Chapter 4: •three•

Emerson Scott

A loud knocking on my door startled me awake. Confused, I abruptly sat up as my blurry vision adjusted to the bright room. Before I even had a chance to call out, the door busted open, following a loud Emily.

"Emmie, Birdie, wake up!" She jumped on the bed and frowned. "Where's Birdie?"

I looked at the empty space on the bed next to me, realizing the lack of warmth. I rubbed my eyes awake and found a sticky note over my phone on the nightstand. " 'Hey, Emerson. Sorry for not waking you up when I left early in the morning. I had to take care of something at home. Don't worry, it's nothing too serious. See you at school.' "

Emily hummed in disapproval at hearing me read the note aloud and crossed her arms sadly. "Well, he could have at least stayed for breakfast. Mom cooked a lot of bacon!"

I ruffled her hair and got out of bed, pushing her towards the door. "Come on, Emily. That just means more bacon for us then," I smiled.

When I came downstairs, my mother was already sitting at the table, with a skeptic look in my direction. My dad was finishing up with the breakfast as I kissed them both on the cheek.

"Good morning, Mom and Dad."

"Morning sweetie," my mom responded, concerned. "Where is Robyn?"

"He had to take care of something at home. Everything is fine."

She slowly nodded. "Okay. When you see him at school, tell him that I said for him to have a nice day. Alright?"

"Yes, Mom."

Emily chewed fast. "Tell him I said hi!"

"Sweetie please slow down or you'll choke," my father warned. Emily nodded, but continued to chew loudly.

"Oh, Mom. By the way, I think we have new neighbors that just moved in next door."

"Thank you for reminding me! I'll bake some brownies and cornbread while you're at school. Make sure to bring it to them after you come home, okay?"

"Yes ma'am!"

I finished early, so I decided to take a shower. As the warm water ran down my back I allowed my thoughts to drift off to Robyn in concern. The fact that he told me not to worry made me worry, of course. It was only natural, especially considering that there was something going on with his personal family issues. The thought made me sad that he didn't want to share the burden with anyone else while he has our family. Though I understood where he was coming from, I wanted to help him. And I am willing to do so. He deserves so much better considering his situation. I wanted him to sleep better at night. He needs me. Like how I need him.

~~~

Robyn and I shared every class--except for fourth and fifth period--together. So it was inevitable to see him first thing in the morning. It wasn't too long until I spotted his head resting in his arms. He arrived to school early on certain days, like today, to use the fitness room since he's in basketball. I wasn't surprised to see him knocked out on the desk. After all, he barely slept last night.

After setting my backpack on the ground, I slid into the desk next to him and poked him. Knowing he was a light sleeper, it shouldn't be too hard to wake him. He groaned and slowly lifted his head up, squinting at me.

"Morning, Robyn," I smiled gently at him.

"Mornin' Em," he said back with very apparent drowsiness as he stretched. Popping his back, neck, and knuckles, he sighed and attempted to smile back. His gaze drifted to clock behind me.

"My mom said to have a nice day and Emily said hi." When he only responded with a noncommittal grunt, I kept talking. "Is your mom okay?"

At that, he leaned and sat back in his chair with hooded eyes, raking his hand through his warm, chestnut hair. It was getting longer, I noticed. It had been a while since he grew out his hair this long, long enough that it was just below the cheekbone. I figured he would have cut it considering it would hinder his basketball performance, but I guess not. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "Define okay. Physically, mostly. Mentally, I don't think so. Emotionally?" he dramatically paused. "Hell no. I took away her beer, but I swear she's getting them from somewhere. At this point, I think my aunt might be buying her some. I have no idea what she's doing. At least my mom is sober enough to work her two jobs."

I wrapped an arm around him and ran my hand up and down his shoulder in comfort. "I know it's hard, but know my family and I are here for you and if anyone in your household needs help, all you have to do is ask. We'll do anything for you. And I know it's been said a million times, but it's true: we are your family and our home is your home. I promise." I held out a pinkie to him.

Robyn gratefully accepted the pinkie with a smile. "Thank you, Em. Thank you." He didn't need to say it because his eyes told me everything already.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's study for that test we have in a few minutes."

"Bet, I'm going to get a higher score than you."

"Sure," I drawled sarcastically. Yet, I knew full-well he had the test material practically imbedded into his mind.

