Fic: A Passing Feeling - Katie/Naomi (Chapter One, Part Two)

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The next few days are like a waste-ground at Uni. Like the apocalypse happened while Katie was asleep and she's one of a few survivors.

Everyone who lives away from Bristol has either been collected by parents or shoved the essentials (plus as much laundry as they could manage) into a rucksack and jumped on a train, complete with brain-shattering hangovers.

Katie doesn't care though, really. It means that she can get to one of the computers in the library without having to queue like she usually has to.

She's logging in when there's a rustle beside her and then Naomi's there, grinning and lifting her bag off over her head.

"Hi," she says brightly. "Still here then?"

"Yep," Katie says, leaving out the obviously that her head says. "Just gotta print a few bits out to take home with me."

"And where's that, then? Home?" Naomi asks, and Katie narrows her gaze as she looks at Naomi who's now fiddling about with her notebook and a pencil case that's covered in stickers that say things like 'Vote Green!' and 'If women ruled the world we wouldn't have needed to make this sticker', which Katie thinks doesn't quite make sense.

"Um, well. Here."

Naomi raises her eyebrows as she looks over.

"Well not here here, obviously. I live in Bristol, and I'm not fucking well going home until absolutely necessary."

She's quite serious so when Naomi laughs, shoving a pencil in between her lips, Katie frowns at her.

"No, God, sorry," Naomi says. "I just... I know what you mean, okay? I'm the same - but I live locally so I've got no choice. Though if I do so much as sleep out there's the good possibility that I'll find someone squatting in my room when I get back."

"What?" Katie asks, loading up her CD. "Do you live in a fucking commune or something?"

Naomi shrugs then, and apparently it's not funny anymore. Not when it's talking about her.

"Sort of. Let's just say that my mum's not very good at saying no."

"Oh," Katie says quietly, and there's an awkward silence then until she shakes her head at herself, wondering how they ended up in this conversation in the first place. Like Naomi's actually easy to talk to or something.

They're like that for a few more minutes, and Katie thinks about whether it would be rude to put her iPod on now that they're not saying anything but decides against it, sighing as she taps her nails on the desktop.

"Katie," Naomi says suddenly, and then she laughs as Katie jumps. "Shit, sorry. I was just... look, everyone else got to have fun last night. Why don't we go for a few drinks tonight? Seeing as we've both been left behind by the rest of the student body."

It takes her a second to think about it, narrowing her eyes as she looks into Naomi's big, blue ones (that look a lot brighter in the daylight, actually), because they've only really very recently reached some sort of silent agreement not to hate each other quite so hard.

But Naomi's not bad, sometimes. And Katie likes how she can be a bit of a cow (as long as it's directed at other people) and, really, they have been abandoned, sort of.

"Yeah, all right. Cool. Like, sevenish or something?"

Naomi hums and then turns back to her screen, the smallest of smiles teasing the corner of her mouth.

"Meet me at the Union and we'll go from there, all right?"

"Okay," Katie says, turning back to her computer too, almost like they're having a sort of secret spy conversation. Making a plan without it looking like they're talking to each other.

Like it's a conspiracy and they're the only ones who know about it.

****

"I'll be home in two days, Kay - can't this wait?" Emily's saying into the phone as there's the soft click of a door after someone in the background had said, somewhat groggily, "Hey, Ems, you've stolen all the covers again..."

Katie almost says yes, then almost says no, and then wonders what the hell she was thinking ringing Emily up and saying that she really needed to talk to her.

She doesn't know why she's asking Emily anything, actually, because all she's doing is going out for a drink with her boss. No, her friend. Sort of. It just sort of seemed like something she should ask Emily about, because Emily's probably more like Naomi than Katie is and this is her world, really. University. And Katie still feels a little bit like she's faking it.

But she's got Emily out of bed now and probably disturbed something that Katie really doesn't want to know about so she fumbles for something to say, wishing that Effy were still there so that she wouldn't even need to have this conversation.

"Sorry, no. It's just... I have a... I need to find something to wear and I don't know what to..."

