Chapter 7

Natalie flew out of her bathroom. The ends of her hair still dripping, from the quick shower she had taken. She rushed into her room, threw on some cloths and quickly put her hair up into a messy bun. After applying some light makeup she rushed out of her room and downstiars. She was nearly late for the meeting with Abbi (thank god she schgwal little get togethers to be forty five minutes before school so she could have time to be filled in on everything and still have time to go and talk with her friends) and it had been all Ben's fault. He had been in her bathroom because the boy's bathroom was being redone and thus he had to shower in hers. He had taken his normal hour shower forgetting that She still needed to get ready and so there she was running into school her hair still wet and only a half assed job done on her makeup. She was beyond pissed and was ready to kill. All those who wondered in front of her took one look at her and then went securing out of her path. No one wanted to be the one to block her from were ever she was going, they all were also curious and relived when her eyes settled on them and then passed over them she was obviously looking for some one and they felt sorry for who ever was going to be on the end of that gaze. The last person to receive that gaze was Lauren Samuels in 9th grade and she wound up having to transfer school districts after Nat was done with her.

She scanned the hallways looking for Ben (she told Abbi that their meeting would have to be postponed) over the past few weeks he wasn't in his normal hangouts. She would come across him in random hallways, empty classrooms, and many other places that she didn't know he knew existed, such as the art room. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks thinking over the new and random places she found Ben. She only knew these places because she knew Emma would be there. All the places Ben was, were places Emma hung out in, the hallways were random for Ben but she had seen Emma in them loads of times, the empty classrooms Emma liked to be alone before tests and quizzes and she would go to the empty rooms to study, and she loved art and often times if Emma wasn't out talking with Sam and herself, Emma was in the art room working on some project or just chatting with the art teacher. As Natalie thought about this she changed the path she was on and went in the direction of the art room and the empty classrooms. Ben had never changed his habits for Libby and that was one of the reasons they broke up Natalie knew that, but then why would be living his friends to go and such around the places where he knew Emma might be if they weren't even going out. Unless they are going out, Natalie thought to herself. No they couldn't be going out Emma would have told me for sure and Ben would have told me that everything worked out and that I gave him great advice. But Natalie still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on between her best friend and her brother. Sure she knew that they liked one another and wanted them to get together. But they would have told her she was sure of it and as far as she knew nothing had been going on.

As Natalie was thinking this she passed by the art room and stopped dead. A laugh had come from inside, but not just any laugh Emma's laugh. Natalie knew that laugh anywhere and she was one hundred percent sure that Emma was on the other side of the closed door. The laughing stopped and Natalie stepped closer to the door.

"You are the worst person ever I swear" Natalie heard Emma say to someone who was in the room " Why would you do that now I have to wash my face" Natalie could tell that Emma was trying to sound pissed but she could hear the laughter in her voice. She heard Emma get up and walk over to what Natalie suspected to be the sinks and sure enough she heard water turn on

"Ya, well I think that it makes you look cute and that your not allowed to wash it off" Natalie inhaled it was defiantly Ben in there with her. She heard Ben walk in the same direction as Emma did and the water instantly stopped.

" Hey, I can make decisions for myself, and right now my desion is that I want this off my face" Natalie heard the water turn on again and she heard Emma laugh and Ben yell a little

" What was that for?" Ben asked

"Well if I'm going to be walking around with paint on my face you should have to walk around with paint on your arms"

" Oh that's not fair" She heard Ben laughing though, suddenly she heard so Emma screek

" Benjamin, I have paint on my face I don't need to be wet too" Natalie immediately knew what had happened Ben had splashed her with water. Ben just laughed.

"Oh ya" she heard Emma say Em's temper was rising she could tell, " Take that" and Natalie knew that Emma had splashed him back. Ben yelled and she heard him splash her back. The water fight went on for a few seconds when suddenly everything stopped, the talking, the laughing, and the giggling and was replaced by silence. Growing curious to what was happening Natalie opened the door.

Ben and Emma were kissing intensely, his hands were on her waist and her hands were running through his hair. They oboulsy hadn't heard her open the door.

