Chapter 1
    The warm sun was just starting to fall, Brittneys room began to grow cold. The loud music began to die down, as she settled down and got out her homework. She worked on her homework and lit some pumpkin scented candles. About two hours later she hears the futuristic ringtone of her cell phone. She is now engaged in this conversation with her best friend, since 5th grade, and packs up her books.
It is now completely dark, the house is silent, and peaceful. Several hours has passed and the two girls are still on the phone but both growing fatigue.
“Brittany? Are you still there?”  Emily asked.
“Yeah, what were you saying?”  Brittany asked in boredom. 
“We were talking about homecoming, who we’re going with, what we are gonna wear, how I’m going to be crowned homecoming queen all that good stuff. Did you even hear anything I said!”  Brittany sighed and Emily reluctantly left it at that. They decided later they would meet up and plan things in person, so neither of them would get distracted. 
The girls had plans to go to a party that night with their boyfriends, Emily’s boyfriend was Josh and Brittany’s boyfriend was Nick.
Brittany was always slightly jealous of Emily because Emily always catches attention from boys with her long dark hair, and green eyes. But this is nothing for Brittany to be jealous of she is just as elegant. With her golden hair, and light brown eyes, but she just can’t help to be jealous. Josh and Nick have also been best friends for a long time. Both boys have dark chocolate brown hair, and amazing personalities, that both girls seem to adore.
They were getting picked up at 8 and were all sleeping over at Josh’s house. At around 5 the girls started to get ready. They showered and blow dried there. Emily put in some fun and cute waves, while Brittany kept her long hair straight. The girls put on just enough make up, and they put on their dresses and high heels. Brittanys dress was royal blue and really made her brown eyes pop. Emilys dress was light pink with some jewels around the center. Emily and Brittany both looked astonishing and were ready for the dance.
Josh and Nick soon got there and were awestruck by their beauty. They took some photos then headed to the dance. When they got picked up they expected it to be like all other high school party where everyone was getting drunk and hooking up with random people or their boyfriends/ girlfriends.  This image was torn apart as soon as they got there. It was a mini concert.  Emily and Brittany squealed and jumped up and down in hopes of maybe getting to perform themselves since they both loved to sing.
Emily stopped mid-squeal as soon as she saw Brook up there performing. “What the hell is Brook doing here singing, thats my thing how could she!” 
Brittany rolled her eyes sick of their on going rival. “It’s not a big deal she’s probably just opening for someone else.”
“Are you kidding me! That’s not okay I should be opening that’s just how it always goes and she knows it.” Emily decides to try and cool down by dancing with Josh.  They have a blast and she forgets about her whole meltdown with Brook performing everything.  Emily and Brittany dance all night and end up getting to sing the last song which makes them pretty stoked considering everyone loves them and they all stayed to watch.  When they leave the four of them get into Josh’s car and they head home from a great night.
The next morning the girls are up first so they make pancakes for the boys. It’s a tradition that whoever wakes up first has to make breakfast. The sweet smell of pancakes filled the air and soon enough the boys were awake. All four of them ate breakfast together and talked about their homecoming experience. Once they finished up the boys cleaned up the kitchen while Emily and Brittany prepared for the day.   They end up all going to the mall later in the day and the boys help the girls find cute stuff, and the girls help the boys find cute stuff.  After hours of competing to find the ugliest outfit, which was more fun than they expected, they decided to see a movie. Eventually they make their way to the theatre and watch paranormal activity 4 but they all get a kick out of it because its terrible acting and they predicted the ending all along. They all could not help but to die of laughter.
As we are all walking out of the mall, we see Brook walking in with Jacob. Rage shoots through Emilys bones, but she tries not to show it.
“Yo guys used to be best friends,” mentioned Nick, “What happened?” 
    “Its a long story, we can talk about it later, i do not need Brook to ruin my day,” announced Emily.


Chapter 2
Emily talks to Brittany a lot about her and Brook getting into their big fight but she never really explained the whole story. So when Brittany asks this time she decides to tell the whole story. 
“Brook can we go outside to play? I’m bored.”  Emily whined.
“Gosh Emily why do we always have to do what you want!  We are at my house you know.” Brook protested.
Emily gave in like always and they played dress up and my little pony’s for the rest of the day.  The girls had always been friends and had always played together but it wasn’t until 7th grade where it all went wrong.  One day they were at Emily’s house and they were hanging out on their phones, painting their nails, doing their hair, you know all the usual girl stuff. Thats when a boy named Jacob texted both of them at the same time. Little did they know he was just messing around because his friends were there. They thought he actually liked them though so they were really excited but until they were sure he actually did they mentally decided not to tell the other.  They next day at school Brook saw Emily flirting with Jacob and she got furious.  She stomped over to where they were standing and gave him a big hug and said in a calm voice,
“Hey Emily can I speak to you for a minute please?”  There was a smug look on her face as she left Jacob standing there ready for whatever Brook was gonna yell at her about today.
“Hey Brook what’s up?”
“Well first off your flirting with my guy and trying to steal him from me so back off okay!”
“Who do you think you are,” Emily scowled, “he texted me this weekend, and just now asked me on a date.” 
Brook stands there with wide eyes and mouth wide open definitely not expecting this news, or the fact that Emily actually stood up for herself for once. 
