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~When Emma falls in love, she paces the floor, closes the blinds, and locks the door.~
After a messy breakup, Emma stormed into the house. She was living in her sister's basement as of three hours ago. The stomping from downstairs caught her sister's attention. When she came down, she saw Emma on the stairs, face buried in a journal.
"Jesus Christ, Kitty," Emma gasped.
"Sorry," Kitty said slowly. "What's it been, three hours since Jake broke up with you?"
Sighing, Emma nodded. She ran upstairs to lock the door. The thought of sunlight brought her down, so she shut the blinds as well. Kitty slowly walked upstairs to prepare lunch for her older sister. Emma sat back on the stairs, waiting for Kitty to leave the basement.
~When Emma falls in love, she calls up her mom, jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong.~
She looked down at her journal. What she had been writing about was a girl that lived next to her ex-boyfriend that helped her moved everything into a self-storage unit. Emma took her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number.
When Kitty came back down, she had a charcuterie board for her and Emma to share. She saw her sister on the phone. Kitty wanted to know who Emma was talking to, but she backed up and gave her space.
"Yeah, I think I'm fine," Emma chuckled, tears in her eyes. "No, I think I met someone who's going to be worth it. She's Jake's neighbour. Yes, all my furniture is in self-storage at the moment."
"Emma?" Kitty asked.
"Hey, Kit," Emma whispered. "Sorry, Mom. I'll let you go."
~She waits and takes her time 'cause Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it's gonna rain.~
"What was that?"
"Oh, I was just talking to Mom," said Emma. "Kinda random, but Jake's neighbour is kind of cute. Er, platonically. Fresh out of a relationship, remember?"
Kitty laughed and handed Emma a sausage on a toothpick. She sat on the stairs next to her sister as they finished everything on the board. Emma thought long and hard about Jake's neighbour, but didn't want to say anything else to Kitty.
"Hey, Emma?" Kitty asked.
"Hm?" Emma looked up from her journal.
The younger sister handed Emma her phone. There was a missed call from Emma's best friend, Noah. Word about the breakup got to him, as Noah had been in contact with Jake for as long as he had been going out with Emma. She waited a while to call Noah back; in the meantime, she reread what she had written down.
-Jake had this neighbour; her name was Gwen. I always loved it when she'd come over after accidentally letting her dog jump the fence. I want to meet that dog for real...
"Emma, the phone," Kitty exclaimed.
~When Emma falls in love, I know that boy will never be the same.~
She jumped and dove for her phone. Noah was calling her again. Emma sighed and picked up. Kitty got up and went upstairs to give Emma some privacy. She picked up, hearing the TV in the background on Noah's end.
"Hey, Em," said Noah. "Heard about Jake. What a piece of cock."
Emma chuckled, but was hurt. She did love Jake, but now had to get accustomed to hearing her loved ones talk smack about him. Emma had a gut feeling that Noah never liked Jake.
"Whatcha watching?" she asked.
"The Bachelor," Noah replied. "My husband said the cable repairman would be here soon and he isn't. So I'm stuck watching this shit because I can't afford a Netflix subscription. How are you doing?"
"Well, I feel like shit, but at least I'm not stuck watching The Bachelor," Emma teased.
Noah blew a raspberry into his phone and hung up. He later texted Emma saying he would be on his way to Kitty's house. Emma nodded and brushed the cracker crumbs off her legs after standing up. On the way to the door, she thought long and hard about Gwen, even after Noah's car pulled into the driveway.
~'Cause she's the kind of book that you can't put down.~
Emma was surprised to see the front seat of Noah's car filled to the brim with goodies. He bought a bag of bath bombs, a new sweater, and a basket full of bonbons and licorice. She tilted her head to the side as Noah got out, walking to the trunk.
"Jesus Christ, Noah," she whispered. "Did you buy the entire Cambridge Library?"
Chuckling, Noah pulled out a stack of books that covered his face. Emma took three from the top and helped him carry everything into the basement. The room Emma was staying in was humble, but it would do nicely until she got back on her feet.
Inside Emma's apartment, Noah took off his shoes and took a seat on the ottoman by the door. Emma took her stack of books - including her journal - and went into her room. She had no idea her journal had fallen off the top of the stack.
"Emma?" Noah called.
