#naibemma

Emma had a habit of holding Naib's hand a lot. Whether it was a simple handshake or to drag him around the mansion, she always liked to take his hand in hers and forget about everything else, even the odd stares of their fellow survivors.

"This way," she would keep insisting, tugging at him to hurry along. "We're going to miss it if we don't hurry!"

Naib wasn't even sure what they were going to miss, raising an eyebrow as the corners of his mouth curl downwards. He'd stop to ask the other where exactly she's taking him but her excitement was stronger than his reluctance, pulling him in to wonder what's gotten her all worked up to dragging him someplace.

They passed by the halls and up towards the balcony, running past the wide open hallway. Emma pushed open the doors and what greeted them were the thousands of visible stars twinkling in the dark abyss of the night sky. Not a single cloud was seen and the lights were dim enough to let the natural glow of the stars to shine down onto them.

Naib couldn't help but let out a quiet wow, Emma giggling at his awe struck expression. "I figured that…," she pauses for a moment, longer than she usually does before adding, "since you liked the outdoors a lot, I wanted to show you something like this."

She looks between him and the starry night sky, spinning around the balcony as if she were dancing to a silent tune that only Emma could hear. She extends her arm towards him, only for Naib to squint at her. Emma giggles and grabs onto his hand either way, "come on!"

Naib was hesitant to make a move, unsure of what to do in the first place. All he had going was Emma's gentle swaying and stepping to and fro. There was no one kind of dance they were following, no clear tune to follow a beat to, only that they were just dancing to nothing.

Soon enough, he's let go of trying to make sense of it all and just dance, Emma's laughter brimming with brightness. "See!," she cheered him on, taking hold of his hands and spinning around with him. "Now you're getting it!"

"I don't!," he rebutted but Emma took no offense to that, her smile widening as she stops themselves from spinning any longer, staring at him with a curious twinkle in her eyes. He coughs a bit, trying to hide away the red tint on his cheeks as he adds, "But I can improvise, if that's what you want."

"Then improvise away! After all," she pauses for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. "It's fun to improvise."

And improvise, he did.

Once reality crashes in the middle of a game, Emma fell to the floor, holding her head so tight she started feeling faint. Her panicked breaths came out short and erratic, her chest tightened that she felt no air coming into her lungs. Thoughts and memories swirled in her mind, some that felt so foreign, she thought that it came from someone else.

"Emma," he tried to shake her a bit, bring her back to where they are now but no response. "Let's get you out of here." Still no response from the gardener, only burying her head further into her folded legs. Tears started leaking from the corner of her eyes, quiet sobs and hiccups muffled by her dirty jeans.

It was hard enough that Joseph was the hunter today, but Emma having a panic attack right in the middle of it only makes things worse. The hospital brought back plenty of bad memories to her, so many to recount. The longer they linger, the louder and harder did Emma's sobbing become. It tugged on his heartstrings, thoughts mocking his inability to help another comrade in need. He refused to let her suffer like this but what else can he do?

Naib was short on time. Aesop could only do so much to distract the Photographer so he had to hurry her to some place safe. Where else in this damn hospital is safe to hide away in?

It didn't matter anymore as he took hold of Emma's hand, pulling her back on her feet and quickly running out the room. The pain in Emma's face was overtaken by a sense of shock and surprise, holding onto her straw hat as Naib led her through the area.

A sense of deja vu struck Naib somehow. Instead of running through carpeted hallways it was on dirt ground, weaving across piles of trash and abandoned structures as if they were weavig through the corners of hallways. Instead of Emma leading him out into the balcony, looking at the starry starry sky above them, it was Naib leading her away from a merciless hunter, hellbent on watching them struggle and lose the game.

By some miracle, they were able to find a place far enough away from Joseph. If they were lucky enough, maybe Aesop and Luca were able to lead him away from them. With that out of the way, his attention was brought back to Emma, whose sobs returned at full force, the tears flowing without any hint of stopping.

Emma dropped to the ground, eyes closed tightly shut and arms wrapped around herself. Naib kneeled in front of her, awkwardly trying to decide what he should do to help. Should he hug her? Pat her head and say that things will be alright? He's not one to be so touchy towards others, the other survivors were doing a stellar job at that for him. But none of them were here to help him. He's on his own and he wants to help somehow.

"Ahh…," he croaked, hands awkwardly hanging in the air in front of Emma. If it were anyone else, they could've done something to help Emma by now, but no one else is here to help. Instead, he puts a hand gently behind her head, pulling her close to his shoulder. He hears her hiccup, the surprise in her eyes allowing her to stop momentarily. "I… may not be good at this but," he stops to reconsider his next words, wrapping his other hand onto her back, pulling her closer to him. "If it helps, you can talk to me about… this. What you're going through, I mean."

He pulls her a little closer, hugging her. He could hear her sobs returning, hot tears soaking his shoulder. "I'm here for you. So, don't be afraid to tell me things, alright?" He breathes out a sigh as he felt Emma nodding on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him as well in a tight hug, her sobs muffled by his shoulder.

Even though the survivors had failed today's game, it didn't matter as the group were more concerned with the state Emma is in. "I'm fine, really!" She tried her best to convince the others, masking her pain with a practiced smile. "Some stuff just… happened. I'm sorry for making everyone worry."

After that, and a few worried glances later, everyone retreated back to their rooms, Naib especially. He immediately falls onto his bed, feeling his body aching as soon as he lay on the bed. Today was a tiring day and he's more than happy to just skip dinner and sleep the entire night through. That would've been the plan if not for a sudden knock on his door.

He groans, reluctant on leaving the soft comfort of the bed and ignore the person behind the door, if not for a familiar voice calling out to him. "Naib? Are you in?"

It was Emma.

Naib sat up immediately, opening the door in a hurry, Emma jumping in surprise as soon as he opens the door. "… h-hey." That was all he could say, sounding a little lamer than he expected it to be. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah… thanks to you, by the way," she quickly added, staring down at her fiddling fingers. "I never had the chance to properly thank you so-"

"You don't need to thank me," he quickly cuts in, feeling a tinge of embarassment all of a sudden. "I did what I had to, you know?"

"Then," she takes his hand in hers, staring at their hands instead of him, her cheeks tinted rose pink. "You did say that I can talk to you about it, right?" Finally, she looks at him directly, her eyes wet with welling tears. "So, can I?"

Naib was at a loss, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. The trust she's placing on him was immense, as if she could even trust him with her life. To share to him the deep dark secrets she keeps inside of her, to someone like him? He's really at a loss.

And yet he's found no reason to back down on his own words.