It was about five-fifteen when Emily slowly walked down the steps of Mystic Falls High School with her binder and history textbook hugged against her chest. Emily usually would be home by now but she had to attend a student council meeting.
The Gilbert girl didn't even want to go to the meeting since she had so many other things to worry about. Emily only went because it was a meeting about the next decade dance. Emily didn't go for herself but for Caroline.
The Forbes vampire begged Emily to go to the meeting and convince the student council to not pick the Y2K era for the next decade dance. Emily was sure the Forbes vampire would be pleased when she finds out that the next decade dance in a few months will be based in the twenties.
Emily was in her own little world as she walked through the parking lot of Mystic Falls High School as she thought about the homework she needed to get done tonight. The Gilbert girl was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear anyone walk up to her, so it was no surprise when Emily flinched and squealed when she suddenly felt an arm being thrown over her shoulder.
The Radkova witch hurriedly looked beside her before she almost immediately relaxed when she saw it was Tyler. Emily lightly slapped the Lockwood werewolf's chest for scaring her before she mumbled, "a little warning next time."
Tyler released a heavy chuckle before he told the Gilbert girl, "I did. I called out your name like five times."
"Oh," Emily mumbled with a small frown. The Gilbert girl had been realizing a lot lately that she has been getting lost in her thoughts. Emily knew it was because of all the episodes she kept on having. Emily knew she needed to get a control on it before people started to worry.
The Gilbert girl quickly hid her frown, so Tyler didn't notice it and think something was wrong. "What are you doing out here?" Emily curiously asked as she moved past their previous conversation while Emily turned to the face the Lockwood werewolf.
Emily glanced down to her rose gold watch on her wrist before Emily looked back up at the werewolf and commented, "I thought you would have football practice at this time."
Tyler carelessly shrugged his shoulders before he muttered, "I decided to skip."
"Why?" Emily questioned with her brows slightly furrowed.
"Well, it's been awhile since we hung out together," the Lockwood werewolf stated, "so, I thought we could go chill."
Tyler honestly missed being around the Gilbert girl. They used to hang out everyday but ever since the supernatural world came into their lives, Tyler only ever gets to see Emily when something is wrong.
Tyler wasn't blind. He had notice how much Emily has been struggling lately. The Radkova witch wasn't that same happy and smiley girl she usually was. Tyler just wanted to see that beautiful smile on her face again.
"Asshole!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed as she pushed onto Tyler's chest. "You scared me," Emily mumbled with a pout on her lips, "I thought something was wrong."
Tyler released an amused chuckle before he exclaimed, "something is wrong!" The Lockwood werewolf grabbed Emily's hand and placed it over his heart. "I missed being with you," Tyler murmured as he smiled softly at the Gilbert girl.
Emily playfully rolled her green eyes at her best friend. "I guess we can hang out," the Gilbert girl exaggeratedly muttered.
"Oh, come on now," the Lockwood werewolf whined with a pout on his lips. "It's not like I'm forcing you," Tyler mumbled.
Emily giggled as she watched the Lockwood werewolf act like a small child. The Gilbert girl decided to put Tyler out of his misery after a few minutes of watching the werewolf whine and groan. Emily squeezed the Lockwood teenager's hand before she stated, "I would love to hang out with you."
The Lockwood werewolf instantly grinned down at the Radkova witch. "That's my girl," Tyler murmured with happiness tripping throughout his voice.
Emily slowly shook her head in amusement before she curiously asked, "where do you wanna go?"
"Hmm..." Tyler murmured as he tapped his finger against his chin. The Lockwood werewolf's brown eyes soon widened as he thought of the perfect place. "How about the arcade?" Tyler suggested.
"We haven't been there in forever!" The Gilbert girl excitedly exclaimed as her green eyes quickly widened just like Tyler's brown ones did.
Emily couldn't believe she forgot about the arcade, the only arcade in Mystic Falls. The Gilbert and Lockwood teenagers used to go to the arcade everyday after football and cheerleading practice. However, they it all came to a stop when Tyler got busy with Vicki and then vampires came to Mystic Falls.
The arcade used to be Emily's happy place, so she couldn't wait to see of the flashing lights of the games and the smell of greasy pizza and french fries.
The Lockwood werewolf couldn't help but smile softly at Emily's excitement, something he hadn't seen in a long time. "Yeah, it's been awhile," Tyler commented before he stated with a grin, "it's about time we made our return."
