Emily's POV
10:00PM
"Okay! Quick check-in. How many pages has everyone finished?" I asked.
"Eight!" Chris exclaimed.
"Twelve!" Zack exclaimed.
"Thirty!" Abbie exclaimed.
"Thirty?" Tyler asked.
"What can I say? I spend a lot of time online."
"Okay... time to really concentrate and do this!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to write fifteen pages. I'm on fire! I'm going to write twenty pages! At this rate, I'll actually get to sleep tonight! I'm going to write thirty pages. I'm even giving Abbie a run for her money!"
Chris looked over my shoulder to check on my progress. "Wow... you're getting a lot done," Chris said.
"Let's just say I'm highly motivated."
"And why's that?"
"I want to stay because of you! I... I can't lose you, Chris."
"Emily, I... last night..." He took a deep breath and looked around the room. Kaitlyn and Abbie were looking over at us. "Don't worry. You're not going anywhere. We won't let that happen."
As Chris headed back to his laptop in the next room, Kaitlyn and Abbie sidled up to me. "Okay... time to dish. What's the latest on you and Chris?" Kaitlyn asked.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Don't play dumb. I know you two stayed behind last night..."
"Stop pressuring her, Kaitlyn. They were probably just talking..." Abbie said. "Plus, Emily would never be reckless enough to date someone in the house, right?"
"To be honest, Chris and I are kind of a thing," I said.
"I knew it! You work fast!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.
"I... I just hope you're careful," Abbie said. "You heard him. He's not ready for a new relationship yet!"
"I'm not so sure..." I said. "Anyway, we should get back to work!"
"You're the boss..." Kaitlyn said.
Midnight
"Looks like we're ahead of schedule. We're almost a third of the way through!" I exclaimed.
"But we just hit a serious emergency: the coffee maker is fried!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.
"What?!" Abbie exclaimed.
"Game over, man! We're doomed!" Tyler exclaimed.
"Not if I can help it! It just so happens that the campus coffee shop is only a short walk away from our dorm!" Zack exclaimed. "Even better, the barista is a total babe. His name is Brandon, and he basically looks like he was carved by Michelangelo... Please, please come with me, Emily! You can be my wing-girl! Plus, we'll get enough coffee to keep everyone awake and typing!"
"Please go with him, Emily! We need that coffee, and if Zack goes on his own, he'll spend all night working up the courage to talk to Brandon!"
"Zack, I'm in!" I exclaimed.
"That's my girl!" Zack exclaimed.
A Few Minutes Later...
"I totally owe you one, Emily! I know I talk a big game..." Zack said. "But under all of this steely confidence is the heart of a tiny, scared mouse."
"Somehow I have trouble believing that," I said.
"There he is! Just look at him. The hottest thing around here isn't the coffee."
"About Brandon, he's a hottie!"
"Tell me something I don't know." Zack looked over at Brandon again. "Ah! Panic is setting in! What if he's not into me? What if he's not even single? What if he isn't into guys?"
"I guess... asking him would be a good start?"
"Great idea! I need you to go get some intel! I'll wait over at that table WAY over there!"
Zack speedwalked to a table at the back of the shop as I reached the front of the line and came face to face with Brandon. "Everything okay? Your friend took off in a hurry..." Brandon said.
"I think he just gets nervous..." I said.
"I've seen him hanging out a few times. What's his story?"
"Zack? He's a really good friend. Even right now, Zack is in the middle of helping me with a massive project!"
"He sounds like a great boyfriend..."
"What? Noooo! It's not like that. He's, uh, more into guys."
"Interesting..."
"That actually reminds me of something I wanted to ask you... Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Somehow, I don't think you're the one who wants to ask me that. You can tell your friend that he should come talk to me himself... And that I'm into shy guys."
After ordering coffee for my friends, I headed back to Zack's table. "So... what did he say?" Zack asked.
"Sounds like he's actually married to a nice girl..." I said.
"What?!"
"Relax! I'm just kidding. He seems into you. You should go talk to him."
After working up some courage, Zack finally walked over to Brandon.
A Few Minutes Later...
"So? How'd it go?" I asked.
"Terrible," Zack said.
"Really? You guys were chatting for like ten minutes!"
"Yeah... and then I ordered another coffee and said goodbye. I didn't even get his number!"
"Wait a second... look at your cup!"
"Brandon wrote his number!"
"And a winky face!"
Zack threw his arms around me. "Best. Wing girl. Ever. I'm never leaving home without you again."
A While Later...
"... and here's a double-espresso for my favorite football star," Zack said.
"I assume you're talking about me," Tyler said.
"Very funny. Now hand over that cup. I can barely keep my eyes open," Chris said.
"By the way, I owe you big time," Zack said. "Anytime you need a wingman, I'm at your disposal!"
"I may take you up on that. But for now, what I really need is for you to type your heart out," I said. "Let's keep pushing, everyone!"
4:00AM
I headed to the kitchen for a quick break and found myself alone with Chris. "Hey... we haven't really had a chance to talk about last night," Chris said.
"Yeah... that was really... fun?" I asked.
