Perhaps it was the comfort of resting her head against the boy who she had feelings about- feelings that she had never experienced before with any other person- that made Emma shut her eyes and fall asleep. Or maybe it was the peace of knowing that someone felt the same way about her as she did about them. Emma wasn't too sure. But she felt happy in that moment. She felt loved. And she felt like someone loved her.
After a short time, Emma was awoken by Ross lightly shaking her arm. "Hey." he said quietly. "You ready to head inside?" Emma felt the breeze against her face and the cool grass underneath her hands. "Yeah." Emma said. She sat up and took one last look at the stars. "You were right." she told Ross. "This is really something." "It's pretty amazing, how you can see something everyday and just take it for granted. My parents taught me to appreciate the little things. Like nature, and the sky." Ross told Emma. He stood up and held out a hand for Emma. She took his hand and he helped her stand up. When Emma was on her feet, she was close to Ross. She looked into his eyes like she had done so many times before over the past week. Ross lightly touched Emma's cheek. "And the people in my life. I guess I'll never know if I won't see someone again." Emma smiled and put her hand on Ross's. "You'll see me again. I promise." Ross smiled. "I hope so." he told her.
Ross and Emma walked back into Ross's house. The house was dark now, and everyone had to be asleep or in bed by then. "I wonder if Samantha left." Emma told Ross. He laughed. "I bet. My parents don't have much of a tolerance for girls sleeping over in our rooms." Ross said. "Oh, and boys in my sister's case. But she's never had a boyfriend." Emma nodded. She followed Ross through the kitchen and down the hallway. "So that means she couldn't have a boy sleepover who wasn't her boyfriend." Emma said. "Uh, yeah. Right. But, I mean, if she wasn't dating someone, I don't know why he'd want to sleepover in the first place." "Ross." Emma said. The boy stopped and looked at her. "We're not dating. I'm not your girlfriend." Emma told him. Ross smiled, then sighed. He put his hands on Emma's arms. "I'm aware." he told her. Emma smiled. "So," Ross started. "I don't get it. Why can't we put a label on the two of us? Why can't we become official? Why don't you want to go out with me?" Ross asked her. Emma sighed. "Ross, what difference would it make? We wouldn't do any 'going out.' We'd just be two people who live on the opposite sides of the United States." Ross looked at Emma. "Sorry," Emma added, "two people who care a lot about each other on the opposite sides on the United States." Ross smiled. "You've got that right." he told Emma. Emma smiled. "I'll text you every day. Until it gets to be annoying." Emma told Ross with a laugh. He laughed, but said, "No worries, talking to you everyday would not get annoying. You can call me too, you know?" Emma nodded. "Okay, I'll call you too. But chances are I'm going to ask you to sing to me every time I hear your voice on the phone." "Oh, so the truth comes out!" Ross joked. "You just want to hear me sing." Emma laughed. "Well..." Ross raised his eyebrows. "What?" he said. "I'm just kidding!" Emma said with a laugh, getting Ross to laugh as well. "You want to sleep in our guest bedroom?" Ross finally asked. He looked tired, and Emma knew Ross would have several hours of acting the following day. "Yeah, I'm pretty beat." Emma admitted. She quietly followed Ross upstairs. "You need anything? I'm sure we have extra toothbrushes and stuff like that." Ross lead Emma to a bedroom she hadn't seen earlier when she had been chasing Ross. He flicked on the light switch, revealing a neat bed with some cozy-looking covers. "I actually brushed my teeth before leaving for the party earlier. And I really just want to sleep." Emma said. She walked up to the bed and put a hand on the covers. They were warm, as if they had just come out of a dryer. "Did your mom just put these covers on the bed? They feel like they're fresh out of the dryer." Emma asked. Ross walked up and felt the covers as well. "She must of. She likes having guests over. She'll make breakfast for you in the morning, if you want any." Emma smiled. "That's so nice." she said. Emma took Ross's hand. "I'm going to miss your family." Emma said. She smiled, but she felt like crying. The Lynch family had been so kind to her. She had gotten to go shopping with Rydel, and become friends with her. Emma felt like Riker, Rocky and Ratliff liked her. And their parents seemed to think she was nice, too. 'Nice enough to let me sleep in their house.' Emma thought. Ross smiled at Emma. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna go shower. You should get some sleep. We're both going to have long days tomorrow." Emma nodded. "You're right." Emma said. "Well," Ross said with a smile, "I'm always right." Emma laughed and pushed Ross jokingly. "Just go shower." she told him. She sat on the bed. "Fine, fine. Good night, Emma." Ross said before turning off the lights.