She turned around and ran for the journal. "Shit, thank you. Hey, I can trust you. Listen to this."
~Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town.~
She opened the journal and flipped to her most recent entry. Since the breakup, Emma had been writing about Jake's neighbour nonstop. Noah was her best friend, so she trusted him with whatever was in her journal.
-Jake's neighbour, Gwen, is probably the sweetest thing on the planet. I can't call it 'in love with her' so soon. I'll know when I fall in love.
"Aww," Noah chuckled. "I'd say you're in love."
"Oh, shut up, Noah," Emma shot back. "I listened to all your ramblings in your journal about your husband."
"Yeah, my husband," said Noah. "Meaning I wrote these things about him and now we're married. I'll help you with Gwen, if that's alright."
Emma shrugged, shutting her journal. She heard a knock on the door. On the other side was Kitty, bringing a guest from upstairs. Emma slowly waved and let Kitty's guest in.
~And all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had a chance to love her.~
The sound of stairs hitting the floor made Emma wonder who Kitty brought in. The guest poked her head around the corner, teal and black hair moving from side to side. Emma's heart began racing, shocked by who was there.
"Gwen?" Emma asked, no noise coming out.
"Hey, Emma," said Gwen. "I heard about the breakup. May I come in?
Emma nodded as Kitty went back upstairs. Gwen put her shoes next to Noah's and sat on the couch. Noah checked his nails before looking up at Gwen, uncertain of who was in Emma's place.
"Let me tell you something, Em," Gwen gave a sigh. "Jake doesn't know what he lost yet. Honestly, I think you made him a better person."
Gwen's words of encouragement made Emma smile. She watched the goth girl get up to grab a drink. Everything she wrote down and read to Noah was slowly coming to life.
~And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her.~
Off to the side, Noah watched Emma's face flush a deep pink. She kept a more serious look when Gwen came back. Noah chuckled, stifled by a cough. Emma texted Kitty, asking if she wanted to visit downstairs for a while. In a few minutes, Kitty made her way down.
She took a seat next to Noah. They exchanged looks, yet remained awkwardly silent. The only thing that could be heard was Noah's foot hitting the ground from bouncing his leg.
"So, Emma.” Gwen cleared her throat. "I guess since you and Jake are done, I'm not gonna be seeing you much anymore, huh?"
"God, I hope not," Emma chuckled. "You're great, Gwen. Actually, I'd like to see you more. I have more time for girlfriends."
Noah coughed to disguise a laugh. He bit a lip before shaking his head. Kitty slowly got up to leave, but Emma pointed at the couch, as if to tell her to sit down. Confused, the younger sister sat back down.
Maybe there was something Emma's best friend and sister knew that Emma herself did not know.
~When Emma falls in love, it's all on her face, hangs in the air like stars in outer space.~
Occasionally, Kitty tuned in and out of conversations. She tuned out of Gwen and Emma talking about poor relationships until Emma brought up Jake. Kitty perked up and directed all attention to her sister.
"Did you ever hear Jake talking about buying a new car?" Emma asked.
"Did I ever," Gwen chuckled. "Aren't you in law school?"
Emma nodded, her face rosier after a moment. "And Jake knew that. The bastard had balls trying to take some of my law school funds and put that towards his car."
The more Kitty listened in, the bigger she smiled. She nudged Noah and pointed to Emma. The two exchanged laughs and continued listening to Emma.
"God, she's into her," said Noah. "It's painfully obvious."
~When Emma falls in love, she disappears and we all just laugh after seein' it all these years.~
"You know, when she first fell for Jake, she didn't leave her room for ages," Kitty laughed.
Noah only nodded in response. He knew Emma's relationship history better than anyone; even better than her own family. Off to the side, Emma could hardly speak to Gwen anymore. Everything she said began to come out as gibberish.
"Are you okay?" Gwen asked, holding back a laugh.
"Yeah," Emma chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Kind of? Er, sorry. Heartbreak makes me a completely different person."
"Heartbreak and falling for someone," Kitty whispered to Noah.
He softly laughed and began to start a conversation with Gwen. "What was it like seeing this one frequently?"
Gwen stayed silent. Deep down, she enjoyed it when Emma visited Jake. Of course, Gwen never saw Emma unless it was to get her dog out of Jake's backyard. She didn't think much else of it.
