They didn't do this often, the two of them. Sit together, in silence, looking across the college green. They kept a silence, a comfortable one. There was a significant gap between the two, each keeping their own space intact, and both scared of consequence. She looked over at her, the sunlight ghosting over her petite facial features, highlighting her plump lips, her pretty button nose, and shine on her gorgeous red locks. She shivered as she felt eyes on her, and as she saw it, she knew it wasn't because she was cold. Her eyes ran down her body, stilling at her cleavage, and following her gorgeous curves, before finally resting at the way her fingers were linked and flexing in her lap.

"Get a good enough look?" She tittered a little bit and tuned to her, watching as Naomi's eyes lead their way back up her body and lock with hers. The passion of the blue in her eyes was quite nerve-wracking, even being in her presence when her eyes looked like this was scary for Emily. She gave a little bit of a laugh and she could have sworn her eyes got brighter in the same way her smile did. Emily reached forward and brushed away the hair that had fallen into Naomi's eyes.

"That's much better." She mumbled, but then her breath caught as she held onto the hand that had stilled on her forehead. She brought her hand down into her lap, and linked their fingers together. Emily's gaze was locked on their intertwined hand, watching the movements her thumb made as it circled her soft skin.

"Is this ok? Us?" Naomi asked. Emily's eyes locked with hers once again, the dazzling blues radiating, filled with hope, and nodded slowly, letting a giant smile take over her face.

--

DAY ONE

--

She sighed, a deep breath and then slumped. It seemed to be the only thing she had been doing lately. Other than sitting by herself, in her room, in the classroom, at lunch even. Just because she didn't see the point of getting properly close to anyone but her sister – obviously she has to be close to her sister, they do live together after all – People always left, or went off with other people, broke her heart. The college green was pretty empty for this time of day, Emily wasn't sure she'd ever seen it this empty actually. Maybe there was something going on that she didn't know about. Yet again, the last to know, the last be cared about. She brushed a hand through her hair, pulling out the clip holding her fringe back, and carefully placed it back again. Lunch had been long gone, and she had eaten everything she had made for herself that morning. She sighed (again) and pulled herself up off of the ground, brushing down her skirt and picking up her bag to place over her shoulder. Her next lesson was with Keiran, or Sir, Or Mr Mac Foeinaiugh if you wanted to be formal. Emily just called him Keiran, easier to remember, obviously. He was a good teacher, don't get her wrong, but some of the things that came out in class were just inappropriate. He seemed to swear a lot, talk about his fiancé in vulgar ways, and not really teach. But somehow, believe it or not, everyone passed his classes.

Emily made her way to the class, sitting at her own desk, on her own, like always, with not so much as a glance from anyone, not even her sister, who was seemingly talking to a guy (as always) who was just staring at her boobs. No substance that was the problem with Katie. Emily placed her bag down on the floor, this period was a 'study period' and was to be used wisely, not that it made much difference to how she was taught normally. But study lessons meant she could shut away from the world, put in her iPod headphones and concentrate on her work. Her pen started tapping to the beat of the song, she wasn't bothered about knowing what the song was, it just seemed rhythmic, soothing almost, and put her in the right state of mind for her studying. Her headphones came out of her ears once in a while, whenever Keiran came into check they we're properly studying. He'd ask a question and expect people to know it. Not a good study technique for some, but if you didn't know it, you made sure you knew it by the time e came back round again.

It wasn't long before the lesson was over, and the monotonous ringing of the lesson bell jolted Emily out of her own little world once more. With another soft huff, she gathered her things and stood up, just in time to see her sister float out the door in the same way she always does, guys following, like always, behind her, asking her if she wanted a ride, even though their house was literally 5 minutes walking distance from the school. Emily followed of course, pushing past the bustle of the crowds, the rushing people desperate to get out of the building because the weekend had arrived. She made her way to her locker, pulling the last remainders of her course materials out, before slamming the door closed once again, making herself brace herself for the impact, that echoed through the eerily empty halls of Roundview. She piled all of the sources into her bag, accidentally dropping a sheet of psychology information. She watched as it gracefully, but almost spitefully slid along the slippery floors and right under the parallel set of lockers.

"For fucks sake." She huffed, closing her bag tightly, as to stop anything else falling out, and walked back to Kieran's room reluctantly. As she reached the corner to turn towards his classroom, she noticed a tall blonde girl enter his room, peroxide blonde, really noticeable. She looked young, so that couldn't be his fiancé. Emily wondered, but shook her head to get rid of the thought. Best get on with it then. She knocked on the door to the classroom, waiting for a signal to be allowed in and was granted it when Kieran shouted through the door. Emily cautiously made her way through the door, cringing at the loud squeak it made, causing both occupants of the room to look towards her.

