Chapter 44- Taunting Stories

[] A M E L I A []

"OMG!" Gemma squealed. "I can't believe you hugged him like that!"

She was shaking with excitement, causing my lips to form a nervous smile.

"It wasn't intentional," I mumbled.

But Gemma was already talking over me, her voice loud enough to wake up my neighbors. Poor Fatima next door deserves an award for putting up with us.

"-and then he hugged you back, and he was all like- "don't worry, I'm okay Moonie"- and I was swooning, and goodness gracious girl, that kind of hug only exits in fairytales! I swear everyone in the café was jealous."

I groaned and dug my face into my pillow. After a moment, I finally sat up straight again, bringing the pillow into my lap.

"Gemma! Can we not bring it up, please?" I said embarrassed.

Gemma smirked at me.

"Why? Is the pretty boy too much to talk about for our whittle Amelia?" she teased, coming over to lightly pinch my cheeks.

I swatted her away, chuckling as I did so. Gemma laughed at my reaction, and then we fell into a comfortable silence. For a second, her gesture reminded me of something Andre did earlier at Leo's apartment, and I had a sudden revelation.

"Alright, enough about me," I said, turning to Gemma with a serious look.

She gave me a confused look and I simply patted the spot beside me for her to take. She jumped up on the bed beside me, swinging her legs over the edge.

"What's up?" she asked.

It took me a moment to figure out how to say it, but when I did, it came out as nothing I had planned earlier.

"What's going on with you and Andre?" I blurted out.

It was something that had been bothering me for the longest time. Specifically after Jamal's game-winning party. They were odd the following days after that, and then slowly went back to being normal. However, I couldn't find the time to talk to Gemma about it.

Her silence worried me, and for the next few moments, that's all there was between us. I squeezed her shoulder in order to get her attention.

She sighed and turned to me.

"I just... I don't know how to say it Amelia. I don't know if I should say it. Because I might be wrong Amelia. Goodness, I pray that I'm wrong."

By the end, she was murmuring to herself. My worry increased tenfold and I scooted closer to where she sat.

"What is it Gemma?" I mumbled. "Do you... do you like him?"

Gemma stiffened under my touch, causing me to frown further.

"Gemma if that's the case then-"

Before I could finish my sentence, my phone rang desperately. I sighed and reached over to my side table to get it. I was surprised to see Jamal's name pop up on the screen. Gemma rose a brow at me in question, and I showed her the flashing screen. She only nudged me to pick it up. I gave her a pointed look, murmuring 'this conversation isn't over yet,' before turning back to my phone.

"Moonie," a voice sang as I brought the phone up to my ear.

I furrowed my brows in confusion, wondering who it was. Although Jamal had called me, the voice didn't sound like his usual gravelly one. And surprisingly, the nickname didn't sound right coming from someone besides Leo.

Before I could respond, the voice continued speaking.

"Where are you?"

Now that he wasn't making a nasally sound with his mouth, I finally recognized the voice as being Jamal's. I chuckled at his tease.

Before I could speak, I suddenly heard a loud commotion in the background.

"I can't hold him-"

"Fuck," Jamal cursed.

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Okay Amelia, I don't have much time before the raging monster Leo gets to me, so I'm gonna ask you this quick. There's a party this weekend at a teammate's house! He's turning 21 and we all want you to come. Especially lover-boy here but he won't ask you-"

"Fucking hell Jamal!" I heard Leo loudly swear on the other side.

And then the line went dead.

I pulled the phone down from my ear and stared at it confused. I then turned to Gemma who was giving me a questioning gaze.

"What happened?"

"Uh, I think we just got invited to a party?" I questioned rather than answered.

Gemma brightened at my words.

"Really? That's perfect! I haven't been to a party in so long," Gemma groaned.

I nodded at her words, silently looking down at my hands in my lap.

"I think you should go Gemma," I said to her.

"Wait, what? You won't come?" Gemma asked, a pout forming at her lips.

I nodded hesitantly.

"But Amelia... you loved parties."

Her eyes bore holes into my soul.

"You were the only one who was crazier than all the drunkards without even touching alcohol."

I sighed and finally looked away from her.

It was true.

