Ghosts

A Twisted Sense of Humor

"People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them."

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YŪREI ISLAND::

Scrambling away from the hotel like she'd just committed a crime, Emi decided, was not one of her finest moments, but she just couldn't help it. Being face-to-face with her real-life body double had already been mind-boggling enough, but learning that said body double and Sasuke were an item? That was a curveball she hadn't been expecting. She was surprised her brain hadn't just short-circuited on the spot.

Now, she found herself wandering aimlessly through the streets, a paper bag full of quickly-cooling breakfast food resting in the crook of her elbow and a frown settling on her lips. There was a tight, constricting feeling in her chest that wouldn't go away, one that she knew was directly related to her most recent discovery regarding Sasuke and Scarlett's apparent...involvement.

Logically, she knew it shouldn't have bothered her. His personal life wasn't any of her business, and who he chose to spend his time with, romantically or otherwise, was none of her concern. Besides, just because they'd been spending so much time together lately didn't mean she was entitled to know anything beyond what he chose to share with her.

And yet, despite knowing all of that, she still couldn't shake that uncomfortable, slightly suffocating weight that had taken up residence in her chest. It wasn't budging, no matter how much she willed it to.

She wasn't actually angry at Sasuke, she knew. She didn't want to say she was upset, either, because she had no reason to be. Being upset at the idea of him being more than friends with someone else would imply that she wanted to be more than friends with him, which she didn't, no matter what Midori said. Her friends could tease her about it as much as they wanted, but Emi still firmly held her opinion that it was way too early for any of that.

She was just...caught off guard, was all. Who wouldn't be, if they found out their new friend who they'd been spending all their time with was also dating someone who looked exactly like them? Of course she was going to feel a little weird about it; it was a weird situation in general.

Then again, were they even officially dating? Scarlett hadn't exactly invited her in so they could discuss labels– not that she would've had the time to, anyway, what with the way Emi had gone sprinting away like a wanted criminal and all. So maybe Sasuke and Scarlett just had some friends with benefits thing going on? Emi couldn't tell, exactly, but considering the two of them were basically living together, she figured it had to be pretty serious.

Emi didn't usually say she hated things –besides spiders and bugs with wings or too many legs, for obvious reasons– but she hated how bothered she was by this whole situation. She hated not knowing exactly why she was so bothered even more.

Maybe it was because of how quickly she had allowed herself to trust him, telling him so much about herself, way more than she probably should've told anybody after just two weeks. It just felt like he understood her, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, and she'd believed that he'd seen her in the same light. Obviously, however, that wasn't the case, otherwise he would've told her about Scarlett himself.

Or maybe it was because the realization had left her feeling like an even bigger idiot than usual, because how couldn't it? Her own friends had plotted to set them up together, right in front of him. She'd been with him basically every day, watching movies with him, making him dinner, and telling him all about her sad orphan past and childhood trauma. And the whole time, he'd had a girlfriend, one who looked exactly like her, because of course that would be her luck.