Here's Chapter 8. I hope you like it!
Pic on left is Skyler Samuels as Emily Martin. I tried to pick a picture that made her look chubbier. I managed to photoshop a pic to add weight onto her, but it wouldn't post on here.
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DREW
I was anxious to get home from school to share my idea with Em. I had just told Ellie about it, and she seemed to think that it wasn't a bad idea. I thought my plan was a good one, plus, it would benefit someone besides just Em. I also talked to Jake, one of the guys on the team. He seemed open to the idea.
I hoped this would make up for what she'd thought I'd done. It really had been a big misunderstanding. If she would have spoken up at the time, I would have probably explained everything to her. Now, it would just seem like some made up excuse to take the blame off of me.
When Ellie and I drove to my house, Em was already there. She had driven her car back since Ellie and I had cheerleading and football practice. I brought Ellie home with me, then she'd drive the car she and Em shared back home. When we exited the car, we talked for a few more minutes, then Ellie got into her car. I leaned down and kissed her goodbye.
"See you when you and Em come to dinner," she said, smiling.
"Yeah. See you at six," I replied.
I walked in to find Em on the sofa, studying.
"Hey, Martin, what's up?" I asked.
She barely looked up from her work, but said, "Just studying."
"Can I ask you a question?" I inquired.
"Yeah, I guess," she said, sighing and focusing her attention on me.
"How do you feel about me making your seventh grade date gone wrong up to you?" I asked, wondering how she'd react.
"Um, I'd say it's a little late for that," she replied.
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong," I stated.
Her lips twitched ever so slightly, as if she were trying to keep from smiling. Her eyes showed a hint of interest, now looking directly into mine.
"Prove it," she said, almost as if she were challenging me.
"Do you know Jake Francis?" I asked.
She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Yeah?" she answered, as if she wasn't sure whether she was asking or answering the question.
"Well, he broke up with Carly two weeks ago, and he's been kind of down lately. You're mad at me for blowing your chance at having a boyfriend, so I was thinking..."
She cut me off with, "Oh, no. You're not trying to set us up, are you?" she asked, a little nervously.
"Well,.....yeah," I replied. She hated the idea already?
"I've gone through this before, you know, and it's always turned out badly. Guys have a tendency to tolerate me, but very few like me. I mean I'm fat, and ugly, and not very..."
I was listening to her berate herself. It was sad, really. Em wasn't a small girl. She was overweight, but not obese. She also looked enough like Ellie for me to find her face beautiful. Her big blue eyes were captivating, and her wavy blonde hair framed her face perfectly. Well, when she wore it down, which wasn't often. Ellie's hair always looked nice, so I assumed Em's would if she ever fixed it. The point was, she was a pretty girl. The way she was talking, you'd think she looked something like a troll.
"Stop it." I said, a little too abruptly. "Hate yourself much?"
She stopped mid word, closing her mouth when she realized she had it opened.
"I'm just a realist," she defended.
"If you were a realist, you wouldn't think you were ugly enough to break a mirror," I responded.
"Huh?" she asked.
"Listen, Martin, you might be a little on the chunky side, I'll give you that, but you are far from ugly. You look like Ellie, and everyone agrees that she's gorgeous," I explained.
"She's gorgeous because she's not fat," Em countered.
Really? I could not believe this girl. Did she not realize that she was pretty? I guess not. Then, I thought of how she was treated at home, and it all made sense.
"Being fat doesn't make you ugly. Look at Jake. He's a pretty big guy, and he's still got girls after him," I explained.
"Yeah," she mumbled, "skinny girls. So, why would he agree to date a fatty like me?" She asked sullenly.
"Because he's not superficial. Plus, I told him that you're nicer than you look. You might be pretty, but your mean girl look has guys afraid of you," I replied.
It was true. Em was nice to everyone except me, but always seemed guarded, almost mean. I think that's the main reason some guys stayed away from her. I know alot of guys only went for the thin girls, but not all of us were as fake as Em seemed to think we were. Her expression softened a little.
"I guess you're right. I can seem kind of mean. I still don't believe that guys would go for me without it, but I get your point."
She was almost smiling. I really wanted her to agree to this.
"So, will you give it a try with Jake?" I asked her.
She was quiet for a few minutes, and I thought she was going to turn down the offer.
"Okay," she began, "What can it hurt?"
Yes! I had paid back my debt to Em Martin. Now she might stop hating me.
"So, Wednesday night? Will you go out with him?" I asked eagerly.
She sighed, nodding her head and smiling at me.
"Sure, Wednesday night should be fine," she answered. "If everything goes well, I'll forgive you. If it doesn't, watch out," she teased.
I couldn't wait to see how it all turned out.
EMILY
Whoa. What had gotten into Drew? He really didn't want me hating him, did he? I was sort of excited about my date. Jake was pretty cute. I'd even kind of crushed on him now and then.
Drew was right. Jake was on the chubby side. He played football, though, and was an excellent linebacker. He had been dating Kerry Greenbriar, but I guess they had broken up. I wasn't always up on the social happenings of high school society, nor did I want to be. I trusted that Drew knew what he was talking about. After all, he was Mr. Popularity and had to keep up with the most recent gossip.
I was wondering how this would all work out. Kerry had been model thin, with straight black hair and radiant green eyes. Everyone compared her to Megan Fox. I'm not sure how Jake would adjust to dating a chub like me. I guess we'd find out on Wednesday.
I called Colby first, and we discussed what I should wear. She decided to come over to my house while Drew and I were over there for dinner tonight. Most of my "good clothes" were still at home. I had pretty much just packed my everyday clothes when I came to the Rangle's.
