A week had gone by since Rylie, Cameron and Joel had gone back to their usual routines.
Cameron regained the color he lost in his cheeks, and they all put what happened behind them.
Rylie wasn't ready to talk about her family just yet to Cameron, but he was patient and was just happy to have her in his life again.
As for Joel, the knot he felt in his stomach the day he saw them embrace each other never really went away. He wanted nothing more than to put a smile on his friend's face once more but once in awhile, that feeling would return and he would get uncomfortable around them. Joel didn't like being lied to, so it was only normal he hated deceiving others, especially people he cared about.
Standing in front of Rylie's house, he had a tool belt around his waist and boxes of roof tiles in his trunk. He originally wanted to call a roofer, but he was handy and with the situation with her mom, it might've been more trouble calling people over.
He was about to knock on the door but paused. After what happened last time, maybe it was better to call.
He waited for her to pick up on the other end but before he could hear her voice, the living room window in front of him had the curtain pulled back. She spotted him on her porch and waved.
"Joel, are you really going to help fix the roof?" She asked as she opened the door.
"Of course! I'm pretty handy you know, I did a lot of my condo upgrades myself," he said a little smugly. She rolled her eyes and turned back to head back inside. They had gotten a little closer since that day and found they could speak comfortably around each other. She didn't have to be nervous about Joel finding out about her living situation since he had seen the worst of it already.
"Where are you going?"
"To change! I'm not letting you do this all by yourself."
He ran to catch up with her but then stopped in his tracks.
"Wait, what about your mom," he whispered.
"She's out cold. When she sleeps, nothing wakes that woman up," he opened her bedroom door and immediately heard what sounded like a truck. He nodded in agreement, and she closed the door again.
"Just wait here, I'll be out soon," she went to change behind her own bedroom door and emerged in comfortable slacks and a plaid button up.
An hour passed and they had safely removed a section of the tiles. They had harnessed themselves to the roof and were being careful with each step. Joel was removing them one by one and tossing them to Rylie who was throwing them to the ground below.
He pulled one out and threw it to the right without looking and heard a small yelp. Surprised, he looked up and saw her rubbing her leg. He wanted to apologize but she pouted and threw it back at him.
He saw a dirty rag beside him and threw it at her since she probably wasn't expecting him to throw something again. He was right.
She looked up as it was about to hit her face and she swatted it away while taking a step back in her squat.
The sudden movement made her lose her balance and she fell backwards on a downward slope. As she tumbled down the roof, Joel dove forward and grabbed her wrist. Her legs were dangling off the roof while her upper body was still barely on.
"Whatever you do, please don't let go!" She cried out.
"Don't worry, I got you," He held firmly with one hand and used the other to prop himself back up on his feet. He gave her a comforting smile and then used both hands to pull her back up.
As soon as her legs were back on solid ground, she grabbed hold of him tightly and sobbed in his arms. Joel noticed her whole body was shaking so he wrapped his arms around her to try to calm her down.
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so stupid, I should've known something like that would happen…"
"I-it's fine Joel, I'm okay. Please don't blame yourself," she pulled herself back so she could see his face to reassure him with a faint smile. He did a quick scan of her body and didn't notice any cuts of bruises. He sighed out of relief and noticed her gaze was fixated on something. He followed her gaze and saw that his hands were still wrapped around hers. He immediately let go and both laughed uncomfortably while avoiding eye contact.
"I'm going to go and call a roofer, I don't think it's a good idea for us to keep going."
Rylie nodded in response.
"I'll clean up and pack up here. Don't worry, I'm going to stay low and seated," she sat down in a spot where everything was within reach to show him.
"I won't be long. If you're done before I'm back, don't move," Joel made his way down the ladder and as soon as he was out of view, he leaned against the wall and put his hand to his chest.
The adrenaline was still in his system, his heart was still thumping hard against his chest. He had already relaxed after he had pulled her back up to safety. It wasn't until he noticed how close they were and that he was holding her hand did things get out of hand.
"Shit…"
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"We'll end class here. Remember to hand in your essays online by next Wednesday, it's worth 20 per cent of your final grade," the professor dismissed class, and everyone started packing up.
Emilia said goodbye to her friends and left to go home. She walked out the building doors and stretched her arms in the air and let out a big yawn. As she scurried down a flight of stairs, she noticed a familiar figure leaning against a tree. When she got closer, her face lit up as soon as she noticed who it was.
"James! What are you doing here?" She beamed at him, and he smiled back.
"I wanted to ask you something, but could we do it over food? I'm buying."
At the thought of free food, Emilia clapped her hands excitedly and tugged him in one direction.
They ended up at her favorite café. She ordered all her favorite dishes to share with James; including pasta, croissant sandwiches and French cream puffs.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" She took a bite of the pasta and did a little dance in her seat. James laughed to himself at her reaction. He was a little nervous a few seconds ago but seeing her like that relieved all his stress.
"Well, I wanted to see if you were free next month. I'll be competing in the Millenium Arts Competition and would love it if you…"
"Wait! Hold on! YOU'RE competing in Millenium?!" She gasped with her mouth wide open.
"That's amazing James! I heard you have to be referred to even compete! Wait, you want me to come? OF COURSE! If I did have plans, I don't anymore!"
She was so excited for him that she had grabbed his wrist and was swinging it back and forth while humming.
James grinned from ear to ear at her genuine reaction. He snapped out of it in time to remember that he needed a photo of his "inspiration". He sneakily took out his phone and took one of her in that moment, but she heard the click and flinched.
"Hey! What was that!" She let go of his wrist and tried to grab his phone, but he dodged it in time.
"N-nothing! You just looked so happy for me, so I wanted something to remember it by."
"You're silly, of course I'd be happy for you! Just hanging out and being with you always makes my day better!"
James tilted his head forward to hide his flushed face.
"Here, take another one now while I'm looking at the camera!"
Startled, he turned on his camera and brought it up to his face as she gave him the brightest smile.
"WAIT!"
She got up and went around to his side of the table.
"We should be in it together!"
She wrapped one arm in front of his chest in a v-hold and pulled him close so their heads were beside each other.
"Ah!"
"Did you just make a noise?"
James covered his face with both hands to hide from the embarrassment. She giggled and let him calm down, all without letting go.
"You okay now?"
He nodded and stuck his arm out to take the selfie.
"I want one on my phone too!" She let go to reach over the table for her phone.
"Oh I know, make a funny face!" She stood behind him this time with both arms around him, resting on his shoulders. She lightly placed her head on top of his and stuck her tongue out towards her phone in front. He could the weight of her body on him, and his heart pounded against his chest. She had a hard time holding the pose so she would laugh and when she did, he would feel her warm breath on his skin; and that made his chest tighten.
"Okay I got it this time! Ready? Three, two, one!"
James puffed up his cheeks and widened his eyes.