Note: Emily's thoughts are in bold italic writing.



"Oh for fuck sake!" Shouted Emily as her entire cup of peppermint tea poured down her brand new jeans; Thankfully they were black.

"Hey, is everything okay?" A concerned stranger asked, handing Emily paper towels to dab herself down with.

"Yeah i'll be fine, sorry, i've only just bought thi..." Emily stopped in her tracks as her eyes met with the kind strangers. The kind, HANDSOME stranger. His stance is dominating, and so are his eyes, but in a soft, unintentional way. This man, this hot as fuck man with undercut black hair, skinny jeans and tattoos was staring straight into Emily's soul.

Holy shit, this guy is so hot. Who is he? Oh no, he's probably a psycho! All hot people are psychos! Please don't let him be a psycho. Damn it Ems, snap out of it, he's just a man. I can't look away from his eyes... Those beautiful, blue eyes and that perfectly chiseled face and that gorgeous smile and..

"Hello?!" Said god-like man standing before Emily, snapping her out of her dazed state.
His voice is much deeper than she was expecting. She could almost feel it vibrating through every bone in her body.

"Hello", Emily finally replied, smiling and feeling a little flushed. She wasn't entirely sure if it was the embarrassment or the fact she was in the presence of someone so unbelievably attractive. Either way, she looked utterly insane, standing there with her mouth stuck in a smile a pagient Queen would be proud of. By this point her teeth are getting dry and... Oh, it's stuck, the smile is actually stuck!

He speaks again, "Hey, i was just wondering if you were okay? You smashed into that glass door pretty hard and there's coffee everywhere, are you burnt? "Tea" Emily interrupts a bit more abruptly than she expected, she carries on.. "Sorry, it was tea and i'm fine thank you i don't drink it hot, thank God, or these jeans would have melted to my legs by now". The Handsome man laughed.

Oh wow, his laugh is melting my soul into a puddle on the floor next to this tea.

"Haha, let me buy you a new one, it's the least i can do for such a cute lady."

Lady?

"Thank you so much" Replied Emily, "You honestly don't have to, i can buy it myself!"

"Don't be silly, it's only a... What was it?"

"Peppermint tea. Half full with ice water. No sugar." A smiling Emily replies, partly to the Barista and partly to the beautiful man.

"Well, then it was only a Peppermint tea and it's no trouble to me."

"Ha, you're a poet!" Emily exclaimed.

OMG Why did i just say that out loud?

"Huh?" The stranger was puzzled.

"Oh. Sorry. It rhymed. D.. Don't worry."

"Here you go, Miss" Said the Barista passing over the Tea to Emily, saving the pair from a painfully awkward silence. Emily starts walking towards the door to leave.

"I hand you napkins, buy you a fresh tea and you can't even sit with me for 5 minutes? I don't even know your name."

"Oh. Sure, okay, i'll sit with you, sorry i just thought you'd be busy. My name's Emily." She replied, taking a seat.

"Emily. Cute, i'm Andrew. It's nice to meet you." He says leaning forward to shake Emily's hand.

He just rhymed again. Maybe he IS a poet?

"So, what brings you here?"

"You mean besides helping damsels in distress? I have a severe sandwich addiction that only this coffee shop can satisfy. I just moved to town and this is the first coffee place i found and i already refuse to go into a different one. What about you, what brings you here?" Andrew asks, looking genuinely interested in my answer."

"Just the tea. I've had a long day of shopping and i needed a little pick-me-up to get myself home. You just moved to town? I knew i didn't recognise you. How're you liking it? Are you here for anything in particular?"

"Just work. I like it here so far, i love being such a close drive to the ocean. Shopping? On your own?"

"No, i was with my friend Abby, she lives the other way." Emily says pointing with her thumb in the opposite direction.

A few more minutes of chatter later and Emily stands up. "I've gotta' go now 'cause it's gonna' start getting dark in a minute and i've still got to walk home with these bags."

"Do you need a ride?!"

"No thank you, seriously, i'll be fine! Plus we just met and if you murdered me i'd have wasted so much time and money on all of this." Emily laughs as she picks up her bags from the seat beside her.

"Good call! Hey do you have a pen or a lipstick or something?"

"Urm, yeah.." She said reaching for the lipstick that was specifically placed in a tiny compartment within her purse, then handing it over.

Why did he want lipstick? He'd better not waste it, it's my favorite one!

