Emma: The Monster Inside Me (HTTYD Fanfic, Book 3)

Chapter 22: Unlocked

Emma's POV:

I couldn't believe Ezra had kissed me...

And I kissed him back.

A few days had passed since then, but it was still all I could think about.

The kiss didn't make any sense. We were polar opposites. Incompatible. There was no way we could really have feelings for each other...

"If you stare at that wall any harder, it might explode," Ezra's voice cut through the silence.

I glanced over at him. "Good, then we could get out of here."

He smiled slightly. "So...are we going to talk about what happened between us?"

"What's there to talk about?" I asked dryly.

"Plenty."

"Such as?"

"Well.....what it...means for us."

I looked over at him again. "It means nothing. It meant nothing. It was nothing. Got it?" I said shortly.

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "Right."

"We can't be in the same room as each other or have a conversation without trying to bite each other's head off, so what part of that makes you think we would ever work as a couple? Not that I'd ever even consider it; I hate you," I spurted defensively.

"If you hate me, then why did you kiss me?"

"I didn't kiss you, you kissed me!"

"You kissed me back."

"So?! Listen. I was tired, sore, hungry, and sleep deprived, not to mention there isn't very great air circulation down here so I was probably low on oxygen as well, I wasn't thinking straight," I fired back.

Ezra smirked slightly, looking amused. "Right," he said again in that cocky, sarcastic voice that never failed to infuriate me. He moved closer to me. "I'm sure that's what it was."

"It is," I said firmly, flustered. I felt my face flush red.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You sure about that?" Another step.

"Yes! You're a complete jerk and you're arrogant and reckless, so yes, I'm sure!"

He stepped closer to me, suddenly right in front of me. Just as I had before, I sucked in a breath at his sudden closeness, looking up at him.

"Prove it," he said softly.

I felt like a fly in a spiderweb, well and truly caught by his presence. I found his eyes extremely distracting and I had to pull myself from their hypnotic gaze. I swallowed the dry lump in my throat.

"Prove what?" my voice asked.

"That you don't have feelings for me."

I scoffed. "I don't! You are the most hot-headed, conceited, ignorant, immature, pretentious person I have ever met!"

He leaned in, silencing me.

"Then ask me to stop," he said, gently brushing his fingers against my cheek.

My heart fluttered at his touch, then hammered. Just tell him to stop, my thoughts reminded me.

His fingers traced my lip next as he used his other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, making my skin dance with a spike of heat. "Tell me to stop and I will," he murmured close to my ear.

Somehow, I couldn't.

"I-I don't have feelings for you," I squeaked out instead.

"Then why aren't you stopping me?" he asked.

After giving me a moment to answer that was only filled with silence, Ezra carefully leaned in closer and kissed my lips; softly, sweetly, gently so as to allow me to pull away if I wished.

I wanted to pull away, but just as before, I was drawn to him. Entranced by him.

After a moment, he pulled away slightly and looked at me. I took a deep breath.

"Ezra, there's no way you like me, you couldn't possibly like me."

"I do."

"You're lying. You couldn't, it's-it's impossible," I stumbled over my words.

"What about it is so impossible?" he asked.

I sighed. "We're too...different. You can't like me."

He gently brushed his fingers over my cheek, silencing me. "Emma Nightingale," he said softly, "I like you very much."

"Why?" I whispered, looking up at him. 

He smiled the most genuine smile I had ever seen him wear. His voice came a moment later, soft and sweet as his kiss. "How ever could I not? Who could ever resist liking someone like you?"

I melted with those words, unable to hide the smile that they elicited. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. "But...we don't get along," I said.

"That's because I'm a stubborn hot-head, and I will work on fixing that, I promise."

I sighed, searching his gaze. "I appreciate that you care for me. But...I'm not ready...okay? I am still mourning my dead boyfriend. And you and I are two very different people. We wouldn't work together. Please respect my decision," I said, my voice nearly a whisper.

Ezra looked hurt; sad. The expressions flashed over his face before he quickly masked them as if they were never there. He nodded slowly. "I will," he said, stepping away from me, his gaze lingering on my for a few more seconds before he moved to the other side of the cell to sit on the ground.

I watched him, unsure how I felt about it all. I sighed and leaned against the cell door. In response to my weight, it creaked and swung partially open. I straightened and stared at it in disbelief. "Ezra."

He followed my gaze, also staring at the open door. "....He left the door unlocked."

I frowned. "There's no way he did that on accident...it has to be a trap. A test. Something."

"Even if it is, this could be our only chance," he said, getting to his feet. He moved to open the door wider, but I grabbed his arm.

"Wait. This is a bad idea, a really bad idea. It's a trap, it has to be. Don't be stupid."

"Then we outsmart him."

"How? We don't even know what his plan is!"

"We make our own plan. Figure out what the trap is, and then find a way to use it against him. It'll work...it has to. Or we're never getting out of here."