Chapter 6
Nikolas led Emily to the room right next to his, with his arm wrapped around her so that she wouldn't buckle. She looked so drained. She had barley said anything on the way over here. He opened the door and she shrugged away from him. Nikolas stood at the door, watching her gaze around the room until her eyes made their way to his.
She sighed. "I love this room." She whispered.
He smiled warmly at her. "I know you do." He had remembered that she specifically liked this room from the last time she had spent the night. They were studying together and she decided to stay the night because it was really late when they finished up. Now that seemed like ages ago.
Emily felt a lot better now, even though the pain and guilt still lingered. She silently thanked god for giving her Nikolas as a friend. He was such a great guy. He always remembered the little things that she liked. Whether it was a room, a perfume, or just a topping on a pizza. She loved this room. She remembered the last time she had stayed here; she had told Nikolas that this room made her feel like a princess. It was so gothic and medieval. Like something that came out of a fairytale. As she ran her slim fingers over the chestnut bureau something occurred to her.
"Nikolas? I have no clothes to wear."
He pursed his lips and lifted his hand to his chin while he pondered the question. "Hmm, well I could run you over to the house to get a change of clothes?" She shook her head.
"I don't want to go home."
Nikolas nodded. He knew exactly how she felt. Maybe not exactly because his father had never been arrested for murdering a hooker, but he knew how guilt felt. "You can wear one of my t-shirts?"
Emily smiled. The first real genuine smile since he had ran into her at Kelly's. "That would be perfect Nikolas, thank you so much." She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "For everything." He held her tightly, savoring the feel of her in his arms.
"Em, you have to know that I would do anything for you." He murmured against her hair. She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes, tears brimming in her own.
"I know that." She whispered. She felt so content at this moment. The feel of his arms wrapped securely around her made her feel happy and safer than she has in a long time. This is where she wanted to be. Right here with this man. Too bad he will never find out how she feels about him. She couldn't bear to lose him and she was sure that if she told him that her feelings were a bit more than friendly than she would lose him for sure. Even if she didn't lose him their friendship would never be the same and there was no way in hell that she was going to risk that. Still in his arms she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. She left his warm embrace and moved across the room to sink into a big plush chair.
She kept her eyes fixed on the floor as she spoke softly. "What happened to us?"
Her voice was so low that Nikolas had to move closer to hear her. "What do you mean?"
Emily lifted her glistening eyes to his. "I mean, we used to be best friends Nikolas. Then, out of no where, we just lost contact. We didn't speak for months. What happened?"
Nikolas couldn't stand to see her in so much pain and he knew that he was partly to blame for it. It was true, they hadn't talked in ages and he had no idea why. He had missed her desperately. Even while they were apart, he had loved her from a distance. Sometimes, it was so hard to be around her knowing that she would never have the feelings for him that he had craved, but he would just push those feelings aside and remind himself that it wasn't her fault because she had no idea that he felt so strongly for her. That didn't mean that he didn't want to spend time with her. That's all he ever wanted to do. They had become busy all of a sudden. Emily started modeling more and school and her growing career had consumed all of her time. Besides that, he was busy trying to help his uncle cope with the death of his fiancée, plus taking over Deception and trying to juggle school with it.
He kneeled in front of her and took her hands in his. "Life happened." He paused to study her face and he could see all of her conflicting emotions. That's one of the things he loved so much about her. She was never afraid to show how she felt. He sighed, "I don't really know what happened Em. We are both dealing with a lot right now and i guess our friendship got knocked down on our list."
She nodded, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "I miss the closeness we used to have, you know?"
"Me too, But hey, we have been spending a lot of time together lately. That closeness will be back before you know it. And I promise you, i am never just going to forget about you, ok? I will always be here when you need me." She smiled and he found himself smiling too. He reached out and wiped a few tears that had made their way down her face.
Emily laughed softly and hugged him fiercely. "I want you to know that I will always be here for you too, Nikolas." She whispered.
He closed his eyes and silently counted his blessings. Emily was number one. Nikolas reluctantly pulled away and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm going to go get you something to sleep in." He said softly and she nodded. She watched as he stood up and made his way out of the room.
She closed her eyes and leaned back into the comfort of the chair. She was so exhausted. It had been a long day. Her mind was running rampid with thoughts. All Nikolas. 'Big surprise there,' she thought to herself. She was so grateful for him. She knew her feelings for him were growing and she didn't know how to stop them. She wasn't even sure she wanted too but she knew that if she fell for him her heart would end up broken. How did she get in this position again? She thought she had killed the crush that she had had on him. Emily was just afraid that this wasn't just a crush. Maybe she was falling...
