Despite not going to bed until one, which was something Ember wasn't anywhere near used to, she was somehow feeling good.
It was like the kind of mood that she hadn't experienced in a while-at least for no more than a few minutes.
Ember was happy.
Genuinely glad to get up and go to class, something that normally gave her anxiety.
It was just strange.
By the time Ember had made it back to her dorm from the showers, Holland was still fast asleep. Her soft snores and the nature sounds she had playing on her phone lightly filled the dorm.
Ember did her best to quickly get dressed and ready before she woke up. Ember had gotten pretty good at rushing around in silence over the years of waking up at the asscrack of dawn.
Randomly throwing on a pair of dark washed jeans, her favorite ahegao hoodie, and orange converse she was ready to leave when she noticed her notebook on the desk.
The small helpless romantic part of Ember's mind had an idea.
Did she think it through?
No.
Was she going to give it a try?
Damn right.
"After your classes, meet me by the water fountain closest to our dorm. I have a surprise and am not taking no for an answer. Wear something warm,
xoxo
- Em"
Ember read it over unsure if she would show up or think she was being weird and moving fast, but she didn't have much time to overthink it.
She grabbed her bag and phone before making sure Holland would see the note when she woke up. Surely things would be fine, the worst thing that could happen was that she said no. Ember could back up if she said so, probably.
As Ember went to her first class of the day she paid little attention, her mind was running on all the things she needed to get by the end of today. It was Thursday so that meant Holland would be finished with her last class by six.
She might have had her schedule on the back of the door, so what if Ember read it?
Ember looked at her computer for the number and quickly started to write a new text. Her phone was hooked up to her laptop so it looked like she was taking notes, hopefully, it did anyway.
Carmon and her used to love going out in a boat and simply watching the stars as they normally binged on their favorite meals.
However, this-most likely a terrible idea-was a bit of a last-minute kind of thing, but Ember crossed her fingers and hit send to the message.
It had been years since then, it was something Carmon would do out of the blue and it cheered her up. However, it would also make the perfect date, at least in theory. If Ember over thought it then it wasn't such a great idea, her mind came up with all the things that could go wrong.
Like what if she hated bodies of water?
Then Ember's laptop lit back up.
Wayne:
[ You're in luck! I'm in Manhattan until tonight. If you can be there by 6:30 I can get out on the water for the sunset then for an hour for the stars. Dinner included and if there isn't anything else it will cost around $400. ]
08:11
[ That works out perfectly, I'll have the money to you later today. ]
08:12
Ember shut her laptop and did her best to make it look like she was paying attention to the class at hand before it ended and she rushed out.
For the tenth time, she checked her to-do list and made sure she got everything written down. Ember got some food from a vending machine on her way to her next class. Unfortunately, this class was a bit more difficult.
She had to take notes at a mile a minute since the professor talked so quickly and refused to slow down for anyone. The assignment at hand was to write everything the professor said then sign it at a speed she was happy with.
It was something that was vital to understand what someone was saying and being able to sign it within seconds of it being told. Simple enough, as long as the anxiety of other people watching her every move didn't get into her head.
Δ Δ Δ
"I just don't understand why he had to play his games so loud," Karter complained.
Ember shook her head and signed for him to leave his cousin alone.
He had been practicing more on his own and Ember was kinda shocked to see someone pick up ASL so quickly. Let alone someone who got as distracted as the boy to her left.
"Oh, pick his side!" he said sarcastically.
They were on their way to one of the small book shops Ember really enjoyed visiting and it didn't really hurt that it was close enough to the docks Wayne worked at. Ember told Karter her plan and he grinned, telling her how extra she was being.
The thought made her think of her dad. Everything he did was either all or nothing, it was always something that went past that statement. For example, he didn't just get one boring car, no, he had to get thirteen all of which had something customized to them.
Sure, Ember was a lot like her dad but she was not flashy in the slightest and managed her money to the point most people would look at her crazy. She knew what it was like not to have much and cut corners but she guessed the old habits never stopped since she was still the same person who would only really shop if there was a sale going on or primarily took to thrift shops.
