A/N: Wow, you guys have been so active this week, thank you! Can't wait for you to meet Julian in this weeks chapter. Thank you to Harmony as well as the two guests who reviewed last week. No there is no good ship name, but I like Harmony's suggestion of Emory, so let's go with that :) ~ Emma
Rory couldn't help looking at Emma. It was difficult not to study her when her face was lit by the warm light from the hotel sign. It glanced off her cheeks, making her look as if she was glowing. Her braid started on one side of her head before crossing diagonally down and over the other shoulder. A few strands still hung out around her face, framing it beautifully. She wore her usual brown jacket with blue jeans and, of course, her combat boots. She didn't carry a bag, which he thought was unusual for a girl, but knew better than to think there wasn't a logical decision behind it.
His attention was snapped away when he heard his phone buzz.
Hey man. Naomi's whole family's got food poisoning, so I'm gonna need to stay and look after her. Really sorry for cancelling last minute. - Liam
Don't worry about it! Hope they get better soon. - Rory
"And then there were three." Rory stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
"What?" Emma turned toward him.
"Oh, Liam's had to cancel so it'll just be the three of us."
"But was that a reference to the rather dark nursery rhyme or to the Agatha Christie novel?" Emma cocked her head to one side.
Of course she would pick up on that. He couldn't stop himself from smirking. "The novel. Yes; sometimes, but only very occasionally, I read."
"Was that for English class?" The corner of her mouth twitched into a half smile.
"Wow!" He said, taking mock-offense. "I'll have you know it was cos my mom made me read it. God, so little faith in me."
"Only for you McKenzie." She winked at him, making his heart flip in his chest. Never did he ever think Emma Turner would actually wink at him.
"Ray!" Only one person had ever called him by that nickname. Julian came out of the hotel lobby wearing a red fitted t shirt and a zip-hoodie. He clearly underestimated the New York cold as badly as Rory had at first, but he didn't seem to mind the cold. His dark skin and close cropped hair were a nice familiar sight, as his friend hugged him. Rory wasn't small but Julian still swamped him, pounding Rory on the back.
"Good to see you, Jules." Rory said as they pulled apart. "This is Emma by the way, a friend from school."
"Hi." Emma gave a shy smile and a small wave. She reached to tug at her braid, looking nervous. He guessed she wasn't used to meeting new people like this.
"Oh! British. Love the accent." Julian said, laying a little thick on the charm. Rory could almost hear Emma's internal laugh, but only the corner of her mouth moved. "Well it's lovely to meet you."
"And you as well." Emma nodded politely. Rory knew if it was just the two of them the response would have had a lot more sarcasm in it.
He almost felt a little self conscious introducing her to one of his oldest friends. He knew about Emma's natural adversity to jocks and he didn't want Julian to act as a reminder that he was just that.
Julian turned back to Rory. "You said there would be another two?"
"Food poisoning." Rory shrugged.
"Yeesh." Julian grimace sympathetically. "That's too bad."
As they walked over to the bowling alley Julian caught Rory up to speed on everything that had happened in LA. He felt kinda bad that Emma wouldn't know anyone they were mentioning, but she seemed content just watching Julian the way she always watched new people. Like a bird perched in a tree, trying to work out if they were looking at a friend or foe. If the latter was decided, he didn't know if she would attack or flee, but he didn't want to find out.
Mia's bowling alley seemed like any other. Red and blue decorations with bowling pin motifs and flashing neon signs. Behind the desk sat a young woman with long dark auburn hair. She wore a dangerously low cut top that didn't leave much to the imagination. It had the logo printed on it and a name tag that read 'Mia'. She seemed a bit young to be the owner, but who was he to judge.
"Welcome to Mia's!" She said enthusiastically with a southern accent and a wide smile. "Do y'all have a lane booked today?"
"Uh, yeah." Rory stepped up to the desk. "Under Rory McKenzie."
"One moment please." Mia turned back to the computer and typing away.
Emma touched his arm and muttered about needing the 'toilet'. Yeah, he still found it odd she didn't just say bathroom.
"Ya'll are in lane 6 of the adult section. Do you have any kids with you today?" Mia asked as she placed their tickets on the counter. Rory and Julian looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Rory shook his head "Nah, we're a little young for that."
"And a little too single." Julian winked at the woman. Rory distantly wondered if he used to be as bad too.
