Chapter two
EM I R Y
"He who is afraid to ask is ashamed of learning."
- DANISH PROVERB
I sighed looking down at my lunch and wishing I wasn't at school. At least David picked me up this morning. However, David was missing from our lunch table and I was currently sitting alone. He's probably busy with some girl. That seems like him. Not flirting with my attractive new neighbor. I could feel my cheeks heat up at the thought of my new neighbor. Tyler was his name. It was a nice sounding name, it suited him. And yet, my brain still decided to focus on the negative. That David, my - apparently not - straight best friend would hit on him. And yeah okay, he hit on him, not that big of a deal. But it was a big deal. At least to me.
I mean, I was in love with him, so yeah it hurt. And while I never really cared if he hit on girls something about him hitting on a boy made things seem different. Really different. I could barely look at him the same way this morning. It was the only thing going through my mind in the car. Maybe it was the fact that I knew he was attracted to girls, end of story. I could never give him want he wanted because I wasn't a girl. But now that he flirted with a guy it became a "I'm not good enough for you" type of feeling. Well that, and the fact that he promised me that if he wanted to experiment with guys - if he ever found out he was gay - I would be the one he would come to. Only me.
Of course that was when we were younger and it seems he's forgotten. But still, it felt wrong. That was the type of promise you didn't forget easily. And the way Tyler said it. Like he was seriously tired of being hit on by guys like David. Like David was actually trying really hard to get his attention. Although I didn't remember how exactly David or Tyler looked when they were talking, I did remember Tyler being cheerful. But I suspect that was just his work attitude. And I couldn't see David's face as I was looking at his back the whole time. I mean, I guess his body language was kind of suggestive. I clearly remembered Tyler locking eyes with me. He seemed to captivate me and command my attention immediately. It was a feeling I knew well from the looks David gave me sometimes.
I stabbed my spork into a grape and stuck it in my mouth. I was thinking about why sporks were even invented when a body sat down next to me. I sighed, slightly angry.
"What do you want?" I asked lowly.
"Hello to you too neighbor." I heard a chuckle and looked up.
"You're not David..." I said awkwardly. It was Tyler. And I felt like melting into the floor. Is the only thing I'm good for just embarrassing myself?
Tyler smiled warmly at me, making my heart temporarily freak out. He had a really nice smile. It was different from his smile at Subway. It was a lot softer and more gentle. It was one of those smiles that really made you feel happy for no reason. A nice, kind smile. I tried to avoid eye contact as my cheeks started to get extremely warm.
"Ah, sorry man! That was totally meant for me." David said sitting down in the seat across from me. I instantly glared at him and he made a hurt face. "Oh come on Em! What did I do? I took you to school this morning and everything!"
I continued to ignore him as Tyler laughed. I tried not to be too effected by the sound. David started to whine and lend over the table. He tried to get me to look at him. I saw his face underneath mine from the corner of my eye. I turned my head away from him and his hands griped the sides of my face and pulled it back towards him. He squished my cheeks together to get some kind of reaction out of me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Get your cold hands off me." I said slapping at them lightly.
David let my face go but still stayed close to me. I stared back at him and felt as if I couldn't breath. Mostly because I couldn't and mostly because of the way that David was looking at me. With all of that concern and the patience he didn't have with anyone else. He was so close to me. If I just reached out a little bit I could pull his face closer to mine and kiss him. God, I wanted to kiss him so badly. Why was he choosing this moment out of all of them to be so cute and caring? I was just staring into those hazel eyes and trying so hard to not look down at his lips. I swallowed and tried to keep myself in check. You would think I had this down by now.
"Hey, Em. I'm sorry okay." He said softly.
I scoffed at him and broke eye contact, "You didn't do anything, stupid."
David looked at me with wide eyes, finally sitting back down, "You like seeing me in pain, don't you?"
"Guilty is charged."
"Anyways! Tyler this is Emiry. Emiry, Tyler! He's new." David said smiling.
Tyler smiled back, "Yeah I know him. I'm kind of in his class and his neighbor."
"What?! And you didn't tell me Em?" David looked at me with fake sadness. I only turned to face Tyler.
"You're in my class?" I asked.
He nodded his head. "First period. I sit next to you."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." I felt even more embarrassed. How could I not notice that he sat next to me? "Wait, if you sit next to me, why didn't you say something this morning?"
