With the passing days, the students of Summerville High prepared for Extracurricular Week. Emma was not part of any club but she spent some of her after schools with Jay who was part of the theater prop crew. Emma was not sure if Jay wanted her around because he barely spoke to her half of the times. The last thing they did together was talk to Principal Jones to allow Connor back. A decision would be made after extracurricular week. Josslyn was still not pleased with the idea but she stopped being mad at Emma.
"I still cannot believe you are into acting." Emma said to Ethan. They were backstage and she was helping him with his lines.
He chuckled. "It has been my dream for a while."
"Did you also act at your old school?" Emma asked paging through the script. Silence from Ethan made her look up at him. He had a crease between his brows and a slight frown.
Emma's eyes slightly widened when she realized what she asked. She knew about Ethan's troubled past through Maxine, and it was not a pretty past.
"Uhm... not really. Though it was something I wanted to do, it did not really align with the group of friends that I had." Ethan explained.
"Oh." Emma simply said. She was not sure what to say next but she wanted to avoid a difficult conversation.
"Like Macbeth and many others written by Shakespeare, I am what you would consider a tragic hero. An admired relatable character with great traits that the audience usually loves but he has a tragic flaw. One that brings about his downfall." Ethan stated. He looked Emma deep in the eyes. "Mine was addiction."
Emma pressed her lips into a thin line. This was information she already knew but she was going to act like this was her first time hearing it.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"This is something I only told Jay but.. before I transferred here, I was in rehab. I was hooked on drugs for the latter half of my senior year. Uhm... one of my friends died from an overdose." Ethan said as he rubbed his eyes.
"Oh My Gosh Ethan, I'm so sorry." Emma expressed. Seeing the pained expression on his face made her feel sorry for him.
"Thanks." He said with a small smile. "I honestly thought I wouldn't make it. I had no one. Everyone turned their backs on me."
"Even your parents?" Emma asked. She could not imagine parents turning their backs on their children during such a time.
Ethan nodded. "I don't blame them. I took the fall for my friend's death. I told everyone I was the one who got the drugs that killed him even though it wasn't true. I figured it would be best for everyone to be mad at the guy that was alive rather than the one who died."
Emma remained silent. The story she heard was that Ethan was definitely at fault but that was not true.
She nodded slowly as she understood Ethan. Lying to protect someone was a card she was familiar with.
"You seem to be doing fine now." She said with a small smile.
Ethan also smiled. "Yeah... my parents came around to forgiving me and then we moved here and it's not bad at all."
"Light at the end of the tunnel." Emma pointed out. "You became friends with one of the best people I know. I should be mad that you stole my best friend but I see he is in good hands."
Ethan chuckled. " I guess I was meant to save him. That was my redemption."
Emma's eyebrows came together.
"Save him? What do you mean?" She asked with concern. What did Ethan mean by that?
He scratched the back of his head.
"Nothing. I just meant all this was happening to him and he needed some support."
Emma mumbled a "mhm" as she was not sure if she was satisfied with Ethan's answer, but he had no reason to lie to her. They both cared about Jay and if something happened, she would know.
"Are you going to the mayor's swearing in ceremony in the park tomorrow?" Ethan asked.
Emma shrugged. She did not want to. She wanted nothing to do with the Hastings family.
"What about the fancy dinner thing at the Hastings house?" Ethan asked again.
Emma cocked her head to the side. Her family received the invitation two days ago and she was sure it was a private event for the respected families of the town.
"How do you know about that?" She asked.
"Jay. He wants me to go with him." Ethan told her.
"He is going to that?" She asked surprised. Since Jay gave the town up, she did not think he would attend any town related events.
"Yes he is!" Jay said walking towards Emma and Ethan.
"Why would I pass up an opportunity to wear a suit."
Emma smiled.
"You do look all sorts of dapper in those." She complemented.
"So Ethan is your date huh? Cute."
Both Jay and Ethan chuckled.
"I'm guessing you will be coming with Marcus?" Jay asked, the look of amusement on his face long gone. If anything, his jaw was slightly clenched.
Emma opened her mouth to say something but didn't. This was not how she wanted to introduce Marcus as her boyfriend to her family so she shook her head.
"It's just going to be me and the family."
"Great! You can hang with Ethan and I. It can be just us three." Jay beamed.
Emma felt a little weird that Jay said the word "great" to the fact that she was not inviting her boyfriend. She wondered if he did not like Marcus.
"Anyways, I should get going." She announced getting up and taking her school bag. She did not want to stay too late at school.
"See you tomorrow, Em." Ethan chirped.
"Yeah De Luca. See you tomorrow." Jay also said.
Emma waved at the boys and walked out of the school auditorium. She passed some of the classrooms and then reached the lockers. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Liam standing at his.
Emma was not sure where she and him stood because they have not spoken after her relationship with Marcus became public.
She was ready to turn around and go back to the auditorium but Liam looked at her.
She offered a small nervous smile and walked towards him.
"Hi!" She squeaked, her voice a little too high pitched. She cringed internally.
"Hey... Em." Liam said back to her then focused his attention to his locker.
"How have you been?" Emma asked and gulped. The small talk felt unfamiliar and weird.
"We don't have to do this you know. We can pretend like the other doesn't exist." Liam stated, not looking at her.
Emma sighed and her shoulders dropped. She did not want to pretend like Liam did not exist.
"I don't want that. Look, I know you hate me and I get that but I am so so sorry and I wish you weren't in this situation. I wish I could take all the awkwardness away so we can be involved in each other's lives like we used to be."
Liam closed his locker and remained silent for a few seconds.
"I don't hate you, Em, I can't and trust me... I've tried." He started. He then turned to face her. "I am not going to lie to you and say that I am not hurt that you and Marcus are together. It hurts, like physically in my chest and honestly, I could do the rest of the school year without seeing the both of you... but I still care about you and shutting you out hurts me more because I know it hurts you."
Emma felt her heart swell at the fact that Liam still cared about her. The feeling was mutual. She cared deeply for him. She hated how the situation was pushing him away.
"When I spent the night at your house, that is how I want to leave things with us. The thing with Marcus did throw me off but that is my own personal shit to deal with... but I do want to be in a good place. It will be hard to do but it is what I want." Liam further stated.
A genuine smile played on Emma's lips. She felt awful that she put Liam in this position but she was also glad that he was trying for things to be okay with them.
"Thank you Liam." She said genuinely.
He smiled.
"I should get back to practice. The science quiz against River High is coming up and I have to make sure I'm ready." He told her.
Emma nodded.
"I can't wait to watch you, you're gonna kick ass." She smiled.
Liam chuckled and walked back to the classrooms.
Emma felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. This was all she wanted, to finish her senior year in good spirits with the people she cared about.
*
Since it was Friday night, that meant date night for Emma and Marcus.
She picked up some pizza and made her way to his house.
When she got there, she found him carefully ironing his soccer uniform.
"Do you have a match or something?" She asked setting the pizza on the counter.
"Uhm no. We were asked to be in the parade tomorrow." Marcus nonchalantly said.
"Parade?" Emma asked. She heard nothing of the sort.
"Yeah. During the mayor's swearing in ceremony. I thought you knew of this." Marcus explained.
Emma shook her head. She did not actually care since she was not attending the afternoon ceremony, only the evening dinner.
"Are you gonna come watch me?" Marcus asked. He turned the iron off and put his uniform on a hanger.
"Do I have to?" Emma asked but it was more of a whine.
"You don't have to, I just thought you would want to see your boyfriend in the parade." Marcus stated putting the ironing board away into the utility closet.
Emma slightly glared at Marcus. He was guilt tripping her and it was working.
"Fine, but only cause you asked." She said as she walked over to the living room and switched the tv on. Marcus was teaching her how to play video games and she was ready to learn.
He joined her on the couch and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll get you a soda right after. It's gonna be hot as hell."
Emma let out a chuckle. She looked at the tv and saw the evening news playing. The faces of three men we on the screen, faces she saw before.
She quickly turned the volume up.
"These are the three suspects of a car hijacking right between Summerville and McCollumford. Thanks to the car's interior dash cam, the suspects were able to be identified and they are also part of the notorious Hyenas gang. The victim, Mike Tiles was pistol whipped...."
"Those guys..." Marcus started. "That night of our first date, they approached us at the diner and complemented your car."
Emma felt a shiver down her spine.
"Oh my gosh....they could've hurt us."
"You know what this means right? The Hyenas are making a comeback, this won't be good." Marcus stated.