Brooks Scott

After my — failed — conversation with Emerson, I rushed to find Amelie. Lucky for me, I had remembered where her dorm room was.

Millions of thoughts and emotions had been coursing through me on the walk over there.

How did Amelie and Emerson know each other?
Why had neither of them mentioned each other to me?
Were they roommates?
Why the fuck was it so hard to stay on Emerson's good side?

I knew Emerson was a tough girl and a hard shell but I never pegged her for the physical fighting type. She was a couple of inches taller than Amelie and her force made the smaller blonde almost fall backward. She probably would have if I hadn't been there to stop the fall.

Emerson didn't tell me what happened between them and I didn't know if Amelie would be either. Hopefully, Sascha had tried to calm her down. I hoped she was okay.

My mind reverted back to a couple of minutes ago when Asher cut off my conversation with Emerson. He swooped in all macho and protective over a girl who wasn't even his girlfriend. It irked me to a new extreme but maybe it shouldn't have because that's exactly what I did with Amelie.

Only... that was different.

I had genuine feelings for Amelie.
It was obvious neither Asher nor Emerson had feelings for one another. That was just sex.

The wooden door before me had two names on it.

Lily James.
Amelie Jenson.

Amelie's was decorated with pink marker and written in cursive. The other girl, Lily, had hers decorated with a yellow marker and also in cursive.

So Emerson isn't her roommate. Check.

"Ugh, prick." A small voice came before I could raise my fist and knock on Amelie's door. My neck craned slowly toward where the sound came from. Emerson walked past me for the millionth time today.

"Eme-" I wasn't able to get her full name out before she walked into the dorm next to Amelie's and slammed the door shut. So they weren't roommates but they lived right next door to one another. That could be a reason for their troubles.

To my shock, Amelie's door opened a couple of seconds later. She flinched slightly when she noticed me. "Oh, hi," she muttered. She still looked small but more fragile than before. Her brown eyes were a bit puffy and the tip of her nose was painted red.

"Can I come in?" I asked in a softer tone than my usual one. She nodded slowly and opened the door wider for me. I walked into the extremely tidy room. One side of the room was yellow and the other was pink. Judging by their names on the door, I was able to come to a conclusion on which side was Amelie's.

She had her arms hugged around her small frame as she walked in behind me. There was no sign of Sascha or her roommate. "I'm sorry I didn't immediately come after you," I start. "I just wanted to know what happened so I asked Emerson first."

Her light brows furrowed. "You know, Emmy?" she asked, sniffling.

This time, it's my brows pulling together. Emmy? Why would Amelie call her Emmy? Isn't that a nickname she reserved for her friends? What the fuck. She definitely lied to me. I'm the only one who can't call her that!

"I mean Emerson," Amelie added when I didn't reply. "Sorry I'm just so used to calling her Emmy," she whispered.

I walk closer to her, not really caring if I'm up in her space. Her breath hitched slightly as I grabbed onto her elbows and looked at her with a concerned look. "Wait, do you know her? Emerson. Like personally?" I asked.

Amelie's face flushed a pink color as she nodded. "I'm guessing you know her too?"

Oh shit.

"Uhm yeah, sort of. You know that group of friends I was telling you about? The ones that took me under their wing? They're Emerson's friends," I explained.

She nodded slowly. "So Callum, Kai, Mina, Lacey, and all of them?"

My brows furrowed once again. "Uh, yeah. How do you know them?" I questioned.

Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I'm sure Emerson would have told you about me if you guys were friends," she mumbled.

"Friends is a loose term. We're more like...acquaintances. I can't get her to like me," I frowned thinking about it again.

Amelie didn't even giggle or anything. She's completely reserved right now and I didn't like it. "She hasn't told me anything about you. To be honest, I didn't even know you two knew each other until now. What happened between you and her?"

Maybe I was pushing her for answers but I was too damn curious for my own good. She knows Emerson as well as all her friends. She also called her Emmy. Which means either they used to be friends or she really lets anyone else but me call her that.

She walked away from me and paced the dorm while biting on her nails. "I honestly wish I could tell you why we're not friends anymore but..." She stopped pacing and looked at me.

"I have no clue, Brooks. We were friends one day and the next we weren't." Her eyes were glossy again and it cracked something in my chest. "I was friends with all of them. Me and Sascha were. Then...they just stopped talking to us after one big fight the group had."

