Chapter 5: Pandora's Box

Bay tossed and turned until three in the morning the night after Emmett had kissed her in the Buckner parking lot before taking off. Bay was so confused and beyond annoyed. Was he just trying to mess with her or was it a ploy to get closer to Daphne. Why had he left after giving her the most amazing kiss she had ever experienced?

Bay checked her phone both for the time and to see if Emmett had responded to any of her texts. He had been ignoring her all evening. Bay huffed placing her phone back on the nightstand and rolling over trying to get some sleep.


The next day at school proved to be as unsuccessful as her attempt at sleep the night before. Not that she was particularly interested in her academics, but she had paid even less attention to her teachers then usual. By the time her lunch period arrived Bay had decided she needed to go see Emmett in person so he couldn't ignore her.

Bay sprinted through the halls looking for Toby.

"Toby!" she screamed seeing him at the end of the hallway. He noticed his sister running towards him and told his friends he'd talk to them later.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Can I borrow your car?" Bay asked while panting heavily from the physical exertion she had just put her body through. "Please, it's an emergency! I'll have it back to you before the end of the day!"

Toby hesitantly gave her his keys and she quickly hugged him before tearing through the hallways towards the parking lot exit.


Bay arrived at Carlton not ten minutes later to find out that Emmett's lunch was just starting as well. She decided to sit by his bike and wait for him since asking for directions from the other deaf students would really do her no good. After fifteen minutes of waiting Bay was about to give up and head back to Buckner, upset Emmett had not gone to his bike over his lunch period.

Bay stood, pulling her keys from her jacket pocket ready to jump into Toby's car when she noticed Emmett talking to another boy his age. When Emmett noticed Bay glaring at him he started walking towards her, telling his friend he'd meet up with him later.

Emmett waved and gave Bay as smile once he was stood in front of her, secretly enjoying how riled up he had clearly gotten her.

"Don't give me that sultry James Dean smirk! What the hell were you thinking kissing me like that then leaving!?" Bay exclaimed, happy she didn't have to worry about gaining the other student's attentions with her raised voice. Emmett shrugged irritating Bay further. "You don't know!? I can't get you out of my head since Ty left and you kiss me like it's no big deal! What is that about? Are you just messing with me? Did it mean anything to you? Are you just using me to get to Daphne? You know what, I don't even care. I'm just really annoyed that you've been ignoring me since!" Bay rambled as Emmett stared at her with amusement.

Finished?

"Yes, I am finished," Bay responded with a sneer.

Good.

Emmett leaned towards Bay capturing her in their second ever kiss. Bay wasn't sure how it was possible but this one was even better than the first. Bay ran her hands through Emmett's short hair as he continued to deepen the kiss. Yes, Bay definitely was enjoying this one more than the last. Emmett pulled her flush against him before tightly wrapping his arms around her waist lifting her slightly so he didn't need to bend down making her giggle into his mouth. After what felt like an eternity the two broke for air.

Still think I'm just messing with you?

Bay smiled up at Emmett with her arms still wrapped around his neck as his hands rested on her waist.

"I gotta go," Bay smiled. "But, I better be seeing you after school!"

I'll pick you up.

Emmett gave Bay one more quick kiss before releasing his hold on her to let her climb into Toby's car.


Bay walked down the steps of Buckner towards the student parking lot to sit and wait for Emmett. To her surprise, though, Emmett was already there, leaning against his bike casually. Bay ran up to him with a huge smile and grabbed his face between both of her hands giving him a forceful kiss.

"Hey," Bay whispered once the kiss was broken. "How are you here already?"

Left early.

Bay raised her eyebrows at her now boyfriend. "Quite the rebel, are we?" Emmett shrugged nonchalantly before handing her his extra helmet and gesturing for her to hurry up and get on his bike.

Emmett pulled into the parking lot of a large park, surprising Bay who had never been there before. Emmett held his hand out to her just like he had when they went to the junkyard. Emmett led her to a shady patch of grass under a large tree. The two teenagers sat down and Bay stared at Emmett unsure of why he had brought her here.

