Jar of Hearts

♡ 12 ♡

Monday morning comes and Emily walks into school with a new aura around her. She walks over to Rory and Carlos who stand at her locker, waiting for her arrival, as she had always had the habit of being the last one to arrive at school.

"Good morning, friends," Emily says, approaching them. She grins and practically radiates giddiness.

Rory looks up at her and cocks an eyebrow. She doesn't say anything aloud, but she takes in Emily's outfit and makeup choices. It isn't a drastic change, but it's enough for her to notice a clear difference. Instead of dark colors and graphic t-shirt's, she wears a pastel blue halter top bodysuit under a pair of tight-fitting light wash ripped jeans. And on her face, instead of minimal makeup, today she sports just a little more to accentuate her soft features.

"Good morning?" Carlos asks unsure, never have seen her this chipper in the morning before. Emily is not what you describe as a morning person usually.

Rory's honey-brown eyes glance away from her friend's chestnut hair that's pulled back into a neat french braid to her feet, where she wears a pair of white Adidas sneakers. A small smile pulls on her cherry-red painted lips. She's glad to see that she hasn't completely stepped out of her comfort zone.

Emily opens her locker and glances over at her best friend hesitantly, wondering why she isn't bombarding her with questions.

Rory rakes a hand through her pin-straight blonde hair and stares right back at her with a knowing smile playing on her lips. "So, how did it go?" She finally caves and squeals.

Carlos groans and places her hands over his ears while grimacing. "Mios Dios woman," he mutters and removes his hands when she's done.

Emily slams her locker shut, holding only a notebook and a book now. "It was amazing!" She refrains from squealing when she catches Carlos's less than enthusiastic gaze.

His arms are crossed over his Manchester United jersey-clad chest and his lips are pulled into a deep frown. "So are you guys a thing now? You're really going to be his rebound?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes while Rory's grow wide and takes a step away from them. It's Emily's turn to cross her arms now. "Seriously? Don't pretend for a second that you're actually concerned for my sake. You just don't want me to be with him. And for what?" She throws her hands up. "So that he doesn't take me away from you or something? You did this with Luke too, don't think I didn't pick up on that."

She takes a step closer to him, her eyes narrow and darker shade than they were seconds before, "I get that you think you're my big brother now since he died, but you're not."

Carlos's eyes grow wide and his frown disappears. He opens his mouth and hesitates, choosing his words carefully, "Yeah, sorry. I'll back off." He gives her a tight-lipped smile before turning on his heel and walking away from them.

The two girls watch him disappear into the sea of teenagers that consume the hallway.

"You better give me details later," Rory spins around, her blonde hair rippling behind her. She takes a couple of steps backward.

Emily laughs. "You were going to get them whether or not you wanted them." With that, Rory walks off, leaving her alone in the hall now.

Then, her eyes catch a glimpse of auburn hair, closely followed by his infamous smile. Her heart metaphorically melts in her chest.

"Hey," he gives her a head nod as he comes to a stop in front of her.

She blushes, of course, like any cliche school-girl. "Hey, Jack. Fancy seeing you here."

Jack lets out a loud laugh.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily notices a couple of girls whispering while staring at her. Jack doesn't, however, and he leans against the lockers, his smile having not faded a bit.