Yet the thought of spending four-hundred dollars on a date, seemed like a good idea at the time, but what if it looked like it was being too much? Money ruined a good bit of her relationships so it was always something she was overly cautious about.
'You think it's too much?' She signed.
"What the date? Nah, she'll love it. Though I think Flynn mentioned something about her not liking the ocean so you know don't push her overboard or nothing."
Ember's eyes widened at the thought. It was nearly October who in their right mind would swim in this weather? More importantly in the waters of New York?
"Hey, don't worry. The girl clearly likes you, she just might need to take things slowly, you know. Remember the first time you realize you liked chicks?"
Ember nodded at the dreadful thought.
It wasn't a thought Ember wanted to think of again. She was twelve and instead of liking any of the boys in her class, she liked one of the girls. She told her dad and he didn't question it, he liked people regardless of their gender so Ember didn't think he would have a problem, she told Carmon and she gave Ember the talk-that she didn't really ask for.
When Ember told her sister she was weird about it for a little, but still accepted her. Not necessarily what Ember wanted. She didn't care if her family accepted her. She was simply informing them how pretty girls were. The thing that made Ember want to push the memories away as it was the last year Caterina was herself. Before she changed before-that bastard entered her life.
Ember forced herself not to think about it again, she had spent too many years stuck in the past and the raw truth was no matter how much she thought about her-about them, it didn't bring her sister back to life.
At the end of the day, she was left to deal with it. Like everyone else who had experienced a loss in their life. Today was going to be a good day and she was not going to let the past stop her from that.
"How'd you find this place?" Karter questioned as they walked up to the brick building. It looked rundown and there was nothing special about the outside.
'Walking around,' Ember signed.
Inhaling the scent of old books brought back so many good memories she had from coming in there as a kid. It was when she didn't have much money she would go in there and find some books she could take home for free.
Karter looked around like a kid on Christmas and quickly rushed over to all the different thrillers and horror shelves. Ember followed after him and wandered down some of the isles herself.
Ember looked through the colorful and dark creepy covers, some she heard of before, others she read the summary to see if she'd like them.
It probably took way longer than needed at the store but they both managed to get out of there with a bag each. The more time that went by the more she became calmer about tonight.
"Wonder how many bodies they found here though, you would think it would be a good place to get rid of 'em I mean there aren't any cameras or many people wandering around."
Ember shook her head to the dark-haired boy. When he first saw the docks his first reaction was about murder-not that it was surprising. If it were during the summer, it did half remind Ember of the show Dexter.
"Ember, wonderful to see you again! My, it has been years hasn't it?" Wayne walked out of the boat and towards them.
'Yeah, nice to see you again,' she signed to him.
"And who is your friend?" he questioned looking over to Karter.
She spelled out his name and poked him in the arm to shake Wayne's hand. Sometimes Karter zoned out and needed to be reminded he wasn't supposed to be off in la-la land in some situations.
"Nice to see ya lads," Wayne smiled warmly.
If Ember could describe Wayne as anyone she would say he looked a lot like a thin Latino Santa Claus. He was just as cheery as she had remembered too.
"Come over and sign a few things then you'll be all set for tonight," he ushered them onto the boat.
The boat was a decent size, for the most part, it was indoors until they went up the ladder and onto a personal paradise. They walked inside the main area and sat at the small table in the middle of the room.
Karter was looking around as Ember signed the papers and paid to rent the boat. It was easy enough and within ten minutes we were up and out of there. She got a taxi back to campus out of pure laziness.
Ember could have gotten back in a better way, but she didn't feel like dealing with the people.
"See ya, text me how it goes tonight," Karter gave her the thumbs up before walking off. Ember couldn't help but smile at the goofy grin he had and the fact she had a good friend for the first time in years.
The campus was much more crowded with all the noon classes letting out and the evening ones starting. It was almost impossible for her not to bump into someone every once in a while.
However, the figure that pushed past her made her pause in her place. The person looked so familiar and if she were to tell anyone about it they would think she was seeing things again or something. She could feel the all too familiar shakiness creep up her spine.
