Time Heals Everything
Chapter Two
I laughed as Chris made fun of the preppy people during lunch. It's been nine days since he kissed me...and since Jack kissed me too. Chris doesn't exactly know that Jack kissed me yet. I really want to tell him but I don't want him to beat Jack, even though I really wouldn't mind watching.
"Hey, look who it is," Chris pointed off to a table that Jack was sitting at, clearly staring at me, "why's he staring at you all of a sudden Emma?"
"Uh...maybe he's just a creep. Well, more of one than usual."
"Yeah, that's a good theory, but I don't believe that one bit. Is someth-"
"So Emma, was that cherry chapstick you were wearing," Jack interrupted, "or strawberry?"
Jack looked at me then at Chris and could easily tell he didn't know what was going on. The smirk he had on his face...I hated it. I knew something was going to happen.
"Emma, what's he talking about?"
"She didn't tell you?" He fake gasped then walked to me and put his arm around me. "We're dating now. We kissed and everything!"
"Jack stop it! We're not together and we never will be."
"Oh we will be, soon enough. Don't worry babe." He left.
Minutes went by without a word being said. My heart was racing through all of this. I felt like I was going to be sick.
"Emma...is it true? Not the whole dating part, but the kiss?" Chris's eyes were filled with jealousy? I couldn't look at him.
"Yeah... it's true. But he kissed me and I thought it was you! I didn't see who it was and his lips were soft like yours and he's about as tall as you...I'm sorry Chris. I should've told you sooner."
"When'd it happen?"
"The same day we kissed."
"Why didn't you tell me?! I thought I was your best friend! You're supposed to be able to tell me anything. Maybe I was wrong."
"No! Chris I was going to tell you but I wasn't sure how you'd react. I didn't want to ruin whatever we have. I," I paused and lowered my voice almost to a mumble, "didn't want to lose you over something stupid."
"You think you would’ve lost me? After all we've been through?"
"Yeah. I was scared.”
“Emma,” he stopped and looked into my eyes, “that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’d never let you go from my side, no matter what. You mean more to me than that. Nothing as stupid as that is going to make me walk away from you. I’d die for you Emma.”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds, trying to process this. Christopher Aaron Summers would die for me? I was speechless. What was I supposed to say to that? All of this is happening too fast. I still don’t even know if he likes me enough to ask me out. It was only a little kiss but oh my god…it was amazing. Just a kiss doesn’t mean anything, right?
“You didn’t like it, did you? I mean his kiss?”
“No, not his. Only ours.” I smiled a little and felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.
He smiled too and I felt more than relieved. But his smile didn’t last very long. Chris grabbed my hand and led me across the campus to the woods along the campus. It’s said to have a cabin deep within the trees. It’s also believed that it (the woods) is haunted by the lost souls that couldn’t find their way to the other side. I began to get nervous.
“Chris where are we going? You know we’re not supposed to leave school during lunch.”
“Oh I know. But we’re staying on campus.”
“What about class? You know about the rumors that are said about the woods.”
I could tell he smiled before he answered.
“Trust me, I know all about them.”
The longer we walked, the less I felt scared. I didn’t have anything important to do in any of my classes anyways. But what about my backpack? It’s just there on the table. A bunch of questions raced through my mind. Maybe I should stop thinking about all of the horrible things that could go wrong. He’s ignored all of my questions about this mystery walk. It feels like it’s been at least 20 minutes.
“Christopher Aaron Summer! Tell me where we’re going and how long until we’re there.”
He turns around and looks at me. Why does he keep smiling?
“Be quiet. We’re almost there buttercup. Not much farther.”
Buttercup? Since when did he start calling me ‘buttercup’? What is going on with my best friend? Well, this scenery is beautiful. I didn’t know the woods went this far. Have we been going in circles?
Some logs are walked on to get over a creek. Wait. Has Chris been here before? What type of flowers are these?