"Well, what are you we waiting for?" The Gilbert girl impatiently asked before she grabbed Tyler's hand. "Let's get going!" Emily exclaimed before she began to pull the Lockwood werewolf.
Tyler released a light chuckle as he let the Gilbert girl pull him through the parking lot of Mystic Falls High School. "Do you even know where my car is?" The Lockwood werewolf wondered as they swerved in and out between cars and trucks.
"Of course I do!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed as if Tyler just offended her. "You always park in the same place," Emily stated.
"Touché," Tyler muttered as the Radkova witch led him straight to his black car.
The Lockwood werewolf quickly opened the passenger door for Emily before he closed the door behind her. Tyler walked around his car before he jumped in behind the week. The Lockwood teenager slowly pulled out of the Mystic Falls High School parking lot before he began driving towards town.
It was quiet and peaceful between the witch and the werewolf for a few minutes with soft rock music playing on the radio before Tyler interrupted the silence. The Lockwood werewolf briefly glanced over to Emily when he hit a red light before he gently asked, "how have you been doing?"
The Gilbert girl shot Tyler a small smile. "I'm good," Emily murmured, "it's just been a long day."
Emily, of course, wasn't telling the complete truth but it wasn't a complete lie, either. The Radkova witch was just so tired from all of the constant school work and from waking up from nightmares at the crack of dawn.
Emily was doing better, though. The Radkova witch only had one episode today. It happened when some eager freshmen grabbed Emily's shoulder where the claw marks were after Emily's lunch period. Emily didn't mind people touching her but when the teenager grabbed on the claw mark, a shot of pain ran up Emily's body. It took the Radkova witch a good fifteen minutes to calm down from the pain.
"How have you been sleeping?" Tyler asked once he passed the set of lights and headed towards the arcade.
"What? Are you my therapist?" The Gilbert girl joked as she shot Tyler a playful smirk.
The Lockwood werewolf rolled his brown eyes. "I'm just taking care of my girl," Tyler murmured as he placed a gentle hand onto Emily's knee.
Emily released a light chuckle before she promised, "I'm fine. I'm sleeping and I'm doing okay." The Gilbert girl released a groan before she muttered, "the only thing that is bothering me is all of this homework."
Emily knew she definitely lied this time around. The Radkova witch would not call what she does as sleeping. Emily really felt like a nap more than anything. However, Emily knew the Lockwood werewolf would get worried if she told him the truth. Emily knew this was for the best.
"Are you sure?" Tyler questioned with his brows slightly furrowed. The Lockwood werewolf parked his car in the arcade parking lot before he turned to face Emily. "Are you sure you're doing okay?" Tyler worriedly asked as he gently grasped the Gilbert girl's hand.
The Radkova witch released a small chuckle. "I'm perfectly fine," Emily promised as she squeezed the werewolf's hand. "Now, are we going to play or are you going to babysit me all night?" The Gilbert girl questioned with a challenging raised eyebrow.
Emily did not want to talk about her problems right now or ever, really. The Gilbert girl knew Tyler's competitive nature would soon forget all about his worries for her.
The Lockwood werewolf rolled his brown eyes before he cockily exclaimed, "I'm going to kick your ass at every single game."
"You wanna put your money where mouth is, then?" Emily taunted with a wide smirk playing on her lips.
"Damn right," Tyler immediately agreed. "What do you say, loser buys milkshakes?" The Lockwood werewolf suggested.
"You're on," the Radkova witch immediately agreed before she quickly jumped out of Tyler's car and excitedly rounded the black vehicle.
Tyler chuckled in amusement at how excited Emily was but he didn't comment on it as he got out of car and locked it as this what exactly what Tyler wanted to see. The Lockwood werewolf was so happy that he had already gotten Emily to smile. Tyler swore he was going to make sure it stayed on her face for the rest of the night.
The Lockwood werewolf opened the door to the building and placed his hand lightly on Emily's lower back before he led her inside of the brightly lit arcade. "What do you wanna play first?" Tyler questioned as he glanced around the arcade.
Emily slowly looked around the room before she spotted one of her favorite arcade games. "Ooh!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed, "Skee-Ball!"
Tyler looked where the Gilbert girl was staring before he agreed, "you got it."
The Lockwood werewolf knew they needed some coins first, so he led Emily over to the money transfer machine. Tyler released the Radkova witch's waist before he placed a twenty dollar bill into the cash slot. It only took a couple of seconds before several and several gold coins dropped down.
