Emily's POV

You know, the moment when you're doing or talking to your friend about something very personal that you don't want anyone to know beside the person you're talking to but then your mom or dad walks in and ruins the entire mood of your secret conversation. Then you just want to light their hair on fire for interrupting.

It's even worse when they come in for no reason but just to check up on us. It just makes you want to pull your own hair out of your skull.

That's exactly how I feel when Luke pulls away. I still feel a little dizzy and shaken up from what just happened or was about to happen. Would he have kissed me? Would I have kissed him back? Would I have liked it? As much as I want the answer to all those questions be 'yes', I can't help but think that it might be a 'no'.

I mean, a simple kiss can change everything. It can lead to something positive or negative. A kiss will either tell you how two people feel towards each other and will lead to happiness or it can destroy your friendship.

Luke's hands tightening around my waist bring me back from my thoughts on the 'kiss theory'. I look up at him to see him staring at someone over my shoulder. His face is no longer soft. He is staring at the person behind me with coldness in his eyes and his jaw clenching. He looks kinda hot though...

Snap out of it Emily! This is not the time for ogling!

I don't even have to guess who our interrupter is because it's so obvious. That bitch is gonna get it now.

I turn around to come face to face with her. Maria. She is wearing a long maroon dress that's showing off her curves perfectly. Her hair is pulled up in a bun with the whole lakme store caked on her face. She looks like a model with long legs and a perfectly tanned skin. She looks fiercely stunning which doesn't help my self-esteem to dodge her judgmental arrows.

Great.

Not wanting to look intimidated by her ferocious glare, I pull on a confident face.

"Ah! Maria. We meet at last." I say sounding way too formal. However, I like when Luke talks formally with people just to annoy them. Like when he flipped out Millie and handed her, her ass. Its really funny, to watch Maria giving the same reaction as Millie did, irritation.

I can feel Luke smirking behind me. He knows I'm using this trick to annoy her.

"I am not in the mood for Kung Fu Panda, Emily." She sneers at me with venom in her voice.

Kung Fu Panda? What the freaking hell?

I am gonna have to check if any mental asylum is missing a patient.

I decide to ignore the minor manufacturing defect in her brain and continue.

"What do you want, Tai Lung?" I say, mocking her with the cartoon villain from the same movie.

"I want you to stay away from Luke, he's mine. And Tai Lung is from 'Toy Story' by the way, if you wanted to mock me with a character from Kung Fu Panda then you should've chosen Nemo."

I look at Luke and his expression is the same as mine, amusement. We both are asking each other the same question: How many brain cells has she lost?

"Um... I am not a property to own, Maria. Are you okay by the way?" Luke asks smiling with humor while I am trying to stifle my laugh.

Maria has either drank too much or she has escaped some mental asylum. She just ruined three of my favourite animation movies! She definitely needs attention. Kung Fu Panda with Nemo? WHAT?

This girl's got issues.

I'm starting to feel a tad bit sorry for her. Not.

"Enough! Listen close, Emily. I don't know what your problem is but I want you away from Luke. You are nothing but a hideous, insecure bitch who is in desperate need of attention. You are weak. A good for nothing, useless bitch."

Boom. Her words slap me across the face. The smugness on her plastic face tells her that she has hit the nail right on the head. The humor and amusement on my face is long gone and I am just staring at her in shock. My breath is caught in my throat as I try to stand still.

"There you are, Maria." A new voice speaks. A man comes and wraps his arm around Maria's waist. She seems a little shocked but quickly covers it up.

"You better tell your pathetic excuse of a girlfriend to shut up before I loose my shit." Luke says in a low voice that causes the hair on the back of my head to stand up. Maria grows pale from his warning. Even I can feel that his anger is hanging by a very thin thread.

"Excuse me? You have no right to-..." the man starts but this time I speak up.

"Maria, why don't you tell your boyfriend why you came to talk to us in the first place. Why don't you tell him that you were willing to cheat on him with Luke here. Or tell him that you are in fact cheating on him with another guy, Matt is it? Why don't you tell him that when Luke came to see you a few days ago, you were with Matt in your house and that he was practically eating your face."