"Oh y'alright Em, you didn't need to knock. The rooms always open for anyone. Anyway… what you needing me for?"

"Erm… I dropped a sheet of info for the psychology project due in next week, I was wondering if you have a spare?" Keiran nodded and smiled, turning back to his desk and rummaging through the papers on top.

"I certainly do… the forensic psychology sheet yeah?" He continued to rummage through his drawers, occasionally gazing back up to Emily and then back to his desk. Emily, feeling the other presence in the room, turned towards the other room occupant, catching her eyes and then looking away a little at the sheer power of them. The girl's eyes we're powerful, full of some sort of mirth, but in a good way. Not in a mocking way. A small smile graced her face, as she noticed Emily chewing on her lips in a nervous way. Her legs swung from the desk as her hands pushed down on the wood to push herself up, walking around Emily and taking a sheet of paper from the top of Kieran's desk and handing it too Emily. 'Forensic Psychology' it read, and Emily laughed a little as they both gazed back at Kieran, who was still sorting through the mountain of papers by his desk.

"Umm, Kieran?" Kieran gazed round, halting his search to turn to Emily. She held up the piece of paper to him and he read carefully along the top.

"Feckin 'ell. How'd you find that?" Emily shrugged and pointed to the blonde girl with amusement lacing her features. He looked up at the girl and couldn't help but laugh, she always was that clever. Not that cleverness determined finding a piece of paper.

"Well then… thanks. I guess… Oh! Emily, how rude.. This is Naomi, my daughter in law…" Emily followed Kieran's gesture back to the girl standing next to her and watched her face scrunch up playfully at the mention 'daughter in law'. Emily nodded and held out her hand for her to shake, and she did.

"I'm…erm…Emily." Naomi nodded, slowly as if she was taking in new information and it took her longer to process or something.

"Hello, erm Emily." A laugh erupted from the blonde's mouth, and Emily was sure her heart stop for just a tiny bit. She didn't know what it was, but something about this girl made her very interested, and she couldn't wait to know more. Emily gathered herself once again, she needed to be home now really, as her mum didn't return til half 5, and there was no one to look after her brother.

"I best go, little brother you know…" She laughed. "Pain. It was nice…nice to meet you Naomi." Naomi nodded at her gratefully, biting down on her lip slightly to stop a shit eaten grin from taking over her face. She watched as the petite girl walked slowly back out of the classroom and down the corridor.

"She's nice."

"Aye, Emily's lovely. Nicer than that god-awful twin sister of hers. Now she is a pain."

"A twin sister? Are they… do they look the same?"

"No, not at all actually. Well slightly I guess, but only because the genes y'know. Emily is, lets say, more reserved with her clothing choices."

"So Katie dresses like a slut?"

"Pretty much." Kieran nodded and walked back around his desk, slouching back into his chair.

"So how's your mum?"

"The same as when you spoke to her five minutes ago." She paused to laugh. "You have the worst memory."

"Just making conversation, you're shit company."

"Thanks, though if you must know, everything is properly unpacked now. Well, I wouldn't say properly, there are still some boxes around, but the essentials are out."

"Have you met the neighbours yet?"

"No, not yet. I think Mum's inviting them over for tea or something, so I guess I'll meet them then. Are you coming tonight?"

"Aye, might as well. Free meal. Can't refuse."

"You never pay for your meals anyway, ever."

"It's a hard knock life, eh?"

Naomi's laugh started again, and this time, the smile wasn't held back as it graced her face.

--

"I'm home!"

"Thank fuck."

"James! Language!"

"Sorry."

Emily threw her bag down onto the settee, and walked through to the kitchen to see James filling up a water bottle.

"I'm going out. Playing basketball you know. That court is filled with millions of proper fit girls, gagging for it."

"James, that's disgusting!"

"I'm still going. Tell Mum where I am, I won't be back for tea."

"But the new neighbours have-" The door slammed before she had the chance to finish her sentence.

"For fucks sake…" Emily sighed, walking upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her sister – oh joyful, wonderful sister – possibly the worst roommate to have in the history of roommates. Her side of the room was like an opposite dimension compared to Katie's. Her clothes we're neatly hung over the chair, or in the wardrobe. Katie's we're slung onto her bed, some on the floor, some under her bed, with all the other dirt and disgusting mess living under that bed, it's no wonder she has started stealing Emily's clothes. Emily picked up the phone on her side table and quickly dialled Katie's mobile number. It rang for a considerable amount of time before there was a crackling and her twins voice was heard.

