A/N: AW, you guys are all so sweet with the reviews and requests! This is the reverse of the last chapter, with a jealous Emmet, tee hee. This one might be too long, sorry. So, question; if I wrote a continual Emmetstyle story (I have the plot already) would anyone read it? Oh, I have a poll up in my profile for this oneshot collection. Ok, NOW the announcements are over. ENJOY!
"Do you have to go?" Emmet watched as his girlfriend slowly, very slowly got herself ready, brushing her hair in its usual ponytail.
"Emmet," she groaned. She wasn't mad at him in the least, he was just making it so, so hard to leave him. The absolutely devastated and heartbroken look on his face would disappear just a split second after she always turned to him, so she was forced to see it. "I have to, I don't want to though."
Emmet kicked his legs repeatedly on the bed, up and down, up and down. "When will you be back?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"UGH!"
Emmet collapsed like a card in the wind back onto the bed. How was he supposed to sleep without her? He had gotten so used to having her curled up in his arms, wrapping her arms around his chest, his head resting on hers…how was he supposed to live like this?!
Lucy stole a glance at her distraught boyfriend. The only problem with having such a devoted boyfriend was it made it impossible to leave him. He thought this was breaking her heart, it was killing hers! What was she supposed to do tonight, lay her head against and hug a pillow?
She was shocked with herself at the anger in her hands as she slammed down the brush, turned to him and starting kiss him like they were saying goodbye for months.
He sat up to pull her closer, letting her wordlessly tell him how much she was going to miss him.
Lucy was, unfortunately, a pretty important figure in the new city. Because of this, she had to travel to the other side of the city, about five hours away to take care of some business and election 'junk' as Emmet had called it. All of Emmet's important stuff happened close to home, but hers was impossibly far away. So far away she needed to stay overnight.
Emmet couldn't come, it was an invitation, and he wasn't invited.
Just as she started to wrap her arms around his neck, the doorbell rung like uninvited in-laws.
Lucy pulled back, trying to not cry and be strong…but it wasn't really working. She sniffed and wiped away the tears on her hoodie sleeve. She was still resting on the bed in his arms, her legs crossed underneath her. "You're impossible, I can't even leave you!" She finally let out a sad laugh. "I'm gonna miss you, Ems."
Emmet wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his head in the crook of her neck. He could smell her perfume; the same one she had worn when he met her. It was a strange blend of sweet strawberry and dark, bitter chocolate. He never got tired of it. "I'm gonna miss you more."
"Lucy?! You ready?" A voice came from the door, now knocking like a drum.
Emmet pulled back, slid off the bed and helped her down. "Come on, you're gonna knock 'em dead, right?"
She grabbed her bag and followed him at a snail's pace to the front door. "Yeah, the speech isn't that hard, it's just that the whole place is going to be filled with peppy girls all yelling about stuff I don't care about, I don't even know why they asked me."
"Uh, because you're awesome!"
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Ems."
They both turned to the door, staring at them like the Kragle. "I'll call you when I get there, alright?"
Emmet nodded. "Ok."
"WAIT, THAT WAS TODAY?!" Unikitty fell all the way down the stairs in a frenzy, landing at the feet of her roommates. "You're leaving?" Her whimper was almost as pitiful as Emmet's, if that was possible.
The look of sympathy she gave Unikitty didn't help much. "Yeah, I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Unikitty pouted. "Not cool, Wyldstyle."
Emmet slapped his forehead, eyes wide. "Wait, I almost forgot! Stay here, just one minute!" He gave Lucy a quick kiss before running off to grab who-knows-what while the girls stared at his retreating form.
Lucy took the moment to whisper to Unikitty, "Unikitty, listen, I need you to occupy Emmet while I'm gone. He's going to miss me, and I don't want him to cry himself into an oblivion." She neglected to mention that she would be doing the same…
Unfortunately for Lucy, Unikitty knew her a bit too well to let her get away with it. She stared up at Lucy skeptically, and with good reason. "Like you'll be any better."
Lucy smirked. "Fair enough. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
Nodding, Unikitty gave her best friend a hug before hearing the familiar 'snap' of a camera clicking from behind them. "Emmet," Lucy said in a playful tone, her cheeks heating up at the blush on her boyfriend's face.
"I'll let you two say goodbye." Unikitty nudged Emmet, waved goodbye to Lucy, and disappeared off to her room.
Lucy looked up from the floor, meeting Emmet's gaze as he spoke, "Here, I brought you this."
He handed her a small picture of the two of them, sitting on the swings at a park. That was one of her favorite days of her whole life. "I love it," she murmured, lost in the snapshot. "Thanks.
It was a struggle much too hard for Lucy to force herself to look at him. She didn't know what to compare the feeling to except pure, murderous heartbreak. "I'll call you, alright?"
Emmet nodded, lifting his hand up to stroke her cheek, nearly crying when she leaned into his touch. Being in love was so hard! "This is almost as bad as when you were captured."
Lucy smiled weakly. Why did it feel like her heart was going to throw up? Was this what love felt like? Was this the part of love greeting cards ignored? "See ya later, alligator."
Emmet's tears fought against his willpower like Washington's army. "After a while, crocodile."
