Emma figured that it was her romantic fantasy that got her in trouble in the first place. She prided herself on being an independent young woman but in the back of her head there was always a fantasy that some handsome man would come along and make her want to tell all of her secrets. He would tell her that he loved her anyway and then they'd have a movie kiss with the foot-popping and fireworks and some added tongue action. Happily-ever after was what would happen next. That's what Emma secretly wanted. The face on the fantasy had changed over the years. Before Sean it had always been someone famous. He'd become front and center of that fantasy but now Emma knew that she'd have to let it go.
Emma wiped at the tears that were streaming down her face. That jerk wasn't going to get anything else from her. Blinking to clear her vision, she looked around and realized she was in the ravine behind the school. She recognized the van that Jay was in last weekend. Going home was not an option and neither was going back to school so she decided to hide in the van until she figured out her next step.
Jay had decided that going to school was not on his schedule until he got a couple more hours of sleep. He was too tired to make it back home so he went to what he fondly referred to as his love machine. He knew he'd made the right decision when he opened the door and found Emma lounging on the bed in the back.
"I'd prefer you naked but we can get to that later," Jay said with a grin and then settled himself down next to Emma.
"I didn't know you'd be here," Emma said nervously. Her eyes still felt sore from crying and she hoped Jay wouldn't notice.
Jay was a bit more perceptive than people gave him credit for. The whole drunk stoner vibe worked well for him. People were more free with their behavior in his presence because they thought he was on something. Sometimes he was. Hell, he didn't pretend to not be a stoner. But there were times when things were crystal clear. He could tell by Emma's face that she was upset and had been crying. He could choose to ignore it but that wasn't his style. He wanted Emma to be his girl, even if she was still hung-up on Sean. He also knew that being a shoulder to cry on was a great way to get in with a girl. Jay immediately berated himself for being a jerk. But Emma was hot and he was only a hormonal teenager who's first and every other thought of the day was about sex.
"Somebody in this van has been crying and although I am upset about having school today, it hasn't been me."
"I'm having a bad day."
"The day hasn't even started yet."
"I guess you haven't even been to school yet."
"Nope, I figured I needed some beauty rest before I see the ladies. And by ladies I mean you. Damn it, you've seen me without my beauty sleep and now you'll never want to go out with me. I can see I'm not amusing you. Alright, what's wrong?"
"I'm sure you'll find this out soon enough so I'll just tell you that Sean announced to everyone at school today that I'm going deaf. He was pissed because he found out we were down at the ravine on Saturday night. So now everyone knows my secret, and thinks that I'm a whore and Sean and I are definitely over."
"These are the moments I cherish," Jay said with a laugh.
"What? I just went through a traumatic experience and you're laughing!" Emma sat up on the bed and began shaking her foot angrily.
"Okay, it sucks that you're going deaf. Really, it's not cool. But my guess is that you've been preparing for the inevitable anyway so when it happens it's not going to be something you can't handle. As for the telling the whole school, well some people might be jerks and you'll just have to deal with that. The whore thing isn't a big deal. One guy won't give you that reputation, even if it's me so that rumor will blow over fast. And I can't say that I'm sad about you and Sean breaking up. So what all of this really amounts to is that it's mostly stupid high school drama and it'll be over soon enough.
"I just wanted to be normal for once in my life and now that's now going to happen here."
"So what do you want to do?"
"Get out of here."
"Cool. We'll get my car and head to the mall or something like that. Don't girls like to shop when they're upset?"
"I mean get out of Toronto. I want to go back to Vancouver. I want to go back today."
"So who do you think wins tool of the year award, Manny?"
Sean hung his head as he heard the voice of Paige trail down the hall. He'd been tense all morning waiting for the attack from his ex. She'd obviously decided that lunch time when everyone was in the hallway was what he deserved.
"Hmm, I don't know Paige. Is it Peter?"
"Hey!" Peter protested when he heard his name mentioned.
"Stuff it, Perv." Paige snapped. "Anyway, good guess. The little weasel gets an honorable mention for what he did to you but I'm thinking someone lower."
"But Jay's not here."
Sean squared his shoulders as the duo arrived at his locker. He was going to stand tall against the assault that he knew was coming.
"There's someone even lower than Jay these days. I know, it's a shocker but the winner is Sean Cameron. Congratulations, Sean, you won. As your reward you're going to get a lesson in how to treat your girlfriend."
"Forget it, I'm out."
Paige grabbed Sean's arm and dug her nails into his wrist. "You will stay and you will listen. You don't owe it to me but you owe it to Emma."
Sean knew she was right. "Not here," he said as he looked around the busy hallway. "Let's go to my car. Manny doesn't get to come."
"But Paige and I are a team," Manny protested.
"You know she'll tell you everything anyway. Cut the freaking cord for five minutes, okay? Let's go Paige."
"So what the hell was up with you today?"
"I heard that Emma was down in the ravine with Jay and I just snapped."
"And you told everyone her secret."
"Yeah, I'm the world's worst boyfriend."
"You know Emma and you know she'd never do anything with Jay. Why would you ever think something like that?"
"Because I know Jay wants her and he can be very persuasive."
"Something I know about Emma is that she's very loyal. There was nothing that Jay could have said to make her do anything more than listen to his drunken ramblings."
"I know that. She's golden, you know? Whatever she does she's going to be great. I think that I'm not good enough for her. So maybe I snapped because I wanted to end it before she ended it with me."
"Stop the pity-party. You know that's a bunch of crap. Maybe her hearing problem was too much for you to handle. And I know you're going to say that's not true but maybe it is. I'm going to guess that Emma has been hurt a lot. Maybe you didn't think you were up to the challenge of being Emma's hero."
"She doesn't need a hero."
"You're right. She needs a boyfriend. She needs you as you and not as some damn fantasy prince. Maybe if you both realize it you might be able to get past what happened today and have a real relationship."
"I need to see her. Get out."
"Fine, you're welcome."
"Bye."
Sean started his car and headed over to Emma's house. He figured he start at the most obvious place and then go from there.
Emma has just finished packing when she heard the doorbell ring. She had booked a plane ticket going to Vancouver using the "for emergencies only" credit card her father had given her. Jay had gone to get gas while she finished packing so she figured he was the one at the door.
"What are you doing here?" Emma asked when she opened the door and saw Sean standing there.
"I want to apologize for what happened earlier today. I need to talk to you if you'll just let me in so that we can have a conversation."
"No."
"I know that I was a jerk today."
"You were but that's not why I won't let you in. I'm going to Vancouver and I'm leaving as soon as Jay gets here."
"Oh." Sean squashed the jealousy that boiled up inside of him. He knew that there wasn't anything going on with the two of them. "How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know. Jay just pulled up. I have to go."
Sean felt a muscle in his jaw twitch and he clenched his jaw to keep from crying. He had to tell her now or he'd lose her.
"Emma, I don't want you to go. I think we have something here that's worth saving but we can't do that if you leave."
"You jerk! You can't do this right now. You messed up and now you're trying to get back into my good graces by saying that! I know you like to play the hero but now it's too late!"
"This is not about playing the hero. This is about us just being honest with each other. For once, we're both going to be honest."
"Yo Em, let's go." Jay yelled impatiently from the car. He was not happy to see Cameron at Emma's door but he was trying to avoid a fight because Emma wouldn't like it. That and Sean was really strong.
"What's it going to be? Are you going to stay with me or go with Jay? What are you going to do?"
Happy New Year to everyone. Hopefully this is a good present for those of you that are reading this story. I'm going to try and get another chapter up before my classes start up again on the 2nd. Thanks to those that are still reading this. I told you I wouldn't give up.