I can't even control the words coming out of my mouth right now. Maria is growing paler and paler by the second while the other guy, John maybe is staring at me wide eyed.

"The thing is, Maria, that you are so crazily messed up and so busy in tossing your boyfriends around that you don't realize that you are going to break their hearts in the end. You think know one will know because you're so good at two timing your lap dogs but guess what, now everyone knows how big of greedy bitch you are."

I am glad that the music is actually loud enough to suppress our voices because I obviously don't want to cause any commotion in an event like this.

"Now, I think its time for us to go. Farewell Maria. And please watch Kung Fu Panda once again, I insist, you're going to love it."

I finish my speech and grab Luke's hand pulling him out from the dance floor leaving a shell shocked Maria and a flustered John behind us.

As much as I am proud of myself, I try keeping my emotions stable because her words stung deep. I try to keep my tears at bay as her words ring around my head. Hideous. Insecure. Weak.

"That was awesome Emily! You completely burned her! God her face was a sight to see." Luke says when we stop at a corner where no one can spot us.

I take deep breaths trying to calm myself down. I don't reply to Luke as I stand there trying to throw Maria's words out of my mind.

She can be Millie's long lost twin I swear. They both have this creepy obsession with Luke and don't even think twice before they say anything. They both have this intimidating aura and cold menacing eyes that could turn you into stone just like the monster, Medusa.

The both definitely qualify as sisters.

"Ems, are you there?" Luke asks. My back is facing him, so he can't see me. I nod lightly and take another deep breath. I decide to turn around but Luke beats me to it by grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around. As soon as I face him, I close my eyes. I am almost ready to drink some salt water and puke out the cookies that I ate.

"Open your eyes." He commands. I shake my head no.

"Open your eyes, Emily." He commands again, his voice thick.

I sigh; I know its no use fighting him because he isn't going to give up any time soon. I open my eyes and meet his blue ones.

"What's wrong?"

"Insecure. Hideous. Weak..." I trail off continuously. My voice coming out in whispers.

"What?" he asks again, his face is masked with confusion. He leans his head down as I continue whispering the words. He pulls away suddenly and looks at me in the eyes. A look of realization crosses his face and he takes my hand and starts walking towards the very back of the room where there is a small door. He opens the door and pulls me out.

We stand in what appears to the back lawn of the hotel. It's completely empty and dark with only the moonlight giving us some light.

Soon, I am wrapped under Luke's arms.

"You can't let her get to you, pumpkin. There is no truth in her words. You're so strong, so beautiful and so much better than her." He says. His words warm up my heart but I can't shake off the feeling of self-loathing.

"I am too sensitive, aren't I. I just cry over every little thing." I say, my voice shaky.

"No." he pulls away. I don't even realize that I am crying until he wipes my check with his thumb. He grips my shoulders in a firm hold.

"Emily, being sensitive doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. Moreover, you cant be a robot that doesn't have any emotions, which would be so boring. Don't ever waste your tears on someone who isn't worth it." He finishes with a heart-warming smile.

"Thank you, Luke. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I cant ever thank you enough for all that you've done for me, Luke."

"Its no big, pumpkin. C'mon now, its getting pretty late, we should head back home now, what do you say?" he says, guiding me back inside.

"Yeah, I'm knackered."

"But, one condition though." He says, stopping us for a second. I raise an eyebrow at him signaling him to go on.

"You have to eat three more cookies."

................................................

Luke's POV (haven't done this in a while.)

I guide Emily back inside towards the table that serves cookies. She grabs a plate and takes another three cookies. The others join us and soon enough we all are talking. I see Emily talking to Alice as she is nibbling her cookies and I remember the conversation I had with Alice when we were dancing.

Flashback-

"Wanna dance, Ems?" Alex asks Emily.

"Yeah sure." She replies taking his hand as they walk off towards the dance floor.

Why the fuck does Alex want to dance with Ems? There are so many other girls around yet he chose Emily. She is my date. My hands are in fists when I see them dancing.

