Chapter 6

✱Emma's POV✱

This is it. Today, I will lose all of my best friends. They are not going to talk to me again. Ever. Especially Noah, whose sitting right beside me.

Before I drown in an ocean of self pity, let me give you a short recap of how my day was and explain what is happening right now.

You see, after I left the campus and got here, on time may I add, I learnt that there was actually no meeting I needed to be in today and that it was all a wicked scheme by my so called friends to get me here. Even Mike laughed at me once he got to know that I had fallen into their trap. I pretended to be mad at these 3 idiots for a while before giving up, because honestly, I missed them, a lot.

Before leaving us to our own, Mike informed me that this weekend, there was a gala which I was required to attend. Apparently, some businessman needs our help. I would tell you more, but Mike didn't care to elaborate. He said that he'd explain about it on the way to the venue on Saturday.

Now the 4 of us, Carter, Noah, Megan and I, are sitting on the floor around the table in the living room of my apartment in the headquarters with 7 cards each in our hand and looking at each other with intense stares. Just in case it isn't clear, we are playing UNO and the 7 cards I have received are 4 +4 cards, 2 yellow +2 cards and 1 blue+2 card.

Are these cards kidding me?

How can this even happen? How can one freaking person get all the +4s in the deck and 3 +2s to fill the gap?

The 3 of them looked up at me and told me to start. I gulped.

If they kill me today, could you please tell my brother that I killed his goldfish because it was barking a lot?

Wait... Goldfishes don't bark.

Also, my brother didn't have a goldfish.

You don't even have a brother, you dumbass!!!

Yeah.... Oops?

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Darkness. That is all I could see as I felt a heavy unsettling weight through my entire body.

Am I dying?

No, you idiot, your friends are all sitting on you after the wonderful game of UNO you all just played and darkness is all you can see because your eyes are closed.

Oh... That explains it.

" Guys, please get off me. I'm suffocating here! "

" You should have thought of that before using all of those cards on us. You didn't show mercy on us when you used those god awful cards on us, why should we show mercy on you" Carter sneered.

" Carter please, you guys are my best friends. Megan please convince these 2 to get off me." I pleaded to Megan, who was also sitting on me, may I add, hoping that she would show some mercy on me, because she's the one who usually breaks up things like this.

Not in this case apparently.

Shut up!

I'm your inside voice, you can't silence me. I am a free voice and clearly the smarter one.

You just said that you are my inside voice, how can you be smarter than -

My thoughts were cut off when Megan said, " Because, most of the times you 3 fight, I'm not included in the reason, but this time I have suffered because of you. I had to draw 16 cards you bitch! 16! You reap what you sow."

" But it's not like I took those cards on purpose. It's the deck. It's cursed."

"Really?" Noah said and started getting up when Carter pulled him back and said, "Don't fall for it, you idiot. How can a deck of cards be cursed. Babygirl, there's nothing you can do to get out of this."

" Guys please, I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" All 3 of them said with identical mischievous looks on their faces.

"Anything." I confirmed.

Slowly, I felt them get off me one after the other and I was finally able to breath.

Phew!

3 hours and an empty wallet later, we are all making our way back Carter's car.

My hands are full with more than 10 bags.

Yes, in compensation for the UNO game, I had to take them shopping.

Don't take this lightly, this is one of the worst thing they could have done.

That is for 2 reasons, firstly because I'm not a huge fan of shopping and secondly because they love it. Every single trip to the mall becomes a shopping spree for them. The proof to my above statement is the fact that I'm carrying so many bags in my hands. To say they went overboard shopping would be an understatement.

Just because your best friend is paying your bill, it doesn't mean that you can buy whatever you want, right? All 3 of them have bought completely unnecessary things.

For example, Noah bought a pet rock.

A fucking Pet Rock!

What is the point of it? It's not like you can put a leash on it take it on a walk. Oh and he named it Mr.Fluffy. Wonderful name, isn't it. Perfectly apt.

"I hate you guys! Just because I agreed to pay, doesn't mean you can buy everything you set your eyes on. I don't know which part hurts more. The fact that you guys emptied my pocket on completely unnecessary things or that you took me shopping. "

" Mr.Fluffy was not unnecessary." Noah gasped, apparently offended. "Just look at him. He is so cute." He started cooing. This earned him a smack on the back of the head by me.

"Osito, I'm gonna repeat this for the millionth time, that is a rock. A freaking ROCK!" I exclaimed.

"I'm with Mia on this. That was an unnecessary thing to buy." Megan agreed and so did Carter.

