"Toby!" I call out from my closet. He walks in, and I feel his eyes on the back of my neck.
"What's up?" he asks.
"Have you seen my mask that I wore at the party? I can't find it," I tell him.
"No, sorry. Hey, have you been waking up crying? I can hear it through the walls," he admits.
"Yeah, sorry for waking you up. It just keeps replaying in my head."
"It's fine. Just next time, call for me. I'll help you," he says with a smile. I nod and hug him.
He leaves, and I continue to search. It ends up staying hidden, so I give up for now. After closing the door, I turn to see Riley standing in the doorway, making me jump.
"Don't do that, or I'll go all FBI on you," I joke.
"Toby and I are going to go swimming. Wanna join?" he asks.
"Yeah, let me just change."
* * *
Being submerged is a relaxing feeling somehow. All you hear is the water moving around you, and the occasional splash of somebody jumping in. If I could, I would stay underwater on my relaxation day, which I actually have to schedule since, you know, I work for the government.
I swim around with Riley and Toby for a while, and then we had a handstand contest, along with holding our breath underwater. I notice somebody walking through the kitchen, but I ignore it until the sliding glass door opens.
"Hey guys, do you mind if I join?" Connor asks, walking out in swim trunks, a towel slung over his shoulder.
"Connor, you live here," Riley states.
"True," he says, and he puts the towel on a chair before sitting on the edge near me. He slides off the edge and starts to wade over to me.
"I'm actually going to make a run to the store and buy some things that I need for a school project. My supervisor will watch the house, okay?"
Before they can even react, I get out of the pool, grab my towel, and wrap it around my body before sliding on my flip flops and rushing inside. I don't hesitate to go to my room and change, especially since I heard somebody coming out of the water. I just change into a loose black t-shirt and skinny jeans, and then I slip on a pair of my combat boots. My hair is stil wet, but it's not sticking to my head anymore. I grab my backpack and helmet before opening the door, only to run into Toby.
"What's up, buddy?" I ask. He holds up the helmet I bought him.
"Can I go with you?" he asks, his hoping smile on his face.
I pinch his cheeks while saying, "Aw, how could I say no to that?"
"Trick question; you can't," he says. I laugh and walk past him, noticing I left an article of clothing off. Oh well. It's hard to put it on when your body is wet.
We walk out to my bike, and I hand him my backpack. He takes it without any question and puts it on before climbing on the bike behind me. I turn it on, and he turns his head to me.
"Are you not wearing a bra?" he asks.
"Yeah," I answer sheepishly.
"Don't worry, Celsie explained it. It's really hard to put it on when you're wet, right?" I nod before backing out of the driveway. How do you say, awkward?
* * *
While we search through the aisles for the supplies that I need, I can't help but think about what I did to Connor a week ago. Yeah, it's been a week since I threw my ice cream at him and screamed for him to get out. That was also the day that I called Ethan's phone, despite the fact that he exploded a few hours before.
"I don't know what happened between you and Connor, but he hasn't been the same since," Toby speaks up, surprising me.
"That's a lie. You walked past my room as we fought," I say, remembering exactly what happened.
After a few seconds, Toby says, "Okay, so I do know, but that doesn't mean you guys should fight like this. Not only are you here for you-know-what, but you're also our friend. Lately, it's been hard when it comes to making new friends because of the status we have right now. You mean a lot to Connor, and this fight is eating at him."
"He and I will stop fighting when he stops playing with my emotions," I mumble, grabbing a tube of my favorite colored pencils. I then grab a sketch pad and leave the aisle.
"Emily?" a familiar voice asks.
I slowly turn around to see who I think it is. "Dustin?!"
Dustin and I were inseparable when he and I were on the force. They ended up moving him to a different location, so we haven't seen each other in two years. I used to have this huge crush on him, but it would never work out. He was dating my partner, so there was no way I was going to get a change.
He hasn't changed at all. Sure, he has a little more muscle, but it's still the same clean light blonde haircut and stormy grey eyes.
"I haven't seen you in two years! How are you?" he asks with a hug.
"I've been great! I'm actually here on the job, but we both know that's all I can tell you," I say, smiling at him.
"Yeah, I know. Do you know how long you're going to be here? They transferred me to Orlando when I left," he explains.
"I don't know, but by the looks of it, I'm not leaving anytime soon." I then remember something. "Oh, I'm sorry! Dustin, this is Toby. He's a good friend of mine. Toby, this is Dustin, my old teammate."
They shake hands, and then Dustin takes out a piece of paper and a pencil from his pocket. "Well, we should hang out soon to catch up on things, so here is my number. Text me when you want to get together."
We exchange another hug, and then Toby and I go to checkout.
Connor's POV
"Connor!" Toby screams when he and Emily get back from the store.
"In my room!" I call out. I hear a mess of footsteps, and a few stumbles before he runs in, closing the door behind him.
"Dude, you need to move quick," he pants.
"What, why?" I ask, knowing exactly what he's talking about.
"We ran into an old friend of hers, and by the way that they were acting, they definitely used to like each other. I don't know how they feel now, but I'm pretty sure that he still likes her," he explains. I bury my face into my hands and sigh in stress.
A/N: Alright, I have to dedicate this to Trinity for helping me with an idea. I couldn't think of anything, so she helped me by suggesting that I add in an old friend or something. Love you Trinny! ;D