Tyler broke eye contact with me and scratched his neck, "Uh, you looked kind of mad or something. So I didn't want to be annoying."
So considerate. I almost wanted to fawn over him if just for his mannerisms. Unlike David, who has the worst temper and whines all the time when I don't talk to him. He's honestly like a child. But I guess that's just because he was raised with everything he ever wanted. No one really told him "no". And while his parents do care slightly about this fact, it's not like they tried to laid down any rules or anything. David said it was because they were just "too tired" to discipline him or something like that. I found that to be complete crap but I wasn't going to question it. David's my best friend, not my child.
"By the way," Tyler continued, "Those cookies were amazing. You said your mom made them?" He asked. I nodded my head, a slight blush coming on. David looked up at me from his position of laying his head on one arm and draping his other arm across the top of his head. Just looking at him in that position made me feel uncomfortable. But I locked eyes with him before he glanced at Tyler and then back to me with this confused look.
I raised an eyebrow in question. He sighed and finally released himself from that awful position and looked at me. It was like he was trying to zero in on me. I just ignored him and continued eating my lunch. Which consisted of stabbing poorly raised grapes with a spork. But he wouldn't stop staring at me. Finally, I looked up at him and stared back.
"What?" I asked. I wanted it to sound angry but it was all breathless and small.
David pouted a little, "Your mom made cookies and you didn't bring me some?"
I squinted at him. "Really? That's what you're upset about?"
"No. Not entirely." He said back.
I could feel my head tilting, but I was still staring at David. He was doing that thing with his eyes where he looks at me, but he's deep in thought. Like he's zoned out but still looking at my face with concentration. Like he's studying me and all the details and lines on my face like I've done so many times to him. And I wonder if I'm actually blushing or if my whole body just feels warm. When he looks at me like that, I can't function. Why? Why does he make me feel like this if there is not meaning behind it? Why does he look at me like that? It feels like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest.
Any moment now I'm going to brake eye contact. I'm going to stop looking into those perfect hazel eyes. Stop staring at his cute, slightly pointy nose. I'm not looking at the way he hasn't cut his hair in a while. How it's now starting to frame his face a little better. That dark chocolate brown hair falling against his face. And his lips, god please tell me I haven't been staring at his lips. I can't be so obvious but he's making it so hard. Why is he still staring at me? When did I start biting my lip? When did my hands start shaking? Why do his eyes seem to be wavering like mine? Like he's trying not to look somewhere. How long have we even been doing this?
There was a slight chuckle that interrupted our moment. We both turned to look at Tyler who was watching us with this small, tiny smile on his face. I didn't know whether to glare at him for ruining the moment or thank him because I forgot how to breath during that and finally took a much needed breath. I reached for my water bottle and started to drink, anything to distract me from what just happened.
"So... how long have you guys been together?" Tyler asked.
"What?" David responded as I choked on my water. David frowned and looked back at me and I just shook my head. I finally stopped choking and an awkward silence passed over us. By now I knew I was blushing up to my ears.
"As friends I mean." Tyler said.
"Oh. Um, I don't know. Em do you remember how old we were when we met?" David asked.
"I was two and you were four. So basically, our whole lives." I answered back.
Tyler nodded his head, "That must be nice. Having a friend for so long."
David finally returned to normal, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. "Well yeah. But I'm lucky to have that friend be Em. He's the only one that can really control me. Honestly, he's amazing. He was the one that got me to stop trying to stick leaves on my face when I was six. Been best friends ever since - well I mean, that's when I realized we were best friends."
I rolled my eyes at him and went back to finishing my lunch as Tyler asked him why he was sticking leaves to his face. And while they were talking I kind of drifted into my own thoughts. I thought about what that staring meant. Why it had happened. I normally didn't question when those things happened. But Tyler was here and he commented on it. He could probably tell I liked David. And I don't know if that should bother me. What do I do if someone other than my mother and therapist know that I like David? Obviously, he wasn't homophobic as he was clearly, seriously, asking if we were together. He only changed his tone once he saw our reactions.
