SUNGLASSES

Chapter Ten

Emma watched Daniel carry me inside like a firefighter, asking thousands of questions that I couldn't quite answer in the moment. "What happened to you, Cady? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are your sunglasses? Oh, are you not wearing pants? Why aren't you wearing pants, Cady?"

"Emma, could you, like, shut up for one second?" I grumbled, Daniel gently dropping me onto her bed. I quickly covered myself up with her sheets, watching her roll her eyes. 

"You come in here with literally nothing on and Daniel carrying you like freaking Superman, and you just want me to not ask questions?"

Daniel put an arm around her, silently telling her to not say anything else. I put my face in my hands. "I don't like this."

I heard some rustling, and then something small dropped onto the bed in front of me. "Here," I heard Emma say softly. I looked up and saw a pair of rose sunglasses sitting on the comforter, and I slowly took them and put them on my face. Daniel sighed. 

"I kinda liked the eyes, Sunglasses. I still don't understand why you -"

Emma put a hand on his arm, sending him a look. He quickly grew quiet. I laid back on the pillows heading Emma's bed and closed my eyes, hoping that if I opened them again they wouldn't reveal what I was seeing now. When I let my eyes flutter back open, they still took in the same image: my best friend looking worried as all hell and my enemy who was also the only person who had ever saved me.

"I wish I were dead," I mumbled, burying my head in the pillow. 

"I'll go get you an aspirin," Emma whispered. I heard the door open and close, and there was silence.

"Go help her," I demanded through the pillow, my voice sounding like a stuffed animal. There were a few heavy footsteps against the hardwood floor, and I felt the bed sag as Daniel sat on the edge.

"I'm sorry," He said after moments of silence. My eyebrows furrowed against the pillow. 

"What?" I murmured, sitting up on the bed and looking at him. He was staring at his calloused hands, which were neatly folded in his lap, and refused to look over at me.

"You heard what I said."

I ran a hand through my completely tangled and messy hair, trying to evaluate the situation. "I guess I should've asked what you meant."

He shrugged, twiddling his thumbs like he was a third grader. "What's not to get about an apology? I fucked up, and now I'm trying to make amends. Do you accept or not?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to meet my gaze. He didn't. Sighing, I pushed myself farther up on the bed and crossed my legs. "Is this an apology for screwing my best friend? Or is it about forcing me to come here against my own will? Or is it from all the way back at the beginning, when you gave me a nickname that I didn't want in the first place? Or, is it -"

"It's for everything, alright? Jesus." He rested his forehead against his hand and let out a breath. Using his other hand, he rubbed his eyes deeply.

"Oh God," I groaned, rolling my eyes, "You're not gonna cry, are you?"

He finally looked over at me, and I noticed that his face looked older. Not in an old man way, necessarily, but in a way that reminded me of one of those selfie-a-day videos. When you just stare at the person's eyes throughout the video and notice how much more they have seen after every picture. I felt like now he understood me, and I guess I kind of understood him, too. 

"You're stupid, you know that?" He remarked, smiling slightly. I barely gave a shrug.

"Yeah, people stay I'm a shit-for-brains." 

And it was then, in that very moment, that Daniel Weiss leaned in and kissed me. It was a sweet and soft kiss, nothing like I had imagined (I didn't imagine it...), and I was pulled into it more than I had been to the Harry Potter books. It was like a barn of zoo animals were opened inside my stomach and were now raging around my organs.

And I loved it.

After a few moments of pure happiness, Daniel gently pulled away, staring into my eyes. He squinted his eyes slightly before reaching up and pulling the sunglasses off my face, never losing his gaze. When the glasses left my face, I immediately looked away, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear nervously. "What's wrong with you, Sunglasses?" He asked in a low voice, putting one of his hands on mine. I shook my head, chuckling.

"It's so stupid, but I can't maintain eye contact without those on. It's a long story."

Before Daniel could respond, the door creaked open and Emma walked in, holding an aspirin and a glass of water. "Oh, God, did I just interrupt something?"

We both jerked our heads over to her, our eyes wider than saucers. "Um, no," I stuttered, pulling my hand away from Daniel's and scooting back to the headboard. I quickly placed the sunglasses back on my nose and smiled. "Nothing happening here."