Emily's POV

"Justin?" I say, or more like ask in a happy yet confused way.

Justin, my crazy friend Justin is going to be my cousin? What? I mean, its good and all but, how come I didn't know Tessa's boyfriend was related to Justin. Maybe I should've dug deeper into the investigation I did on Mike when I first met him. Yes, I investigated on Mike. I came to know that Cole knew a little about hacking into e-mails and stuff so I asked him to hack Mike's e-mails and whatnot, and within a few hours, I knew all about Mike than maybe anyone.

Can't blame me for being over protective over my aunt. She is the only family I have and one of the kindest souls to walk on this earth. I had to make sure she was in good hands.

"Oh my god, Emily. I can't believe this is happening." Justin says, smiling and pulling me into a hug.

"You both know each other?" Mike asks.

"I'm confused." Tessa says.

I don't blame them, it is pretty unbelievable. I mean, what are the chances that your best friend is the nephew of the person marrying your aunt? Whoa, was that even a sentence?

"Tessa, I told you about Justin, right? How can you forget?" I ask.

"Yeah but I never met him. I didn't even see a photo of him. I didn't know it was the same Justin you told me about." She defends.

"Well, my bad." I shrug. "On the brighter side, Justin meet Tessa, my aunt and Tessa meet Justin, my friend." I say, executing the traditional introduction. They both hug and exchange a few words.

"I can't believe we're going to be cousins!" Justin exclaims. "What were the chances, right?" he says, slinging an arm around me.

"Yeah, it is incredible." I reply.

"Where's Luke?" Mike asks.

I turned around, confused and saw there wasn't a sign of Luke. Where had he disappeared? I didn't even notice. Is he some kind of a ninja now? I mean, no one can sneak off when there are four people in a room. Did he sneak off to eat my cookies, my cookies? I swear if that's true, I'll kick him in his important organ so hard that he'll land on Mars.

"Maybe he went inside?" Tessa suggests.

We all walk back to the living room and surely, we find Luke. However, Luke isn't in a normal position. He is lying on the sofa on his stomach with his head buried in his hands. He looks like a schoolgirl who just went through a bad breakup.

But that's not what bothers me the most; the thing is that he isn't even moving. He is just like a statue, no flinch, no twitch, just like an effing statue. Shit. Is he dead?

"Is he dead?" Justin asks, voicing out my thoughts.

We all looked at each other in concern. He isn't dead. He can't be, right? I mean, that just not possible, especially for Luke.

"He's not dead, Justin. Stop saying shit." I say, nervously. I walk towards him and slowly poke his butt.

"Luke?" I say.

" Luke? Are you okay?" I ask, poking him again.

Suddenly, Luke gets up, gasping for air. What the actual hell is going on?

"What the hell, Luke! Are you okay?" I ask in concern.

"That was a lot harder than I thought." He gasped out.

Everyone was confused but took their seat to observe the drama.

"What was hard?" Justin asks, not in a normal tone but in a tone that indicates that the question had a double meaning. I almost choke and so does Tessa and Mike. They aren't even going to correct Justin for using that tone even though it's a stupid thing? I bet there baby would be very lucky.

"I was just trying to overcome the horrible reality of the situation by meditation. I thought I could do it while hiding from the world but it was really hard to breathe with my face buried in the sofa, you know. I tried really hard but I couldn't bear it for long. So I had to break my Zen and come back to reality." Luke replies.

Everyone stares at him in silence. I bet everyone was thinking the same thing. What the hell did he just say? I was growing concerned by the minute. I mean, if I hadn't been too bothered at first when I saw him lying on the sofa weirdly, I was definitely freaking out now.

"Luke, are you all right?" I ask, touching his forehead incase he has a fever or something.

"I'm fine, Ems. There's nothing wrong with me." He says. I stare at him hard, which makes him flinch with nervousness. However, I let it slide.

"What horrible reality were you trying to face by kissing the sofa?" I ask, curiously.

"Oh yeah, that." He sighs sadly. "It was just that, when you and Justin had met, you had instantly clicked. You both were like twins, you know. I was very close to conducting a DNA test to see if you both were actually related. Now, you both will be related, not by blood, but you know what I mean." He explains. Wow. A DNA test? That's some serous shit.