“You know what Brook I’m done here! I’m done always being second, always doing what you want and most of all I’m done being friends with you!”
Emily storms off and never gets to hear Brook’s side of the story which ever since everything happened she wishes she had so she could solve things with her used-to-be-best friend.
This pang of guilt rushes through her as she remembers it like it was yesterday.  They are seniors now and she realizes after 5 years they should end this feud and find out what really happened.  As Emily remembers this though she realizes Brook is going out with that boy they both liked in 7th grade and thinks, if she reminds her of the past it might affect the future the two of them have together which she could never do since she’s already hurt Brook enough in the first place.  She decides to put it aside and focuses on more important things at the moment. 

Chapter 3
Emily's main focus in life right now is being crowned homecoming Queen considering she lost to a senior by 3 votes last year.  Her and Brittany go to the dress shop and are in the middle of trying on the millionth dress when Brooke walks in the door with her two geeky best friends.  It’s like everything freezes in place for what seems like a couple minutes but is really only a couple seconds.  Emily and Brook nod at each other and the 3 girls scurry to the other end of the shop so they’re not in anyone's territory.  Emily rolls her eyes and they keep trying on dresses.  They finally are tired and have found the perfect dresses. They go to pay for them and get all the essential things they need like the corsage and jewelry to go with the dresses.  They pass Brook and this time all three of them give her a dirty look that makes her laugh, flip her hair, and strut off in her mini skirt, crop top and converse.  They leave the store and drive off in Emily’s convertible that everyone at school always is jealous of. 
“I can’t believe them, I mean it was fine for them to come into the store but not to give us dirty looks that’s just wrong we have been shopping at that store since freshman year.”  Emily ranted on and on to Brittany.  Who by this point has learned to tune her out but still nod and shake her head at the right time, so Emily still thinks she’s listening. 
The next day at school Emily has a part mischievous and part evil plan to sabotage Brook’s chances at a social life or homecoming queen.  First though she has to run it by Brittany to make sure it makes some logical sense.  She tells Brittany over Starbucks and even though Brittany’s sick off all this fighting between Emily and Brook she has to admit it is a pretty good plan.  They get Josh and Nick involved and they too think it’s a pretty good idea.  They start right away getting all the supplies they need for this brilliant plan.  Once they have all gathered the different supplies they need they decide to go to Emily’s house since she has the biggest room and the biggest house.
When they arrive at her house they are greeted by her father, who looks like he is just now about to leave for work. They walk through the big white doors and head left down a cold hallway. No one has been to Emily's house for a few years, and everyone forgot the beauty of it. After walking for what seems like hours, they hear music playing, and see a door slightly open. The room is as big as an average house. Brittany, Nick, and Josh are in awe. The white walls, and plush carpet make them feel more comfortable. They notice her windows with an amazing view of the city. After taking in her elegant room, they kick their shoes off and start on this “project”.    
They get to work right away and Nick says something unexpected, “Are you sure you want to continue with this Emily it seems a little… um, strange?”  Everyone goes silent in shock because Nick never talks back or says anything unexpected.  Brittany blinks once, twice then smiles with satisfaction.  It’s about time someone puts Emily in her place after all these years of her pushing around the three of them, even Josh.
“Well duh!  Why wouldn’t I?  I mean it’s not like it’s bad or anything.”  Emily says.  They get back to work without another word about it. 


Chapter 4
A few nights later Emily goes to a Halloween bash party and sees a boy named Adam there.  Josh, Brittany, and Nick couldn’t make it that night so she just went alone hoping to have some fun and see if she had other friends there.  Emily has one class with Adam and has thought nothing of them but as friends.  She had been dancing for a while and had had enough so she went out onto the patio to get some fresh air. She stepped outside and was immediately covered in goosebumps. although it was cold it was such a relief. The brisk air nipped at her skin but she enjoyed every bit of it. After a few minutes of relaxing she decided it was time to leave. Adam just happened to be out there. He turned around just in time to see her before she goes back inside to leave him alone.
“Hey Emily what are you doing out here?” Adam said with a smile.
“Oh, um, hey I was just coming out for some fresh air but if you want to be alone I totally get it…”
“No it’s cool you can stay.”  He says with a smirk this time that makes her laugh.  They talk for a while as if they have known eachother forever even though they barely ever talk about anything besides math.  She feels safe with him and he with her and she realizes that she can connect with him like she’s never been able too with anyone else and everything just feels right.  They talk about life in general, she tells him all of her secrets and things she has never told anyone before, and he tells her about his life and his secrets and the stuff he has never told anyone before. Emily really enjoys talking to him because she feels like she is being listened to rather than just being heard. They talk and talk until about midnight on the deck until they're both so cold they can’t stand it so they decide to just continue talking in his car. They walk to his car in a comfortable silence, which she really enjoys. Once they arrive at his car, he opens the maroon door to his Ford truck. She hops inside and he goes around to the other side to get it. Adam starts the car and turns on the heater, just to let their frozen bodies defrost. Next he turns the radio to 91X and he turns it down just so its hardly noticed.  They end up talking until about 5:00 in the morning and are both very exhausted and worn out.
