Even though he and Bay hadn't said anything to each other that time, when his gaze locked with hers, it was like they established an immediate connection, which was a very surreal experience. Maybe that's why when Bay spoke to him outside Buckner that first time, it hadn't been as weird as it could've been because it felt like they had already established a bit of a connection.
I refuse to lose that with Bay, Emmett thought forcefully. And I refuse to lose Ty.
Instead of sticking around to wait for Bay like he had originally intended, Emmett decided to go home and think through some things for a while.
"Hey, Mom," he greeted his mother when he got home, dropping his bag next to the door, and heading to the fridge for a drink.
She looked at him reproachfully. "You know you're not supposed to leave your bag by the door, Emmett. How many times do I have to remind you?"
He rolled his eyes and picked up his bag, quickly depositing it in his room, and then heading back to the kitchen.
"How was your day?" his mother inquired, then dumped some flour into a bowl and mixed quickly.
"It was okay. Learned some interesting stuff." Emmett came over to the counter where his mother was standing. "What are you making?"
"Cookies. The Kennishes invited us for dinner and I told them I'd bring dessert," she explained. "Hey!" she knocked his hand away, but not before Emmett had successfully dipped his finger into the batter. He smiled at her and licked off his finger, then escaped to his room before his mother could scold him anymore.
Moments after he got to his room, his mother popped her head in. "Dinner is at 7, so we should leave here at ten to, ok?"
"Ok," he signed, and his mother left, closing his door behind her.
He turned on some music, tapping his fingers on his desk in sync with the vibrations. He sat down at his desk, knowing he should get started on some of the reading that he had to do for school, but not really able to focus on that. He even got the book out of his backpack, but he just sat there, staring down at the cover, not even really comprehending what he was looking at.
Instead, he sat there pondering when he'd confront Ty and what he'd say. Emmett wasn't a mean person by nature, but he did want to get his point across. He wanted to get things settled with Ty so that Emmett and Bay could get back to the solid, warm relationship that they had before Ty had come back.
Before he knew it, it was 6:50 and he and his mother left for the Kennishes'. When they got there, they went into the house and straight to the kitchen to drop off the cookies. John and Katherine were in there, bustling around doing, well, he's not sure exactly what they were doing, but they looked as if they were busily preparing.
He looked around for Bay, but didn't see her. John saw his not-so-discreet look and told him, "Bay's in the garage, Emmett. You can go find her there and tell her it's time for dinner."
Emmett nodded thanks and headed off, once again, to the garage. This time, the door was unlocked, and he went right in. Bay had the music on very loudly (he knew because he could feel the vibrations very strongly, and also because she didn't even hear him knock and then open the door). He crept up behind her, encircled her waist with his arms, and started kissing the back of her neck.
She whirled around. "Emmett! Hi!" she exclaimed, and proceeded to kiss him hello properly. When they came up for air, she said, "I didn't even hear you come in!"
"I know," he smirked. "It's time for dinner." He smirked even more. "I'd rather stay in here with you, though." He kissed her again.
She laughed. "So would I, except that everyone else is in there and they know we're out here together. Also," she said with a sheepish smile, "I'm really hungry, and if I don't eat anything soon, I might just faint in your arms."
"That's ok," Emmett signed back. "I'd catch you," and then he dipped her down, his hand behind her back, a grin on both of their faces, and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. "But let's go."
Dinner was very nice. The Kennishes, who still hadn't really learned much sign language, talked slowly (but not moronically slowly) so that he, his mother, and Daphne could understand and follow along with the conversation. Whenever the deaf people at the table didn't understand, they'd look to Bay or more often Regina to sign what had been said.
It was still strange to Emmett that the Kennishes hadn't learned much sign language yet. After all, Bay was pretty good at it now, and she'd had the same amount of time as everyone else to learn it. Of course, Bay had the advantage of his private lessons, where she often learned a lot and was more frequently forced to use sign. But, hey, to each his/her own, right?
After dinner, the Kennish parents, Emmett's mother, and Regina sat at the table talking, while Toby escaped to his garage, and Daphne, Emmett, and Bay went to hang out on the couch in the living room.
"Why didn't you tell me that Ty asked for you to visit him in the hospital?" Emmett signed. Then he mentally slapped himself. Way to start off lightly, moron.
Bay and Daphne looked at each other, shocked. "You told him?" Bay signed at Daphne.