Leaning forward, he caught her in a lingering, passionate, heart-warming kiss that almost sent Lucy falling backwards. How was she supposed to go through a day without him?
She clung to him, pulling him closer and closer until shoving her hands into his hair, messing it up and deepening the kiss.
The doorbell rang out again like a school bell. "LUCY! It's time to go!"
No, I don't want to go. Let me stay.
He could be the strong one, he mused, if only he could care less for her, about her. If he could bring himself to be the detached one, maybe her departure wouldn't be so painful. He knew it was hurting her to leave him; the way her arms tightened around him like she was refusing to go. Loving was difficult, but loving the love if his life was torture in these moments.
Thinking only of making her life easier, he pulled back. "I love you, Lucy." Like a soldier saying his final goodbye to his wife, he gave her a quick kiss.
She was silent as he brushed a lock of her soft, blue hair back into its place. "Love you more, Ems." Since when was she the weak one? The one who couldn't live without him? The one who wanted nothing more but to snuggle with him by a fire and never let go?
This was absurd. It was an overnight visit. So why was her heart cracking under the pressure?
The meeting was trivial, and she wasn't needed. But she needed him, and he needed her. She could stay. Yes, she would stay. That would fix everything. She would stay and they could forget about painful goodbyes.
She opened her mouth to tell him she was staying, but he covered it with his own. She honestly didn't know how she had ever lived without him. Ignorant bliss, that's how.
Once more separating himself from her, Emmet could only stand still and watch as the love of his life turned, opened the door, walked out, and let the door slowly shut behind her.
"Emmet?" Unikitty popped out from the kitchen. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah."
It was like watching a mad scientist realize he had not the talent nor the skill to save the world. Emmet's steps were as heavy as bricks as he walked from the door to the couch. He pulled a small blue pillow to the side of the couch and climbed up like it was Mount Everest. Resting his head on the pillow and lying down, he grabbed the remote, his new best friend for the next twenty-four hours.
The gentle click of the TV filled Unikitty's ears, followed by a comment about missing pants. "You're…you're watching that?"
"Yeah."
Not good, not good. Unikitty didn't like seeing her roommate so sullen, lifeless, emotionless. "It's a beautiful day outside!" She scampered over to the blinds and drew them back, revealing hundreds of specks of dust by the sunlight. "Wanna go out and play?"
"No."
Now she was getting worried. "Well, what do you want to do? We can go for a walk, play outside, bake, listen to Everything is awesome, visit our friends…" Unikitty knew not how to be bored.
"No thanks."
The laughter of the show contrasting Emmet's disposition reminded Unikitty of a word that she didn't like very much;
Loneliness.
#
That night, Emmet had never felt so alone.
He was used to being alone. He had lived alone since moving out of his parents' house, if you didn't count Planty. But this...this was medieval torture.
The thing about being alone for so long is that when you finally do get friends, people surrounding you, you never want to be alone again.
That's how Emmet felt. It was like going on a roller coaster for the second time; the first time, you don't know what to expect. You are completely oblivious, and you don't know any different. The second time, you know how petrifying, how scary, how terrifying the first hill is, how bad your stomach hurts on the third drop, and how much you wanted to get off at the end. The second time, you know how bad the ride is.
This was Emmet's second ride.
He lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was still off to one side as if Lucy was still there, when in reality, if Lucy was there, he would be snuggling up to her and hugging her.
He missed her.
This must've been the bad side of love. The side that makes your heart ache, your head hurt, and makes you want to hide under the covers until the one you love comes back and hugs you.
Sighing, he flipped over onto his other side. He checked the time; 12:46 A.M. Would he ever get to sleep? Maybe he would just end up staying awake the whole night, his thoughts doomed to wander and frolic in the land of drifting and solitude 'till morning.
Lucy was his life. He woke up in the morning from dreams about her and went to bed cuddled up against her.
He had truly been in love since the first moment. He had never seen anyone quite like her before that point, with her dyed hair and her hoodie and her smile…
Sigh.
It was going to be a very, very long night.
#
The next day...
Emmet was a generally 'excited' person. He got excited for everything, seeing his friends, getting up in the morning, taking out the trash, everything. He lived life to the fullest and could find the best of any situation.
And for the past twenty-four hours, Unikitty had never seen him so depressed.
"Emmet?" She gently knocked at the white panel door to his bedroom. "Come on, time to get up, Lucy's coming back today!"
Nothing.
Unikitty had always liked how energetic Emmet was, but for the past day he had been downright pathetic. I mean, what was his plan if she ever had to go on a week-long trip? "Emmet, you have got to get out of bed!"
Silence.
Unikitty's pastel-rose color was fading to light crimson, a sure sign that she was about to blow. Her face hardened into a glare at the door. "Emmet, get UP!"
"Unikitty?" Emmet popped up in the hallway, holding a dish of chocolate-chip pancakes. "What are you doing up?"
"AH!" Unikitty jumped back.
Emmet stared at her as she recovered. "What is it?"
"You're...alive?" Unikitty looked him up and down. He was out of his pajamas (finally) and into his usual uniform, he had a bright smile on and his hair was combed down. "What's going on? I thought you were in your bed moping?"
