#avoidingadulting

???: Emma? A small tug drew me away from my thoughts. Hey, remember me? We met a few weeks ago at the club. Jace? Emma: Oh my god, yeah, hi! Jace: Do you want to go a grab a drink?  Emma: I don’t know, I need to get back home... Jace: C’mon, just a quick drink. It’s on me. Emma: Alright then.  There was something about Jace that intrigued me. He was full of questions, and his demeanour both drew me in and scared me away.  Talking with him was surprisingly easy, and he could quite easily make me laugh. When he held my hand, it felt like tingles were sparking all over my body, and it made my stomach flip. I didn’t understand the way he was making me feel, it was as though I didn’t have control over my body anymore. I wanted to throw myself at him and run away at the same time. 

I heard a knock at the door and drew in a shaky breath before going out to get Elizabeth. Before bringing her inside, I leaned in closely to her. 

If there was one thing I had learnt about Elizabeth in the past couple months I’d known her, it was that she loved to read. Like, a lot.  Most of the time we would hang out at one another’s house and just get on with our own thing. I’d sometimes read with her, or watch tv, or sometimes I’d work on my laptop and try and do something productive with my time.  Our easy-going relationship left a sore spot sometimes, prodding at the hollow and persistent ache in my chest. The nature of our relationship reminded me so much of the easy one I had with my mother. Missing her never got any easier

Elizabeth: Whatcha looking at?  Emma: Nothing exciting, I was just thinking how much my mum loved it when the sun began to set. We’d always sit outside together and watch it with a cup of hot chocolate.  Elizabeth: You know... that’s the first time you’ve ever mentioned anyone from your family to me. I gave her a small smile, trying to hide how my heart was trying to tear out of my chest.  Emma: My mum died a couple of months ago. That’s why I moved out here. I needed a change of scenery, to get away from all the reminders.  Elizabeth: My mother left myself and my father when I was just a child, she sucked and I have no hard feelings about it, so I can’t really imagine the pain you feel. But it warms me to see how much love you have for her. 

Emma: I got an A on that essay I’d been stressing about! I thought I’d absolutely flopped it and was literally considering dropping English but Mr Carlson said he thinks I could write and publish my own books one day! Jace: That’s so great, Em. He was acting weird, he wouldn’t look at me. Something was... wrong. Emma: Hey, is everything okay? He tried to keep his face away from me, so I reached over, gently pulling his face to mine. I sucked in a breath when I saw his bloodied, swollen eye. Jace: I had a... disagreement with someone. It’s okay. I leaned up on my tiptoes towards him, placing a kiss softly next to the affected area. He drew in a deep breath and I wound my arms around his waist, melting into the embrace when his arms held me tightly. I nestled into his shoulder contently, breathing in the smell of his cologne.