"Yeah, it was. I... I don't just usually do stuff like that."
"Oh, me neither! I mean I -"
"Don't worry. I know. I guess the bigger question is... what happens now?"
"I'm... I'm not sure. I keep thinking about last night, and everything else... I have so many thoughts in my head, I'm afraid I'm going to explode."
"Sounds like you could use a break. You want to step outside and talk for a bit? We can talk about last night some more, and... I have some things I want to say to you, if you'll hear me out."
"Chris, a talk sounds great. I have some things I want to say too."
Chris and I stepped outside onto the roof of the dorm. The night is quiet and cool. "It's nice to get some fresh air after being inside for so long."
"Tell me about it. It feels like I've been copying Vasquez's dumb book my entire life. On the other hand, we are making really great progress. I didn't think it was possible, but we might just get the whole thing done in time. And it's all because you and everyone else stepped up to help me."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You organized and encouraged everyone."
We smiled at each other and lapsed into a comfortable silence. After a minute, I cleared my throat. "So... You had something you wanted to say?"
Chris turned to me, his eyes softening. "I do. What I want to say is... I feel something between the two of us. And not a small something either."
"Chris..."
"I'm sorry, Emily, I know I'm dumping all of this on you at once. I just wanted to say something while I still had the chance. I've also been wondering how you feel about all of this. What is it that you want?"
"I want to be more than friends. I think there's something special between us..."
"So do I... I just... I promised myself that I wouldn't do this... that I wouldn't get serious with someone again, and -"
"Listen. Don't stress about it. At this point, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to stay in school. It doesn't exactly seem like the right time for a 'Define the Relationship' talk."
"Sure. I understand."
"Chris, I..." I leaned forward and put a hand on his chest. I looked up into his eyes. "I really do care about you. But everything is still so new, and so up in the air..."
"Let's just say we're both... exploring our options. But hopefully, once things settle down for you, we can talk about this a little more."
"Sounds like a plan." Chris took a deep breath and exhaled, looking up at the night sky. "And about last night... It was pretty... intense. But whatever happens next, I don't think we should let it get in the way of our friendship."
"That's a relief to hear. I wouldn't want anything to jeopardize that. Whew, I feel a lot better now that we've talked things over. Thanks for hearing me out."
"Thanks for coming to talk to me instead of just brushing it under the rug or blowing me off or something."
"Never. Like I said, Emily, I'd never want to do anything to jeopardize what we have. Even if neither of us really know what that is right now..."
Another long moment passed as we stood across from each other. I felt something almost magnetic, my body drawn to him in a way I couldn't explain. I shook off the feeling and sighed. "We should... We should probably head back."
I started to head inside when I felt Chris's hand catch my shoulder. I turned toward him, my heart thudding loudly in my chest as I looked up at him. "Emily..." I stepped into his arms, circling mine around his waist and squeezing tightly. He seemed surprised for a moment before he folded his arms around me in return, resting his chin atop my head. "Your arms are cold..."
"And you are... amazingly warm." He chuckled, and I felt the vibration rumbling through his chest and into my bones. We stood like that, intwined together, for a moment longer before I finally, painfully pulled myself away. "Is it weird that I feel super energetic even though it's four in the morning?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you? My hugs have the energizing power of six batteries."
"I guess that makes you some kind of superhero, huh?"
"It sure does. From now on, you can refer to me as Super Typist! Able to type whole pages in a single second!"
"Then I guess we should get back in there before this energy boost wears off for both of us."
Chris and I headed back downstairs and rejoined our friends. "Hey... everything okay?" Zack asked.
"Yep! Just, uh... psyching myself up to get back to work!"
"Right on! Time for one last push!"
7:30AM
"That's... that's the last page!" I exclaimed.
"We did it!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.
"Group hug!" Zack exclaimed.
"Okay. One hug. Then I'm headed to bed. But... good luck, Emily. I hope you get to stay here," Abbie said.
"Me too..." I said.
A Few Minutes Later...
"Let's see here... better spot check a couple of scenes... no typos so far..." Professor Vasquez said. "Congratulations... you completed your task. The manuscript looks... adequate."
"Adequate?" I asked.
"What do you want? A gold star for finishing a basic assignment?"
"Actually, never mind... It's fine... totally fine."
"Passive-aggressive and self-centered. That's an ugly combination. But then... I guess your entitled attitude is why I hired you. You see... my new book is centered on a group of college students in the modern age... And I need a firsthand account of what it's like to live that life. Your actual first assignment is to write a detailed summary of everything that happened last night. Was there any drama? How did your friends react when you ensnared them in my little test?"
"Wait... are you saying that the whole 'Type up a 1,000 page novel' thing was just a... test?"
"Of course it was! Now start writing up the details of the experience. And when you're done with that, I've got your next assignment ready... One of the characters in my book is a football player. I'll need you to go find out what that's like through some firsthand research."
"I... I do have one friend who's a football player, but..."
"But nothing! I need you to go talk to him in-depth about his life!"
"After the talk I had with Chris last night, I -"
"Less complaining. More working. Get to it!"