Temporary✔️

| Twenty-six

a/n: I just got my nails done, if there's a lot of typos, that's why😂

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ON WEDNESDAY Emery is feeling good enough to return to school. Harven had done a good job nursing her back to health, and she feels alive enough to see people.

May had visited her once while she was sick, but Emery made sure they talked at a distance, not wanting to risk two people. She had already let Harven be exposed to it, but she refused to let May be.

While Emery is at her locker, her friends all come up behind her, and she furrows her eyebrows. This feels too....demanding.

"Yes?" She asks all three of them.

Harven speaks first, "Well, you know you have to be my bus partner on the trip on Friday, right?" He nods. She laughs, almost forgetting the annual camping trip is coming up.

"Yeah right, I'm sitting with May. Duh." She smiles over at her best friend.

"About that... I'll actually be sitting with Tate." She says. Emery gasps at her, shutting her locker.

"May! Best friends before... well, them!" She looks at the two boys. May sighs at her dramatic friend.

"Emery, we sit together every year. You'll be okay, it's two hours." May reasons.

"Two hours with Harven can change a person!" Emery shakes her head.

"It really can." Harven smirks, but loses it when Emery gives him a stern look. He surrenders with his hands in the air.

"You'll be fine Emery. It'll be fun." May and Tate head off down the hallway, leaving the two alone.

"If you mess with me during the ride..." Emery points a threatening finger in his direction. He widens his eyes.

"Okay." He sighs.

"I can't even draw on your face-"

"Harven!" She groans.

"Okay, okay." He turns around, and down the hall.

The next "visitor" is Kade, which she had expected, but also wonders why everyone likes coming to her locker? It's like some sort of gathering place.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it for the date. Something came up and I didn't want to bring down the mood." Emery frowns.

"No it's okay, we can reschedule for another day. I hope you're okay? You've been gone." He cocks his head.

She thinks that maybe when he says "you've been gone," she should feel lonely, but she didn't, because she wasn't. She hasn't been at all.

"I got sick, but I'm much better now and ready for the camping trip." She gives him a thumbs up. He smiles down at her.

"I'm glad you're doing better, and I'll see you around, yeah?" He waves.

"Yep, bye!" She waves back, watching his form until he's out of sight.

Emery decides to take a bathroom break before class starts, and when she enters, she sees an almost forgotten face. A face she can't hate, but has every reason to.

Lana.

"Hey, Lana." She stands awkwardly by the stalls. Lana's eyes drift over to her, and she rolls her eyes.

"Why are you talking to me?" Lana sneers.

Emery sighs. "Because I don't think we have to hate each other. We could at least make amends." Because when Emery doesn't have to have an enemy, she doesn't choose to.

"Amends? You stole my boyfriend and got me expelled. I'm not supposed to like you." She shakes her head.

"Harven? There's no reason to fight about him,
I mean he's..." And in this moment, Emery can't think of anything bad to say about him, which is weird. Nothing seems fitting, anymore. "He's Harven. And you only paid for what you did to me." Emery nods.

Lana thinks about her words, and sighs defeatedly.

"I guess we could forgive and forget. I'm still prettier than you." She smiles, thinking nothing of her jab.

"Yep, so pretty. Shake on it?" Emery asks.

"No thank you, but we shook on it in my head. Bye Emily!" Lana waves a few fingers in goodbye, swinging open the door and leaving.

"It's- oh, whatever."

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When Emery gets home, her parents are sitting very stiffly on the couch. She tries to get past quickly, but they call her back to the couch.

She sits. "There's more?" She says.

Emery's mom chuckles. "Emery, please don't be angry with us. This is for the better, you'll see." Her mom says.

Emery nods, thinking about how Harven went through the same thing and is considerably fine.

"I know. But you guys have to understand that it's still hard for me." She mutters.

"We do understand that, and we're going to try to make it as fluid as possible. You'll have visits and we won't make it any harder than it already is." Her dad softens.

She smiles gratefully. "Thank you guys."

"Anything, Em. We'll always love you the same, together or not." Her mom places her hand on Emery's and squeezes. Emery nods, knowing it to be the truth, because she feels it in this moment.

"Move to a beach house, Dad. I'll visit you way more often." Emery nods. They all laugh, and though it must seem broken, Emery feels full and warm.

Maybe things won't change just as much as she thinks.