Emmet shook his head with his widest smile. "Nope! Lucy's coming back in approximately one hour, fifteen minutes, thirty-five seconds and sixteen milliseconds."
Unikitty had to sigh. Thank goodness that was over. "That's great, you were really depressing."
Emmet nodded as they walked into the kitchen, where Unikitty found a multitude of sweets and pastries lying about; chocolate chip-cookies covered the counters, three cheesecakes laid on the table, and at least five types of cupcakes were scattered around the kitchen. "Uh, Emmet? What the heck happened here?" Her words traveled through a shaky an increasingly giddy smile that she had no control over. Her eyes even started to resembled sprinkles, a trait Emmet found odd but cute.
Emmet shrugged. "I thought I'd make breakfast! You like it?"
"Hm?" Unikitty looked up from a plate, her face now smeared with chocolate frosting. "What'd you say?"
Emmet laughed at his roommate. "Never mind."
They two picked and ate from the sweets, occasionally chatting about their ideas for the day for when Lucy got back, which mainly included spending the day with their friends and watching too many movies that night, complete with popcorn, snacks and drinks.
Unikitty stopped her giggling at the day's plan when she caught sight of Emmet, sighing at his phone. "What's up, Emmet?"
Emmet looked up from his phone, where he was texting Lucy for the fifth time. She had stopped returning his texts a few hours ago, which was...odd. "When was the last time you texted Lucy?"
Unikitty thought back, popping another cookie in her mouth. "Uh, yesterday. Why?"
Emmet struggled to keep his composure in check. Lucy always responded to his texts almost immediately, what if something was wrong? "She's not responding. You...you think she's ok?"
Unikitty nodded. "Lucy's tough, she's fine. She's probably just really busy."
Emmet paused. His girlfriend was certainly a force to be reckoned with, and taking care of herself wasn't a problem. The facts were there, yelling at him not to worry, but his heart was just sweating with anxiety. "Uh...yeah, you're right." He nodded, like agreeing to something he knew in the back of his head was wrong. "She's probably fin–"
"Emmet!" Lucy called from behind the door, knocking on it urgently. "I'm home!"
Unikitty had rarely seen anyone move so fast.
He was like a racecar on the climax of his speed. He nearly tripped over his own foot twice running to the door, and still crashed into it rather painfully. "Lucy?" He asked, almost unbelieving as he yanked open the door.
Lucy smiled at her boyfriend. "Emmet..."
His heart pounded. He started to cry. She was here! The night before had been incredibly painful, and now she was here! Home! "Lucy!" He moved to hug her, but she stepped to the side and he nearly topped to the ground.
"...I'd like you to meet Archer. Archer Gunn."
Emmet turned his view to her right, where a guy stood, smiling like an idiot, in Emmet's biased opinion.
"Hey!" Archer greeted, waving wildly.
He smiled like he had just graduated college. His clothes were neat and pressed, and Emmet felt odd for wearing a construction uniform next to him. He looked like he stepped out a Florida resort; pristine, pearly white collared shirt matched with khaki shorts. His hair was the type of blond you can only get out of a dye-can, but it was combed over just like Emmet's. Below the hair were round, spring-grass green glasses. He looked as innocent as a first-grader with the confidence of the most popular senior in high school.
"Heh..." Emmet chuckled nervously. What was going on? "Uh…where did you…you meet?"
Lucy smiled at Archer, putting her hand on his shoulder. Little did she know how much Emmet wanted to punch a hole through the wall. "I met him down at the meeting!"
Archer waved again. "Hi, Emmet! Lucy's told me tons about you, I think we'll be friends!"
Emmet wasn't so sure about that.
Ignoring Archer's extension of friendship, Emmet turned to Lucy. "So, uh, how did the meeting go?"
Lucy walked in, followed by Archer. She failed to notice that Emmet was about to either melt or blow up, and even he wasn't sure which. "It was actually really great, I hated everyone there except Archer, and..." she started laughing, turning to Archer. "Remember in the coffee room, when we both..."
He started giggling, running a hand sheepishly over his hair. "Oh yeah! That was hilarious!"
"What was hilarious?" Emmet piped up.
Lucy waved him off and threw her bag down to the floor. "You had to be there, Emmet."
Not again. Please, not again.
It was happening again. He was back to six years ago, when he was the guy no one knew or remembered, always a step behind, a step out of place. Fitting in so well no one noticed him. He was always trying to get caught up, trying to figure out what everyone else was doing, trying to be like everyone else. And now...it was happening again. His girlfriend, the love of his life, was a step ahead of him.
The room started spinning, he had to grab the side of the couch. Alone, the walls were closing in. He had no friends. He lived alone...no one liked him...
BREATHE!
"Lucy, you're back!" Unikitty saved Emmet by merely by her presence.
Emmet breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't alone. He had friends. "Thank you, Unikitty," he murmured under his breath.
Lucy smiled to Unikitty, and nothing more. "Hey."
Unikitty stopped short. "Uh, hi?" She shot a look to Emmet as if to say, 'What's going on with her?'
Emmet shrugged in reply. "So, Lucy..." he began, not having a conversation but desperately needing one. "...have...are...did you miss me?"
Lucy nodded, finally paying him more attention. Her eyes were sweet and reminded him of ice cream after a hard day at school. "Of course, Emmet."