I, Amelia Harrison, never needed even a drop of alcohol in me, because I was crazier without it. I went to every party that was ever hosted and managed make the most out of all of them.

However, that was a long time ago. Before Brittany was killed at a party, and before my brother was arrested for it.

Parties were not my forte anymore.

* * *

[] L E O []

"She won't come guys," Gemma said.

Simaultaneously, we all slumped in defeat.

Although I was against the idea at first too, I was now having second thoughts about it. I hadn't seen Amelia properly since I got back, and I was hoping this party would buy us some time together.

When Andre had brought up the idea last night at my place, I instantly disagreed. I knew, I just knew what kind of meaning these parties held for her, so I wouldn't drag her to a place I knew she would be uncomfortable.

However, after Jamal ended the call, I suddenly had a revelation.

And that was that I couldn't just decide things for Amelia on my own.

Granted, what I had said was for what I thought would be her own benefit, but maybe she didn't need that. Maybe she wanted to go to the party.

And now I felt absolutely sick.

'What if she heard me on the phone and thought I didn't want her to come?' I stupidly thought.

Which was no where near what I wanted.

Heck, I wanted to grab her hand in mine, drag her to wherever this party was, show her off to everyone and rub it in their face that they missed the opportunity to be around the most amazing girl in the world-

"But why?" Andre whined.

I shook my head and turned my attention back to the table. The four of us were in Coffee Rush discussing the party. It wasn't busy at this time, seeing as it was quite late in the evening. Amelia went back to her dorm after her last class, probably to skip out on talking to us about the whole party thing. However, this gave the rest of us some time to talk.

Gemma sighed at Andre's question.

"She just isn't into them anymore Andre," Gemma bitterly snapped.

Surprised by her tone, Andre's eyes widened and he moved back a little as if he'd just been stung. Not only him, Jamal and I were also surprised. He turned to give me a sideways glance, and I pressed my lips into a thin line. There was obviously something going on between them, but what it was, we didn't know.

Gemma realized her tone was snappy, and also awkwardly moved back. Then, she closed her eyes and let out a puff of air through her nose. She visibly slumped in her chair, and after a moment, she turned back to Andre apologetically.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just worried about her," she mumbled.

Andre gave her an understanding nod and leaned closer to her.

"What is it Gemma? Why are you so worried?" he asked her.

It felt like an intimate moment between them, as Andre stared at Gemma, who in turn stared back at him. It felt as if we weren't supposed to see it. Gemma snapped out of it first and turned her head to look at the table. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and we all gave her a moment to think.

Gemma finally let out a shaky breath and spoke.

"I bet she misses it," she suddenly said, surprising us all.

My brows furrowed in confusion. I brought my elbows up on the table, clasping my hands together in the air as I leaned closer toward Gemma. I couldn't help but be interested in what Gemma had to say, as she was talking about my favourite topic nowadays, Amelia Harrison.

"She was so social, so open before. She was the kind of girl that was everywhere all the time. She was at every party, nearly every club in school, and she was so loved. There was not a person in the school who she wasn't friends with. Jocks, goths, the cheerleaders, the nerds, just everyone. She was friends with everyone. And me. Oh God, she- she was friends with me," Gemma said shakily.

Andre leaned in closer toward her, his hand inching towards her arm. When he touched her, Gemma finally closed her eyes in defeat.

"What's wrong with being friends with you?" Andre muttered, sounding almost disappointed she said that.

She stared at him hard, as if wondering if she should even speak further. And then, it was as if she saw something flash in Andre's eyes. She slowly closed her eyes, her next words completely altering my previous assumptions about her.

"I met her in counselling."

At this, my eyes widened and I gawked at Gemma. Before any of us could speak, she continued talking.

"She was strange, Amelia Harrison. I never knew such a soul could exist on this planet. Someone so pure, so angelic."

My heart instantly started thumping harder against my chest. I don't know how many more things I have to hear about her. I already knew that I wasn't worth her time, but now?

What will Gemma say that will make me absolute mush at Amelia's feet, more than I already was?

"It wasn't just school counselling. Oh no. It was an actual clinic where I met her, psychiatrists and all."

We all watched in a trance as Gemma continued her story.

