Chapter 3:

No, please, no! Tell me this is not happening! Emily can't fall in love! Not now! And it had to be for a guy with a girlfriend! She never fell truly in love until now, why did the first had to be taken?

"Riley?" said Ashley, staring at me. I 'woke up' and forced a smile.

"Sorry. I was rambling. Emily, let's go for a walk, 'kay?" I asked, not waiting for the answer. I grabbed her arm and dragged her to our room.

"Ouch, that hurts!" she complained "What is it?"

"Why were you looking at that boy?"

"What boy?"

"The one playing soccer, from whom you couldn't take your eyes off!"

"Kyle?"

"Yes, Kyle!"

"Ri, are we going to have this conversation again?"

"We're going to have this conversation everytime we need to until you understand that boys mean trouble!"

"Not all boys. But, still, I'm not interested in Kyle."

"Then, why couldn't you stop looking?"

"Because... Because..." she stuttered, without knowing what to say. I sighed. I really didn't want to be bugging her so much, bue I wanted her to understand that she could get hurt. That happened to me and it was the last thing I wanted for Emily.

"Sorry for being such a prick to you..." I mumbled, hugging her. "I just want you to be careful"

"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen." she assured, going back to the field. I saw her walking away and I realized my concern was growing more and more. That could only have a bad ending...

I decided to join her and I stared at Kyle with a bit of fear and anger. I saw that Gwen person going to meet him several times and I notested Emily's sad expression. I closed my fists in an act of rage. She hadn't even spoken to him and he was already hurting her! Idiot! If tried to even come close to my sister, he would get his ass kicked.

Later on, we got back to our room and I stayed outside, playing guitar and listening to Emily and Hayley's cheerful conversation though an open window. I smiled. Apart from the whole "Kyle issue", it was nice to know that she was making friends.

"Nice song." Ashley commented, sitting on the ground, next to me.

"Thanks." I said, smiling. After that, I lowered my head, without really knowing why.

"Are you worried about Kyle?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Look, he's a good guy. I'm sure that he would never hurt your sister:"

"Yeah, me too, because I'm not going to let him get even close to her." I replied, surprising her. I kept playing, trying to avoid eye contact, because I knew she was looking at me sadly.

"You've been hurt before." she understood.

"Everybod's been hurt before..." I said, in a cold voice. I didn't want to talk about that.

"I assume it was a guy." she suggested, making me use the wrong notes. "It was a guy... Did he... Cheat on you or something?"

"It wasn't anything that I wasn't expecting." I answered, trying to be tough. It was a lie. I wasn't expecting that. A person is not supposed to break our heart after we give her everything...

"I'm just saying not all guys are like that. Kyle isn't like that."

"Maybe..." I mumbled, while I kept playing. She sighed and went back to the room. I lowered my head. It happened again... I pushed away another person that had cared about me. But it didn't matter... I was here to escape my problems. I was here for Emily. I didn't need friends...

"Ri, can we talk?" Emily asked, appearing.

"Talk." I sad, forcing a smile.

"I think you should go out tonight."

"What?"

"Hayley told me about a bar near the camp and I think it's perfect for you to clear your mind."

"Emily..."

"I'm serious. But we can't go out at night, so you need to sneak out."

"Why would I go to a bar?"

"To clear your mind and to meet new people."

"I don't need to meet new people."

"Riley... Come on, you said we came here to have fun."

"Yes, and...?"

"Going to that bar would be fun."

"Ems..."

"Please. I would feel much better if you went." she begged. I stared at her. How could I say no to that?

"Fine, I'll go."

"You will? Great!" she said, smiling and hugging me. I sighed. What have I gotten myself into...?

Around eleven o'clock (after curfew), I left camp quietly and went to the bar Hayley told me about. I sighed as I saw the building in front of me. I had a bad feeling about that... I got in and reached the counter, where I ordered the first drink I saw on a small menu behind the bartender.

I saw a group of guys behind me looking in my direction and laughing and I mumbled some curse words. That was going to have a bad ending...

"Hi." greeted one of them, sitting next to me. I just rolled my eyes. "Ah... I don't think we've met..."

"We're not even meeting now." I said, leaving my seat and walking away. I heard the other guys laughing and I realized he was after me. I went to a darker part of the bar and I stayed there, hoping that he would leave me alone. That was, definitely, the last thing I needed.

"Hey, wait up, I-" he started, approaching me.

"Look, this is what we're going to do: you stay here for five minutes, since nobody can see us. After that, you'll go back to your pals and you're going to tell them that we made out, while I leave and tell my sister that I had the best night ever. Here's the thing: we're both going to lie, only nobody needs to know. You in?"

"I... Okay."

"Great. Bye."

"Wait, didn't you say I should stay here?"

"Yeah, but I didn't say I would stay with you." I replied, going out through the back door. I went back to camp and, after that, to my room.

"Ri, you're here." Emily said. "That was fast... How was your night?"

"Awesome, one of the best nights I've ever had!" I lied, going to my bed.

"Cool. Now tell me that wasn't a good ideia."

"It was a great idea. Oh well... Goodnight."

"Goodnight." she mumbled, covering herself. I did the same and fell asleep minutes later.

In the next morning, we went to take breakfast and I was a little bothered to see Emily staring at Kyle again. I sighed. I looked at there too, but I stopped focusing on Kyle. I was more concerned about the boy next to him. That, just by accident, was the same boy I met the night before.