Ember looked around one last time but it was no use he was gone. The guy looked so much like-she shook her head and ran to her dorm. She knew she didn't have much time to do anything else.
Her body felt like jello and as soon as she opened the door to her room. She threw her bag somewhere and fell onto the floor grasping at her chest. Ember didn't feel the tears fall down her face or the shaking of her hands.
All she could hear was her heartbeat in her head like an overwhelming, deafening noise. It was as if everything was rushing past her, yet, frozen in a state of panic. Incapable of doing anything.
Ember didn't notice the door open at first, all she could look at was the floor in the blur of her vision.
"Hey, it's going to be alright, try and breathe," the smooth voice said. It was sweet like candy, letting her take notice of the figure crouching down beside her but didn't touch her. Holland kept her distance and Ember was grateful for that.
Ember did her best to breathe but it was difficult considering she didn't have much control over her body at the present moment. It was stupid to get worked up overthinking she saw someone that wasn't meant to be there.
She knew that the restraining order was still in tack, at least it would be for a few more months. It couldn't have been Greg, it was just another guy with short orange hair and an unnerving smile on his face.
That was all.
Nothing to get worked up about.
She was just seeing things.
Holland wandered over to the mini-fridge they had tucked in the corner of the room and sat a bottle of water next to Ember.
"You should drink something when you're ready?" She said comfortingly. Holland's voice was so calm it almost made her forget she just had a panic attack in front of her.
'Sorry,' Ember signed after a few minutes of trying to get her breathing in check. She pointed over to her bag and Holland handed it over.
"You don't have to be sorry, it happens sometimes. Trust me I've had a panic attack before and I kinda thought I was dying for a good five minutes until my dad helped me through it."
Ember listened to her talk and looked through her bag. She grabbed her medication. It was drops she put under her tongue whenever she had severe anxiety. It wasn't as helpful as the pills she used to be on, however, she couldn't take them anymore. It was worse than the anxiety and the panic attacks. Ember could not look at another pill bottle for a good year without the urge to throw up.
"Is it alright if I help you up? It doesn't look all that comfortable on the floor," Holland asked with a hopeful smile.
Ember nodded and took her hand. 'Thank you,' she mouthed the word as she signed.
"No need to thank me, I was just here at the right time," she smiled and handed Ember a small candy from her desk.
"I heard people like sweets after panic attacks," Holland sat next to her on her bed, making sure Ember was okay.
'I'm fine now, it was stupid and my brain freaked out. Why were you back early anyway?' Ember handed Holland her phone and took the candy in exchange.
"I was coming back here to change. You see, this really cute girl told me to meet her all mystery-like, and I didn't want to look like a slob."
'You could never look like a slob,' Ember assured her.
Holland had to have been one of the prettiest women she had ever seen. Holland's golden hair, stormy grey eyes, and the fact she had a smile that could light up the whole city of New York.
Once Ember was fully better, she convinced Holland into going along with her to the night she had planned. Ember slipped her hand into the blondes as they walked along the docks and to the correct boat.
Just as planned the sun was starting to fade away as they stepped onto the boat. Once Holland and Wayne talked for a few moments they headed off to the roof. There was enough room for a table and an oversized chaise longue, great for two.
Small lights were wrapped around the railing along with a small spread of picnic food on the table.
"Wow," Holland smiled. "This is amazing!"
Ember was glad she seemed to like it so far and not to mention it helped with her nerves.
They took their seats and were headed off away from land.
The night was perfect.
They ate and talked about random things, some of which Ember signed without having to write anything on her phone.
When it came time to watch the stars Ember made sure to bring a fluffy blanket to wrap around them. The cold breeze wasn't as harsh as Ember had originally thought and the waters were calm compared to times in the past.
"Thank you," Holland whispered. "I think this is the most beautiful date I've-well I never really went on dates," she laughed. "I'm just saying this was way more than I could have imagined."
Holland pecked her cheek and cuddled closer to the green-haired woman. Ember's heart wanted to burst out like the small butterflies that took residency in her stomach when Holland was around.
She couldn't believe this went so well, she felt like she was dreaming and she didn't want to wake up if that was the case.