~~~

During fourth period, there was a pleasant surprise in the form of a new kid. I wasn't the most sociable person, especially in comparison to Robyn, but it was nice to see a new face. This was my speech class and the new kid made it clear that he was made for public speaking. Ha, I wish. I kept to myself, knowing the heat and attention of having a new kid would die down in about a week or so.

When we had our free work time, our class was allowed to move around the room and help each other with our assignments. Speech class was a breeze in that aspect. Everything was easy except for the actual presenting part. Since it was so easy, I had finished my classwork with enough time to continue reading my book for language class since I had been procrastinating in class. Yes, I love reading, but when it came down to the books they assigned to us in english class, it made me hate it. It felt like such a chore. It ruined many books for me. As I was annotating some notes, the new kid approached me. I lifted my gaze to meet his shockingly silver eyes. Though his smile and whole demeanor was warm, including his extended hand, his eyes sent shivers down my spine.

"Uh, hello." I smiled timidly.

"Pleasant to meet your acquaintance. My name is Andrej Aguilar Sutherland. You may call me Andrej." His accent was very interesting, to say the least.

I took his warm palm into mine, expecting a regular handshake, but then he took my hand shook firmly with both hands, smile still on his face. First impression was that he was a very polite person, unusually formal for a highschooler. It was apparent that he wasn't from here. His wardrobe seemed lavish too. Tucked into his fancy black jeans was a royal red and blue satin top. The shirt was unbuttoned at the top to show layered necklaces. He made me look like a potato, honestly. I bet his fancy gold glasses were designer.

"Nice to meet you too. My name's Emerson Scott. You can just call me Emerson, or whatever nickname you prefer." I shrugged, trying to break the high-tension formality I wasn't the best at. My family was always so close-knit that we were so chill with each other. "Where are you from?"

"I moved here from Kazakhstan. My dad is Macedonian while my mother is Kazakhstan." Ah, that explains the accent. "I came with my parents,  two sisters, baby brother, and grandmother."

Woah, that's a huge family. "Oh, that must be nice living with your grandmother. I could not imagine having that many siblings, though. And I thought my one sister was already a handful. How has American high school life treated you?"

He pondered for a moment, tilting his head, yet he still maintained eye contact. "It is very similar to how it is portrayed in the media, such as on TV shows and books. Though, most people here are polite. Like you. You are very kind."

Oh. Okay then. I had no idea how to socially interact with others, especially those from other, distinct cultures. I was afraid I'd offend him in some way, somehow. "Why, thank you. You can sit with me during lunch."

"I'd be honored." He then shook my hand with both of his once again.

~~~

As expected, many heads at our table were turned towards our newest addition. Robyn looked at Andrej curiously then at me.

Robyn was already chowing down on his food by the time Andrej and I sat down. Andrej brought his own lunch which consisted of bread, meat and potatoes. Looked better than whatever food I bought from school. 'Who's this,' Robyn mouthed at me. Feeling Robyn's gaze, Andrej met his and he finally decided to introduce himself.

"Pleasure to meet you all. My name is Andrej Sutherland and you may call me Andrej. I come here on behalf of being an acquaintance of Emerson. I am a new student here."

Robyn merely nodded, allowing Nathan to speak up. "Sup, name's Nathan. No need to be so formal, bro. Welcome to the basketball team's table. Anyways, I have a party later today. You're invited to come, Andrej. Assuming you're friends with Emerson, he can give you the details."

I raised a brow at Robyn's direction, wanting him to speak up. "Hey, I'm Robyn Hook, no not like Robin Hood, and I'm the basketball team captain. I am also Emerson's bestest friend." Well, something was off with him today. I could just feel it. I frowned at him but turned to Andrej.

"I can text you the details. Do you have a phone?"

He nodded and pulled out a really expensive new model phone. Now I really had no doubts that he was rich. I typed in my phone number then let him text me to confirm that I input it correctly. After the exchange, the whole lunch period was spent talking with Andrej. An interesting person indeed. I couldn't help but notice Robyn didn't talk as much as he usually did. What happened to his extrovert self?