"Luke, would you like to dance?" I hear Alice ask.

"Sure, but don't you want to dance with your boyfriend?" I ask as we walk towards the dance floor.

"He is busy dancing with his sister." She says chuckling.

I look around to find Cole dancing with Emily. Its true that Cole treats Emily as his sister but it is still nagging me inside. When will I get to dance with my date?

"So, when are you and Emily planning to get married?" Alice asks capturing my attention.

What the freaking hell?

"I don't know what you're talking about." I reply. She laughs as we sway to the music.

"Luke its very obvious that you like her by the way you stare at her all googly eyed." She says nonchalantly.

Okay, that's embarrassing. Am I that obvious? Maybe I am.

"She doesn't feel the same way, Alice. Switch the topic." I say sighing. Its true though, I've been friend-zoned by the girl that I have feelings for.

"Oh god, how naïve can you be, Luke? You like her and she likes you, everyone knows it. Just get together and have babies already." She whines. Has she lost her mind?

"Alice? Are you okay or have you completely gone nuts?"

"My point, Luke, is that Emily likes you, like really likes you. But she will not act upon it because she is just like that. You have to make the first move, Luke. And when you do, she wont reject you, I guarantee it." Alice says sighing lightly. I contemplate over her words as we dance in silence.

"Okay, now go and dance with your girl, I want to dance with my boyfriend now." She says, turning me and giving me a push towards Emily.

I walk a little further to see her dancing with Justin. Great. She has danced with everyone but me. The boys cant leave her alone can they? Those bastards. If its so obvious that I have feelings for Ems, then why cant they leave her alone? Is this some kind of punishment for not getting with Emily till now?

Because if it is, then I have had my fill.

When Justin spins her around, I take the opportunity to pull her into my arms.

"Finally." I mutter as I place my hands on her waist and the song changes.

Flashback ends-

I smirk virtually in my head as I recall the almost kiss I had with Emily. The kiss that would've changed everything. It would've told me if I had a chance with Emily or not but Maria just had to interrupt.

She had no right to say those things to Emily. If she had continued, I was sure that I would've forgotten all my manners and beat her up to pulp and then probably get arrested and put in jail for attempted murder. However, I wouldn't have regretted it completely.

Emily did put her into place though. She spilled all of Maria's deeds in front of her 'boyfriend'. She looked pretty badass and hot I might add.

But what hurt the most was when she was on the brink of breaking down when I took her out to the lawn. Her eyes had nothing but insecurity and self-loathing and it made my heart quench. She didn't deserve to be called weak. She doesn't deserve to be called anything negative because she isn't it. She's simply beautiful, so beautiful.

She has to stop thinking so low of herself. She has to see that she is much more stronger than she thinks herself to be.

"We should head back, its getting late." I hear Cole say.

Everyone nods in agreement and we all bid my parents goodbye.

When we reach home, I head upstairs to my bedroom to take a shower. After listening to at least five songs, I come out and change into my track pants. I head downstairs to get some water when I find Emily and Alex in the kitchen laughing over something.

I can't help but feel a tad bit of jealous right now. Okay that was an understatement. I am actually bursting inside with jealousy right now. UGHHH!

"What are you two laughing about?" I ask, trying not to sound too jealous. I know that Alex is practically Emily's big brother because of how protective he is of her. But you can't blame me right?

"We're just waiting to hear Cole's reaction when Justin is going to blast 'Hey Mama' outside his room where him and Alice are getting it on." Alex says and I practically choke on my drink.

Cole is going to be so pissed. Poor Justin. I can't even imagine what he will have to go through after pulling a stunt like this. No wonder Cole was so impatient to come back.

"I gonna head to bed, I don't want to get involved in World War 3." Alex says exiting the kitchen. We bid him goodnight as he departs.

Emily and I sit in silence, its not awkward, its actually good. Not long after, we hear shouting.

"JUSTIN YOU ASSHOLE!" Cole yells as we see Justin running like a maniac downstairs.