Amelie sighed. "Emmy was my best friend. Not Mina's. It was me and her. Yeah, Sascha was also my best friend but Emerson and I were thick as thieves. Sisters." Her voice cracked slightly. "She's hated me ever since she declared that we weren't friends anymore. I try to stay away from her wrath but Sascha likes to cause problems with her sometimes and it throws me into the fire."

Her explanation brings more confusion to me. She doesn't even know why they're not friends anymore. But she did mention a big fight between the group.

"That fight you mentioned, between the group. Why did you all get into a fight?" I questioned.

Amelie looked up at me slowly and shook her head. "I don't know if I should say," she mumbled. "You're friends with them now and I don't think they've mentioned anything so maybe I should just shut it."

Fuck. I'm too curious to just let it go.

"Well maybe if I know, I can get a better understanding," I said. It was complete bullshit. There was no way I was going to be able to figure it out. I'm sure Emerson was aware of why she stopped being friends with her. I'd have to ask her but the chances of her telling me were probably lower than my SAT scores.

The small blonde eyed me wearily before nodding. "There was this bloke...Jack was his name. He was a part of our group and Emmy's boyfriend. One day, he was just gone and nobody knew where he went. For a couple of days, we tried to figure it out or wait to see if he came back but...he didn't."

She swallowed thickly. "Then this one night, the nine of us were together and Kai started accusing Emmy of knowing what happened to Jack. It was weird because they were besties, Emmy and Kai. But everyone knew how close Jack and Kai were and I think he was losing his head a bit, not knowing where Jack was."

Okay, that definitely paints a clearer picture of the tension between Kai and Emerson.

"We were all really close, Brooks. Like extremely. But when Jack disappeared, evident cracks started forming. Kai flipped out on Emmy that night because he thought she was the reason Jack left. Everyone was fighting and being mean to each other so I tried to mediate. That was a mistake 'cause Emmy looked at me and started going off about how big of a bitch I was and how much she hated me." Amelie shakes her head.

"I didn't know where it came from and I thought maybe she was just overstimulated and taking it out on me since I spoke up. Everyone kind of stopped after she attacked me and went their own way. A couple of days later when Sascha and I tried to sit with them in the canteen, they all very obviously ignored us. Emerson gave us dirty looks. Lacey did too even though she was a better friend to Sasc and me than to any of them."

Amelie sighed deeply. "Emmy was never as cruel as she is now. She was a really nice girl. Bitchy, yes, but only to those who deserved it. Now, she's like that to everyone and it hurts to see 'cause she used to be a decent being."

I nodded, believing her. Everything she told me kind of did paint a clearer picture for me.

That one night at the library I overheard a conversation between Kai and Mina talking about someone who was like family to Kai that Emerson supposedly made leave. It was this Jack guy. He was the reason Kai and Emerson weren't as close as they used to be. As for their group, they still seemed close to me. Lacey being closer to Amelie and Sascha at one point was something new.

She seemed to get along decently with the group too. I wonder why she decided to take the group's side over her best friends. Would that mean that maybe Amelie did do something terrible to Emerson? I look at the girl in front of me and just can't imagine anything horrible she could do. Not on purpose at least.

"Thanks for telling me," I said. She nodded slowly and I noticed her body shaking a bit. Carefully, I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her frame, hugging her. She quickly reciprocated the hug, laying her head on my chest. God, she was precious. How could Emerson hate this girl? It was obvious at one point she didn't.

I stayed for a bit longer just until I knew she was fine again before making up some excuse that Cal wanted me to meet up with him in the weight room. He did but I decided that I would attempt to talk to Emerson again first. When Amelie closed the door behind me, I made it seem like I was walking away but quickly moved back to the door next to hers.

Emerson Jenkins & Cora Jeffries.

I thumped my fist against her door lightly and leaned against the door frame as I waited for her to answer. Or anyone at that. It took about a minute before the door swung open and the moody rain cloud of a girl stared back at me. I smiled and she rolled her eyes, attempting to shut the heavy door. My hand stopped it and my force was stronger than hers so she couldn't get it closed.

"Ugh! What do you want, asshole?" she demanded as I let myself inside her room quickly, shutting the door with my back.

"Hello," an unfamiliar voice spoke. Both Emerson and I looked to the other side of the bedroom where a tall, dark-haired girl sat.

