Kissing You That Friday Night

Emma's crying again. I've locked myself in my room to try to block out the screams of her crying. It hurts me to hear this from her, and Laura and dad's arguing is the cause of it. It's not that bad, it's just about my dad losing his job, but I have to admit I agree with Emma that it makes you feel really uncomfortable to hear them yell. She's never said it, but I know. I decide to be the bigger person and ignore the yelling downstairs and go to Emma's room. I knock on the soft pink door with paint chipping before I walk in. "Emma?" I say quietly, scanning the room for the small girl. I close the door gently behind me and sit on her small Strawberry Shortcake bed spread next to her massive pile of old stuffed animals. I pick up a stuffed dog near by and pick at the cotton leaking from it's fluffy exterior. I don't know where she's hiding, but I know she's there. I don't bother to look for her anymore, I just start talking.
"They're happy together, Em." I say uneasily. I wish someone was there to tell me the same thing because I'm not convinced things are okay between them. "They're just having a hard time with daddy losing his job."
I hear a small whine and a hard swallow. I look around the room once more, but I still can't find her. Though I'm positive she's there now because I can hear her choking back tears.
"Laura and daddy always get along, they're just having issues right now. It will all be okay."
I here a rustling noise coming from the right side. I turn and face a small face plastered with delicate blonde hair. Her bright eyes gaze up at me. They're swollen from crying. Tears whell up in my eyes at the sight of my baby sister so hurt. I give a weak smile and hold out my arms to her. She crawls out of the humoungous pile of stuffed animals and sits on my lap.
I cradle her in my arms and whisper, "It's okay," over and over again until she stops crying.
As if almost on que, the fighting downstairs has subsided just as Emma's tears stop falling. I look down at her and she looks up at me and smiles.
I gaze off into the corner of her room. I see a box labled Candy Land on the ground. I give a short laugfh under my breath and look back at Emma who was now playing with the stuffed dog I was holding earlier. "Wanna play Candy Land?" I ask and raise my eyebrow at her. She gives me a full smile. The sight of her front toothless mouth makes me laugh. I swoop her up in my arms and she laughs. "Lai!!!" She yelps and giggles as I plop her down across from me and set up the board game.

I walked down the crowded hallway. I was in one of those moods today. The kind of mood when you look at everything in a different light. I was happy. I had a whole new appreciation for my surroundings. I opened the doors to the courtyard where everyone met in the morning before school started. I gazed around for Kat and Tara but saw neither of them. Last nights events were still stilled in my mind. My lips still felt a slight sensation like the kind you get after you eat something spicy. I had no clue why but I blamed it on the kiss from last night. I wanted to see Aiden. I had too. But I didn't want to come off as deperate. I didn't even know if he liked me. Maybe the kiss was completely and totally out of pure lust. Guys are like that. My mom told me that before she died. She said guys are all about kissing and all about physical stuff. Don't let your mind win over your heart. There are sweet guys, then there are jerks. The sweet guys are the ones who put you before your body. I didn't quite understand it at the age of ten and eleven, but it began to make more and more sense with every boy I had encountered. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Why was I thinking about Aiden so much? I didn't even like him. I still like Ricky. I'm going to the dance with him. I'm excited as hell about it too. Right? I felt naucious and it felt like the world was suddenly spinning out of control. Everything was a blur. Was it because I hadn't eaten that morning. Ugh.
"Lai!" I heard a voice call from behind me.
I spun around with my hand on my head and suddenly everything went back to normal. This feeling has been happening to me far too often.
"Lai, where have you been?" It was Kat. She was walking toward me now with two muffins in hand. She handed the blueberry one to me. I thanked her and took a large bite. I'm blamming that weird spinning feeling on my empty stomach.
"What do you mean?" I ask. "Where have you been?" I was confused now. I hadn't seen Kat in a couple of days but that was because she was sick. So why was she asking me where I was.
"I was over by tree, where we always meet. You were suppose to be there at seven twenty and now it's.." Kat pauses adn glances at her watch, "Seven twenty-two."
