Window

20.

An grey overcast hung in the air, making the world around her feel so much darker. Her boots hit the pavement over and over again, her shoulders slumped as she hugged her textbooks to her chest. 

A soft breeze blew through the air, rustling the branches of the trees that lined the empty sidewalk. Emma let the breeze push back her wavy hair as she inhaled the fresh scent that was a tremendous contrast to the stuffy, sterile scent of the school. 

Reaching the street, Emma glanced side to side before jogging across the small utility road towards the parking lot where her old, beat up car was parked. She couldn't have been happier to have a last period study today, because it meant she could go home and get a start on studying for upcoming tests. That, and she got to beat the end of the day traffic. 

"Hey!" 

Emma stopped in her tracks at the familiar voice, her blood running cold. Inhaling a breath of courage, Emma turned around to face Dean. He stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her response. She could avoid him no longer. 

"You're ambushing me now?" Emma responded darkly, ignoring the anxious thumps her heart continued to give. 

Dean's jaw clenched shut, his head shaking in frustration. "Well, considering you're showing up late to class and avoiding me in the halls, there's no other way to talk to you" Dean responded, knowing that this had been his last resort. "And we really need to talk." 

"Fuck off, Dean" Emma leered, her eyes narrowed in anger. Over the past few days, the hurt and sadness had begun to morph into anger and resentment. She was done feeling sorry for him, and sorry for herself. So she turned on her heels, taking long strides towards her car. 

"Wait a fucking second! Why the hell are you acting like this?" Dean called, jogging to keep up with her. "Emma, stop walking away from me for one goddamn second. Why are you acting like this?" 

Emma spun around, anger radiating from her narrowed eyes. The sheer look of hate sent Dean back on his heels. "You really don't know what you did?" Emma seethed, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her textbooks with all the strength she had. 

"What I did?" Dean questioned in disbelief, his eyes wide with confusion. A gust of wind blew past them, an eery howl filling the air. "Emma, what the hell are you talking about? Help me out here" he breathed, tired from fighting over something that he was oblivious to.

Laughing sourly, Emma gave a slow nod. "Fine, Dean. Let me tell you. I went to Matt Jax's party on Saturday. And I saw you and Natalie, all close and friendly. And I know that you spent the whole night with her. So don't bother trying to lie your way out of that one." Emma said, a harsh bite to her words. 

Dean paled, his eyes growing wide. Guilt immediately filled his stomach, panic beginning to make his heart race as he felt the situation slipping out of control. 

He'd spent the night with her, but he hadn't kissed her. He hadn't made any advances on her at all. She'd bored him half to death, and her laugh had grown increasingly annoying as the night went on. All the party had done for him was confirm that Mason had been wrong. Emma was something special. And she was worth taking the risk for. 

"Emma-"

"No" Emma interrupted, shaking her head as tears began to fill her eyes once again. "I know, Dean. I know we weren't dating. I know that technically, you didn't do anything wrong. You're right. You didn't. You had no commitment to me. You owed me nothing. But God-" Emma's voice broke, a shaky breath escaping her. 

"You really had me." Emma's words were quiet under the roar of the wind, her vulnerable voice making Dean's chest ache. "I showed up to the party because I wanted to tell you that I-I had feelings for you. Can you imagine how stupid I felt? Of course you didn't feel the same. I was just another one of your conquests."