[edited]
It was the end of the school day, and it was finally time for Emerson and me to head over to my place.
"I'll meet you at the front door in ten minutes. I have to put my stuff away and make sure Ethan isn't coming," I tell her.
She nods, "Alright."
I head in the direction of my locker, where I see Ethan waiting for me.
"Hey, Gray. Emerson still going with you?"
"Yep. Bro, I'm nervous as hell. What should I do?"
He tries to calm me down, "Do what I told you last night. Finish the part of the project that you'll be working on, and then just have fun. Watch a movie or something. You can also talk to her on the walk home, get to know her better," he says.
"You're not coming?"
He shakes his head, "I'm going to Alex's house. But you'll be fine, just be yourself, Gray."
"Dude, have you met me?" I ask, pointing at myself.
He laughs, "Yeah, Grayson, I've known you my whole life. You'll be just fine, she's just a girl. You talk to them every day," he reasons.
I agree, "You're right. Thanks for your help, bro. See ya at home," I call, already running down the hallway. He yells back some response that I don't quite hear, since I'm turning the corner to the front hall by then. I don't want to keep Emerson waiting.
After two minutes, I see Emerson approaching, and we walk out of the school and in the direction of our neighborhood.
We arrive at my house, and I introduce her to my mom before leading her upstairs. I tell Emerson to sit down while I go change. I go to my closet in the corner, and grab a pair of sweatpants. I struggle to get on my shirt as I keep tripping over a pair of shoes that I borrowed from Ethan.
I finally to get my neck through the proper hole, and kick the slightly open door with my foot. Huh, I thought I had closed it. As I walk out, I quickly see Emerson turn her whole face the other way. Did she see me changing? I suddenly feel very self-conscious.
She looks at me, and I can't help but grin back at her. She has that type of smile that lights up a room, it's contagious, and I love it.
She hands me a piece of paper and gives me directions on what to do. I opened my textbook to the chapter, and began reading. But I wasn't really paying attention. Instead, I was staring at Emerson. This was the first time I had really gotten a good look at her face. She had cold blue eyes and straight brown hair, same as her brothers.
She crinkled her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue a little bit when she focused. She was scribbling away with her left hand on the paper. Oh my God! She caught me staring multiple times. Each time, I would put my head down, embarrassed.
After about an hour and a half of taking notes and staring at this beautiful girl in front of me, I suggested we take a break, and she agreed.
We decided to watch a movie on Netflix, and she immediately said comedy. I scrolled through a bunch of funny movies, until Emerson chose The Wolf of Wall Street.
About halfway through the movie, my mom calls us for pizza. When we go into the kitchen, I see Cameron grabbing a slice of pepperoni.
I introduce Emerson to Cameron, and we each grab some pineapple pizza. As we're eating on the couch, I hear Ethan call my name, "Gray, did you get-" he stops when he sees Emerson.
"Hey, Emerson."
"Hi, Ethan!"
He turns to the TV screen. "You guys are watching a funny movie and eating pizza, without me?" he says, mocking hurt.
We laugh, and she says, "Do you want to watch with us?" she looks at me. I was a little disappointed since I had wanted to spend some time with Emerson, but Ethan was my brother, and it's not like I could just tell him to go away.
I nod, "Yeah. Grab some pizza and sit down, Eth. We're at a really funny part."
He beams at both of us, then runs off, coming back a minute later with a plate of pizza. He sits on the other side of Emerson, and we all turn towards the TV screen.
When there's about twenty minutes left, Emerson turns to me "Hey, sorry, I have to go," she says.
"Is everything okay?" I ask worriedly.
"Yeah, my mum just wants to talk about something to my brothers and me, so I have to go home."
I nods in understanding, "Alright. Cool."
She runs upstairs to my room and gathers her things. Back downstairs, I wait by the door, "Bye, Emmy, maybe I'll see you tomorrow. If not, I'll see you on Monday at school."