"What?" Lovely greeting.

"Just thought I'd let you know we've got the new neighbours round for tea tonight, and your side of the room is a shithole."

"I'm not gonna be home tonight, you do it if your so fussed about giving a good impression."

"They're fucking new to the neighbourhood Katie, I'm not gonna make them thing we are weirdo's already, not like that's gonna stop mum going all crazy."

"Well, just do something yeah? Tell mum that I'm at Effy's for the night. Cover for me yeah?"

"Fine. But If I tidy your room and it's fucked up by the next time I see you, I swear-" The line went dead. What was it with people not letting her finish her sentences? She put the phone down, back on its holder, and picked up her iPod, connecting it to the dock sitting on the windowsill above Katie's bed. She grabbed the remote and then set up a song. The heavy beat started and Emily couldn't help but dance around her room a little, picking up Katie's mess as she went.

Here she comes, you better watch your step, She's going to break your heart in two, it's true. It's not hard to realize, just look into her false coloured eyes, She builds you up to just put you down, what a clown. 'Cause everybody knows (She's a femme fatale), The things she does to please (She's a femme fatale), She's just a little tease (She's a femme fatale), See the way she walks, Hear the way she talks.

It wasn't long at all until Katie's side was almost as sparkling as hers, only with the exception of the terrible posters she had on her side of the war, but she couldn't change that. Emily just hoped that one day her and Katie would not be grouped together, always paired together just because they were twins. She wanted her own room, she wanted to look different, she couldn't change much , but she was gradually – without her parents knowing (it was going to be tough) – brightening her hair, it was redder than Katie's which had taken to her natural hair colour and mixed in to make a dark burgundy/brown.

She gazed down at her alarm clock, the red numbers glowing slightly in the dimmed room light, reading 4.25pm. Her mum would be home soon, and she had to cover for both Katie and James. What a conventional family. Well at least with those two gone, there would be more Emily time. Well she guessed it would be like that, but with the things that had been going on with the family lately, Emily was surprised she hadn't been disowned already. She decided to have a shower, walking through to the bathroom, turning on the water and waiting. Sitting down on the shut toilet lid, picking the dirt out of her nails and whistling the tune she could hear over the shower jets. She checked the temperature and then climbed in, sighing slightly as the warm water hit her skin. It was great to have a shower, and she did most days after college because she couldn't ever shower beforehand because of Katie using up all the water. She cleaned herself up, and then climbed out, turning off the water supply and out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around her body.

As she reached the top of the stairs she quickly gazed down and back up again, before doing a double take.

"Emily, our guests are here!"

"Yep…Mum, I…I get it." She stood there, in a towel, dripping wet, in front of the new neighbours. Just so happened, the new neighbours were Kieran & His fiancé and right next to them, the girl from the classroom earlier that day, Naomi. Emily's face went beet red and she choked a little bit at the shock before turning and running into the bedroom.

--

"And that was… Emily. I don't know where Katie is, or James for that matter. But erm... come through, make yourselves at home. Rob, go and check on Em, ask her about Katie and James."

"Righto. Nice to meet you guys. Be back in a bit." Rob walked up the stairs, knocking on the door of the girls room, shaking the wood slightly. He heard a response from inside but couldn't hear it clear enough.

"Hey, Kiddo, you decent?"

"Yeah Dad…" She called back and watched as her Dad entered her room and sat on the end of Emily's bed. Emily was slowly running the straightening irons through her hair, watching her Dad through the mirror, urging him to say something.

"Oh…yeah. Where's James gone?"

"Basketball."

"Since when does James play basketball?"

"Since James discovered girls." Rob nodded his face filled with amusement.

"And Katie?"

"At Effy's for the night, having a movie night with Pizza or something. Not my kinda thing obviously."

"Ah ok, well it's good she tidied her room before she went. Your side could use a bit of a once over Em. Do it later yeah?" Emily sighed solemnly, and nodded, watching her Dad retreat back out of the door and downstairs.

--

"Katie is at Effy's for the night, and James is playing basketball and staying at Gordon's for tea I presume."

"Why wasn't Emily invited?"

"Oh she was…I think. She just said it wasn't really her thing, so I'm guessing she turned it down." Jenna nodded and turned back round to her conversation with the new neighbours.

Rob walked over to Naomi.

"Ah alright Kiddo, Em's upstairs, you can go up if you want, we'll call you down when dinner is ready." Naomi nodded.

"Ok, thanks Mr Fitch."

"Rob."

