No One Knows

A/N: There are no fanfics with Emily as the main character to my knowledge, so I wanted to change that :)

WARNINGS: Swearing, Bradley being Bradley...

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, just a fan of the movie.

Oh what you do to me. No one knows...No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age

Emily could not quite believe she was at a party with the popular crowd from school. A party held at Bradley White's house, to be precise. Justine had asked her to come along, and Alexis had quickly agreed that she could come. Then again, he clearly fancied Justine and would say anything to get her to come to the party. Emily wanted to lend Justine moral support, and she also wanted to avoid watching Atonement for what would seem like the millionth time. Helena was far too obsessed with Keira Knightley. Of course, Helena had been mad at her for agreeing to go to the party with Justine but was passive aggressive about the whole situation. She had tried to dissuade them from going. Once she saw she could not change their minds, she told them she hoped they had a good time at the party, but the reproachful expression on her face told a different story entirely. Emily felt guilty for going to the party, partly for not going along with Helena's wishes but mainly because Helena did have some justification for her disapproval of the party. Darren Mullet was dead, and to have a party so soon after his funeral was not respectful. Especially when it was a party hosted by Darren's main tormenter, Bradley.

Bradley was arrogant and had a nasty mean streak. Everyone knew it, but he was attractive, charming when he wanted to be, captain of the football team and his parents were rich. So of course, he generally got his own way. It was not fair, but that was the way it was. Emily knew she was not even on Bradley's radar, not that she wanted to be. She was practically invisible. Even her best friends ignored her sometimes. Helena liked to boss her around, and Emily was too timid to stand up for herself. Besides, she did not usually mind Helena's bossy attitude. Helena meant well, she really did, and she was a loyal friend. Emily was shy, and so it was often a relief to have Helena's company and guidance. It was just that sometimes Emily felt a little suffocated in their friendship and she occasionally needed some space. She was not sure what to expect, but did not think she would enjoy being at the party. However, she was actually not having a bad time. That most likely had something to do with the fact she had been drinking. The bottle she was drinking from was labelled as Smirnoff Ice. It was a glorious mixture of vodka with a citrus taste. She had only drunk a small glass of sour tasting champagne at a wedding once, but it had not given her the buzz she was experiencing right now.

She was alone inside the master bedroom. Apparently Bradley's parents were away from home. She wondered what they thought about him having house parties. They probably did not care, she surmised. Her own parents would have been furious if she had dared to throw a party at her house. Not that she ever would. Alexis and Justine had wandered off together, probably to go and kiss and perhaps do more made Emily blush when she thought about it. After they had disappeared, Emily had decided to find somewhere quiet to retreat too. She was nervous around so many people, and it was too things that crowded for her liking. She also wanted to stay away from April and her friends. They had almost caused Justine to leave the party after getting Jeremy to humiliate her. Thankfully Bradley had kicked Jeremy out. Well, actually he had gotten Marcus to do his dirty work. Emily, as Justine's best friend, could be April's next target. April was a spiteful girl, and so Emily had decided it was better to stay out of April's sight. Out of sight, out of mind. She had half expected when she had come into the bedroom that there might be a couple making out on the bed, but thankfully no-one had been there.

So now she was sitting on the bed, half empty bottle with a cloudy liquid inside loosely grasped in her delicate hands. Emily could hear the muffled sound of loud music through the bedroom door, which she had left slightly ajar. She was just about to take another sip of her bottle, when the door opened. Bradley was there, and he seemed surprised when he saw her in his parent's bedroom. "What the fuck?"

Emily was startled when she saw him, and she slowly stood up from where she had been sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry..." Emily's voice was soft. She rarely spoke, as Helena did more than enough talking for the both of them.

"It's alright, Emma, is it? You're Justine's mate, yeah?" Bradley questioned, as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "So what have you got there?" He walked over and took the bottle from her. "I think you've had enough, but it would be a shame to waste this." He winked at her before he drank a quarter of the bottle. "Here, you have the last part."

"No, thank you," Emily replied, glad she was fortified with alcohol which gave her confidence to talk to him, something she would not have done ordinarily. "You can finish the bottle, if you want."

"Just drink it, for fuck's sake," Bradley snapped, shoving the bottle back into her hands. "You already drank half the bottle, so what's a little more?"