She gives me a hug, "This was really fun, Grayson. Thanks," she says, beginning to walk out the door. She gives one final goodbye to both Ethan and me before walking home.
I run back to the living room, where Ethan is sitting down. "How'd it go, bro?" he asks.
I shrug, "Nothing happened, I just got to know her a little better."
"Cool. I'm going to head upstairs. See you tomorrow," he says, patting my back a little.
"See ya, Eth."
* * * *
The next morning, I woke up around ten, and walked downstairs, where everyone already was.
"So, boys what are you going to do today?" my mom asks.
I shrug, "Nothing really in mind, mom."
Ethan cuts in, "Actually, Elliot texted me and invited us to go ice skating, you wanna come?"
I thought for a minute. It would be fun, and Emerson might be coming, "Sure, bro. I'm down."
"Cool. They're coming in about an hour so take a shower or whatever you're gonna do."
I nodded, and quickly finished up my breakfast, running up to my room. I showered, and went to my closet. I decided on a pair of blue jeans, a printed shirt, and a gray hoodie. I slipped on socks and a pair of Adidas shoes.
I ran downstairs, where Ethan was already waiting. He always got ready faster, even though I started before him.
"C'mon, Gray, they're outside," he says, opening the door.
I grab my phone off the table near the front door and follow him out. I climb into the backseat of the car. All three of the Samuels triplets are there. I smile when I see Emerson in the front seat, and she smiles back at me.
We arrive at the local ice skating rink about ten minutes later. We get out, and pay to enter and rent skates. We each grab our size. Luckily, it's not too crowded. Maybe I could make a Vine of some terrible skating.
I tighten the laces on my ice skates and make my way towards the entrance of the rink, sliding gently on the ice. I was no Olympic figure skater, but I could skate well enough. I wasn't like Ethan, who had to hold onto the railing or he would fall every two seconds.
I glanced at Emerson, and saw her already in the middle of the rink. Damn. I watched her as she skated gracefully. She does a couple of figure eights, and I see her grinning as she maneuvers through the other people. I take out my phone to video-tape her.
Suddenly, she does this weird flip, where her whole body is in the air, but it's almost like she's sitting. (Flying sit spin.) She lands in an uncomfortable-looking position where she's crouched down with one leg pulled into her chest, while the other is stretched out. (Shoot-the-duck.) She does an upright spin, and then a triple axel. Oh my God, she's amazing.
She begins to skate again, not even noticing that by this time, the whole rink is staring at her, watching every move she flawlessly executes.
Just as I'm about to turn off the video, she begins to skate faster, as in, warp speed. This is exactly like when she was running track, except this time, her whole body is a blur. She slows down, and before I know it, her feet are in the air, and then right back on the ice. She. Just. Did. A. Backflip. A fricking' back-flip. SHE JUST DID A REVERSE SOMERSAULT IN THE AIR! ON ICE!
I look at Ethan and her brothers. Her brothers seem bored, like they've seen this a million times before, but Ethan is sharing the same expression I probably have. One of pure awe and disbelief.
She skates back to us, and laughs when she sees our faces. "Grayson? Ethan? You two okay?" she waves her hand in front of us.
I snap out of my trance, and so does Ethan. "That was sick, Emerson? How the hell did you do that?" Ethan asks the question that was also on my mind.
"I took ice skating back in London a few years ago. I thought I had forgotten my routine," she shrugs.
"That back-flip was ridiculous," I exclaim. "I got it on video," I hold up my phone.
They all turn to look at me. "You videotaped that?" Ethan questions, and I nod. He gives me a high-five, "Nice going, Gray."
The triplets laugh. "Emerson, I thought you weren't going to do that back-flip again. Last time you did that, you tore your ACL." Elliot says, sounding concerned.
"Elliot!" Emerson groans, "I was in the moment, and I just decided to go for it."
Evan chimes in, raising his voice a little, "Just go for it? What if the same thing happened? What were we gonna do? Mum and Dad aren't even here, Emmy! That was really reckless!" he scolds her.