“Okay! We’re here!” Chris announced.
“Where are we?”
We were in the middle of nowhere and no one was to be found. All I saw was rocks, trees, squirrels, and...gross! I’m pretty sure that’s a used condom. I don’t want to think about Chris and some chick. Ew.
“Chris there is nothing here. What are you talking about?”
“You don’t see it? Hold on.”
He moved me to exactly where he was standing. Oh my god! It’s a cabin!
“Why couldn’t I see if from 3 feet to the left?”
“I had my friends design a mirror-like object that lets only certain people see it from only certain places.”
“And how’d you manage that? Did they take a super smart substance and infuse it with their DNA and have it know they’re there? But also have it be like one of those double-sided mirrors?”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Why? Just who do you know?”
“Because. This cabin has been in my family for as long as time has told.”
“Then why the rumors?”
“To keep other people away. Duh. If other guys found out all they’d want to do is either:
A) trash it B) claim it as theirs or C) have sex with a ton of girls.”
“Oh... well I guess that makes sense.”
And it did the more I thought about it. But there were still two things I was confused about.
“Couple of questions. One: How’d you get some of my DNA? Two: if there’s a blanket-mirror thing, why worry about people finding it?”
“Answers to your questions. One: I’ve been your friend for a while. You always wear my jackets meaning you leave hair. Two: sometimes, not all the time, it’s defective.”
“Oh. That’s understandable.” A few moments went by. “So are you going to invite me inside?”
“Of course!” He led me inside. It wasn’t the cleanest pace on this planet.
There was a couch to the left when you walked in. Go past the couch and to the left is a bedroom and to the right is a bathroom. Going to the right when you walk into the cabin, there’s another bathroom and two more rooms. There’s also a kitchen when you first walk in, it’s connected to the living room. The countertops look like granite or marble. All of the appliances are high-end brands. How does he afford all of this?
“So Chris,” I begin, “is this where you go when you’re not in class?”
“Yes indeed it is. I come here to get away from things. This is someplace I can think out loud.”
“Whatcha gotta think about? Stuffy stuff?”
He smiled and shook his head, now leaning against the counter. “I can’t answer that darling. Sorry.”
Darling? I tilted my head to the side. “Since when am I ‘darling’?”
“Since now. Is that a problem?”
“Nope. We’re alright.”
I smiled on the inside. It felt good hearing him say that even if we aren’t dating. Will he ever ask me out? Will I ever get a boyfriend? I’m almost a senior and I’ve never had a boyfriend yet. Even Violet had her first ‘boyfriend’ in kindergarten with (ew) Jack.
I’ll admit, Jack is sort of cute. But I would never, ever, EVER, date him.
“Em, what’s wrong?” I guess I’ve been day dreaming.
“Huh? Oh,” I focused my attention on him, “it’s nothing. Just thinking.” I gave a small smile to try to reassure him. It didn’t work as I hoped it would.
He walked to me and put him arms around my waist. This wasn’t friendly. His gorgeous eyes are staring straight at me. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. He leaned in a little. Was Chris going to kiss me right now? We haven’t been this close since the bathroom. I’m scared. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.
“Chris,” I whispered, trying to find a distraction, “we should get to class. We have that test today.”
“I don’t care about the test. I care only about you Emma.”
Was this happening right now?
“Emma Renee Gibson, I love you.”
Oh yeah. This was happening right here. Right now. I’ve always dreamed of someone saying that to me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was so far beyond nervous. My voice was hardly a whisper.
“You mean it?” My cheeks have never been this red before. It wasn’t easy trying to keep my body from shaking. He smiled at me. Damn his smile is so adorable.
“I would never lie to you.” There was something in his voice that sounded sincere. He was waiting for an answer, I could tell. But what was I supposed to say? Besides the obvious of ‘I love you too,’ it was so hard to talk.
“I love you too.”