"Oh my God," Emily says, clearly enjoying this. "You've got a date with a swot, haven't you? Some sort of clever Uni bloke with standards and you don't know how to de-slut for him, do you?"

It takes Katie a lot of effort not to hang up immediately, or to throw her phone through her window, but she manages to grit her teeth and carry on.

"Um, for your information Emily, I am not a slut, nor have I ever dressed like one. And for your further information I do not have a date. But I am going to the library and well... Oh fucking forget it, okay?"

"No, wait, wait, wait," Emily whispers, mirth gone from her voice. "Sorry, I know you're not a slut, I didn't mean that. But, Kates, like... You've never had a problem picking what to wear before, and if it's not a date then why do you even care?"

She's quiet for a moment, and thoughtful. She's not actually sure, if she's honest. Like two months ago she wouldn't have given a flying fuck what Naomi thought about her but now Katie realises that she (totally begrudgingly) respects Naomi a bit. Enough to not want to look completely out of place next to her, anyway.

And it's easier to lie to Emily, pretend it's some bloke, than explain all of that to her. So Katie opts for saying, "Because... okay, it's not a date, but I'm going for a drink with someone that I... like. And I just don't want to dress wrong because - hello - I don't go out with, like, nerds or whatever."

There's another silence and Katie wonders if Emily's just gotten bored and buggered off but then she says, "Go with a skirt, but not a short one. Like knee length. That way if you catch him looking you know he fancies you too and you can make a move "

Katie almost blurts out that Naomi won't actually be looking at her legs and Katie doesn't want her to so no-one will be making any fucking moves but then remembers who she's talking to (i.e. another actual human being) and stops herself at the last minute and settles for a, "Thanks Em, sounds good."

She promises to tell Emily all about it (she won't) and hangs up, tapping her phone against her chin as she opens her wardrobe.

Twenty minutes later she's stomping into town because she doesn't even own any knee length skirts and she manages to laugh at herself in the street like a mental person when she realises what the fuck she's doing.

Maybe she's just growing up, she reckons. And when you're socialising with swots it doesn't hurt to fit in.

Though she'll be fucked if she buys anything floral. That's a compromise Katie just isn't willing to make.

****

It all feels a little bit like it's worth it,though, when Naomi finds her outside of the Union, handing over a can of cider for Katie to sip at as she takes a look up and down Katie before offering a, "You look nice," and then motioning for Katie to follow her off campus.

Katie's left floundering for a moment until she clears her throat and takes off after Naomi, strutting in a way that makes her look confident, at least. It's not a bad start at faking it. It's just disconcerting that she's never had to do that before.

****

Getting totally fucked is a complete accident, obviously, but Naomi's as good a drinker as she is a bar manager and she seems to insist that Katie keep up with her so, by about half nine, they've moved on to spirits and Katie is chuckling ridiculously as Naomi talks about her mum.

"You're serious?" she says, ignoring her lisp and catching Naomi's slight grin. "She actually used to make you stay home so that she could have a good reason to break up with her boyfriends?"

"Yep," Naomi says, squinting into her drink. "Like they'd take one look at a tiny me, coughing and sneezing or covered in lots of little red dots - all faked, of course - and back away slowly. That way Mum never had to tell them how rubbish they were in bed and they'd willingly fuck off with no one getting hurt. Sorted."

"Christ," Katie laughs and shakes her head. "Our mum used to go mental if we ever skived off school. Not that Emily ever did, the bloody goody two-shoes, but when I did..."

"Emily. Your sister, right?" Naomi smiles and Katie nods, wishing she'd never brought her up. Everyone always wants to know about what it's like to be a twin and what sort of stuff they do that's the same and how alike they are.

(Katie blinks a little when she realises that they might be more alike than she'd previously thought, especially at one point when Naomi nips off to the loo and Katie watches her go until she's out of sight. But it's more of an appreciation than anything else, surely.)

"Yeah," she says, though. "We went through a time of not really speaking but it's all right now."