Cole finally spots him and starts running towards him yelling profanities. Justin dashes into the kitchen and tries to hide behind Emily which is pretty silly considering the fact that Emily is almost half his size. Cole enters the kitchen and stands in a stiff position with his arms crossed watching Justin crouching behind an amused Emily.

"Get out of the way, Ems. I have to kill that bastard." Cole says in a cold threatening voice. He's pissed beyond normalcy. How are you gonna get out of this Justin?

"No don't move, Ems please. I don't wanna die." Justin pleads continuously while Emily laughs. I watch with a smile as Emily continues laughing and Cole and Justin continue to shout at each other.

God her laugh is so beautiful. She looks carefree and the way her eyes crinkle make my heart beat faster. How she always throws her head back in laughter, looking cute and stunning at the same time. I never felt such a strong attraction with Maria.

However, seeing Emily here, laughing is enough to make my heart skip a beat. She bites her lip to control her laughing which only makes my mind go haywire.

This girl is going to be the death of me.

"Justin, give me one valid reason as to why I should save your ass." Emily asks him still smiling.

"I don't want to die without knowing whether Iron Man is going to win the battle with Captain America. I mean c'mon, Civil War is just about a month away, don't tell me you don't want to know what's going to happen."

I roll my eyes at Justin. Of course, he would say something like that, being the goofball moron he is.

"Well that is a valid reason." Emily agrees.

"OH C'MON." Cole whines.

I roll my eyes again. I knew Emily would agree with him. They both are the biggest Marvel fans I've ever met. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Marvel Studios myself but these two idiots can't seem to get enough. They are obsessed with superheroes. Justin loves Iron Man just as much as Emily, though she still fantasizes about Captain America much to my displeasure.

It was kind of obvious for Emily to team up with Justin.

It wouldn't be a surprise if they were related. They both have the same brown eyes and brown hair. They both have crazy personalities but Emily is a bit conservative and shy. They both love the same kind of food, cookies. Trust me, I've had plenty of occasions where I was almost about to get a DNA test done to check if Justin was Emily's long lost twin or something.

A ringtone catches all of our attention and Emily takes out her phone. She looks at the caller ID and smiles.

"I've got to take this. I'm sorry Justin." She says, walking out the kitchen.

I watch Justin and Cole running around the house for a while before I decide to hit the bed. I walk upstairs towards my room when I bump into someone. Emily. Her back is towards me and she quickly mutters a 'sorry' before she starts walking away.

Her shoulders are slouched down while her head hangs low as she walks and I immediately grow concerned.

"Ems wait!" I say as I grab her wrist.

"Are you okay?" I ask her. Her back is still facing me and she quickly frees her wrist.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone." She mutters quietly. It's almost inaudible and her voice comes out shaky.

Oh no. She's shutting me out.

I decide to give her some space because she looks a little shaken. I turn around to see Alice standing at the doorway of a guestroom. Instead of heading towards my bedroom, I walk towards her. I know Emily talked with her, so she knows what's wrong.

"What's wrong with Emily?" I ask standing before her.

"Its about her parents." She says, sighing a little. My eyes widen in surprise.

Emily's parents are still a mystery to me. Every time I or someone else asks her about her parents, she quickly changes the topic. It's like a taboo topic for her. She avoids any discussion related to her parents like plague.

"What about her parents." I ask her.

"Its not my place to tell you, Luke. Emily will tell you when she is ready. Give her some space." Alice says, closing the door.

I walk silently towards my bedroom, thinking over her words.

Emily was perfectly fine when she exited the kitchen to talk to whoever was calling her. She even looked happy when she saw the caller ID. So what happened? How did her mood change from happy to depressed in a matter of minutes? Who was the caller anyway? It could be her aunt. What if it were her parents? Did something go wrong with her parents?

I try putting the puzzle pieces together but fail to do so as sleep overtakes me.

................................................................................................................................................

Who's favourite character? I like Luke and Alex a lot.

Thank you for reading and sorry for the mistakes.

Love ya!

Bye!