"Thanks…Rob." Naomi raised an eyebrow at how stupid it sounded coming from her lips, but shook it off, and walked up the stairs slowly. As she reached the top, she noticed the bathroom, and then turned to the right, assuming it was this way. She spotted a white door with a plaque on it, it read 'Sexy' and she knew already that Emily hadn't put it there. Then she noticed it, a little sticker underneath, that said Emily on it. It wasn't much but it made Naomi smile a lot. She knocked once and then once again a little louder, and received a 'Come in' from the opposite side of the door. She cautiously opened the door to see Emily pulling the straighter through her hair one more time and placing them down on the mat on her dresser.

"Hey… Naomi."

"Hey Emily, nice to…erm…see you again."

Emily groaned, not really annoyed, but more embarrassed at being seen in such a vulnerable state. She turned around and sat down on her bed, motioning Naomi to sit on Katie's bed opposite her. She did as she was offered and they sat in an almost comfortable silence, but it had an awkward twinge.

"Who'dve thought eh? Us, neighbours. Weird concept seeing as Keiran is your psychology teacher, but I guess that means he's mine too."

"You mean, you take psychology?" Naomi nodded. "What else do you take? Or will be taking?"

"English Literature and Politics."

"Urgh…" She scrunched her noise up. "Politics." She tried to act serious but the smile that as gradually taken over her face said otherwise. "I do take English Literature though, so maybe I could…you know…help you with anything you need?"

"I'm pretty sorted at the moment actually, with Keiran being a teacher. He's a handy resource."

"Oh yeah…" The awkward silence returned once again, with the girls missing eye contact.

"So…you have a twin right?"

"Unfortunately."

"Why'd you say that?"

"You haven't met her. Seriously, she's the opposite of me completely."

"Oh…right. So…don't you get on?"

"Well not really…only when we have too. When family visit or you know, normal visitors. Other than that, it's pretty much like I don't exist. Exciting life."

"Wait, what…like you don't exist?"

"No one really…no one gives a fuck about me really."

"Are you serious?" Emily nodded solemnly, and gazed down at her lap, threading the fabric of her top through her fingers.

--

"GIRLS! DINNER!"

The two girls broke from their conversation and turned towards the noise.

"Be down in a minute!" Emily called, picking up all of the photos that were splayed across the floor and putting them back in the box.

"I'll show you those later…" Naomi nodded, and followed Emily's movements, watching as she stood up, brushing off invisible dirt from her skirt. Naomi smiled, and held out her hand, asking Emily for a hand in getting up, and she did so. Pulling her too her feet, but accidentally tripping back on to her bed, pulling Naomi on top of her. She cleared her throat a little as she caught eyes with the blonde on top of her.

"I'm…I'm sorry…" Naomi said quietly, but still hadn't made a movement.

"It's...fine." Emily replied, but then realised what was going on, and wriggled a bit underneath her.

"We have to…we have to go for…um… dinner." Naomi snapped out of the trance she was in.

"Oh! Dinner, yeah…" She pulled herself reluctantly off of the petite girl underneath her, and took a hold of Emily's hand pulling her up to stand next to her. She watched as Emily brushed away invisible dirt again. Maybe it was a nerves thing, Naomi thought. She followed Emily down the stairs and took a seat next to her at the dinner table.

"So Naomi, Kieran's told us you'll be starting at Roundview on Monday, what subjects are you taking?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I'll be in all of them yet, but I'm definitely taking English Literature."

"Oh, that's nice. Emily is taking English Literature also, isn't that good."

"At least you remembered…" Naomi turned to Emily with a heartbreaking look on her face, and caught her eye just for a second to let her know she was there.

"What was that Emily?"

"Oh, nothing."

The parent continued talking, as did Naomi and Emily. Naomi couldn't help but feel sympathy for the red head sitting to the left of her. It really seemed like she didn't exist, and she was sure tat if Katie was here it would have been ten times worse.

"Oh, you have to meet Katie. You'll love her I'm sure." Rob praised his other daughter as if she was the only daughter he had. It wasn't like Katie was a star at school, or she was pure or virginal – ha, that's a laugh – she was just Katie, but for some reason, being more outspoken, more confident, had made her the more liked daughter, she was shadowing her sister. Naomi was sure even without meeting Katie, that she shadowed Emily. And the way Kieran had described her, made her seem like a right bitch. She looked over at Emily once again, watching her face drop at how much her parents were praising Katie, especially since they had not praised Emily once that whole night, and she was sitting right in front of them. Naomi watched as Emily's eyes glazed over, and she pulled herself out of her seat, the legs scraping along the floor making her cringe a little.

"I need some air…" She said, walking out of the front door, letting it slam behind her.

