Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry, I took so long. I work 40 hours and I'm taking 6 college courses right now, so life's pretty hectic. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this story; I have an idea or two, but that's it. So, it might be all over the place. I'm totally open to hearing any ideas that you guys think of though!
Disclaimer: Don't own anythingg!
Chapter Two
"So who's apartment is this?" JJ asked as they walked up the front steps.
"Lauren Silva. She's on the softball team with me." Emily replied. "Guess her parents pay for it."
"Oh. Must be nice."
"Yeah." They laughed, climbing the three flights of stairs to the top apartment.
Emily pushed the door open and was instantly bombarded with the sound of hiphop and loud people.
"Hey, Emily!" A tall blonde girl clad in all Abercrombie clothes approached her.
"Hey, Lauren. Nice place."
"Thanks. Who's your friend?"
"This is JJ. We were to high school together." Emily replied.
"Cool. You play softball?"
"Uh, no, actually, soccer."
"That's cool. Nice to meet you. There are drinks in the kitchen. Help yourself. I gotta go make sure no one's dying or anything." She laughed before heading off towards the other room.
"She's nice…" JJ said as they stood in the doorway.
"Oh, yeah." Emily nodded. "Let's get a drink."
"Yes, please." JJ sighed and followed Emily through the massive crowd of already drunken teenagers.
An hour and a half later and working on their third beer, Emily and JJ were laughing hysterically at some basketball players dancing.
"Oh, c'mon, ladies. You know you like it." One of the kids tried not to laugh as he continued dancing ridiculously.
"You caught us, Erik. We're just jealous that we can't dance like you." Emily jokingly replied through the laughter.
"Well, hello there, pretty girl." A new voice came from behind JJ, causing her to stop laughing and turn around.
"Doug, what are you doing here?" JJ asked, instantly cringing at the thought of seeing her ex-boyfriend. She glanced over her shoulder to see Emily dancing closely with Erik.
"I heard there was a party and knew Emily would drag you out here." He explained, stepping closer.
JJ took a step back, wishing Emily would notice but knew she wouldn't. "You don't go to school here."
"JJ, it's the local state college. You're not as far from home as you think." He smirked and took another step closer.
"You followed me?" She asked incredulously, taking another step back but moved towards Emily this time.
"Already stumbling, JJ? How many drinks have you had? Can't even walk straight. Maybe I should take you back to your room." He shrugged, ignoring her question and talking a third step towards her.
Hoping she was close enough, she took another step backwards and thankfully bumped right into someone's back. She glanced over her shoulder, and mumbled, "Sorry", when she realized it was indeed Emily.
Not even looking up, Emily just raised a hand to wave it off.
"C'mon, JJ. You're drunk." Doug nodded towards the front door and grabbed her upper arm.
"No, I'm fine, Doug." She told him, emphasizing his name.
And that's all it took. Emily spun on her heel and glared at Doug. "Get your hands off her. Now." She ordered.
"I'm just trying to help her, Em. She's drunk." He told her.
"She is not drunk. Now. Get. Your. Hands. Off. Her. Doug." Emily repeated.
"She needs to go home. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her because you're both to intoxicated to get there safely."
JJ was starting to feel lightheaded at this point and struggled to pull her arm free.
"Oh, and you would know all about those situation, wouldn't you?" Emily spat.
"Well, duh. Everyone knows. They it in practically every class in high school." He smirked back.
"Let her go, Doug." She glanced at JJ, who was wincing in pain at the obvious grip he had on her arm.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Another voice joined the group.
JJ looked up and a rush of relief flooded through her at the sight of Derek and Spencer.
"Nothing, man. I'm just escorting my girl back to her room." Doug replied casually.
"No disrespect, man, but she doesn't look like she wants to go with you." Derek said calmly.
"Yeah, well, you know girls." Doug chuckled. "She's drunk and doesn't know what's best for her."
"I'm not drunk." JJ stated quietly. "And I'm not your girl, Doug."
"Shut up, JJ!" He snapped finally. "We're leaving!"
"Doug, you take one more step and I'll call the police." Emily threatened, reaching for her phone.
"And get everyone in here in trouble? You wouldn't, Emily. You value your reputation too much."
"Not over my best friend. You know that. I did it once, I'll do it again."
"C'mon man, let her go." Derek tried to persuade him. "We don't want this getting out of hand."
"And it won't. If you just let me by, we'll all be fine."
"Doug, I swear to God -." Emily was cut off by the sound of Derek's fist colliding with the side of Doug's face, knocking both him and JJ to the ground.
"You asshole!" Doug cried, causing people to finally look up.
"Now, I suggest you leave before I do it again." Derek all but growled at him, watching him scramble for the back door. "You alright, JJ?"He asked as he turned around. Emily had pulled JJ to her feet and into her arms behind him.
JJ nodded. "Y-yeah, thanks, Derek."
Emily smiled weakly at Derek in appreciation before focusing back on JJ. "C'mon, let's go back to the room."
"Hey, I'll walk you." Derek volunteered as they turned towards the front of the house.
"It's okay, Derek. I'm fine. Stay, enjoy the party." JJ told him. "I'll see you around."
Derek frowned as they left the room.
"Why didn't you go with them?" Spencer finally spoke up.
"I'm not sure." Derek replied quietly. "I think… we should give them some space."
"You alright, JJ?" Emily asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.
"Yeah, just… annoyed. I can't believe he showed up. It's been months."
"Do you wanna do something about it? We can call the police or go to the hospital and…" She trailed off.
"No, I… no, what good would it do? We didn't press charges before so… no. I'll just deal with it. It's my problem." JJ replied dejectedly.
"Hey." Emily tugged on her hand that JJ was clinging to. "I told you you didn't have to deal with this alone."
"I know, Em. It's just…"
"He wants you, not me." She finished. "And I get that, I do, JJ. Just… don't forget that you have people here."
"Thanks, Em." JJ smiled weakly.
"No problem. That's what friends are for."
They continued to walk in silence the rest of the way, including the two flight climb up the stairs to their room.
"We need to do something about this room. It's too crowded." Emily decided as she stood in the middle of the floor
"Okay." JJ nodded, agreeing just for the sake of agreeing.
And with that, Emily quickly thought out a plan and they spent the next hour moving the heavy wooden furniture before collapsing on the floor.
"That was ridiculous." Emily said.
"I'm exhausted." JJ agreed.
"Me too. Let's go to bed."
They crawled into their individual beds and the room fell in silence. Well, for a few minutes, at least.
"Derek looked hot tonight." Emily stated into the dark.
"Em!" JJ sighed.
"Don't deny it."
JJ hesitated but smiled after a minute. "Yeah, he did…"
Emily would have squealed in delight at JJ's declaration, but unfortunately she was already asleep.