"I guess... We do what we can together during the time we have left together. We still have school, yeah, but we can still hang out- not during school..." Emma smiles.
"I just don't want to leave... We only have a week left, Emma... I don't want to leave you..."
"Just come back as soon as you can! Jade turns eighteen two weeks after you leave. You'll be gone two weeks, at the shortest..." She reaches out a hand and pats Norman's head.
"And what about when I come back?"
"We'll figure that out... Some time when I get back, okay?" He takes a step toward her and embraces her in a hug.
"I won't be long at all."
...
"I don't know... I knew you two liked-" Jade's sentence was cut off.
"Wait, you knew he liked me?" Emma asks.
"Yeah, idiot! I wouldn't tell you my brother's secret!" Jade laughs. "I mean... I know you don't want him to leave... He has to, though. He is fourteen. I am seventeen. Neither of us can live alone, and definitely not along with someone else. Who else knows about it?"
"Just us, and you. I don't know who to tell..."
"I think... I think you should probably tell your dad. He'll probably be angry if you just keep a relationship a secret," Jade tells her. "I know that from my mom; she told me it happened to her. She died when I was six or seven. Someone killed her. It was the most traumatic event that happened to me."
"Oh, okay..." Emma replies, not even bothering to find a good response.
"I also think I should tell Ace. I know he doesn't exactly care about what happens between you two, but I think he would be confused or even angry if you got into a relationship with Norman and didn't even say anything to anyone, knowing him," Jade says.
"This is off topic, but how did you meet Ace?"
"We, uh, we were friends as kids. I mean we've had fights, as you can see, but..."
"Yeah, how Norman described it I could tell I didn't want to fight with you... Even he was scared," Emma murmurs.
"I get that a lot. It's fine, since I do carry around knives everywhere I go. It's for self-defense though." Jade smiles.
"Maybe you can try to reason with him. Don't be- or even seem- angry, just-"
"Already tried that," Jade says, cutting off Emma's sentence. "It'll just start another fight, and that will scare my brother, and it could also ruin things or damage our relationship. I'm fine staying there the whole summer. It's cold where his family lives; I like it, but if it's for my brother, I'd do anything, even leave a cold place for a scorching hot summer here."
"Yeah, but you don't have to. I mean, I could ask if I could go with you, since it would make sense because I'm literally in a relationship with your brother."
"I don't know. With that plan, though, I could stay in the cold instead of staying here. I don't think it's going to work, but if it does, I'll pay for anything. I get enough pay to buy you things."
"Oh, I can't really find a job since I'm fourteen, but I have some money. Maybe not enough to go, but it's okay; it was just a small idea. My dad probably won't let me go to probably another state with a guy I've known for three months, and he's never met."
"It's fine. If you can, I'll pay for anything!" Jade smiles, then looks at the ground. "It's okay for me to do that. I have pay from my job and YouTube. I don't get a lot from it, but it's enough to get more than what I need."
"You don't need to waste anything just so I could-"
"Ah, it's fine. You don't have a job, or at least a paying one, so I'd pay for it. I wish I could do good things like this more often," Jade says, cutting Emma's sentence off. "Wouldn't expect that from me, knowing my personality, would you?"
"Are you sure that you can take me? I mean, you only said that Ace had to go." Emma asks.
"He didn't have to, his sister asked him to come, and he reluctantly promised to. I think that Halley would also like to meet you. She's very social, unlike her brother. Ace would do anything to get out of a conversation. I mean anything, including hurting the person he talks to," Jade laughs. "No one really talks to him, though. He only has a few friends."
"Yeah, I've talked to him a few times. He does seem to just walk away when I stop talking for a second."
"He doesn't do that to me..." She pauses. "He will tell someone he's close to things all day. He likes talking, but he's just quiet and he doesn't like strangers. Can't blame him, he's been in fights with some, no, a lot of people."
"Oh, he does? He does seem kind of distant, like he fights a lot..."
"I should probably go. Someone's got to be worried about me. Bye!" Jade stands up, smiling. She walks away.
...
"So, in conclusion, you met this guy three months ago, he lost his memories, then he said he liked you, now he's leaving for probably the summer, and you want to go with him?" Yugo asks.
"Yeah, and Jade said she'd pay for anything I need," Emma replies, embarrassed. "Sorry I told you just now. It was kind of quick."