~~~

As per usual, Robyn stayed at my home after school. We planned on going to Nathan's party together. When we came home, my mom left a note on top of a covered tray of baked goods. It read, 'Here are the brownies and and cornbread. Please give it to our new neighbors! Love, Mom xoxo P.S. I'm sleeping upstairs right now, so don't be loud and tell Emily to do her homework. <3'

I put my backpack on a kitchen chair and called out to Robyn who was on his phone as he sat on the recliner. "Hey, do you mind if you come with me next door to give some brownies and cornbread? Apparently our neighbors just moved in."

"Mm, sure." He got up and stretched. I zipped up my jacket and took the tray of cornbread while he took the tray of brownies.

I rang the doorbell, patiently waiting for the door to open. As we stood on their porch, Robyn asked me, "Have you met them before?"

I shook my head, scoffing. "No, I mean there's a reason wh-" I was abruptly caught off guard when the door opened and I was met with a familiar face. My wide eyes turned to a smug Robyn.

"Are you sure about that?" Robyn snickered from behind me.

"Uh, hey, Andrej," I greeted with a tilt of my head, as my hands were occupied.

His face lit up at the sight of Robyn and I. "Ah! Welcome to my humble abode, Emerson and Robyn. I wasn't expecting guests, but you may come in." He stepped back from the doorway to allow us to come inside. "Here let me take that." He held the trays of baked goods and set them in the kitchen.

"Oh, thanks." I took off my shoes and lightly tapped Robyn. "Dude, this ain't my house. Take off your shoes." He silently removed them and kicked them against the wall. I sighed and moved them out of the way.

When we followed Andrej into the kitchen he was looking at my mom's baking under the tinfoil. "Looks very delicious. Thank you so much." He walked over to us and did the double-handed handshake with both of us, as custom.

"No problem. My mom wanted to bring something to the new neighbors. I didn't realize you were the new neighbor. We don't mean to stay long. We just wanted to drop it off."

He shook his head. "Nonsense, you can enjoy some of this bread with me. Tea?"

"Uh, sure," I replied. Who am I to refuse somebody? Andrej then looked at Robyn expectantly. He just nodded.

As Andrej brewed some tea, I attempted to make some small talk on the behalf of Robyn's quietude. "So, where's the rest of your family?"

"Well, my mother and grandma are upstairs taking care of my baby brother, but my father is at work. My two sisters are still at school, but they should be home soon."

"So should my sister Emily. They're probably in the same school. Emily is in fourth grade. What about your sisters?"

"Well, my sister, Aisha, is also in fourth grade. Samara is in second grade. Aisha might know Emily." We could hear a baby cry from upstairs. Andrej looked up. "Speaking of siblings, that's my baby brother, Aslan." He put two half-filled cups of tea in front of Robyn and I.

"I'll be back in a second," he said after bringing a baby bottle upstairs, leaving Robyn and I in the kitchen.

The uncharacteristically quiet Robyn finally spoke up. "Look who's gone and made a new friend. Didn't know you had that much talk in you." There was no malice in his words, but something else I couldn't place my finger on.

"I didn't say anything because I know you've been going through some personal stuff, but you've been acting strange lately."

He raised his eyebrow. "And? We're not going to have this conversation right now."

"Are you sure you can go to Nathan's party? You don't have to. We can just stay and have fun back in my home with Emily."

"I'm fine." That's what he said, but I highly doubted it.

"Okay, fine." I wasn't going to push him any further as I replied with the same tone of voice.

Andrej came back downstairs. "I apologize for keeping  you two waiting. I am not the best host, leaving his guests alone."

I stood up from the island chair. "No, you're an amazing host. This is a very nice house you have, but Robyn and I have to go home."

Andrej put the teacups in the sink. "Oh, okay. Thank you for visiting and the baked goods! Tell your mother I said thanks and that her baked goods were positively delicious. See you later tonight."

