Brooks Scott

It didn't dawn on me until I made it back to my dorm room all of what Amelie had told me. The story of her falling out with Emerson and her friends. Her story had given me more of an insight than she knew considering she explained to me how the argument started with Kai and Emerson.

Kai had a best friend who he saw as family. That best friend was also Emerson's... boyfriend? Holy shit. I had also forgotten that. Her boyfriend was Kai's best friend, Jack. When Jack had left and no one knew what happened, Kai started to place the blame on Emerson.

She most likely had no clue about what happened and now Kai seemed to have a grudge over her. But I remember Mina saying that Kai didn't know anything about what happened. Does that mean Mina knew something that no one else did? What else was Emerson hiding about the sudden disappearance of her ex-boyfriend?

Oh, God...
Was this about to turn into a murder mystery?

Emerson didn't look like a killer and Mina most definitely did not look like an accomplice to murder.

Still, I had not one ounce of information about what Amelie could have done to have Emerson attack her in the way she did and then never speak to her again. Why did girl drama have to be so difficult to understand?

I returned to class the next day and entered Professor Shaw's class. My eyes immediately landed on a tiny blonde who also returned eye contact just for a second before she looked down at the book in front of her quickly. Shit. Was the same thing that happened to Amelie about to happen to me?

Confidently, I walked to my usual seat next to her and plopped down. If she didn't ignore my ass now then maybe she could help me find out why Emerson and Amelie have a feud. "Hey, sunshine," I chirped, pulling out my textbook. Mina looked at me quickly and gave me a sweet smile. "Oh, hi," she replied.

Hm. She was usually more talkative with me.

I sighed, "So I'm guessing Emerson told you about our little interaction yesterday." It was obvious. There was no other reason Mina would act this standoffish toward me. Despite her best friend's feelings toward me, Mina had never been shy of showing me kindness.

Mina winced slightly, nodding her head. "Brooks, Amelie is not an easy topic for Emerson. They have a past," she admitted easily.

My brows furrow. "Were they lovers?"

Her eyes widen with shock and her cheeks turn a deep shade of pink. "No! Friends! Best friends! Until...they fell off," she told me.

Yeah, I know that much already. I needed to know why!

"Yes, well look, Mina, Amelie is my friend. Just like you guys, I met her on my first day at HP and she's been nothing short of kind to me. It's just hard to wrap my head around the fact that a girl like Amelie could be hated for no reason by a girl like Emerson," I stated.

"Well, it's not no reason, Brooks. There is a reason. Emerson, despite her bubbly personality — sarcasm obviously — doesn't hate people for no reason. Again, Amelie is not a light topic," Mina insisted.

"Can I know this reason? Even a little hint? I'm really trying here, Mina. You know how much I've tried to get on Emerson's good side. I want to be her friend too. I'm just trying to understand this whole mess first," I pleaded.

Maybe when I had a better understanding of what went down then I could hash out what went wrong on both sides. I'm not picking sides, that's not happening. Not even after I figure it all out. If I even do.

Mina makes a wincing face again like she doesn't want to utter a word. "Look, I'm not going to say because Emmy's my best friend and I don't owe Amelie anything but..." She looks around the classroom. "Let's just say it has to do with...him. If that's not enough for her to understand then I don't know what is. But that's all I'm going to say!" She holds her hands up before making a zipping motion over her mouth.

Wait, does 'him' mean Jack? Does all the drama in the friend group stem from that dude? I don't know if Amelie could come up with a reason if I tell her it's because of Jack but we'll see. It's worth a try.

I nodded. "Thanks, Mina."

At the end of the school day, I texted Amelie and asked to meet up in the courtyard. I could tell she was a bit suspicious as she walked up to the table I saved for us. "Hi," she greeted me with her perfect little smile. She looked a lot better than she did the other day, brushing down her skirt before sitting down.

"Hey," I smiled and scooted closer to her. A slight flush covered her cheeks. "How are you feeling today?" I asked her.

"Good. Better than yesterday," she assured me. I didn't want to immediately ask her about the situation from yesterday. She was feeling better about it so maybe I should just drop it but I want to know. I need to know. It feels fucking agitating having to pick between Amelie and Emerson.

The decision should probably be easy. I should pick the girl who actually likes me and who I obviously like back over the girl who barely acknowledges my presence and makes faces whenever I speak. But fuck it wouldn't hurt to get both sides of the story.

After about an hour, I bring up the topic again as best I can to not make her feel uncomfortable again. "Hey, so, about yesterday," I started, speaking in a softer tone. "I think I might  have a clue to get you to figure out why Emerson decided to stop being your friend."

Her brows furrow slightly but her expression doesn't read that she's upset. Yet. "What is it?" she questioned.

"Mina told me that it has to do with him. Emphasis on the word him. She said that should make sense to you. Her words, not mine," I explained.

Amelie looked down, confusion crossing her features for a couple of seconds. I could see clearly when the color drained from her face and she stood up, beginning to pace. I realized that pacing back and forth might be something she did when she was anxious or overwhelmed.