"Oh, you're gonna make me blush." Mia cooed, curving her red painted lips into a grin. "How many of you are there? I'll just put your names into the system."
"Just three." Rory said. "Rory, Emma and-"
"Julian. Don't suppose you need our numbers too?"
Rory couldn't help but laugh at his friend's direct approach.
"You are shameless." Rory muttered under his breath.
Julian grinned. "Oh, I know."
"Don't you worry about that, dear, we have a strict privacy policy." Mia's eyes were wide with sincerity while Rory tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter. "Lane 6 is just through that door, you can't miss it."
"Thank's." Julian grabbed Rory's arm, evidently not trusting him to try and speak. He herded Rory over to a rack of bowling balls, out of Mia's eyeline.
"May I just say, you are the worst wingman. Ever." Julian crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry, man." Though he tried, Rory couldn't stop beaming. "But that was too good."
"Hey, at least when I see a girl I like I make a move."
That stopped him laughing.
Rory shrugged. "What do you mean?"
He really didn't want to talk about this. Not when Emma could come out and overhear them.
"I mean you and that girl." Julian flung his arm in the direction of the Bathroom. "You could feel the chemistry bubbling off you too like potassium dropped in water. It was steaming."
"I think you're exaggerating a little." Rory sighed. Was it really that obvious he liked her? Did she know?
Julian shoved his arm lightly. "Come on, Ray. I know she's not your normal type, but you clearly like her. A lot."
"So what?" Rory flung his hands up. "It's hardly like I can make a move on her right here with you watching over the top of your tub of popcorn."
"No… but you can do the thing." Julian raised an eyebrow.
Rory eyed his friend suspiciously. "What thing?"
"The thing where you show her how to improve her bowling technique." Julian walked a non-existent girl through how to bowl, making a complete fool of himself. "Stand close to her, guide her hand."
Rory just glared at his friend as if to say 'Are you serious?'.
"You're gonna do the thing." Julian beamed with excitement.
"I am not doing the thing."
"You're doing the thing."
"I'm not doing the thing."
"Then can I do the thing?"
"No! You are not doing the thing with h-hey emma! Are you, urm, ready… to go through?" Rory gave her a sheepish smile as Emma walked over to them. He caught himself rubbing the back of his neck and stopped. She knew his nervous habits well enough to notice.
"Okay, weirdo." Emma wore a confused smile as she shrugged. "I'm ready."
Rory glared at Julian one last time for good measure, but Julian just gave him a smile and sarcastic thumbs up.
"Alright, well we're just through there." He pointed at a glass door that led to a much darker room.
The adult room was decorated in black and purple with a bar at the back, just as Evan had said. Though Evan had told him he wouldn't need ID, he didn't want to get kicked out before they started.
As they sat down, their names popped up on the screen asking if they wanted safety barriers and he almost scoffed and pressed 'no for all' but hesitated.
"Emma-" Rory started, but she cut him off.
"No. I may not have done it before, but I'm not playing with the barriers. That's like putting a homing device on an arrow."
He noticed the moment she realised that her analogy choice might seem odd to Julian. She winced slightly before adding, "It's cheating."
"Oh you've really never bowled before?" Julian's eyes went wide and Rory could see him trying to reign in his internal reaction.
"No, not really." Emma pushed her hair behind her ear.
"We'll Rory was just telling me how he's the better bowler, so I guess I'll leave him to teach you." Julian might as well have winked at Rory with how subtle he was being.
"It's more of a watch and learn thing anyway." Rory shrugged. His name was on the list first anyway, so he picked up a ball and rolled it. He definitely did not need the ego boost the strike gave him, but he enjoyed it anyway.
"You're up Jules." Rory winked at Julian, who leapt to his feet and rubbed his hands together.
"Hope you know what's about to hit you McKenzie." Julian rolled the ball, leaving just one pin at the back. Rory felt his ego inflating just a little bit more.
"Damn, better luck next time I guess." Rory sat back in his seat. He looked over to find Emma smirking at him, her eyes sparkling with glee. "Oh. I'm not sure I like that look. What is it?"
"Nothing." She said, shaking her head in a slow but elaborate motion.
"I don't buy it." He replied with a cynical smile.
She pursed her lips for a moment as she thought, but the sparkle never left her eyes.
"It's just nice to see you… comfortable with someone else." She explained.
"You're turn." Julian nodded at Emma as he came bounding back.