"Oh?" Naomi asks, leaning forward on her elbows, head resting on her hands. "What was the matter?"

Katie falters, considers telling the truth, but then rights herself, flapping her hand around in front of her face like she's trying to bat away an invisible fly.

"Nothing really. Just teenager stuff."

"Fighting over boys?" Naomi asks and shifts back off her hands so she can stare into her drink as she swishes it around.

Not exactly, Katie thinks but she really does not want to start talking about gay twin sisters because even though Naomi hasn't asked any of the usual inane questions Katie can't quite trust her not to find some interest in that topic.

Plus, her standard answer, which involves a snort and/or a stern glare, doesn't seem appropriate at the moment. She wouldn't know what to say if someone asked her about it.

She wouldn't know what to say if Naomi asked her, anyway.

So, instead, she says, "Oh, more like who spent the longest in the bathroom or who used the last of the butter, that sort of thing."

Naomi's grinning through a lip-bite when she looks back up. "Bet it was always you."

Katie laughs again then, and the tension's broken. "Fuck off," she smiles, pushing lightly at Naomi's shoulder.

"Thought so." Naomi squints and then downs her drink. "Right, I don't know about you but I am dying for some chips. Coming?"

She's up and putting on her coat before Katie can finish her drink, which she manages to do in three swift gulps, blinking as the ice hits the back of her throat and then feeling the head-rush as she stands too quickly.

Naomi's hand's on her elbow the next second and, when Katie looks up, Naomi's looking back down at her with an odd smile.

"Okay?" she asks, and Katie rolls her eyes and shrugs Naomi's hand off and her coat on, wondering why it feels so much colder suddenly.

It's probably why she links her arm through Naomi's as they head for the door and, Katie figures, Naomi must be cold too because she squeezes her arm against her side, squishing Katie's hand for the briefest of seconds.

When she goes out with Effy they're never like this, like all jokey and stumbly and giggly (because Naomi really is a jolly drunk) and it sort of feels to Katie like she's made a friend when she really wasn't expecting it.

****

"So," Katie says, dipping a chip into some ketchup. "What have you got Cook for Christmas then?"

"Hah," Naomi chirps, pointing with her small wooden fork for them to turn a corner. "Cook? Like I'd buy him anything."

"Why not? He seems nice. Most of the time."

"Well yeah. He is. But I think I give him enough throughout the year without having to get him something for Christmas."

"Oh." It sounds weird, hearing Naomi say something like that. And Katie's mind goes momentarily to a place where she doesn't want it to go. "Well, I hope he gets you something anyway."

"Why's that?" Naomi asks and stops against a wall, twirling her fork between her fingers as she raises an eyebrow.

"Well, because that's what boys are supposed to do. Buy you presents, make you feel good. You know."

"Hmm," Naomi hums, poking at her chips but picking nothing up. "Bit conventional isn't it, Katie?"

"What? Wanting someone to be nice to you?" She furrows her brow further when Naomi leans in close and whispers into her ear.

"Now you're getting it," Naomi winks and saunters off.

It takes a moment for Katie to motivate herself to move but then she's shaking her head and catching up to Naomi, wondering, and not for the first time, what the fuck she's on about.

****

Her mouth feels like someone's vacuumed it whilst she was sleeping and her head feels like it's been smacked with a sledgehammer so it takes Katie a few moments to realise she's not in her own bed.

She keeps deadly still because she's pretty fucking sure that she's not alone.

Keeping her eyes shut and focussing on listening she can just about make out the sound of breathing. Light, soft, girl breathing.

Naomi breathing.

Katie's head starts to pound as she goes back over the events of the evening - after chips they'd decided to head to a club. Fuck knows why, Katie thinks now, but she remembers agreeing, thinking about dancing and how it'd been ages since she did something like that.

And Naomi had seemed keen and had grabbed her hand and pulled Katie along behind her, saying something like, "Come on, Katie. Stop acting like you're forty," which had really got Katie's back up so she'd stomped along after her, not before snatching her hand away and muttering something shittily under her breath.