I’m surprised he even heard that. Our lips met once again. It felt amazing. I wanted to stay like this forever until we heard a gun loading. We turned our heads to find Jack Christopher Sparrow standing in the doorway.
"Hey, look who it is," Chris pointed off to a table that Jack was sitting at, clearly staring at me, "why's he staring at you all of a sudden Emma?"
"Uh...maybe he's just a creep. Well, more of one than usual."
"Yeah, that's a good theory, but I don't believe that one bit. Is someth-"
"So Emma, was that cherry chapstick you were wearing," Jack interrupted, "or strawberry?"
Jack looked at me then at Chris and could easily tell he didn't know what was going on. The smirk he had on his face...I hated it. I knew something was going to happen.
"Emma, what's he talking about?"
"She didn't tell you?" He fake gasped then walked to me and put his arm around me. "We're dating now. We kissed and everything!"
"Jack stop it! We're not together and we never will be."
"Oh we will be, soon enough. Don't worry babe." He left.
Minutes went by without a word being said. My heart was racing through all of this. I felt like I was going to be sick.
"Emma...is it true? Not the whole dating part, but the kiss?" Chris's eyes were filled with jealousy? I couldn't look at him.
"Yeah... it's true. But he kissed me and I thought it was you! I didn't see who it was and his lips were soft like yours and he's about as tall as you...I'm sorry Chris. I should've told you sooner."
"When'd it happen?"
"The same day we kissed."
"Why didn't you tell me?! I thought I was your best friend! You're supposed to be able to tell me anything. Maybe I was wrong."
"No! Chris I was going to tell you but I wasn't sure how you'd react. I didn't want to ruin whatever we have. I," I paused and lowered my voice almost to a mumble, "didn't want to lose you over something stupid."
"You think you would’ve lost me? After all we've been through?"
"Yeah. I was scared.”
“Emma,” he stopped and looked into my eyes, “that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’d never let you go from my side, no matter what. You mean more to me than that. Nothing as stupid as that is going to make me walk away from you. I’d die for you Emma.”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds, trying to process this. Christopher Aaron Summers would die for me? I was speechless. What was I supposed to say to that? All of this is happening too fast. I still don’t even know if he likes me enough to ask me out. It was only a little kiss but oh my god…it was amazing. Just a kiss doesn’t mean anything, right?
“You didn’t like it, did you? I mean his kiss?”
“No, not his. Only ours.” I smiled a little and felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.
He smiled too and I felt more than relieved. But his smile didn’t last very long. Chris grabbed my hand and led me across the campus to the woods along the campus. It’s said to have a cabin deep within the trees. It’s also believed that it (the woods) is haunted by the lost souls that couldn’t find their way to the other side. I began to get nervous.
“Chris where are we going? You know we’re not supposed to leave school during lunch.”
“Oh I know. But we’re staying on campus.”
“What about class? You know about the rumors that are said about the woods.”
I could tell he smiled before he answered.
“Trust me, I know all about them.”
The longer we walked, the less I felt scared. I didn’t have anything important to do in any of my classes anyways. But what about my backpack? It’s just there on the table. A bunch of questions raced through my mind. Maybe I should stop thinking about all of the horrible things that could go wrong. He’s ignored all of my questions about this mystery walk. It feels like it’s been at least 20 minutes.
“Christopher Aaron Summer! Tell me where we’re going and how long until we’re there.”
He turns around and looks at me. Why does he keep smiling?
“Be quiet. We’re almost there buttercup. Not much farther.”
Buttercup? Since when did he start calling me ‘buttercup’? What is going on with my best friend? Well, this scenery is beautiful. I didn’t know the woods went this far. Have we been going in circles?
Some logs are walked on to get over a creek. Wait. Has Chris been here before? What type of flowers are these?
“Okay! We’re here!” Chris announced.
“Where are we?”
