Two Vibrant Hearts

*Matt POV*

I drove to D-Rocks across town as fast as I could without speeding, hoping repeatedly that Emma would hear me out and cover for me. She probably wouldn’t though, I mean, Kid is her best friend. She’ll probably punch me in the face when I show up. Well, I didn’t think that plan through. I shook off my thoughts and turned up the radio loud, singing along to Pantera.

As I drove closer towards D-Rocks, I could see Emma’s black Escalade from the highway and someone standing near it. I chuckled to myself a little at how someone as small as Emma could drive an Escalade. But I got over the thoughts and sighed loudly, ready to face the 5’3” wrath of Emma. I made the turn and slowly drove over to D-Rocks, where Emma was waiting outside. I tried to think of a funny joke to say to lighten her up, but I had nothing, so I decided just to wing it. I crawled into the parking space right next to her and smiled awkwardly at Emma, who was staring at me with blank green eyes. I slid out of my car and walked over to her.

“So I’m here to slash your tires,” I laughed nervously, taking out my pocket knife and opening it. Emma smiled a little and rolled her eyes, which made me feel like I didn’t completely fail at trying to lighten her up. I perked up a little and she raised her eyebrows, which made me slump again.

“You have a lot of explaining to do mister.” Emma said, giving me a look. I was about to speak when her phone went off a few times and she groaned. She took out her phone and showed it to me. Her inbox was full of messages from Johnny and Jimmy about her ‘flat tire’. I gave her a cheesy smile and she stared at me. “So why exactly did you lie?”

“Well I came here to ask that you cover for me, actually.” I admitted, scratching the back of my head. Emma looked at me and I sighed. “Please can you help me out so the guys aren’t on my back about lying?”

“Someone already knows about you lying,” Emma mumbled, looking down. I widened my eyes and looked at her phone.

“How?” I questioned, my eyes bulging. She looked up at me and pursed her lips. “Did you answer Johnny or Jimmy?”

“No. But I answered Jessi.” Emma answered. I groaned, remembering that Kid was there and probably texted Emma.

“Fuck. I forgot about Jessica.” I muttered. Emma raised an eyebrow at me and her eyes widened a little.

“Did you just call her Jessica?” Emma asked incredulously. I nodded slowly and she laughed a little. “Don’t call her that to her face.”

“Why?” I questioned curiously. Emma rolled her eyes and shifted her weight, leaning against her car.

“She’d either be heart broken or punch you in the face.” Emma answered. I raised an eyebrow and she laughed, “probably both.”

“What’s her beef with her name?” I asked, honestly curious about this situation. I knew she didn’t like her name that much, but I didn’t understand why.

“Jessi hates her real name.” Emma responded. I motioned for her to continue and she just shrugged. “There’s nothing else to it. She’s just always hated her name.”

“You call her Jessi,” I pointed out. Emma nodded and I continued to stare at her.

“She doesn’t enjoy that either, but she likes it better than Jessica.” Emma explained. I nodded and it was silent for a few minutes. I sighed and looked at her, feeling embarrassed that Kid knew I lied just to get out of there.

“So do you want to hang out for a little bit?” I asked, feeling awkward. I hadn’t hung out with Emma all that much, partially because she’s always with Johnny and partially because I had my problems with Kid at the time. Emma looked up at me and gave me a look.

“Why don’t you go back to Zach’s so it doesn’t look so suspicious that you didn’t return after ‘helping me with my flat tire’?” Emma rationalized. I thought about it for a second, not wanting to return. Although I wanted to hang out with the guys and talk to James a bit more, I wouldn’t be able to stand being in the same room with Kid. I looked at Emma and bit my lip.

“Because I can’t be around Kid.” I answered, my voice quiet. Emma gave me a soft look before nodding.

“Sure, let’s hang out. Your house or mine?” Emma asked. I thought about it for a second before looking back at her.

“Yours. I think I heard something about Ki-Jessica going to Jimmy’s tonight, so she won’t be going home. And the guys would probably come looking for me at my house when they leave.” I explained. Emma smirked and I sighed.

“For someone who’s trying to call her by her real name, you’re really sucking at it.” Emma snickered. I stuck my tongue out at her and she flipped me off.