"So, why did you call the situation horrible?" Justin asked. Yeah, that was another question in my head.

"Well, I am just sad for Tessa and Mike. They'd have to put up with two idiots through out their wedding planning. After the wedding, when they would meet up with you two, they would have to be the victim of your crazy pranks and childish behavior. They would have to change your diapers and shit. So sad. My sympathies are with you Tessa and Mike." He says, with a sigh again.

Jesus, did he really think that. That batshit crazy cow. Justin and I look at each other and as soon as he nods, we both launch ourselves onto Luke. Boyfriend or not, he would still get a good slap on the ass for his bullshit. We both Slap and tickle him at the same time, giving him the pleasure of pain.

"Okay, Okay. Stop it you guys. I'm sorry." He says, laughing. Justin pulls back and sits at his place again. I hit him one last time and sit back up.

"Ow, what was the last one for?" Luke asks, rubbing his arm.

"For scaring the shit out of me. You were lying there like a corpse, you are the biggest imbecile I've ever met." I say, frowning towards him with anger.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin. I wont do it again, I promise." He says, taking my hand to calm me down. I smile at him and then we hear snorting. Yeah, we hear Mike and Tessa laughing like hyenas, slapping their thighs and what not.

"Wow, are these two that crazy?" Mike asks, fanning his face.

"Yup. The craziest." Luke confirms. Justin and I look at each other and roll our eyes. I start eating another cookie while everyone settles down again.

We all talk for a while, sharing our ideas for the wedding and constantly switching to random topics. We eat and joke around and have a fantastic time. We don't decide anything because as Tessa had said that they didn't want to rush it. Time flies by and evening comes around which means its time for us to leave.

"So, I'll see you next month?" Tessa asks. I nod and hug her.

"Yeah, of course." I confirm. I hug Mike too and all three of us exit their house.

"You need a ride, Justin?" Luke asks.

"No, I'll leave with Mike, I have to meet my parents too." He declines.

"Okay then, take care." I say, giving him a hug. Wow, today is just full of hugs isn't it?

"I will. I'll see you guys later." He says, walking back inside the house.

Luke and I get into his car and start our two-hour drive.

"So, what do you want to have for dinner?" Luke asks after a few minutes.

"Nothing." I reply, looking out the window.

"Emily." He says in a tone that is used when you have done something very wrong and are trying to hide it.

"Seriously, I am not hungry. You can have whatever you want." I say.

"Are you really not hungry or do you just think that you shouldn't eat dinner?" he asks. Damn, he is clever.

"I don't want to." I say. He sighs, but doesn't say anything.

He continues to drive in silence. Maybe he is letting it slide. I don't try to start a conversation because I don't want to anger him. I know he cares for me and I know that he also doesn't like it when I refuse to eat an important meal. I don't want him to be disappointed but my mind pushes me to think about how many calories I might gain and in the end, I'm just left confused.

The rest of the drive goes in silence. Luke concentrates on the road while I concentrate on the sun setting outside my window. The hush in the car was dull throughout the ride. I was scared, actually, to be left alone with my thoughts, especially in this situation.

I felt guilty. I felt ashamed for not even trying to reason with Luke. Luke was being so patient with me, and all I was doing was being selfish and a huge pain in the ass. I hated myself at that moment.

The ride felt much longer than it was due to the lack of communication or speech. It added to my guilt because I did not want to put Luke in a bad mood.

We finally reached the campus. Luke parked the car and turned the engine off.

"Ems." Luke starts saying but I already start exiting the car. I shut the door and lean onto it.

I feel my lower lip quivering. I feel tears making their way to my eyes. The feeling almost feels foreign because I haven't been sad in so long. I couldn't even remember the last time I had shed tears. I close my eyes, trying to control my tears.

"Emily?" Luke asks. I feel him standing in front of me, he takes my hand and all I want to do is lean into him.

"I'm sorry." I apologize through my shaky voice.