She'd got them both shots at the bar, just to prove a point, and she doesn't remember much of what happened after that (fucking tequila) and Katie's stomach twists unpleasantly just at the thought of it.

"Ugh," she groans and then freezes when she hears a sharp intake of breath to her right.

"Oh God," Naomi says, and Katie chances a look around.

Naomi's got her hands pressed to either side of her head and the cover's ridden down just enough for Katie to make out the very start of Naomi's breasts. She looks away quickly, double-checking that she, at the very least, is wearing something (which she is).

"Shit, all right Katie?" Naomi asks sleepily from somewhere beside her, and for a horrible second she thinks that Naomi's going to fucking touch her.

When she doesn't, Katie manages to swallow despite her dry throat and nod before sitting up. "Yeah. Just fucking hanging."

"Heh," Naomi laughs softly. "I can only apologise."

At this, Katie allows herself a small smile as she sits and glances back over her shoulder, relieved to see Naomi pulling on a t-shirt over her head. "First time for everything, yeah?"

Naomi flips her the bird and they both laugh and then wince again.

"Well, I'd best be off then," Katie announces, rubbing her hands up and down her thighs as if coaxing them into action.

"No, no. No need for that. I'll make us some tea." Naomi pauses and then continues when Katie says nothing. "Come on, it'll make you feel better."

"Ugh, fine," Katie says and stands.

"Where are you going? I can bring the tea back to bed."

Katie turns, a little too quickly and squints as she raises an eyebrow. "What? Don't you have a couch?"

It's a weird look on Naomi's face, then, as she blinks, sort of like someone's just flicked water in her face. She recovers while Katie's still watching.

"Yeah. Course. Come on then."

Katie's still stationary as Naomi turns on her heel.

It's just the hangover, she reckons. Nothing's making sense at the moment.

****

They drink their tea very quietly whilst rubbing their heads, Katie making a point of how she can't remember all that much beyond a certain point and Naomi commenting that that's generally what happens when you have two shots of tequila followed by downing a Jack Daniels and coke and they both clutch their stomachs at the thought of it.

Katie's sure it's the worst hangover she's ever had and she tells Naomi as much as she's on her way out.

"Yeah, can't say it's one of my favourites either. I think I might even go back to bed."

"Sounds like a plan," Katie agrees and very shakily hoists her bag up over her shoulder. "Right, best be off then. Left out of here, yeah?"

"Yeah," Naomi nods, pulling her cardigan around herself and gesturing down the road. "It's not far to walk back to Uni. And there's coffee on the way."

"Cool."

There's an awkward moment where Katie thinks that Naomi might hug her or something but she smiles softly and says bye before Katie turns off and starts the long walk back to her room.

****

On the way there are things she thinks about, though her brain would really do well to shut the fuck up.

She remembers small things, like when they were dancing Naomi had her hand on Katie's hip and, even though Naomi is a terrible dancer, it was kind of fun. And she'd spun Katie around and held her hand and it was nice.

But there was something odd about it, Katie thinks. Like something she'd noticed at the time but didn't think on further then.

She realises, just as she's swiping her key card, that they didn't talk about boys all night. Or look at any. But then, Katie supposes, Naomi does have a boyfriend already so she wouldn't really. Though why Katie didn't so much as smile at a boy she doesn't know. She could have done. Should have done maybe. But she was having fun. Naomi was enough.

****

Bed doesn't seem like a great idea by the time she gets back to her room, mainly because Katie actually has a shitload of stuff to do today and it won't matter that she had a splitting headache if her mum ends up with fuck all for Christmas.

So she switches on her laptop to check her email as she strips off, hoping that a magic shower will fix everything.

It does, sort of. Or at least part way because all she still really wants to do is go to bed. Possibly forever.

Instead Katie sits at her laptop as she dries her hair with a small pink hand-towel, one that she's nicked from home. Something else that Katie told herself she needed for practical reasons but was more out of the need to tie home to her, something to remind her of where she came from.

