The Chosen Path

Chapter Four

"Of course I trust you," Jake told her. "If you say he's okay," he blew out a breath, "I guess he's okay."

"Thank you," Emily said, giving him a quick hug, "that means a lot to me."

He nodded. "Can I ask...what's with Tony anyway? I mean he's so different than the rest of you. How did he even become friends with all of you?"

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, "We met in high school junior year. He just moved here and wanted a different life experience, and thought why not give high school a try?"

"He really does like to torture himself, doesn't he? High school?" Jake raised an eyebrow.

"That he does. Anyway, he was mostly a real jerk; you know how he can be. But... I could see his pain all over him. And it hurt me to see that in him. I could see down deep he was really a great guy, but he lived in pain and that pain fed on him. He couldn't get out of it. It was too much for him," she said, clutching her chest as if it hurt her just to talk about it.

"Eventually, I tried talking to him about it. He, of course, got all bent out of shape, telling me to mind my own business. But he came around a while later, and he actually talked to me some. We became friends and then we...we actually... dated for quite awhile," she said, biting her lower lip nervously and looked over to him as if to judge his reaction to the fact that she had dated Tony.

"Tony," he said, knowing it to be true, but it still hurt to know she'd dated anyone. He wanted her for himself. Since he first saw her, he felt an instant connection to her. He'd never felt that way about anyone before. With his history, he didn't form attachments easily. But one look at Emily and he knew that he would lay down his life for her. He would do everything he could to make sure she was always happy. That she always had a smile on her face. That she would never be hurt or cry...

"Yes, Tony," she said, looking at him thoughtfully. "Does it bother you that we dated?"

"You're not dating anymore?" Jake wanted confirmation. Tony seemed awfully possessive where Emily was concerned.

"No," she shook her head. "We're not. And I don't love Tony the way he wants me to love him. But I do love him as a friend," she said fondly. "We're friends, that's all," she told him firmly. "And really, that's all we've ever been," she explained as if she wanted him to be okay with it. That she cared what he thought.

"He hasn't accepted that you're not more than friends," Jake stated, knowing that was true by how Tony behaved differently around her then he did the others.

She sighed. "Not completely. But Tony knows we're over. That we never were anything more than friends. But he hasn't had any kind of love in such a long time. He takes what he can get. And then he gets... confused by it," she said. "He still needs time."

"What about him and Raven? Are they an item? They're always flirting," Jake smiled in amusement. He loved watching them flirt. It was like an art form. They easily bantered back and forth, each giving better than the last. Jake wished he was half as good at it.

He didn't even know where to begin with Emily. Here he was now, all alone in the middle of the night, with Emily and they were talking about her ex. How romantic was he?

"No. They just like to flirt. And they're good at it with each other. They know the other one is just kidding around," she explained. "It wouldn't be a bad match though," she said, again looking at him with a smile. "They'd make a good couple if they'd give it a chance."

He nodded. "How'd you meet Raven?" he asked curiously. Raven wasn't anything like Emily either.

He imagined Raven hanging out with the goth kids, while Emily would be hanging with the cheerleaders, nerds and drama geeks. An odd assortment, but Emily was unique in accepting all sorts of people.