“Shut up. I’m trying. It’s hard when you’ve never called her Jessica before.” I complained. “Let’s just go.” Emma nodded and got into her car. I got into mine and rolled my passenger seat window and leaned over to the other seat. Emma rolled her window down and waited for me to speak. “I think I’m actually going to slash your tires to make it look realistic.”

“You do that and I will slash your stomach.” Emma threatened. I gave her an appalled look and she laughed before rolling her window up and pulled out of the parking lot. I drove behind her, constantly riding her ass just to piss her off. At one point, Emma rolled down her window and stuck her middle finger out towards me. I burst out laughing and made a heart out of my hands, hoping that she could see me through her rearview mirror. I drove up next to her and initiated a race, so we both were speeding down the highway trying to see who could get to the apartment first. I didn’t remember where it was, so Emma won by a few minutes because she turned where I was supposed to and I had to make a complete circle to get back to the turn. When I got to the apartments, Emma was standing in front of her car laughing her ass off. I parked and got out, punching her shoulder as she continued to laugh at me.

“I can’t believe you missed the turn!” Emma roared, coiling into a standing fetal-position. I rolled my eyes and pushed her before walking into the building. Emma followed after me, still laughing like a hyena.

“Are you done?” I questioned as we reached her apartment, leaning against the wall. Emma shook her head and continued laughing as she unlocked the door. We entered the house and I immediately went to the kitchen and grabbed myself a beer. I sat myself across Emma’s couch as Emma calmed herself down on the seat that I think Kid once referred to as ‘Emma’s and Johnny’s suck-face-and-have-sex chair’. She smirked at me and I returned it, taking a sip of my beer.

“Why are you trying to call Jessi Jessica instead of Kid?” Emma questioned. I shrugged and Emma gave me a look. “Don’t be a bitch, spit it out.”

“We’re not on speaking terms, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to call her by the nickname her besties call her.” I replied, scowling a little. Even though she began being friends with all of us at the same time, now that all the shit was happening between us, I felt kind of territorial about my friends. I haven’t hung out with them in a long time and that’s because she was there instead of at home with Emma. With that fresh in my mind, I looked at Emma with an eyebrow raised. “Speaking of her besties, why isn’t she staying here anymore? You know, in her own home?”

“After being around a crying Jessi for so many years, it physically hurts to watch her being a ball of tears, so I suggested she stay with people who would take care of her for the time being.” Emma explained, stretching her legs out. I nodded and bit at my lip, a pang of guilt running through me. “But I mean when I saw her earlier she looked okay, so I think she may be coming back soon.” I nodded again and Emma sighed, pulling her phone out. It was silent for a few minutes before Emma looked up at me for a second before smirking. “And as for the girl problems, why aren’t you talking to her?”

“Did you not hear about what happened between us?” I asked, kind of shocked. I was sure she’d hear from Ki-Jessica—you know what, fuck it, I’m just gonna stick with Kid—she’d hear about it from Kid, or at least Johnny. Emma nodded and I narrowed my eyes a little, extremely confused.

“I was there when Brian brought her in drenching wet the day she went to talk to you.” Emma informed me. I pursed my lips a little bit, not wanting to think about sending Kid on her way when it was pouring rain outside. When I saw that it had started raining after I went inside, I almost went out and took her into my house so she wouldn’t get drenched, but then I remembered what just happened and I voted against it. “And let me tell you, she was shaking like a Chihuahua. Like Brian’s blanket was completely soaked when he wrapped her in it, it was-“

“Enough with how cold and wet Kid was, Emma.” I snapped, feeling my blood spike up a little. Even though I felt a little bad about her getting soaked, the memories of that day also brought up the pent-up feelings I had about everything. Emma raised her eyebrows and I let out a deep breath.

“Fine, sassy pants.” Emma muttered. I glared at her and she rolled her eyes. “She told us about it and stuff, but I mean why don’t you just talk to her?”

“Because there’s too much memories and feelings and shit from Gayle that Kid just totally ignored that I don’t even want to try to talk things out.” I answered, flinching a little at the truth in my words. It would be so hard to talk to Kid after seeing that she didn’t care enough about what Gayle did to me to stop being friends with her or to even tell me about being friends with my ex-girlfriend in the first place. Emma smirked and shrugged.