"Goodbye, Andrej." He did the goodbye-double-handshake to Robyn and I and we headed out.

~~~

As soon as Robyn and I settled in the living room, it was quiet as we did our homework, a random cartoon playing in the background. We were so focused and getting our work done before the weekend that I almost didn't notice Emily come home. It wasn't until she flew onto Robyn's lap that I acknowledged her presence. "Birdie! Emmie!"

I looked up from my homework. "Shh, Emily. Mom is sleeping. Mom said to keep quiet and do your homework."

She frowned and crossed her arms, "I don't wanna. It's the weekend. Why should I do homework when I can do it on Sunday? I wanna play!"

"Come on, Emily. Mom said you have to. Once you get it done, you can play as much as you want. I can even help you."

She puckered her lips and pouted but receded. "Oh, alright. If Mommy says so."

We got finished in no time, because fourth grade work is literally adding and subtracting integers, and before we knew it, it was time to go to Nathan's party. Robyn sat on my bed, kicking his legs back and forth as he stared at the ground. He was biting his lip so hard, I thought it would bleed.

"What are you wearing?" I asked him, looking through my closet.

"What I'm wearing right now is perfectly fine." I gave him an unimpressed once-over and shook my head.

"Yeah," I laughed, "no. Are you really going to a rich party with sweatpants? What happened to your style?"

"Left it at home," he replied while looking at me. There was that look again. It made me sad.

I gulped and went deeper in my closet. When I emerged, I threw something at him. "Here, you can wear this." After looking at it for two seconds, he started to take off his shirt right there. "I'm just gonna... be in the bathroom. You should probably put on some chapstick."

"Okay, mom."

When I came out of the bathroom, he was still on my bed, staring not at the floor, but at the wall opposite of him. If it weren't for the blank, dead stare in his eyes, he would look like a full course meal. He wore some black skinny ripped jeans, layering his tops with a white shirt, a long yellow flannel, then his signature leather jacket. He tied back his hair in a loose ponytail, a new look I could get used to.

"Let's go, Robyn," I said softly.

~~~

I drove the Camry to Nathan's house. Saying that his house was the biggest flex would be an understatement. Of course I expected something worth one million, but I wasn't prepared for something that was actually one million. I thought a house of that scale would be at least five million. Seeing all those cars on the longest ass driveway I've ever seen in my life reminded me why I never go to parties. After taking a few deep breaths, I told myself it would be the basketball team, some cheerleaders, and other here and there. Should be nothing like those parties in the movies.

As I walked through the ten feet tall doors, I felt my breath being sucked out of my lungs. Seeing all these people made my palms extra sweaty. No way in hell I was going to shake these people's hands. "I think I'm going to throw up," I said to Robyn.

He shook his head and hid his mouth with his hand in an attempt to refrain from laughing at my discomfort. "Well, you wanted to come here."

I leaned up against him, feeling light-headed. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. Promise me you'll have fun, okay?

His body stilled from shaking due to withholding laughter just a few seconds ago. "I promise. Geez, what's with all these promises?" It was a rhetorical question as he started to walk away from the entrance. He joined a conversation with some guys I didn't recognize, leaving me alone. I gulped and headed towards the food. When in doubt, stress eat and try to avoid eye contact. As much as people would like to believe that Robyn and I were attached to the hip, parties were a whole other scene. As in, I literally never went to parties. Emily's birthday parties don't count.

Grabbing a couple of pizza slices, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I quickly turned around to see Andrej, who wore that constant polite smile. His outfit made me feel undressed. Scratch that, with his face, he could wear a garbage bag and still make me feel like an absolute potato. He wore even skinnier leather pants than the last time I saw him-oh my gosh was that a Gucci belt? Over his black turtleneck was a mostly unbuttoned dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to show a Rolex, goodness gracious. With many pieces of jewelry, he truly belonged in that party. No one would notice if I left right then and there. I hastily took a bite of pizza and acknowledged him with a slight smile.

"Oh, uh, hey Andrej."

