A/N: Here's Chapter Seven: Will You Still Be Here When I Open My Eyes? R&R. And by the way, there is a bit of sex talk in this chapter. But I swear, the rating is still PG-13, and always will be.

The clear ring of the doorbell sounded through the house. Emma looked up from the book she was reading. The doorbell rang again, and Spike's voice floated down from upstairs.

"Em, honey, could you get that?"

"No problem," she yelled back. Getting up from the chair, she walked over to the doorway and opened the door. Standing outside was Manny.

Emma folded her arms across her chest. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice icy cold.

"I wanted to talk. Can I come in?"

Emma shrugged. "Whatever." Manny walked in and sat on the couch. Emma closed the door and sat next to her.

"So what do you want?" Emma questioned.

Manny looked down at her hands. "I miss having you as my best friend," she said quietly.

Emma felt hot anger burn inside her. "You can't possibly mean me. I'm a stuck-up prude princess, remember?"

"Look, I was wrong, okay?" Emma looked away. The truth was, she had missed Manny too.

"Em, I'm really-" Manny started to apologizing, and Emma realized she didn't need to hear it.

"No, it's fine. Forget it." Emma interrupted. She knew now that holding grudges only made her unhappy. Sean had shown her that.

Manny shook her head. "But I'm sor-"
"I said, forget it. It's okay." Emma smiled nervously at Manny. "Best friends forever, right?" Manny burst into tears, and hugged Emma hard.

"Well, you don't need to cry." Emma said laughing. Manny kept crying. Emma could feel herself started to cry through her smile. "Damn it, Manny, now I'm crying too." The two girls hugged each other tightly.

"It feels good to have a best friend again," Manny whispered.

"Yeah," Emma whispered back. "It feels great."

xXx

Sean walked up to Emma, who was gossiping happily with Manny at her locker.

"And so Paige told me that Hazel heard Liberty telling Kendra that Towerz and her had gotten to second base! Can you believe that? This is the same girl who scolded Sean and me for holding hands in the hallway! I can still remember, she was all like 'Emma Nelson and Sean Cameron! Public displays of affection are against the code of conduct- you two know that! But since it is you, Emma, and we are friends, I won't tell the principal. But just this once.' And Sean was like, 'Um, we were just holding hands.'"

Manny shook her head in disbelief. "I'm telling you, that Towerz kid is bad news. Liberty would be much cuter with Toby or somebody."

"But he's so cute with Kendra!" Emma exclaimed.

Sean smiled to himself and walked up to Emma. "Sorry to interrupt the gossip fest, but Manny, can I talk to Emma?"

Manny grinned. "Of course. Just make sure you two don't go against the code of conduct." Emma laughed and shoved Manny lightly. "Shut up!" she squealed, and walked over to Sean.

"So what's up?" she asked.

"Do you want to come over to my house tonight? Study for that science test?"

"Sure. But we have to actually study this time and not just make out," she said sternly.

"Oh, sure. No kissing. We'll study," he promised.

xXx

Emma and Sean were on his bed, kissing. (A/N: Would you be able to resist Sean? I know I wouldn't) Sean kicked the science books off the bed. So much for studying, Emma thought. But oh my God, he's an amazing kisser. Sean's hand started to unbutton Emma's jeans. She pushed his hand away and sat up.

"Sean, I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready." He didn't say anything, he just lay back down at the bed and stared at the ceiling. She lay down next to him.

"Do you hate me?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer. He put his arms around her.

"I couldn't hate you if I tried. And I'm not mad either, I understand. It's just that I love you more than anything in the entire world, and I do want to sleep with you. But we don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. Okay?" he said.

Emma snuggled up against him. "Okay." Sean kissed the top of her head.

"But will you just...think about it?" he asked.

Emma nodded. "I will," she told him.

xXx

"Hey, Em," Manny said, sitting next to Emma on her bed. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah," Emma said nodding, "I did."

"What about?"

"Sex," Emma said bluntly.

Manny raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Sean wants to sleep with me," Emma explained.

"I figured. But what do you want?"

Emma sighed. "That's the thing. I can't really make up my mind. I mean, I love Sean so much, and I want to make him happy. But there are so many things that could go wrong."

Manny smiled sadly. "Sex is pretty scary, isn't it?" There was silence. "Well, go on," Manny said nudging her. "I know you have some questions for me. You're my bestest best, don't be embarrassed."

"Okay, I know that obviously if we do have sex, we ought to use protection." Manny grabbed Emma's shoulders. "You must use protection. Em, promise me you will make him wear a condom."

Emma shook off her hands. "Okay, calm down. But what about the pill? Should I use that too? And how do I get it?"

