Emma || Steve Harrington/Billy Hargrove

027.5 The Choice (Alternate)

*Emma's POV*

I waited two days. Two whole days before talking to either of them about anything having to do with my feelings. I'd made the choice, but that didn't mean it was any easier for me to have to tell them. Something about the whole situation scared the crap out of me. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was scared that saying yes to one of them would alter my relationship with the other. I didn't want to lose either one of them as a friend. For a little while before actually talking to them, I considered lying and saying that I didn't want to be with either of them, but the thought of that just hurt because if I did that I wouldn't be letting just one of them down.

It was a Saturday night when I decided to do it. Billy and I had plans to hang out. It was around 2:30 when he picked me up from my house and we went out for a walk on the edge of the quarry. I felt nervous the entire time leading up to the moment I decided to bring things up, but I knew if I didn't do it then, I would chicken out and the whole situation would be dragged on a lot longer.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, "you're being kind of quiet."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I just need to talk to you about something, and I'm really nervous." He reached down and grabbed a hold of my hand. He brought it up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss onto it. My heart rate picked up instantly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's you," I said, "it's always been you." I bit my lip as I looked up at him and the smile on his face was the biggest smile I'd ever seen on him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, picked me up and spun me around. I let out a small scream followed by a laugh.

"You're serious?" he asked, "I'm not dreaming?" He pulled me into a tight hug and held me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and tucked my head into his chest. I felt safe and at home in his embrace.

"I love you, Billy," I whispered. He pulled back and smiled before we shared a sweet kiss.

"I love you too, Em," he said, "So much." From the beginning, it was Billy and I.

Call me stupid or naîve, but I truly believe that us being together was fate. From the moment we met when we were younger, to him moving and my parents coincidentally being relocated to the same place, to everything that had happened, we were always meant to end up together. I know that people might think we were too young to know, but in my heart I knew that Billy was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. For me, it was just the matter of finding out if he felt the same way about me.

We walked around and talked for a while longer until it started to get a little bit dark. We talked about us and our past, our future, school. Everything. Around Billy, I could really be myself, and he could be himself with me.

"I should probably get home," I told him. We were on the hood of his car, talking and looking out at the scenery before us.

"Do you have to?" he asked. I let out a light laugh and nodded as I hopped down onto the ground. He groaned before following me and getting into the car. The drive home was quiet, but comfortable. His hand gripped mine over the consol the whole time, and he would bring it to his lips and kiss it from time to time. Everytime he did, a smile would appear on my face.

I talked to Steve the following day. It hurt me to see him upset, but I knew that we would've never worked out the way we wanted to. We were better off as friends. That way we could still be there for one another without possibly ruining our friendship. Nancy seemed to hate me for a few days after that, but I figured it was just because she was pretty good friends with Steve. I knew things might be a bit weird between me and the rest of the gang since they all seemed so fond of the guy, but things would be worse if we dated and broke up.