He drives her home and waits for her to get ready for school so they can head to his house for him to throw on some fresh clothes before they drive to school together.  While he is waiting for her he thinks back on what happened when they talked last night  and realizes he has a major crush on her.  He knows she has a boyfriend but he puts that past them as she gets back in the car.  He stares at her for a little just looking at her perfect messy bun and  the way she threw on comfy clothes but made them look beautiful.  She sees him before he can look away and he blushes and goes to turn the car on so they can drive to his house.  She grabs his hand though before he can drive off that gives him a sensation of hope and reassurance that could never be described in words. 
They drive to his house and she puts on her makeup while he puts on a fresh new outfit for the day.  When they are both done they get back in his car as now it is 6:30am and head to the diner to get coffee and muffins before they have to go to their first classes of the day.  At school they go their separate ways but before they go he says “Hey I’ll text you later and maybe we can do something after school if you want?”  She smiled and said, “Yeah sounds good to me.”  With that they walked in opposite directions for their classes and were on opposite ends. As Emily was walking to class she was remembering and looking back on the events that just occured with the boy she used to have a crush on. She smiles just thinking about it, and walks into her first class. All Emily can think of is Adam and she has a feeling its going to be a long day of waiting to hang out with him again. She tries to focus as she turns the corner to walk in the door, but she just can not stop smiling.


Chapter 5
Emily walks into the cold, white, vacant room and remembers her first period she has is with Brittany and is excited to see her and tell her everything but on her way she decides to wait and see how things go before the whole school finds out that her and Adam were together.  She meets up with Brittany and they sit in their usual seats in the back row left side. Its right under the air conditioning vent which can be live saving on some days and life threatening on others.  They talk about the party and how Brittany should have been there and that it would have been so much fun.  But Brittany knew Emily very well and knew something special must have happened at the party without her even having to be told.   Brittany asked in all seriousness, “So did anything interesting happen? Was Josh there?”  Emily’s face went pale as she realized she wouldn’t be able to keep this from Brittany even if she tried.  Instead of explaining everything right then and there she simply said, “No Josh wasn’t there I hung out with my friend Adam from math class.”  Brittany wasn’t convinced and cocked an eyebrow at Emily to let her know this.  Emily sighed and said, “Alright alright let’s go to Starbucks after and I will tell you everything, but just so you know nothing bad happened!”  Brittany smirked as she knew she would get her way and get what she wanted. 
The girls walked to their next class together but went their separate ways because their classrooms were right across the hall from each other.  They decided to talk at lunch about their plan for the day.  She meets up with Josh to walk to their next period like they always do but her next class she had with Adam. Her heart jumps, and she immediately gets butterflies in her stomach.  So her mind was off track thinking about how her heart felt and how she would react around other people and him.  Josh gave her a quick kiss and she entered the classroom with a new confidence and reassurance of how she would act around Adam. They coincidently sit next to each other and exchange smiles like nothing is different even though it is.  They’re partners in math like always and he, like always, has to help her but something happens that’s not like always he scoots his chair super close to hers so there knees are touching.   It doesn’t seem like this is a big deal but because of last night her heart skips a beat and she gets jittery from head to toe.  She attempts but knows she didn’t do very well by the smirk on Adam’s face that makes her blush with embarrassment. Her face feels as if boiling water was poured across it. 
“Wow, I’ve never seen Miss Popular this red before.”  He laughs at himself but stops when he sees her arms crossed over her chest with one eyebrow cocked and he wonders how she can even do that.  He clears his throat and says “Sorry Emily.”
She smiles and shrugs, “It’s okay Adam there’s a lot of thing you don’t know about me.”    She winks at him and gives him the curiosity of wondering whether she wants him to know more about her or not.  They come back to reality and work on their math but not in an awkward way like it normally is but in a friendly way that they both enjoy very much. 
They run into a problem at the end of class when Brook walks over and tries to talk with Adam.  She tells him that her and her boyfriend didn’t work out and that she was glad she broke up with him you know usual stuff.  But the thing that really struck Emily and caught her attention was when Brook looked at her and said right into her eyes,  “Yeah well it wasn’t worth losing my best friend at the time.  I don’t even think she ever knew the whole story…”  Emily couldn’t bare to hear her talk about seventh grade it was stupid and sometimes made her cry. Emily was speechless. The lights on the ceiling seemed to get brighter. In the middle of her forehead she felt pangs of pain.  She got up with hot tears forming in her eyes and walked to her teacher’s desk so she could ask for a bathroom pass.  She felt a warm hand on her left arm and hoped it wasn’t Brook because she had no desire to talk to her about things right now.  Luckily it was Adam which made her smile and be happy for just a moment before Brook walked up and tried to talk to her. By the way Brook was beginning to approach her she was not sure if she was trying to look confident and cocky, or if she was trying to be concerned with out showing it. This made her looks slightly awkward and uncomfortable, especially because her normal self is so mysterious, and fake when she wants to be. Brook tends to act fake when she is around Emily, she thinks she is trying to look “cool”. She is almost adjacent to Emily, when Adam steps in front of her and lightly pushes her to go outside and get some air. She walks to the bathroom, while Brook and Adam are told to go back to their seats and they do so.  

Chapter 6
Emily said in her nicest and calmest voice possible, “I need to go to the bathroom Miss Cook can I please have a pass?” 
“Of course Emily! Did you finish the partner work?”  Miss Cook asks.
