AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter Five

EMILY

"Honestly, though, Em. I must say I'm a little surprised." Ashley said, laughing.

Emily grinned. When she had first walked into the reunion, her friends had watched her warily, worried about her anger outbursts or mood swings or something. She had resumed her bitch persona at the beginning of the night—but she later decided that she wanted tonight to be a good reunion where everyone could talk things through and where she could make amends—and so she stopped. Her friends were pleasantly surprised at the change.

To be honest, Emily herself was surprised when she saw how much she had changed. Half a year living alone, then half a year living with Matt had made her a much better person, or at least she hoped. Her temper and snappy attitude hadn't changed much, but it was like...She developed a sort of respect for the people around her. Emily appreciated her life a lot more, too—she had almost died multiple times, after all.

She had also developed a dependency on Matt that wasn't there before. Emily knew that she had used Matt as rebound from Mike when she first started dating him—but things had changed. Matt had been brave, helping Jessica out of the mines, even risking his own life for the girl his girlfriend despised then. Emily loved that about him, and even admired him to some degree. If only I could be more like him sometimes, she often thought. Matthew the soft, angelic Meatbrain. He's too precious for this world.

"Hmph," Emily responded with a slight scoff. "Please. I might be a little nicer, but from what I can tell, I'm still the best dressed person here. And the smartest—solid 4.0 GPA still here, bitches."

The girls around her laughed, and Emily saw Matt grin at her from across the room. They continued chatting through the night, encouraged by Sam from before. Mike seemed to have an endless supply for drinks and snacks for everyone, and Jessica "partied" like she was not stuck in a psychiatric center for treatments everyday.

Jessica. Emily was very surprised when she first saw the name of the building that her ex-best friend lived in. I never realized that she would be this traumatized. She's definitely changed the most out of all of us in the last two years—from cute, fun best friend to boyfriend-stealing bitch and, now, traumatized but sweet girl. When Emily was discharged from the police, she was given medication for PTSD, anxiety, and also something to keep her temper in check (although Emily suspected that had nothing to do with the Wendigos). Now, it seemed mild compared to Jessica's indefinite stay in the Psychiatric Centre. Jess seems really fine now, though. Maybe she'll get released early and we can all hang out again next time—not with Wendigos, but not in a mental hospital either.

It was around 11pm when Emily got up to leave. Conversation had dwindled by then, and her friends were in the delirious state of half-drunk and half-sleepy. Ashley was leaning against Chris, sighing contently, while Sam and Mike collected the empty bottles to be put away. Jessica wrapped herself in a blanket and watched the news on television with tired eyes. Matt put a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Wanna get going?" He whispered, trying not to startle anyone else. She nodded and started to collect her things. She put on her jacket and reached for her scarf, which had been discarded and put on the side when Ashley asked to see her bite scar again and apologize. Emily wrapped it around her neck carefully while Matt picked up his backpack near the door and rummaged to check if he had all his things.

Mike and Sam returned from throwing the trash, and were surprised to see Matt and Emily leaving.

"You guys are going?" Sam asked, while Mike awkwardly scratched his neck. Emily smiled inwardly. Mike had not spoken a word to her all night. Instead, he was avoiding her and stared at her when he thought she wasn't looking. I wonder what he wants, Emily mused. To apologize? To make things right? I don't know, but...he seems pretty miserable.