sharp tongues {Embry Call}

¹² Edison

Embry scoffed and uncrossed his arms to mess with his loose hair. They knew that tick. He was nervous. "I told her that you guys were making fun of me for being around her," he mumbled out hoping they wouldn't catch his words. It wasn't like it was a lie. They teased him mercilessly for his supposed crush on Harper Young. He didn't like Harper. He had told them at least a hundred times and yet it was still brought up in every conversation he had with them since that stupid fucking project.

They heard him.

"You did not!" Quil exclaimed in a breathy whisper. Jake had been stuck in a shell shocked silence, his jaw remained open and he couldn't get a word out. Embry just put his head in his hands as he leaned against the countertop.

"I did," he moaned out before letting his head drop on the table with a resounding thump.

"Why?!" Quil said noticing the unhappy stares from the older customers before resuming his concentration on his idiotic friend.

Embry stayed in his spot as still as a statue, his blood ran cold. If he said it that meant it was real. He didn't want whatever he was feeling to be real. He wanted to bury it six feet down and give it a terrible funeral. 

"Embry," Jake began his voice deadly low, "why did you say that to her?"

Embry looked up at his two concerned friends. Oh my God, he would never hear the end of it. It had been a month since she came and for the better part of it, he was either annoyed with her, whispering with her, or just simply around her. And now she was gone.

"You guys just kept teasing me about her and it was annoying," he put bluntly. It wasn't an entire lie. "And anyway, Harper has a boyfriend," he grumbled out.

"Do you like her?"

The three looked to the girl who slid into the booth beside Embry. Sleek long dark hair was thrown up in a ridiculously mess bun with blunt bangs. Her skin was practically airbrushed it was so clear. She wore a pair of red cat-eye sunglasses, her lips were painted the same color. It was her clothes that told them that she wasn't from around here. Her luxury crewneck sweater and the blouse collar peaking out of it. If Embry had to guess he would say the entire ensemble cost more than his house.

She set the three of them on edge. Something about her made them distrust her entirely. Embry balled his fists in her hands at her close contact as the blood rushed to his ears. He didn't like her and yet the next following moments did nothing to show that.

"Of course I like her." The answer came out of him without him wanting to. He slammed his hand against his mouth as his cheeks burned red. His eyes looked across the booth to Jake and Quil whose jaws both dropped at the exclamation.

The girl pulled out a nail file and began to shape her already incredibly pointy nails. "Mhm," she mumbled out. "So why haven't you told her? Are you stupid?"

The question sounded like something Harper would say. Blunt, to the point, slightly mean. But even the woman quirked her lips up in the way Harper would show that she didn't mean it. Embry noticed. 

"I haven't told her because she has a boyfriend, it would be selfish of me to tell her," Embry spoke clearly, and as the words rolled out of his mouth his eyes widened. Why was he doing this? "And I don't think I'm stupid despite acting like this."

The girl nodded, pleased by his answer. "Isn't it equally as selfish to pull away from Harper like this because she relied on you as a friend?" The woman asked with a raised brow.

Embry nodded, "Yes."

Jake and Quil were silent, each shell shocked by everything their friend revealed to this random stranger.