Emily's POV
Connor walks into the emergency room with me on his back. He sets me down in a chair before going up to the desk to check us in. I notice some people stare at me, so I just blush and hide behind a magazine.
"Okay, so I just looked at some of the questions on this paper that needs to be filled out, and I'm not comfortable with asking you them, so can you please fill it out?" he asks.
I take the clipboard and pen from him, reading over some of the questions, and quite frankly, I'm a little uncomfortable with answering them. I answer them anyways and give the clipboard to him. He brings it up to the desk before sitting back down next to me. I bounce my good leg up and down, but Connor's warm hand rests on my knee, causing me to calm down.
"Not a big fan of doctors?" he asks. I shake my head. He pats my leg before taking my hand.
"Don't worry, I'll be here the whole time," he says. I smile, and he squeezes my hand to comfort me.
After about a half hour, they finally call me. Connor picks me up piggyback style, even when they offer a wheelchair. I wrap my arms around his neck a little tight, but still comfortable enough for him. He puts his arms under my legs to support them, and we follow the nurse to an empty room.
"The doctor will be with you in just a second," she says, and she gives us a fake smile before leaving us.
"So why do you hate doctors?" Connor asks, fiddling with the curtain.
"It's not that I hate doctors in general. I just don't like going to the doctor's office, and I've only been in the hospital one other time," I explain, reffering to when I was being treated for my burns.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Chase. You must be Emily Woodhams," she says, pronouncing it wrong.
"It's pronounced 'Woodums,'" I correct.
"My apologies. Let's take a look at your ankle before we do anything like x-rays," she says. I slowly take of the cleat, sock, then shin guard, and she examines it.
"We'll take some x-rays, and then we will know whether you need a cast or just some wrap," she says.
She prepares me for the x-ray after she requested for the machine next. When we take them, Connor holds my hand. I like the feeling I get from it.
"Connor, I'm really scared," I confess when the doctor leaves the room to check on the other patients while the x-rays develop.
"Why are you scared?" he asks, kneeling in front of me.
"What if she broke my ankle? The new season starts in a few weeks, and I can't be out because of a broken ankle. I'll have to let the bone get stronger before I play. That could take months," I rush, thinking about when Rory broke his arm. It took three months for the bone to get stronger after the cast came off, so he couldn't go long boarding or drum for that time.
"Hey, you'll be fine. If that happens, I'll be there with chocolate ice cream and movies, and we can stay up all night watching whatever movies you want," he says. He stands up, puts an arm around my neck, and kisses the top of my head.
Connor's POV
When she said that she was scared, it broke my heart. I knew that she meant it. The same happened a couple of years ago to me, and I thought that I wouldnr be playing lacrosse for another year. Knowing that she feels like this makes me feel bad.
"Alright, so you don't have a break or fracture. It's just badly sprained. Use crutches for a week, and then just be careful after. Come back to see how the healing process is. Make an appointment at the desk, and take this pain medication," she says, filling out a prescription form. She hands me the paper and turns to Emily.
"Ice it in the morning and at night. That will help with the swelling and muscles. I believe that is everything, so you are free to go. Here are the crutches. Don't bother bringing them back," she says, handing her the crutches. The doctor leaves, and I help Emily stand up. She positions the crutches under her arms, and we go to the front desk. She sets up an appointment, and we leave the go to the pharmacy.
On the way there, I notice that Emily starts to fall asleep. I nudge her, and she opens her eyes. She looks at me, and I glance over at her, smiling.
"Please try to stay awake until we get you home. I don't want to accidentally wake you up when I carry you inside," I say, turning my attention back to the road.
"Why are you carrying me inside?" she asks.
"There is no way you're using crutches at night outside," I say.
Somebody pulls out of a street ahead of me, and I tighten my grip on the wheel. I feel something warm place on top of my hand. I look down and see Emily's hand resting on mine. I glance over at her, and she has a worried look on her face. My grip loosens, and her hand leaves.
After getting her prescription, I bring her home. She holds her medication while I carry her into her house bridal style.
"One order of an injured super soccer star, coming right up!" I shout. Andrew walks into the room and smiles.
"She needs to stay on crutches for one week, ice her ankle twice a day, and she has a follow up appointment at the hospital in three weeks," I tell him. He nods, and I turn my head to Emily.
"Couch or your room?" I ask. She starts to blush, and the realization hits me. Our faces are really close.
"The couch please," she whispers. I nod and carry her into the family room. When I put her down, I kiss her forehead and leave.
"Connor, can you please drive the twins to school?" Emily asks.
"Of course. I can drive them to and from school all week," I say. She smiles, and I help her to the car. She sits in the front, and Andrew sits in the back with the twins.
"I'll be right back. Come on guys," Andrew says, and he, Teddy, and Shay leave the car. I turn to Emily.
"Excited for Christmas next week?" I ask, grinning. She shakes her head. "Why not?"
"The team made a plan for Friday, and we all have to participate," she says, looking out the window.
"What's the plan?" I ask. She sighs.
Every year, each team has a different plan to do something for Christmas, whether it's a fundraiser, dressing up, or simply giving out candy canes.
"We have to do the mistletoe headband thing," she says, looking over at me. I smirk.
