Nick Next Door

CHAPTER 8: The 5 Second Rule

Well, that was a disaster.

And by "that," I mean my life for 5 seconds.

A few seconds is all it took to possibly ruin the best friendship in the entire world.

Why did I kiss Nick? I mean, I think he's really cute, that's obvious. But why did my brain stop working? 

It was like nothing mattered except his lips.

Goodbye, logic.

Goodbye, morals.

Goodbye, best friendship in the world.

I march into the tent with the others, still dazed by what just happened. There's music playing, but I can't place the tune. And it's really crowded in the tent.

An igloo tent is large, but it's just not big enough for all of us.

Is it hot in here?

Fortunately, Jake Fowler and Olivia decided to go for a walk. Who knows what they're doing. Neil also left - he decided to see if Matthew needs help with his app.

And so here we are.

In an igloo tent.

Nick. Nathan. Roo. Errol. CaseyLynn. Noorah and Rayleen. And me, the loser friendship cheater.

Maybe it was the warm beautiful night that made me kiss Nick. Or the stars?

Am I so pathetic that I'm now blaming the sky for my own actions?

Get it together, Emma.

Side conversations begin to happen in small groups. Nick stands next to me and smiles. I immediately move to the other side of the tent like he's nuclear. CaseyLynn is watching my every move, like a predator.

Oh God, CaseyLynn knows.

"You alright?" she fake-sweetly asks me.

Considering this is the first time ever in the history of time that CaseyLynn has cared one ounce about me, I know I have to play it cool.

"Yeah, all good. Just tired. You know. Long day." I fake a yawn.

"I see," she says in a voice that indicates she doesn't believe me for a second.

Roo comes over to stand next to me.

I'm sandwiched between Roo and CaseyLynn, two people who should be playing kissy-face with Nick instead of me kissing him.

Awkward.

This is the point where I should act like a bumbling idiot, say a few ridiculous things, make humor out of it, like they do in romantic comedy movies. But it doesn't happen. There's no romcom comedic scene where I end up looking cute.

Instead, I have a weird reaction to how I'm feeling. Instead of owning it, or feeling embarrassed, or excusing myself, I find myself feeling angry. And my anger is misguided.

"You ok?" Roo also asks me.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I sound annoyed.

"Hey, just asking. No worries," Roos says. "You just seem zoned out."

"Just because I'm quiet for awhile doesn't mean anything is wrong. I'm not sure why everyone is asking me."

"Touchy!" CaseyLynn says with an eye roll and then swivels around to walk away.