Chapter 2 Loyalty

Emma's POV

Emma stood, staring, her face expressionless.

"Oh my goodness!...you need to see your face. You were so scared,you almost passed out," Kayden said as he erupted in laughter.

Emma sat, head bent, face in her hands, ashamed and embarrassed.

"You really are afraid of the dark," Kayden said, chuckling.

Emma raised her head and stared at the bulbs that now held light again.

"Yeah and I am allergic to jerks too," Emma said, standing up and moving to the kitchen. She felt defeated.

"Well, at least I am not afraid of the dark....like you are twenty! You should be helping helpless five year olds walk through dark creepy hallways not rolling on the floor, screaming in front of them"

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked, grabbing a drink from the fridge.

"Woah, am I no longer welcomed in my dear aunt's house?"

"Of course you are, you are just not welcomed in my room"

Kayden erupted in laughter again.

"Nooooooooooo!" he said,mimicking her.

He laughed out loud again.

Emma stood, watching him.

She really felt embarrassed. Her 22 year old cousin has now found out that she was was fearful of the dark. Damn!

"That's enough!" she yelled.

There was a deafening silence.

Kayden cleared his throat.

"Okay...I am a jerk...I shouldn't have scared you but what better way to surprise my favourite cousin, I came in through the back door when I thought no one was around and I heard you screaming...I actually thought you were in trouble...then I came into your room and saw you..."

"Yeah how thoughtful of you," Emma interrupted.

Kayden was mute.

"Hey,I heard Audrey is throwing a big party tonight and everyone is going to be there, didn't you and your friends plan to be there too?" he asked.

Emma didn't reply.

She lifted her bottle of drink to her mouth and drank the content.

She continued staring at him.

"You could get more of that and even more at Audrey's party...you know she throws the best and top notch parties...it's amazing how you miss them even when you have every chance to go...trust me, I know your friends would fight their parents just to see the roof of Audrey's beautiful mansion," Kayden said.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"Say something...why didn't you go?"

"Well,since you have a huge crush on Audrey Miller, why don't you go to her party and sort it out?" Emma said, dropping the empty bottle of drink on the wooden stool beside a sofa and walking to her room.

"Woah! Come on cousin...well, I know she's hot but maybe she's not my type"

Emma turned and smiled. He was her cousin alright,she knew he had a way of sustaining conversations, he was too good at it.

"Tried your luck or something?" Emma asked.

Kayden raised a brow.

"Why would I? I told you she's not my type"

"Yeah I know but maybe you asked her out and she turned you down and decided to pick on you later as a punishment for asking her out," Emma said, laughing.

"Ah ah very funny," Kayden said,brushing aside his blonde hair.

"Okay...why is she not your type?...because she is every guy's type!," Emma said, laughing again.

She was really enjoying this moment. She felt she had to. She had been ashamed when he scared her and made her scream at the gloomy darkness and now, this was a way of paying back.

"Damn! Stop! You are really not funny," Kayden said, slightly angry.

"Come on...you are not enjoying this? Because I am"

"What's your problem? You are weird, you know," Kayden said.

There was deafening silence again.

"You think I am weird?" Emma said.

She laughed.

"You find being weird funny?" Kayden asked.

"Well, I find it normal and damn right safe!"

"You are afraid of the dark and that's why you can never go to the most biggest party in school!...."

"And you think it's weird?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes I do! Everyone thinks so too!"

"Hey," Emma whispered.

"Look at me, being called weird is very normal to me, trust me, I don't feel it at all. In fact, if being weird is going to always keep me safe every night, then....y'all can change my last name to 'Weird',"Emma said as she went to her room.

Audrey's POV

"Here's your soda Audrey....I made sure it's very cold, first class treatment...cause you deserve one," Audrey turned to behold Victoria, handing a chilled bottle of soda to her.

Audrey stared at her and then at the bottle of soda. She shook her head, trying to gain her composure.

"Oh...so this is the part where you praise yourself and feel very good meanwhile you have only been a very incompetent personnel," Audrey said, staring at the drink.

"I don't get it"

"You never will"

"But it's cold...first class treatment"

"Oh dummy....I never said I wanted soda"

"Uh I'm pretty sure you said so"

"Uh are you going to question my honesty?"

There was silence.

"I went through a lot for that," Victoria said, dropping her hand.

"But you are dumb...and that's why I think of replacing you every single day"

"Okay okay," Victoria said, breathing hard.

"What do you want?" she asked.

There was silence again.

"Okay maybe...maybe I want something else," Audrey said, staring away from her.

"What's that? I hope it's something I can get here," Victoria said.

Audrey smirked.

"You'll never get it," she said.

"Come on! What's that? I will get it"

"I want Ryan," Audrey said.

Victoria was silent.

"I'm sorry,what?" she asked.

"Yes,you heard me"

"Ryan Gray?"

"You know him"

"But....why do you want him? You hardly converse with him"

Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Must you always be this dumb?....yes we hardly talk and I say awful things about him...but those are cover ups, don't you get it?" she said.

"Oh....does that mean...you....oh no!" Victoria said, drawing back and covering her mouth with her hands.

"Quiet!" Audrey commanded.

"Oh I'm sorry...it's just...I never expected it. I never even imagined it. What makes you suddenly fall in love with him?" Victoria asked, curious.

"Dummy, I've always loved him, I just didn't want to show it"

"Oh...why do you love him?"

"He's mysteriously cute....that's all I have to say"

"Ooooooooh...now that's a discovery...of course, Ryan Gray is insanely cute, I thought you never noticed...now I know you do...."

"Listen to me dummy, if anyone else gets to know about this, you'll have yourself to blame, trust me, it's not a hard task to make you drop out," Audrey said, smirking.

She lifted the bottle of soda to her mouth and drank the content as she watched Victoria stare at her, bewildered.

Ryan's POV

"Oh great....another one of those stupid parties she throws," Ryan said, sitting down on a swivel chair.

"Yeah the same parties people kill themselves for," Leo, his roommate said.

Ryan smirked.

"Still I'll never imagine myself in one of them," he said.

"Cause you hate her....right?" Leo asked, smiling.

"No...she's not even worth my hatred"

"No girl is worth your love too," Leo said.

Ryan stared. He didn't utter a word.

"Whatever," he said, standing up.

He went towards the window. Slowly, he opened one side of the curtains and stared at the darkness that loomed outside.

"I wanted to go," Leo said, breaking the silence that took over.

"Then go," Ryan said, not looking at him.

"Just kidding dude....any enemy of my friend....is an enemy of mine," Leo said.

"And nobody is my friend until loyalty is proven," Ryan said.

"Mehn....you sound like you don't trust anybody....not even me," Leo said.

Ryan was silent.

"Never mind....any plans for tonight? Or you wanna go to bed early? That's quite drab"

"No....no plans," Ryan said, closing the curtain.

"O....kay," Leo said.

Ryan strolled to his bunk bed.

"Goodnight," he said as he climbed his bed.

"Alright," Leo said after a short silence.

"Um...Ryan," he called.

"Yeah," Ryan responded.

"There is football tryout tomorrow...Greg's court....1:00pm"

"Yeah...I almost forgot," Ryan said.

"I got you bro....I'm loyal," Leo said.