"Wyle, I want to... kiss you right now. Can I?" Emial asked softly. I felt her hand rest itself on my upper thigh as we sat there in the silence, staring into each other's eyes.

I felt myself start to inch toward her, shifting my hand from between my legs to rest it on hers.

"Wylie, you look sooo cute in that skirt, babe," Emma chirped. She was holding my hand, swinging it around as soft music played from the high-tech speakers installed in her bedroom. The lights were dim and everything was a little fuzzy, but she looked amazing in the soft orange glow of her bedside lamp.

I laughed giddily. She was making me so nervous. She was a bit blurry, though. Actually, everything was. I wondered why for a moment, but forgot when she started to step closer to me.

I stepped back as she got closer and closer, wanting her to chase me down like I did something naughty and she was going to be the one to punish me. I felt something happen and my legs gave away, so I started falling back. She caught me by the waist, laughing beautifully, her long hair brushing my neck and shoulders. "Careful, love! You almost fell onto my dressing table!"

Oh, my, she called me 'love'!

"Want some more?" she asked, pulling me back onto my feet and waving a bottle in front of my face. I didn't know what it was because I couldn't see the label, but I nodded, anyway, because I wanted her. And I wanted her badly.

I grabbed the bottle as she handed it to me, chugging it down. At least it'll distract me from wanting her so badly.

"Hey, tell me what you think of me. Here, come over here," she started, dragging me towards her bed. Is she going to have sex with me? Why are we going towards the bed? I hope she has sex with me.

"Tell me, sweetie, talk to me. Spill your feelings. I'll listen, I promise," she cooed, and I saw her holding something in front of me, like a mic. Is that a phone?

She grabbed my chin all of a sudden and tilted my head to look into her mesmerizing blue eyes.

She whispered in the sexiest tone I've ever heard, "What do you want right now, Wylie? Tell Emma everything you're feeling."

"I think you're so pretty, Emma. Can I kiss you?"

"No," I snapped, whipping my head away. "I have to go."

I quickly got up, suddenly hating Emial even though I knew, deep down, she hadn't done anything wrong. Still, she was seducing me. Didn't she have anything better to do? Did she have a life of her own?

"Are you serious?" she asked like she genuinely wasn't sure, chasing after me as I made my way down the cramped hallway toward the entrance. I clicked my tongue at the array of carelessly removed shoes blocking the path.

"What do you mean, 'are you serious'? Don't I have the right to leave? Are you going to keep me here until I have sex with you? Is that what you invited me here for?" I hissed, turning to give her an accusing scowl. I knew my temper was rising because of what I had remembered when she asked me to kiss her - not because of Emial or anything she did, but my guard was up and I didn't want to take any chances. I still couldn't trust her - all she had was a pretty face and a charm that made my heart race.

I wasn't going to be the naïve person that they all treated me like I was.

She looked taken aback at my words, holding her arms open with her jaw dropped. "I... I didn't... I would never do something like that, Wyle. I just thought we..."

She stopped herself short, hanging her head for a second, then looking up at the ceiling and biting her bottom lip as if to keep tears from falling.

They slid down her cheek against her will and this was the second time since I came over. I could see the tracks glistening under the dim hallway light. This time there was no escaping. There was no pretending it never happened.

Still, she rushed to clear the tracks, turning her back to me as if it would make it any less obvious.

We stood silently in the hallway, myself conflicted as to whether I should leave now or stay to make things up. Once she finished wiping away her tears, she didn't turn again to face me, but said in a quiet, defeated tone, "Okay. I'm really sorry if I ruined your day. See you in school."

Silence followed and she still didn't turn around. I could see her small hands balled into fists by her sides, the ends of her long sleeves bunched up in her grip. I wanted to say something, maybe explain myself, but I didn't know how.

In the end, I simply opened the door and left without saying a word. It was a cowardly move, I knew.

She didn't deserve someone like me, anyway.

On my way home, I went through what had just happened in my head. It was probably a good thing I had stopped the kiss. I mean, what would have happened afterwards? There would be complications, especially in terms of our relationship with each other.

I didn't want to have to start dating her just because of some kiss.

In another case, she could have used it against me. She could have used me like Emma had done.

It was best to just stay away from her.

However, I should definitely apologise for the way I acted... Right?

What if she was crying all alone right now because I left? I mean, she only asked to kiss me. In fact, it was caring of her to have asked at all. I was pretty sure I seemed eager enough. She was a friend, after all... I was the one not making myself clear about how I really felt. I could've just avoided the kiss politely and continued having a nice time with her... As friends.

My heart ached at the thought of her alone in her small, unkempt apartment, her big brown eyes puffy and red as she lay curled up in a ball on her makeshift bed.

Before I could talk myself out of it again, I was taking the next U-turn and making my way back to her house.

Once I made it back to her doorstep, I took a deep breath, going over what I had prepared to say, then rang the doorbell.

Silence followed. After a minute or so, the door slowly opened to reveal Emial's tear-stained face.

We stood there looking at each other awkwardly for what felt like ages. I forgot everything I had been planning to say at the sight of her hurt expression - I was such an asshole for leaving her like that.

Emial sniffled, then asked in a small voice, "Did you forget something?"

I bit my lip nervously, the guilt and shame eating me up with each passing moment. "No. I just realised that I probably shouldn't have... Walked out on you like that. And said those things."

She paused, sniffling again, and a small smile formed on her lips. "You're lucky you didn't stay. You won't believe how horrifying my sobs sounded when you left. Man, I was wailing like a real baby."

She chuckled at herself, sniffling again and wiping her nose on her sleeve. I rolled my eyes, keeping down a gag, then continued what I had come here to say, "I'm just here to say sorry, okay. I'm the one who should've been apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong."

She just tilted her head, smiling at me. She looked a mess, but the twinkle of her usual charming gaze was back. "Uh, if you want we can... Actually sit and talk. Only if you want to. I'm not gonna lie, I don't want you to go. I like being around you. You-"

"Alright, alright, don't go all sappy on me now," I interrupted, waving my hands in the air. I felt my cheeks flushing at how sweet she was being despite everything that had just happened.

She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms. I noticed, then, that she was a good few inches taller than me - I was wearing flats for once. "You wanna come back in, then?"

I hesitated. "It's getting a little dark already, anyway. I should probably go home. My mum's also been really worried because I've been out late a lot recently. I'll come around another time, Emial. How about tomorrow?"

She ran a hand through her hair - an incessant habit of hers, I noticed. The pink stripe broke away into smooth strands, a few falling over her brown eyes in an aesthetic way. "Sure. I got band practice again tomorrow, but you can hang with us. I'd love for you to meet the band-mates. They'll love you. It'll be nice having a level-headed person around for once. No piercings, no funky clothes, natural hair colour..."

"Hey, I can do that stuff, too! I'm not that boring," I said with a pout.

She grinned, her smile lines showing beautifully. "Oh, no, of course you can. But I like you like this. It shows you make better decisions than me. Plus, natural beauty is sexy."

I felt my face heat up at the last comment, but tried to play it cool. "Okay, tomorrow, then. I'll drive you."

"Hey, thanks, darling. See you in school, then." She gave me a wink, turning to go back into her house. Before I could walk back to my car, she paused and turned back around. "Call me Emi, by the way."