And Then He Fell

Chapter 18

Sorry for the long wait!  I should be able to at least post weekly for awhile now.  I'm not working as much as I was before.  Thanks to those of you who have stuck with me, even with the slow updates.  If I happen to write more than one chapter a week, I will be sure to post it.  I hope you enjoy this chapter.  

Pic on right is Jake T. Austin as Johnny.  If you don't remember Johnny, just keep reading.  

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DREW

I was paralyzed. There she was, a few feet in front of me, reminding me that I chose Ellie over her years ago, and I couldn't move a muscle. I needed to kiss her, and make up for that mistake. She didn't even know how close I'd come to choosing her back then. She didn't understand how much I loved her now. I had to show her.

I fought through my body's resistance to movement, and leaned in for a kiss. Every nerve ending in my body prepared for the impact of my lips on hers. Just when I was millimeters from making contact, she pulled away.

No! I thought. Come back.

She said something about Ellie and Jake, then ran up the stairs. I had to talk to her. She couldn't go home. I needed her here until I could convince her we belonged together.

Just recently, I remembered how close I actually came to asking Em out instead of Ellie. Em was Leesy's friend, and I saw her often. I had a little crush on her. She was nice, and pretty funny. She didn't care about stupid things like clothes and hairstyles like so many of the other girls.

I remember mentioning to my friend James at the time about possibly asking a girl out. I was implying that it was Em, but he took it as me wanting to ask Ellie. When the other guys came around, he told them how I was going to ask out the "hot" Martin sister. They all told me how smart I was for not going after the "fat" sister. I almost corrected them and stuck up for Em, but I didn't. I just let them say mean things about her.

When I asked Ellie out, she said yes. Elise knew how much I enjoyed hanging with Em, and thought I was crazy for choosing Ellie. I silently agreed, but didn't want to back out by that time. Not long after that, the movie theater incident happened, and Em started her campaign of hate toward me.  I convinced myself that Ellie was the one for me. I was so wrong. I loved Em. I needed her to love me, too.

I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. My dad was against locks on bedroom doors, so I could have just barged in, but I didn't.

"Em?" I wearily asked. "Is it okay if I come in?"

"I guess," she said from the other side. "As long as you stay far away from me."

Although I wanted to do quite the opposite, I agreed. I walked in to find Emily's suitcase on the bed, as she walked from the closet to the bed, and back, packing her things.

"Please don't," I pleaded. "I won't try that again. At least while you're living in my house."

"What was that anyway? I'm so confused, Drew!" she shouted.

"That was me being stupid. It's just that I am so attracted to you, and you're right here, and...." I trailed off, unable to form a single coherent thought.

"First of all, you can't be attracted to me," she reasoned. "Secondly, if you are, then I should go home."

"Please," I begged again, "you can't go. I promise I won't touch you again, no matter how much I want to."

"Why are you acting like this?!" she yelled.

I felt terrible that I'd frustrated her.

"I seriously can't help it. When I see you, something happens to me. I can't stop thinking about our kiss at the party. I've never felt like this before. I was hoping you felt the same way," I said, my voice getting progressively softer as I ended my sentence.