⋅˚₊‧ ☾ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ♡‧₊˚

It was volleyball day again, and just like last week, Bella and I were on separate teams. They included the boys this time though, which meant I was on the same team as Emmett. Needless to say, it was an interesting gym class. I was positioned in the middle and Emmett was coincidentally behind me. I didn't let him distract me, not even when I saw his muscles bulging through the thin grey fabric that our gym shirts were made out of. Every time he served, his biceps flexed but I'd quickly look away to avoid getting further distracted.

Emmett and Edward proved to be very competitive with each other and throughout the mini-game, they were both scoring like crazy. I of course helped contribute to the scoreboard and there was even a brief moment when Emmett had lifted me in the air so I could reach the ball, feeling goosebumps form on my skin at his cold touch. He quickly apologized right afterward but I shrugged his cold temperature off and continued with the game. In the end, my team won. Which earned a lot of taunting from Emmett towards Edward.

Gym class had never been more entertaining.

=

"I want no part in this!" Bella quickly excused herself from the conversation about Mike's upcoming snowball war. I, still being slightly sick, backed out too.

"But guys, it'll be fun." He tried to reason.

"I'm still sick, so I'll see you guys later." I walked towards my locker to grab my extra sketch pad for my homework.

School had ended and everyone was excited to go play in the snow while I was dreading walking in it just to get to Bella's truck. While trying to shove my sketch pad into my backpack, I dropped the entire bag and the contents inside spilled onto the floor by my feet. "Great," I grumbled and bent down to shove everything back inside the bag.

"Here you go." I glanced up and saw Emmett crouching beside me and holding out my books to me. I grabbed them from him and stood up to shove them into my locker. He picked up the rest of my things and placed them inside my discarded bag before handing it to me.

"Thank you." I smile slightly at him. I placed my backpack around my shoulders and closed my locker. I look away from him and turn to a yelling crowd of students who had just come in from playing in the snow. They were shaking their coats and beanies free of the flakes and I was hit with a few drops of cold water as they passed. "Nice." I wiped the droplets away with my hand.

"Don't like the snow?" Emmett asked. I turned to him, surprised that he was still next to me.

"I do just not when I'm sick," I told him, feeling my nose begin to itch, the urge to sneeze being strong.

"Is that why you weren't here yesterday?" He already knew the answer but he still asked the question.

"Yeah and now I have homework from yesterday to complete because of it." I groaned. "Plus I have to meet up with your brother for the art project." I began to slowly walk away from my locker towards the front doors of the school. I could hear Emmett's footsteps beside me so I knew he was walking with me - which I hoped he would do.

"You're his partner?" He asked. I could hear the surprise in his voice so I knew Jasper had withheld this information from him.

"Yeah, I am," I confirmed. We made it to the doors and I could see everyone laughing and enjoying themselves in the snow. I cringed at the thought of trying to dodge them as I walked to the truck. It wasn't something I wanted to do, especially in my hoodie. I wished I hadn't left my jacket in Bella's truck.

"You okay?" I didn't turn to him as I answered his question.

"Yeah, just trying to figure out the quickest and easiest way to get to the truck without getting hit by a snowball." I scanned the area but I couldn't find a path.

"Come on, I'll help you." He smiled down at me. His tall body towered greatly over me and I didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer. His large body would shield my small one easily and I smiled at the thought. I grab his outstretched hand and intertwined my small fingers with his large ones. I ignored the cold temperature of his hand assuming the cold weather had affected him like it did me, and followed closely behind him as he exited the school and begin to walk through the snowball war.

Kids immediately tried to avoid hitting him and chose to stop and stare at the two of us instead of continuing their fun. I could hear them start to whisper but I paid no mind to it - they whisper about me anyways. We made it to the truck unscathed and I found Bella already seated inside of it reading a book.

"Thank you." I squeezed his hand before I let it go and brought it back to my side. "I don't think I would've survived if it weren't for you." I smiled gratefully up at him.

"Anytime." He smiled back, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Be careful going home."

"I will, see you tomorrow Emmett." I smiled and let him open the truck door for me. "Goodbye." I climbed inside and buckled up as he closed the door. I waved through the window and he waved back before walking away.

"I saw that," Bella murmured from beside me. She put her book down, marked her page, and put the truck in reverse.

"That was nothing. We're just friends." I clarified. She ignored me and just backed out of the parking space.

"Boys are confusing." She finally said as she changed the gears to put the truck in drive.

"No the Cullen boys are confusing." I corrected her as we drove by their car on the way out of the parking lot.

"Agreed." She glanced with me at the boys that had preoccupied our minds. "The Cullen boys are more confusing than the average boy." As if they heard us, the Cullens and the Hales snapped their heads in our direction. The truck slowed to a stop as we waited in the line of cars that were trying to safely exit the school parking lot. Unfortunately, our truck was stopped just a few feet away from their cars. I could feel their eyes on us but I refused to look in their direction again.

"So when are you going to visit Grandma?" She asked me as we waited for the cars to move.

"Soon. I have the money saved but it's a long flight from here to Texas." I typed on my phone, sending a text to Dad telling him we might be a little late for dinner. We had planned to meet him at the Diner as soon as we left school. "When are you going to visit Mom in Florida?"

"Soon. I just- I'm worried that when I go visit her I won't want to come back." She chewed on her thumbnail anxiously.

"Well if you did decide to stay, no one would be mad," I assured her. "Besides I know how you feel. Grams isn't getting any younger and I'll hate leaving her behind when I go to visit. I stayed in Texas with her before and I loved it there. So I know exactly how you feel Bells." I smiled reassuringly at her.

"Yeah but I think I might have found a reason to stay." She smiled small.

"Is this reason named Edward Cullen?" I teased her. I glanced out the window and saw Edward staring at the ground with a big smile on his face.

"Oh shut up." She rolled her eyes. "But what about you huh? Is Emmett Cullen enough reason for you to stay?" I glanced away from Edward to look at Emmett who was staring at his jeep with a frown on his face.

"We're just friends Bells." I sighed. "Besides, you know that I'd never let a boy, or anyone, get close to me for obvious reasons." I stared at him with a small smile on my face but it quickly fades as I see his frown deepen.

"Clary you can't let your health problems keep you from living your life. The doctors said that as long as you have the treatment once a year to ensure everything is okay that you'll be fine. Take a chance." I sighed quietly and saw Emmett's head snap up quickly as he met my gaze heatedly. "Don't push him, give him a chance."

"Why are you always right?" I asked her, wiping away a tear that fell. I looked away from Emmett as the truck finally started to move and eyed Bella instead.

"Because I'm your big sister, I'm supposed to be wise." She scoffed.

"Sure, sure." I dismiss her with a smile.

=

That night my subconscious was filled with thoughts of Emmett Cullen. All these little scenarios played in my mind and my dreams felt so real. They felt wonderful. And it was suddenly clear to me.

I liked Emmett Cullen.

There was no denying it. That was the first night I fully dreamt of him and I found myself wanting to dream about him more. He intrigued me and I liked it. And Bella was correct once again, I needed to give him a chance.