Hatchetfield and Friends

1 - Stay?

Emma stared at the floor, eyebrows furrowed. Lost in thoughts, she didn't realize that Paul had walked up to her.

"Emma?" He said, startling her.

She jumped and looked up at him, a mixture of worry and hostility in her eyes.

"Oh, Paul, sorry," she chuckled nervously. "I was just...staring into space."

"Were you thinking about something? You looked quite...distressed," he asks.

"Oh, nothing, not really. Just thinking about the future," she replies, the furrow starting to return.

"Yeah..." Paul didn't really know what to say that. "Care if I sit next to you?" He gestures to the empty seat.

"No, not at all, I guess I could use some company."

They didn't say a word. They sat on the couch, staring at their shoes, the blank television, picking or biting their nails. It was totally awkward.

A lot of time had passed between them since Paul's apotheosis. She visited him in the hospital as much as she was allowed to, which wasn't much. Paul wasn't allowed to leave his room...or even be awake, so there was no way he could've come to visit her.

They'd both moved to Colorado, Emma eager to start a pot farm and get the fuck outta Hatchetfield, and neither of them wanted to leave each other. So, P.E.I.P gave them two houses, side by side, quite far from anyone else. No one that would call the police on them for having a pot farm, at least.

Paul and Emma spent most of their time together in silence, not really wanting to be alone, yet dreading the akwardness between them. Emma was kind of scared...all the time, and Paul was, too, afraid to be around Emma.

"You know, secretly, I was kind of afraid of you for a while," Paul blurted.

Emma looks up and turns her head to him. "What?"

"Yeah, uh, well, I was nervous that you were nervous about, uh, me being musical-y and I was scared you might try and murder me in my sleep or lock me up. Something crazy like that," he admitted with a nervous chuckle.

At that, Emma laughed, which made Paul's insides fill with butterflies. He really, really liked Emma.

"Honestly, yeah, I was afraid for a little while. But that was just me being stupid. I like you, Paul, you're a good person. Alien or not, I don't know if I'd be able to hurt you," she replies.

"Well, I think I'd probably rather die then watch through my own eyes as the murderous alien inside me tried killing the people I loved. Though, I guess most of those people were already gone. Besides you," he laughed. He didn't know why he laughed.

There was a small pause, and Paul silently cursed himself. "Paul, you know that movie we talked about?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You wanna watch it here?"

He smiled. "I think that would be very nice, Emma."

She jumps off the couch and plops down in front of the TV. She slides open the little cabinet and pulls out a case full of CDs.

"We have horror movies, horror movies, and...The Princess and the Frog. Whaddya think?" She asks.

"Why do you have a bunch of horror movies and then a Disney movie?" He laughs.

"Horror is my favorite genre," she explains. "Well, maybe not my favorite anymore, but it used to be."

"Hmm, well just for music's sake, I guess we should stick to the horror movies," he concludes.

"Good idea. Let's see, we have The Gallows, Unfriended, The Conjuring, both one and two, Midsommar, Annabelle, IT, Pet Sematary-" She lists.

"Jesus, Emma, how many do you have?" He exclaims.

Emma laughs. "A lot. Oh, hey, I can make this easier! Pick a number."

"Uh, five?" It comes out a question.

"Cool, The Conjuring it is!" She giggles.

She pops in the CD, turns on the TV, and settles back down on the couch. She pulls the blanket off the back and offers some of it to Paul. They skip through the commercials and Emma smiles because she knows what's coming. Paul's favorite genre most likely isn't horror.

The movie starts and she shoots closer to Paul in order to get more blanket.  The sound is on low, blocking out some of the more terror-induced screams.

Despite her love of a good horror movie, Emma found herself getting uncomfortable with it. She couldn't stop herself from picturing the horrifying sights and sounds of Hatchetfield. She couldn't stop herself when the image of Paul and the rest of hatchetfield standing over her with a malicious glint in their eye.

"Emma, you okay?" Paul asks. "You have that same look you did earlier."

"Mhm," she hums softly, not meeting his eyes.

"Emma..."

She looks up at him teary-eyed. "Will you stay with me?"

"W-what?" Confusion and worry show clearly on his face as he looks at Emma.

"Please don't leave me. Not again. I care about you Paul, okay? So please, please don't leave. Stay. Stay with me."

"Emma...I promise you that I will always be here for you. I'll keep you safe. You'll never have to face those horrors again, alright?"

In those moments, Emma felt her heart both swell and break. That's what Hidgens told her when she was a little girl. When he rescued her.

Paul pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly against his chest.

"I'll stay," he whispered.

Okay, I totally feel like Emma would be the type of person to love horror, but also secretly love romantic comedies or something. And I couldn't miss a chance to bring up The Conjuring because iza fun movie. Hence the picture of a scene in the movie. So woop. Hope you enjoyed!!!