I looked back over at Tyler. He was talking with David so he didn't notice my staring. I didn't know what to think of him. He was this really nice guy but he also seemed to just so easily pick up on all the things I did. And I don't know if that had anything to do with the fact that I've probably just adjusted to David's level of obliviousness or that I was getting worse at hiding my feelings. That was most likely but I feel like that's so opposite of what I'm supposed to do. Aren't I supposed to get better at hiding my feelings over long periods of time?
Suddenly, green eyes tore through my thoughts and peered into me. Instantly, my cheeks started to heat up and I looked away. David huffed a little but I didn't think anything of it.
"S-Sorry, I zoned out for a second." I mumbled.
Tyler laughed, "It's fine. Although, I think David was trying to ask you something."
I blushed and looked over at David. He was in fact staring me down. Great. This whole lunch is just full of staring and embarrassing myself.
"Anyways," David said looking at me, "I was asking if we're still on for movie night tonight?"
I blinked for a second. I had forgot it was movie night. I never forget movie night. David waited for my response with a raised eyebrow. Finally, I snapped out of it and stuttered out a response.
"Um, y-yeah. I think mom is having a late shift anyways."
David smiled and then glanced at Tyler before looking back over at me. I got the hint but slightly frowned. Movie nights were me and David's thing. I didn't want to invite Tyler. No offense to Tyler. Especially, since David had apparently been flirting with him. I didn't feel comfortable with that. And I didn't like that David thought about inviting someone else to our private moment. But I could tell that David was trying to be nice for once, and he hadn't seemed to get frustrated with Tyler yet. Which, is questionable and amazing in itself. I sighed. "Tyler, would you like to come to movie night?" I asked, turning to face him.
Tyler looked at me for a moment before responding, "I would love to, but I still have stuff to unpack from the move."
"Oh, I totally forgot! You did say that you were Em's new neighbor."
"David, he literally said that like ten minutes ago. How did you forget?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him.
David ignored me and continued on, "So did you kick out that nice middle aged women?"
"No, that's my Aunt. My ... My father passed away. So I'm living with her now." Tyler said quietly.
"Ah, um ... sorry about your loss. Didn't mean to pry." David said quickly.
"...Yeah."
The bell rang for lunch to be over and Tyler quickly left. I looked at David as if you say 'Nice job, idiot. You drove him away'. He just gave me an apology face and we parted ways. I spent the rest of the day not really paying attention to anything. Thinking about all the staring between me and David and worrying about Tyler. Maybe I should drop by his house after school really quickly to check on him. But then again, he looked like he didn't want to talk about it. And he does have a job so he might not even be home. Still it concerned me.
I met up with David after school and we walked to his car. He drove us to his house where he ran inside to quickly pack a bag. Apparently, this movie night was also going to be a sleepover night too. I sat in the car and sent a text to mom telling her that we were heading home and that David was staying the night. Just as she replied back David got in the car, throwing a bag in the back. I waved to David's parents from my window.
"Mom said she left money for pizza." I said.
"Sweet. You want the regular or half Hawaiian, half everything?" David asked as we took off towards my house.
I thought about it for a minute, "Half Hawaiian, half everything."
"Yes, good choice Em!" David laughed.
I laughed too, "You probably would have ordered it anyways."
"True."
We pulled up to my house and David stood behind me, glancing at Tyler's house, as I opened the front door. Once we got inside David went upstairs to put his things in my room. I looked around for the money mom had left us and pulled up the Domino's website on the computer. I quickly made our pizza and placed the order as David sat down in front of the TV.
"We doing this traditionally or Netflix tonight?"
"Uh..." I paused, zoning out for a second as I looked at the computer screen. "Both?"
I felt David's chin on top of my head. He grabbed the mouse away from me and brought up Netflix. We scrolled through the movies for a while until we settled on one. Treasure Planet. An absolutely amazing Disney movie that just got glossed over. David just rolled his eyes at me and turned on my Xbox and pulled the movie up on the big screen. I thought nothing of it considering the first time I made him watch it he cried. He loves this movie, he just trying to be all manly or whatever.
The doorbell rang a few minutes later and David got up to get the pizza. When I heard the feminine voice at the door I sighed. Fortunately, the giggling only lasted for a moment and David returned with the pizza. I grabbed a slice, putting it on a paper plate and getting a napkin, before I looked sideways at David. He was mid chew when he noticed my staring. He raised an eyebrow.
"What? She wasn't cute enough?" I asked.