“Yes, we finished it and the extra credit.”
She smiled “Ah that’s why I paired you two up, your my best students.”  Emily smiled and walked outside but before she got very far Adam ran up to her and stopped her abruptly.  She was startled but decided not to say anything because she could tell he had been thinking about  this for a long time. Then he started to talk. The way he delivered his words made Emily thinks he had written this talk down and was now reciting for the one hundreth time.
“Look I know this is hard for you and you don’t want to hear it but you need to know what happened I hate that for the past five years you guys have been at eachothers throat trying to be better than the other at every little thing.  Whether it’s singing or Homecoming queen.  Well guess what princess life happens, drama happens, feelings get hurt but you know what?  Everyone moves on and forgives and forgets and that’s something you both need to learn how to do.”  He looked relieved like he had been holding that in forever which he probably had been.  Something finally clicked though when he said that.  She wasn’t sure if it was because he was saying it or if after all these years she just needed to face her fears and get over the fact that not everything is always going to go her way.
She gave him a huge hug and said, “Thank you for telling me all this .   I never  realized that maybe I should hear the rest of the story so I know what  happened instead of always running away from challenges that I am faced with.   I think I’m finally ready to hear what Brook has to say.”  He smiles with satisfaction as he is happy he will have more fun spending time with her if she lifts this heavy weight that has been living there for five years off her chest.
She goes up to Brook and says with the most courage she could possibly muster, “Hey Brook can we talk I think it’s about time this gets straightened out and resolved.  This time I will listen no matter what, and not run away. “  Brook is so happy she can’t even express it she is just speechless and has her mouth wide open. 
She finally manages to say, “Okay can we meet for coffee after school or would you rather go to dinner later I don’t really have plans just a little homework."
Emily had made so many plans to do things this afternoon it was crazy!  She decided dinner or dessert would work best for her.  “How about we get ice cream and watch the sunset like we used to when we were younger.”
She smiled at this as she new her best friend was coming back to her.  “Sure, sounds like a great plan!”  She smiled and walked back into Miss Cook’s class.  The bell rang and she hurried out with Adam right behind her. 
He caught up to her and said almost out of breath, “Hey Em how did it go?”
She smiled with the biggest smirk ever, “So you have a nickname for me now?”  She punched him in the shoulder playfully. 
“Yeah is there a problem with that?”  He laughed at this stupid remark back to her.  “But seriously Em how did it go?”
She sighed at her attempt to avoid the question that couldn’t be avoided any longer.  “It was fine we’re gonna meet for ice cream and watch the sunset like we used to do when we were younger, my idea of course.” 
He rolled his eyes at her conceded comment and knew the old Em was back but that was okay because he liked her no matter how she acted.  “Hey, are we going to hang out after school or are you too busy for me.” 
She laughed at his attempt to be funny.  “No we still can if you want but I am super busy so maybe we could do home work together?” 
“It’s okay we can just hang out tomorrow or something, I don’t want you to be too overwhelmed.”  She smiled at his generosity and was grateful he didn’t take up her offer on home work. She knew neither of them would have gotten anything done anyways.
As usual the day went on like any other day. Emily walked from class to class, occasionally walking with her boyfriend. She felt bad about getting some feelings for Adam, but she is not sure if she is just excited about talking with Brooke or if she is always excited to see Adam.
Emily goes to lunch and sits with Brittany and her boyfriend, as usual. They chat and laugh, now Emily feels even more guilty about the whole Adam situation. She could never imagine not being with these 3 other people. They are some of the only people that make her happy, and comfortable. She loves each and every one of them. Emily really hopes her feelings for Adam go away.
Emily and her boyfriend walk to the next class, he kisses her before she steps in to class. In that moment she felt fire in her eyes, and wanted to cry. She remembered all the good times they have had and did not want them to end, but in the last few hours her feelings for Adam are becoming overwhelming.
In her last period, which is History, all she can think about it Adam and how disappointed Brittany would be if she broke up with Jacob. Their group of friends would never be the same. And Emily did not want to be the one to ruin it. Especially with only a few months left of school before they all go their separate ways. Emily was overwhelmed to say the least. The bell rang, and she went straight to her blue beemer. She drove home and made some cookies, and then took a short nap before she started doing homework. She finished up homework, and got ready to go pick up Brooke. She checked her phone and had numerous texts from Adam and Jacob, they were both wondering where she went after school because she does not usually leave that quick.


Chapter 7
She meets Brittany at lunch and they decide to meet at Starbucks at 2:30.  They hurry over to their regular table before the bell rings so she can make plans with Josh this afternoon. Just as she turns around she hears Josh’s loud steps.  He sees her, runs to her and picks her up and swings her around like he hasn’t seen her in forever.  She doesn’t mind though because it feels nice and secure in his arms like everything is perfect. But she gets a tingling feeling and she knows right now in that moment that even though she loves Josh she is now faced with the fact that she is falling for Adam.  He sets her down and she puts on the best fake smile she can manage. Brittany feels like she has been punched in the stomach numerous times. This new found adoration for Adam is eating her alive. She has never felt so guilty in her life. Even though she still loves Josh she is slowly catching feelings for Adam. Although she tries not to show it she feels it. Often time she catches herself day dreaming. When she catches her self she does not know how to feel about it. It makes her sick to her stomach to think of leaving Josh. It makes her sick to her stomach just to think of what would happen if Josh found out what has been going on in the last two days.   