Tyler picked up the coins before he shoved them into the pocket of his jeans. The Lockwood teenager placed his hand back onto Emily's back before he silently led her over to the row of Skee-Ball machines.
"Ready to lose?" Tyler taunted the Gilbert girl with a playful smirk as he pulled four gold coins from his pocket.
Emily rolled her green eyes as she grabbed two gold coins out of the werewolf's hand. "In your dreams," Emily exclaimed before she pushed the arcade currency into her Skee-Ball machine.
"We'll see," the Lockwood werewolf teasingly murmured before he did the same with his two coins to start up the arcade game.
The Gilbert girl felt a sense of peace as she listened to the small tune of the Skee-Ball machine turning on and the sound of the painted white wooden balls sliding down the slot before they stopped with a small clank.
The witch and the werewolf best friend duo were both very competitive people, so there wasn't any sort of talking between them. There was only sounds of the white balls rolling down aisle to land in the holes to gain the largest score.
There was a peaceful silence between the Gilbert and Lockwood teenagers until they each got down to their last three balls.
Tyler glanced over to the Radkova witch with a playful smirk after he had scored fifty points on his seventh ball. "Are you ready to accept defeat yet?" The Lockwood werewolf taunted.
"Yeah, right," the Gilbert girl muttered as she rolled her green eyes. Emily scored a hundred points before she looked over at the Lockwood werewolf with her own smirk. "I'm kicking your ass," Emily cockily exclaimed.
Tyler didn't let the witch's perfect score scare him. "You can give up now," the Lockwood werewolf uttered in a singing voice with his same smirk glued to his face.
"You're going down," the Gilbert girl confidently muttered before she slid her last white ball down the aisle and scored a decent seventy.
Tyler followed along and rolled his last ball. The Lockwood werewolf wasn't exactly pleased when he scored another fifty. Tyler could only hope that the young witch did worse than him. The Lockwood teenager turned to Emily before he asked, "what did you get?"
"Take a look for yourself," the Gilbert girl exclaimed with a wide grin as she looked at her score and noticed that it was one of her personal best. "Six hundred and fifty," Emily proudly read before she looked over at the werewolf with a smirk and asked, "how about you?"
Tyler frowned as he looked across at his own score. "Four hundred and seventy," the Lockwood werewolf mumbled in defeat.
"Yes!" The Gilbert girl cheered as she jumped up in the air. "I'm the winner!" Emily happily exclaimed with a wide smile shining on her face.
"Calm it down," Tyler ordered with a fake sense of annoyance to his voice. "It's only the first game," the Lockwood werewolf reminded the Radkova witch.
Emily couldn't help but giggle in amusement as she stared at her pouting best friend. "Aw," the Gilbert girl cooed as she slowly moved closer to the Lockwood teenager. "Are you a sore loser, Ty?" Emily teased as she playfully pinched the werewolf's cheek with her thumb and point finger.
Tyler immediately pushed the Gilbert girl's hand away from his face with a deep pout painted on his lips. "Whatever," the Lockwood werewolf muttered. "I'm picking out the next game," Tyler exclaimed as he linked his fingers through Emily's digits before he began to pull her through the arcade.
"Go ahead," Emily uttered with an amused chuckle. "You're still gonna lose," the Gilbert girl teasingly added.
"We'll see about that," the Lockwood werewolf muttered before he quickly smirked when he spotted a basketball game. Tyler knew the Gilbert girl absolutely sucked at basketball games, so Tyler knew he would win by a landslide to tie up their competition.
The Radkova witch immediately groaned when she spotted what Tyler was leading her towards. "Why this one?" Emily loudly whined as she sluggishly dragged her feet towards the basketball machines.
"What? I thought you were going to win?" Tyler taunted as he turned to face the Gilbert girl with a wide smirk on his lips. "I thought you were the queen of this place," the Lockwood werewolf murmured before he tsked, "you are losing your touch."
Emily rolled her green eyes as she stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I'm not," the Gilbert girl muttered with a deep pout.
"Then let's see you win," the Lockwood werewolf continued to taunt. Tyler leaned over and placed a short kiss onto Emily's temple. "Good luck," Tyler whispered as he slowly pulled his lips from Emily's warm skin.
The Radkova witch immediately froze when she suddenly felt the claw mark on her shoulder flare up. Emily was super thankful that Tyler was too busy pulling coins out of his pocket to notice her stiff stance.
