"...my what?"

Alice playfully narrowed her eyes at me.

Had I been that obvious?

Probably.

My subtlety skills are up there with my dance skills. Nonexistent.

"Oh come on," Alice said with an eye roll. "You stare at him with a little smile on your face every time he says something. And sometimes when he's just breathing."

I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. Brilliant.

I want to stab myself with a spork.

"Hey, I don't mind it at all, okay? Neither does Em, I promise."

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. "Okay.

Alice got up and started to put her makeup back into her drawers. "Are you gonna do anything about it?"

"No," I said immediately.

"Why not?"

I felt a tug on my heart as certain unpleasant memories flooded my brain. "It's not worth it."

"You can't turn people away because of what happened with your parents, sweetie." Trust Alice to know exactly what I'm thinking.

"I know. I'd just rather not tear your family up if it goes wrong."

"Why do you assume it will go wrong?"

"Because," I said as I traced the patterns on her quilt. "Everything I touch tends to break."


Hi! This teensy chapter is just to let you all know that I'm not dead, and am currently working on the next one.

Thank you for the reviews in my time of absence and a massive thank you to everyone at A Different Forest for naming Emerald as one of July's favourite fic dives!

I appreciate you guys endlessly.