I almost laugh. Leave it to Kat to be so punctual. "Sorry, Kat." I say and walk with her back to the tree and toss my blueberry muffin wrapper into the trashcan.
"So what's going on, you looked like you had just seen the devil a minute ago." Kat said as she leaned against the oak tree looking at me through her thick rim black reading glasses.
Do I tell her I'm still in utter shock from a couple days ago when Aiden kissed me? No. She'd wonder when things started heating up between us...Which was never might I add. I don't even like him like that at all. He still pisses me off...
"Not enough sleep." I lie and gaze off at the people eating breakfast at the lunch tables in the courtyard before class.
I can feel Kat's green eyes baring into the side of my face. I turn and face her. She knows I'm lying. Kat can read me as well as a physic can read Tarrot cards. "Not enough sleep." She repeats and rubs her chin as if trying to consume the words in her mind. She mumbles it again. And then gives me one of those weird bull-shit looks. Her purple shadowed eyelids squinted at me, pouting her cherry red lips.
"What?" I glance back and forth as if I totally don't know what she's getting at. I do.
"Nothing." She turns away.
We sit in silence for a moment.
"So how's the lab assignment with this so called Aiden Landon I've heard so little about?" Kat raised her eyebrow and smirked at me, arms crossed.
I bit my bottom lip trying to choke down the words of our hot, steamy makeout I wish never happened. I breathe out, "Okay, you got me."
Kat seemed pleased as though she had just won a prize and arogently batted her eye lashes and swept a tiny fragment of red hair from her eyes.
I closed my eyes and quickly said, "I kissed Aiden Landon."
Kat gasped and pused her glasses up further onto the bridge of her nose, "No way, where?"
I sighed. This was going to get bad. "On my couch."
"How long?" She said slowly and suductivly lowered her glasses down and peered at me over the rim.
"Like, 12 seconds....I don't know." I shrugged and picked at my dark split ends that SO didn't run in the family.
"Oo la la..." Kat sung and pushed her glasses back up.
Oh shit, as if timing couldn't be better, about 10 yards away I spot Aiden wearing a blue and black checkerboard hoodie and a studded belt. He glances around the courtyard looking for a place to sit, I presume. I try to hide my face nonchalantly but I'm in the middle of the courtyard and easy to see. "Hide me." I whisper to Kat.
"Why?" She whispers back.
"Because..." I'm hesitant to finish what I have to say in fear that Kat will scream like bloody hell at the top of her lungs to get a good look at my makeout partener..."Because, Aiden is right there and I don't want him coming over here."
"Omg where!?" Kat yells loud enough for a few heads to turn.
I cover her squealing mouth and point in Aiden's direction. She licks the palm of my hand. I pull away, "Gross!" I exclaim.
Kat laughs and I notice Aiden is no longer in sight. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth.
"Holy crap, he's like...Gorgeous." Kat's eyes light up. "I hate you."
I laugh.
"So are you two like an item?" She asks. "Because if so he's terrible at approaching you, or lack of. And if not...I want him." She smiles.
"No, no no no no, we are so NOT an item."
Kat seems un-satisfied. "Uh-huh, yeah, sure..."
"Kat, he bugs the living heck out of me. How could I like him?"
"C'mon are you serious. Ever since, like, forever you've always told me what you dream guy would be like and he's SO it." Kat begins. "Dark hair, brooding eyes, hotness...He's pretty much perfect."
"Um, far from." I roll my eyes and brush a piece of long hair out of my eyes.
"Tell me one thing..."
I turn toward Kat in interest from what she wants to know.
"Did you like the kiss?" She asks secretivly.
"Um...no." I say unsure of myself, sucking on my lip ring.
She gives me a dissapointed look. "Truth, please."
"Okay, yes, I did. A lot."
"And you don't like him. Huh, why does that sound extremely fishy to me?" Kat continues. She should be a lawyer, I've concluded, she's too good at getting people to tell her everything.
I shurg,"I don't like Aiden."
"I'm starting to think you do like Aiden but you wish you didn't."
I open my mouth to speak, but before anything comes out, the bell rings. First period.