"No, Ems..." he begins to say but I cut him off.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. You have been so patient with me and all I've done is be a bitch. I know I shouldn't be so careless of my health but sometimes I just can't stand it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm really sorry, Luke." I say, my voice cracking at the end and my tears betraying me.

"Ems." Luke says softly, placing his hands on my cheek. "Look at me."

I oblige, meeting his eyes through my glassy vision. He looks at me with so much affection it makes my heart stutter.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You have done nothing wrong. I know it can be difficult sometimes, fighting your conscience that is telling you to do the opposite of what others advise you to do." He says, placing a strand of hair behind my ears.

"But know this, Emily, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay, pumpkin?" he asks, with a soft smile. He wipes my tears and I nod slowly. I smile as he leans down to kiss me, I pour out everything bit of affection and love I have for him into that kiss.

"I'd like to have a tub of ice cream for dinner." I say against his lips. He chuckles.

"You're weird. What flavor do you want?" he asks.

"Cookies n cream."

"Well then, lets go." He says, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the ice cream parlor just outside the campus.

We enter the parlor, which is somewhat crowded seeing it's the weekend and everyone probably needs a dose of sugar to bid the exhausting past week a farewell. Luke waits in a corner while I get my ice cream. I tell the worker what flavor I want and while waiting, someone slides besides me.

"Hey." Nick says.

"Hey." I reply. I'm still trying to decide whether I should trust him. I mean, Luke warned me about him, saying that he had done some pretty bad shit in the past.

"So how have you been doing?" he asks with a smile.

See, now I am confused. I mean, yes he might have did bad things but that doesn't mean he isn't better now. People change, right? I don't know to what extent though because Millie is still as crazy for Luke as she was before and she is still a bitch.

"I'm good. Went to visit my aunt today and it was great." I say, kindly.

"That's nice." He says. "So I was wondering if we could study together for the coming test on Tuesday."

"She cant' study with you." Luke's voice makes its way to us. "She is studying with Justin tomorrow." He says. Well its not lie because I do have to study with Justin.

"So what about the day after? Monday?" Nick asks.

"She will study with Justin on Monday too." Luke replies. God he really dislikes Nick, but he has never told me what Nick actually did to make it to Luke's hate list.

Nick looks at me with his eyebrows raised and I just shrug. I see Nick's fists clenching and frown a little.

"Well, next time maybe?" he asks with an edge in his voice.

"I'm pretty sure she will be busy but we'll see." Luke replies.

"I'm sure Emily can answer my question herself. Cant you, Emily?" he asks. Both of them look at me.

Where the hell is my ice cream? I can't handle this shit. Two guys that hate each other and I am being put in a position where my next decision is going to anger one of them. I am sure I don't want to know what'll happen next. The last thing I want is to start a fight.

"I don't know. I might be free or I might not be free, it depends on the future." I say. I was a little scared now because of the way Nick's tone had changed. I could see the anger in his eyes but I didn't know what caused it. Why does he keep looking for opportunities to hang out with me?

Maybe he just wants a friend...

But then there are the things that Luke talked about. He said Nick did bad things in high school but he didn't tell me what they were. I asked him on multiple occasions but he always finds a way to divert the conversation.

"That was not the answer I was expecting but its okay. I'll see you some other time, when you're 'free'. Okay?" Nick says. Well, looks like he doesn't want to get into a fight with Luke.

That makes the two of us.

Unsure of what to say, I just not at him. I throw a smile at his way, just to be polite. He walks out of the parlor and when he is out of sight, I turn to Luke.

"What?" he asks, in a confused way.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I ask for what might be the millionth time. Luke sighs.

"Lets go to our room first. I'll tell you everything." Luke says promisingly. I agree with him, we take our ice cream and walk back to our dorm. We both settle down on my bed with the tub of ice cream between us as we sit cross-legged side by side.

"We all were in high school, sophomore year when we met Nick." Luke starts, taking my hand in his and staring at the ice cream.

"He was an easy guy to talk to. We all got along with him and he was immediately a member of our friend circle. It all went good for a few months. We would hang out sometimes, not always but without any trouble."