She asks, “When do you want to hang out today?” 
    “How about I take you out to dinner or something?”

Her heart drops and she suddenly feels gravity pushing down on every inch of her body with maximum force, “Ok sounds good what time were you thinking because I’m meeting Brook for ice cream at sun set.”
He looks shocked but plays it cool and says, “Oh that’s excellent! How about I pick you up at 7pm? Is that enough time with Brook or would you like to go to dinner later?”  She smiled at his gratitude towards her and replies, “Yeah seven is perfect where are we going?”
He smirks mischievously and says, “You’ll see but wear warm clothes just in case.”  She sighs and leaves it at that as she doesn’t want to have to guess and figures it would be nice to have a surprise for once. Brittany remembers why she fell in love with Josh once again. This makes her happy for a second then she remembers all the disrespectful things she has done to him. Guilt flashes through her blood yet again. Now all she can think about it Josh and Adam. Them she remembers she is meeting with Brooke too. Brittany feels the heat in her eyes and suddenly wants to cry. She goes through the rest of her day feeling sick to her stomach about what she’s gonna do about Adam because she can’t just forget about what happened last night and just let it all go because she knows there is something there.  She has a test in her her last class and is worried she might fail it even though she had been studying for the past week she was overwhelmed with the thoughts that had formed in her head over the day. 
She walks into her seventh period and immediately feels light headed. Panik has now taken over. She sits down and tries to refocus and calm herself down. She slowly starts to relax as her teacher hands out the seven age exam. A few minutes have passed and Brittany is fully focused and ready to take her test.
Once the test is over she walks out of the room and feels the cool fall air nip at her skin. She walks back to her car, and tries to stay in the sun. She puts her books in the car, and checks her phone. For what seems like the forty-ith time today, she starts to become overwhelmed. Hopefully hanging out with Emily before she talks to Brooke will calm her down.
She arrives at her house to put some books away and to change her clothes. She walks in the door and smells her favorite fall snack. Pumpkin muffins. She instantly sprints to her room. She drops her books, puts on jeans and uggs, she grabs a jacket and a scarf for her dinner with Josh and she puts it in her purse. Lastly she grabs some money out of her secret stache, and heads towards the kitchen.
Her mom must have made muffins before she went to work. Brittany grabs two off of the plate and they heat up her hand. Now she is headed for the car, if it were not for her moms muffins she would be stressing out.
    She gets in the car and calls Emily to tell her she is on her way. Emily said she is stuck in a lot of traffic and will probably be about ten minutes late. Brittany is fine with this, now she has time to relax a little by herself before this crazy night begins. She starts her car and is on her way to starbucks.
    Once she gets there she is relieved to find out that not many people had her same idea of meeting at starbucks. The place is empty. All you hear is some quiet classical music, and buzzing espresso machines. The strong and intense smell of coffee fills her nose as soon as she opens the door. It immediately puts a smile on her face. She goes up to the barista and orders her usual, a Chai Tea Latte with an extra shot of espresso. While she waits she grabs a table and anxiously waits for her delicious drink.
    “Brittany your Chai Tea Latte is ready”, announced the barista.
“Thank you, have a nice night”, pleaded Brittany.
With a warm genuine smile  he said, “Anytime, you too!”
Brittany now waits with her drink for emily to get there. 
    The steam from her beverage hits her face and she feels the warm dampness settling on her skin. As she sips her liquid heaven her mind begins to wonder. Again, she is back in the car with Adam, and again she feels the same guilt. She is broken from this flashback with a jolt. A glass cup had been dropped, and the sound of it is still ringing in her ears. She silently laughs off her fear and falls back into a daze. Its tearing her apart. She does not know what to do or what to tell Emily. Even though Emily is her best friend she also is Jacob’s best friend so Brittany is not sure if she can tell Emily very much information because she could possibly tell Jacob. Emily is going to be at Starbucks any minute, now is not the time for Brittany to panic. 
Chapter 8
She gets to Starbucks a little early so she has some time to sort through her thoughts before Brittany gets there.  She’s mid-thought about how perfect Adam’s blue eyes and blond hair are not to mention his sweet personality to her that made him so much hotter when Brittany comes rushing over to her table with their drinks in hand eager to hear the story.  Emily starts her story off by saying, “Well when I went to the party last night I saw this guy named Adam from my math class. We were just talking on the back porch about stuff and I don’t know what it was but there was something about him that I trusted him and I felt like I could tell him anything and it wasn’t awkward even though we barely knew each other before last night.  Once it got cold we went to his car and talked until 5 in the morning and then he took me home and I got ready for school.  It’s not that we kissed or even held hands but it was just a spark between us it was that I felt comfortable with him and I could finally be myself.  It’s hard to explain it’s just how it is though.”  Brittany sat there sipping her coffee and trying to process everything I had just said.  She was confused and needed some clarification before she thought if this was a good thing or a bad thing.  “Wait so do you want to be with Adam or Josh?”
