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Chapter Thirty-Six: What Happened Between Them

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on." -Robert Frost

It was around 9 pm when Mike's samuraizer went off. He rolled over in bed and moaned. He'd had a long week at work that had consisted of almost 18 hour days. He registered the fact that it was his samuraizer and not his cell phone going off and sat up. Now more alert he answered it, fearing what he could be waking up to. "Hello?"

"Mike! I-I need-"

"Who is this?" he asked, throwing his blankets off and turning his lamp on.

"Serena."

"What's wrong?"

"I-I'm...I just got a call...oh my god!"

"Serena breathe. In...out. Ok. Now tell me-"

"Emily was in a car accident! Oh my god! I need someone...I need-"

"Serena breathe. Listen, I'm on my way," Mike assured her as he struggled to put on a pair of pants.

"I really need someone... I just...our parents are on vacation and they're in Florida and..."

"I'm leaving now," Mike assured her. "Call Mia and tell her- you know what I'll call Mia. Where are you?"

"Panorama City Hospital."

"Ok, stay there. I'll be a few hours, but I'll get a hold of Mia. Ok?"

"Ok...ok... Just please...I need someone here."

"I'm on my way." Mike hung up and grabbed his cell phone, shoving it in his pocket. He called Mia as he left his apartment.

"Hello?" Mia asked, sounding wide-awake.

"Hey, listen. I just got a call from Serena. Apparently Emily was in a car accident-"

"What?! Really?!"

"Yeah. Serena is at the hospital, but she needs some support. I'm leaving now, but I'm still a few hours away. Can you-"

"I'll be there."

"Ok. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Drive safe."

"I will." Mike got down to his car and slipped inside. He started it up and and headed off. As he started to drive, he couldn't shake a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew he'd said he'd go to give Serena support, but he had to be there for Emily too. "She's still my friend," he said to himself. "That's why I'm going. Because she's my friend."

-Two Years, Two Months, Three Weeks, and Four Days Ago -

Mike smiled as he watched Emily chasing chickens around. "I don't think she's ever going to catch them."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Emily's dad said sitting down next to Mike. "When Emily sets her mind to something very little can deter her."

"Oh I know."

"So, what exactly are your plans?"

"For the future? Oh I don't know. I was thinking about going into the city and trying to get a job."

"Just to work or..."

Mike shrugged. "Probably not. I mean, your farm is great, but I'd like to be in the city again."

Emily's dad frowned. "If I were you I'd talk to Emily about that."

"Why?"

"She might not agree with your idea."

"I'm sure she'll come around."

-Present-

Looking back on it, Mike could only shake his head. Her remembered all the good times he'd had with Emily. The two of them laughing and goofing around. Like they didn't have a care in the world. "People change," he told himself. "Times change. Everything changes."

-Two Years, Four Months, Two Weeks, Six Days Ago-

Mike smiled as he pulled Emily down onto the bed. He kissed her and smiled. "You're so amazing."

"You're so amazing," Emily replied.

"I know I am."

Emily rolled off of him and hit him in the face with a pillow playfully. "You're a dork."

"I thought I was amazing?"

"You're an amazing dork."

Mike considered for a minute. "I can accept that." Emily leaned over and kissed him again. Mike sat up against the headboard. "So, Em. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What?"

"I was thinking of getting a job and moving into the city."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I mean, the nighlocks are gone."

"So?"

"So it's time to do adult things. You know, get a job, pay rent, drink coffee."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I don't even want to imagine you on coffee."

"I'm serious. I want to try and start my life. Now that I don't have to worry about dying every week."

"Come on Mike, do you really want to do that? Isn't everything fine the way it is?"

"Well...yeah. But why settle for just this?" He gestured around them with his hand. "There's a whole world out there."

Emily sighed. "I just think you should give it more time." She leaned over and laid on his chest. "Ok?"

Mike sighed and kissed the top of her blonde hair. "Ok."

-Present-

The closer to Panorama City he drove, the worse the weather became. It hadn't been raining in Reefside, but going through Ocean Bluff the weather had apparently decided to get worse. It was a steady down pour there. But as he came up to Angel Grove, it was starting to get pretty bad. He knew they'd just had a thunder storm with a lot of weird lightning strikes the other day. Worry was playing in his mind as he drove. He was forced to drive a little on the slower side due to the weather. He gripped the steering wheel as he drove down the highway. "I have to get there. I have to!"

-One Year, Six Months, Four Weeks, One Day Ago-

Mike finished packing his bag and zipped it closed. He looked around the room and grabbed his sweater. The weather had been looking a little chilly lately. He grabbed his bag and headed downstairs. As he got to the kitchen he found Emily at the table. She looked up and frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Just into the city. I'll be back in a few days."

"Why?" She stood up.

"To look for a job. I saw a few ads in the paper and figured I'd try my hand."

"I thought we'd settled this. We're happy here the way things are."

"No, we decided that you're happy the way things are. I, on the other hand, want to move back into the city and start my life."

"And you can't start your life here?! What's wrong with here?!"

"Nothing! I just...I want to see what's out there. Your family is nice and everything, but I don't want to spend my whole life on this farm!"

"But what if I do?! Did you ever think about that?!"

"You don't have to come!"

"But I want to be with you!"

"I want to be with you too! But I won't sacrifice my potential in life just for you!"

"Is that what you think?! That I'd hold you back?!"

"A little bit yeah!"

"Is that why you just decided to go into the city without telling me?!"

"I don't need your permission! I'm an adult!"

"Fine! Whatever! Go ahead and leave! See if I care!"

"You're a brat, you know that?! You think everything has to revolve around you! 'Oh poor me. Poor Emily'. You know what, Emily, it's time for you to grow up!"

Emily glowered at him. She swung at him and he jumped back. He turned and ran from the room. Mike didn't waste anytime running through the door and jumping down the steps. He heard the screen door slam shut behind him and he turned around against his better judgement.

"Get out of here Mike!" Emily shouted. Her kind nature and voice hidden by her rage.

"You know, I thought you'd be happy for me!"

"How can I be happy when you so clearly made your point!"

"That's not what I-"

"Just get out of here!" She threw his bag at him.

He caught it and stumbled back as it hit him in the gut. "Fine!" he shouted, throwing it on the ground. "I will! But don't expect me to be coming back!"

"Good! I never want to see you again!"

-Present-

Mike squeezed the steering wheel again as he started to go faster. Bad weather be damned. "I'm coming Emily. I'll be there for you. I promise."