"I found something for you to sleep in." Nikolas said as he walked back into the room. He had walked in to find her laying back with her eyes closed, obviously deep in thought. He wondered what she was thinking about. Probably her father and someway to make everything better. He was just thankful that she had confided in him about that. He didn't even want to think about what she would have done if he hadn't made her talk to him after he found her at Kelly's. She had a tendency to keep things bottled up and to withhold any emotion from anyone. That's why he made her talk to him, because he knew that it would make her feel better, and by the looks of it, it did.
Emily's eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. She smiled weakly as he placed the clothes on her lap. She picked up the shorts and arched her brow. "Basketball shorts? You? Wow, I'm shocked!" She teased.
Nikolas just shrugged. "Lucky gave them to me. He said that i need to dress more my age and not like the Cassadine Prince. I guess formal wear isn't really my brothers' style." He smiled when he heard her giggle. It was like music to his ears. "I've never actually worn them." He added.
"I figured as much. These will work fine. Thank you, Nikolas." She said as she stood up and walked into the conjoining bathroom. She emerged a moment later in his big blue shirt that seemed to swallow her, and the shorts. She laughed and reached her arms out. "I think the shirt is too big for me."
"Well, it is just to sleep in." He said as he drank in the sight of her.
"I know. It's perfect." She climbed under the silk sheets and Nikolas pulled the comforter over her.
"It might get cold tonight so there is an extra blanket over here if you get chilly in the middle of the night." He informed her as he gestured to the chair to his left. "Goodnight Em." He kissed her on the forehead and turned to leave but stopped when she spoke. "Nikolas..." He turned to face her. She was looking down and playing with the hem of the blanket.
"Yes?" He asked softly.
She raised her eyes to his, "Will you stay with me for a little while? I don't want to be alone right now." She whispered.
He smiled and nodded. "Sure." She scooted over and Nikolas climbed in next to her, on top of the blankets. He opened his arms to her and she accepted, resting her head on his shoulder. He ran his hands through her silky brown hair. "Do you want to talk?" He whispered as he placed a light kiss to her forehead.
"Yea," she whispered sleepily.
"What do you want to talk about?"
She sighed and snuggled into his side. "Tell me about Greece. I love when you talk about growing up there."
He laughed softly. He told her all about Greece and his childhood. He told her stories about growing up with his uncle and some of the other Cassadine's like cousins, etc. They talked for about an hour. Nikolas lifted his head to look at Emily, she was sound asleep. He sighed; she looked so peaceful when she's sleeping. He knew that she was exhausted and that she needed to sleep, that's why he didn't bother trying to get up. He covered her with the blanket and watched her sleep for hours until he finally fell asleep himself.
The next morning Nikolas woke up to find an arm sprawled across his chest. He smiled when he realized it was Emily and what had happened last night. She was still sleeping. He kissed her forehead and she began to stir. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and her hand started to feel around.
'This isn't my bed,' Emily thought to herself as she woke up. Her pillow was hard and muscular, not soft and fluffy. Finally realization dawned on her when she looked up and found an amused Nikolas smiling down at her. She sighed softly and smiled up at him. "How long have you been trapped there?"
He laughed, "I'm ok, really." He paused as she buried her head in his shoulder. His expression turned serious. "How did you sleep?"
She looked back up at him and smiled. "Great, I can't remember the last time i slept through the entire night. Thank you, Nikolas."
"For what? I didn't do anything."
She laughed softly. "I'm pretty sure you being here next to me was a big factor in me sleeping well."
"Well, in that case, I'm glad that I could help." He replied, touched by her words.
Emily reluctantly left Nikolas' embrace and sat up. Nikolas couldn't help but watch as she stretched. She turned her head and smiled slowly at him as she asked, "What time is it?"
It took the question a minute to register in Nikolas' mind. He looked dazed until her voice snapped him back into reality. "Nikolas?"
He shook his head and looked at his watch. "It's 8:30. 1st period doesn't start for another hour and a half."
"Oh ok, good."
"How about you go get ready and I'll swing you by the gatehouse before we go to school."
Emily nodded her head and stood up and walked into the bathroom. Nikolas took the time to clear his mind of the thoughts racing through it. He shook his head and paced around the room until he stopped in front of the window and gazed out. What was he going to do? He seemed to be asking himself that question a lot these days. What was it that he had done when they hung out before? Oh, that's right, keep his mouth shut and be her friend.
Emily came back into the bedroom to see Nikolas staring out the window with his arms crossed in front of him. He seemed to not hear her so she cleared her throat to get his attention. He swung around and smiled. "Ready?" He asked.
She nodded her head and they walked out the door.