“I’m not sure that’s the problem.  I love Josh so much but there’s just something about Adam I can’t ignore.” Brittany tries to understand all of this as she sits in Starbucks for 15 minutes thinking about what Emily should do.  She had never been in a confusing situation like this, even though she was always the one who knew what to do in a crisis with boys.  But this time she was stumped and had no idea what to do. This caused an awkward tension in the room. Emily was not sure if brittany was contemplating telling Josh or if she was trying to find a solution. Emily was hoping that she would get an answer by now and was slowly losing hope that everything would work out okay.
They sit there a little longer and Emily finally can’t take the silence so she says kind of snippy, “Look if you're not gonna help me then I have better things to do than sit here and watch you think, nervous about what you're gonna say.” 
Not even two seconds after saying that Emily regrets saying that. She goes to apologize but does not have the time to. Brittany is startled by what Emily just said. She was just about to give her the advice she had been waiting for but now she was offended so she went off on her.  “You know Emily everytime I try to help you it seems to always be about you and were always on your schedule, we always do what you want not what anyone else wants.  I’m just sick and tired of being looked down upon like I’m less than you.  I’m always there for you and I always have the advice you want but what do I get in return?  Nothing.  So unless you start acting like a real friend I’m done being yours.”  She got up and walked to her car never telling Emily what she should do. Emily wanted to apologize but she was shocked. By her self and by Brittany. She has a feeling that this night might get worse.
Emily was shocked and sat there thinking about what had just happened.  She had no words, so instead of wasting time she got up and ran after Brittany but as she ran towards her and begged her to wait she drove off without an acknowledgement to Emily. She wanted to cry but she knew now is not the time she still has something very important to do. Emily also believes if Brittany really is her best friend, that everything will end up just fine and this wont be the end of their relationship.


Chapter 9
Emily went on with her day which was crazy because she booked too many things.  On top of all of this she now had the guilt of what to do with Brittany.  Should she let her have some time to think about things or should she just go over to her house right away and try and apologize.  She decided since she was so busy that it would be the right thing to do to leave her be.  Emily went home and started her minimal but time consuming homework so she could meet Brook on time. 
She gets to the ice cream parlor a little early and orders a medium one even though she knows she should be losing weight before homecoming but she has given up and could care less at this point.  She’s trying to eat slow and on her second bite she  sees Brook come in and is relieved.  “Hey Emily I see you couldn’t  wait for me,” she said with a wink, sarcasm in her voice.  She ordered her ice cream and then they got up and walked to the beach as it was just a few steps away.  They asked each other how their day was and what had happened and how hard there home work was all the usual stuff.  The small talk warms Emilys heart and she remembers all the good times they had. She slowly starts to forget about what happened with Brittany. She also stoops thinking about Adam and Josh. For once she finally feels relaxed. Her strangled mind now felt free. The weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders and she could now breathe. Now she remembered why she loved Brooke so much. The way she feels around Brooke is an indescribable feeling. Then Brook decided to just cut to the chase of why they were really there.
“Ok so the reason I was never mad at you was because you told me your side of the story so I knew both and everything made sense to me.”  Brook said.
“No I know I just didn’t want to get hurt and hear what happened I guess when anything bad really happens I tend to shut people out and be a b**** to the people I love it’s kind of bad.”
“Haha yeah you have always been like that but it’s ok we all have our flaws.  Anyways can I finally tell you what happened I’ve been dying to tell you for the last five years!”
“Haha yes I’ve been dying to hear for the last five years!”  They both started cracking up and couldn't stop laughing.
“Ok so remember that last night we were together and Jacob texted you?”
“Yeah why?”
“Well he texted me too and told me he liked me.  So that’s why I was mad when you were flirting with him but when you told me that he texted you too it all made sense and was a huge misunderstanding.  Later I found out he was just messing with us and didn’t really mean it when he said he liked us.  That pissed me off but I forgave him and we went out for two years and are currently taking a break right now.”
Emily sits there not knowing what to say for the second time today and is shocked that she avoided and ignored Brook for all this time over a stupid misunderstanding.  She immediately feels bad and starts trying to say sorry through tears but Brook stops her and says  “It’s ok Emily, yeah you really should have listened and all but it’s ok.  If I were in your position I probably would have done the same.”
“Thanks but I truly do feel bad and I want to be friends again if you give me another chance but I get it if you don’t want to…”
“Ya I was hoping you would want to be friends again so we wouldn’t have to compete for everything always. Haha.”
“Of course I want to be friends especially now that I know everything!”
“Ok cool!”  They hugged for a long time because neither of them wanted to let go of this moment. Emily felt whole again. Her other half had been missing for so long and now she is back. Five years later Brittany can actually say she is happy. She has been happy with all of her friends in the last five years but Brooke meant a lot to her and now she is back and better than every.  Then Emily remembered she had to go to dinner with Josh so she let go and said, “Hey I wish I could stay and talk but I’m going to dinner with Josh at 7 so I have to go get ready.”
“Ok sounds fun!  I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at school then?”
“Yep see you then.”

Chapter 10
Emily walked to her car satisfied with what had just happened but knew she was gonna have to find a way to make up with Brittany. Brittany is also her best friend, she has been there for her every time she needed her and now Emily just messed things up. Somehow she would have to tell Josh that she still loves him but has found someone else.  She gets dressed in casual but cute clothes and simple make up. She has a navy blue flannel and skinny jeans, she also has brown combat boots. She puts on a few coats of mascara and a little bit of a clear lip gloss. Before she leaves she sprits her self with a new perfume she got from Guess. And when she’s done has like 30 minutes to spare so she texts Adam to see what he’s up too.  He immediately answers, which makes her smile and his reply is, “I’m bored I finished my homework fast today.  What are you up to?”