Archer started laughing. "She kept talking about you the whole time."
Emmet sighed, not even realizing he was doing it out loud. "Really?"
Archer nodded. "Yeah, she told us all about the crazy stuff you've done, like that double-decker couch."
Something about Archer's sentence made Emmet feel like he should be apologizing for the idea.
Even Unikitty could feel the sting in the comment. She moved over to Emmet's side and whispered, "What's going on with Lucy?"
Emmet watched with tear-swollen eyes as Lucy started talking to Archer about something that happened at the meeting. "I don't know...Unikitty, I don't like it."
"I'm going to get him out of here," Unikitty promised.
While that didn't sound good, Emmet wasn't in a position to argue.
Unikitty was nothing if not persistent.
"Hey, Wyldstyle!" Unikitty shouted, rushing up to her roommate in a frenzy and grabbing her hand. "Come on, I want to show you something!"
"What?" Lucy looked at Unikitty suspiciously, with good reason.
"You'll see!" Unikitty started leading her into the hallway, shooting a glance at Emmet and a jerk in Archer's direction. Her message of, 'Get him out of here' was clear as day.
Emmet nodded. "Hey, Archer?" He asked the moment they had gone. He walked over, looking his opponent up and down. "Was Lucy ok at the meeting?"
Archer nodded eagerly. "Yeah, she was great! We had lots of fun, you've got quite a girl, Emmet. Hang onto her."
Emmet thought the way he said, 'hang onto her' sounded too much like a threat. "Heh, I sure will. So, I'm guessing you have to go?"
"Well, actually..."
Emmet started walking forward, feeling whatever was left of Rex in him gain some dominance. "Yeah, I know you've gotta be busy."
Archer tried to break in as he was nudged out the door. "I don't have that–"
"See ya later sometime, bye!" Emmet shut the door and locked it the moment the space was free.
He sighed in relief. Done and done.
Lucy ran back in, finding her boyfriend guarding the door like a knight at the door of a dragon. "Where's Archer?"
Emmet made a mental note to thank Unikitty later. "Oh, he had to leave." Yes, he had to leave.
"Oh..." Lucy looked Emmet up and down, her eyes like scanners at President Business' office.
Emmet tried not to look guilty, but that's a hard thing to do when your kind of are guilty. He gave her a wide smile, still covering the door. "I missed you!"
Lucy paused. Was it just her, or was Emmet acting...weird? Archer hadn't mentioned needing to leave, and why was Emmet covering the door like that? Something wasn't right here, and she didn't like not knowing what it was.
Catching sight of his hopeful, adorable smile, she gave in and decided to forget about it. "I missed you too, Ems." She smiled softly.
She's back.
Emmet sighed like a boulder of fifteen tons that was hanging an inch above him had just been lifted. "Thank goodness."
Lucy giggled slightly, moving to her boyfriend's side. "You thought I would forget about you? I could barely sleep last night!"
Emmet's whole body warmed as she stroked his cheek…if she kissed him he was liable to melt into a puddle right then and there. "I love you, Lucy." He started sliding down the door, letting her bend down as he lowered to the ground with her face nearing his.
She smiled softly. "I love you too." Finally, not able to resist, she leaned forward and kissed him even deeper and more passionately than when they were saying goodbye, pressing him up against the door while she did it.
Emmet wrapped his arms around her, and any thoughts of the last five minutes vanished from his mind. He was here, Lucy was here, and no one was going to take her away from him.
"Lucy?"
"Mm…mhm?"
"I love you."
#
As Emmet's eyes opened the next morning, he was peaceful. Happy. He moved in the bed over to Lucy, wrapping an arm around her waist so she could snuggle into him. "Morning, Lucy."
"I want sleep."
He laughed under his breath, inhaling the scent of her Ice Cream Sprinkle Shampoo (Which was not actually hers, that was what happened when Unikitty did the shopping for a day). "Got it," he replied.
She snuggled into his chest, falling back into a warm sleep. This was one of his favorite parts of his life. He used to get up like clockwork every morning, but now? Why would he get up early when he had Lucy cuddling in his arms like this?
"Morning..." Unikitty mumbled from the foot of the bed, barely awake. Even though she had her own room, Unikitty occasionally slipped in and slept at the foot of their bed. They didn't mind, and even if they did, it's not like she would stop.
"Morning, Unikitty!" Emmet greeted. Every morning was Christmas morning for Emmet. "How'd you sleep?"
"I'll let you know when I'm done."
"Heh, sorry."
DING-DONG!
Lucy groaned. "GO AWAY!"
Emmet giggled. "You want me to go get it?"
She paused, and for a moment Emmet thought she went back to sleep. "Yeah, thanks."
Emmet kissed her on the forehead. "No problem. Love you!"
"Love."
Emmet giggled as he watched his girlfriend bury herself back in the bed. Hopping out, he quietly tip-toed across the room as not to disturb 'his girls' as he had informally dubbed his roommates.
He gently shut the door behind him, made his way through the hallway, through the house and to the door. It was 10:57 A.M, so maybe it wasn't so much that they had an early guest, but they had just slept a little later than usual.
He opened the door in good spirits. "Hey...oh."