It seems stupid in a way that she's sat here now, in this room where she's only been able to put up a few pictures from home on a corkboard by her bed, that she's even bothered when Emily's made it so clear that she wants to break free.

They used to do everything together, and when it wasn't just the two of them there was always a parent or their younger brother around. Katie's just not used to being alone and it feels unfair that she's got to do it this way when it's not what she wants. Especially when everyone else always gets to do what they want.

Stupid Emily, she thinks as she logs into facebook, not expecting to see anything there directed to her from Emily, or anything directed to her at all, so she's surprised when she's got a friend request.

She feels the small smile tugging at the sides of her lips when she clicks on it.

It makes sense, though, she reckons, to be friends with someone who's bed you've just stayed in.

It's easy to accept. Of course it is. And Katie's a little bit proud that she's made a friend when, for so long, it seemed as though she'd be stuck with Effy forever. She loves Effy though, she does, but sometimes it's nice to have a break. And now that Emily's not around it's nice to have someone who's at least a tiny bit as talkative.

She takes a quick look at Naomi's page: there aren't a lot of photos and not that many friends either (not as many as Katie's got, anyway) but her latest status update is: Feel like shit. Well worth it though. Naturally.

Katie grins, and checks Naomi's personal info and is surprised to see that it's mainly blank. It doesn't say anything about Cook, and Katie snorts because maybe Naomi's a bit embarrassed. She would be, after all, if she accidentally managed to get herself into a relationship with an imbecile like him.

She dries the rest of herself, standing as she runs the towel down her legs and back up again, with the smile still on her face. It makes things easier, she thinks, when she knows that there's someone around who gives a shit about her. Even if Naomi does drive her fucking scatty on occasion at least Katie can now call her a friend.

****

Shopping is the ball-ache that Katie expects it to be and she's really not at all happy with her choices.

She's given up on buying Emily anything that's actually good and has resorted to buying her shit (though Emily insists that Christmas is about giving but only when the gift isn't something that the giver can steal back at the first opportunity) like books and notepads. Though the diary that Katie's bought her seems okay, actually. And Katie makes a mental note to put her own address in the book before she wraps it. It's a good enough hint, she reckons.

James and her dad are sort of easy and like boy things. It's her mum that's always the issue. There have been so many times over the last few years when she's pulled this face (Katie can recognise it now) that sets Katie's teeth on edge. It's the Well I see you've made an effort but it's not quite good enough, is it? face. She pulled it when Katie only managed two Cs and a B (that she thought was quite good, actually) at A Level and when Katie dumped her useless boyfriend in the second year of college (But, sweetheart - could you not try to like him a bit more, hmm?).

Thinking about her mum sets off her headache again and Katie realises that she's walked further than expected and has ended up about ten minutes from Naomi's place.

She stops, tapping her phone in her pocket, wondering if it's rude to just head over and knock on the door. Or if she should ring. Or if she should just go home because she's sure Naomi doesn't want to see her again so soon.

"Fuck's sake," Katie mutters to herself as she shakes her head, and then pulls out her phone. She'll text and if she doesn't get a reply in five minutes then she'll just head back and have a cup of tea and watch Neighbours.

Katie's barely started walking again, though, when the reply comes through that Naomi's just put the kettle on.

"Thank fuck for that," she sighs, and walks with a little more direction, knowing she's got somewhere to be.

****

Naomi opens the door looking much the same as she did this morning and Katie scrunches up her nose as she squeezes in past her.

"Jesus, Naomi. Your shower broken or what?"

"Sorry, Katie," Naomi snorts as she leaves Katie to struggle into the kitchen with her heavy bags. "Wasn't exactly expecting you again."

"And what? You weren't bothered by the fact that you can smell yourself?"

Katie glances over towards where Naomi's reaching for the kettle just in time to see her carefully dip her head down to her armpit and have a tentative sniff.

If Naomi had seen her looking Katie would have told her she was disgusting but, because she's facing away, Katie just smirks and plonks herself down as Naomi makes the tea.