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I asked Drew not to mention my date to my parents until it was over, just in case it didn't go well. I hated letting my parents down. It was bad enough that I looked like I did, let alone disappoint them further.
He agreed to keep quiet about the situation for now, and told Ellie to do the same. She would usually listen to Drew more than she would listen to me.
After dinner was over, Drew and Ellie went down to the game room with my brothers. My mom and I were cleaning up, and Dad was watching the news. We had just finished loading the dishwasher when Colby knocked on the door.
"I'll get it!" I said. I walked down the hall to the front door.
"Hey!" she exclaimed as she walked into the foyer. "What's up?"
"Just finished cleaning up," I explained. "Come on, let's go upstairs." I pulled her up the stairs by her wrist.
"Mom? It's Colby. We'll be in my bedroom," I yelled, hoping she'd hear me.
"Okay, Honey," she replied.
When we got upstairs, we shut my door and started talking excitedly.
"So, Jake, huh?" Colby asked me.
I smiled. "Yeah," I said, sounding wistful.
"He's pretty cute," she exclaimed.
"Yeah, I guess," I replied. "I just hope he really wants to do this. I'm afraid he, like, owes Drew a favor or something, and is just paying him back."
"Oh, you would think that!" Colby responded.
I just laughed. I couldn't help but think of all the bad things that could happen. Letting myself stay happy for too long was dangerous, especially when it came to guys. I just never had much luck in that area.
"Here," Colby said, pulling out a navy blue A-line dress from my closet, "wear this on Wednesday night."
"I have to try it on first, and see if it fits. I haven't worn it in awhile," I explained.
I pulled it on over my cami and my jeans. I looked in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door at my reflection. I looked okay, but I was fat.
"I love it!" Colby screamed. "You need to wear it."
"Nah," I said, "I think I should just wear some jeans and a nice shirt. Will you help me find a nice shirt?"
Colby sighed. Although she was supportive, Colby did not understand what I put up with. She had shoulder length, curly red hair, and bright green eyes. She was probably a size four on a bad day, and had been dating Jeff Leggett for the past three months. I'm not exactly sure why we stayed friends, we had very little in common. I was thankful for her friendship, though, now that Elise was away at college. Adam was a great friend, don't get me wrong, but I needed a female's opinion every once in awhile.
Eventually, we agreed on a bright blue, somewhat see through shirt, with a black cami underneath. I was going to wear my nicest, best fitting jeans with it. My blue pumps went nicely with the outfit, also.
"You are going to have a great time," Colby assured me. "Don't worry one little bit."
I hugged her. "Thanks so much," I said. "You helped me out a lot tonight. If my date's a success, I have you to thank."
"And Drew," she said. "Don't forget that he set this all up in the first place." I nodded, knowing she was right.
As we walked down the stairs, I heard Drew and my dad talking.
"Are you about ready to leave?" Drew asked.
"Yep. As soon as Colby leaves, I'm all set," I answered.
I had put my stuff in a small suitcase, under the guise that I had forgotten a few things that I needed to take back to Drew's with me.
We walked to the car, and Drew opened my door for me. I hesitated, not used to such chivalry.
"Get in, Martin. We can't stand out here all night," Drew exclaimed.
"Sorry, " I mumbled, getting in and letting him shut the car door.
Once he was inside, he started up the car and off we went.
"You have trouble accepting help from people, don't you, Martin?" he asked.
"I never really thought about it, but I guess I do have some trouble with it," I agreed.
"If someone wants to be polite and help you every so often, why not let them?" he inquired.
"I guess you're right," I said. I could feel him looking at me as we pulled into his driveway.
"You're alright, Martin," he said, as he opened my car door.
We went inside, and each went our separate ways. I did my homework, and went to bed.
ELLIE
I wanted to tell my parents that Em had a date scheduled this week, but Drew told me not to say anything yet. I figured I should listen to him. I really didn't want him mad at me while we had a good chance of being alone in his house.
I really had trouble buying that Jake Francis wanted to date Em. He had girls falling on him at every party we went to, and he wanted to date my sister? My chubby, not so popular sister? I just thought he was doing this because he owed Drew something, but I didn't know for sure. It was the only explanation that made sense, though. I hoped that Em wouldn't end up hurt because of this.
After dinner, Drew and I went downstairs. My little brothers were down there as well, playing their video games. I took advantage of the fact that they weren't paying attention, and I began kissing Drew fervently. He seemed really into at first. When I straddled him, and attempted to begin kissing him again, he stopped me.
"Ellie, you know I can't. If you do this, you'll have me all worked up, and your dad will kill me," he said.
"Drew, it'll be fine. You'll be all settled down before Daddy even realizes what we're doing. It's not like we're going to have sex on the couch," I said.
"Shh, " I scolded, " your brothers will hear you."
"You're such a party pooper," I complained, getting off his lap and sitting next to him once again.
Drew looked at his watch, and exclaimed, "I really need to get going. I hope Em's done up there."
We walked up the stairs, and Drew gave me a quick kiss goodbye on the lips. My dad was in the kitchen, and they started up a discussion on how things were going without Drew's parents. Drew explained that it was nice having Em there to lessen the loneliness.
It almost seemed like he was happier having Emily there than he would have been if I had stayed with him. It made me kind of mad if he actually felt that way. After all, I was his girlfriend. Maybe I was just bitter, and I was being paranoid. I don't know why I cared. It wasn't like he was going to fall for my sister. After all, he set her up with his friend, for crying out loud.
When Colby, Em, and Drew had left, I went up and got ready for bed. I couldn't wait until this month was over. Before it was over, though, I was determined to get Drew into bed. I could hardly think about anything else, and Drew certainly wasn't making things easy.
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Next: Em and Jake go on their date.
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