~When Emma falls apart, it's when she's alone; she takes on the pain and bears it on her own.~
Emma watched Gwen talk to Noah some more. A smile quickly faded into a blank expression. She couldn't bear to think that she would never see Gwen again. Watching her friends get closer was almost heartbreaking.
Sighing, Emma got up and walked into the bedroom she was staying in. For now, she was sleeping on a cold air mattress until her bed frame showed up in the mail. Kitty noticed Emma walking away and ran after her.
"Was it something I said?" Gwen asked softly.
Kitty knocked on Emma's door. The elder sister opened the door and let her younger sister in. On the mattress was a box filled with gifts from Jake and any personalized items.
"Sorry, Kit," said Emma. "I saw how close you and Noah were getting with Gwen and it made me think of how close you two were with Jake. I don't want to lose that."
Sadly, Kitty sat down on the mattress next to Emma. She put an arm around her sister to comfort her. She looked at all of Emma's gifts from Jake and started shoving everything into a box. Emma was surprised, but Kitty's frustration was almost therapeutic.
~'Cause when Emma falls in love, she's in it for keeps. She won't walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave.~
Kitty hid Emma's box in the closet. When she came back, Emma had her phone open to her contacts. There was a heart next to Gwen's name. Kitty gasped, snickering over Emma's shoulder.
"What is it, Kit?" Emma groaned.
Sighing, Emma looked back down at her phone. She had already typed down a message she wanted to send to Gwen. Emma wanted to ask her if she wanted to grab dinner one night.
"Aww," Kitty cooed. "Why send that message? You can ask her in person."
"True," Emma sighed. "I did that with Jake before we started going out. The issue is he wasn't as committed as I wanted him to be. Gwen seems like the type of girl who would want something serious."
Both sisters couldn't help but agree. While Emma didn't send the message to Gwen, she left her room to join her guests again. Little did Emma know, Gwen and Noah had been doing some talking as well.
~And she's the kind of book that you can't put down.~
Gwen moved down on the couch to make space for Emma. Kitty ran upstairs to start making dinner. Thinking of dinner, Emma pulled up her phone. She cleared her throat, which got Gwen's attention.
"Can I ask you something, Gwen?"
"Go ahead," Gwen replied.
Noah smiled as he watched Emma become flustered. She thought about reading exactly what she had typed out. However, thanks to law school, Emma decided against reading what she had written down and instead reworded everything.
"I wanted to know if you want to get dinner tonight," she finally said.
Grinning, Gwen nodded. Noah stuck around before he left an hour later. Soon, Gwen would also leave to let Emma get ready for the night. Both girls had butterflies, but they didn't know about the other's feelings.
~Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town.~
While doing her makeup, Emma received a text from Jake. She raised an eyebrow at the message. At first, Emma turned her phone over to not feel tempted to reply to him.
When she finished getting ready for the night, Emma looked at her phone again. To her surprise, Jake had texted her five times, asking for her back. Laughing, Emma gave a lengthy response and blocked his number. After blocking Jake, she noticed Gwen had texted her as well; she was waiting outside.
Outside, Gwen rolled down her window and waited for Emma. She ran out to Gwen's car and immediately jumped in the front seat. "Wow, you look amazing," Gwen said.
"Thanks," Emma laughed nervously. "You, too. Where are we going?"
"I have an idea," Gwen replied. "I'm not telling you, but trust me; you'll love it."
Emma nodded as Gwen put her car in reverse. She trusted Gwen to pick a decent restaurant. Aside from getting stuck in traffic, the drive to Gwen's destination was smooth sailing.
~And all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had a chance to love her.~
During the drive, Gwen thought about how Emma was done so wrong by Jake. From trying to pilfer money from Emma to not paying her back after taking a few thousand dollars. She deserved better, and Gwen wanted to give that to Emma.
The restaurant in question was a steakhouse with a view. On the patio, patrons could easily watch the sun set. Emma's eyes sparkled in the light, watching skies of orange and pink marry together.
"Well?" Gwen asked.
"I already love it," Emma exclaimed.
Gwen pulled a chair out for Emma. It was tricky to engage in conversation, as Emma was mesmerized by the sunset. When it was time to order drinks, Gwen had to snap Emma out of it. They split a fish bowl cocktail before ordering nachos as an appetizer.