"Hi, I'm Brooks," I introduced myself to who I'm assuming is Cora Jeffries.

She smiled a bit, not returning the introduction and standing from her bed. "I'll be in the library." Cora picked up her backpack from the end of her bed and grabbed a large cup from her bedside table before sliding out of the dorm quickly.

"Do you not know what it means when a girl tells you to piss off? And walks away from you more than once?" she grumbled, walking toward the desk near a large window. Emerson was no longer in her school uniform. She had on a tiny, black spaghetti strap shirt that stopped right above her belly button and short, sleep shorts that lay low on her waist revealing a large part of her torso.

I swallow the sudden lump that formed in my throat. God, why have I never noticed how sexy long legs could be?

"Hello?"

Her voice takes me out of my thoughts or more like sexual desires and my eyes flit back up to her. Her brows are furrowed as she looks at me and crosses her thin arms over her chest. Oh, God. Can she not do that? Now I'm staring at her...

No! Brooks, seriously? Amelie is right next door!

"Look, I know you...don't like Amelie but that doesn't mean you have to take it out on me."

"You're friends with her."

"Yeah, so? We're friends too."

"You and me?"

I nodded and she fake chuckled.

"We're not friends if you're friends with that demon."

"Demon?! Emerson, please, she is not a demon. She's the nicest girl I've ever met!"

She fake gagged, sticking out her tongue and putting her finger near her mouth. I don't know why that sent shivers down my legs but I shook the cobwebs out of my head.

"Then explain to me," I cleared my throat. "Tell me why you don't like her."

"No," came her short reply.

I stepped closer, instantly regretting it when she leaned back against her wooden desk. "You want me to see your side and understand why you think she's the devil incarnate? I'll hear you out, Emerson. I just need to know."

She still has her arms crossed over her chest and I try my best to look into her blue eyes instead of...

Anyway, the look she has on her face is the same one she holds every day. Angry. She just looks pissed. "Don't act like you don't know the whole story. I'm sure she told you everything and anything to make me look like a psychopath."

The anger in her voice was clear. As much as I was trying to listen to her and be in the moment, I couldn't. Something was fucking with my head and I didn't know what it was. Her straight hair was pushed back behind her shoulders which revealed almost every inch of her round face.

She had removed the red stain from her lips, leaving them pink and plump. Whenever she was mad, they turned into this pout that made them stick out more. My skin heated as I looked up from her lips to her eyes. Those fucking pretty blue eyes. Why do they have to be on her? Why did she have to be so fucking beautiful?

Ahhh, fuck. Stop thinking with your dick, Brooks. Focus!

"She doesn't even know why you guys aren't friends anymore-"

"Sure she doesn't."

"She doesn't! And if you tell me what ruthless thing she did then maybe I wouldn't be so over fixated on the fact that you're being way too harsh on her," I argued.

Emerson narrowed her eyes in my direction. "If she doesn't know the reason me and my friends dropped her ass then that's on her. I don't care if you don't believe me or take her side over mine. Your little crush on the girl will overshadow anything I say anyway," she barked.

Her comment takes me aback. How did she know that? Was it that obvious? "Emerson, stop being so difficult. I'm just trying to understand. Whatever I feel for her won't change the way I feel about whatever you tell me. We're friends now, right? I'll trust that you're being honest," I said truthfully.

She doesn't immediately fight back which makes me think she might believe me. That is until she stands straight, looking up at me with her shoulders pushed back. "I don't care what you think about me and I don't need to explain myself to you or her. If she can't understand how terrible of a friend she was then that's on her."

Her blue eyes darken in a way I've never seen before. "So piss off, Brooks." Emerson walks past me and I grab her wrist, pulling her with a little bit more force than I intended. She gasps so lowly but loud enough for me to hear.

"I didn't say I was done talking to you," I said in almost a whisper. Her eyes are no longer dark but hold a different emotion that I can't decipher.

She swallows thickly. "Well, I'm done. Now get out." Her voice isn't as confident and venomous this time which makes me believe that she's no longer putting up a fight.

I slowly let go of her wrist and she watches as I drop her hand. "See you later, friend."

"Whatever," she mumbled out a reply as I slipped out of her dorm and defeatedly made my way back to my dorm.

This was going to be fucking difficult.