She replies, “Haha good job.  And I just finish getting ready Josh is taking me to dinner.” 
He doesn’t reply for a while and when he finally does he just says, “Cool have fun.”  She feels bad and knows she shouldn’t have mentioned Josh. It doesn’t matter now because it’s too late.  She decides to text him back this, “I don’t know how you feel about me but I felt in love with you that night.   And ever since I haven’t stopped thinking about how perfect we would be together. You mean the world to me but I still love Josh and we have been together for 4 years so I don’t know what to do.” 
He calls her and says, “Look I have liked you since the first day I saw you in 7th grade when I moved here.  Every time I have another girlfriend I don’t focus on her all I think about is you.  I know you love Josh and that’s been hard for me to see these past 4 years of high school and I don’t want to ruin your relationship.  I can’t make this decision for you and I want you to do what your heart tells you because all I want is for you to be happy.”
“Wow, I had no idea you liked me for that long that’s so sweet and I think I’ve made my decision.  I’ll tell Josh it’s nothing against him I just need a break.”
“Ok that’s good haha good luck!”
“Thanks I’ll need it.  Do you want to come over later tonight?
“Sure just text me when you're done with dinner.”
“Ok thanks Adam, bye I’ll see you later.
“Bye Em.”
Emily smiles as she reads her text. She is happy to strengthen her bond with Brooke, and she is excited her a possible relationship with Adam. But at the same time she is disappointed about what happened with Brittany at the coffee shop, and she already feels guilty for what is about to happen with Josh.

Chapter 11
It’s 6:55 so she decides to wait outside for him since he’s always a few minutes early.  He comes driving slow up her driveway (one of their inside jokes) she smiles trying to swallow the lump in her throat that is dangerously hinting tears.  He pulls up in front of her and gets out leaning in for a kiss and opening her door like a true gentleman.  She knows she will miss every quality about him but starts to think about Adam and knows she has to be strong for the both of them. 
“Hello there Emily how do you do?” Josh asks in a proper english accent.
“Why hello there Josh I’m excellent how do you do?” She says in an english accent also.
“I’m doing grand my love are you ready for tonight's extravaganza?”
“Why of course I am.”
Emily thinks she might chicken out and not be able to break the news to hit. He planned this night to be special, but now she is going to ruin it. They laugh at each other and after what seems like forever they drive off to wherever the heck they are going.  She’s curious and keeps asking him but he keeps saying you’ll see, you’ll see.  They get to their destination which seems to be a bar but turns out to be a poetry bar where people perform poetry for pleasure.  Emily loves poetry and has been dying so this makes it even harder on her to have to break up with him after their date.
She says, “Oh my gosh you're the best I’ve been dying to go to one of these things thank you so much!”
He smiles satisfied with himself and says, “Well I heard you talking to Brittany about this and decided I would find one and take you there.”
“Yeah I have been wanting to go for the longest time, we just never got around to going to one.”
Well I’m glad I was the one that got to take you there instead of someone else.”  He winks at her and they walk in hand in hand.  She’s sick to her stomach he’s being sweeter than usual and she doesn’t know why but it’s making it really hard on her.  They have a fun last date listening to poetry and drinking pitchers of root beer.  Tears sting her eyes the whole night. She feels all that weight back on her shoulders.
The night was coming to an end and Emily was not sure if she had the heart to break it to him. He has been the best boy friend for the last four years but Emily knows she has stronger feelings for Adam which breaks her heart .
They walk to the car in silence when he drives her home she says, “Look we need to talk...”
He doesn’t seem to realize she is gonna break up with him and she looks away quickly.  “Ok what about?”
“Well I don’t really know if this relationship is working it’s nothing against you and it kills me to say this but I see us more as friends and not a couple.  I think we should take a break for a while and see how things go and maybe we can work things out later.”
He quickly looks at the ground not expecting this as his face went pale making her feel like the worst person ever.  He finally answered after what seemed like forever, “Ok I mean I want you to be happy and whatever you decide I’ll be ok with but this is so unexpected it honestly doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“I know and I’m really sorry I’m just super overwhelmed right now with senior year and now being friends with Brooke again I’m busy.  And Brittany is mad at me and I have to apologize and my parents have been planning a lot of big trips before I leave for college and I don’t have time for a relationship at this time.  I hope you understand and we can still be friends but I get it if you don’t want to.”
“No I get it.  I still love you though I mean we have been dating for 4 years so I hope when you figure everything out we can get back together.  And of course we can still be friends.”  She smiles at him and is grateful he understands her reasons for breaking up with him.  She kisses him on the cheek  before he gets in his car to leave. She feels broken inside but she did what she needed to do. She smiles and hops out of his car. He gives her a reassuring smile that tells her everything is going to be alright and she is so thankful for Josh. He has always been great and always will be.

Chapter 12
She goes up to her room and changes into sweats and a t-shirt and takes all her makeup off before she texts Adam to come over.  Fifteen minutes later he texts her and says “Hey I’m outside.” She looks out her window and smiles at him.  When she gets to the door he pulls out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and she gasps not expecting this kind gesture.  He smiles and says, “The best flowers for the best girl.  Haha that was cheesy sorry.”  She didn’t care she reached up and kissed him.  Right then Josh walked out of the bushes and said, “Looks like I’ve been replaced, lied to and cheated on.”  Emily went pale with mixed emotions.  She was creeped out that Josh had been stalking her but also felt guilty that she didn’t just tell him that she liked another guy. 
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Adam I just didn’t want to hurt you.  But I guess since you were stalking me, there was nothing I could do about it anyways.”
“I knew there was a bigger reason than what you said and I figured he would show up sometime.   So I just stayed to see for myself.”
“Ok well know that you have seen who it is that is replacing you, bye.”  He shakes his head in disappointment and walks up to her and slaps her as hard as he possibly can.  She falls to the ground in pain definitely not expecting this.  Adam goes after him and punches him in the face giving him a swollen eye.  They get into a huge fight and she screams at the top of her lungs when she gains enough strength to stand up, “Guys stop fighting or get off my property.”
They both stop and Josh says, “Ok lets go.”
“No, I’m not fighting you this is stupid.” Adam replies.
“No what is stupid is that you think you can get away with stealing my girl.” 
Emily is sick of this argument and says “Come on Adam lets just go inside.”
“Ok good idea.”  Adam said.
“Don’t walk away from me.” Josh yelled after them.
“Already did,”  Adam replied as Emily shut the door quickly.
“Jeez what’s his problem?”  Adam asked.
“I don’t know but I guess he just didn’t take the break up very well.”
“Yeah I guess not.”   They hung out for a while just talking about stuff and after a while she couldn’t keep her eyes open so she just fell asleep.
Chapter 13
When Emily woke up the next morning she was all tucked into her bed and there was a note on her night stand.  It said, “Hey you fell asleep so I tucked you in.  I’m sorry about last night when Josh showed up.  Meet me at Starbucks at 11:00am if your up.”  She smiled happy to wake up to something so sweet.  She looked at her clock and it read 9:30 am.  She had enough time to get ready and was grateful she wouldn’t be rushed for a change.  She got ready fairly quickly and remembered her and Brittany got into a fight.  She drove over to her house and rang the doorbell. 
Her mom answered the door and said, “Hi Emily how have you been lately?”
“Hi Mrs. Drew I’ve been great how about you?”
“Oh excellent! Thanks for asking.  Let me go get Brittany.”
“Ok thank you!”  It seemed like ten minutes before Brittany finally came to the door and when she did she didn’t say anything she just stood there awkwardly waiting for Emily to say something.
“Look Brittany I’m really sorry about yesterday.  I was being selfish and I realize that but I had a lot on my plate with breaking up with Josh and all last night.  I just always depend on you for advice and you couldn’t give it to me which is understandable.” 
“Yeah I’m sorry too I over reacted I was just sick of you always having drama but I know it’s not really your fault.  And you broke up with Josh I’m sorry! How did it happen?”  She explained the whole thing and then had to leave to go meet up with Adam. Emily still felt lost. She thought that all of this would solve her problems but maybe she will never feel okay with this situation. Breaking up with your boyfriend of four years can be tough.  

Chapter 14
When Emily left she felt a sense of reassurance that everything would work out ok.  She had both of her best friends back and the boy that she had always dreamed of.  When she met up with adam they got their drinks and sat on the patio talking for hours until they were out of things to talk about.  After that they went to dinner.  While they were there her mom texted her saying, “You can invite 3 friends to go on the cruise with us during spring break.” Of course she decided to take Adam, Brook, and Brittany.  Her new three best friends.  She knew she made the right decision of going with Adam instead of Josh because even though she loved Josh she could tell her and Adam would last a life time. 
Emily had only been singing a little bit because lately she had been really busy.  Now that Emily, Brittany, and  Brooke girls were all friends they could sing together at concerts or wherever their agent could book them.  They all had dreams to become famous singers together.
Chapter 15
The applications for college were supposed to come in the mail any day now and they were all anxious and dying to know if they got accepted to their dream colleges.  A month before school ended they came in the mail.  The girls immediately called each other so they could open their first letters together and right away.  Brittany’s first one she got into was UCLA her third choice.  Brook was the brains of the three of them so it wasn’t a surprise when she got into Stanford which was her second choice.  Emily was nervous hoping she would get an application saying she got in but was nervous to open it.  She finally did and got into her first choice which was UCSB.  The girls were thrilled and couldn't wait to see what other colleges they got into.  Emily gets into a lot of other colleges but after talking for a long time with her parents they decide she should go to UCSB which she’s happy about since it was her first choice.  Adam ends up going there with her and it all ends perfectly for Emily.  As for the other two Brittany and Nick end up having a long distance relationship and Brook ends up getting back together with Jacob.  They go to different colleges.  So the girls decide that for there last summer together they will rent a cabin and enjoy the final time they have as best friends.  When the summer is over they say there goodbye’s and promise to not forget about the others and to keep in touch.  Emily’s last words to Brittany and Brook are, “I’m glad we will always be best friends forever.”
The three girls couldn’t be happier in that moment.