Emmett quickly pulled Bay into a kiss, not wanting to waste any time now that he was allowed to do this. Bay smiled into the kiss at his forwardness before leaning backwards until she felt grass against her back. Emmett hovered over her kissing her deeply while Bay's mind ran wild as it usually did. She touched Emmett's neck lightly pushing him away. He stared at her worriedly; scared he had done something wrong.

"How do you say kiss in sign language?"

Emmett smiled at her in relief, showing her the sign that she repeated. He laughed before going in to kiss her again. This kiss didn't last very long as Bay pulled away once again.

"Wait, how do you say laugh?"

Emmett, once again, showed Bay the sign with patience as she tried to absorb the word into her memory. Emmett once again leaned towards Bay but this time just decided to kiss her neck, making her laugh slightly at the ticklishness and push him away.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Emmett let out a huff of air falling backwards. Bay laughed, smacking him in the chest lightly before throwing one leg over his waist and straddling the boy beneath her. She leaned over so her face was above his.

What's your question?

Emmett smiled at Bay waiting for her to ask him yet another question, though she seemed to be having trouble wit this one.

"Do you ever speak? Like, with your voice I mean?" Bay asked quietly, despite the fact that the volume of her voice went unnoticed by Emmett. Emmett shook his head embarrassedly, not making eye contact with her. Bay pushed her self into a sitting position next to Emmett allowing him to sit up next to her.

"Why not? Is it because you're embarrassed? You don't have to be with me…" Bay trailed off, bending her head slightly in order to catch Emmett's eye as he looked away.

I don't need to.

"Well, yeah. You haven't needed to because you're usually around people who sign, but with me…" Bay stated picking at a loose thread on the hem of her shirt nervously.

You're learning to sign though. And you're doing great!

"I know," Bay started with a smile. "I've got a ton of books on signing and I'm sure my private lessons with you will help… but in the mean time do you think you could maybe…?" Emmett looked away again shaking his head. Bay bit her lip uncomfortable with where she had taken this conversation. She placed her hand on his neck turning his head towards her.

"Could we just go back to kissing? We do that really well!" Bay joked, drawing a smile out of Emmett who nodded before reconnecting their lips and leaning forward, forcing Bay to lay against the grass again.

As the afternoon sun began to go down and a light evening chill set in Emmett pulled away from Bay for the first time.

Do you want to come over to my house?

"You're house?" Bay asked nervously. Emmett nodded and Bay bit her lip before hesitantly signing in 'ok'.


Bay and Emmett pulled up to the Bledsoe house and climbed off of Emmett's bike. Emmett made his way towards the front door when he noticed Bay remained by his bike.

What?

"Nothing, sorry!" Bay called, snapping out of her blank stare up at Emmett's house. She quickly walked towards Emmett who took her hand gently squeezing it comfortingly. He kissed her forehead gently before opening the door and leading Bay into his lifelong home.

"Is your mom home?" Bay asked looking around the front room. Emmett shook his head and pulled her up the stairs towards her room. At the end of the hallway the two turned left into Emmett's room. Emmett dropped her hand once inside and sat down on his bed as Bay looked around the room with a smile. She walked closer to a board filled with pictures to get a better look. Bay noticed the pictures consisted of Daphne doing various activities, some with Emmett and some solo.

"I think you missed one of her brushing her teeth," Bay snapped at Emmett sarcastically, her usual defense mechanism when she felt hurt. Emmett looked at her with a questioning expression. "Nevermind."

Emmett rolls his eyes and stands from his bed, grabbing a stack of pictures on his desk then beckoning Bay forwards to show them to her. Bay watches Emmett try to show her all the pictures he had taken over the past few days excitedly with a frown on her face. Emmett looks at Bay when he notices her lack of interest. Emmett groans, knowing Bay is upset with all his pictures of Daphne.

Me and Daphne are just friends!

