Chapter 3: Afterglow
After that day Emma stopped hiding how she felt about Draken. She was a lot more open about her feelings for him and she flirted with him a lot more openly now. At first her newfound confidence about this surprised him and he would get flustered at times when she spoke so honestly about how she felt for him but he soon got better at masking how she made him feel.
He never told her that he didn't feel the same way again. Not after that day when she had taken him completely off guard the first time that he had been made aware of her feelings for him. He had only ever said that he didn't feel the same once but never spoke it again. That had just been his first reaction without thinking.
He never repeated to her that he didn't feel the same way a second time, and she knew Draken. If he didn't at least feel something for her, he'd have told her by now. She could tell that he liked her too but for whatever reason he just chose not to say.
She contemplated asking Mikey if Draken had talked to him about her as she recalled his surprise at learning that Mikey had known the entire time that she had feelings for him, but as quick as the thought came to mind she shooed it away.
Draken deserved to have privacy too just like she had and she felt like it would have been wrong of her to ask her brother about Draken's secrets when he had kept hers for so long. She also didn't want Mikey to be involved in her relationship with Draken in that way. The three of them had a good relationship and the last thing she wanted was for her brother to feel like she wanted him to take sides. She'd have to figure this out on her own.
Emma decided that since she confessed first, she would wait for Draken to confess to her this time whenever he would be ready because he knew how she felt about him. All he needed to do was tell her how he felt.
Yes Emma had decided to wait for him to tell her how he felt when he was ready, but that didn't mean that she was waiting patiently. Ever since Shinichiro died she couldn't help but think about how the time that she had with people was limited. Death can abruptly halt everything and leave so much unsaid.
Ever since Shinichiro died she didn't like hesitating when it came to the people that she loved. It made her feel like she was losing time that she'd never get back with them and that played a big part in why once Draken knew how she felt she had stopped being so subtle.
Even if they weren't together she still wanted him to know that she cared about him. Her only problem was that after so long Draken got really good at making it look like he didn't care.
In the beginning she loved seeing how surprised he would get wherever she made subtle comments or openly complimented him but after he got used to it he barely reacted at all anymore and she became more determined to get him to admit that he at least cared a little even if they wouldn't start dating right away. She just wanted to hear him say that he cared about her.
She understood that she was younger than him and maybe that was why he was hesitating so much but if he could just be honest with her about how he really felt. After that she could wait forever if he asked her to. As long as he was honest with her about where she stood with him. To her if she had the promise of someday with him it would be worth waiting for but he had given her nothing when it came to what he might really want and at this point after so much time had passed since she confessed she didn't know what to think.
She started doing all kinds of things to try and get Draken to admit that he liked her but he was still dragging his feet even when they were alone together which didn't happen quite as often anymore but when they were alone together nothing had changed between them. It was still easy to be with Draken and lose track of time when they were together and after those moments that she spent alone with him she always wondered more about why he didn't want to tell her how he felt because to her it seemed like he did care he just wouldn't tell her and it was driving her crazy.
If he didn't like her he would have said something by now, she knew him well enough to know that for sure, but if he did like her then why was he waiting? She wanted to ask him about this the night that they went to the summer festival together but that night everything changed when he was stabbed.
Never in her wildest dream did she ever think that it would happen while they were together. Draken had gotten hurt because she asked him to go to the festival with her. If it hadn't been for her he wouldn't have been at the festival that night. She had thought over and over again.
She couldn't stand the thought that he was going to be gone way too soon just like her brother. It almost felt like everyone she loved was going to be abruptly torn from her like this and she felt helpless in those moments but Draken didn't die that day and she was able to see him again.
Emma visited him in the hospital twice and both times she had told him how relieved she was that he was okay. He reassured her the first time that she visited him that he didn't blame her at all for what happened. Neither of them could have known what was going to happen that night so she had no reason to blame herself. He had said that it wasn't her fault and she had nothing to be sorry for, he reassured her that time until she believed him.
He told her that she shouldn't worry about him anymore and that he had barely been injured and now that the doctors had seen him he'd be leaving the hospital soon.
They talked for a long time the first time that she visited him in the hospital and her mind was put at ease as he calmed her anxieties about what had happened but her heart felt heavy in a different way now.
During her second visit they just talked and watched movies together in his hospital room and Mikey showed up later and the both of them kept Draken company for a while. Draken didn't have parents or family members to look after him so Emma and Mikey made sure to be there if they could. Even their grandfather came and visited Draken once while he was in the hospital.