We were in the middle of nowhere and no one was to be found. All I saw was rocks, trees, squirrels, and...gross! I’m pretty sure that’s a used condom. I don’t want to think about Chris and some chick. Ew.
“Chris there is nothing here. What are you talking about?”
“You don’t see it? Hold on.”
He moved me to exactly where he was standing. Oh my god! It’s a cabin!
“Why couldn’t I see if from 3 feet to the left?”
“I had my friends design a mirror-like object that lets only certain people see it from only certain places.”
“And how’d you manage that? Did they take a super smart substance and infuse it with their DNA and have it know they’re there? But also have it be like one of those double-sided mirrors?”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Why? Just who do you know?”
“Because. This cabin has been in my family for as long as time has told.”
“Then why the rumors?”
“To keep other people away. Duh. If other guys found out all they’d want to do is either:
A) trash it B) claim it as theirs or C) have sex with a ton of girls.”
“Oh... well I guess that makes sense.”
And it did the more I thought about it. But there were still two things I was confused about.
“Couple of questions. One: How’d you get some of my DNA? Two: if there’s a blanket-mirror thing, why worry about people finding it?”
“Answers to your questions. One: I’ve been your friend for a while. You always wear my jackets meaning you leave hair. Two: sometimes, not all the time, it’s defective.”
“Oh. That’s understandable.” A few moments went by. “So are you going to invite me inside?”
“Of course!” He led me inside. It wasn’t the cleanest pace on this planet.
There was a couch to the left when you walked in. Go past the couch and to the left is a bedroom and to the right is a bathroom. Going to the right when you walk into the cabin, there’s another bathroom and two more rooms. There’s also a kitchen when you first walk in, it’s connected to the living room. The countertops look like granite or marble. All of the appliances are high-end brands. How does he afford all of this?
“So Chris,” I begin, “is this where you go when you’re not in class?”
“Yes indeed it is. I come here to get away from things. This is someplace I can think out loud.”
“Whatcha gotta think about? Stuffy stuff?”
He smiled and shook his head, now leaning against the counter. “I can’t answer that darling. Sorry.”
Darling? I tilted my head to the side. “Since when am I ‘darling’?”
“Since now. Is that a problem?”
“Nope. We’re alright.”
I smiled on the inside. It felt good hearing him say that even if we aren’t dating. Will he ever ask me out? Will I ever get a boyfriend? I’m almost a senior and I’ve never had a boyfriend yet. Even Violet had her first ‘boyfriend’ in kindergarten with (ew) Jack.
I’ll admit, Jack is sort of cute. But I would never, ever, EVER, date him.
“Em, what’s wrong?” I guess I’ve been day dreaming.
“Huh? Oh,” I focused my attention on him, “it’s nothing. Just thinking.” I gave a small smile to try to reassure him. It didn’t work as I hoped it would.
He walked to me and put him arms around my waist. This wasn’t friendly. His gorgeous eyes are staring straight at me. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. He leaned in a little. Was Chris going to kiss me right now? We haven’t been this close since the bathroom. I’m scared. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.
“Chris,” I whispered, trying to find a distraction, “we should get to class. We have that test today.”
“I don’t care about the test. I care only about you Emma.”
Was this happening right now?
“Emma Renee Gibson, I love you.”
Oh yeah. This was happening right here. Right now. I’ve always dreamed of someone saying that to me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was so far beyond nervous. My voice was hardly a whisper.
“You mean it?” My cheeks have never been this red before. It wasn’t easy trying to keep my body from shaking. He smiled at me. Damn his smile is so adorable.
“I would never lie to you.” There was something in his voice that sounded sincere. He was waiting for an answer, I could tell. But what was I supposed to say? Besides the obvious of ‘I love you too,’ it was so hard to talk.
“I love you too.”
I’m surprised he even heard that. Our lips met once again. It felt amazing. I wanted to stay like this forever until we heard a gun loading. We turned our heads to find Jack Christopher Sparrow standing in the doorway.