Chante's mom picked her up from the sleepover, and Emma and Darcy left Manny's after lunch. They were both walking to Emma's house. Darcy, of course, wanted to see Chester, but the two friends were eager to hang out after making up. Suddenly, Chuck drove past them, turning down Manny's street. The girls gave each other a "What?" look, but continued walking on. They past the corner store just in time to see Chad and Chester walking out of it.
"Emmaline. Darcelia."
Emma gave Darcy a Look, but she just smiled and shook her head.
"Chesterson!" She gave him a hug. It felt good to be on good terms with him again, but it felt even better to be in his arms. Emma didn't want to let go, but she did anyways.
Chad pouted. "How come I don't have a cool nickname?"
"Of course you have one, Pickle," Chester said mockingly. "Mom and dad gave you that one a long time ago, remember? When you threw up that dill on the fourth of-"
He was interrupted by Chad hitting him.
"Ooh, I've got one!" Darcy exclaimed. "Ready? Chadwick."
Emma smiled and shook her head. They were idiots, all four of them. Somehow they came up with the bright idea of going to Emma's house and putting that in her AIM profile. They went downstairs, turned on the computer, and signed on sparklespaz.
"Okay... Chadwick, Darcelia, Chesterson, Emmaline... bee eff eff's" she said, typing as she spoke. She turned to her friends. "There. Good?"
"Hold on," Chester said, leaning over her and typing. He smelled better than he ever had. He moved away. Chesterson 3s Darcelia had been put in.
"Hey!" Chad leaned over Emma and begin typing away, too. He didn't smell nearly as nice as his brother. Emma didn't have to look at the screen to know what he had typed: Chadwick 3s Emmaline
Emma put up an away message about hanging out with her funny-named friends, and moved away from the computer, standing up.
"Okay, now that we're done being dorks..."
It had started to rain during their little detour indoors, so she popped some popcorn and ordered a movie from Pay-Per-View. Darcy Chester and Chad were all lying on their stomachs, staring at the TV.
"Aww, The Incredibles," Darcy breathed. I haven't seen that yet. It's supposed to be really cute.
"And boring," Chester snorted. Darcy hit him and he messed up her hair. Emma dimmed the lights and lied down next to Chad, offering around the popcorn bowl.
About halfway through the movie, Darcy lost interest in its cuteness and her and Chester were snuggling on the couch. Emma stare blankly at the screen, not really paying attention but at the same time avoiding looking at Chad. Why did he put that in her profile? Was that his way of asking her out? Her thoughts were interrupting by a voice.
"Emma?"
She turned to look at Chad. "Yeah?"
He kissed her. She was momentarily surprised but then started to get into it. She opened her eyes and pulled away. "You sure you wanna do this in front of your brother?"
"He's not paying attention to anyone but Darcy," he whispered.
Emma looked over at the couch. Chad was right. Chester and Darcy were quite preoccupied with each other at the moment. Emma turned back to Chad and resumed their make out session, all the while imagining she was on the couch kissing Chester.

After the movie, everyone went home and Emma's family ordered pizza for dinner. It was quiet, peaceful. The usual stuff. Until the interrogation began.
"So, Emma... how's Chester?" Snake said casually. Almost too casually...
"He's fine. Why?"
"No reason, just... you've been hanging out with him a lot lately." Spike said.
"So, what's your point?" Emma was beginning to get very annoyed.
"Well..." Spike was being very careful in her questioning. "Is there something more... than just a friendship... between you guys?"
That was it. The anger inside Emma exploded. They just had to go there. Why do they have to remind her about the guy she couldn't have! Why did they have to suggest the one fantasy that would never happen? She wished so much she could answer Spike's question yes. The fact that she couldn't put her in a worse mood than any fight with Manny ever did.
"No, mom, we're not!" she yelled. Spike looked startled.
"Okay, Em, I was just asking."
Emma stood up. "Why is it your business anyway? Why should you care if I like him, or if we're going out? Well we're not, okay? So just drop it!"
There was silence. Spike and Snake were in a complete shock. Baby Jack started crying and Spike picked him up and held him, shh-ing him.
"Emma go to your room." Snake finally said, calmly.
"Gladly!" Emma stormed off, blinking back tears. When she got downstairs, she flung herself on her bed and let it all out.

Emma let all of her emotions pour out with her tears. They flooded out of her, leaving her exhausted when the crying was over. She just lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The basement door opened and she heard someone coming down the stairs. She hoped it was her mom. She was finally ready to talk about everything. Her unrequited love. It was killing her inside, and she just needed to talk to someone about it.
The curtain opened and Snake's head appeared. She looked over, disappointed. "What do you want?" she said coldly.
"Emma," he said, entering her room, "you're grounded. No leaving this house until further notice. In fact, you can't even go outside. After the stunt you pulled today you don't deserve anything better."
He walked out, the curtain swishing as he passed, and shut the basement door with a sharp manner. Emma turned over and cried into her pillow again.
She
woke up the next morning feeling bitter. She didn't leave her room all day. She wanted to avoid Snake, and her mother. Emma was angry that Spike didn't come down to talk. Instead she sent her little puppet to do her dirty work. Emma's stomach had a gnawing pain; she hadn't eaten since dinner last night.
Finally night came. Hours passed. She looked at her digital clock. One in the morning. She decided it would be safe to sneak upstairs.
She quietly tiptoed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She pulled out leftover pizza and popped it in the microwave. She ate, her stomach immediately feeling better. She discarded the leftovers and went upstairs to take a shower.
She snuck back downstairs and put on a pink cami and white cotton shorts. She felt refreshed. She felt somewhat better. She was just about to climb into bed when there was a knock on the window. She looked up, and saw Chester's smiling face.