——

"Emelina! Where are you?" Kiara's voice called out in the dark restaurant. Crickets were heard outside and the silent night only made Kiara fret a little more. "Emelina?" she asked once more before flicking the lights on.

The brunette sat against the wall with her hand clutching the whiskey bottle from earlier to her chest. Her eyes remained on the floor, barely reacting to her friend's worried words.

"What's going on? Why are you at The Wreck at 2 AM? Your text didn't give me any details." Kiara threw out, unable to pinpoint her friend's unordinary state.

"My heart hurts," Emelina replied simply.

Kiara sat on the floor in front of her, tilting her head in confusion. "Your heart? What did Topper do?"

"Not Topper," she answered and turned her head away.

Kiara furrowed her eyebrows until her eyes landed on the bottle in Emelina's hand. She grabbed it forcefully, "Whiskey? What has gotten into you? Where did you get this? Why does your heart hurt?"

"Too many questions," Emelina muttered, her eyes barely opening.

Kiara stood up to put her hair in a quick bun before holding her hand out, "Come on, let me help you up."

Emelina nodded and accepted her hand, leaning onto Kiara as she swept her away toward a bar stool. "Sit here while I make you a cup of water and some food."

"I'm not hungry," Emelina said to her, but Kiara ignored her and walked back into the vacant kitchen.

While she was gone, Emelina snuck a few large sips of the whiskey knowing Kiara would be begging for some answers, and right now all she craved for was numbness. The alcohol in her system was not at its peak anymore due to it not touching her tastebuds in a hot minute. She wanted more.

She strolled back to her seat. Moments later, Kiara came out with water and a small tray of fries. "Eat up and then you've got some explaining to do."

Emelina remained quiet as she munched on some fries, making sure to avoid Kiara's staring eyes. "I'd like to eat in peace." she quipped, looking up at her.

"Have you been crying?" Kiara questioned, noticing the tear stains on her cheeks. Emelina wiped them away, "A little."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Do you think we're supposed to follow the path given to us?" Emelina asked suddenly, ignoring her friend's question.

"I think you should only follow the path you make, not someone else's. Why? Is this about your mom?" Kiara asked and Emelina shrugged in response.

"I always thought there was going to be a future for Topper and me growing up... I mean, our parents have been calling our destiny for as long as I can remember. Just last week, Topper's mom showed me her family heirloom ring and promised me it as an engagement ring." Emelina paused to remember the diamond ring, "It's a beautiful ring, Kie, but it doesn't belong on me." she cried.

"An engagement ring, already? You guys aren't even in college yet." Kiara scoffed, stealing a fry to eat.

"I'm not supposed to be engaged anytime soon. Not for a long time," Emelina clarified, "but our families have always imagined us together forever. And when I took him back, everyone thought it was fate."

"Why did you take him back?"

"I don't know," she whispered and a new wave of tears came running out, "I think a part of me wanted to prove that I didn't need you guys. I was so alone and I knew he was hurting just as much as me, so... I did what any desperate girl would do."

"Okay, but you have us again. Break up with him. No ring should stop you." Kiara stated although words were easier than actions. Even at this moment, when her friend is giving her advice to make her life easier, she never felt more alone.

"It's not that easy, Kiara. When I first broke up with Topper, my mom was livid. She said I ruined her future. I can't do that again."

"Your mom can't control your life. Only you can."

Emelina softly shook her head with no response coming out of her.

"What about that?" Kiara raised an eyebrow and nodded her head toward the bottle that laid on the floor where she had left it.

Emelina shrugged and started thinking about the boy that led her to her whereabouts. "It's from... um, JJ."

"JJ?"

"I saw him earlier and he was drunk out of his mind. He said some stuff too." Emelina explained vaguely, looking down at her nails.

"Oh, God." Kiara exhaled a breath of air and questions ran through her mind. "Why do I have a feeling Topper isn't the reason you're drunk right now?"

Emelina bit her lips and smiled, "Always trust your gut?"

"What did he say to you?" Kiara asked, her face showcasing a hint of worry because she was afraid JJ said something he shouldn't have.

"It doesn't matter. He doesn't remember any of it." Emelina told her and sighed in sadness. "He woke up and had no idea why I was there."

Emelina tried not to express hurt when she woke up on John B's couch with an exhausted JJ, who gained memory loss from the previous hour. She told him she only cleaned him up, making sure to exclude his confessions, and then sent him off to Pope for the night. She thought it would be better this way.