Emmet's disposition flat lined like a heart monitor in a soap opera hospital. "Hi, Archer. What brings you here?"
Archer waved, it seemed that was his trademark. "Hi, Emmet! I asked Lucy to coffee yesterday, and she said sure. Is she ready?"
Emmet didn't respond. "Uh, Emmet?" Archer waved a hand in front of his face. "You ok?"
Why...what...how? Lucy...coffee...Archer...WHY.
Ok, back up. Lucy could go for coffee with anyone she wanted to, right? There was no reason that she couldn't.
Except for the kraken tearing away at his heart and stirring his stomach into knots.
Other than that, yeah, it was a perfectly fine plan.
"Uh, I'll go see, come on in..." Emmet opened the door and let Archer in, his mind yelling and banging pots and pans at him.
WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!
Archer took a seat on the couch while Emmet ran back to the bedroom. He yanked open the door in a state of raw heart-sickness, until catching sight of his girls. Lucy was curled up in her blankets, Unikitty was sprawled out and snoring...everything was fine in this room. It was just the living room's sate he had a problem with.
Making his way over to the bed, he gently rubbed Lucy's shoulder. "Lucy? Do you have a coffee date–wait…" He paused, deciding to word his sentence differently. "…are you going to drink coffee with a purely platonic friend named Archer?"
Lucy turned to face Emmet. "Huh? Emmet, it's too early in the morning for your word-a-day junk."
Grasping his patience like it was a paper airplane just a foot above his head, he sucked in a breath. "Are you meeting Archer for coffee?"
Lucy shot up in bed, nearly dizzy from the sudden movement and shocking Emmet a little. "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that. Is he here?"
Oh, he was here, unfortunately. "Yeah, he's here."
Lucy hopped out of bed and started getting ready, in a mild state of frenzy. "Sorry, Emmet, it just left my mind that I told him we could get coffee today."
Emmet rubbed the back of his neck, nerves jumping like kids on a trampoline. "Oh, ok, I'll just get one overpriced coffee today, that's ok..."
Lucy was ready within the minute, and he was impressed and a little lovesick over her ability. Come to think of it, he was in love over everything she could do. "Ok, I'll see you later, love you!" She gave him a quick kiss, then left him to wallow in the bedroom.
The moment the door shut, Unikitty sprung to life. "Emmet, you just let her go?!"
"ACK!"
Emmet was startled back at Unikitty's sudden proclamation. "Huh?"
Could he really not see? Did he really not understand what was happening? Unikitty had watched a lot of soap operas and romantic comedies, and she knew where this was headed. "Emmet, listen carefully. Lucy is going for coffee…" She hopped off the bed and walked over to him. "…WITH ANOTHER GUY!"
"AH!"
Emmet stared at Unikitty, panting and clutching his ringing ear. He was really getting tired of being scared like that! "Unikitty, I know! Don't you think I'm worried about it?"
The room was silent for the next moments while the two tried to figure out their next step. "What are you gonna do?" Unikitty asked gently.
Emmet shrugged, his face indecisive between hopeless giving-up and jittery anxiety. "I don't know."
#
Emmet was at home, flipping through an album full of pictures and snapshots of some of the happiest moments in his life. Most included Lucy, and that was the saddest fact for him in the moment.
Lucy hadn't come back yet.
It was eight-thirty P.M.
They were getting coffee.
She hadn't returned his texts or calls. Where was she? He had called Scribble Cop, formally Bad/Good Cop, and asked him if he had seen Lucy, but he didn't know. He had also asked everyone he knew to keep an eye out for her and had gone out looking for her himself...only coming back to the house because Unikitty didn't want him falling asleep in the sidewalks.
"Hey, Emmet," Unikitty greeted in a soft and sympathetic voice. Watching one of her best friends deflating like this was killing her. How could Lucy do this to him? If she was in trouble, that was a whole other issue, but if she was just being careless and hanging out with a new friend, Unikitty had to have a talk with her.
"Hey."
Unikitty sighed, pulled up a seat next to Emmet and looked at the album. "What'cha looking at?"
The smile on Emmet's face was like an injured child, weak but trying. "Pictures. Look, this one's from when Lucy and I tried every ice cream at the malt shop."
Unikitty's laughter sparked Emmet to smile a bit brighter. "I remember that, you both could barely walk!" She flipped to the next page, pointing out another fond memory. "Hey, this is from when we all swapped clothes for a day!"
Emmet giggled. "I still think Benny wearing Scribble Cop's uniform should've won first place. You're still proud that you won, aren't you?"
The look of pride was unmistakable on Unikitty's face, despite the rosy hue. "Yeah, wearing Batman's outfit really won it for me."
A few more pictures went by, and Emmet almost forgot about Lucy's disappearance.
Ding dong!
"LUCY!" Emmet shouted like a toddler. The only thing Unikitty didn't like was that as he ran for the door he didn't look so much elated, more...mad. Was that possible? She had rarely seen Emmet angry, much less, if at all, with Lucy.
Emmet flung opened the door, and Lucy was already holding her hands up in surrendering apology. "I'm sorry I'm late."
"Late? Lucy, late is when people come home fifteen minutes to an hour late. You went missing and just showed up early."
