Stuck In The Dark

Chapter 3

"How have you been?"
Emily my best friend is sitting right in front of me. I can't believe she is here. We used to hang out all the time until.... That night.
"Don't ask me questions, it's your time. I missed you so much, how are you holding up".
Emily has always been caring. No matter what she puts others before her. That's what I love about her.
"I'm doing pretty good". Part of me was telling the truth, but also part of me was lying.
"Okay". I could tell Emily wanted to talk about me, but I couldn't. I'm trying to stay away from the past. Even though he is out there I don't know if I should tell her yet. The last thing I would want is for people to find out and start gossiping. Also I can't have them get hurt if they are mixed in with this. I know she is my best friend and wouldn't say anything, but it's been four years, and people change.
"Let's talk about you! So is there a guy..."
She gives me a small smile but turns it into a frown.
"I really miss these talks. Ella I know you don't want to talk about what happened but I do. You were gone for four years. While you were gone I blamed myself for everything. I spent everyday trying to find clues to get you back and...." I cut her off before she could say more. She already had tears coming down her face. I felt terrible. Maybe pushing it away isn't okay.
"Em..... For one it's not your fault. It's fine. It was my idea to go to the party that night not yours. If you have any questions I'll answer them, promise!" She's my best friend, and I have been gone for years. The least I could do is talk to her. Even if it hurts.
"....is the guy who took you... In jail". SHIT I didn't want her to know. Gosh damn me with my mouth. I had to tell her ask me anything. Truthfully I didn't want to lie to her. She has always been there for me.
"No..... He's still out there. But we have police watching me and the house and also looking for him!" I tried to throw in good news so she doesn't worry.
"oh" she looked at me with big eyes. I could tell she felt terrible about everything. Finally she cheered back up. I could tell she had a big idea.
"You know what! Your right, we don't need to talk about this stuff. Let's go out and do something. Maybe we could go meet Cory and Brin at the mall, they have been dying to see you". Cory and Brin are also really close friends with me. The last time I saw them they were constantly flirting. It actually got annoying. I looked at Emily and gave her a smirk.
"Are they dating now?" She smiled and laughed.
"Yes they are FINALLY dating. Of coarse I had to help them get together. Everyone knows I'm best with couples...except for my own of corse!" We both started laughing so hard. Maybe I should get out there. I mean sitting in my room depressed isn't going to help.
"Yea lets go!"

"E-Bear!"
I knew from that name that Cory was around. Ever since third grade he has called me that. When I was little I would always walk around with my stuff bear. One day he took it from me and he lost him. In return he got me a new one since I loved it so much. He thought it would be funny to call me E-Bear ever since. Brin came up to me and gave me a giant hug. She flipped her long black hair behind her. Tears started coming down her face. I was surprised. Brin never cries. She's very calm with things. I don't even know how we became friends. I remember one day her and Cory were  practicing their songs together. One day Emily and I walked into a room when they were practicing and we all just bonded. Brin and Cory have been trying to get together for years. I don't blame Brin for falling in love with Cory, he is hot. Not that I would ever date him. He's extremely buff. He has green eyes and black hair that is slicked back.
" How's the band going?" I have always loved their band. I love music. They wanted me to join, but me really. That would be funny.
"It's going great E-bear, we even found a guitarist". They have been looking for a guitarist forever. I'm glad they found one. Cory plays the drums and Brin is the lead singer. Brin's dad owns a bar so they get free gigs up there all the time.
"That's great!"
"Ella meet Lucas, our new guitarist". Holy shit. Right behind Cory is a handsome young boy. Probably about our age. His skin is a perfect golden tone. His brown hair is spiked in the front and his bright blue eyes are open to the world. You could see the veins through his arms. He was buff, but not as buff as Cory. His black shirt showed every muscle in his stomach. I look at him and smiled trying not to show that I wanted to attack his gorgeous body.
"Hey, I'm Ella" what the hell. That's all you could say. He knows your name is Ella you idiot.
"Hi I'm Lucas" he gave me a smile. Our eyes were locked in each other. I couldn't breathe. Breaking the silence Emily butts in.
"Let's get shopping!"

The whole night I couldn't keep my eyes off Lucas. A few times I could see he was staring at me. When I looked we would meet eyes. But he didn't pull away. He just looked. Like he wasn't embarrassed that I caught him looking at me. I pretty sure my cheeks were blushing the whole night.
When me and Emily got to my house we came in very quietly just in case someone was sleeping. It was about 10:00 pm.
"ELLA COLLINS is in love!" Emily was teasing me jumping up and down. I think she was right I couldn't deny it.
"No not in love, it's just a crush Em"
"Okay" holding up her hand she walked away getting into her pajamas.
"Goodnight Emily"
"Goodnight Ella.... Btw ELLA COLLINS is In love". She's never going to let this go. I really hope no one else noticed. Tonight was perfect. It actually felt great to get out of the house. Maybe I am ready to go back to school. I just hope everything will go smooth. I don't need anything else going wrong.