She smiles sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I won't do any more reckless things, at least not until Mum and Dad get back," she says, making the four of us laugh.
"I'm gonna go get some drinks, you guys want anything?" Elliot asks.
We all give him our orders, and he and Ethan go to get our drinks.
"Hey, Grayson," Emerson calls, "Wanna see something cool?"
"Sure. Should I film this too?" I joke.
She laughs and shrugs, "If you want to."
Hell yeah I wanted to. I grabbed my phone, and watched as she dragged Evan to the center of the rink. What was she planning? I saw her whisper something in his ear, and he nodded. Emerson gave me a thumbs up, and I began filming.
They both began to spin in a wide circle, with Evan's hands on her waist, holding her slightly above the ice. After a few spins, Evan suddenly lets go, grunting loudly as he throws Emerson's small body into the air. She does a few mid-air spins – five in total! – and they both make their way back to me.
"Damn, Evan. You going to the Olympics with her or what?"
They both laugh, "Who do you think she always practiced with? It was either me or Elliot, and we all know I'm her favorite brother," he answers, smirking.
"I beg your pardon?" a voice comes from behind us. It's Elliot and Ethan with our drinks, "What is this about you being Emmy's favorite brother?" he glares at Evan in a playful way.
"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty. Now chill out and give me my drink," Emerson says, taking her cup out of Elliot's hands. Ethan and I laugh, and they all join us.
"Let's all sit at a table," I suggest. Everyone agrees and we find a table in the little area outside the rink. I show them all the video. It look great. We all laugh at the part when Emerson's beanie falls off her head when she's doing her triple axel.
"I'm gonna go for one final skate, you wanna come with me, Grayson?"
"Of course!" I immediately agree, probably sounding a little more enthusiastic then I intended. Thankfully, Emerson just smiles at me and walks towards the rink.
She grabs my hand, leading me all around the rink. I felt the tiniest of sparks when she did that. Her small hand was cold and soft, and it felt so good. She kept losing her grip on my sweaty hand, and I drift away. She chuckles, beginning to chase after me. Just as she grabbed my wrist, I tripped on a piece of loose ice, and went tumbling, taking her with me.
We both fall on our butts, and burst out laughing. I scoot towards the nearby edge, and climb up that way, while she picked herself up effortlessly.
"Come here, I wanna do one more thing before we leave," she says.
I let her take my hand once more, and she brings me to the center of the ice, where people are now skating counter clockwise around us.
She sets me in position, and I feel her hands on my shoulders. I feel her put pressure, and only see a blue-colored blur before she isn't in front of me anymore. This causes me to panic momentarily, until I feel two familiar hands on my shoulder, only this time, they come from behind.
"How was that?" she asked, grinning wildly. God, how much I wanted to kiss her at that moment.
"You...just...did...a...split! O-over my head?" I ask incredulously.
Her smile is suddenly gone, "I'm sorry, Grayson. I should have asked before I did that. It's just, the idea suddenly came to me, and I wanted to do it so bad, and.....you were just standing there....i-it was a perfect opportunity. Are you mad at me?" she rambles.
I laugh lightly, "Mad? That was the coolest thing I've ever seen?!"
She sighs in relief, "Did I hurt you? I really should have prepared you for that, I'm sorry."
"Are you kidding? You're light as a feather. I was too caught up in the moment to feel anything. Man, if only someone had filmed that. I bet it would have looked incredible on camera."
"Actually, I did happen to have my phone out at that moment," someone says from next to me. I look and see Ethan smirking, his phone in his hand.
"Ethan, don't joke with me!" I exclaim, "Did you really film it?"
"Look for yourself, bro," he hands me the phone. I show it to Emerson, and we both laugh at my facial expression as Emerson jumps over me. That split looks so painful, I wince just from watching.
"You need to post this, Eth." Everyone agrees.
"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Elliot asks as he and Evan come up to us.
I look at my watch. "Ethan and I still have about an hour and a half before we should get home? What do you guys suggest we do?"