"Hey yourself, Emerson." Instead of shaking my occupied hands, he briefly rested a hand on my shoulder. "Where's Robyn?"

"Well, he's somewhere in this house hopefully having fun. I let him do whatever. Parties aren't exactly my scene. Truth be told, this is the first party I've been to in a while."

Andrej nodded his head. "You and I are somewhat in the same boat. After all, this is my first American party. I'll have to say, I didn't have many 'parties' per say back in Kazakhstan. They were--how do you call it--business meetings than actually entertaining."

"This is entertaining to you?"

"Is it not for you? Tell me when's the last time you've been to a house with a go-kart track and mini golf course in the backyard." Wait, there's a freaking go-kart track in the backyard? "You probably knew about the heated pool, but they have a movie theater in the attic, an arcade room in the basement, and a greenhouse on the roof. Shame, most of the teenagers are either on their phones or sitting around in the lounge room. Although, there's an intense game being played on the widescreen." I peered my head into the living room and was floored. The TV wasn't a widescreen, but the actual wall. People were cheering on the two players.

I don't know whether to call this house a dream or a nightmare. I've only gone as far as the dining room, but I could tell this place was a maze.

"Is that so? I wanna check out the arcade."

"You like games?"

Scratching the nape of my neck, I shrugged. "I guess. I just like the nostalgia arcade machines bring me."

"Then let's go to the arcade room."

I hesitated. "I don't want to leave Robyn alone."

"You can invite him if you want, but he's definitely not alone, I can tell you that much. He seems very popular," he gracefully gestured to Robyn who was surrounded by a large group of people, laughing and seeming to have fun. Fun. At least he was smiling.

"You know what? Let's go" I was happy for him. I let Andrej lead the way as I took one last look at Robyn.

The staircase into the basement was just as grand as the one I saw when I first entered this mansion, this one spiralling with intricate gold railings. As if my jaw couldn't drop any farther, the sight before me didn't help. The walls were lined with so many arcade machines, you could probably fit at least two arcades in this place. There were billiards, foosball tables, gumball machines, an even a photobooth in the corner. There was a bar, but of course it was not operating. Everything was lit by a multitude of  neon signs. There was loud music playing, from overhead speakers combined with the sounds of the machines. This could be sensory overload,  but to me it was much better than being upstairs. There seemed to be nobody else and that made me very surprised.

"Oh my gosh."

If Andrej was just as stunned as me, he made sure not to show it. He had a slightly impressed look, corners of his mouth upturned. "This is nice," he said with an arched brow.

"Nice?! It's not everyday you see a giant ass, fully fleshed out arcade in a basement. Nice is an understatement, then again, what could describe this?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Colorful." I opened my mouth to argue, but he wasn't wrong. "So, what's first?"

I looked around for a token machine, but it wasn't hard to miss a large fountain of gold tokens. "This is the most extra thing I've seen in my life." I grabbed a handful of tokens. "How about air hockey?"

"Whatever you want," he agreed.

As I rounded the air hockey table to take my place, Andrej was about to say something. I cut him off by holding up my index finger in the air to shush him. I mouthed 'wait' as I heard something that might have indicated that we were most definitely not alone. Sounding like it came from the photo booth, I slowly motioned for Andrej to follow me. I could hear certain sounds that made me raise eyebrows. Listening in, Andrej followed suit. He immediately took a step back and I put a hand over my mouth.

Sounded like two people were going at it in there. At least making out. And I did not want to have anything to do with it. Then I heard talking. Panicked, I took Andrej's arm and dove to hide behind the bar. He gladly followed and crouched behind me. I peered one eye out the side of the counter to get a look for the coast, seeing who exactly were making out. I had to withhold a gasp as I saw Nathan and Oliver with messy, roughed out clothes, stepping out . Their faces were flushed and their hair were completely tussled. And now they were in an argument. I didn't come for drama, I just wanted to have fun. They were so loud that I could hear them over the noises of an arcade room. Did anybody even notice the absence of the party host?

"Why did you push me away, Ollie?" Nathan looked desperate. Heartbroken. And here I was thinking that whatever this mess was, was mutual after accidentally witnessing what happened under the bleachers.

