Chase's POV
Time went by so fast. School was a blur, so was life.
Emma, Jessica and I just went through the motions.
Gray and Lily were a huge chunk of our relationship that had been ripped out.
Jessica was moving on fast too. Surprisingly, she got her deals back ten fold.
She was way more reticent, dropped a lot of our old friends, and dealt with Emma and I with a long spoon.
Emma, on the other hand, was a ghost of herself. We were always so far apart from each other, and she made sure of that.
I hadn't been to the house in forever, but it's been almost a month since Lily's death, and I knew that things were falling apart.
My dad, and Linda had been summoned countless times by CCPD, and the only reason they still let them return home was because of my father's connections, connections that were fast failing.
I once tried reaching out to Emma, but she was far too slippery, and kept eluding me.
The principal made an announcement, stating that since the school prom went ahead despite the fact that we lost a student, partially due to the very short notice, the graduation ceremony was gonna be in her honor.
Plans were being made already, as it was in less than a week.
Lily, who no one would've thought to be so influential, had the whole school gloomy and withdrawn.
The mood was pensive and tense, and everyone just wanted to grab their certs and head off into the real world.
Slowly but surely, grad came.
I half expected Emma to come, but she did. I wished I had the heart to go pick her up from the house, but I didn't. The only person I still talked to there was Linda.
My dad and I were done till further notice. It was bad enough, being a criminal's son, I couldn't become one myself.
"Hey." I greeted Emma as I got closer to her.
We hadn't spoken in ages, and her expressionless face contained all the enthusiasm she had to see me, which was none.
"You could at least act happy?" I teased her, feeling a bit embarrassed myself, but too strong headed to let go.
Couldn't believe that was the same Emma who, six months ago, I had firmly in chokehold. How time flies, and how people change!
'What if I don't wanna?" She at least did me the honors of replying.
"Then I'm gonna make you." I said, smiling, and offered her my hand.
Everyone was coupled off, holding hands and smiling.
She grunted playfully and took my hand. I said a prayer to my mom in heaven for being on my side. Emma's ice was thawing, and that was a good thing for us both.
"How are you?" I asked her. She did look better, but still not like the Emma I used to know.
"I don't know." She replied, quietly. "I'm only here for Lily. Said she'd throw rocks at the principal's office the day she graduates." Emma added, her smile was stuck somewhere between sad and proud.
"Sounds like Lily." I acknowledged.
"Yeah." She said, It was that awkward moment where we'd both run out of things to say.
"So…", I started, trying to have all the hard conversations we'd been pushing iff. "Is it too early to say I missed you?" I asked, looking her in the face.
"I think it is." She said, breathing in.
"We both know it isn't." I objected. "Occasions like these are reminders of how far we've come, how old we've grown, and how much we have left to do." I argued.
I had a firm, but gentle grip on her hand.
I wasn't gonna let her slip away a second time.
Gray was allowed to take his exams online, but I was expecting to see him at the ceremony.
Parents had started arriving in cars, with bouquets.
Emma and I knew better than to expect a fanfare like that.
"I miss her." She said, I liked that she was coming out to me. In fact, my heart swelled with pride, but I kept it under check.
"I do too." I supported. "For you." I added, just cause…
"You didn't have to add that." She said, and stopped in her tracks. I almost bit my tongue as punishment for ruining my reunion with Emma. "Y'all were once a thing, and I respect that." She said,
I didn't know where that new energy was from, but I sure enjoyed it.
"Thank you." I croaked, in appreciation.
We soon got to the hallway, people were breezing past us, in search of others. Everyone seemed so happy and excited, and joyful.
For me, it was my last chance with Emma. I held her too closely.
"Is it too late to say sorry?" I asked her.
"About what?" She asked, smiling sheepishly.
Her face had creases, stress lines.
"For how it ended." I replied. There was no point pushing it off till whenever. If there's anything I've learned from the whole ordeal, it's to hold people close while they're around.
"It's alright." She replied.
"Is it, really? Or you're just saying that because you don't wanna have this convo?" I asked her.
"The later." He replied, truthfully.
"It kinda hurts me to hear that." I said. Instinctively, my grip on her loosened.
"I'm sorry." She said,
The conversation wasn't going how I wanted.
"That's not really the thing, Emma." I said. "Do you still love me?" I asked the question I had been dying to ask. There was no point beating about the bush anymore. It's the only thing that mattered at that point.
Both of us, alone, in the walkway we once paraded as high schoolers, this time around, in graduation gowns, ready to face the next phase of our lives, but still held back.
"Where did you apply to?" She asked me. It's not the question I wanted to hear, she wasn't running away from me at least, I consoled myself.
"Harvard." I said.
Emma looked away, the exact reaction I wanted, hurt.
"I got into…" She started.
"Come on, look at that." Jessica's shrill voice interrupted and jutted us out of our moment. "I got into, uhmm, let me remember, twenty deals." Jessica gloated, but this time, she was adorable.
"That's so cute." Emma whined and hugged her.
"I'm happy for you, Jessica." I said, she threw her hands open, and I couldn't refuse the hug. "I'm so proud of you. You deserve every good thing."
"Thank you baby." Jessica said and walked off.
"Where were we?" I asked her, raising her chin up.
"I'd like to go back." She said, looking elsewhere.
I sense that she was probably still not so cool with Jessica, and the hug might have been a little too much for her.
"She means no harm." I said.
"I mean to go back." She replied, I hated when Emma was like that.
"You don't mean that." I said, trying to snap her out of it.
"I most certainly do, Chase." She wriggled her hands out of mine, so I grabbed her waist.
Emma turned her head to protest, and I seized that opportunity to do the one thing I'd been dying to do.
I kissed Emma. I kissed her so hard, like my life depended on it, cause it certainly felt like so.
I wanted to ease my body into hers.
"I'm sorry." I said, tearing apart, when she didn't reciprocate it.
"Don't be." She replied. Emma took my face in her hands, and brought it down to hers.
Her lips crashing against mine was pure bliss.