Emily had to clench her teeth together as it felt like the claw mark was crawling on her skin. It did not feel good at all. It felt like the sharp claws were scratching up her shoulder and up her neck. Emily quickly swallowed down the pain when Tyler turned to her with the gold coins.
The Radkova witch took the arcade currency with a tight smile as she tried to hide her discomfort from her best friend. "Let's get this over with," Emily mumbled once the pain went away before she placed the coins into the basketball machine.
The Lockwood werewolf lightly chuckled at Emily's hatred for the basketball game. "This is about to be a slam dunk," Tyler cockily murmured as he slipped the gold coins into the machine.
"Ha ha," Emily sarcastically uttered at the werewolf's basketball pun before she forced herself to focus on winning the game. The Gilbert girl took a slow and deep breath before she pressed the flashing play button.
Emily immediately grew nervous when the bright red sixty second time began to count down. The fact that she had a time limit made Emily even more anxious.
Emily couldn't believe the Lockwood werewolf would even pick this game. It was a known fact to anyone who knew Emily that she absolutely despised any type of basketball games. The eldest Gilbert sibling didn't exactly have the height, so it made it even harder for her to win.
Emily was quickly growing frustrated after every single shot she threw. The Gilbert girl had only made three in the last forty seconds. "This game is so rigged!" Emily whined after she missed another shot.
The Lockwood werewolf curiously glanced over to Emily when he heard her speak before Tyler released a light chuckle. Tyler peaked over to the witch's scoreboard and noticed how little she had scored.
Tyler's soft spot for the Gilbert girl immediately came out when he saw Emily all pouty and not smiling like she was only a few minutes ago. Tyler wanted that smile to come back, so the Lockwood werewolf decided to sacrifice his last twenty seconds to help her.
Tyler dropped his basketball back on the rack before he approached the Gilbert girl in front of her machine. "Come on. Let's give it another shot," the Lockwood werewolf ordered as he picked up an orange ball and handed it to the pouting witch.
"Fine," the Gilbert girl mumbled in defeat before she grasped the basketball between her palms.
The Lockwood werewolf moved behind Emily before he corrected her hands to be in the right spot on the basketball. "Okay, on the count of three you're going to shoot," Tyler instructed softly against the shell of the Gilbert girl's ear.
"Okay," Emily mumbled while she tried to ignore the fire-like heat on the claw mark on her shoulder.
The Radkova witch didn't understand why the claw mark kept on reacting whenever Tyler would get close to her. Emily would only have it flare up when she was going through an episode, so it was quite strange as to why the claw mark was responding badly to Tyler's touch.
"One... two... three," the Lockwood werewolf counted before he pushed on the basketball at the same time as Emily threw it.
The witch and the werewolf both watched with baited breaths as the orange ball bounce around the rim. The timer blared to announce that time was up just as the basketball swooshed through the net.
"Look at that!" Tyler immediately cheered as he squeezed the Gilbert girl's waist from behind. "You did it!" The Lockwood teenager exclaimed with a wide grin on his face.
"It didn't help any," Emily mumbled as she turned around to face her best friend. "I still lost," the Gilbert girl whined as she pointed over to Tyler's machine and saw that he scored forty points versus her eight points.
"Hey," the Lockwood werewolf cooed. "You can't win them all," Tyler teased as he grabbed the Gilbert girl's hand and pulled her into his chest.
"Shut up," Emily muttered before she pushed herself out of the Lockwood werewolf's chest and looked up at him with a deep pout.
"Hey," Tyler softly murmured as he bumped the brunette girl's chin with his knuckle. "How about you pick the last game?" The Lockwood werewolf suggested as he shot Emily a small smile.
Tyler found it so cute from how pouty the Gilbert girl was and how much of sore loser she is. The Lockwood teenager rarely saw Emily that way, so he was pleased to know he was the one to bring it out of her.
Tyler's suggestion immediately perked up Emily's attitude. Emily knew she just needed to pick a game that she knew she would win to beat Tyler for her free milkshake.
The Gilbert girl slowly looked around the arcade before Emily's green eyes brightened when she found an empty game of air hockey. "There!" Emily exclaimed as she pointed towards the purple and white table.
Tyler followed the Gilbert girl's finger before he noticed the air hockey table. "Are you sure?" The Lockwood werewolf taunted with a smirk, "is that your final answer?"
"Yes!" Emily confirmed before she confidently exclaimed, "and I'm winning."
The Lockwood werewolf released a deep chuckle. "If you say so," Tyler murmured.