Oliver looked mad, but I could see the internal conflict in his eyes. He crossed his arms, yet he appeared to be trembling. "I-I don't know, Nate." He looked away. "I don't even know. What is this?" He gestured between them. "I didn't know how it escalated to this, but I don't think this can continue anymore. I'm sorry Nate. I just got a girlfriend too. I just feel so dirty." Nathan's face flared up. "I mean, I feel so dirty for cheating on her. I-if my parents found out," he choked a sob and I could see the tears streaming down Nathan's face, "I don't think I could live being a disappointment. I'm so sorry."

Nathan just inhaled and closed his eyes, causing more tears to fall down. Oliver looks so hurt. I felt like crap for seeing something so personal. I felt like I was massively intruding. I have no idea what I would do if I were to be caught. Checking to see Andrej, he seemed completely impassive to all of this as he sat with his back against the counter, staring at his fingers. That was unexpected since a whole melodramatic scene just occurred right next to us. I, for one, was stunned.

"Save your apologies. I don't want to hear it." Nathan's jaw was clenched now. Before, the noises of the arcade made me excited, but they now just made me nauseous. He was glaring at Oliver. "You didn't even tell me you had a girlfriend. If-if I had known, I...What happened to our friendship? Our trust? I don't want to hear your lies anymore. Get out."

"Wait, Nate, it doesn't ha-"

"Get out."

Oliver reluctantly accepted it. He gulped and looked at the ground dejectedly as he walked out. Nathan furiously scrubbed at his eyes then glanced at the bar. Oh shit. He's totally going to drink his problems away.

"Shit shit shit," I cursed under my breath. "Andrej, we need to go." He snapped out of staring into space and we maneuvered around the counter to stay just out of view as he dug through the fridge with bloodshot eyes. "Bolt for the stairs!" I hastily whispered. Andrej made haste and did not hesitate. I quickly followed suit, looking behind to make sure we didn't get caught right up until he was out of sight.

When we made it back to the party I went back to the food and picked up something to nibble on. I worriedly looked at Andrej. "It goes without saying, but tell no one of this."Andrej looked confused and his eye contact broke mine as he peered behind me.

"Tell no one of what?"

I jumped in startelement and almost crapped my pants at the voice that breathed right next to my ear. "Robyn! You scared the crap out of me!" He put a hand on his hip and looked between me and Andrej who had schooled his confusion into indifference, magically sipping on a cup of fruit punch. "I was just telling Andrej a funny story about you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeahh, a super embarrassing one."

"Oh, Em, how could you?"

I shrugged, awkwardly laughing. "I told him about the time you spit Sprite out when this really popular girl--what was her name, ah Jade--was making a joke as her mouth was wide open. Remember that?"

Robyn snorted. "Mortifying for her, I bet. I'm pretty sure she had a crush on me. I sure do know how to get the ladies," he said sarcastically. "She went ballistic on me. Not my fault her joke was so funny. Can't seem to remember the joke though." He raised an eyebrow at Andrej. "What about you, Andrej? Any luck with the ladies? There must be a reason for dressing like that."

He took another sip of fruit punch, shrugging one shoulder. "I guess. But, do know I dress for myself and no one else."

"Okayyy," Robyn said cautiously. "So, Em, there's going to be a game of spin the coke bottle in the living room. Wanna join?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"I-I don't know." I gulped. I had never kissed anyone before, how could I when I never had a girlfriend in the first place? Nobody but Robyn knows my lack of romantic experience. Everybody assumes I'm friends with Robyn because of the popularity that comes with it, but that's obviously not true. "That game is a big no-no. Main reason why I don't go to parties. Don't wanna be catching mono."

Robyn laughed as if I said a joke. "Okay, Party-Pooper."

I huffed."You don't know me if you think you can persuade me by mere elementary name-calling." I wasn't going to give into peer pressure.

"Suit yourself." He didn't seem too disappointed. I guess he was prepared for me to say no, at least he knew boundaries when they were set. Before he turned to leave, he asked me, "By the way, have you seen party boy and his b*tch?"

