Emerald

Chapter Twelve- Confessions

The second gem is an amethyst. It will be where comfort is abundant and central.

I woke up peacefully in the morning. Well, more like the afternoon; it was about 1:00 p.m. As I began to stir awake, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. I turned over to see Matt with his eyes closed, snoring slightly. I giggled as I lightly kissed his nose. His eyes slowly opened right away.

"Morning, beautiful" he whispered tiredly.

"Afternoon, handsome," I whispered back. I sat up and stretched as I got out of bed and made my way towards the door. Before I could touch the doorknob, something was wrapped around my waist. I turned back around to see Matt hugging me from behind. Ugh, we were starting to act like those cliché romantic movie couples.

I giggled and kissed him on the nose again.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," he suggested. I nodded as he let go of me and opened the door. We walked out, hand-in-hand, and sat down on the couch. Ari and Rose were already sitting on the chairs. They stared at us and started to laugh and "awe" at us. Whoops! So much for keeping it a secret...

"Look at the cute, new couple! Uh oh, you're gonna be in trouble once we get Shawn back," teased Ari. Blushed and took my hands behind my back.

"I think you guys make a cuter couple than Em did with Shawn, anyway," said Rose. Matt took my hands again and kissed me in response to Rose's comment. I melted into it as I heard the girls go into "fangirl screams" as I like to call them.

They also made comments like "So cute!" and "I knew it!" I was just happy that they accepted that I like Matt, especially Ari. I thought she would be mad at me for choosing Matt instead of her brother. When we parted, we all decided to call in for room-service breakfast. I got my classic french toast while Matt got pancakes, and Ari and Rose just got cereal.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on our door. I ran to open it and saw the lady from the front desk with two trays in her hands. I thanked her as I took the trays and placed them down on our table. We each grabbed our chosen food and dug in.

***

"That was probably the best breakfast I've had in a long time," commented Rose once we were all done with our food. I definitely agreed. The french toast was cooked to perfection and came with powdered sugar and maple syrup, my favorite way to eat my favorite breakfast.

"Okay, how about we relax and try to figure out where the heck the stupid amethyst is hidden. What did the thing say again?" suggested Rose.

"It will be where comfort is abundant and central" answered Ari. "Okay, so we know that all the gems are hidden somewhere in the hotel. The sapphire was hidden somewhere that had to do with the rose gardens, just like the clue said." We all nodded in response.

"So that means that the amethyst would be where people can find comfort in a noticeable place... Didn't the main lobby of the hotel have all those comfy chairs and sofas?" asked Matt.

"Yeah! So the gem could be hidden in one of the couches! The lobby has a lot of those seats, abundance; and it's easy to get to and right-smack-dab in the middle of the hotel, central!" yelled Ari.

We then began to make plans for when we would get the gem.

We decided to do it at midnight, again, that night when the desk lady would hopefully be asleep so we could search without care. In the meantime, we had to figure out something to do...

***

We were all still in our pajamas as we sat in our rooms watching our own TVs. Rose and Ari sounded like they were watching some sort of Sci-Fi movie, while Matt and I were watching "Romeo and Juliet". Matt and I were tucked in with our blankets, cuddling with our soft pillows propping us up so we could see the large flatscreen. My head was leaning on his shoulder and his head was leaning on top of mine.

Our eyes were focused on the screen as Romeo was meeting Juliet for the first time. That had always been one of my favorite scenes in the whole play. The love that could be seen in the actors' eyes really played the part. You could plainly see that the two teens loved each other even though they didn't even know the other's name. As they were having their romantic conversation, I looked up to Matt.

"Imagine if we had met like that? Love at first sight, huh?" I said.

"Do you really believe in love at first sight?" He asked.

"I don't know really. I definitely believe in attraction at first sight, but love takes time to build and grow,"

"So I'll take that little monologue as a 'no'?"

"I guess so," I responded. "Do you think we could be star-crossed?"

"I don't know, but even if we are; I'm gonna cherish every moment I have with you," I giggled and kissed him just as Romeo and Juliet shared their first kiss on the screen.

"Can I be the first to say 'I love you'?" he asked.

"I thought that was gonna be my job!" I teased. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well..." he responded.

"I love you, Matthew Deere,"

"And I love you, Emerald Kennedy,"