“If I were a good friend I’d talk to you and fix stuff,” Emma began, stretching her back. I raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked more. “But I found out a long time ago that if I leave Jessi to fix her own things, they turn out better than if I were to meddle.”

“So technically you are being a good friend, because you’re having Kid fix her life on her own,” I commented, pointing at her. Emma shrugged and looked at me.

“Although that is true, you seem dead-set on not talking to her or thinking about her other than in an angry way because of all that has happened,” Emma pointed out. I wanted to disagree with her, but she was kind of right. Although I did kind of miss Kid, I didn’t want to talk to her, especially if she was going to try to fix this. I knew deep inside that she deserved a chance to explain herself since it worked out the last time, but she’d probably make up some bullshit to try to get out of it and I wouldn’t have that. It was silent for a few minutes as I absentmindedly sipped on my beer and Emma played on her phone. The silence continued until Emma looked up at me with bored eyes. “So why exactly did you not go back to Zach’s?”

“Are you asking if there’s any other reason besides the obvious reason?” I questioned. Emma shrugged and I sighed. “There’s no other reason. I just couldn’t be around Kid. I couldn’t stop staring at her.”

“Did you notice that she was a little bit over-dressed to meet Zach’s dad?” Emma inquired. I gave her a confused look and she stared at me.

“What are you implying?” I asked. Emma shrugged again and looked back at her phone, although I could see her stealing glances at me.

“Nothing. I was just saying it’s kind of weird that she’s trying to look good for Zach’s dad.” Emma replied, shrugging. I blinked at her, confusion running across my face. Emma sighed and looked at me. “Oh come on. I can’t be the only one that thinks there’s something going on with Zach and Jessi.”

“… You think that?” I questioned, sitting up a little bit. Emma stared at me with a conflicted look on her face, probably contemplating whether she should talk to me about what she thinks. After a while she threw her phone on the couch and scooted forward on the chair a little.

“I can’t help but have my suspicions,” Emma began. I leaned in a little bit and Emma let out a breath. “I mean they’re with each other all the time and I mean they give out some signs to a secret relationship. But Jessi insists that nothing’s going on.”

“… So I’m not the only one that thinks Kid and Zach may be hiding something.” I stated, staring in complete shock. Emma gave me a look and I continued to look at her.

“No, you’re not.” Emma said. I bit my lip, feeling slightly angry. “I mean before you and her got together they’d go out all the time and stuff, and let’s not forget how they were refusing at the spin-the-bottle game. The only ones that refused. I don’t know, doesn’t that seem kind of suspicious to you?”

“It sure does,” I hissed, getting increasingly angry. Now that I thought about, it did seem like they were always with each other. They probably have had a thing together for a while and thought they were keeping it secret. Well obviously they didn’t hide it well enough. Emma immediately noticed my anger and her eyes widened.

“Fuck, I just started a shit-storm, didn’t I?” Emma sighed. I shook my head and stood up.

“I’m gonna go home now. But thanks for letting me come over,” I said, my voice tight. I turned to go when I heard Emma throw herself off the chair and a second later I felt Emma’s hand on my arm. She turned my around and I looked at her face, which was pale and worried.

“Matt, don’t start thinking that they’re together, okay?” Emma pleaded. I stared at her and she tightened her grip on my arm. “Seriously Matt. I never said they were together, and I doubt they would be. Jessi really likes you, and she doesn’t just play with guys. I was just explaining how it was kind of suspicious. Please Matt. I feel like such a shit friend. Please don’t take what I said to heart.”

“I won’t Emma. Promise.” I said, my voice softening a little. She nodded and bit her lip as she let go of my arm. I waved to her and headed out, forgetting my beer. I stomped down the stairs and out to my car, anger boiling over me. Even though there’s no proof to it, there are a lot of signs pointing to Kid and Zach being together. I had always suspected it, ever since I saw them together out in my backyard the second day Kid was around. I drove home with my hands tight around the wheel, my knuckles going white. I didn’t like thinking there was a possibility to them doing this to me, but now it infuriated me to such a high point that I wasn’t the only one that noticed it. So much for the small hope of things getting better soon.