"Oh Gods, here we go." Emma murmured, getting up. He watched her as she chose a ball, then put it down. Then chose another and shrugged. When she stepped up to the line he saw the hundreds of equations she was doing in her head to work out how to do it. Rory smirked to himself. Sports wasn't math. Sports was a careful balance instinct and practice. As she let the ball roll it took good course and ended up knocking over all but two pins. Okay maybe math could help a little when combined with demigod abilities.
"Damn, she doesn't even need you to do the thing." Julian smirked.
Rory rolled his eyes as Emma got another ball and easily knocked the last two pins down.
After a few more rounds Rory left to use the little boys room and Emma was left with Julian. She felt a bit awkward being alone with him, but Julian clearly didn't share the sentiment. He dived into conversation as if they were old friends.
"So how did you two meet?" Julian asked, and Emma got why. It's not like they were a usual pairing. He probably assumed she was his tour guide on day one or something.
"I swim, so we just got to know each other as he spends his whole life at the pool." She lied, plastering a bashful smile to cover her tracks. The best way to lie to someone was to base it on the truth and act like the person they expect you to be. It wasn't that she enjoyed lying, but she didn't think 'I saved him from an ancient monster who abducted him' would have gone down too well with the human boxer.
"Makes sense I guess." Julian chuckled. "How long have you lived in America?"
Though she was glad to be off the topic of her and Rory, she had to put all her effort into not visibly shutting off. She didn't like talking about her past. Hades, she didn't like talking about herself at all.
"Longer than you'd think by my accent." She glanced away, hoping there wouldn't be a follow up question.
"So you really just haven't managed to shake it?" Julian cocked his head to the side. He played it off as curiosity, but she knew he just wasn't buying it.
"Guess I'm just a creature of habit." She smirked. "How long have you known Rory?"
"Our parents lived on the same block when we were growing up. I can't remember not knowing Ray. He's kinda like a brother to me." Julian looked away as if seeing the memory on the points score screen.
Emma wished she could see it too. She'd loved watching the two of them. Seeing Rory completely at ease in a way he never had been with Austin. With Julian he didn't feel like he had something to prove. Hearing Julian talk about him only made her like Rory more.
"I don't mean to be weird or anything..." Julian shifted, turning back toward her. She didn't like the way it caught her off guard. She had no idea where he was going with it and felt her face go blank in reaction. "Have you two ever, like, kissed or anything?"
Her mind raced. What was the right way to react? How could she convince him she didn't like Rory? If Julian realised, he would tell Rory and if the seed was in Rory's mind he might build a case based on her every action. Focus.
She smiled, letting out a small laugh and shook her head, giving her best attempt at being earnest. "No, we're just friends."
"Seriously?" Julian raised an eyebrow. "You could cut the sexual tension with a dagger."
Emma had to mentally strap her eyes to the back of her skull to stop them popping out. Julian was very… forward. He wasn't making it easy for her to keep her secret and she wasn't very happy about it.
"I don't like Rory like that." She shrugged, allowing her face to show some of the awkwardness she felt. Julian surveyed her for a moment, clearly making his mind up. He made a face as if to say 'alright then' but she knew she hadn't done enough.
"I do hate to break up this adorable little conversation." Mia's southern drawl came from over Emma's shoulder. "But you know what? I think this has gone on quite long enough."
Emma and Julian exchanged a confused look. There was a shift in the atmosphere of the room. When Emma looked past the young women she noticed that most of the other lanes were empty and those that were not were occupied by tall, notably ugly, men. Men who were now turned toward Julian and her. Emma's hand crept up to her necklace. When she looked back at Mia, her face was pulled into a broad grin and her teeth looked sharper.
"Oh yes, he is going to be very happy with us for securing you, Emma Turner." Mia giggled and a chill ran down Emma's spine. Mia was no ordinary small business owner, but Emma didn't quite know what she was yet.
"As for you…" She looked Julian up and down with a smirk, "well I do prefer humans, though they are an acquired taste, but I can always make an exception for a demigod that looks like that."
Emma was really unable to keep her eyes from popping out that time.
"You're a Demigod?" She blurted at Julian. She looked at him as if she was only seeing him for the first time. He looked at her with a bewildered expression that showed her he was thinking the same thing about her.
Mia's giggle brought Emma's mind back to the task at hand. Mia smiled at them patronisingly.
"His blood, though my greatest interest, is the least of your concerns."
