Could It Be You? |✓

(13) Necklace

The incessant ringing of the doorbell wakes Emma from her afternoon nap. She jolts up in horror, however, when she realises what time it is.

"Let's just say I'm not surprised that you ain't ready," Ethan comments as he steps in. He is supposed to drive her to her company's New Year Bash, but Emma is course still half a foot in Slumberland just minutes ago, and now she is running late.

"I'll go get ready..." she says. Ethan simply picks a book from her shelves and sits down to read, anticipating that she would take ages.

Massaging her face, Emma scrambles into her bedroom and locks the door. She positions herself in front of the wardrobe and scans through her clothes - she is never much of a shopaholic so her collection is, to say the least, unimpressive. She always opts for monochrome and grayscale, and the occasional blues and pinks and reds stick out like sore thumbs. Finally, she settles for an off-shoulder silver mini-dress, one of those rejects from Alice.

She grabs a comb and runs it through her shoulder-length locks, which were all tangled and messy after her nap. Then comes the most difficult part of all - makeup - something she is a disaster at. Blusher first, or eyeliner first? It probably doesn't matter. She takes almost an eternity to get it done because she had to redo the eyeshadow a couple of times because of bad mixing. She looks herself in the mirror, and the giraffe necklace, the one that she has worn ever since she first met Collin, catches her eye. She wraps her fingers around it gingerly. She had forgotten about it, she realises, because it has been sitting in between her collar bones ever so subtly. It doesn't complement her outfit for sure, and for a moment, she considers switching it for something else. She then shakes it off, deciding that it's too small a detail to be bothered about.

Pleased with her look, she hurls on a jacket, grabs a matching purse, and finally heads out. She steps into the living room, where Ethan had dozed off with a book on his face. Even the sun has set.

"I'm done!" she announces gleefully.

Slowly, he removes the book and blinks his eyes open. Emma wonders if she looked too bad, because he froze the moment he lay eyes on her.

"I look bad?" she asks, and frowns. She swears she had put her utmost effort in the makeup.

"Uh," Ethan searches for words, "no."

Emma raises her brows and waits for his response.

"Maybe a little heavy," he confesses.

"Heavy?!" Emma shrieks in disappointment and horror. "But I tried to make it as natural as possible!"

"Should I redo it then?"

"No... you look fine, we don't have time anyway, let's head off."

He whirls her around so she has her back against him, and pushes her out of the house. He shepherds her all the way to his car, then gets into the driver seat.

Emma silently observes her best friend, and her mood lightens when she realises that he isn't as forlorn as a week ago. She smiles, noting that he is moving on well.

Riding in Ethan's car is mostly about listening to the radio and his off-pitched singing, it's no different this time. As Emma plays with the pendant mindlessly, a thought crosses her mind.

"Are you sure the necklace wasn't for me?" she asks, breaking his singing spree.

Ethan glances at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"The giraffe necklace."

She isn't going to beat around the bush. She has a theory - Ethan must be related to Collin in some way since they possess the same necklace. If it's for her, she doesn't know why Ethan withheld it all these years. He had given her gifts all these years when the occasion called for it. If it isn't, well, did he really have a crush that she doesn't know about? Furthermore, now that he is single...

She shuts the thought out, not wanting to go there.

He turns to look at her in surprise, but she is calm as the sky. "Does it matter?"

"Well," Emma searches for something to say. She can't possibly tell him the whole truth."Just curious, since you know I like giraffes and stuff."

"It's not for you Emma."

"Really? Then who was it for?"

"This girl from my high school."

Despite herself, Emma feels a disappointed flip in her stomach. She wonders if this girl in question is someone special to him, maybe a first love of sorts. "And you kept it for so long because...?"

"No reason. C'mon high school was eons ago."

Ethan's expression is unreadable, and Emma couldn't help but probe more. "Exactly. And you still keep it. Must be someone important."

She watches him drum his fingers against the steering wheel. For all their years of friendship, she can read him like a book (most of the time), and he is definitely acting strangely. She wonders what is it that is keeping him from telling the whole truth, but for now, she will let it be.

They changed the topic, and Emma settled for sharing New Year Resolutions and discussing the upcoming trip to Bali. Somewhere along, she receives a message from Matt wondering her whereabouts, which inevitably causes a smile to escape her lips, something that Ethan does not miss.

"Remember, safe sex is good sex," he teases with a smirk, as Emma alights. They had pulled in front of a grandiose building.

Emma throws him a glare, then bids him a Happy New Year. She heads in, towards whatever 2016 has in store for her.

-

Slow and dry chapter... but I've a treat for you dear readers! I've uploaded a trailer to the Prologue, yay!!!

Do you guys think Ethan is speaking the truth? And has Ethan ever liked Emma more than as a friend?