"What do you think I'd say?"
"No, probably not. It was just an idea."
"You're fourteen. I'd probably let you go with them if you were maybe sixteen or seventeen."
"I was expecting that. Sorry," Emma apologizes.
...
"Jade has a random obsession with trees. She draws them a lot and always replies with, 'Tree' if someone asks her something she doesn't want to answer. It's weird," Norman says, pointing to a tree. "She always used to sit under that one."
"Jade is weird. She acts like everything's fine while what she says makes me think she's absolutely miserable," Emma comments. "How are you doing with your memory?" She asks, changing the subject.
"I'm fine. The last thing I recovered was being bullied until fifth grade," he replies. "And that I used to have a cat. Before I met Jade. I don't remember his name. He was gray and fluffy."
"I like cats, but they're mean. Cute, but mean."
"Not all of them are," he says. "My cat was really nice. He always wanted me to pet him. I think he liked me more than some others."
"You could say that. They're always mean to me," Emma pouts like a child.
Norman laughs. "You're cute."
"Shut up!" Emma blushes.
He grabs her hand, says "Fine, I will," and they both laugh.
"You're leaving tomorrow already...?"
"Sadly, I am. It's okay, though. When I get back, we'll be happy together."
Emma smiles. "I wish I could go with you... Jade said that Halley would like me."
"I haven't talked to Halley since before I lost my memory, but she would. She likes everyone, according to Jade," Norman tells her.
"Of course, she does." They sit under the tree for a few minutes, thoughts running through both their heads.
...
Emma picks up her phone, which is ringing very loudly.
It's not even 7:00 yet. It's still a little dark outside...
The light from the phone hurts her eyes.
A call from Jade.
She answers.
"Hello!" Jade greets, sounding wide awake.
"Hey, Jade!"
"Want to hang out today before I leave?" She asks.
"Sure," Emma replies.
"Okay! What about eight?"
"Alright," Emma replies and hangs up. Making plans two hours before you actually do anything, just like her...
...
"Hello!" Jade calls. "Sorry for calling so early, but I'd forget unless I called you at that time..."
"It's alright," Emma replies. "I don't usually get that angry in the mornings."
The three of them talk for a while.
"I'm hungry!" Jade complains, pouting like a child would.
"Same," Norman says.
"I didn't have breakfast," Emma replies.
"Let's get lunch, then! Anyone want sushi?" Jade asks.
"I don't think there are many restaurants that have sushi around here."
"Then I don't know. I don't usually go out for food. I kind of just find whatever I have and make it into a dinner or lunch."
"I kind of like that one place that has- well, kind of everything. I don't know what it's called, but it has really good food," Emma requests.
"Well, you don't know its name, then we can't eat there," Jade replies, shrugging. "I guess we can just get whatever. It's hot; I want ice cream."
They both nod.
"But I don't know any good ice cream places. I usually get the ice cream from the store."
"I haven't gotten it in a while, so I forgot the name of the place I really like."
"I forgot anything," Norman jokes.
"Alright, we could just go to my house. We have food there," Jade says, tired of hunger. "Like, I have a lot of fish. My favorite meat. Fish."
"Not that surprising," Emma replies.
"Alright, let's go then," Jade says.
...
"So, uh, I should go make some food, so you two can do something on my Switch. Just don't question my CocoMelon is in my YouTube search history. I had to babysit a bunch of damn kids, and they wanted to watch CocoMelon. I tried to tell them we should watch anime, but-"
"Ace said you can't show little kids violent anime," Norman says, shutting Jade off.
"Yeah, says him," Jade mutters. "I think it's fine. How did you know that? Thought you had amnesia."
"I guessed."
"Well, I guess you're good at guessing," Emma says. "When are you leaving...?"
"Way to change the subject!" Jade laughs. "Some time around six, I think. No, nine. Ten?"
"I think it was eight," Norman tells her.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Jade says. "Alright, uh, I made some food. Not that good at it, since Ace usually cooks, and I do the other work, like yard crap and stuff."
...
"Uh, it's getting around seven thirty. I think I should go," Emma says, standing up from the couch. "I had fun today!"
Norman stands up and gives her a goodbye hug. "Goodbye, I love you..."
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I think Halley is going to really like having people in her house. I donno. I imagine her to be the complete opposite of her brother130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMcI4CovtH
