Not Lost Forever (Discontinued, Possible Re-write?)

Chapter 9- Emily

The joy and relief Chris felt as the car pulled up to his and Emily's home was unlike anything he had truly felt before. When they had first survived the mountain, he hadn't felt the same happiness at being safe. Josh had been left behind.
This time though, as he thanked Sam and Mike and led Josh up to the door, he felt like this was the best day ever.
Josh, on the other hand, looked like he was going to be sick as he waved to Sam and Mike.
"Whats wrong?" Chris asked.
"I know Mike called everyone up and all, but... Emily is kinda scary, dude. And I think she might kill me. Rightfully, but still." Josh whispered, barely audible by the scarf wrapped around his face.
"Trust me, she isn't as scary as she seems at all." Chris laughed. "I mean, we live together now so I know her. She actually loves us all."

Chris sat, legs hanging loosely from the wall. He watched the sun go down. It had been 2 months since the mountain, and Chris had refused to go home, stuck in the town near-ish the mountains where his friends were trying to settle, because they needed eachother.
He didn't want to settle. He couldn't. The deaths of two people were because of him, and he couldn't find it in him to act normal anymore. He didn't joke anymore, or care about his 'nerdy' hobbies. He would stay with his friends often, and call his family at least once a week, but he spent his days wandering aimlessly. He felt completely empty.
"Hey." The voice made him jump, swerving around to see who spoke. To his surprise, Emily stood behind him. He supposed he was close enough to her home for this to happen.
"Hey." He rasped back, making him wonder when he last drank. "What are you doing out here?"
"Everyone else hasn't seen you today so they were worried. Have you had food today? Where are you staying for the night?" Emily's voice was calm but serious.
"No and I don't know." Chris replied, ready for Em to tell him off.
"Chris... You can't keep living like this. We're worried about you. It's like keeping an outdoor cat!" Emily sighed, then took his hand, helping him down from the wall. "Come with me for now, okay?"
Chris nodded, eyes never leaving the ground. "Thank you."
"No problem, Chris. You can stay for as long as you want. There's an empty room and all, and I don't like being alone anyway." Emily admitted.
"Really? Thank you so much, Em!"
Ever since then, Chris lived there.

Chris knocked on the door, excitement flooding through him as he heard footsteps approaching the door. Josh hid behind him, scarf-covered face buried into his spine.
The door clicked open, and Emily stood suddenly before them.
"Oh my god CHRIS!" She cried happy tears, pulling him into a hug, which made Josh jump back in surprise. She seemed to remember Josh then, looking over Chris's shoulder in awe.
Chris turned to Josh, motioning for him to come closer.
Josh stepped tenatively forward.
"Josh..." Emily seemed wordless.
"...Yeah?" Josh murmured back, slightly tilting his head.
"Josh. I'm so happy you're ALIVE!" She choked, and Chris patted her shoulder.
"Can I hug you?" Emily asked. Josh was taken aback by how Emily was acting, but he nodded, walking up to Emily and letting her envelop him in a gentle hug, which he nervously returned.
She stepped back into the house. "Come in." She was smiling. Josh was calming down.

Emily locked the door and led Chris and Josh into the livingroom. She motioned for them to sit on the couch, while she sat on the coffee table in front of them.
"Josh. You can take the scarf off. Mike told me everything. I'm not gonna judge you."
Josh looked at Chris, as if asking for permission. Chris nodded emcouragingly.
Josh slowly removed the scarf, placing it on his lap and looked up at Emily anxiously. Emily only smiled.
"It's great to see you again, Josh." Em's voice was warm. Josh began to cry, lurching forward into a hug, sobbing apologies and thank yous. Chris joined in, and the trio hugged until Josh managed to regain composure.
"Now, where will Josh be sleeping?" Em asked Chris.
"With me." Chris realised only after saying it.
"Yeah, Em, me and Chris have been sleeping together for a few days now." Josh's grin was smug. Em laughed.
"Not like that... Just sleeping in the same bed." Chris felt blood rush into his pale face, and he knew it showed when Em laughed harder and Josh's grin only grew.
"You two are so mean to me." Chris pouted.
Josh let himself calm. "Seriously though, I wanna see this room, Cochise." His confidence seemed to return.
"Right down this way." Chris said, leading him down a small hall and barging through into his room, left the same as it had been when he went away.
The light blue walls, plain of many posters, made Chris sad. He hadn't even realised his room lacked so much of his personality.
"Woah dude. This is very blank compared to your old room." Josh commented.
"Yeah. I never cared to decorate..." Chris trailed off, focusing on the dark grey carpet. His room seemed so lifeless when he cared to look at it. White closet doors stood in the wall to his right. The bed sat across, large enough for two people at the centre of the left wall. The window of the far wall sat with open blinds, illuminating the room with soft moonlight.
"Welp, welcome to your new home for now." Chris got to unpacking his bag, grabbing the dirty clothes and making his way to the wash basket outside of the room's door. He'd deal with all that later.
The time was 8:30 PM, and Chris felt so tired that he could just pass out.
"Hey Em! I'm going to sleep! Goodnight and thank you!" He called down the hall.
"Okay! Goodnight!" Em yelled back from the livingroom. He could hear the television, and figured she'd be up a while. He turned to Josh. "Need to change into PJs. See ya in a sec." Chris grabbed some pajama bottoms, figuring a shirt would kill him. It was not near as cold here. He rushed to the bathroom, changed and brushed his teeth. When he re-entered his room, Josh looked over to him and seemed to jump.
"What?" Chris was worried.
"Uhhh... You're shirtless."
"Yeah. Otherwise I'll overheat."
"...Understandable."
Chris threw a plain black PJ set at Josh, who caught them and left to the bathroom. He returned a few minutes later, oversized clothes hanging from his frame. Chris was in bed already, lights off and blinds drawn. He waved his hand at Josh, who wandered over and climbed into bed with him. Chris immediately turned and tucked his head under Josh's chin. For Josh's sake he pretended not to notice the purring. Josh placed an arm around Chris, and they fell asleep in an embrace.
The door was left open a crack, and when Emily did go to bed, she heard purring. Investigating, she peeked in, seeing the pair cuddled up, asleep in bed, and began to question the truth in Josh's earlier joke.