"No!" Daphne signed back. "How'd you find out?" she signed to Emmett.
"I saw you and Wilke talking this afternoon while I was waiting for Bay."
"You were here? I didn't know that! Why didn't you wait longer for me?" Bay inserted, curious.
"I decided to go home to think."
Bay and Daphne looked at each other again, uncertainty in their eyes. Finally Daphne spoke up. "Think about what?"
"About the whole situation with Ty." He looked at Daphne. "Could you give Bay and me a minute alone?"
"Sure," Daphne said. She looked at Bay, shrugged, and mouthed Good luck.
"So, what conclusions did you come to?" Bay asked him, unsure about where this was going.
"I want to come visit Ty with you." Emmett said.
Bay's eyebrows shot up. "You want to what?"
"I want to come visit Ty with you."
"Why?" Bay was confused.
"Because I think maybe if he sees us together, he'll understand more that you're with me."
"First of all, he already saw us together, remember?" Bay said, ticking off numbers on her fingers. "Second, who says he doesn't understand that we're together?"
"First of all," Emmett started, mimicking Bay, "when he saw us together, he didn'tknow that we're together together." He saw Bay dipping her head, conceding his point. "Second, I just want to make sure that he understands you're with me, ok?"
Bay thought it over for a few moments. Sounds reasonable. Can't really blame the guy. "Ok," she signed.
Emmett smiled. "Great. Wanna go tomorrow afternoon after school?"
Bay thought it over, mentally going through her schedule. "Works for me."
Just then, his mother came in to tell him they were leaving. He kissed Bay good night and told her he'd picked her up from school tomorrow.
She smiled that special smile that was just for him and said, "Ok. Good night."
The next day passed pretty quickly. He went to his classes, hung out with his friends, and took notes. He was walking toward his motorcycle with Daphne, as Wilke was picking her up again.
"So what'd you and Bay decide about Ty last night?" Daphne inquired.
"I'm going to pick Bay up from school, and then we're going to visit Ty together," he informed her.
Daphne looked surprised, and a little impressed. "You're going to go with Bay to visit Ty?"
"This way, he can see us together as a couple. And," Emmett added slyly, "I can send Bay to get a drink from a vending machine while I have a talk with Ty!" and he hurried away, wanting to avoid any more questions that Daphne was sure to have.
Daphne ran after him, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention once he was already sitting on his bike, ready to go. "Talk with Ty about what?" she asked, her hands flying.
Emmett just smiled mysteriously and drove off, leaving a curious and concerned Daphne behind him. When he arrived at Buckner, Bay was already waiting for him. She kissed him briefly and then got on behind him, strapping on the helmet he provided.
They drove off to the hospital, the wind blowing in their faces. Emmett was relishing the freedom he felt while on his motorcycle, Bay's arms tight around him. Bay, meanwhile, was relishing the freedom she felt, riding on her boyfriend's motorcycle, her arms around him, feeling how solid and warm he was.
When they got to the hospital, they went in, found out Ty's room number, and headed off in the direction of room 132. Emmett was about to enter Ty's room, but Bay grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
"Wait," she signed. "What are we going to say?"
"We're just two friends visiting another friend, Bay," he signed, smirking again. "We'll ask him how he's doing and go from there."
Bay looked at him skeptically, but followed him into the room, nevertheless.
Ty, who had been watching TV, saw them enter and sat up a little.
"Hi, Bay!" Ty said, acknowledging her first, even though Emmett had been the one to enter the room first. "Hey, Emmett," he said, with less enthusiasm.
"Hey, Ty. We came to see how you were feeling." Bay said with a sympathetic smile.
"Thanks for coming! I told Toby that I hoped you'd come, but I didn't realize-" Ty cut himself off mid-sentence. "Never mind. Anyway, it's, uh, good to see you."
Yeah, you didn't realize that Bay's boyfriend was going to come along to visit you, too, huh, Ty? Emmett thought.
"So how's your leg?" Bay questioned, signing while speaking aloud.
"The doctors say it's healing well. They want to keep me here for another day or so to make sure it's alright, but they're feeling very good about the procedure," Ty explained.
"That's great," Bay smiled. Emmett nodded.
"Bay, why don't you go and get Ty something to drink. He looks a little pale," Emmett suggested.
Bay nodded, then said to Ty, "Let me get you a drink. You want a soda or something?"
"Uh, thanks. A coke would be great."