Lucy stared at her boyfriend. "Ems?" Her legs were like soft glass as she walked in, his glare never leaving him as he slammed the door shut. "Uh...are you ok?"
His glare twisted, his hands on his hip. "Sorry I had to interrupt, were you saying goodbye to your 'boyfriend?" Whatever inside him, whatever strange concoction of emotions that he had that had allowed him to turn into Rex in that timeline was shining through, breaking through his sweet, sugary disposition.
Signal to Unikitty, Lucy thought. She looked to her roommate for an explanation, solution, anything, but she looked just as bewildered. "What are you talking about? We stayed out a little later than–"
"A LITTLE?!" Emmet exploded like a nuclear bomb and slammed his fists down on the table. "You left this morning with another guy, and didn't come back until now, and it's nine o'clock! What am I supposed to think?"
Lucy swallowed. Why was Emmet acting like this? Why was her sweet, cheerful, loving boyfriend yelling and shouting and blowing up at her? "I'm sorry, alright? But you don't have to freak out..."
Eyes widening, she took a step back. "Emmet, are you jealous?" Her voice was softer than air, it came out more as breath than speech.
"NO!" He hollered. He turned away from her, burying his head in his hands so he couldn't see the few tears in his eyes. Was he losing his girlfriend? Was she leaving him? He didn't want to lose her. "I'm mad! I'm not jealous, I'm mad! Do you even care about me?"
Lucy's cheeks heated. "Emmet, of course I do! I love you, where is this coming from?"
"WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?" His voice shook the very core of Lucy's heart. She had almost never heard Emmet yell.
Now he was hollering.
Because of her.
"Emmet, I'm sorry, but don't you trust me?" She deflected. She had to put it off of her. This wasn't her fault. He was over reacting. She wasn't the wrong one here. She couldn't be.
Not again.
Emmet scoffed. "I don't even know, anymore, Wyldstyle."
They could hear Unikitty's gasp from across the room. This was enough, she decided. She couldn't just stand by while they fought like this. "Why don't we just take a breath, all of us, and talk everything out?"
"No, Unikitty. This can't be solved with talking." Rex's voice echoed through Emmet's mouth, and it gave Lucy a sick feeling to her stomach that made her want to lie down.
Lucy could fight. She was tough and knew how to fight and win. And if she couldn't fix Emmet's anger with her by apologizing…then she could get just as mad. Very, very easily.
"Emmet, if you can't trust me, then maybe I should spend more time with Archer." Her cheeks burned like hot coals. Her palms sweat. She and Emmet never fought.
She's mad. Back out now. Tell her you're sorry and just explain that you were jealous and don't like her spending so much time with him. She'll understand.
"Oh yeah?" Emmet retorted, a sick smirk slipping on his face. "Well, maybe you should!"
"Maybe I WILL!"
"GOOD!"
"FINE!"
They stormed away from each other, Emmet stomping to the kitchen and Lucy marching into the bedroom.
Unikitty, with tears in her eyes, glanced between the kitchen, then the bedroom, the kitchen, bedroom, kitchen and bedroom until she was dizzy. "Guys, don't fight!" She pleaded, standing from in between the two warring spaces. How many times would she have to play get-back-together sappy songs until this was fixed?
"SHUT UP, UNIKITTY!" They hollered in unison.
Ouch.
Unikitty shrunk, curling up into a whimpering ball. "Ok."
#
Things didn't get much better from there.
The next morning, all was silent as Emmet made breakfast. Lucy wouldn't speak to Emmet, Emmet wouldn't look at Lucy, Unikitty wouldn't talk to either of them...it was a mess.
"Hey, guys!" Sweet Mayhem, a neutral party, walked in. The door was open, and she wanted to see if her friends were up for a movie. "How's everything going?"
No one answered her, and her only option was to watch as Emmet went to eat on the couch, Unikitty walked to her room, and Lucy stayed at the table with her book. It was like watching a puppy give up on playing fetch. "Um, are you guys ok?"
Deciding she would have better luck talking to Emmet, she walked to the living room like she was on a tightrope, careful not to disturb the thick, tense atmosphere in the house. "Emmet, why is everyone so quiet?"
Emmet grunted. "Lucy and I are fighting."
Gulp.
Sweet didn't like the sound of that. While she hadn't known Emmet and Lucy for that long, they seemed like the type of couple that never, ever fought. "Why?" She asked gently.
Emmet turned and glared in Lucy's general direction. "BECAUSE LUCY WENT ON A DATE!"
"NO, I DIDN'T! I WENT OUT WITH A FRIEND AND EMMET'S OVERREACTING!"
Sweet took a few steps back. "Um...Unikitty?"
Unikitty walked out of her room, looking positively glum and depressed, as opposed to her usual two extremes, elated or rage-filled. Sweet ran over to her quickly. "Unikitty, we've got to fix this, look at them! They can't even talk to each other."
Unikitty pouted. "They told me to shut up."
"When?"
"Last night. When they were fighting."
Sweet sighed. What, was she supposed to fix this now? Was she back-up Unikitty? Did she now have to play the mediator role? "Ok, can you at least give me an unbiased story of what happened last night?"