"Fuck off, Katie," Naomi says through a sigh, but Katie knows they're both still joking. "I smell fresh as roses and we both know it."

"Right," Katie grins and picks up today's Guardian and starts leafing through it, though she doesn't really read it. It's just something she does, and she knows it. Pretending a bit to be clever.

Maybe, she thinks, almost sighing out loud. Maybe if I did actually fucking read it then I'd be a bit more clever than I am.

"So," Naomi says, setting Katie's tea down in front of her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Katiekins? Glutton for punishment, are you?"

"Ha ha," Katie deadpans. "I just fancied a cuppa and happened to be near you. Sort of. And my fucking feet were killing me."

"Been shopping then?" Naomi peers into one of Katie's bags, pulling at it with her fingers as she looks. "Got anything for your lovely line manager?"

"Yeah, I've got a 'World's Best Boss' mug and a selection of fine cheeses."

Naomi puffs out a laugh and then rolls her eyes as she leans back in her chair.

"Fine, but don't expect me to put you forward for that raise after Christmas..."

"What?" Katie starts, blinking. "I didn't know I could get a raise! Fuck's sake. Are you serious?"

"Maybe," Naomi winks. "But you'll just have to be extra nice to me now, just in case."

Naomi's smirking as she slurps at her tea, and Katie wonders about just how much of a cow Naomi's actually being. Raise, my arse, she thinks, and then they're quiet for a while.

"So, Katiekins. Plans for this evening? Seeing as we don't have to work until tomorrow."

"None," Katie says, swallowing tea. "Eff's gone to see her brother and my sister's not back until the weekend so I'm here a couple more days."

"Well then," Naomi says, eyes shining. "What do you reckon on a bit of telly and a bit of..." She waves a little plastic baggy at Katie from across the table. There's green in it, and Katie's sort of not all that keen on weed but, well. Fuck it. It's free and it's warm here. Nice. And it's better than heading back to her room alone. Again.

"Sure," she says with a grin. "Why not?"

****

They're baked, like good and proper, by about seven o'clock and it's actually really, really nice.

There's shit all on TV (and the TV's pretty shit) but they've been chatting about stuff, like families and Uni and all that bullshit that you still have to talk about when you're getting to know someone, and it's cool.

Like Naomi's actually some sort of fucking political activist, which makes Katie laugh, but she has to stop abruptly when Naomi goes off on some sort of long rant about recycling and Africa and food waste at Christmas and it stops being annoying and becomes interesting. It's fascinating to Katie, as she takes another toke, licking her lips as her mouth goes a bit dry, to see someone have this much passion about something.

No one's ever been that passionate that she's known, except for Emily during her coming out 'incident' and Katie had wished that she'd had a bit of something to take the edge off that day. Emily's passionate, Naomi's passionate but Katie... she doesn't have anything to be passionate about.

She's thinking, though, as she's watching Naomi's lips moving, that she'd like to be passionate about something, some day.

"So if you don't get that, then-" Naomi's finishing with a stern look on her face, defiant almost.

Katie just grins, nudges her shoulder, and then passes the joint back over.

"I think you've made your point, babes. I'll put my fag butts in the bin from now on."

"Katie, it's not just about fag butts, it's about -"

"I know!" Katie says, still smiling and giddy, so she reaches across and squeezes Naomi's free hand (She's a lefty, Katie notes, and wonders why she hadn't noticed before) as she speaks. "I got it, yeah?"

Naomi's face seems to relax and she blinks as she's looking at Katie, like she's seeing something new there, or just realised something important, and then she swallows.

"Okay."

There's a noise, then, and someone's coming through the front door.

Katie snatches her hand away quickly, and only wonders why later because she wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just being, like, friendly.

"Hellooo," Katie hears as her brain starts to clear, and then Naomi's calling out, "Hi, Mum," and not even attempting to conceal the joint or the smell or anything.

"Your mum?" Katie sort of hisses, and she only means because they could be about to get in serious trouble now, but Naomi looks a bit hurt for a second, before her features harden again.