"Yeah, you should probably go on the pill just in case. Ever since my abortion, my mom lets me visit a female doctor privately. I could take you to her and you could get a prescription. Your parents wouldn't have to know," Manny said thoughtfully.

"Okay. Also, I was wondering- does it hurt?" Manny didn't say anything. "And don't sugarcoat your answer," Emma added.

Manny nodded. "Yeah. At first it really hurts. It feels like you're being ripped apart. But it stops hurting after awhile, and if you tell Sean that you're scared of the pain, he'll probably try to be as gentle as possible."

"Manny, you don't think..."

Manny put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't think what?" Emma swallowed. "What if I do sleep with him and afterwards he dumps me? I'm afraid that if I do agree to have sex with him, then I'll find out that he was just using me."

"Sean really loves you. I don't think he's using you. But you should talk to him. Ask him what he would do if you got pregnant, what he's going to do about protection, and make sure he's not using you," Manny said reasonably. Emma bit her lip. "You're right. I think I'll call him now and tell him to come over to talk." Manny gave her a hug. "You have to call me tonight and tell me everything." "Why don't you just spend the night?" Manny nodded. "Sure. See ya tonight."

Emma dialed Sean's number. He told her he'd be over there soon. Emma lay down on her bed and waited.

xXx

Sean sat next to Emma. "So let me guess: this is about what I said yesterday." Emma nodded. "Yeah. I've been thinking about it a lot. I still haven't made a decision, but I wanted to know if we could talk about it. If that wouldn't make you too uncomfortable?"

Sean shook his head. "No, it's fine."

"Let's say we did do it. What would we do if I got pregnant?" she asked.

"Well, I know you're against abortion. But I don't really think I'd make a good dad. You'd make a great mom, but I don't know anything about babies," he admitted.

"No, you'd make a good dad. But I know what you mean about not being ready. A baby would be so much responsibility. And what I saw with my mom, labor hurts. Really badly. But I dunno, if I saw my baby, I don't think I'd be able to give it up for adoption. So I guess I'd want to keep it. And also, if we did have sex, then we'd have to use protection. I know a place where I can get the pill. What about condoms?"

"I'd get those," Sean assured her. "We'd definitely use protection."

Emma bit her bottom lip. "This is really hard to say, and I know it's going to sound totally horrible."

Sean took her hand in his. "Just say it. I won't get mad."

"I'm afraid that after we do it, then that'll be it. You'll just have been using me." Emma looked up to see Sean's reaction.

"Emma. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Listen to me. I love you. I love everything about you." He paused and smiled to himself. "I love the way you see the good things in everything. The way you smell like vanilla. The way you're absolutely addicted to coffee. The way you seem to care about everything. The way you don't let anyone walk over you, and you always express your beliefs. The way you never give up or back down. The way you change your nail polish twice a week. The way you're terrified of heights. The way you believe in me when no one else does. Emma, I love you, and I'd never use you. Please trust me." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Emma closed her eyes and sighed.

"Sean, is it okay if I spend the night at your house tomorrow?" she asked. He pulled back from the hug. "You mean..." Sean trailed off. Emma nodded her head. "Yeah." Sean looked surprised for a second, then smiled and hugged her tightly. "Of course." He kissed her forehead. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow night." Sean started to walk out of her room when Emma called after him, "I love you." He turned and smiled at her. "I'll always love you," he told her.

xXx

Manny bounced into Emma's room later that night. "So...?" she asked. Emma looked at her strangely. "What?" Manny grabbed her arm. "Tell me what happened! Now!" she exclaimed. Emma started to smile dreamily. "Oh, Manny. He really loves me." Manny squealed happily. "I told you! So, are you gonna?" Emma nodded. "Tomorrow night." Manny smiled. "You two are so perfect for each other. So, tomorrow, we're going to go visit my doctor and get you on the pill and then buy you a very sexy bra and thong from the mall. Then we'll go to Sephora (A/N: This is a huge make-up and perfume place that me and all my friends love to go to in New York. I don't know if there's one in Canada, but, oh well, there's one there now!) and get you the perfect perfume. You don't want make-up, it'll just smear. Then you'll go to Sean's house, and it'll be wonderful. I promise."

Emma gaped at Manny. "Did you plan this out or something?" Manny looked down at her hands guiltily. Emma hit Manny's arm.

"What, I just want your first time to be meaningful and beautiful and special and all that! I'm trying to help!" Manny said defensively.

"Okay, I know. And thanks," said Emma.

Manny glanced at the clock. "We better go to bed early," she told Emma.

Emma frowned. "But it's eight o'clock."
Manny grinned wickedly. "Yeah, but- you're not going to be getting much sleep tomorrow night, are you?"

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger!