Love, Emma

Chapter Six:

Nathan Walker seems even more surprised by my company today than he was yesterday; he spits out the water he'd just drunk, as if someone had shouted 'it's poisonous'. Fumbling with the napkins to wipe the table. I smile at him, taking my seat next to him and helping him clean up. When he finally turns to look at me, I notice a dribble of water working its way over his lips, and down his chin which are opening and closing in unhidden shock.

I giggle, reaching for another napkin and hand it to him. At his look of confusion, I tap my bottom lip, smiling.

"You got some water right here, and here." I bite back a laugh when he gets all flustered, hurrying to wipe it off.

Once he's gotten himself all situated, I dig into my lunch, tearing the plastic wrap off of my sandwich and taking a bite of one half. Noticing Nathan's nonexistent lunch, I give him the other half of my cucumber sandwich, swallowing before I start talking.

"Are you okay? From yesterday, at lunch?" I'm hesitant to ask, but it's been bugging me all day. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get that image out of my mind; it was as if he was drowning, gasping for air that he didn't think was reaching his lungs, eyes wild with fear and panic- it was terrifying and it didn't even happen to me.

In response to my question, he just nods, taking a hesitant bite of the sandwich, brightening when he decides it tastes okay, and adamantly taking another.

I don't plan on asking him what happened- I have a feeling it has happened before, and knowing what little I do about the mystery that's Nathan Walker, he won't tell me unless he wants to.

Nathan voices my thoughts, stuttering a bit over his words.

"Y-you aren't-t go-going to ask w-what h-h-happened?" He tilts his head in curiosity at me, obviously confused.

"You'll tell me when you want to, if you want to." I shrug and give a small smile.

.  .  .  .  .

When I had texted all my friends in our group chat last night, explaining my theory about Nathan just needing someone to bring him out of his shell, someone to be his friend, they'd been rather shocked. I think they were more shocked my answer wasn't out of pity- I want to be friends with him, he seems different, a very good different that hard to come by. Everyone understood, although Janice was hard to convince. She read too far into all the rumors about him, saying he was going to end up murdering me in the woods with his street gang. I had laughed out loud when I read her text, quickly denying her claim along with everyone else.

"Are you in there Em?" Luke asks, waving his hand in front of my face. I shake away my thoughts, staring at the blonde haired giant before me.

"Sorry, what?" I blink innocently at him, batting my eyelashes.

He rolls his eyes in mock annoyance before ruffling my hair effectively ruining whatever neatness it originally had.

"I was talking about heading up to the cabin one more before it gets any colder. We should get the gang together, you can even bring your new boyfriend." He wiggles his eye brows suggestively, while I whack his shoulder with one of the many pillows on my bed.

"Shut up, he isn't my boyfriend." I hiss, praying my brothers didn't hear the b-word.

Last time Luke teased me for having a boyfriend, which was just this nice guy I had been talking to in math, Beau and AJ overheard. In a matter of seconds, I was being interrogated and this so called 'boyfriend' was being threatened left right and center. Furthermore, we never say the b-word around my brothers.

"I'm just teasing baby bear. But you should invite him, maybe it can help in getting to know him, opening him up. I promise I'll pretend to be normal for the duration of the time." He makes a weird symbol with his fingers, placing them over his heart, "scouts honor."