"I'm sorry about her… she gets a bit… touchy sometimes, when we talk about Katie." Naomi couldn't help but think, not surprised, and decided to go and check on Emily to see if she was ok.

"I'm going to go and see if she's ok."

"No Naomi, just leave her, she's not doing herself any favours. Let her cry it out."

What the fuck? Naomi's eyes widened a little bit more at the dismissal of their daughter's safety.

"I'm going outside." She said with more force, and got up, storming out of the door, in some sort of anger that she didn't know she could ever hold. Her search didn't last long as she spotted Emily sitting on the street sign, a stream of grey smoke pouring out of her mouth. Naomi's mouth turned up into a slight smile as she walked over and sat down next to her, taking her offer of a drag and passing it back to Emily, watching as her lips folded around the end of the cigarette.

"Is it always like that?" Naomi asked, and watched as Emily's head lowered a bit as she nodded, and tears pricked her eyes. She took another drag from her cigarette and pulled it back out, letting out another stream of smoke into the cold air.

"Why do you let them get away with it? Do you never pull them up on it?"

"Don't see the point. Just gets me in trouble."

"But…Katie."

"Katie makes no difference, she can do whatever she wants, she's the angel child. It's like I'm the evil twin to my parents."

"But your everything but evil. Even Kieran can see that, why cant your parents see it?"

"Because they like to live in this perfect little world, where they have 2 wonderful children, and it doesn't include me."

"Well they are hardly perfect if they treat you like this. Do you know what they said before I came out here?" She shook her head. "They said that I should just leave you, and let you cry it out." Tears were definitely falling from Emily's eyes now, and she lowered her head even more, her body jolting with every sob. Shit, Naomi thought.

"Hey, no… don't cry, they aren't worth your tears. Come on…" Naomi pulled Emily against her, let her cry into her neck, the vulnerability of the girl was making Naomi nervous about saying anything else. So they just sat, waited for Emily's crying to stop, waited for the air to clear, the heaviness of the atmosphere vanishing, much like the lit end of Emily's cigarette as she threw it to the ground.

"Hey, did you wanna go somewhere? Get away from here?" She felt Emily nod against her, and smiled, pulling her up into a seating position. "Just hang on here a second Ok, I'll just tell my mum where we are going." She received another nod in reply and ran over the road again quickly, into the Fitches' house.

"Mum…"

"Oh hey Nae, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine…erm… I'm gonna take Emily to the lake, she needs some time to think."

"Ah ok, splendid idea. I'll tell Jenna when she comes back down. You taking your car?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, keep your phone on you. Be safe." She placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead and watched as she sauntered back out of the door, closing it behind her.

"Em? We're taking my car… come on." She held out her hand to motion her over, and pulled out her keys. Emily followed and got into the little red mini as Naomi unlocked it.

"I apologise for the lack of leg room, it's not the biggest of cars."

"I love it." She said with a smile and Naomi turned to her returning it. She started the ignition, pulled her seatbelt on and reversed out of the drive.

--

"So this is it…"

"It's beautiful… How did you find this place?"

"When me and mum came down here to visit Kieran once, I was a bit fucked off with my mum, and I just drove. This is where I ended up. It's just nice to have a place that is peaceful enough to think."

"It really is peaceful. I think this is my new favourite place."

"Come on, I've got a blanket in my boot, lets sit down for a bit yeah?"

"Yeah, for a bit." Emily nodded with an overwhelmed smile on her face as she continued to gaze out across the still waters. Naomi pulled out the blanket in her boot and placed it on the grass next to the lake, smoothing it out and sitting down on it.

"Em?" She couldn't help but smile at how drawn in by the lake Emily was. It was exactly how she felt the first time she had come here.

"Yeah?"

"Blanket?"

"Yeah."

"You can sit down if you want."

"Ok."

Still she did not move, and Naomi couldn't help but laugh a little, she was really warming to Miss Emily Fitch.

--

"How did you know I was here?"

"I think it's pretty obvious where you'd be. I showed you this place Em. It's your favourite, remember?" Emily nodded, still seated at the side of the water, her legs crossed, a cigarette placed between her fingers, burning away in the dimmed evening light. Naomi sat down next to her, gazing out at the lake, the water as still as it had always been. She looked over at Emily, her eyes closed, peacefully, almost as if she was asleep, but she wasn't. Naomi slowly moved her hand to link with hers, their fingers interlocking almost automatically, like two pieces of a puzzle. She reached across, stroked one finger down the side of her girlfriends face, the hood shadowing her beautiful features, and her lips pushed together in a straight line as she blew the smoke out of her nose.

"I love you…you know that right?"

"Sometimes, I wonder."