I was taken aback by his sudden language and I was confused by who he was talking about. "Who?"

"Nathan and Oliver," he said as if it were the most obvious thing ever. At the mention of those names I tried not to react. Though, when I attempted to see what Andrej had to say, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm, guess it's an evening of disappearances. Haven't seen Nathan, Oliver, and now Andrej. I swear he was right behind me two seconds ago."

Robyn frowned. "Odd." That was all he had to say before backstepping to leave. "Well, if you need me, you know where to find me." He finger-gunned and winked at me. "Later, Em." He disappeared into the crowd and I was left alone.

After a little bit of cheese and crackers and little bit of grapes, a young girl walked up to me, appearing to be a freshman. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, you're really cute. Can I get your phone number?" She started to fidget with her fingers, a habit I was used to seeing from Robyn.

Oh gosh, social interaction. And this one wants my phone number. I had no idea how to respond to flattery. "Sure?" What was I supposed to do, say no? I had always been told that I'm too kind for my own good. I put my phone number into her phone and gave her a shaky, lopsided grin.

Excited, she tucked her chestnut brown hair behind her ears. Her freckles pinked as her cheeks heated up. "Thank you!" Then she dashed away. Honestly, she was way too pretty and out of my league for me.

Bored, I decided to take some popcorn and watch Robyn kiss some girls. Okay, that sounds really weird now that it's on paper. Anyways, I sneaked into the room and lurked around the back, leaning against the wall at the perfect place to give me the best view of Robyn's suffering. He seemed inscrutable as he sat in a large circle of teenagers, a single glass bottle of Coca-Cola spinning in the middle. Those really into it were cheering and betting on who it was going to land. The cheers became almost deafening for a second when it landed on a guy on the basketball team and a gorgeous girl from the cheerleading squad. Pretty sure she was flyer judging by her small stature. They met in the middle and immediately there was tongue. I cringed, grossed at the amount of groping going on. After a hot and heavy thirty seconds, they were panting in a mess of sweat and flushed cheeks.

Not long after, they went back to their original positions and resumed the game. Despite every bone in my usually sensible body telling me to not be like the teens in the movie, it was extremely compelling. I went closer and watched with anticipation. The first time it landed on Robyn, he had to kiss a girl who smelled awful, like old cigars and weed, and something else I couldn't put my finger on. I don't care if she was even the most drop-dead gorgeous person in the whole world, no way in hell I would kiss that stank skank.

Robyn's eyebrows furrowed and his nose wrinkled as he kissed the girl not even two seconds in. When she tried to do tongue I could tell he did not have any of it. On the contrary, she was having the time of her life as her ravenous hands scavenged every inch of his body (that probably screamed on the inside). I had to bite down on my tongue to prevent me from bursting out in laughter. The only rule in this game was that the limit was thirty seconds, but the two people didn't have to kiss for that long. Robyn pulled away after ten seconds and grimaced while the girl pouted and scooted back to her place. I snorted when Robyn furiously rubbed at his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

The room erupted into cheers when two girls went to the middle. One girl, I recognized, was in the student body. She was a girl with blonde hair, cute glasses, and a minidress. She nervously fidgeted, but didn't hesitate to kiss the other girl as soon as she sat down. The other girl had a boyfriend around the circle too, and I was surprised to see him cheering her on. It felt very odd to me. But maybe it was an open relationship. It wasn't my business.

And then I felt eyes on me. I jolted, very startled. It took me a split second to register the bottle pointing in my direction. I didn't even realize I was in front of the people in the circle. My wide eyes met Robyn's. People were being loud but I couldn't hear anything, feeling deaf as everything was suffocatingly silent besides the sound of my pounding heart that throbbed on the side of my head. My heart was hammering, threatening to bust out of my chest. Too many people. Too many eyes on me. I was suddenly sweating from every pore in my body.

I nervously laughed, and scratched the nape of my neck. "Uh, I'm not playing. Sorry." The person who was standing next to me nudged my arm. Other people started booing. Earlier I joked about throwing up, but now, I think I might've had to actually throw up what I binged earlier. I blanched and didn't even waste a second before pivoting on my foot and dashing away. "E-excuse me."

