"Written in the Stars"

Him & Her

"Emma!"

"Emma!"

"Go kiss him, Emma!"

"You can do it!"

The cafeteria of San Diego City College was full of cheers and hoots.

Emma got up from her chair and maintaining her pace, started taking her steps towards the table at which Adam Comwell was seated along with his gang. He was resting completely on the back of his chair, waiting for what next was going to happen.

Emma Grayson was the only girl in the college who wasn't wooed by Adam's charm. The only conversation they ever had till now was through their eyes, passing cold and deadly glares at each other while crossing their paths. Being neighbours, they never interacted, though they used to be childhood buddies at some point. But that was when they were in kindergarten. After that, as they grew up, they grew apart, stopped talking, and behaved as they had never known each other.

"I don't think she will ever reach here!" Adam said with a wry smile.

Maybe no one noticed, not even Emma herself, but Adam had a thing for her. He never made it obvious and kept the 'hating and I don't care about her' track on, but for all these years, he has been keeping an eye on her, has been helping her, keeping her away from all the troubles, from a distance. He has always wanted to talk to her but because of his gang and his reputation, he never did that. He might have had many girlfriends but the never-ending feeling he had for Emma was unstoppable and always burning inside him.

Today, he finally got a chance to talk to her. Okay! It wasn't a talk exactly. You can call it a debate that resulted in a bet later on. And, the condition set by Adam's friend was if Emma loses, she will have to kiss him, in front of everyone while Emma chose to keep her condition in suspense till the result of the bet was decided.

Though Emma didn't like the condition, she didn't like giving up either and agreed to it. Adam was doing a happy dance inside. He could sense the tension going on inside her. This was going to be her first kiss, actually their first kiss according to Adam. But he never imagined it that way. He really didn't want it to happen that way. So he planned to get up, make an excuse of a call, and then not come back to the cafeteria. This way Emma would be saved from kissing him.

The plan was perfect and he got up saying, "You know what I am done! I don't have all day to waste here. I have an important call to attend." And, without giving any further explanation, he left the cafeteria. He was about to step out of the door when a hand grabbed his t-shirt and made him turn around. As he felt the touch of cold and soft hands, he knew it was Emma.

"Not so easy boy! I am not letting you win this twice." Emma pulled him closer to her, grabbing his t-shirt's collar. Before he could say anything or resist her, she was already kissing him. He felt numb and senseless as her lips touched his. He couldn't feel anything else but her. For him, at that moment, it was just him and her.

It was five minutes since Emma pulled herself back but Adam still stood there, like a stone, looking just at her. She shrugged and turned around to the crowd. Everyone was gazing at her with astonishment. For a minute, there was silence as no one expected her to do what she did five minutes back.

"Oli! Let's go. I don't have more time to waste." Olivia, Emma's best friend and constant, made her way through the crowd who herself was amazed by Emma. She knew her for like 17 years. They were practically born and raised together. She wasn't just Emma's best friend but her cousin as well. They shared the same room, ever since Olivia's parents expired and that was when she was 10 years old. Olivia knew everything about Emma. Emma did have a big ego but she wouldn't go to this extent to protect it.