The guest room did not get too dark. The glow of the moon and the street lights outside shined into the room. The room had two windows which gave a view of the street in front of Ross's house. Emma curled up underneath the bed covers. They were warm and soft. Sure, this was the most comfortable Emma had been all week. But Emma couldn't help but shed a few silent tears as she thought about the following morning. She couldn't seem to fall asleep with the thought of having to say goodbye in her mind. Emma moved around a lot as she tried to get comfortable, and after a while she heard her door creak. Emma looked up. Ross was checking on her.
"You're still up?" Ross said quietly. He walked inside the room. Ross had put on different sweatpants and now wore a clean T-shirt. His hair was still wet from taking a shower, so it looked messier than Emma was used to seeing it. "Yeah." Emma responded. Ross sat on the side of the bed. "You feel okay?" Ross asked. He put the back of his hand on Emma's forehead. Then he touched her cheek. Emma's face was still wet from crying. "Were you crying?" Ross asked. "No," Emma started. "Don't worry. I'm just a little sad." Emma told Ross. "And I can't fall asleep." Ross nodded. "Yeah. I'm a little sad, too." Ross then lifted up the covers and crawled into the bed. "Ross, you're parents would be so mad if-" "Don't worry." Ross told Emma. "I'll just wait until you fall asleep." Ross wrapped his arms around Emma, and Emma scooted closer to the boy. His strong arms were comforting, like they had been each time he'd hugged her. Ross smelled like soap. Emma rested her face against Ross's chest. His T-shirt was damp, and Emma figured he put it on when we was still wet from showering. "You smell good." Emma told Ross. He laughed. "Thanks." Ross put one hand against Emma's head. "Your hair's soft. It smells good, too." Ross told Emma. Emma smiled and moved closer to Ross's body. "Thank you." she said. "So you're kind of sad too, huh?" Emma asked. She felt her eyelids becoming heavy as she became more tired. "Yeah, but... you make me less sad." Ross said. He felt a strand of Emma's hair between his fingers. "What about tomorrow morning, though? When I..." Emma began to ask. She knew Ross knew what she was talking about. Ross tried to smile. "I guess I'll be sad again." Emma frowned. She backed away from Ross and looked up at him. "I'm sorry." she said. Ross shook his head. "Don't be. After getting to know you this week? That's worth the pain I'll feel when I have to say goodbye."
Emma smiled. She put her arms around Ross's neck, and felt his damp hair with her fingers. Emma remembered the night she and Ross had gone to Andrew's party, and Ross had gotten hit and was bleeding. Emma had tried to soak up some of the blood, and in the process she felt Ross's hair. Emma smiled. She was glad that she was getting to feel Ross's hair again. But there was something else she wanted to do. Emma got closer to Ross. Then she kissed him on the lips. She felt Ross wrap his arms around her waist and pull her body closer to his. This kiss was longer than the first one. Emma liked the spark that she felt when she was kissing Ross. After kissing for about half a minute, Emma stopped. Ross looked at her and sighed. "I've been waiting a while to do that." he said. Emma laughed. She removed her arms from around Ross's neck and curled up next to the boy again. Ross kissed Emma on the forehead and pulled her close to him. Emma wished they could stay like that forever.