Unikitty thought it over. She didn't like her roommates fighting, as angry with them as she was. "Fine. Lucy came back from her meeting with a guy who she claimed as a friend, nearly ignoring Emmet until he left. After he left everything was fine, but the next morning she went out for coffee and didn't come back until nine." Unikitty sighed, mirroring Sweet's bottom-lip-biting expression. "That's when the fight started."
"Well, what should we do?" Sweet asked. Maybe Unikitty would forget her anger with the pair and help her fix everything.
Unikitty shrugged. "I don't know."
"You're always supposed to know these things!" Sweet exclaimed. "Don't you read romantic stuff all the time? If I have to fix this without you, then I need something to go on!"
Well, she had a point. Unikitty nodded. "Fine, one second." Unikitty raced to her room and back within thirty seconds, and Sweet didn't even want to know how that was possible. "Here." She handed her a book titled The Laws of Jealousy. "This book will tell you everything."
"Why do you have this?"
"Don't ask."
Sweet decided to obey. "Thanks, Unikitty! I'm gonna get these two back together!" Sweet waved goodbye to everyone and ran out.
Unikitty smiled. "If I ever need an apprentice, that girl could work out."
She took a few steps, looking between a grudge-holding Emmet and a bitter Lucy. This wasn't right. She could see the hurt in both of their eyes, neither wanted to keep fighting. But she knew if she so much as suggested for them to make up, they'd probably start fighting again.
She would've expected Emmet to apologize by now…maybe they had all been taking Emmet's laid-back attitude for granted.
We've never learned what to do with him when he's mad.
Without a goodbye, Unikitty silently walked out the door to help Sweet.
How long would this go on before things got really bad?
#
That evening...
"I'm going out," Lucy grunted in Emmet's direction from the living room. "Archer and I are getting ice cream since you're still overreacting."
"Fine."
Lucy rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she despised more than her boyfriend's anger, it was his lie of indifference. She knew he cared that she was seeing Archer again, it had to be eating him up inside, even if he didn't show it.
Right?
Or did he simply no longer care? Was he really indifferent?
No. Of course not. He was just pretending to not care to get to her.
Well, it was working.
"Bye," He mumbled out. He couldn't help himself, despite the mild silent treatment they both had going.
Lucy turned to face him at the door. He was saying goodbye. "Bye," she replied. She would go no farther than him, if he apologized, she would apologize.
Walking out the door she realized, fighting with someone you actually loved hurt a whole lot worse than fighting with someone you liked.
Form inside, Emmet was staring at the door, regretting any and all steps they had taken to start fighting. If only he had done this, if only he hadn't done that, if only something had been different, he wouldn't be in the middle of this heart-breaking fight.
Then again, if he had never even met Lucy, he wouldn't be going through this. He wouldn't even be aware of the bleeding pain for fighting with someone you love.
He knew Lucy loved him just as much as he did. Was she feeling this way? Was she hurting just as much?
He didn't want to hurt Lucy. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He would rather live the rest of his life out in misery than have her live out a less-than-wonderful life.
Despite tears burning in his eyes, he knew what he had to do.
#
"What do you want, Lucy?" Archer asked, surveying the different flavors on the menu. He got no response. "Lucy?"
"Huh?" She was snapped out of her daydream. "Oh, uh, vanilla."
He nodded, paid for the ice cream and followed her to a seat inside the malt shop. She couldn't have looked sullener if she was reading a book where everyone's favorite character died. "Are you ok?" He asked gently.
She looked up from the table to him. "Uh, yeah, fine."
Well, that was a big lie.
Here, out of the house, Lucy's rage and stubbornness was having a nasty after-effect that she didn't care much for. Something like guilt, but worse. Fear? What was fear and guilt mixed together? She didn't know, but whatever it was, she didn't like it.
Archer shook his head. "You're not fine. You can talk to me. Did something happen with Emmet?" He was worried he had said too much, but the sweet smile on Lucy's face turned his whole body to jelly.
She shook her head. "It's nothing, we just had a fight." A big, colossal, my-heart-is-breaking-without-you fight was more like it.
"What happened?" He was blissfully ignorant that he was the cause, but the idea of benefiting from this whole fiasco was not far from his mind.
Lucy looked at him. She obviously couldn't tell him that they were fighting over the time she was spending with him. However, subtlety was not always Lucy's specialty. "We...he's just jealous about this guy I met. I don't even like him that way, but I want him to trust me. The fight just got out of hand."
The mention of the word 'hand' nearly sent Lucy's heart to the hospital room. Holding hands. She was starved for him. The way he held her, kissed her, his smile, she felt like she had been on a boat for months, sailing farther and farther away from the love of her life.
Archer wasn't dumb, maybe a little naïve, but not dumb. He knew she was talking about him. And he knew by her tone and the way she was doodling E+L on her napkin she really didn't like him.
So, there was only one thing left to do.
He leaned forward and kissed her.
"YAH!" With one swift punch, Archer was knocked onto the ground. "What are you doing?!" Lucy shouted. All eyes in the parlor were on her, but at this point she was too mad care about that.
Archer stood up, and he seemed...taller? "I was kissing you, dummy."
