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Emily began to stir in her sleep. She heard the pitter patter of rain on the rooftop and slowly opened her eyes. She looked outside. It was a foggy, gloomy, rainy, cloudy day. One of those days that you wish you could just stay in bed. Lucky for her, she could. Emily rolled over, beginning to feel a cool sensation running through her. She gave a heavy sigh; it was freezing. She bundled up tighter in her covers until she couldn't move. Her phone rang, "Perfect timing," she said to herself.

Tristan hung up the phone. He looked around the room and then walked over to his favorite Ataris t-shirt. He bent over, picked it up, smelled it, dropped it on the floor again, heaved off his sweaty white t-shirt, and threw on his Ataris t-shirt. He walked over to the mirror and looked himself over. He needed pants. Tristan went to his dresser and pulled out a new pair of jeans. He slipped them on with his favorite belt, "Perfect," he thought. He slammed his feet into some socks and old sneakers and ran out the door holding a bagel, forgetting his umbrella. He devoured his bagel and stopped in front of a rather large house. It was a lot nicer than what he called home. He walked up the brick walk and rang the doorbell. He shoved his hands in his pockets and the door opened. Emily stood there, smiling at him. She laughed, "Where's your umbrella?" Tristan felt so stupid, how had he forgotten? He ran his fingers through his sopping wet hair. "Oh, I, uh, left it at home…" She giggled, "Come on in, I'll get one." He shrugged and followed her. His first few steps inside her spacious home echoed. This intimidated him a bit. He felt so powerless, the echo would repeat everything her did or said. He mentally told himself not to do anything stupid. "Got it! Let's go, Tristan." Tristan looked up and smirked. They went out into his car. He had bought it with his own money and was very proud of it. It was an old dull red convertible. The inside smelled of various colognes, people, and many different air fresheners. It was a musty, yet refreshing smell to him, almost nostalgic. He liked the smell of old smoke and alcohol and other things he could not identify. They made him feel like he held a special place in the history of that car. He then noticed a new, strange smell. It smelled light and airy with a hint of lavender. It was Emily. He liked having her here with him. It made him feel like he could step on the gas and drive forever.

They just drove for a while, stopped at a coffee shop, and drove some more. Emily began to feel sleepy, so she laid her head on the old musty headrest. It felt good to get away. She heard Tristan put on some soft music, and then it all went blank. She awoke, still hearing the rain, and lifted her head. She looked outside the window, it was still pouring out. The rain and slight fog blurred the scenery, but she could still see they were at the park, where they always went. She looked to her left and saw Tristan watching her quietly. She smiled and started polite conversation. It turned into a long talk with lots of laughs. Emily had never felt that anyone would care to listen to her problems like a real friend. Tristan was filling that empty place in her heart, the place that her friends were supposed to be in.

Tristan was washing his face one morning when he realized that school was almost over. Summer was here. The late night parties, one-night stands, and nights of no sleep would begin…and there would be no Emily to enjoy them with. He felt his eyes open wide and his skin turn cold. He couldn't believe it. How had he not seen it all those times when he was with her; when they talked, walked, laughed, how could he be so stupid? He was falling in love with her. How could he tell her? What would she say? Would she laugh? Would their friendship be ruined forever? No, he couldn't let this happen, he had to forget her. They would all laugh, they wouldn't understand. A skater and a popular girl, that could never be. Just then he heard his phone ringing. He hoped Emily would be on the other line. "No! Stop it," he kept telling himself. He picked up the phone, it was Tina.

Emily was brushing her hair. She looked in the mirror. Today, she and Tristan were going to the park to take a nature walk. She loved spending time with him. He made her laugh like no one else could. She called him to tell him to come pick her up and there was no answer. She took on a confused look and headed over to his house. She knocked, there was no answer. She went around back and the door was open so she went in. There was a smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol. She wondered if this was what his house smelled like all the time, she had never been inside; she had only walked by it with him. Emily went to Tristan's room and as soon as she entered, there was a sharp pain in her chest. It felt like her heart was breaking. There was Tina Herrin on Tristan's bed, in his T-shirt taking a drag. Emily heard the shower going and saw empty glasses all over his dresser and a few bottles of empty liquor. The bed was a mess and unmade, the room smelled of body sweat. The shower turned off, but Emily's reflexes were too slow.

Tristan wrapped a towel around his waist and headed into his bedroom. He saw Tina on his bed smiling at him. She got up, walked over to him, and gave him a kiss. Her breath smelled like smoke and cheap whiskey, a poison he never wanted to ingest. He made a disgusted face, but Tina didn't notice, she was too drunk. He looked up into the eyes of a young girl standing next to his door…Emily. What had he done? Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was running, and tears were streaming down her face. Tristan let go of Tina who he guessed hadn't seen Emily standing there and started towards Emily. He approached her and started to put his arms around her. She pushed him away. He tried again and received a hard slap across the face. It stung his cheek, but his heart ached more. He had hurt Emily, how could he? He loved her. He opened his mouth and Emily ran. He couldn't catch her, he had lost her. Just then he heard a loud thump and turned around. Tina was lying on his floor. He turned away, put some clothes on, got his car keys, and headed out.

Emily ran faster and faster. The scenery became an endless sickening blur of colors. She wasn't thinking clearly. She ran to the park and under the tree Tristan and she had always sat under. Then she cried, why had he done that to her? She loved him. Maybe he didn't know. Could that be why? She didn't know anymore. She didn't want to know. She heard grass rustling behind her and she turned, wanting to see a friendly face.

Tristan knelt down next to Emily, and though she tried to escape, he wouldn't let go. He wouldn't let her get away again. She kicked and screamed but it was no use. After a while, she stopped and looked into his eyes. So many questions were in them that he wanted to answer, but all he could do was look away. It was starting to rain again. He pulled Emily up. He touched her soft face, oh how he wanted to kiss her, but he didn't. She jerked away from him and hurriedly walked off. He saw Tina coming after him, stumbling around like the drunken idiotic slut she was. Before he knew what he was doing, he called out to Emily, "I LOVE YOU!" He knew she had heard because she stopped, but she quickly kept going and he understood. He knew Tina had heard as well, for she had stopped and was glaring angrily in Emily's direction and then attempted to hit Tristan as he walked past her to his car. He felt glad he had said that. It had taken a lot of pressure off of him.

Emily was soaked when she got home and went immediately up to her room to get changed. She smiled at her mirror, knowing that Tristan loved her. She wanted to call him and tell him that she loved him too. She knew she couldn't though, she was still hurt. She hated him for what he had done to her. She hated herself more, she hadn't told him about her feelings for him, this was her fault. She brushed her hair and sat on her bed. She wasn't tired, but it was a school night so she had to go to sleep. She tied her hair back and sat down on her bed. The rain had made her feel cool, calm, and refreshed. She never wanted this feeling to leave.

Tristan was falling asleep very quickly tonight. He couldn't wait to see Emily tomorrow. He wanted to apologize, even though he knew she wouldn't forgive him that easily. He still couldn't understand why he had invited Tina over and why he had gotten involved with her again. Now he'd gotten himself into more trouble. He sighed and shrugged it off, after all, tomorrow was going to be a brand new day, right?