The goth girl looked at Emma. "I don't think I've said it enough times, but you look absolutely beautiful. Jake lost the best thing that ever happened to him."
~And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her.~
Emma blushed at Gwen's comment. Seven hours after the breakup, she felt ready to move on, and the end goal was to be Gwen's girlfriend. It would take time, but Emma was willing to wait.
"You know, Noah told me something I didn't expect from you," said Gwen.
"Oh, God.” Emma gave an exasperated sigh. "What did Noah tell you?"
"To sum it up, he had been keeping a close eye on your relationship with Jake. To better his relationship with his husband, he did the exact opposite of what Jake did with you."
For a while, Emma thought about it. Then, she chuckled in response. A small chuckle turned into a louder laugh. Gwen joined Emma in the laughter a minute later. Emma turned around to check for her waiter, but saw something else.
She feared that she saw Jake in the crowd.
~Well, she's so New York when she's in L.A.~
"Psst, Gwen," Emma whispered. "I think Jake's here."
"What the fuck?" Gwen sighed.
"Exactly. Isn't it enough Noah's husband had an obsessive piece of shit following him? I don't want to be next."
Gwen bit a lip while Emma bit her fingernail. Shoes hitting the ground, Gwen almost stood up to check, but Emma told her to sit down. Instead, they waited a few minutes before doing anything else. In the meantime, Gwen stared at Emma longingly.
Not once had Gwen laid eyes on someone as beautiful as Emma. She knew Jake had messed up big time. Gwen was not usually one for smiling for a while, but around Emma, she couldn't help it.
~She won't lose herself in love the way that I did.~
Emma still hadn't looked at Gwen since the sudden panic that her ex was at the restaurant. The lawyer had half a mind to stand up and interrogate the mysterious figure in the distance. The girls tried convincing the other to stay where they were.
"Food's gonna be here soon," said Emma. "Better stay where we are."
"True," Gwen replied, nodding in agreement.
The thought of Jake being there was in the back of Emma's mind. To take her mind off him, she continued looking at the sky until the food showed up. Gwen could tell Emma was about to break; the latter slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
"Dammit, Emma," Gwen sighed. "Come back."
~'Cause she'll call you out, she'll put you in your place.~
Unfortunately, Emma didn't hear Gwen. She was too far away to be heard. All Gwen could hear was Emma screaming inside the restaurant. The screaming came to an abrupt stop; Gwen worried Emma was yelling at a random stranger instead of her ex-boyfriend.
As soon as Emma returned, she remained silent for the rest of dinner. She didn't speak until she and Gwen left the restaurant. For the time being, Emma only responded by shaking her head and making small humming sounds.
In Gwen's car, Emma took a deep breath. It took a while before she was able to speak again. Gwen was quick to assure her that there was no need to rush.
"Was it Jake?" the goth asked.
"No," Emma said softly. "It was just some poor waiter. I'm sorry, Gwen. I made a complete ass of myself. I understand if you don't want to see me anymore."
Gwen shook her head. "I love the fiery side of you. Maybe don't lash out at people that look like Jake?"
~When Emma falls in love, I'm learning.~
Normally, Emma would take great offense to those comments. Because it was Gwen, she was able to laugh at herself. They stayed parked for an extra hour, talking about their love lives.
"Shall I take you home?" Gwen asked.
Emma nodded as Gwen started the car. The drive back to Emma's house was a lot smoother. Once Gwen drove past Jake's house, she rolled down Emma's window. Emma took some eggs she bought earlier and threw them all over the house.
"Suck it!" she laughed.
Quickly, Gwen drove away until she got back to Kitty's house. The younger sister was sitting outside, supposedly waiting for Emma to come back. The two left the car to talk to Kitty.
"If there's one thing I've learned about Emma, she has shitty taste in men, but immaculate taste in women," Kitty giggled.
~Emma met a boy with eyes like a man. Turns out her heart fits right in the palm of his hand.~
Emma couldn't help but agree. She nodded and turned to face Gwen. Kitty waved to the girls before going inside. Before Gwen left, she stuck around to cheer Emma up, as she was still slightly embarrassed about earlier.
"So, round two eventually?" Gwen asked.