"Friends?" Bay repeats skeptically. "Okay, well you happen to have a whole lot of pictures of your friend who happens to look a whole lot like Rachel McAdams!" Bay exclaims, muttering the part about Rachel McAdams mostly to herself. Emmett sighed, tossing the photos back onto his desk before grabbing a blanket from his bed, throwing it over the board filled with Daphne's pictures as a quick fix.

"You don't have to do that," Bay said half-heartedly, obviously quite pleased. Emmett gave her a knowing look.

Me and Daphne are just friends. I promise.

Bay smiled at Emmett before looking down at her feet, embarrassed by how jealous she was acting. Emmett placed his hand on her cheek softly making her look at him.

"Okay. I believe you." Bay pushed herself up onto her toes to kiss Emmett's cheek before collapsing on Emmett's bed. "So, let's see some more of those pictures!" Emmett smiled and grabbed a random photo album from a bookshelf before lying next to Bay. The two flipped through the album making comments and laughing at each other. Suddenly Bay decided now would be the perfect time to let Emmett know about her street art.

"I have to tell you something," Bay started and Emmett nodded for her to continue. "I've only told one other person about this, and that's only because he found me doing it-"

Slow down!

"Sorry!" Bay laughed along with Emmett. "I'm just really excited to tell you because I think it's something you'll really get." Emmett nodded at Bay and she opened her mouth to continue her admission when she was interrupted by Emmett's phone frantically vibrating. Emmett looked down at his phone before deciding to ignore the call and looking back up at Bay.

"Anyway, you know those posters of the girl in the pink dress? Sometimes she has an axe-" Emmett's phone vibrated again and he ignored the call for the second time.

Sorry.

"Anyway-" Emmett's phone went off for a third time causing Bay's patience to disappear. "Wow, seriously?! Who is it Daphne?" She exclaimed.

I'm just going to text her to see what's going on.

"I don't know what you're saying," Bay whined, grabbing her bag and standing from Emmett's bed. "And I really don't care!"

Two minutes!

"No! Forget it, I'm leaving!" Bay shook her head annoyed at Emmett's willingness to drop everything for Daphne. Bay noticed Emmett's camera and grab it tossing it onto the bed next to him. "Oh, don't forget your camera! I'm sure you'll wanna capture this moment for your Daphne shrine!" Bay swiftly pulled the blanket covering Emmett's photo board down and threw it at him before storming out of Emmett's room.

As Bay closed the door to the Bledsoe's house behind her she realized she had no way to get home. She groaned stomping her foot angrily before starting the half-hour walk back to Mission Hills.


When Bay finally got home she went straight to her studio collapsing on her couch, fuming with anger. Bay chewed her lip for ten minutes before pushing herself up from the couch and pacing the length of her studio as she dialed Liam's number on her phone. Bay yelled angrily throwing her phone onto the couch when the call went straight to answering machine.

Toby looking into Bay's studio curiously when he heard his sister's frustrated yells. He watched her try to call another one of her exes only to receive no answer yet again.

"You're making a mistake trying to talk to them," Toby told her, alerting her to his presence.

"Why are you spying on me? Go away!"

"Why are you taking a trip down 'I dated Bay Kennish' memory lane? What's going on?" Toby asked jokingly, though he was worried for his little sister.

"Nothing! It's just sometimes nice to talk to a guy who actually seemed to care about you!" Bay snapped, directing her anger mistakenly on Toby.

"Bay, it's gonna be fine. But you really need to stop drunk dialing your exes while sober." Toby said making both of the Kennish sibling's laugh.

"Shut up," Bay muttered into her brother's shoulder as she hugged him tightly. "Is Daphne home?" Bay asked as she pulled away from Toby. She needed to ask her what was in the guitar case.

"Nope."

"Damn, okay," Bay sighed. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. Kinda tired," Bay told her brother.


The next day, before school Bay went up to guesthouse to see if she could talk to Daphne quick. Regina opened the in her pajamas looking like she hadn't slept in week.

"Hey, are you alright?" Bay asked worriedly.

"Fine," Regina sighed when she realized it was just Bay at her door. "Daphne didn't come home last night. I think she stayed at Emmett's" Regina explained.