"Sorry, Katie. Not all of us are rich enough to afford rooms on campus."

"Fuck's sake, I didn't mean -"

"Naomi, darling," says a red-faced, smiling woman in a beanie as she pokes her head round the door. "Chuck the kettle on and give me a puff of that, will you love? Been a bastard of a day."

Naomi grunts and rolls her eyes as she pushes herself up, muttering, "Fine," under her breath.

As she passes her mum the spliff she shouts back, "Tea, Katie?"

"Please," she calls in reply, and then Naomi's mum seems to notice she's actually there.

"Oh, hello! I didn't realise Naomi had company. Sorry, sweetheart - who are you?" she takes a puff and enters the room a little further.

It's darkish so Katie feels a bit better that this woman can't see that Katie's probably a bit mashed-looking. Not that she wouldn't know already, obviously.

"Um, hi. I'm Katie."

"Ah, from the Union?" the woman asks and her grin widens. "Naomi's mentioned you a few times." She winks, then, which strikes Katie as a bit weird but, really, the whole situation's at least a little peculiar already.

"Mum!" Naomi shouts, then. "Leave Katie alone, all right?"

"Gotcha," Naomi's mum says, takes another toke and then passes the joint back to Katie. "I'll leave you two to it then."

She goes then, and Katie's sort of relieved because it's just not the way they do things in her family. For a start, drugs in the house would be grounds for murder or at least abandonment and not only is Naomi's mum cool with it but she's actively participating. Katie can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but she doesn't get long with her thoughts because Naomi's on her way back with two mugs and is popping them down on the coffee table.

"Sorry about her. She's a pain."

"I think she's all right," Katie says, and is surprised to find that she means it.

"Really? I thought you were less than impressed that I actually live here with her."

"Nah." Katie shakes her head, and passes the joint back to Naomi for her to finish it off. "I wish I could stand to live with my mum."

"Who says I can stand it?" Naomi asks, but it's with a half-smile, and Katie feels like they're back to normal.

Whatever the fuck that's turning out to be these days.

****

Katie heads home when she starts to feel peckish, even though Naomi almost looks disappointed when Katie doesn't take her up on her offer of cheese on toast.

It's an all right night for a walk, anyway. And Katie feels her tiredness creep back over her so she really just wants her own bed.

Though she can't help but thinking about how comfortable Naomi's was this morning, even through the pain of a hangover.

But, she tells herself, she'll probably end up staying over again. Probably, now that they're friends.

****

Their shift the next day, the last one of the year, is fucking quiet. Like almost not-worth-them being-there quiet.

They spend their time watching music videos and laughing about how ridiculous the Jonas Brothers are (though Naomi's insistence that they both shut up when Beyonce comes on is both comical and scary) and drinking lime cordial.

It should have been deathly boring but, somehow, because it's the two of them, it isn't all that bad. So much so that, when they finally close up for the night, Katie's a little disappointed.

"Well then," Naomi says as she locks the door behind them, pulling up her jacket around her neck. "That was less than eventful."

"Mm," Katie agrees, and wonders why neither of them are moving to leave.

"Oh, shit, I almost forgot." Naomi rummages around in her bag until she pulls out a square present and hands it to Katie.

"What? Fuck's sake, Naomi. I didn't get you one," Katie snaps, and then tries to hide her smile as she takes it into her gloved hand.

"Could have just said thanks."

Katie grins, says, "Well, thank you," and reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss Naomi on the cheek.

Her hand's stayed on Naomi's arm, and it's cold and the wind's picking up around them, but Katie feels warm. And she's actually not ready for the night to end so she's thinking about inviting Naomi out to grab a pint before last orders are called but she's beaten to it by Naomi's phone ringing.

"Shit," Naomi says, and actually looks genuinely pissed off. "That'll be Cook - I said I'd meet him tonight."

"Oh, well. Yeah. Go on then. Tell him I said hi."

Naomi looks torn for a moment, but then she nods. "Right, well, have a good one, Katie. See you next year."

