Emery Hall has been in love with Evan Andrews since the moment she laid eyes on him that fateful day in the fifth grade. Her whole life has been spent pining after him and trying to make him fall in love with her. But when she's not pining after Eva...
"—and for him to sit there and watch me kiss Aiden! No! Absolutely not! Plus, the moment was ruined as soon as that stupid door slammed anyways!" I rambled, letting all my pent-up emotions out.
The girls just stared at me.
"And how do I even know that Aiden really likes me and he wasn't just kissing me because it seemed like the right thing to do in that moment or because he wanted to make Evan angry or something?! How do I know that this is all true?!"
Riley and Autumn were both looking at me like I was insane, and to be honest, after that ramble, I sure felt like it.
"Emery, Aiden has feelings for you! Even a blind man could see that!" Autumn cried, flicking me on the forehead.
I shook my head, ready to open my mouth and protest, but Riley cut me off.
"Why is it so hard for you to believe that he has feelings for you, Emery!?" she cried, this time staring at me like an idiot.
"Because it doesn't make sense!" I cried, throwing my arms out in frustration. "Why would he like me when he could have so many other girls that are prettier and more experienced and more confident?! There's nothing special about me, I'm just—me!"
Riley and Autumn were both looking at me like I was a complete idiot, but I couldn't blame them, really. I felt like on. What I didn't expect though, was for Riley to suddenly burst and have her meltdown. I mean, it sort of made sense, she was the only one of the three of us that hadn't said her piece yet.
"What's the matter with the both of you!" she cried, looking in between us.
Autumn seemed taken aback. "Wha—! Me—?!"
Riley pointed at me. "You! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe that's the exact reason Aiden likes you—because you're not like the other girls! Trust me, he's been in 'relationships' with lots of girls and sure they were hot and confident on the outside, but guess what?!" she paused. "On the inside, they were trash! Literal trash! So, stop thinking about reasons that he doesn't like you, because I promise he's never met anyone like you before, Emery. You're perfect inside and out and he knows it!"
She whipped around to face Autumn. "And you!" she squished a finger into her chest. "Has it ever occurred to you, that maybe the reason Blake flirts with all those girls is because it's the only goddamn way he can get your attention! All you do is ignore him and then get pissed when he talks to other girls. Okay, sure he can be a total dick sometimes, and more power to you when you knock him on his ass, but that doesn't mean that you can treat him that way all the time! Especially when all he's trying to do is convince you that he's head over heels for you!"
That was certainly not the mental breakdown I thought was going to happen, but in that moment, when Riley revealed her thoughts on how messed up both of our "relationships" were, I realized that she cared for those boys as if they were brothers to her. She knows them inside and out, knows how they think and how they feel, and you know what? I was grateful that Aiden had such a good friend that cared about him as much as she did. Although it didn't seem that Riley was that close with the boys, her revelations revealed that she did in fact care for them more than anyone. I guess spending the better half of the two years with them does that to you, but I'm grateful that she cares for them so much. It makes me feel knowing that someone is looking for Aiden's best interests.
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