"Oh," Bay muttered. "Okay thanks anyways."

"Bay, sweetie, is there anything you need that I can help with?"

"No, thanks though," Bay smiled at her biological mother.


Instead of going to school she had Toby take her straight to Carlton. She had to know what was in the guitar case and she couldn't wait until after school. Toby pulled into the parking lot and sat waiting while Bay went in search of Daphne. She noticed her walking towards the main school building and sprinted towards her. Once Bay was close enough she reached out to grab Daphne's shoulder to get her attention

"Daphne, hey!"

"Bay? What are you doing here?" Daphne asked confusedly.

"I need to know what was in that guitar case. You need to tell me!"

"I'm sorry, Bay. I can't tell you."

"Please, Daphne," Bay cried holding onto the taller girl's shoulders desperately.

"Ask your mom, because she's certainly not mine," Daphne said before stalking away.

Bay stood on the spot watching Daphne's retreating form. Regina? What did she have to do with anything? She turned on the spot when someone tapped on her shoulder.

"I'm coming Toby, relax-" Bay huffed, assuming it was just her brother growing impatient with her. Instead Emmett stood before her.

Hey. I'm sorry about last night.

"Oh, yeah? Is that why Daphne slept over?" Bay exclaimed before stalking towards Toby's car. Emmett chased after her trying to grab her arm but she pulled away from him forcefully. "No! Okay, I have to get to school!"

Bay opened the passenger door to Toby's car and climbed in before slamming the door shut. Emmett stood next to the car, watching Bay through the window sadly. She refused to look up at him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Toby asked.

"Yes, can we just please get to school!"


Later that night, following Regina's confession of knowing about the switch for 13 years Bay decided to go for a walk. She cried as her feet took her wherever they wanted and within 30 minutes she had arrived at Emmett's front door.

Against her better judgment she rang to doorbell. Seconds later Emmett answered the door, shocked to see Bay at his house. He then noticed she looked distraught and had makeup running down her face, clearly having been crying.

Emmett grabbed Bay's hand and led her straight up to his room without a question. As he shut the door behind her, he asked Bay what was wrong. Bay took a deep breath to steady her emotions.

"Regina! She just shut her eyes and acted like I didn't even exist! Like losing Daphne was more important than trying to get me!"

Slow down.

"No!" Bay yelled. She was fed up and she just needed to get everything she was thinking out. "I don't want to slow down, okay, I just want to say what I need to say and I want you to understand me, but I can't sign and you can't hear me. I don't even know what I'm doing here! This isn't going to work out." Bay pushed past Emmett, trying to get out of the room but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to face him.

It's going to be okay. I promise.

Emmett didn't have the slightest clue of what Bay had actually said during her rant but he assumed it had something to do with Regina and the fact that she knew about the switch, which Daphne had told him about last night. Bay looked up into Emmett's blue and honest eyes before she burst into tears. Emmett immediately pulled her into his chest and Bay hid her face in his neck while she sobbed, the wet tears and shaking the only signals to Emmett that she was crying at all.

Emmett rubbed soothing circles into Bay's back as she continued to cry and heartbreakingly grasp Emmett's thin shirt in her fingers. Emmett lifted Bay slightly, carrying her to his bed so they could more comfortably lay while she cried her heart out. Emmett repeatedly pressed small kisses to the top of Bay's head and squeezing her form occasionally. About 15 minutes had past since Bay had started crying and Emmett noticed her shaking stopping and her breathing regulate. Bay was fast asleep on top of him. He smiled down at her when he made his realization, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Emmett quickly texted Daphne telling her that Bay was spending the night at his house so that the Kennish's didn't send out a search party for her. Emmett then placed his phone on his nightstand, switching the light next to his bed off before pulling his duvet over his and Bay's bodies. They were both fully clothed but Emmett didn't have the heart to wake her up or move around too much. He wrapped his arms around Bay's shoulders once again and kissed her forehead before drifting off to a comfortable sleep.