Just One Summer

Chapter Four

Joseph waved back, as he finally reached the bench Emma and I sat on. "Hey guys! I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon."

"Me neither! How's your summer so far?" Emma asked enthusiastically and I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing.

"Ok so far, my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Greece!"

Emma stiffened against me and my eyes widened. Knowing she wouldn't be able to say anything else, I spoke up for her. "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah!" Joseph replied, as a woman came up beside him to grab his hand. "Here she is! Kriss, Emma, this is Hilda."

I nudged Emma, wanting her to say something or start a conversation. 

She just shoved a piece of her pretzel in her mouth. I sighed and replied for her. "Hilda! Nice to meet you!" I settled with. "I heard you're going to Greece! That'll be so fun!"

She chuckled and said, "Yes! Joe is the best! I can't wait to go with the best guy I know." She said, tugging on Joseph's hand.

Emma rolled her eyes, catching Joseph's attention. His gaze moved to Emma, who was pretty visibly staring at him. When their eyes met, she started choking, bending over and coughing into her sleeve. I rubbed her back as Joseph bent down to make sure she was ok, making her choke more.

"You good Em?" I asked, making her take a sip of my lemonade.

She cleared her throat and looked at her lap. "Never better." she said, "I'm just gonna run to the restroom, good seeing you Joseph, and nice to meet you Glenda." then she ran off to the bathroom.

"Actually, its Hilda-" Hilda corrected, as Emma ran off.

"Is everything ok with her?" Joseph asked, creasing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's fine. She just gets..." I thought for a minute, how was I gonna cover for her? "social anxiety sometimes." I settled with, but that was a complete lie. Emma is the most outgoing social butterfly I knew. Emma would kill me if she knew I had just told him she was socially awkward.

"Oh ok," Joseph said, "I've just never seen her like that before, I hope she's ok. I should probably get back to my errands."

I chuckled, "It's ok, you're not our teacher anymore, we'll be fine on our own."

"No please," he paused, creasing his eyebrows, "just as a friend. I..." another pause, "I think very highly of Emma. I don't want anything to happen to her."

I nodded, slightly confused, and Joseph walked away. I pulled out my phone to text Emma, telling her the cost was clear and she could stop hiding now.

She slowly walked out of the bathroom and back to our bench, her hand on her forehead. "So are you-"

"Please," she interrupted me, "I really don't wanna talk about it right now." I nodded, linking my arm with hers. Emma was almost never uncomfortable with anything. If she said she didn't want to do something, there was no way I was going to make her do it.

She led me to the next store, pulling off a few items from hangers and stacking them over her arm. "So," she began, "what kind of an impression do you want to give to Evan tonight?"

"Huh?" I questioned.

"Your outfit says more than you know, so you have to decide what you want it to tell the people around you." She explained. "Are you wanting to show Evan that you're into him?"

"What? No!" I protested. "I told you, I already like Caspian!"

Emma rolled her eyes as she grabbed another dress. "Fine, just try these on and we'll see." She said, handing me the dresses.

After trying on the first few and immediately disregarding them, the dresses were all starting to look the same. Too much leg, too much cleavage. After stepping out in dress number five, a short black dress that stopped mid-thigh and V-neck that went lower than I thought possible, I finally started protesting to Emma. "None of these are even close to anything I'd wear in my entire life."

"Come on Kriss! You look amazing!" She countered.

"Emma, please just try and find me something I will actually consider wearing."

She sighed and handed me a dress from behind her. "I was saving this one. I wanted to see if I could actually get you to wear a dress like this." She said, laughing as she handed me the dress. "I never actually expected you to wear any of these to the party."

Emma was always messing with me any chance she got, I should have known from the beginning. I glared at her, turning to go change again. "You're the worst!" I said over my shoulder.

"Aw come on, you love me Krissy girl."

After shedding the skimpy black dress off me, I slid the other one over my head. It was a black T-shirt dress that stopped a bit above my knee and had a red and blue strip going down each side. The neckline was much higher, stopping just below my neck. The fabric was extremely soft, and I loved the loose feeling it gave me. I stepped out of the changing room with a smile on my face. "Ok this is it." I said, giving a little twirl.

Emma smiled and stood up from her chair. "Perfect! I love it. Now get changed so we can get out of here."

We bought the dress and a simple gold necklace Emma insisted on pairing with my new outfit. I didn't normally enjoy going to parties where Emma would ditch me or that hadcrappy and loud music, but the thought of maybe getting to talk to Evan again made mystomach tie up in weird knots and a smile to creep onto my face.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and my smile grew.

Evan:

2127 Maple View Corner

Here's the address for tonight, you haven't changed your mind yet right?

Kriss:

Even if I did Emma would probably just drag me there anyway

Oh yeah the redhead, was she the one I talked to on the phone earlier?

Yeah, sorry about that

Don't be, if she can convince you to come to a party, she's my best friend too.

My cheeks heated up and I put my phone back in my pocket. I didn't understand what it was about him that made me do this, but I defiantly wasn't normal. I never considered myself the kind of girl that would fall for a guy I just met. I mean, I hardly imagined myself finding anyone. I was so shy and independent that I thought I'd just spend the rest of my life alone. Until I met Cas of course. He was fun and I loved talking to him. But this was different. I just met Evan and I hardly knew him. But at the same time, I wanted to. I wanted to know everything about him so badly that even the thought of getting to talk to him again excited me. 

krisspymemelord:

Hey

What are you up to?

No reply.