Emily rolled her green eyes at her best friend's taunting tactics but she wasn't going to let that distract her. "Come on," the Gilbert girl uttered as she grabbed Tyler's hand before she began to pull him towards the air hockey table.
The Lockwood werewolf couldn't contain the smile on his face when Emily placed her hand into his. It just did something to Tyler when he got to feel the Gilbert girl close to him. It was also a plus to see Emily's happy mood slowly returning again.
The Radkova witch held Tyler's hand until they reached the empty table. Emily moved to one side of the table before she clapped her hands together. "Let's do this!" Emily exclaimed.
"Get ready to buy me a milkshake," the Lockwood werewolf taunted as he slid four gold coins into the air hockey table.
Emily grabbed the purple paddle from the table before she confidently told the Lockwood werewolf, "in your dreams."
Tyler released a light chuckle as he grabbed his paddle. "Good luck," the Lockwood werewolf murmured with a smirk before he grabbed the black puck and tossed it onto the table.
The Radkova witch and the Lockwood werewolf began to competitively go back and forth scoring the puck in the other's goal. They were both all smiles and laughs as they played air hockey without a single care in the world.
It was fifteen minutes later when the score was nine to nine. There was only one point left to be made before a winner would be crowned. Emily was the one who tied up the score. The Gilbert girl couldn't help the excited smile from shining across her lips as she was ready for her win.
A soft smile quickly grew on the Lockwood werewolf's face when he noticed how happy Emily was. It was a mood that Tyler hadn't seen on Emily a lot these last few months. Tyler wanted that happiness to stay on the Gilbert girl as long as possible, so he silently came up with a plan.
The Lockwood teenager grabbed the puck from the small hole in the air hockey table before he placed it back onto the table. Tyler studied the Gilbert girl's hand movement and saw that Emily was going to try to block the left side of her goal.
Tyler acted like he was going to shoot towards the right side before he shot the puck right towards Emily's paddle. "Shit!" The Lockwood werewolf swore when he had completely missed the goal.
"You just messed up!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed as she stopped the puck with the bottom of her paddle. Emily shot the Lockwood werewolf a wide grin before she cockily uttered, "get ready to lose!"
Tyler playfully rolled his brown eyes at the Gilbert girl before he ordered, "just shoot already."
Emily grinned once more at her best friend before she swiftly focused back on the match. The Gilbert girl softly patted the puck with her paddle while she watched Tyler block from the right side of his goal. Emily knew just what she needed to do to seal her win.
The Radkova witch pushed the paddle from left to right a few times before Emily pushed the puck against the right wall. Emily held her breath as she watched the puck go from the right wall to the left wall before it slipped directly into the goal when Tyler moved his paddle to chase the puck.
"Yes!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed when the table blared that she had won the game. Emily may looked like a child but she didn't care as she excitedly jumped up and down while she held her arms above her head.
The Lockwood werewolf could only watch Emily with a soft smile playing on his lips. Tyler usually would have never sacrificed a win for anyone but he would do it again and again just to see that happiness coming from Emily with that beautiful smile.
"I am the Queen of the arcade!" Emily happily bragged as she jumped around until she was standing in front of the Lockwood werewolf with a wide smile stretched across her face.
"Yeah, yeah," Tyler muttered as he exaggeratedly rolled his brown eyes. "You got lucky," the Lockwood werewolf complained to show his false disappointment from losing when he was in fact really happy to have lost to Emily.
The Radkova witch lightly slapped Tyler's belly with a smirk. "Just accept your defeat, Ty," the Gilbert girl exclaimed before she ordered, "and buy me my milkshake."
"If it'll shut you up, then let's go," Tyler muttered with a false sense of annoyance to his voice. The Lockwood werewolf wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder before he began to lead her out of the arcade.
Tyler couldn't help but smile when the Gilbert girl wrapped her arm around his waist and excitedly began talking about what type of milkshake she was going to get. The Lockwood werewolf honestly couldn't be happier in this moment. The fact that Emily was smiling and being happy again after a stressful couple of weeks made missing football practice all worth it for Tyler.
The Radkova witch felt like she was on top of the world right now. It was such a simple thing that Tyler did for her but Emily felt relieved that got the opportunity to forget everything for a while. Emily was happy that she got to finally relax for the first time in a long time without having to worry about the monsters in her life.
Emily knew this happy moment would end soon enough and she would have to go back to the real world but for now, the Gilbert girl was going to enjoy it while she could and that all starts with getting herself a free chocolate milkshake at the diner next door curtesy of her best friend.