"K, I'll be right back," Bay said.
She touched Emmett on the shoulder, and gave him a stern look. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned.
Emmett signed, "Who, me?" and he shot her an innocent grin.
Bay rolled her eyes at him, seeing right through him. "Yes, you. Be nice."
After Bay left through the open door, Emmett shut the door, and turned to face Ty.
"So," Ty said, his eyes darting around the room. "What's up, man?"
Emmett stared at him and signed, "Don't play with me, Ty. You know why I'm here."
Ty smiled a smile that was verging on arrogant. "Yeah, I guess I do. Look, Emmett-"
Emmett interrupted him. "No, you look, Ty. Bay told me what happened between you two when you went out to dinner." When Ty looked surprised and a little sheepish, Emmett continued, "We don't keep secrets from each other."
Ty raised an eyebrow. "You don't keep secrets from each other? Um, have you told Bay how you were in love with Daphne for about, oh, 6 years or so?" he asked sarcastically, a sarcasm so thick that Emmett had no trouble recognizing it.
Emmett felt uncomfortable. "I wasn't in love with Daphne!" he denied.
Ty grinned, sensing the shift in power. "Oh, sure you weren't. You were just good friends with her…a good friend who gazed at her adoringly when he thought nobody was looking and who glared at and insulted any guy Daphne dated." Ty sneered. "If you guys were only friends, then Bay and I were only friends. Bay and I were just friends who almost had se-"
Emmett took a step closer to the bed and started to sign before Ty could finish that sentence. "Fine, I used to have a crush on Daphne. So what? We never even kissed! And you know what? Now I have a girlfriend and Daphne has a boyfriend!" Emmett's anger was fueling his movements, his fingers slicing through the air forcefully. "And you know who my girlfriend is? Bay. Bay's with me now, and nothing you say or do can change that, not even kissing her!"
Emmett was pleased to see Ty looking taken aback and not so sure of himself anymore. He continued to sign. "I bet you thought that kissing her would make her come back to you, right? I bet you thought that she wouldn't be able to resist your kiss, huh? Well, you were wrong. Bay is happier with me than she ever was with you. I'm better for her in all ways," Emmett said, emphasizing the "all ways" part, and smirking, making it very clear which ways he was talking about.
Ty seemed to be gaining back some of his confidence, though. "Bay was with me first, Emmett."
Emmett sneered at Ty. "What is this, 3rd grade? Who cares who she was with first? She's with me now, and it's staying that way!"
Ty stared back at Emmett, a challenge in his gaze. "That's what you think."
But before either of them could say any more, Bay returned with a can of soda in her hand. "Sorry, I had to get you a Sprite. They didn't have any coke left. First I stopped at the vending machine, but it was out of order. Then I decided to go to the hospital cafeteria to ask if they had any coke and they said no. What kind of place doesn't sell coke? After all, it's only the most popular soda in the wor-" Bay stopped rambling, finally noticing the tension in the room. "Wow, so things must have gone really well here!" Bay said, fake cheerfully. She handed Ty the Sprite.
"Thanks, Bay," Ty smiled at her. "You're the best." Emmett glared at him from behind Bay.
"Uh, sure. You're welcome," Bay said, her eyes darting back and forth between the two guys.
Emmett touched Bay's shoulder. "Let's go."
"Okaaay," Bay dragged the word out, not sure about what had happened in her absence, not sure if she even wanted to know. "Bye, Ty. Feel better."
Ty waved. As they entered the hall, Emmett grabbed Bay and kissed her passionately. She responded for a few seconds before gently pushing him away, telling him it was not the place for such things.
"Is your place the place?" Emmett asked, eyebrows raised suggestively.
She punched him gently on the shoulder, laughing. "Let's go, Romeo."
Emmett followed her, but not before glancing back triumphantly at Ty, who had been able to observe the whole interaction through the open door.
"I win, you lose," he mouthed and signed at Ty, and then smirking victoriously, he followed Bay out of the hospital.
A.N. Hey, readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! What'd you think of the Ty-Emmett confrontation? Additionally, let me know if there's something else you'd like for me to include (plotlines, etc.) in future chapters! I've been really flattered by the reviews I've gotten for this story! I didn't get so many reviews for the last chapter (chapter 4), but since I'm not the type of author who says, "I'll only update once I get 23 reviews for the last chapter!" I updated with this new chapter! Hope you liked it!