"On my fourth visit to the place, she came bounding in through the doors. Her movements were wild and frantic as she came into the office. She was so jumpy and happy," Gemma animatedly explained. "So as I saw her come in, I couldn't help but sneer at her."

Gemma chuckled at her own words, her eyes glued to the table as if she was thinking about that time.

"She only gave me a confused look, then covered it up with what I thought was a fake smile then. If only I had know how real it were, I might've been friends with her much sooner."

Gemma sighed.

"The clinic was owned by a friend of her dad's. It turned out she volunteered there. One day, I was coming up the elevator to the clinic and she came into the elevator just after me. I couldn't help it, I sneered at her again. And you know what she did? She smiled at me, and I just... I got so angry at her. I started yelling, pulling at my hair, and even went as far as to try and punch her. She held her ground and didn't let me step over her. And her smile, oh God, she wouldn't stop smiling and it made me want to punch her teeth or something," Gemma said, rolling her eyes playfully.

I didn't like where this was going, but I braced myself as she continued speaking.

"And before I knew it, I was crying like a crazy lady just outside of the elevator. She pushed me over the edge without realizing it. But not in a bad way, in a way that I needed most. Then, that crazy girl did the unthinkable. She pulled me in a hug."

A staggered breath left Gemma as she spoke.

"And as I tried to push her away, she only hugged me tighter. Then she said that she heard about how my mother passed away, and that she was sorry for my loss. And me being the idiot I am, I pushed her away."

Gemma let out a shaky breath and brought a hand down her face.

"I didn't stop. I pushed her away and never looked back. I didn't let her get to me. But every time I'd have an appointment, she would be there. She'd either sit in the corner table doing her work, or she'd sit beside me and read a book. She didn't say anything, but her presence gave me the strength I was missing out on," Gemma said with a heavy breath. "I wish I told her then how much it meant to me. How much I appreciated her support. She knew I wasn't always like that. She knew I was simply going through a phase, but she stuck with me through it."

We all watched Gemma silently, letting her tell us her story without interrupting.

"When I was finally done with therapy, I lost contact with her. After a year, I started high school. I was finally myself again, and the moment I saw her there again, I finally built up the courage and let Amelia Harrison befriend me."

Gemma stopped and smiled fondly while keeping her eyes on the table.

"And we did become good friends. Although Brittany and her were nearly joined at the hip, Amelia found ways to sneak in and out of other groups, sometimes with Brittany, and sometimes without her. However, she would always be someone whose friendship I'd hold close to my heart. She didn't just pull me under her wing, she made me realize that in order to live, I'm going to have to spread my own wings."

I was at loss for words.

Nothing could have prepared me for what Gemma had to say about Amelia. She spoke not only as a friend, but as someone who saved by Amelia.

She was someone like Clara.

She was someone like me.

After a moment of silence, Andre moved toward Gemma. He dropped his hand from her arm, and it disappeared under the table between them. He was probably holding her hand right now, seeing as how Gemma relaxed after a moment.

"Thanks for sharing that Gemma. Thanks for trusting us," he said on behalf of all three of us.

Once again, their eyes locked. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and Andre only gave her an encouraging grin. Before they could get lost in each other's gaze forever, I cleared my throat to get their attention.

"Thanks Gemma. But what do you want to do now?" I asked awkwardly.

I was grateful that she shared this snippet of her past with us. Gemma had also become a close friend, and I was glad she shared her story with us. But this is what worried me. Was she only friends with Amelia to repay her? Or was she selfish like me and didn't want to lose someone like Amelia?

Gemma sighed and faced us with a saddened look.

"It hurts to see her like this. I don't want her to keep going through the same thing I did. I just want to help her."

This was all I needed to hear. I finally cracked a small smile at Gemma.

"Then we're all on the same page."

She nodded and returned my smile with one of her own.

"Then this does it. We absolutely need to get Amelia to come to this party. We have to bring out who she really is," Jamal said.

We all nodded in agreement.

"But how?" Gemma asked, looking between us.

And then, I had an idea.

And idea so brilliantly horrible, that I might just be digging my own grave with it. However, if it worked, hell, if it worked... then...

Quickly standing up from my chair, I simply told the rest that I will be bringing her, and they don't have to worry about it. With that, I left.

However, will she actually?