If you don't know what she's talking about, it's when the girls take a headband, tie a wire to it, and on the other end of the wire is mistletoe. The wire is bent so that it hangs above their head.
"Well, if you can't get out of it, I expect you to kiss one of the elves that walks around the school" I say, making her blush.
"I can't believe you guys get to do a fundraiser while we dress up and look desperate!" she exclaims. Andrew exits the school and jogs to the car.
"I know you aren't desperate, so there's one person that doesn't see you like that," I say. Andrew climbs in, and we drive to school.
Emily's POV
Being on crutches sucks. Connor's been carrying my books for me all week, which is awesome, but I feel helpless. I feel like he's annoyed by it. He says that it's fine because he gets to spend more time with me, but I feel like he's saying that to make me feel better.
"Em, let's go!" Andrew shouts. I grab the headband, my phone, and my keys, and I run down the stairs.
I know I'm supposed to be on crutches for another two days, but I couldn't use the crutches anymore. I needed to walk again.
"Why isn't Connor driving us?" Shay asks. I crouch down to her level.
"Connor has to go to the doctor's office, so he'll go in late," I tell her. She nods, and we drive her to school. Teddy isn't feeling well. so he's staying home.
I bring her in while Andrew stays in the car, and a little boy goes up to me.
"Is that mistletoe?" he asks, pointing to the headband that's placed on my head.
"Why yes, yes it is," I say, crouching down to his level like I did with Shay.
"Why are you wearing it?" he asks.
"Well, I was on the soccer team at the high school, and we have to wear this outfit to celebrate Christmas," I explain to him. He smiles and kisses my cheek.
"Mommy and Daddy kiss each other whenever they stand under mistletoe," he says. I kiss the top of his head, wave to Shay, and leave.
When I get inside the car, my red tights stretch out a little, showing my scar. I ignore it and drive to school in silence.
"I still can't believe that Connor gets a fundraiser," I mumble when we walk into school.
"He's not doing a fundraiser," Andrew tells me.
"Oh yeah? Then what is he doing?" I ask. He points down the hallway. I turn, and my jaw drops.
Connor's standing there with his arms spread out, as if he's saying "What do you think?" with a smirk on his face. He's wearing an elf costume. including a hat with fake elf ears on it. I've seen it before. They had it at the local costume shop.
"Where's my kiss?" he shouts down the hallway. Everybody turns to see what's going on.
"Who said you get one?" I say.
"I said that I expected you to kiss an elf. Well, would you look at that? I'm an elf," he says, walking towards me. Andrew pushes me a little towards Connor. Everybody has their phone taken out, ready to take a picture.
"I didn't agree to that," I say.
"You didn't have to," he says, stopping right in front of me. He looks up at the sprig and flicks it.
"Oh look, some mistletoe," he says. "Kiss me."
I feel my cheeks get warm. I stand on my tiptoes and gently press my lips against his. I count three seconds before pulling away.
"The elf got his kiss," I say, and I walk away to my locker.
"Everyone knows about you kissing Connor," Thomas says, sitting down next to me. I look at him from the corner of my eye, not turning my head. A couple of guys have tried getting me to do that, but I'm not stupid.
"I figured since everybody took a picture or video," I say, biting into a pear. Braiden sits on the other side of me.
"When do you have chemistry?" he asks. I look over at him.
"Last, why?" I ask suspiciously. Before he can answer, Connor sits down in front of Braiden. Riley sits down in front of Thomas, and I take off my headband.
"I am so done with this thing," I say. Riley frowns.
"Aw, I was hoping to get the same present Connor did," he jokes, making Thomas and Braiden laugh while Connor punches him in the arm.
"Too bad," I say, causing Thomas and Braiden to laugh even more.
"Can you believe we're leaving in less than a month?" Thomas asks once they calm down.
"You guys are going to have so much fun," I say.
"Yeah, but it would be more fun with you there," Braiden says, slinging an arm around my shoulders.
"Don't worry. Since I'll be staying with Toby while you four are gone, we're going to redecorate their bedrooms," I say, pointing to the McDonough brothers. They stop eating and look at me.
"Touch anything in our rooms and you die," Connor warns.
"Oh hush, I was kidding. I'm not going to be near your rooms unless I need to wake Toby up. I'm going to be in the guest bedroom," I say, putting my trash in the paper bag I have.
"The guest bedroom isn't a bedroom anymore," Riley says, looking down at his food. I get up, throw my trash away, and realize what he said.
"What do you mean?" I ask. He looks up at me.
"Since we never have people stay over, our parents got rid of the bed and made it into her crafts room," he says.
"Okay, I'll just sleep on the couch," I say, waving it off.
"Nonsense. Just sleep in my room," Connor says. I look up at him, and he's smiling at me.
"No, the couch is fine," I say.
"Emily, you're using my room. It's final," he says. I sigh, and the bell rings. I get up and leave, walking to my next class.
"Em, wait up!" Riley yells. I turn and see him jogging towards me. He holds up my headband.
"No," I whine. He stops in front of me and puts it on my head. He kisses my cheek ans walks to his class. I smile and walk to my own, suddenly excited for Christmas.