"You don't get to tell me what's necessary and what's unnecessary. Mr.Fluffy is the best pet as far as pets go and he's a better friend than any of you will ever be. I don't want you 3 hurting his feelings." Noah countered looking back at the 3 of us with narrowed eyes.

"For the last fucking time, you idiot, THAT IS A ROCK. A FREAKING FISHING FUCKING ROCK! ROCKS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE PETS! ROCKS DON'T HAVE FEELINGS! NOW SHUT UP BEFORE I TAKE THIS SAME ROCK AND THROW IT ON YOUR HEAD!!!" Megan yelled.

Of course, after this started yet another infamous Noah vs Megan fight.

Oh man... This is gonna take a while. I slowly backed away and went and stood next to Carter.

"If they're not done in 5 minutes, we're leaving them here." I mumbled, looking at him.

"You wouldn't do that. Even if I tried to drag you away, you wouldn't leave them behind, you wouldn't ever leave any of us behind." He said in a way which seemed as though he was trying to convince himself.

"Mase, what's this about?"

" I- I guess it's just this mission you're on right now, you're going to college Babygirl, and I guess a part of me is just afraid that you'll make new friends there and forget all about us, about me." He replied, looking anywhere but my eyes.

I gently took his face in my hands and made him look at me.

" Mase, you've been my best friend since the day I was born. No matter what happens, no matter how many friends I make, I will never forget about you, or any of you for they matter."

" I know that." He said with a small smile on his face.

"And you know that you didn't didn't have to do this right?" He continued, motioning towards the bags in my hands. "It wasn't your fault that you got those cards. You could have gotten us off you in 10 seconds."

"I know. I just felt like letting you guys have it your way." I looked back at him, grinning.

It was only after we threatened to leave them there, did Megan and Noah stop fighting and get in the car.

Why don't they just get together already. It's like everyone else but them can see the chemistry between them. I just hope that one day they they both come to their senses and make cute little babies.

On our way back to the headquarters, for some reason we all were quiet. Maybe it's just because Noah is talking softly to his rock, Megan still seemed slightly riled up and Carter, who was driving, was lost in his own world. That left me with my thoughts.

The idiots in this car are my life and I'd do anything for them. I don't think I can imagine my life without any of them.

I've known and been best friends with Carter as long as I can remember. Almost all of us have that one friend we don't remember befriending because that's just how long they've been around. That friend was Carter to me.

Noah made our duo a trio when we were 14 and Megan joined a year later. But those are stories for another time. The point is that they've always been there for me. We're all always there for each other. Yet sometimes, I feel so lonely and that makes me feel so guilty.

My thoughts were cut off when Carter announced that we had reached.

After hanging out with them for a few more hours, I decided to leave.

I was making my way to the parking lot, which is a long journey, let me add, when I got a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Blue"

" Ryder? Who gave you my number?"

"I took it from Olivia earlier."

" Oh! Okay, why'd you call?"

" Wow Blue! That was blunt. Almost hurt my feelings there."

" Sorry, that was slightly rude."

" I was just kidding. Anyways, I called to tell you that after you left in a hurry, I went and spoke to Ms.Vaughn. She said that costumes and sentiment would gain is bunny points, so- "

" Um Ryder, they're brownie points, not bunny points."

" Brownie points, bunny points, they're the same. "

At this point, I knew better than to try and correct him.

" My point is that for the waltz, I thinking that maybe we could wear costumes and develop a theme to the dance- like something sentimental. I can find a gown to rent from somewhere for you. I think one of those flowy ones will do."

" The costumes and the sentiment are a good idea. Let's both think about the theme and discuss about it tomorrow. As for you renting a gown for me, that won't be necessary, I have plenty gowns, I'm sure I can find a flowy one amongst them."

"You have plenty gowns? Why do you have plenty gowns?"

" That's none of your rat's tail, you nosy person. "

"Rat's tail? What the hell does that mean?" He sounded amused.

"None of us have the time for this, trust me."

" Oh no, I have all the time in the world for this. Please do go ahead."

" Well, I don't have the patience to listen to your annoying voice for that long."

" Excuse me! If anyone's voice is annoying, it's yours."

That's how I spent my car ride back home, bickering with Blake Ryder. The asshole who split his Gatorade all over me the day we first met and was a jerk about it later.

I felt like I'd skipped a few chapters of my life, the chapters where Ryder and I became friends, but for some reason, it felt right.

I knew that Ryder and I were nowhere close to being friends. But there was something about talking to him, even if it was just arguing that filled me with a weird kind of warmth.

It was like all the worries and stress I had were just lifted and thrown away,

it was a good feeling.