Twin Souls: The Story Behind The Broken Roses

Chapter Two: June 19, 2014

Emma Walsh

There was nothing that Emma was craving more than a single damn moment to herself... She hadn't been alone for longer than five minutes since she'd arrived, and that had been when she showered... and even then there'd been counselors sitting right outside the door, knocking on it at exactly five minutes... Mortifyingly enough, it was always the really pretty one that did that... But then she apologized. She apologized whenever she had to be stern with them, but Jessie seemed to almost relish in it.

Also, being on a buggy fucking hike without sunscreen? Not Emma's brightest moment considering she burned on a cloudy day... She had to get back to her cabin and grab her sunscreen, but she was almost certain that Piper wouldn't be too keen on her leaving alone... So she tried to sneak away. Honestly, she was close to getting away from the group when she heard a twig snap behind her and she whipped around to see Penny behind her, hands raised in the air in a sort of mock-surrender. Fuck.

"Hey." Emma noticed that her voice cracked over the word when she spoke softly, the raspiness of her voice only adding to it... If they'd met at school or anywhere else or if Penny weren't so fucking mean sometimes she'd probably already have an embarrassingly large crush on her... But she didn't.

"What?" Penny snuck closer, sliding across a tree so she could stand against it, raising an eyebrow at Emma. Why was she acting like they were going together? No way in hell, no 'buddy system' was getting in the way of her having a moment of peace.

"Where are you going, Walsh?" Penny's whisper made her stop in her tracks as she sighed, looking up at the sky. Shit. She'd been caught... How did she make sure she could still go alone?

"Why do you care?" Was her tone enough to make her be left alone?

No. Of course not. Penny only scoffed and leaned around her, giving her a smirk as Emma quickly avoided looking at her, feeling her heart pound in her chest...

"I don't, we're just buddied up, remember? You run off and I could get in trouble for it, I'm looking out for myself." Emma clenched her jaw and sighed, turning around to give her a wide, fake smile... Why couldn't she just fuck off? She made Emma's stomach flutter and made her trip over her words, she didn't want to be alone with her.

"I left my sunscreen in the cabin, do you want to join me?" She asked, expecting Penny to instantly say no, of course not... And why shouldn't she? The only one who would get in trouble for splitting from the group would be Emma, she wouldn't have to take the fall for someone she didn't even like. But instead, Penny shrugged, folding her hands behind her back as she walked after Emma.

"Yeah, why not." Goddamnit... She really was going back to the cabin to get sunscreen, but she wanted to go alone. She wanted even one second of solitude during this horrible fucking camp, she figured that was fair... But no, the universe had other plans, like sticking her with Penny... Who was very similar to nightshade berries - they looked sweet and good, but they were deadly. She was pretty sure they hadn't had a civil conversation the entire time, and she had a feeling that wasn't going to start now.

"That wasn't a real invitation, but I can't stop you." Emma sighed, walking back in the direction of the cabin through the woods... It would be faster than going back on the trail, and while she should have just asked permission, she hadn't so she needed to be fast. She and Penny had been walking in silence for a few moments before she cleared her throat, glancing over at Emma with scrutiny.

"You don't belong here." Emma choked on her air as she let out a chuckle, looking over at her... That was a way to start a conversation... Maybe not a way that Emma would've used, but it was a good attention grabber, that was for sure.