Exactly 12 minutes after Emma had sent her text to Paul, he arrived at her front door, full smile, tidy hair and neat blazer.
The moment he read her text saying, "need to talk. can you come over?", Paul was in the car and driving towards her crappy apartment immediately.
"Hi." Emma said quietly as she opened the door and looked up at him. Despite her sad feelings, she couldn't help but smile at her friend. God, friend. It was just that one word that made Emma's heart ache. It was undeniable these two liked each other, as literally everyone thought they were already dating, but it wasn't clear enough to one another. After everything that had happened today, it pained Emma to not just cuddle up in his arms and fall asleep.
The sound of his voice took over the air comfortingly. "Hi. Are you alright?" Paul looked down at her then up at the moon. It was a cold winter evening and he was hoping he could be let inside soon.
As if she read his mind, Emma stood clear by the doorway and stuck her hand, inviting him in. "Yeah, come on, it's freezing out there." She said quickly, shutting the door behind him softly as he entered.
Emma led herself over to the small couch where Paul followed, and she flopped down on one side, leaving just enough room for Paul to sit comfortably too. But still, the couch was too small and their knees were slightly pressed together, making them both blush softly and shuffle away as much as they could.
Paul coughed lightly and looked over at Emma. "So..." He said slowly, watching Emma's gaze line up with his, briefly flicking towards his lips. He stared at her in awe, because Emma was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. It annoyed him that he couldn't be more open about his feelings towards her, but Paul knew, oh how he knew, she wouldn't feel the same. She just wasn't the 'type' to fall for the average guy who came to her work every day just to stare at her, but simply become close friends with. In a way, Paul was happy to be friends. It was better then nothing, of course, but deep down he knew he wanted more.
"So." Emma quipped suddenly, breaking Paul's trance. "I said a needed to talk to you about something..." Her voice was calm and clear, but her head was a nervous wreck. It was now or never.
"Yeah, you can tell me anything." Paul replied, propping himself up a bit straighter on couch, and a Emma copied his movements until their arms were pressed against each others.
Emma looked up at his quickly and smiled slightly, before turning her head forwards to look out the window. The stars twinkled brightly and it made her feel safer. "So you know how I, uh, applied for that college?"
"Yep." His replied instantly. Paul was very proud of Emma for taking so much time and effort into her work, but felt his heart burn when he thought of her leaving him. His life was falling apart before Emma, but he considered her to be his glue now.
Emma's hands shook, and she held them together tightly so he wouldn't notice her nerves. "I didn't get in." She said quickly. Emma looked up at Paul and watched his face fall, and she assumed her face looked the same.
"Oh." He whispered solemnly. "Geez, Em. I'm so sorry, you really deserved to get in and-" As Paul rambled, his gaze left Emma but when it returned, he stopped talking when he saw tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Hey, hey, it's okay." He said quickly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in.
Emma let her head fall on his shoulder and attempt to wipe away the tears, but she could feel her face burning up. The warmth of Paul by her side helped a bit, and the feeling of his hand rubbing tiny circles on her shoulder with his thumb was more than comforting. That's when it hit her, if she had left for college, she'd have to leave Paul, the only person she trusted most in the world. Emma tilted her head up and looked at him softly, her face still wet with tears. She didn't want to let him go, and she had to tell them that. "Hey, Paul?"
"Yeah?" His piercing blue eyes looked straight down at Emma and she felt a jab at he heart. How was this going to be easy?
"I'm kind of glad I'm not leaving Hatchetfield." She said slowly.
His face searched hers and his brow furrowed. "I thought you hated it here."
"I do. Kind of. But there's something I can't leave behind." Emma willed her tears to go away as they built up again, because just the thought of leaving him was far too much for her to handle today.
Paul reached his out hand up to her face and gently wiped away a tear as he spoke. "What's that?"
Before he brought his hand away, Emma put her hand on the outside of his and held it to her face. His hand cupped her cheek warmly and she felt butterflies in her stomach. Paul looked at her intently and one more look at his stupid cute face and she knew she'd lose it. "You."
At that moment, Paul held his breath. Out of all things, he wasn't expecting that. They looked at each other with no words, but with both of them now leaning in close, he took the opportunity to quick kiss her. Her lips were soft and sweet as Emma kissed him back. He dropped his arm around her waist and pulled her in, with Emma rising her hands to wrap around his neck. She moved over closer, half her body on top of him as she deepened the kiss until a crash to the floor startled them both as they pulled away.
Emma flung herself off Paul quickly and picked up the TV remote from where she had kicked it off the table. Both their faces were a blushing mess and an awkward silence took over the room. They had now moved away to other ends of the small couch and panted lightly. Emma looked up at Paul as he looked at her too and they gave each other quick smiles. She moved her body closer to him again and grabbed his hand, threading her fingers through his.
Paul looked down at their tangled hands and couldn't help but grin. It sucked Emma couldn't go to college, but deep down he wasn't ready to let her go, not before expressing his feelings for her. He squeezed her hand and looked up at her again, making sure they locked eyes. "Kind of glad you're not leaving now." He said softly.
"Kind of?" She mocked, grinning back at him.
"Ok, fine. Really glad." He whispered, and brought the hand he was holding up and kissed the back of her hand softly. He saw Emma smile at the gesture and he squeezed her hand again.