It pained her heart not knowing if he truly meant what he said or if they were meaningless drunken words. These thoughts swam around her brain and it led her to repeat his actions with the same whiskey bottle. Ease the pain.

Both heads turned in the direction of the door when the sound of a truck came piling down the front of the restaurant.

"Who's that?" Emelina asked.

"Shit. I might've called Pope and JJ over." Kiara turned back to her friend, who now has wide eyes, and gave her an apologetic smile.

"You, what?!"

"To be fair, I called them before I knew the reason why you're holed up here. I thought all of us could cheer you up." she defended quickly. "Look, just promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"You say to the drunk girl," Emelina replied with a small smile on her lips, but the nerves kept running through her body.

JJ was the first to open the door and Pope came trickling behind, clearly not appreciating to be woken up so early. "Is everything alright?"

"Jesus, JJ! What happened to your face?" Kiara asked, her eyes widening at the sight. He shrugged it off, "Shit with my old man. 'Tis all good but, is she?" He pointed to Emelina.

Emelina turned her head away and focused her attention on the fries in front of her. Kiara nodded, "Yeah. She's just upset."

"'Bout what?" JJ asked and stood next to the brunette girl, staring at her from above but she would not look up at him.

"Stuff about my mom," Emelina answered quietly. JJ glanced at Kiara, who gave him a tight smile, and he picked up a fry from her tray. "Are these cold fries helping?" he asked, attempting to brighten the mood.

"I should heat them," Kiara grabbed the tray and then nudged Pope. He lifted his head from the counter and opened up his tired eyes, "What?"

"Kitchen." Kiara motioned her head to the door behind them. The two of them left to the room, leaving Emelina and JJ to themselves.

JJ used one hand to grab her face by the chin, scanning it and noticing her wet eyelashes and flushed cheeks. He wiped away a fallen tear but he was looking for more. Any signs of injury just like how he saw the last one.

When he saw that she was clean, he took a seat next to her on the stool. "What happened with your mom?"

Emelina cleared her throat and answered him. "Somebody at work must've pissed her off. I don't know." she lied. Even drunk, she knew not to exploit her current thoughts and avoiding his eyes was making the task easier.

"Are you sure you're alright?" JJ inquired and placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort, but immediately she shrugged it off and hopped off of the chair. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He furrowed his eyebrows and his eyes search the room until they land on his father's whiskey bottle. A deep sigh left through his lips as his mind started to put the puzzle pieces together. He wasn't oblivious, so his brain begged him to ask.

"Hey, Em..." JJ cleared his throat and looked at his friend, who was now standing, "I didn't say anything to you earlier, right?"

"What would you have said?" Emelina questioned, throwing on her best clueless look.

JJ let out a quiet sigh of relief. Inside, he knows where his heart lies. It was easy to keep it all in, as he has done all his life, but knowing he woke up being vulnerable hours prior, had left him wondering if he slipped out a word or two.

"Nothin'." he replied and pointed to the bottle, "What's, uh, what's that doing here?"

Instead of answering him, she turned to him with exhilarated eyes. The few sips from earlier were finally giving her a sense of what she wanted. "I have an idea!"

Before JJ could question her idea, she ran out the back door that led outside, and that sent him chasing after her.

He found her at the end of the dock, stripping herself from her clothes. Nothing but her undergarments showed. Given the darkness, he couldn't see much except the outline of her body yet the view left him in awe. He didn't process much until she dove right into the water, to which he ran straight to the edge of the dock to find her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" JJ asked her as soon as she surfaced from the water. The coolness was refreshing and she loved it.

"I was hot," she answered innocently, a smile forming on her lips and she giggled at his unamused expression.

"Are you crazy?! Get out," he demanded, not liking the idea of his drunk friend swimming helplessly in the water alone. The raging headache from his hangover did not help either.

Emelina swam toward the dock near him. She held out her hand. "Help me?"

Before he accepted it, he gave her a warning look. "I swear to God, man if you pull me in..."

Emelina took his hand and did exactly what he wanted to avoid. JJ came flying forward right into the water, creating a loud splash. Her giggles erupted in the night and when he came up from the air, his energy did not match hers. "Why did you do that?!"

"Since when did you turn into Pope? I thought you'd enjoy a night swim." Emelina pouted.

"I would if you weren't shit-faced."

She didn't reply and instead dunked her head underwater to swim. She breathed in sharply when came up and stared at the blonde boy ahead of her. "You're boring," she told him.

"And you're crazy," he remarked.