"Here's my number" Andrew says slowly while trying to concentrate, scribbling his number onto a clean napkin and handing it over. "I'm still new to town and i'm not 100% sure on my way around yet. Maybe you could help me out some day when you're free?".

"Sounds okay with me! As long as you bring me back here and treat me to this sandwich you're so fond of?"

"Deal! It was nice to meet you Emily." He said shaking her hand and gently holding on to her fingers for what seemed like forever.

"You too Andrew, drive safely." She said with kindness in her voice and fireworks in her eyes.

And with that, pair parted and made their seperate ways home.

---

The next morning Emily woke up to a weird virbation on the underside of her thigh, she didn't entirely hate it, not after the dream she'd just had about Andrew from the coffee shop, but it was starting to get irritating. Seconds later Emily realised it was her phone ringing. It was Abby, Emily best friend. They've only known each other for a year, but it feels like forever. Their friendship and love for each other is not to be trifled with.

Shit, it's Abby, what time is it? It's only 8am why is she calling me now? Something is wrong.

Emily swiped her thumb across the screen to answer her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Emmy!" The voice on the other line replied.

"Hey Abs, what's up? You know it's 8am right?"

"I know, i know, sorry! I just wanted to talk that's all. I don't feel so good."

"Sure, what's up? Is there anything i can do? Has something happened?"

"I don't know." Abby replied, her voice had changed from the perky up-beat 'hey'.

"Abigal. What's happened?!"

"Nothing's happened, i just don't know what's wrong. I feel...off."

"Off how?"

"Just different. Like. L..like. Oh i don't know, i can't explain it! It's like there's something wrong with my body lately. I'm so tired all the time, I don't want to eat anything, i don't even want to get up and shower most days anymore.
D'ya know what it's like actually? It's like a massive weight has landed on me, and no matter how hard i'm pushing it won't come off! Does that even make sense?"

"Yeah sort of, i guess. I don't know what to do or what i can suggest. You wanna' see a doctor or anyth..."

"NO!"

"Okay, okay! Do you think it might have something to do with school?"

"Mmm. What about school?"

"Well, the way people treat you is fucking vile Abby!! I know you're a strong person, but i can see that it gets to you and i know you don't like talking about it. But i KNOW you. I know when you're hurting. It hurts me so fucking much that you try to balance it all on your shoulders, every day! I'm here! I'm always here if you need me Abs, i promise!"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just embarrassing Em! I'm fucking 18 years old and i've been 'bullied' for my whole fucking life! I don't want to be that weak person anymore, but i just don't feel like i can be strong either. I'm tired! I'm SO TIRED!!" Abby's voice starts to break slightly. She's using every piece of energy her body can find to try and keep herself together.

"Drive here, come and get in bed with me!"

Abby doesn't respond. She knows that the second her mouth opens, the silent crying will turn into sobs.

Emily speaks again. "That wasn't a question Abby. I'll see you here in a few minutes. I'll get DVDs and extra pillows and anything that you want for breakfast. We can order in? Make French toast? Anything you want. It'll be and Emmy and Abby day, okay?"

A very deflated "Okay" came from the other end of the phone before Abby hung up.

While waiting for Abby to arrive, Emily unlocks her front door and walks back to her room. She finds a lipstick stained napkin on her night stand, picking it up remembering it was Andrew's number. She slowly and carefully typed the number into her phone, making sure it was correct.

"Hey, it's Emily from the coffee shop. The peppermint tea girl? I'm just texting you so you have my number too."

I hope he remembers me, or this could be totally cringy. Should i have even text him? He probably doesn't care! Why do i do dumb things when i'm sleepy?

10 minutes later Abby pulls up in her car. She walks into Emily's house as if it's her own, sporting her pyjamas and carrying a bottle of water. She heads straight to Emily's room, where she's waiting for her in bed.

A teary Abby takes one look at her best friend and starts to cry a little harder. Emily lifts the covers on her bed, motioning for Abby to get in next to her. A solid 15 minutes go by and Emily is still holding on to Abby, trying to comfort her more than she's ever needed to.

Abby's never acted like this before. She's the strong one! I guess everybody has their breaking point, and this is hers. I'm pretty sure she's snotted all over my clean pillow too. Never mind.

Finally, the crying stops. Abby is solidly asleep and Emily now can't move.