I took a sharp turn down a hallway, thankful for the maze-like layout of this house. Robyn called my name in a distressed voice and I felt my limbs freeze for a second. "Emerson!" I couldn't go back. Not like this. I snapped out of it and continued running.

The more I climbed the stairs, the more the sound of blaringly cacophonous music was dampened. Eventually, I reached the rooftop greenhouse. It was an captivating experience to see a greenhouse at night. The bright stars twinkled through the glass, calming me under the fairy lights being strung along the sides, intertwining with the tree trunks. I sat on a bench on the furthest side, vines well-grown into it. Curling up on it, I tucked my knees into my chest and appreciated the quietness. After staring at the colorful flowers hanging from the ceiling, I checked my phone. It felt like an eternity had passed, but it had only been around two hours since the party started. I sighed at my phone as I had accidentally left the brightness up, so the battery was almost dead. I powered it off and stuffed it back into my pocket.

Inhaling deeply, I slowly exhaled through my nose and closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the bench. Before I knew it, I was dozing off.

~~~

I snapped my eyes open when I heard a familiar tune. A very familiar voice I have heard almost everyday in my life. It was raspier than usual, but him nonetheless. I looked down at the leather jacket that was draped across me.

"Robyn?"

His hair was matted to the sides of his face and he held a Coke bottle that was half empty in one hand. Like mine, his head was leaning back. He turned slightly to me. "You don't know how long I've been looking for you. This house was gigantic. Bet it would be a killer game of hide and seek." When I was silent, he kept on talking. "You know, I thought you would be in the library. But nobody was there."

I laughed, but it was a quiet one. "I don't even know where the library is. I just kept on running and ended up here."

"Why didn't you answer my calls?"

I shrugged one shoulder, using the opposite hand to keep his leather jacket on me. "I shut off my phone. It was going to die."

He opened his mouth to say one thing, but quickly shut it, looking away guiltily. I let him speak. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For bringing you here. I should've known. I know I haven't exactly been myself the past few days.  I'm sorry I dragged you here even though we could've stayed with Emily." He dragged a hand down his face. "I'm so tired of playing this game."

"Spin the bottle?"

"No. The straight game." Oh.

"If you're not comfortable-" He cut me off and put a finger to my lips.

"I miss the old days." He took a sip from the bottle. "In elementary school when we had no worries. There was no social hierarchy. We relied on our parents for everything. School was easy. We were so innocent, so naive."

"You sound like an old man." I reminisced about the old days. "Remember when we went to my mom's friend's wedding together and played pretend wedding at the reception."

"A random kid acted as the officiator. Although, she had no idea what she was doing."

“We picked some dandelions outside and put it into a bouquet.”

“That was so cute,” I smiled.

"And then we kissed each other on both cheeks." Robyn kissed me on my cheek sloppily. "Like that." I wrinkled my nose as he pinched it. "That's a habit of yours. You've done that for as long as I can remember."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. You look like a puppy, or maybe like a cat, when you do that."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or-"

"Nah, it's definitely a compliment. Dogs and cats are cute."

"I'm not cute."

"Who said you were?" He laughed at me with mirth in his eyes.

"Okay. Listen here, you little sh*t." I lightly yanked his ponytail. He yelped and I laughed back at him. "I think this is the longest you've had your hair yet."

He twisted a loose strand in his fingers in contemplation. "Huh, it has gotten long. Should I cut it?"

Shaking my head, I pushed a few pieces of hair back. "I like it. You should keep it. It suits you."

He retracted his head looked down. Then he chugged the rest of the bottle. I don't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but his skin was quite flushed. It was a little warm in the greenhouse considering it is a controlled climate. Now that I think about it, I was a little bit warm, too. "I guess I'll keep it." Robyn stood up and took a few steps before turning back to me. "Let's go."

"Let's go, where?"

"'Home." He said no more as he threw his bottle in the trash. I wordlessly followed him as I shrugged on his leather jacket.

~~~

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