"We could go eat something," Emerson suggests, "Ooh, I wanna go to that park down the street!" she claps her hands in excitement.
We all laugh at her, but agree anyway.
We go to a nearby Subway, where we each order a sandwich and a bag of chips.
After we finished, we headed to the small park in our neighborhood. Emerson gasped when she saw the playground, and squealed like a little kid, "Race you to the swings, Grayson!" she yells, taking off.
"Hey, you cheated!" I whine. I mean, she's already a champion in track. If anyone should be getting a head start, it should be me.
She made it before me, and sat on of the swings. I stuck my tongue out at her, and sat at the other one, she just laughed at me. I looked around, and saw Ethan, Elliot, and Evan sitting on a nearby bench.
We both began swinging and giggling like immature little kids.
"So, Grayson, did you enjoy ice skating?" she asks.
"Uh, yeah! You were so amazing!" I say once more. I see her blush slightly.
"Thanks."
"Hey, do you mind if I post it? It would be really cool!" I plead.
She shrugs, "Fine with me. I've never had anyone film me when skating. Track, sure, but never skating."
"Really? I mean, you're amazing in track too, but figure skating is more....uh, what's the word I'm looking for-"
She interrupts me, "I know what you mean, Grayson. I guess it never occurred to anyone."
I attempted to change the subject, "So, Emerson-"
She interrupts me again, "Call me Emmy or Em. People who I like get to call me that," she smiles.
I smile widely, and am probably screaming inside. "Thanks. Then, call me Gray," I reply.
"Alright, Gray," she says.
We sit and stare at each other for what feels like an eternity but is probably only two minutes until a voice calls out, "YO! Lovebirds!"
I look and see Ethan furiously waving his hands, and Elliot and Evan laughing. I look away, embarrassed, and I see Emerson with a slight blush as well.
We begin walking to their car, with Emerson telling a funny story, "So our parents were out of the country at the time, and Elliot was at a friend's house, so it was just me and Evan."
Evan chimes in, "And I had this brilliant idea to go camping in the backyard. We could set up the tent and make a fire and everything. So we did. I was setting up the tent, and Emmy was getting the firewood from the other side of the house."
Emerson was laughing so hard by this point, but she managed to continue, "And I was a total idiot, and set the firewood right next to the neighbors' wooden fence! Evan and I being only thirteen - and very dumb - at the time, didn't realize that this was a problem. So we set the fire, and everything was totally going well, until I went to get marshmallows."
Evan takes over, "Emmy went inside to get marshmallows and other food, and I put the sleeping bags in the tent. I heard screaming, so I ran outside. Emerson was just standing there like an idiot, screaming her head off. I looked where she was pointing, and saw the fence on fire."
Elliot, Ethan, and I were laughing along with them as they told the story, "The neighbors heard us, and called the fire department. It was sorted out after that, but I really wish I'd videotaped Emmy yelling," he said, chuckling so much he could barely talk.
"Focus on the road!" Emmy pouted, slapping him playfully.
We arrived at our house, and Ethan and I got out, saying goodbye to the triplets. We headed upstairs, each to our own rooms. A few minutes later, Ethan comes in, his phone in his hand.
"Gray, check this out. I just posted the video of Emerson jumping over your head."
I looked at the screen. Ethan had captioned it, Gray got a little surprise w/ Grayson Dolan. It had already been liked 100,000 times.
"Cool. I'm going to post the one with the back-flip, that was wicked!" I say, and Ethan nods.
"So, how did it go with Emerson? You guys talk about anything.....personal?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I shove him, "Shut up, bro. We just talked a little more. Besides, it's not like I could anything with her....you and her brothers were standing right there!"
He laughs, "See you tomorrow, bro. I'm beat."
"Bye!" I call, and scroll through my phone for about an hour before going to bed.
~ ~ ~ ~
SONG OF THE CHAPTER: Centuries
ARTIST: Fall Out Boy
ALBUM: American Beauty, American Psycho, 2015