Lucy found her ability to speak taken away, only able to race and catch up with the transformation taking place before her. "Dude, no guy just 'hangs out' with a girl without wanting something! You actually thought we were just friends?" He scoffed. "And you thought Emmet was the stupid one."
He found his collar in her grip within the second.
"Don't call him that!" the punch she threw harbored all the anger from the past day, with herself, with Emmet, and with Archer. Needless to say, he was gonna have to see a dentist. No one called Emmet that and got away with it.
Lucy dropped him to the ground, letting him fall with a crashing thud. "I'd leave you with some witty comeback," Lucy said, grinning mischievously. "But since you don't even deserve one, I won't."
Archer could only stare as she left the parlor, her hand on her phone and calling Emmet. "I hope he knows what he has."
#
"Emmet?" Lucy threw the door open so hard it nearly fell off. "Emmet, we need to talk!"
She spotted Emmet coming out of the kitchen, carrying two small suitcases. "Uh, hi, Lucy. I was gonna leave before you came back." His voice was calm…choked up and weary from crying, but calm. He needed to leave her with a cool composure if he was going to do this… and he had to.
Lucy's breath halted in her throat. "Leave? What are you talking about?" She could barely shut the door, her hands were shaking and twitching at the word.
Emmet rubbed the back of his neck, and only then did Lucy notice how red his eyes were, that his cheeks were stained with tears, and his bags were packed messily, like he had done it in fifteen minutes. "Uh, yeah. If y-you don't... love me anymore, I mean… if you want to be with Archer, I can't stop you. Te-tell Unikitty goodbye for me."
He scooped up his bags, and without so much as a glance in her direction, headed for the door.
"Wait a minute, Ems." She grabbed his arm like a lifeline, gripping it much too tight. What was he doing? He wasn't actually thinking of leaving her, was he? It didn't matter, she would chase him through the Wild West and Middle Zealand if she had to. No way was she letting him go. "I'm not leaving you!"
Emmet nodded, the depressed frown on his face was far too stubborn. "I know, I'm leaving. I'm staying with either Benny or Batman, preferably the first." He forced his gaze to her. "Be happy, Lucy." Leaning forward as she was a statue before him, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I love you," he whispered through sobs climbing up his throat.
Lucy smirked. "Oh, no. Don't you dare." Grabbing a tight hold of his arm, he glided like on ice into her embrace as she crashed her lips to his.
He melted into it.
She quickly pulled away before she wouldn't be able to stop herself. "…I'm sorry. I never, ever liked Archer more than you, I thought he was just a friend, but today he…he tried to kiss me."
"He tried what?"
Emmet dropped his bags to the ground like they were five-ton weights. "I remember how to do the Master-breaking, and I'm pretty sure I can do it to someone's face." He moved his hands to her upped arms, guilty sheepishness crossing his face. "I'm sorry he did that, Lucy."
Lucy grinned, and her eyes shut in tune with a breath escaping her lips. He still cared, he still loved her, he hadn't been indifferent. "Just… don't leave me, please? I can't lose you." A sob she didn't know she was holding escaped, her grip on his arms tensing. "Please, please don't leave me."
Emmet couldn't stop himself from sliding his hands to her back and pressing his lips to hers.
"I…don't…" He spoke between kisses, nearly giggling at the way she smiled in the kiss. "…think…I…could ever…leave…you…anyway."
Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and let her hands go into his hair, ruffling it like it was in the morning. "Good."
Just as the kiss started to deepen past their goodbye and reunion, the door burst open, revealing Sweet Mayhem and Unikitty looking like superheroes breaking into a crime scene.
"WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU GUYS!" Sweet announced, high-fiving Unikitty beside her.
Emmet and Lucy pulled apart, staring at Sweet and Unikitty. Lucy laughed slightly, looking to her boyfriend. "Uh, we're all good, right, babe?"
Emmet nodded. "Yeah, we're good!"
Sweet and Unikitty's jaws dropped to the floor. "Wait…so, you didn't need us to give you counseling?" Unikitty asked.
"Uh, nope!" Emmet grinned widely, taking Lucy's hand in his. "We're all good now!"
"That's great!"" Sweet exclaimed. "Benny and I were gonna go out to a movie, you guys wanna come?"
Unikitty pouted from beside Sweet. She was being obvious and she knew it, but that was the goal. After all, they may have made up, but she still wanted an apology. "Hm!"
Emmet and Lucy exchanged sheepish smiles. "We're sorry, Unikitty," Lucy said.
Emmet nodded. "We really are, we were mad at each other and took it out on you."
Unikitty opened one eye, looking at the both of them. Darn it, they were just too awesome to be mad at.
"Do you want to come with us to the movies?" Emmet asked. If there was one thing besides glitter and sweets that would get Unikitty's forgiveness, it was friendship.
Unikitty whimpered, her motivation to be mad and stubborn slipping away like sprinkles off a cupcake without frosting. "Oh, ok, I forgive you!" She laughed and hugged the pair, fireworks shooting out all around her. "Let's go!"
Sweet followed her out, mentioning something about wanting to sit next to Benny.
Lucy looked over at her boyfriend, smiling softly. "Ready to go?"
He grabbed her hand, the familiarity comforting and warm. "Only if you come with me."
"You're such a sap."
"You love it, don't you?"
"Yup."