"I'd like that," Emma laughed. "I'll text you my school schedule so we can work around that, okay?"
Gwen nodded. Emma pulled out her phone and sent Gwen a screenshot of her schedule for the semester. Before leaving, Gwen reached her arm out, as if to keep Emma closer to her for a while longer.
"Come here, Emma."
~Now he'll be her shelter when it rains. Little does he know, his whole world's about to change.~
To Emma's surprise, she noticed Gwen wasn't quite ready to leave yet. They held hands while Emma let Gwen look at her for a while longer. Starting slow with holding both hands, Emma moved a little closer to Gwen.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "What are you doing?"
"This," said Gwen.
She held onto both of Emma's hands. After her quick reply, Gwen lightly pulled Emma closer to her. The two met in the middle for a soft, but long kiss. Emma felt like she was in heaven right now.
Gwen kissed her for another minute before parting. Emma wanted more, but she was willing to wait another week before getting to go out with her again. School was a burden, but the only thing getting Emma through it was the thought of seeing Gwen at the end of the week.
~'Cause she's the kind of book that you can't put down.~
One evening, when Emma came back from classes, she noticed Noah lingering outside the front door. She curiously cocked her head and approached him. Noah looked up from his phone and waved to his best friend.
"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.
"You told me to meet you here after you were done classes," said Noah. "Geez, I must've been waiting for an hour."
"Shut up," Emma teased. "I had to help someone find a bus. But I'm here now. Let me get the door."
Emma's keys jingled as she unlocked the door. Inside her living room, she knew Noah wanted details about the date with Gwen.
"She's so compelling," Emma exclaimed, hyperventilating. "I can't wait to see her again."
~Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town.~
Noah laughed at his best friend. He took his shoes off before waiting for every detail about the date, including Emma lashing out at a stranger. She talked fast enough for Noah to keep up, despite him missing a few words.
"So, it went well?" asked Noah.
"Yep," Emma said with a smile. "We agreed to see each other at the end of the week. Ah, I miss her kiss. She's so..."
Emma was at a loss for words. Noah watched as his lovesick best friend slipped into a daze. Sometimes, she would become lost in her own thoughts and forget what she was talking about, even when Gwen wasn't the topic of discussion.
"Emma," said Noah. "I was talking about going to Cabo with my husband."
"Oh, right," Emma laughed nervously.
~And all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had a chance to love her.~
Come the end of the week, Emma was dressing herself up to go meet Gwen. This time, she was meeting her at the movies. They agreed to park next to each other at the cinema, which was packed full of people wanting to see Barbie.
Emma's phone began ringing while she was driving. Thankfully, she had her phone hooked up to her car radio. "Hello?"
"I'm here," said Gwen. "Where are you?"
"Just pulling up now," Emma replied.
She pulled into a full parking lot. Only one spot was free and it was close to Gwen. Emma waved to the goth, who was now dressed in all pink clothes plus a matching cowgirl hat.
"I can't believe you talked me into watching Barbie," said Gwen.
~And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her.~
Inside the cinema, nobody could navigate the floor. Emma didn't mind; she got more time with Gwen. Even the queue for food was extremely long. Without thinking, Emma leaned in and kissed Gwen on the cheek.
"Well, thanks," she joked.
"Hey, Gwen, you want to go see Five Nights at Freddy's when it comes out?" asked Emma.
"Oh, boy," Gwen laughed. "Look, I've been up to date on lore, theories, and all the games for years. Of course I'll go with you. Wait, is this because Noah's husband wants to see it, too?"
Emma laughed and nodded. "Looks like a very gay double date."
~Yeah, between me and you, sometimes I wish I was her.~
Gwen and Emma made their way into a dark theatre. Promos hadn't even started playing yet. In the meantime, Emma tracked down their seats and began talking.
"I don't know too much about Five Nights at Freddy's, to be honest," said Emma.
"Oh, you're in for a treat," Gwen chuckled.
Emma laughed in response. She reached for some of Gwen's popcorn and ate a fistful. Gwen groaned and pointed to Emma's bag of popcorn. However, she couldn't stay mad at her. To lighten the mood, Gwen grabbed Emma's face and kissed her harder than she had ever kissed anyone.
Then, the screen lit up with promos.