She swam closer to him, right until her toes could touch the soft sand below them. The two of them stare into each other's eyes as the moonlight glowed on their skin.

"What's gotten into you?" His voice was soft, not demanding or pushy. It almost made her want to spill the beans, but she knew better.

Emelina shook her head, "I don't want to talk... or feel. I want to live."

"It's not a good idea to keep it in," JJ pointed out.

Emelina immediately scoffed in response. "That's easy for you to say!"

JJ took a deep breath in, "I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about you."

"I told you. I don't want to talk." she simply replied. Then, a small grin appeared on her lips and she drew herself closer to his body. "And you don't have to either."

He furrowed his eyebrows in question, "What?"

"Show me, JJ. Show me how you feel."

He was stunned, unable to make a word out. She was a drug to him and no matter how many times he tried to talk himself out of feeling things for her, she always came back. And each time, he craved her more and more.

Like in this moment, where the two of them are alone in the water with nothing but their desires for each other. Her words made him forget how intoxicated she was and found himself moving toward her.

Their noses were inches apart and so he whispered, "And how do I do that?"

"I think you know," she whispered back and placed her arms around her neck. Underwater, his hands crept their way on her waist. Her eyes closed at the touch, have forgotten how much she missed his hands on her skin.

They leaned in, their lips barely brushing each other and it sent shivers down her spine. So close. So close to finally getting what she wanted.

But he knew better.

Within seconds, Emelina was thrown onto JJ's shoulder and he quickly swam to shore before she could have a thought to process. "JJ?!"

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Kiara suddenly made her appearance and Pope trailed behind holding a flashlight in hand.

"The little mermaid here decided to take a dip." JJ placed Emelina on the wet sand where she shivered at the cold breeze.

Kiara raised her hands in question. "I left for two seconds!" she grunted and turned to her dry friend, "Pope, go inside and get towels please."

He tiredly nodded and handed her the flashlight before dashing inside to complete his task. Emelina giggled, still feeling woozy, "Are, uh, are the fries hot?"

§

"Nice job letting the drunk girl loose," Kiara argued with JJ. All four of them found themselves sitting back at The Wreck, wide awake and solemn.

"Dude, that girl has legs like a cheetah. She jumped in before I could stop her!" JJ defended himself, shaking his wet hair with a towel.

Kiara rolled her eyes, "Why'd you jump in?!"

"I didn't! She tricked me!"

Emelina sat at a table from afar, her cold body wrapped in a towel as her eyes stayed glued to the floor. Pope sat next to her, rambling on about his day to distract her, but she wasn't listening.

"And then Kie called and now I'm here," Pope finished off his day-telling. Emelina nodded, her face showing no source of emotion.

"Hey, at least the fries are warmed up," he said and picked up one fry to wiggle it in front of her face.

Emelina snatched the fry from his fingertips and took a bite out of it. "What is wrong with me?"

She told him what had happened before JJ deliberately carried her away to safety, and she noticed how Pope seemed unsurprised at this.

"We all do stupid shit when we're intoxicated," he told her and she knew what he was referring to. She huffed, "Yeah, but at least you got your happy ending."

"Not at first. Kie rejected me." Pope reminded her.

"I almost cheated on Topper. I hate myself." Emelina buried her face in her hands.

"Wouldn't be the first time he got cheated on." Pope laughed and collected a fry to munch on.

She glared at him, "You're not helping!"

"Look, I dunno what you guys have going on, but the best advice I can give you is to go for it." he said and leaned forward to steal another fry, "Alright, why don't you tell me what he makes you feel."

"I didn't book a session, Dr. Heyward." Emelina gave him a look before a smile broke through her lips.

Pope raised his eyebrows, indicating that he was waiting. Kiara and JJ were still bickering across the room, leaving Emelina to lower her voice so their ears wouldn't pick it up.

"Time stops when I'm with him. It's like—like I'm in another world and I hate it. I hate how it feels and how I feel it with him and not my boyfriend."

Pope nodded and then leaned forward. "Shouldn't that at least tell you something?"

"I know exactly what it's telling me. I'm afraid I won't be allowed to get my happy ending, you know? My world doesn't favor yours and it's hard... it's hard to want something that's basically prohibited." Emelina rambled on, not really having a sense of thought.

"I've never seen JJ like this—so involved in a girl like he is with you. I think he is following his heart... and you should too."

Emelina looked down as she spoke weakly, "I want to."

"And besides, since when were you the one to follow the rules?" he questioned and she laughed. "That's true."