Riverton High School

~2~

                                                                      "What do you want?"
                                                          "Just coffee. Black - like my soul."

                                                                                                   ― Cassandra Clare

Emily woke up from her sleep tumbling lazily into the bathroom on a Saturday afternoon. Forcing herself to shower and get dressed, toweled up she stood in front of her bathroom mirror and combed her damp locks. She got dressed and polished her black hiking boots, examined her firm bottom in her jeans and pushed up her chest in her tank top. Feeling sleepy, but confident as usual. Emily made it a regular habit of getting out of the house.  

Her and Brooke rode their bikes to their favorite cozy little coffee spot just up their street. The rickety old thing had been there for years. It was in dire need of roof leak repairs,  and new employees to appeal to a younger audience. Most of the workers were older than mount Everest. Besides these things though the little shop was a part of her childhood that would never fade, no matter how clearly the paint on the walls were.

 It was on the south side of California. When the two entered baked goods and swirls of caramel hit their nostrils. They sat in the red velvety booth and sipped hot frothy frappuccinos. Brooke had been aching to gossip about all she saw at the party. That annoyed Emily. She wasn't really the gossipy type she kept to herself, and if she heard or saw something she wasn't quick to spread it. 

Brooke loved gossip, and getting all the tea while it was hot. Emily however could care less about other people's lives. Brooke got right to the point, leaning in biting her lip asking Emily who she was talking to last night. Emily shrugged it off not really thinking her talking to a person of the male anatomy was such a big deal. 

Brooke described the boy thoroughly gushing about how attractive he was as if he was the first boy she'd ever seen. Brooke also mentioned Amber, who Emily really didn't want to hear about. Considering how much she despised her. Brooke said she was giving head outside to a random guy from the party. Given Amber's reputation they both assumed the rumor was true.

 Emily and Brooke were pretty reckless in a sense but tried to make sleeping around not a regular practice. Emily tried to only have sex with someone she loved. When she thought about that her mind drifted back to her ex boyfriend Jake. She dated him all of  junior year, they ended up splitting up. Brooke always tried to comfort Emily in that regard. Emily always slumped into Brooke's warm shoulders as a pale for her tears. 

Jake was realistically Emily's first love. Breaking up with Jake wasn't easy for her. She had to do it though, before he got the chance. Their overall relationship was to strained. Emily battling with personal demons and setbacks put a big weight on Jake's shoulders. Her drug and alcohol use, her anger issues and emotional state sent the two of them down two different paths. Jake was the dream guy, everything a girl could want.

 He was sweet, caring a understanding, loving and considerate. Though he was these things he only had so much tolerance for Emily. He was tall and structured, and his brown eyes stood out with a blinding twinkle. Emily bit her lip as she remembered him. Brooke shook her out of her flashback with probing questions about the boy John she met at the party.

"What about him?" Emily cocked her head. Brooke pushed saying she needed to jump on the back of that horse and try to forget completely about Jake. Brooke had been probing her to move on for months. It was annoying to Emily, she'd ignore her calls or texts when it came to her meeting or hooking up with guys. She wasn't interested in being in a relationship with anyone. She had been broken up with Jake for around 6 months. "Emily.." Brooke giggled. "six months is plenty of time to recover -" 

"Brooke why don't you just shut up! Shut up and leave it alone." Emily slammed her hand down on the table. Brooke's eyes widened and she sat back into into cushions. "Alright." Brooke said calmly. Emily slumped into her seat and grabbed her coffee with both hands, chugging it down.