Chapter 6

The present

Emma's POV:

"Why are you so annoying?" I ask, facing him from across his seat in the small food court.

"Why are you so beautiful?" he returns the question.

"Why are you such a flirt?" I question back, refusing to give in and be the first to answer.

"Why are you not?" he asks tauntingly.

Sighing in defeat, I give in. "Grow up, Xavier," I retort.

He says nothing back, for once not gloating about his performance or rubbing it in on just how badly I performed today.

An arrogant yet barely noticeable smirk forms on the corner of his lips as he averts his dark eyes from mine. He casually pops a mini-donut into his mouth, chewing silently to himself. That little smirk says more than any words of his can.

I roll my eyes at him, not used to him staying silent. "Out with it, please," I protest.

"I didn't even say anything," he defends himself, a boyish grin on his face.

That's the problem. Xavier always has something to say, always.

I let it go and change the subject. "Hurry up so that I can go home. I'm tired." If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he's eating slowly on purpose.

"And end our date so soon?" he pouts childishly.

"It's not a..." I trail off, knowing that he couldn't care less. "Nevermind," I huff. It's not like he'll listen anyway.

"Called it," Xavier flashes me a grin.

"Struck out," I argue with him.

He chuckles in a low tone and then suddenly smiles. "I'm glad I met you."

His words are nothing but genuine, hence why I'm caught off guard by them. Xavier is not a nice person. Everyone knows that. He's not supposed to say heartfelt things like that, ever.

"Wish I could say the same," I retort through a clipped tone, lying through my teeth. In spite of all my issues with Xavier, he's still one of the few who I can be real with. He seems to get me and the best part of it all, he accepts me too.

"Please, you want a piece of this." He lifts up his shirt up, revealing his six-pack to the public. 

It's nothing I haven't seen before.

"Already had a piece, bored of you now," I joke before getting up from my seat.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Xavier follows my actions, trying to stop me from leaving. "Where are you going?"

"As I said, I'm tired." I feign a yawn to prove my point. Being around him for too long becomes dangerous.

Xavier suddenly turns serious and frowns down at me. "Why do you always run out on me just when we're getting close?"

He has these rare mood swings where he switches from playfulness to anger. It confuses me to no ends.

"Don't get formidable with me." I rub at my temples in aggravation. I just want to go home; why does my leaving have to be something more than just being tired?

"I'm not," he growls in irritation, refusing to cooperate. "I just want to know why you're such a coward," he states bluntly, being straightforward.

"What do you want from me?!" I snap at him, now annoyed too.

He opens his mouth to answer but after thinking his next words through, he decides to go with something different than his initial response. "Nothing," he mutters. "Just forget it. Forget I said anything." 

I will.

Upset, he dials his booty call, Melinda, to fetch him so that I don't have to feel obliged to take him home seeing as we came here in my car.

I get why Aqueela detested Melinda now; the girl is a real nuisance.

I answer my own cellphone when it begins to ring, not bothering to even say goodbye to Xavier. "What is it, Lan?" 

"Where the hell are you?!" Lan rages from his side of the line. "We agreed that your curfew is ten. It's five past ten."

He agreed that my curfew is ten. He didn't bother to ask me for my opinion.

I roll my eyes at his remark. He's too protective over me. "I'm twenty-two, dear brother, in case you haven't noticed. I'm not a child anymore; I'm an adult now. I don't require a curfew," I tell him, hoping he'll hear what I'm saying for once. I need space from him every now and then. He needs to understand that.

"You do when you're out with that vermin!" he lectures, knowing fully well that I've been out with Xavier. 

Lan obviously saw me leave with him. I'm shocked that he allowed it in the first place. Maybe he isn't as paranoid as I made him out to be. I guess Landon offers me more leeway than I realize. I suppose I might be taking him for granted.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I find myself asking on impulse, the curiosity behind my words driving the question.

"Because he's no good for you. He only wants one thing from you," Landon replies back, a little calmer this time. It only means that he's holding back on shouting at me -- not at all a good sign.

"If that were true, then why is he still trying so hard?" I question my brother, serious about finding the answer. I really do believe that Xavier isn't half as bad as everyone makes him out to be. Everyone has a good side, even Xavier.

"I don't know! I'm not cupid!" Landon huffs, frustrated with me and my endless arguments. We just don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to Xavier. "How should I know how that creature of darkness operates?"

"Landon!" I hiss, furious. "You don't even really know him," I point out the facts before hanging up.

I'm currently angry at Xavier but I still just defended the dweeb.

Confused, I walk up to the counter of the food court. "One coffee," I order, hoping that some hot coffee will do the trick and help me unwind. Coffee understands; coffee can fix everything. "Make it strong, please."

I zip open my purse, glancing down as I look for small change. 

"Rough night?" the lady behind the counter asks, stirring up small talk.

My head snaps up and I nod at her, not wanting to come off as rude. "A little," I admit, "but it's life, what can you do?" I answer, my view shifting to a pessimistic one. 

The woman takes on an entirely different perspective. "Life is rough, I do agree, but there's always someone out there worse off than us."

I stay quiet, watching her make my coffee as my thoughts drift to JT. He's lost everything. Do I really have any right to complain?

"I think..." the woman hands me my coffee -- gently sliding it across the counter to me, "that we tend to focus on the bad rather than all the good," she concludes thoughtfully.

"I suppose," I agree, her words touching me. I find myself slightly speechless. She has a point. I'm reasonable enough to hear what she's saying.

She offers me a warm-hearted, motherly smile. "One should rather be counting their blessings."

I take my seat again and stare out of the window at the passing cars. I think about what she just said and internally smile.

My blessings would include my brother, my friends, and surprisingly enough, after thinking it through thoroughly, Xavier Thorman.