Natalie cleared her thought, and they sprang apart and looked waded eyed towards the door to see who had caught them.

Natalie took in the seen in front of her, Emma's shirt had a bunch of water spots on it but was not extremely wet, and she had a huge smear of white paint on her cheek. Ben on the other hand was drenched, water was dripping from his hair and the green paint that was on his arms was running in with the screams of water running down his arms from his soaked tee shirt. After a few moments of silence Natalie was the one to speak

"So you two are together… how long?" She sounded pissed, but she wasn't pissed she could care less, this is what she wanted, well she was pissed why hadn't they told her.

Emma was the first to speech

"Oh Nat we wanted to tell you but we decided to keep it a secret, we didn't want anyone to know you know how relationships tend to crash and burn around here we wanted sometime to see if it would really work out, we were actually going to tell you this weekend went we Ben"

"Ya, we were" Ben said agreeing after Emma gave him a look.

" You still haven't answered my question" Natalie said sounding less pissed but still upset

" A month and a half" Ben said looking Natalie striate in the eye.

" A MONTH!" Natalie did her best but how could they hide this from her for so long especially Emma how could she keep this from her.

"Natalie," Emma said sensing that Natalie's temper was rising to a danger zone " You know that I have always told you that I don't like to rush into things and that goes for relationships to, I didn't want everyone to know as soon as it happened and I told Ben this and he said that he wouldn't tell anyone"

Natalie went to speak but Emma cut her off already knowing what Natalie was going to say.

"Yes I know your not everyone and that you're my best friend and that I trust you completely, but I knew that if I told you I would tell other people and before I knew it the whole school would know, I know your mad and that you have every right to but now you know right and you're the first to know, congrats!" Emma said with a smile.

Natalie looked at Emma her amber eyes boring into Emma's green, and after a few moments she felt the anger leaking out of her, she could understand how Emma felt, she had done the same thing in ninth grade when she had gone out with Jim Smith, they hadn't lasted very long and she was glad she hadn't told anyone.

"Oh you guys I'm so happy for you" Natalie said as she ran over to give Emma a hug but stopped when she remembered that they were wet "Em I would give you a hug but your wet, Ben you to, Emma when you told me that you liked him it was all I could do not to tell you that he liked you back"

"WHAT YOU KNEW HE LIKED ME AND DIDN'T TELL ME" Emma yelled

"Well when he first told me I was going to tell you but then he blackmailed me into secrecy"

"What did you use against her?" Emma asked looking up at Ben

Ben smirked " I said that if she told anyone I would tell the whole school about our trip to Disney World when we were six"

Emma's face screwed up as she thought back to when the Harrington's had gone to Disney and quickly realized what had happened and smiled

"That's dirty Benny" Emma said

"Well I didn't want my secret getting out now did I" Ben said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Ya but it was a secret that I would want to know" Emma said as she tilted her head up and leaned in to kiss him.

"Umm PDA much" Natalie said just as their lips touched and they jumped apart.

"Sorry" They said at the same time

"Its ok just keep it in check when I'm around, but the bell is about to ring and Em I

But the bell cut her off.

"Shit I'm going to be late if I don't run, I'll see you two later" Emma said as she ran out the door, but she quickly came back and gave Ben a quick kiss and then sprinted out of the room not bothering to wipe the paint off her face. Ben watched her leave and had a small smile on his face the whole time

"You really like her don't you" Natalie said

Ben's eyes focused on his sister " Ya, I really do I just hope I don't mess it up"

Natalie smiled " Ben I'm sure everything will work out and knowing you, you will do everything you can to make it work."

"Thanks Nat" Ben said as walked out the door. "Oh and Squirt, if you tell anyone before Emma and I do, I will tell everyone about Disney World"

Hey everyone I know its been awhile but the day after I updated last time my brother spilled a coke on my lab top :( sad times I know, but he killed it and I have been with out a computer since, but my parents were feeling bad and got me a new lab top for christmas!! and I had saved my story on to a jump drive and so heres the update sorry it took forever!! I hope you like this chapter, reviews are always welcome!