Aah, fuck it. it's only half 8, i may as well sleep too

It's now 1pm. Emily is woken yet again by a vibrating, only this time it was coming from her night stand, and it wasn't a call it was a text. Emily thought nothing of it, she gets texts all the time. But she picked up her phone and was pleasantly surprised to see that Andrew had text back. Her heart skipped a few beats as she unlocked her phone to read the text. With her left hand of course. Her entire right arm had been taken hostage by her best friend.

"Of course i remember you, i've never seen anybody almost headbutt a glass door before. I don't think i could ever forget you. Are you free today? Some plans i had fell through and i'm super craving a sandwich?"

Fuck. I can't go! I know i need to stay with Abby, but i want to go out so bad. Why did he have to ask me now? It's such a beautiful day out. I'm craving fresh air and now a sandwich. But Abby. I can't do that to her. I love her too much. She needs me right now and it's my duty as her best friend.

Emily reluctantly replies. "I'm so sorry i've promised my day to someone already. Next time? :("

Andrew instantly replies. "No problem! Have a good day. Let me know when you're free and i'll work something out. Kiss Face Emoji."

KISS FACE EMOJI?

Just as Emily promised, her entire day was dedicated to Abby. They cried with laughter watching stand up comedies, they ate so much pizza Abby had to lie down, they did face masks, they got in the jacuzzi late at night and they drank champagne. It was like a 90's chick-flick sleepover montage, just without the underwear pillow fight and the waxing (Who even does that stuff?). Speaking of the 90's... OF COURSE they watched Clueless. It was their film, it's like an unwritten law of their friendship.
As the Moon was at it's peak, the 2 girls layed outside on Emily's dad's comfy plush lawn furniture in the warm July air, looking up at the stars and putting the world to rights.

I really want to tell Abby about Andrew, but what if it's nothing? And i can't bring it up now. Today is meant to be about her, not me. I'll leave it! I'll tell her tomorrow!

"I wonder what it's like up there." Abby suddenly said breaking a 5 minute silence.

"Up where?"

"Surrounded by the stars, with not a care in the world and so far away nobody could hurt you." Replied Abby.

"That was more depressing that i expected Abs, haha! I bet it's wonderful, but there's nowhere else i'd rather be than right here on Earth with my best friends and my family by my side."

"Vom!"

"Oh shut up Abby!" Emily whispered as loud as she could.

"Nah, i'm joking. I love you really Em."

After a few hours outside under the stars, surrounded by dim garden lights, Devon, Emily's older brother comes outside. "Guys, it's 3am, you should probably go inside to bed, before you fall asleep out here." Devon is such a loving and protective older brother. He'd do anything for Emily, as long as it makes her happy. They get on like best friends, though they bicker a lot, like any siblings. 2 years ago when their parents went through a messy divorce, they found comfort in each other and have been inseperable ever since. They are each other's rock. They've both had to go through the same shit so they know equilly how it feels.

"Is it really 3? We've been out here for hours Abby!"

No reply

"Abby?!"

Finally a reply .. "Yeah?"

"Earth to Abby, it's 3am, let's get into bed."

"Oh is it? Yeah we'd better!" Replied Abby, eyes still fixed on the night sky.

The 2 best friends get into Emily's bed and watch Friends reruns until they fall asleep.

---

The next day Emily woke up around noon in an empty bed, all that was left from Abby was a note, it read: "Hey Emmms! I woke up super early and didn't wanna' wake you. You were snoring BTW, haha! Thanks so much for yesterday, you always know how to make me feel better. I've gone home now so there's no need to share your amazing bed anymore. I'll see you soooooon! Love you sister! Abbbs! xxx P.S I totally snotted on your pillow, i'll buy you a new one!"

She's hilarious. I'm glad i managed to cheer her up! I'll just quickly text her to let her know i got it.

"Got your little note, glad i helped. Love you more! xxx"

Hang on a minute. I don't have plans for today! Should i text Andrew?
I'm gonna' do it.
Wait, should i?

FUCK IT

"Hello. I'm free today if you wanted to hang out? I'm still craving that sandwich, hehe."

Hehe? Fucking hehe? What have i sent?! How old am i? 13? Fucking hell well he won't reply now will he? Moron. Why do i insist on sending him texts after I've just woken up?

Andrew text back an hour later. "Hey sure. Just with my new boss ATM, can't leave 'cause he's a family friend. Be ready in 2 hours and i'll meet you at the coffee shop?"

"Awesome, see you at 3!"

Okay. WHAT DO I WEAR?!

Notes