(Emily, I'm Sorry)
ACT ONE - CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

1996

Natalie Scatorccio sat in front of the dusty, beat-up, old mirror, doing her makeup as best as she could given the conditions. A pit of worry lurched in her stomach, she couldn't keep her mind off of Emily.

The girl had just lost one of her oldest friends, and this was on top of everything else the group had been through recently.

Nearby, Travis was talking to his little brother, Javi, "Wait, that's not how you do it."

Natalie's eyes flickered upward in the mirror, watching their interaction through the reflection. Javi appeared to be struggling with his tie, and Travis began to help him. A small smile tugged at her lips, at the sight of the endearing action.

From the other side of the mirror came Emily, in a cute yellow dress, "Hey."

Natalie turned around, her eyes finding her girlfriend, "Hi."

Emily twirled, showing off her dress, "What do you think?"

The other girl stood up her hands finding Emily's, a bright smile on her lips, "You look gorgeous."

"Why thank you," Emily laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "You don't look too bad yourself."

Natalie jokingly rolled her eyes, pulling Emily towards her, "If you sit down, I can do your makeup for you?"

Concentration was evident on the Scattorccio girl's face as she smeared eye shadow onto the other girl's eyelids. After a few moments, she paused briefly, "How are you feeling today?"

The soft smile on Emily's lips dissipated, "Nat. I'm fine, okay? You don't need to worry about me all the time."

That was the answer that Natalie had prepared herself for, it was obvious that Emily was a bit defensive. However, Natalie still liked to ask, because it was better to show her that she cared than to ignore things altogether.

"Okay," Natalie nodded.

A few minutes of quiet went by, until Taissa showed up, "Hey, can I um, borrow Em for a second?"

"You sure can," Natalie smiled, setting down the makeup, "I was just about done."

She gently tilted Emily's chin up, "Perfect."

The Jensen girl smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Natalie's cheek, "Thank you."

For a few moments, Taissa and Emily walked in a comfortable silence, "So...what's up Tai?"

"I just need your crafty expertise," Taissa stated with a smile, "I want to make these masks so that Van can come to the party without feeling self-conscious."

Emily nodded, "That's very sweet, Tai. Of course, I'll help."

She reached for some of the materials that Taissa had collected, her eyebrows knitted together in thought as she began to brainstorm ideas.

The cabin always seemed to hold an eerie silence, one that fell over it every time there was a lack of mindless chatter. So, it was not a surprise when Ash's voice managed to startle Lottie.

"Lottie?"

A gasp escaped the teenager's lips, as her hand immediately shot up to her chest, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

A sheepish smile spread across Ash's lips, "Sorry, I uh, just wanted to check in on you."

Realization washed over Lottie, she knew exactly where this conversation was going...and quite frankly she did not want to talk about the recent, ever-so traumatizing events.

"I'm good, you should really be more worried about your sister," Lottie pointed out, "She and—"

Lottie could not even bring herself to speak Laura Lee's name. She nervously bit down on her lip, "They were closer for far longer than she and I ever were."

"That does not make your grief any less pertinent, Lot," Ash informed.

The Jensen girl knew that Laura Lee was one of the only people who had been able to help Lottie since the plane had crashed. So that loss was probably killing the teenager.

Lottie shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling suddenly subconscious in Laura Lee's clothes. Surely Ash had not noticed, and if she did, she didn't bring it up.

"So," Ash spoke up once again, "Are you excited for Doomcoming? I think it'll be a nice break from everything."

Lottie nodded along to the other girl's words, "It should be a fun thing to get our minds off of all the shit we've been through," Ash finished.

"Yeah," Lottie nodded in agreement, and then as an afterthought, she added, "Way better than homecoming."

A laugh escaped Ash's lips, as she nodded in agreement to Lottie's words, "You're so right about that. Last year was my own personal hell. I mean my ex could not dance for shit. He kept stepping on my feet and everything."

The girl's words managed to bring a smile to Lottie's lips, which had been her entire goal for their conversation.

"What about you?" Ash arched an eyebrow at her, "Any note-worthy homecoming memories?"

Lottie shook her head, "Not really, no."

"Oh come on," she nudged Lottie's shoulder, "There's got to be at least one."

"Well, maybe just one..." Lottie trailed off, an amused smile tugging at her lips.

A crown of sticks, rested upon Lottie's head as she lite the final candle. Excitement buzzed in the air for the first time since the group had boarded that plane.

Smiles were shared, as most of the group gathered behind the make-shift curtain. 

Then finally, the exclamation that they were all waiting for was heard, "Let the Doomcoming begin!"

From behind the curtain, Emily interlaced her fingers with Natalie's, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, "Happy Doomcoming."

"Why thank you," Natalie laughed, briefly leaning her head on Emily's shoulder.

The two watched as they all began to make their grand entrances to the party, patiently awaiting their turn.

Despite the fact that the two of them were set on going to the 'dance' together, together. They still were a bit nervous, and self-conscious in a way.

However, following Tai and Van's big debut, a sense of acceptance and comfort spread throughout them.

"I'll get us a drink," Natalie spoke, softly releasing Emily's hand, "and food?"

The teenager smiled, "Sounds wonderful."

It didn't take long for Natalie to return, holding a couple of dishes, "M'lady,"

Emily let out a quiet laugh, accepting the mug gratefully.

"Stop!" Lottie's exclamation startled the group a bit.

"What's wrong?" Van questioned.

Lottie turned to the group, addressing them, "We should have a moment of silence for Laura Lee."

Emily's eyes dropped to the ground just in front of her, and Natalie gently squeezed her hand.

The other Jensen girl approached Lottie with a small smile and stood beside her for support.

"Yeah," their coached nodded in agreement.

Greif seemed to wash over them, without all of the chatter filling the void the air seemed to feel far more heavy. 

Taissa raised her glass in the air after a moment, "To Laura Lee."

The team echoed Taissa's words, joining closer together. Without music and mindless chatter, their Doomcoming wasn't feeling like much of a party.

"So, what now?" Natalie pipped up.

Emily's eyes found her's and she shrugged.

"Well, now we just need a DJ to pump up the volume," Jackie raised her hands jokingly.

Misty shook her head, "What we need is a slow dance."

Coach Ben sighed uncomfortably, and Emily sent him a sympathetic look. Lottie began to hum from beside Ash.

A smile tugged at Ash's lips as she joined in, soon the whole team following, the sound of a slightly off-pitch, "Kiss from a Rose" filling the air.

The girls jumped around dancing as they sang along, and Emily took both of Natalie's hands swaying along to the words.

"I wasn't ever really one to enjoy school dances...but this doesn't seem so bad," Emily stated, staring into Natalie's eyes.

A flirty smile found her girlfriend's lips, "Well when you're with the right person, it isn't half bad."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sooooooo....it's been a minute, but nonetheless, here we are Chapter thirty-one!!! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and welcome back Emily Jensen!!

- Via <3