Katie nods and watches as Naomi turns, answering her phone with an, "All right, you wanker, hold on. Yeah, fuck it - double gin and tonic..." and then she's too far gone for Katie to hear her.

She sighs and turns the gift over in her hands.

Next year starts to feel like ages away, even though it's only next week.

It's fine, though, she thinks. It's only Naomi.

****

Christmas is a pain in the arse. Least of all because it turns out that Katie and Emily no longer have a fucking bedroom, which has been turned into a home gym/card-making room. So it means that they get an airbed on the floor in the lounge.

"Fuck's sake," Emily mutters from the other side as Katie shuffles around, trying to get comfortable. "Stop fucking moving, will you? I feel like we're at sea."

Katie snorts, and considers pouring a glass of water over Emily's head just to make the experience more realistic but then imagines the fight that could ensue if that happened and thinks better of it.

Emily's feistier now, now that she's experienced what it's like to be independent or whatever. And, fuck off, yeah, because Katie's independent too. She's got a job and everything. Not like Emily, who just seems to be partying her way through, fucking who knows who and still getting amazing grades. The cow.

"I'd have thought you'd be used to sharing a bed, Ems, what with the amount of girls you've had over at yours this term."

"Fuck off, Katie. You don't know anything about it," Emily says sleepily. "I usually stay at theirs."

"Ugh," Katie grunts and turns over one last time. "Gross."

"Just kidding. Don't worry," Emily hums, almost to herself as her voice fades away into soft breathing, and it makes Katie think of Naomi.

She wonders, briefly, if it's too late to text her, but then realises she has fuck all to say to her so there's no point.

Besides, she's probably with Cook, anyway so she closes her eyes tight and tries not to count the number of nights she has to stay at home until she can get back to her life.

****

It's all fairly standard, the events of Christmas Day, and they do presents first thing (Emily actually really likes her diary and gives Katie a proper hug, whispering into her ear that she promises to visit next term) and Katie does pretty well out of all of it.

The Top Shop vouchers are well handy, and she can't wait to get out into the sales and get buying. It's her favourite time of year and it makes her feel a bit more like she's herself again.

They drink Buck's Fizz with dinner, and then Emily sneaks them both some vodka into their orange juice a bit later and it's all quite jolly so it's not until the evening that Katie can sneak away and open her present from Naomi that's been burning a hole in her bag since she got it.

She knew they were books before she opened them, and it's okay because they're at Uni now so it's sort of an intelligent present from an intelligent friend.

Although Katie's more than surprised when she actually sees what they are. One's a book on how to make the perfect cocktail and Katie laughs because not once have they served cocktails at the Union but she likes cocktails so what the fuck?

The second is a book about feminism that Katie rolls her eyes at. It's a complete Naomi present and it feels nice, just that it's from her.

There's a note with it, though, that had fallen out when she ripped off the paper.

It says:

Katie,

Two books: one about something I think you'd be good at doing and one about something you'd be good at understanding.

Hope they turn out to be of some use.

Nx

She's grinning, she knows she is, which is why she's startled when Emily says, from somewhere behind her, "Who's that from, then?"

"Mind your own fucking business, Ems," she snaps, and then realises that's the wrong responses because Emily's rounding her with a raised eyebrow as she picks up the book on feminism.

"Interesting. Didn't think you were interested in this sort of thing. You gonna read it?"

"Yes," Katie says, snatching the book from out of Emily's hands. "Well, probably."

"Hmm. Well, whoever gave them to you must like you, Katie. They're not cheap. So maybe you should give it a try."

Emily's smile is warm, then, and Katie softens as Emily touches her shoulder on her way out.

"Come on, we're starting Trivial Pursuit soon - maybe with your newfound intellect you might actually win this year."

They share a laugh and Katie says that she'll be down in a sec.

Once she's sure Emily's gone, Katie turns the book over in her hands, feeling the weight of it.

She'll give it a go, at the very least. She owes it to Naomi to try.