After visiting Draken that second time Emma was sure that she knew now. She had known Draken for five years. They were good friends and they always would be just friends. If a near death experience didn't make you want to tell someone all of the things that you never said she was pretty sure that that meant that he had nothing to say to her. How he felt about her wasn't a secret that she needed to figure out anymore. Draken did care for her. He cared enough to try and not break her heart right away which to her felt more cruel than a flat out rejection.
Emma left the hospital the second time and after that she didn't visit him again during his last few days in the hospital and now she barely spoke to Draken when he came to her house over the next two weeks.
Draken noticed almost immediately how it seemed like she was avoiding him but he didn't know what to say. He hadn't done anything that he remembered would have upset her and they didn't have some big fight either. He had thought that he and Emma were just fine until he left the hospital. Mikey was no help to him either when Draken finally asked him if he knew why Emma was mad at him.
"She said not to tell you." Was all that Mikey told him which frustrated Draken because how could he work things out with Emma if nobody told him what he did wrong.
After confronting Mikey about why Emma might be mad at him he marched right up to her room and knocked at her door. She opened it a moment later and once she saw him she closed the door right in his face.
"Emma let me in. I want to talk to you."
"Why? You've been out of the hospital for two weeks. We've talked plenty of times." She said on the other side of the door.
After considering what happened more Emma had thought that maybe she was being unfair to Draken while he was still in the hospital but he had been home for two weeks now which meant that she had no choice but to face the truth and try her best to get over him.
"Emma, can you please just open the door?" He asked sincerely, he really did just want to make things right with her.
Emma contemplated on whether or not she should let him in as she leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes as she thought about what she should do. She didn't want to have to hear him reject her for real. It wasn't just the fact that he didn't like her the way that she liked him. It was the fact that he never told her the truth. Even after nearly dying.
It was clear to her now that she didn't mean as much to him as she thought she did and his lack of transparency after she told him that she was waiting for him to tell her how he felt made her more angry than sad because all he had to do was be honest with her and she would have accepted however he felt as long as he was being honest about what he wanted and how he felt.
She waited for a long while as she calmed her thoughts and thought about what to say. Ultimately deciding that she'd just see what he wanted to say before trying to send him off as soon as she could if he hadn't already given up on the other side of her door and of course when she opened the door again he was right there waiting for her.
"What do you want?" She asked, looking up at him with a stern expression. Making Draken panic inside a little.
He looked surprised but Emma held her ground as she waited for his answer. He couldn't remember her ever being mad at him like this before and he scrambled to think about what could have possibly made her this upset at him.
"Can I come in?" He asked and she sighed before stepping aside and letting him in, closing her door behind him and leaning back on her door as he stood across from her.
"What do you want to talk about?" She asked as her eyes met his and she could see the sincerity in the gaze of his dark eyes and that was almost enough to break her, almost.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"What are you sorry for?" She asked, she doubted that he even realized what she was really upset about.
"I'm sorry that I ruined the summer festival for you. I know how excited you were for it and stuff with the gang ruined your whole night. I'm truly sorry about that." He said sincere and her expression budged the smallest bit when she heard how serious he was. He really was trying hard to make amends with her even if he didn't know why she was upset.
They had talked about what happened at the summer festival while he was in the hospital but he remembered how excited she had been before about going to the festival and how he never said sorry for ruining her night. That was the only thing that he could think about that could have made her mad at him.
Emma stopped looking at him so stern and her expression got soft as she tried to mask how sad this was all making her. She really couldn't keep giving him the cold shoulder when he was trying so hard to make things right.
"Draken I'm not mad because of Toman, I'm mad because of you."
"Was it something that I said?" He asked. He genuinely didn't understand why she was mad and she bit the inside of her cheek as she realized that she would actually have to talk to him about this when she had hoped to just let this die out.
"I was looking forward to going to the summer festival. I was looking forward to it because I was going with you but I couldn't care less about that now. After everything happened I just wanted you to be okay. When you went to the hospital all I could think about was everything that I never told you and when you woke up I was relieved. I wanted to tell you everything that I never said but after I visited you the second time, I realized that you almost dying didn't change anything for you when it came to me. I thought that maybe it was because you were in the hospital that maybe you were too overwhelmed so I tried not to dwell on it too much but after so long I realized that you probably really don't like me at all. Not the way that I like you. The fact that you almost died and you still weren't willing to ever tell me the truth even when you woke up you still never cleared the air with me and it hurt." She said as she struggled to keep her voice even.
She had already come to terms with the fact that Draken just didn't see her in the way that she saw him. Why was facing him so hard? She thought as an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
She wished that she had never told him how she felt and that she had quietly tried to snuff out these feelings on her own because she could see now that her unrequited feelings for him had only ever strained their relationship.
