You Promised Me the World

“What did you say?” Kennedy asked in a quiet tone, closing the gap between them.

“You heard me,” Emma said in a firm, but soft voice.

They were standing practically nose to nose, so close that Kennedy could hear her heart beating inside of her chest. It was either her heart or his; he wasn’t too sure at that point. He wasn’t even in his own body it seemed, his head was spinning with too much information, his vision was too blurry to get a good look at her, even if she was standing right in front of him.

He hadn’t seen her in months, hadn’t been this close to her since the night that everything went wrong. Kennedy had pictured this moment in his mind for a while, even after everything he assumed that he would be begging for forgiveness, saying everything that he had wanted to say.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It wasn’t supposed to be this frantic, this chaotic. It was supposed to be fluid and easy, natural. Emma was supposed to be falling into his arms; she was supposed to be coming back to him.

“Why would you take them down?” He questioned, narrowing his eyes.

“I didn’t want the reminder, and you didn’t need it either.”

Her answer was simple, it made Kennedy’s stomach turn. He could accept that answer from Max, doing it as a courtesy for the both of them, but as the answer fell from her lips Kennedy realized what he hadn’t wanted to this whole time. Emma was over it, she was over him.

“That isn’t your choice Emma,” he said through clenched teeth. “You can’t just go and do something like that.” He was gripping at straws, trying to find the words to justify his anger.

“Maybe not Kennedy but we all make choices, you of all people should know that,” she hissed quietly, glaring at the boy in front of her. “I have somewhere to be, excuse me.”

She turned, her shoulder brushing against him, making his skin feel like it was on fire. The slamming door suddenly brought him back down to earth. He glanced around taking in his current surroundings, Justin stood still in the door way, shooting Kennedy a disapproving look before creeping back behind the door, while Max was right where he had been, just at the end of the hallway.

“Smooth Kennedy,” Max mumbled with a shake of his head as he turned to join everyone else who were still in the backyard.

As he stood alone, Kennedy let out a shaky breath. This wasn’t how he pictured it; it wasn’t how he wanted it. Emma may have been over him, but it suddenly became clear to Kennedy that he wasn’t over her.

____________________________________________________________________

The door slammed behind her, causing her strong frame to wilt against the sound. Emma heard her heels hit pavement, the loud clicking matching with the beat of her heart. It was beating so fast against her chest that she swore she was about to have a heart attack.

As her shoes hit grass, the silence gave way to her heavy breathing, shallow and uneven. She tried to catch it before her hand hit the door of her car, but as her feet clicked against the pavement again Emma felt her breathe run away from her.

Lurching forward as if she were about to vomit, she placed her hand gently against her stomach and gasped trying to regain some form of composure. “Just a few more steps,” she thought trying to will her stalled body to move forward and slid into the safety of her car.

Any preparation her mind had done before this day seemed to fall away the instant her eyes landed on his face. It had changed so much, his chin holding a little stubble, his hair a little longer, his eyes tired.

What made the interaction so hard was the fact that she had built up every possible scenario, worked at getting over him the best she could. Half the time she felt like she was prepping for some sort of test, studying her hardest, learning all of the equations, but the moment she sat down to write it her mind went blank.

The moment that she saw his face every emotion fell right back into place, fit like puzzle pieces to make this complete picture of a mess he had created without care or thought.

When she had gathered herself enough she grasped the handle and yanked the car door open, sliding against the cool leather of the seats. Shutting the door behind her she felt every outside noise go away, like it had been sucked right out of the air. It was only then, in the silence that she broke.

“So what are you doing Friday night?” he asked, shoving his hands deep in his front pockets.

She shrugged, slinging her tote bag up over her shoulder as she gathered her books in her arms. “I have cheerleading practice after school and then I’m going to dinner with some of the girls, what about you?”

Glancing over at him as they walked side by side out of their English class, she couldn’t help but notice the defeated look on his face.

“Probably just hanging out with some of the guys,” he nodded.

“Sounds like fun,” she grinned, trying to keep things peppy and light even though she could sense some sort of tension. He didn’t respond, only continued silently down the hall by her side until they reached her locker.

As she began switching her books, she could hear Kennedy clear his throat.

“Look E-Emma th-there’s this, well uh…there’s this p-p…”

Taking her attention off the large History text book staring at her she turned to face him, raising her eyebrow at his sudden speech impediment. “Are you okay Kennedy?”

“There’s a party Friday night, it’s not really a party it’s more like some of the guys and their girlfriend’s all going over to Max’s to hang out, but anyway, I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me.” It all came out of him in one big breathe, almost too fast for her to understand.

“Like as your date or something?”

He sighed loudly; causing his shoulders to deflate like somebody had popped him with a safety pin. “Forget it Emma,” he mumbled, bringing his hand to rub at the back of his neck.

“Kennedy,” she laughed softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “I’d love to go with you, I go out to dinner with the girls every Friday, it would be fun to do something else.”

“Oh, okay cool,” he smiled brightly, nodding his head. “I’ll uh, pick you up after practice?”

She returned the grin, looking back towards her locker and grabbing the History book from it. Shutting the door and making sure it was locked, she brushed some hair behind her ear. “We usually end at six-thirty and I’m out by seven.”

“So I’ll see you at seven,” he smiled.

“See you at seven.”

Tears began to slip out of her eyes as the memory played in her mind, picking up speed as she tried to wipe them away. It was useless, the water works had started and the more she thought about why she was crying, the faster the tears fell.

He was a stupid boy. A stupid boy who had made a promise and didn’t keep it, a stupid boy who had broken her heart, a stupid boy that she swore she would never shed a tear for.

Slamming her hands against the steering wheel in frustration, Emma let a guttural sob fall from her lips. If that damn English teacher hadn’t paired them up together, if they hadn’t suddenly formed some kind of classroom friendship because Emma was way too nice, if he hadn’t asked her out that day none of this would have happened.

Kennedy Brock was just a stupid boy.