David finished his bite and then replied, "I don't always hit on every girl I see Em."
"Hmm. Okay." I replied.
"Look, are you even watching this stupid movie? Cause if not I will gladly put in Winter Soldier."
I sat back down and payed attention to the movie. I was just itching to say something about him flirting with Tyler, but I swallowed it down. Even though it is important, and I should probably talk to him about it, I didn't want to do it right now. If he wasn't sleeping over it would be different. I could ask him about it and I wouldn't have to be awkward or embarrassed for the rest of the night if it came to that. And to be honest, it was always going to end up like that.
We spent the rest of the night watching Marvel movies (in the correct order) and watching animated Disney movies in between them for me.The room was dark except for the TV light and the pizza box was empty, along with the whole two litter bottle of sprite David had brought. I was wrapped up in my blankets barely paying attention to the movie at this point. The clock on the TV box read 2:39 and I yawned slightly.
I shifted my body and rest my head on Davids lap. I felt my eyes close as David absentmindedly started to stroke my hair. I sighed. This was probably my favorite thing about movie nights. Being able to go to sleep with David doing something like this. His body just radiated warmth and I wanted to just stay like this for as long as possible. I was drifting off to sleep when I felt David poking my cheek. I groaned and tried to shake his finger off my face.
David just laughed lightly, "Getting sleepy?"
"Yes." I said sharply as I tried to close my eyes again. I had already taken my pills and they were starting to kick in since I didn't immediately lay down after I took them.
"You want me to take you upstairs?"
I snorted, "I'd like to see you try."
I turned towards David. He looked down at me, hazel eyes staring at me intensely. The TV light made them darker and a little glassy. But they still looked nice. From this view his dark chocolate brown hair looked jet black and extremely disoriented. Maybe it was because of the way I had ran my hands through it earlier. He didn't bother to fix it and I smiled at that. And again, I tried to keep my eyes off of his lips.
"You think I can't carry you?"
"I may be weak but I'm not light."
David gave me a crazed smile, "Challenge accepted."
Famous last words, I thought. But once David got off the couch he gently scooped me up bridal style like it was nothing. I squeaked and clung to David as my face turned bright red. David just chuckled and took me upstairs to my room. He lightly kicked the door open and laid me down on the bed.
"Challenge completed." He said softly.
We were doing it again. This excessive staring thing. It shouldn't be a big deal but it was. Normally it would just be me staring at him and completely zoning out. Just thinking about David and what it would be like to finally be able to tell him how I felt. What going out with him would be like. Getting to hold his hand at school and kiss him. God did I want to kiss him.
But he was staring back now. And I couldn't handle this. I could take this type of staring when it was for maybe a minute. During the car rides to and from school. A quick sideways glance to check on me. But not this. This long and dragged out slowing down of time. We just stopped. Everything stopped. And I suddenly had tunnel vision and it was all focused on David. I barely noticed that I still had my arms wrapped around David's neck and that his hands where boxing me in on the bed.
He had laid me sideways on my bed so he didn't have to get on the bed but he might as well be. His feet were on the ground but the rest of his body was looming over me. Figures. I was only as tall as his chest height and he was 5'10". But still, I didn't feel small looking at him like this. I felt safe and protected. And I watched David's eyes trail over my face the way I've done oh so many times to him. It was getting harder to breath at this point.
I felt like crying. Because there was no way that I would ever be with David. But right now, right now I felt like I could. I kept picturing him lending down and kissing me. Taking away my breath for a completely different. Kept thinking about memories we've already made and replaying them with us as a couple instead. All of it flashing through my head like a movie. David's eyes stopped at my lips for a moment and I licked them out of nervousness.
David looked back up at my eyes and gave me a small smile.
"Hi." He said softly.
"Hi." I replied.
"I'm gonna go lock up downstairs." He said after a moment.
I nodded my head and then he was gone. I laid on the bed and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I groaned and put my hands over my face. I could feel the heat of my cheeks as I curled up in on myself. Why is this happening to me? Why do I love him so much? But more importantly, why did those few minutes feel like I just fell in love with him all over again?
A/N: Yay! A new chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I am really having fun writing it! And more will come on Tyler soon. I just wanted to focus on David and Emiry for a little bit <3 Until next time my lovelies~