet you outside, alright?” She looked at Pandora, noticing the way she glanced at Emily, who was yet to leave the room either.
“You sure, Nai? I don’t mind waiting.” Pandora gave Emily a worried glance, being so obvious Naomi wanted to laugh.
“Really.” Naomi said, touching Pandora on the hand, and Pandora walked out of the room, throwing glances over her shoulder as she went.
“Well we’ll be waiting and if you don’t show we’ll notice!” Pandora said loudly, looking half petrified as she did so, before disappearing into the hallway.
“Fuck’s sake.” Naomi muttered, twisting around to see Emily smirking at her. She was leaning back in her chair, ankles crossed, her forearms resting across her stomach. They were the only ones left behind.
“I really like her, actually.” Emily’s smirk softened, and she gazed at Naomi for a moment.
“She’s definitely one of a kind.” Naomi replied, struggling to keep her eyes from looking down at Emily’s legs, stretched out, nor where the short skirt she was wearing began. Or ended, really.
“Alright weekend?” Emily asked softly, raising an eyebrow when Naomi’s eyes flickered down for a second.
“Oh, well, I suppose. Found out some interesting things about vampires, actually. Sneaky fuckers, they are.” What the Jesus Christ was wrong with her? No flirting, she told herself harshly, even as Emily uncrossed her legs for a moment, and then recrossed them. Shit, she thought, as she looked back into Emily’s eyes. She’d just watched. Avidly.
“Well, if one of them told you, they must really like you.” Emily slowly sat forward, uncrossing her legs and standing. Naomi blinked, realising Emily was dressed as if, as if, well, she’d raided Katie’s wardrobe. She was glad Katie wasn’t around, because thinking something along the lines of a nice rack running in the family would probably get her killed. Violently.
Naomi swallowed. “Or she’s a shameless flirt.” Her mouth went dry as Emily leant over to pick her bag up off the floor, and her skirt rode up exposing the alarmingly appealing expanse of thigh and… Naomi shook her head. Christ. She turned around quickly, shutting her eyes for a minute, and then stood up. “Question.” She addressed the front of the classroom, annoyed when her voice sounded slightly breathless.
“You can ask me anything.” Emily appeared in front of her desk, her arms crossed, a knowing look in her eyes.
“You can put images in people’s heads?” Naomi fiddled with her pen, trying to avoid looking at Emily altogether. When the fuck had she become such a pervy boy? Emily nodded, her expression sobering. “Can you, also, as well as that, well can you, uh, tell what images are already in people’s heads?” Naomi bit her lip, hating that her cheeks flushed and she felt her face heat up ridiculously.
Emily paused, and Naomi glanced at her, rolling her eyes when Emily suddenly laughed. “No, Naomi. I can’t tell that.” Emily reached forward then, across the desk, gently touching her shoulder for just a moment.
Naomi noticeably breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded slightly. “Good. Just wondering. Completely unrelated to anything other than curiosity.” She picked her bag up as Emily snorted.
“But Katie can.” Emily laughed, again, at the expression on her face, and walked towards the door. “Don’t worry though, I don’t think she’ll be at college again for a while.” She shrugged. “If at all, actually.”
Naomi watched her walk away, wondering briefly if she’d lied about being able to make people want to fuck her, because seriously. She hadn’t felt that agitated since, well, the bathroom cubicle. Not that she wanted to remember that, or anything, but Jesus Christ.
She met Pandora and JJ outside, sitting on the grass and having no clue what they were talking about because her eyes had unfocused and she kept seeing Emily in her head, her legs and chest, and she felt her pulse quicken just slightly as she remembered the bathroom. Remembered what it had felt like when Emily kissed her, and her hands had slid downwards. Not that she’d forgotten, even though she wanted to. She’d been too preoccupied with the drama of the whole fucking thing lately, it seemed, to remotely think of anything sexual.
Which was alarming. Incredibly alarming. Because she hadn’t dealt with the idea of vampirism, or manipulation, or being fucking fed off. Not completely. But, she realised, she’d made marginally more progress in the matter than she had with her sudden overwhelming apparent homosexuality.
Pandora burst into happy applause next to her, and she looked at JJ, an expectant look on his face and a deck of cards he was holding, and belatedly clapped her hands as well. He gave them both a happy smile, and fanned them out, and she looked away.
Emily and Cook were standing a ways off, deep in conversation. Emily was laughing, and touching his arm, and to anyone else it would look like they were flirting. To anyone else, the way her skirt clung to her hips, and the darker shade of lipstick, one Effy usually wore, would’ve seemed designed to drive him crazy. She bit her lip, because fuck if she hadn’t felt this form of jealousy before.
Emily had manipulated her, she reminded herself. Put images in her head. Was a fucking fictional being. But, another voice piped in, it wasn’t her fault that she liked it. No, her own voice whispered, it wasn’t Emily’s fault that the thought of fucking her was actually appealing.
She had to stop flirting, had to stop encouraging Emily. Because she wasn’t gay, maybe, and Emily was a vampire, apparently, and that was like playing with fire in a house made of match sticks. Extremely attractive match sticks, that made her want to push Cook out of the way and throw Emily on the ground and rip her skirt off with her teeth.
She blinked, Pandora applauding again, and she clapped her hands slowly. The thought startled her, but not in the confusing way Emily’s images had on the dance floor. Those had seemed to take her away, had told her a story. But now, it was her own thoughts conjuring images, her own wants fuelling them.
Fuck, she thought. Licking her lips, remembering. Her eyes closing when she felt the phantom touch of Emily’s tongue pressing back against her own.
“They seem awfully close, or closer than usual, wouldn’t you say Naomi?” JJ’s voice broke through, and she snapped her eyes open. He was looking at her sympathetically.
“Who?” She asked dumbly, her eyes glancing between JJ, and where Cook and Emily stood. She felt something awful when she saw that he had his arm around her, and they were laughing.
“I was certain she was gay, and they’ve certainly always been together, but not together, that is to say, more friends, or so I thought, but who knows with,” JJ seemed to catch himself. “Those types. I can’t imagine it’s easy living forever, and it must be hard to be interested in people, like you and me, on account that we’re barely around for a flicker of time, comparatively. We’re just blood bags, aren’t we?”
“JJ! We’re not meant to talk about it!” Pandora shushed him, and after a moment he looked incredibly guilty.
She felt somewhat numb, all of a sudden.
“Shit. Balls. I’m sorry Naomi, I didn’t think. I never think. I over think. Stupid fucking idiot.” JJ balled his hands into fists.
“It’s alright.” She heard herself say blandly. “It’s the truth.”
She felt like she’d been hit in the chest, felt the air leave her lungs, when she realised that if Emily wasn’t feeding off her, who was she feeding off? And further more, how often did they have to feed anyway? Was Emily sucking the necks of other girls even while she’d been sucking hers? The thoughts were awful. The questions made her heart hammer in her chest. She shouldn’t care. She had to excuse herself, run to the toilets, and splash water on her face.
She looked at the side of her neck, the faint reddish marks of where Emily’s bite used to be. Wondered how many other girls had stared in the mirror at the same thing, and whether she was just another in a long line of lovesick fucking idiots.
Later, she sat next to her dad on the couch in front of the television and listened as he laughed at a mindless programme she could barely follow. After all, she thought sulkily, that’s what people like her did. Mortal people. They didn’t traipse around with vampires and forget what she was to them. Didn’t delude themselves that they were anything special.
Didn’t flirt with immortality, no matter how much it flirted back.
V^^^^^V
Chapter Seven: It Tastes Like Death But It Looks Like Fun