Emily shrank back from him, not liking how he was yelling at her. He was so confusing. One moment he was telling her not to drink, the next moment he told her it was fine to drink. "Okay..." She finished the bottle, feeling uncomfortable at Bradley's presence and awkward when she realized now they had shared a bottle, it was like they had shared an indirect kiss. And of course, when she thought about kissing, her eyes went straight to Bradley's lips. She closed her eyes for a moment then gave the empty bottle to Bradley. "Where is...Justine?"

"Down in the den. You can come join us all, Emma," Bradley suggested, as he smirked at her. "We're gonna play some games. You can be on Justine's team, yeah?"

"I just want...I want to stay here...?" Emily replied, hating that it sounded like she was questioning her decision when the last thing she wanted to do was be around him and his friends. They were all bullies and she did not want to be near them, sure they would put her down and tease her. "Yes, I'll just stay here." She added firmly.

Bradley casually shrugged. "Ok, we'll both stay here." He moved some of her curls away from her face with his hand and leaned in close to whisper into her ear. "I can think of a few ways we can fun, just you and me..."

"Let's go to the den," Emily hastily replied, stepping back, away from Bradley and his intoxicating scent of musky cologne. She really did not want to be alone with him any longer. He intimidated her, as she had no idea of the thoughts running through his mind yet she knew they were some kind of wicked thoughts. He was teasing her; she knew he did not mean what he said. In fact, she realized she had just played right into his hands. She had not wanted to leave the room, but he had made her change her mind.

Bradley strode over to the door and held it open. "After you, Emma."

Emily had ignored the first two times he got her name wrong, but this time she corrected him, with a rare show of courage which she blamed on the drink. "Actually, my name is Emily," As she passed him, he took hold of her arm and she looked back at him. He simply stared at her, like she was a puzzle he had yet to figure out, but he did not talk. It made Emily feel uncomfortable so she broke the silence. "What is it?"

"Nothing," He smiled, letting go of her and giving her a little push forward. "Better keep moving, you're keeping everyone waiting you know..."

Emily frowned at him for a moment, the tame version of the glare he would likely have gotten from Helena or Justine if he had said the same thing to them. If anything, she thought he was the one to blame, as he had been the one to start the conversation. It was somehow surreal in a way, that she had been talking to Bradley. For all his faults, he was very attractive. There was something about him that drew her interest. As they made their way down to the den, Emily was worried. She did not need to start developing a crush on him. He was a horrible person.

Justine announced it was time to go as soon as she saw Emily. There was a tension in the air, and Emily was not sure what had created it. She was just relieved that she could leave. Alexis walked them to the bus stop, giving Justine a kiss goodbye. He waited with them until the bus came. As soon as Emily and Justine had settled into their seats, Justine looked out of the window and smiled as she waved at Alexis until the bus took her out of sight of him. Then she turned to Emily and hugged her. "Sorry I got so caught up with Alexis that I left you alone. It was so crowded, and we were trying to talk but it was too loud, so we went somewhere...quieter. Were you alright, during the party?"

"It's fine, Justine. Don't worry about it," Emily replied. "I'm glad you wanted to leave, though. Bradley is...Well, he's...I don't even know what to say."

"He didn't do anything to upset you, did he?" Justine crossed her arms, looking annoyed. "He's such a jerk..."

"No, not really," Emily bit her lip, and quickly changed the subject. "So, how long do you think it will take for Helena to forgive us?"

"Emily...There's nothing to forgive, it's ridiculous. " Justine stretched across the aisle to press a bell, as the bus was close to their stop. "Sometimes she acts like she's our mum, not our best friend..."

Emily laughed, then covered it with her hand, feeling guilty for finding amusement in Justine's observation on Helena. "That's only because she cares."

"I know..." Justine sighed. "Alright, we'll apologise when we see her next, and tell her we had an awful time at the party. She'll love to hear that." Justine stood up. "Come on, we need to get off the bus."

Emily stood up too, as the bus slowed down. As she got off the bus, she was relieved that tonight she was sleeping over at Justine's house. She felt tired, and was not sure how she would feel in the morning. She hoped she did not get a hangover. If her parents had known she was out at a party they would have been livid. And if they found out she had been drinking...Emily did not even want to think about what their reactions be like. Emily felt bad for keeping a secret from them, but she never wanted them to know the truth. The party had been a strange experience for her, and not one she wished to repeat again. Although she had fun, in some ways but that was mainly because of the alcohol. When she and Justine were inside the house, they crept upstairs and quickly got ready for bed. As Emily drifted off to sleep, alongside Justine, she was relieved that tomorrow everything would be back to normal in her quiet world and Bradley would forget she existed again.

Thanks for reading :)