The students around us were too busy with whatever they were doing to notice Amelie's pacing. I followed her and grabbed her arm to stop her. "Did she mean Jack?" Amelie whispered like she was scared someone would hear her. I shrugged my shoulders.

Maybe it was but how could I be sure?

"Oh, God Brooks, it is. It's about Jack," she said, startled. Amelie avoided eye contact again and when she looked back at me, she was shaking her head quickly. "You're going to hate me. Emmy has a reason to hate me. She does! I just didn't know it until now," Amelie rambled.

I grabbed her face in my hands to calm her heavy breathing. "Hey, you're okay. Just explain it to me, Amelie. I'm here to listen, not judge, alright? I promise." It took her a second but she nodded, her brown eyes gleaming with trapped tears that I hoped wouldn't fall.

She grabbed her and my bag from the table and pulled my hand away. I didn't ask where she was taking me but we ended up in the back of the courtyard where no one could see us. The only thing around us was the infamous Havenpoint forest.  Her pacing began again but I let her do it until she was ready to speak.

"Look...to be fair, I didn't know Emerson would still be mad over this because when it happened months ago, she said it was fine and we were still friends for months after it happened, okay? She never insinuated that she was still pissed or hated me for this," Amelie started, looking at me with pleading eyes.

I nodded for her to go on. "A couple of months before Emmy and Jack started dating...he and I...we," she paused, swallowing. Her eyes were on the ground now. "We slept together," she said so lowly that I almost didn't catch it. My eyes widened until she looked up, most likely to catch my reaction.

"Okay.."

"I told the girls about it the day after it happened and maybe I wasn't paying enough attention but Emmy didn't look upset. No one else really said anything against it either. It wasn't until a couple of days later when Mina asked if I knew that Emmy had feelings for Jack. I swear if I had known, Brooks, I would have never gone anywhere near him. She never told me she had a crush on him and he never said anything about her in that way either," Amelie explained.

She looks distressed, shaking her head. "I mean yeah, Jack would flirt with her but he would also flirt with me. I thought it was just his personality. Also, there were no feelings involved on either side. It was just a one time thing for us."

I slowly took in all her words and so far it didn't look good for her. "So then what happened after that? Emerson never confronted you about her feelings for him?"

"No. I apologized to her a million times over after Mina told me and she insisted that it was fine and I didn't know. Her words alone made me think that it was fine even though I felt horrible about it," Amelie told me. "God, even Sascha, and Imani knew she had feelings for him. For some reason, I just couldn't tell."

My brows furrowed. "Emerson told Sascha, Imani, and Mina even though you were supposed to be her best friend?" I questioned.

She shook her head. "That's the thing, she didn't tell any of them. They just knew."

Oh. Now I see why it looks bad on her.

"When that fight happened after Jack left, she called me horrible names and even told everyone why I got sent to Haven. I had told her that in confidence as my best friend and it just came out so quickly in front of everyone," she muttered, her voice cracking slightly.

"Is it bad?"

"What?"

"The reason you got sent to Havenpoint?"

Her face flushes pink. "It's embarrassing, yes."

We had talked about this once but she never told me the reasoning behind it. "Can I know? Do you trust me enough?"

She looks up at me with those big doe eyes again. "You would never speak to me again. That's how bad it is," she whispers.

Well, now I really want to know. "I doubt that. We all have a past. Like I said, I'm not here to judge. Just listen." I give her a reassuring smile.

She grabs the sides of my unbuttoned blazer and leans into me. "Why do you have to be such a good guy? Actually, scratch that. Be a good guy, we need more of them."

I chuckle. She looked so cute right in this moment that I could kiss her. "I'm listening, gorgeous. Spit it out."

Her cheeks flush again and she slowly releases my jacket. "I-" She stops herself a couple of times before spitting it out. "My ex-boyfriend at school exposed our sex tape."

Oh, shit. Fuck. Fuckkkk.

"I didn't think he would show anyone, okay? But he did and somehow it got leaked. I was the laughing stock of the school for weeks before I told my mum and she shipped me out here. Trust me, I rather be here than there after that incident," she stated.

Well dammit Emerson, why'd you have to expose her like that?

"I'm sorry about that, Amelie. No one fucking deserves that. What Emerson did and what he did to you." I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

Her small body softened into mine and her breath steadied again. "Thanks for not thinking I'm a total freak...and listening," she said. We pulled back but she kept her arms wrapped around my waist and I kept mine around her neck.

"I'm not going anywhere." Her cheeks flushed and even in the gloomy lighting, she looked so bright and beautiful. I wanted to kiss her so bad. Something physical between us had been looming but hadn't happened. Right as I was about to lean in, something stopped me.

I didn't know what but my head told me not to.

Not right now.

A shiver racked through her body. "Let's get you inside," I tell her, rubbing her arms twice for warmth before we made our way back inside the school.

Maybe another day.