From Here On Out

18

Daveed was ready to step up his game. In the week since casting announcements, during every rehearsal, he an Emmy would be all over each other. The two were cuddling and sharing kisses publicly, but there was still no indications of how she felt.

He would be fine if she rejected him, he'd just let her go. But that was the thing, she hasn't explicitly said she didn't like him too, so he didn't think he should give up.

And here he was, sitting on his bed, scrolling through a website that would deliver flowers in a hour. He didn't know a single thing about flowers but he figured Emmy would be into them. There were roses, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and all kinds of names he'd never even heard of before. He decided roses would be too much, and she would hate him for it, so he ended up choosing a bouquet of wildflowers.

"She love these," he said to himself as he hit confirm on the order. He was the only one in the room which was good in the sense that he actually really loved his personal time but bad because at this time, all he could think about was how to win Emmy over.

-

Emmy and Jasmine chuckled up the steps of their dorm towards the room. They couldn't stop laughing at some kid that sprinted by them in a fur suit right outside the door.

They reached the door, and sitting right in front was a bouquet of flowers. Both the girls looked at each other in question.

"Yours?" Emmy asked Jas.

Jas shrugged and shook her head, "I don't think so. Didn't peg Ant as the flower guy."

"Mary's?" she asked again, thinking they'd be anyone's but hers, "Maybe they dropped them off at the wrong place?"

A note peeking underneath one of the stems caught Jasmine's eye. She leaned over and picked it up, unfolding it in the process:

You drive me Wild, D

Jas read the note aloud and squealed once she got to the end. "Emmy!" she jumped, "This is so cute."

Emmy picked up the assortment of beautifully colored stems and lifted them to her nose. They smelled really fresh and she couldn't lie, wildflowers we're definitely in her top 5. "This is really sweet."

"More than sweet," Jasmine gushed as she smoothed her fingers across the stems of the flowers. "He's such a sweet boyfriend!"

Emmy looked perplexed, "Boyfriend? To who?"

"Girl," Jasmine tilted her head back at Emmy, "You're not still pushing this just friends thing are you?"

"We are just friends. Friends who do 'things,' but still friends nonetheless," she rebutted.

"Emmy, I've seen the way you are around him. I've seen that sparkle in your eyes, the nonstop giggling, the blushing, and the way he makes you smile even bigger than you already do. I've also seen how caring he is, how gentle he is, and I really think he's falling for you," Jas said, staring directly at Emmy so she knew she meant it, "Why are you so afraid to label it?"

Emmy shook her head, "I'm- I'm not. I mean, I like him, he's the nicest guy ever and one of my best friends, but I can't lose him. And if you love someone, losing them is 10x harder. I don't want to- I can't go through that twice."

"Em," Jas stated at her sympathetically, "You know, you might not lose him this time."

Emmy's eyes looked up and down at the flowers. She shook her head once more, not saying a word but signaling that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She pulled out her key and walked in the door, letting the subject drop entirely.

The flowers were set on the table near the door, and she sat down on her bed. Jasmine followed and the two sat in a portion of awkward silence, waiting for the other to pop the bubble.

Jasmine twiddled her thumbs on her phone, occasionally looking over at Emmy but not saying a word. She looked up at the ceiling, down at her phone, and played with the rings on her finger, wondering how she could kick the elephant out.

She really didn't know how to feel, all she wanted was her best friend to be happy, but she didn't know how to go about it. For most of their friendship, Emmy's relationship with Daveed had been rocky, but she really believed that this time, if Emmy would give in, they could have something really serious.

With Ant, it was so different. They had moved so fast and everything was so easy. She'd told him she loved him last week and since then, it was so blissful. He loved her just as much as she loved him, and that's all she wanted for Daveed and Emmy. She figured time would allow them to overcome, but she couldn't help but morn the time they were losing by playing this friends with benefits game when deep down they both had feelings for each other.

She sat up and turned towards Emmy, "I have some mail to pick up, do you want to come?"

On her bed, Emmy had been laying on top watching some kind of Netflix show. She dropped the phone and gave her attention to Jas, "Sure," she shrugged.

"Great," Jas smiled, hopping down from her bed. She headed towards the door of the room and Emmy followed. They closed the door behind them and headed towards the mailroom that was a couple buildings down from them.

The walk was quiet, at least in terms of what they would normally be like, the only conversations they shared were short. Jas hated letting Daveed come between her friendship with Emmy, and they'd never talked about it before, but she thought Emmy would say the same. It wasn't that she had a problem with Daveed, she loved him, she just didn't like that when something was going on between him and Emmy, it meant something had to go on between her and Emmy.

A miniature shot of near courage ran through her and she figured now was the time they address it. "I'm sorry for pushing with the Daveed stuff," she broke the silence they'd fallen into.

"Why are you apologizing?" Emmy asked, being pulled out of her thought bubble.

"You didn't want to talk about it, and I made you," she began, "And now, things are weird between us."

"We're fine. Things aren't weird, right?" Emmy asked.

"I mean yeah, we're 'fine.' But we're not us. And I just- don't you feel it? Every time you and Daveed do something, it reflects onto us. Sometimes it's good, but other times we end up like this. Barely talking to each other because y'all haven't labeled your relationship yet." Jas explained.

Emmy took a minute to process everything she'd just said. She knew she had a point, and she knew how stubborn she herself could get. She hadn't even realized it though, and that was a little heartbreaking. She was pushing her best friend away without even knowing.

"Jas," Emmy started, "I never meant to let him mess with us. I just- I just didn't think of what I was doing to you, and- I don't want to make an excuse. I hate that I didn't realize how much I let the lines blur, I really do. And I'm sorry, you've been nothing but great, and I take it for granted way too often."

"It's ok Em," Jas nodded genuinely, "I just thought we should talk about it. You know all I want is for you to be happy. And if happy is being fully with him or just having fun, that's what I want for you."

Emmy pulled her friend into a hug, "I really don't deserve you. I need to figure out what I want and don't, but I promise I won't let whatever happens between Daveed and I come between you and me. You're my sister."

"Forever," Jas added before pulling out of the hug. They continued to walk towards the mail room, both of them just realizing that they had stopped walking during their conversation.

The energy around them already felt lighter without the cloud hanging over them. Jas was so glad they were able to talk it through, and she knew they'd be better because of it. Emmy was her best friend, and she couldn't let that bond go for anything in the world.