Dynamite

Chapter Five: Harder Than You Think

When Emma and Ethan arrived home from school, Jake and Rose were also home. However, they were supposedly sleeping, so they had to stay quiet. Emma pulled her algebra homework from her backpack, and a paper fell out of her jacket pocket. Ethan picked it up, curious of what it was.

"Emma... why does this paper have Cody Rosado's phone number on it?" Ethan asked. Emma chuckled nervously, remembering that him asking her out had actually happened.

"He sort of asked me out today, and I... sort of said... yes..." Emma giggled. Ethan stared at Emma with a half-blank, half-shocked look on his face.

"You mean Cody 'the player' Rosado?" Ethan questioned. Emma nodded shyly. "Wait... is that why videos of Tony singing 'Love Boat' have been all over Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram?" Emma sighed a laugh and nodded. "Sometimes I question if he's sane."

"Unfortunately, so do I," Emma sighed. "Anyway, I should text Cody now so that he has my number. Oh my gosh, it's so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time to have a boyfriend."

"I swear Emma, if he tries hurting you in any way, shape, or form, I will make sure he regrets it," Ethan growled. "Tell him that I take boxing lessons with Dad." Emma laughed and playfully rolled her eyes. She typed Cody's number into a new contact and texted him.

~~~~~~~~~

"Shh, Rose, it's ok," Jake whispered in Rose's ear. "It was only an awful, terrible nightmare." He and Rose had been sleeping, trying to make up for the sleep they lost the previous night from the nightmares. However, they were awoken from the terrible nightmare once again.

"I just want it to stop," Rose cried into Jake's shirt. "I'm done with having the same nightmare every single night. I want sleep. I want the paranoia to go away. I don't want... this."

"Me too Rose, but we just have to get through it," Jake whispered. "It's all going to be over eventually."

"It's not going to be over eventually, Jake!" Rose growled. "We've been having these dreams for almost a year now! Do you expect these dreams to be 'almost over'? We're having déjà vu Jake. Our dream is going to become a reality if we don't do something about it!"

"Well, what are we supposed to do about it?!" Jake questioned. "All we have is the same information that the media has besides the fact that we were the ones who made them possibly extinct! There's no way that we can figure out if there are any more Dublekas. They look and are just like humans, so it's not like we can point them out in a crowd!"

"You work at a hospital though," Rose sighed. "When you are given blood types of patients, check for unknown blood types. Dublekas have an unknown blood type, remember?" Jake tiredly nodded and rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, ok, I remember," Jake sighed. "I'll keep an eye out for it. But for now, we're just going to have to keep on plowing through these nightmares one day at a time. It's all we can do."

"I'm just scared for my children and friends' safety," Rose sniffled. "And I'm worried that something will happen to you too Jake. We die in the nightmare... and I don't want you to die. I need you... I don't know how I could live without you. I don't know how I could live without my children or my friends either. I love you all too much." Jake held Rose's hand and kissed her.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," Jake whispered. "Nothing is going to happen to you, our children, or our friends. And nothing, especially, will happen to the world. If you think I've given up, you're wrong. Chosen ones never give up, right?" Rose gave Jake a small smile and nodded.

"Right," Rose whispered. "Chosen ones never give up."

~~~~~~~~~

Three months passed since the day Emma was asked out by Cody "the player" Rosado. Surprisingly, Cody didn't live up to his name and stayed loyal to Emma for those three months. Everyone believed that he had really changed and was beginning to act mature. Plus, the two of them were very happy in their relationship.

Even though they were happy with their relationship, some people weren't. Jess was one of them. She always feared that Cody would go back to his old ways and completely shatter Emma's heart. She constantly told Emma that she promised to break one of his bones if he hurt her in any way. Ethan was also very suspicious of Cody, which annoyed her as well.

Oh yeah, Emma had to deal with Nathan too. He tried everything possible to get her to talk to him, but she wouldn't budge. For a few weeks, she'd say only a few sentences to him. After about a month, she began to feel more comfortable around him. Eventually, they gave each other their phone numbers. They joked around and talked like friends. Something else Emma noticed was that whenever Cody was around, Nathan gave him looks and sometimes looked jealous. It made Emma wonder... did he have a crush on her?

A little bit after Cody and Emma's three-month anniversary, Cody invited Emma to a party. The party was at the house of Gordon Sasquan, the most popular senior in the school. Emma invited Jess and Tony to the party as well, not wanting to be at a party of strangers and knowing only Cody. It also turned out Ethan had planned on going to the party with Gavin as well.

Jake drove Emma, Tony, and Jess to the party. Ethan and Gavin were driving together, in a separate car, to the party. They planned on meeting up and figuring out rides back home later.

"I hope that you guys have fun tonight!" Jake chuckled. He flashed a weak smile. In the past three months, he and Rose experienced Dubleka nightmares constantly. They haunted them day and night. They were more paranoid than ever about the Dublekas.

"I think we will," Jess added.

"I'm just so nervous," Emma blurted. "I mean... there's going to be so many people there, and I won't know any of them and... I'm freaking out."

"Don't freak out, just introduce yourself," Jake suggested. "Next thing you know, you're having a conversation with them. Then they become your friends!"

"It's a lot harder than you think, Dad," Emma thought.

"Ok, we're here," Jake sighed. "Have fun, you three. Text me when you want to be picked up." Tony, Jess, and Emma stepped out of Jake's car, and he drove away.

Emma, Jess, and Tony walked inside the house of Gordon Sasquan. Emma immediately noticed the number of people that already were at the party... and it had just started! She felt her hands begin to slightly tremble. She sighed stressfully.

"This'll be a lot harder than I thought," Emma thought.