"Then one day, Cole approached me and told me that he saw Nick buying drugs from a guy behind the school. I refused to believe it first but then I saw it myself. We were in a party and I saw him taking a packet with white powdery substance. I was shocked and Cole was too. We told the rest of our friends about it and agreed that we would talk to him about it."

"Since Cole and I were the first ones to find out about his secret, we both decided to talk to him. We asked him about it and he became defensive. He admitted that he took them and that he couldn't stop doing it and the reason that we didn't know about it was because he took it when we all weren't hanging out together. We told him that we could help him, you know, get him to therapy and all but, he refused. We were even more shocked."

"He knew he wasn't doing the right thing and I knew he felt bad but his need for the drugs consumed his conscience. We nevertheless tried to help him the best we could but it wasn't working. He wouldn't stop."

"The one day, Cole and I saw him behind the school with Alice. She was talking to him, trying to convince him to quit his habit but he was high at the time. Cole had warned her about going to him but being the kind person she is, she went, wanting to help. He was high on what they call 'sugar cubes' on the streets. It was LSD."

I gasped. Not only was I beyond shocked but it all seemed so unreal. The way Nick behaved now, I couldn't bring myself to think of him as an addict. Luke continues his story, not looking at me.

"He was hallucinating and maybe he saw Alice as a threat of some kind because the next thing we knew, Nick had Alice pinned on the wall, his nails digging into her arms. Cole immediately launched himself on him. They fought and there was blood but nothing fatal happened to any of them."

"We called the authorities. The police came too but it was decided that Nick would be sent to rehab to get the help he needed. The school authorities did not want a bad rep of their school so the matter was kept very private."

"I don't hate him, Emily. I'm just suspicious of him. Yes, I was angry with him for hurting my friend but I knew he was under the influence. He knew he needed help but he was calling for it the wrong way."

I squeeze Luke's hand and lay my head on his shoulder. It was really heart breaking, listening to something that seemed impossible.

"But he is here now and that means he came back from rehab. That means he's doing better, right? Then why do you still act so cold towards him?" I ask gently.

"Its just hard to believe him. He was our friend but he took drugs and we didn't even know about it. He fooled us once. What's to say he won't do it again?" he asks.

"That's right but then everyone deserves second chances." I say.

"He came to see me, you know? On the first day of college, he came to my room just before you. He told me that he wanted to apologize and explained that things weren't great in his home and that's why he took drugs because it made him forget. I didn't fight him. I wanted to believe him, but I wasn't ready to let go of what happened in the past."

"That's why you act like you do, because you're worried he might hurt one of our friends." I state, seeing the whole puzzle getting solved in front of me.

"Yeah, that's why. I mean, all of us know he is back. But we don't trust him, especially Cole because of what happened with Alice. It makes me think that could hurt you too and I cant stand the thought." Luke says, looking me in the eyes.

I don't blame him or any of them for not trusting Nick but I also don't agree with them on pushing him away like they are doing right now. He deserves a shot at redemption but they weren't allowing it.

"Luke, I'm going to be blunt and say this. I know now that Nick didn't do the right thing in the past, but if he is saying he is better, you all should give him a chance. Please just consider it, okay? It sucks to not have any friends. I'm saying this from experience." I state, a bit sad as remember my lonely high school experience.

"Hey." Luke says, wrapping one arm around me. "Don't be sad, you have us now. And you're right; we shouldn't push Nick away like we do. We'll talk to the others about it and see where that goes, okay? Can we eat the ice cream now?" he asks, lightening up the mood instantly.

"Its still hasn't melted all that much surprisingly. We should hurry before it becomes goo." I say, smiling at him.

We both enjoy our tub of ice, talking about random things and making fun of the people that we don't like.

And when he wraps me in his arms as we lay in our bed, only one thought floats in my mind before I fall asleep.

I love you, Luke.

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

I hope this chapter wasn't boring, towards the end specially. This one has so many feels. I enjoyed writing it.

I wrote in the previous chapter that I might delete this book. I don't want to and I WON'T. I love writing it so I wont delete it, at least not now. So ya'll be getting updates! Yay!

Please vote. It makes me smile.

I Love you!