"It's okay to not like me." She continued her eyes never once moving from his as she spoke. "I just want you to be honest about it. I was willing to wait however long you needed if I had to but you getting stabbed just reminded me even more about how we never know how much time that we have left with anyone and despite knowing that and going through a near death experience yourself. You still don't care, so I'm letting you go." She said and she could feel the tears threatening to spill out the corners of her eyes as Draken watched her with kind eyes not saying a word as he listened to her.
His own thoughts started racing in response to what she had said as he contemplated what to say. He understood why she felt like this.
"You're right Emma we never know how much time that we have left with anyone. I should have told you." He said sadly as if everything had finally clicked.
"Yes, you should have." She said her voice small in the aftermath of this conversation and Draken sighed.
"Since you're going to let me go, can you do me a favor?"
"What do you want?" She asked defeated.
"Can you close your eyes? I can't say it with you looking at me." He said avoiding eye contact with her and her heart sank.
She thought it was weird but Draken was more sensitive then he let on so she closed her eyes so that he could tell her that he didn't like her. But when she felt his lips on hers a few seconds later, her eyes shot open. Catching him just as he pulled away from her. It was so quick and he was done almost as soon as he kissed her.
"Why, why did you ask me to close my eyes?" She asked surprised, quickly covering her mouth with her hand .
"Because I was closing mine." He said and he took a moment before speaking again.
"Emma I'm sorry for making you think that I didn't like you. I guess I was being unfair because I didn't think that me not saying anything bothered you that much. I should have at least told you why I didn't want to start dating you back then. I wanted to wait until I was good enough to be with you but I guess you are right about how we never know how much time we'll have with each other. I like you too." He said and her heart beat faster at hearing him say what she had been sure wasn't the case anymore. He kept going and she listened speechless.
"I like who you are and the things that you do and the way that things are when we're together. I like how it feels to be with you even when we're just sitting around doing nothing and you don't need to try so hard to get my attention because you're the only one who has ever had it. The only one who will ever have my attention. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to tell you and I'm sorry that I made you feel this way because you were unsure about where you stood with me."
"What are you talking about being good enough for? You're already good enough you dummy." She asked, still shell shocked that he actually liked her back when she had been so sure that he had made up his mind.
"I wanted to graduate high school and to get a job before I asked you out. I wanted to show you that I could be more than a delinquent and that I could have a stable future that wouldn't easily be uprooted." He said sincere.
"Draken." She held his hands and he squeezed them back. "I like you the way that you are now. I don't care if you do all those things or not. I want you to do them because you want to not because you think that's what I want you to do. You already deserve to have all of those things with or without me. I already know that you can be more than a delinquent. You should know by now how much I have always liked you." She said seriously and Draken smiled.
"Well if you still like me then do you want to officially be my girlfriend?" He asked as a light blush covered his cheeks and her heart did flips. She let go of his hands and looped her arms around his neck, surprising him and he put his arms around her waist in response, making her feel all kinds of butterflies at being held by him like this.
"Only if you kiss me again." She smiled. "I wasn't paying attention last—" He cut her off kissing her again and she kissed him back brushing her lips against his softly and she stood on her toes to try and meet even half of his height as he kissed her sweetly and her cheeks got red. This was only her second time kissing him and she already couldn't get enough of what she was sure would become her new favorite thing.
Draken pulled away first and she looked up at him with starry eyes before closing her eyes a moment later and pressing her forehead to his chest as she released a sigh.
"I'm sorry too." She said seriously as he still held her close.
"About what?" He asked, confused and she looked up at him again.
"I should have considered more about why you wouldn't want to date me right away." She said and she held him a little tighter. "I'm sorry if I was being selfish with you. I always like to think that I know you well but I feel like I may have been too hard on you over the past few weeks." She said, The soft look on her face telling him everything that he needed to know. She genuinely felt bad about being so mad at him.
"You don't need to apologize for how you feelt. It was hard for me to act like I didn't care sometimes. But I always knew that you liked me. I never told you how I really felt so I can't fault you for feeling how you did not when I never told you. If we're going to be together now, I promise to try and be more open about how I feel. It's not always easy for me but I'll try to be better at least when it comes to you." He said and she hugged him tight in response.
Draken was someone who was easy to fall in love with. By the time that she realized what was happening it was already too late and once she realized she couldn't help but fall more in love with him everyday. She wished that time would stop and she could stay close to him like this forever but that was the thing about time it didn't stop for anyone no matter how much you wanted it to. So she had no choice but to try and savor every moment that she could with Draken and hope that if she was lucky she'd be able to keep having moments like this with him forever.
A.N:
I finished rereading this chapter early so I decided to post sooner. The last update for this story should be up on Sunday. thank you for reading.