Emilia let out a yawn as she stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. She had gotten home late last night after departing with Rylie and had trouble sleeping.

She couldn’t get her best friend out of her mind and what she had been going through all these years. She knew about her mother and the circumstances of their strained relationship, but Rylie had always put on a brave front and avoided the topic.

Emilia’s mother was no longer with them, and she missed her but she knew her mother loved her unconditionally. She spent many good years with her and those are memories she’ll cherish forever. Rylie’s mom was alive but there was no love, just an emptiness that would never be filled.

She dragged herself out of bed and opened her bedroom door to head to the bathroom. Her nose picked up an aroma she hadn’t smelled in a long time. Her eyes lit up and she dashed to brush her teeth and wash her face.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she was welcomed with a plate of pancakes, toast and scrambled eggs; just the way she liked them. At the sink with his back turned, was Yuki washing the dishes with the apron still on.

“Yuki?” He turned around at his name being called and smiled.

“Good morning sleepyhead. Go ahead and eat, me and your dad already ate. You just missed him.”

She nodded and took a bite. God, did she miss these pancakes.

“Dad made these right? There’s no way you did, you hate waking up early!”

“I hate it but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it,” He playfully flicked water onto her face and turned back around to rinse the plates.

She watched his back while she ate and reminisced on all the times he’d been there for her and supported her like a real brother. She never wondered what it was like having a sibling growing up, but Yuki was the closest thing to one and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

He was finishing the last of the dishes when he was startled by arms wrapping around his stomach in a back hug.

“Thanks Yuki!”

He grabbed her wrists and pulled them apart. She backed away confused as he turned around to face her.

“W-what was that for?”

“Just for being you.”

“Please don’t do that again,” he dried his hands on a nearby towel. Confused, Emilia stared at him and stepped forward.

“What’s wrong? We used to hug each other all the time growing up.”

“I just…don’t feel comfortable. We’re both adults now.”

“All I’m doing is giving you a hug though. I hug my guy friends, you hug your female dancers; I don’t see what the problem is. What wrong Yuki? Did I do something to upset you?”

She took another step forward to read his facial reaction and was now in front of his face. He looked up to meet her gaze and flinched. He pushed past her and ran upstairs to his own room, slamming the door behind him.

He paced back and forth in his room and took deep breaths. He didn’t know what was happening. In the last few weeks, his mind had been all over the place and he could barely focus. He found himself worrying about Emilia.

Wondering how her mom’s death was affecting her, worrying about her staying out late, worrying about this James guy she started hanging out with. Where did he come from anyways? They went to the same school but weren’t in the same program or clubs.

He stood still for a moment and put a hand over his heart to feel it beating fast and hard against his chest. Minutes passed and his heart was still beating at the same pace. Then it hit him, why he had been acting so strange lately.

He was falling in love with Emilia.

Did something change in their relationship? Did he always feel this way and it was dormant until now? They had both dated other people, although none had really lasted long. Was it because this James fellow had entered the picture? Emilia had always taken the shallow approach and developed crushes because of their looks. But since her mother had passed, dating was the last thing on her mind and she had developed a deep connection with James without realizing.

He leaned against his bedroom wall and slumped to the floor with his knees in front of him. While in a daze, his eyes darted towards a framed photo of the two of them on his shelf, sitting with his other framed photos of friends and family.

Yuki’s emotions were all over the place. He wasn’t sure if he should feel guilty towards the family that took him in or angry at himself for being a coward.

Frustrated, he pulled himself off the floor and slammed the photo down.

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Downstairs, Emilia looked in the direction of the noise and sighed. She didn’t know why things have gotten so awkward between her and Yuki. She felt their relationship had changed and they had grown apart. They used to turn to each other for advice and Yuki provided insight where Rylie couldn’t. Lately, it just seemed like they were strangers living under one roof.

Was he still grieving her mother? It had been a while but people grieve differently. Yuki had been welcomed to their home at a young age after his parent’s sudden death. Maybe the death of another mother figure was too much?

She gazed out the kitchen window towards the sky and watched the clouds float by. 

“What do I do mom?”

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Rylie stood in front of the movie theatre clutching her purse in both hands. Her gaze was in the direction of all the movie posters, but she wasn’t looking at one in particular. It was fixated on a spot.

Cameron spotted her from afar and ran towards her beaming. She was so lost in thought; she didn’t notice him beside her.

“Rylie? Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, hi Cameron. Sorry I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s okay, I know sometimes I can be pretty invisible…” he chuckled hesitantly while scratching the back of his head.

“Oh, no I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just…never mind. Let’s go!” She pulled on his arm and led him towards the concession stand. “Okay, so since you got the tickets, I’m going to get the popcorn! Butter okay with you?”

Cameron nodded and tried to keep his arm still, since Rylie didn’t notice she was still holding on.

During the movie, he glanced over at her a few times, but she seemed to be lost in thought. She had said she was looking forward to today because she was a fan of this actor, but she was hardly looking at the screen, just mindlessly putting popcorn in her mouth.

He didn’t know if he should say something or feign ignorance. He didn’t want to ruin what they had going but it hurt to see her like this. At least he could try to take her mind off things by distracting her throughout the day.

While having dinner at a restaurant, Cameron attempted to liven up the mood.

“So, Rylie, it’s been awhile since we’ve gotten to know each other but I don’t really know much about you.”

“Oh well, what do you want to know?”

“How old are you? Are you still in school?”

“I…was but I just thought it would be better for me to enter the workplace right away. I mean, why waste four years right?” The truth was, she HAD no way of getting the money to pay for the tuition. If she had a choice, she would’ve but she couldn’t.

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it! Everyone has different ways of looking at it and circumstances. I just wanted to know more about you…” his voice trailed off in embarrassment.

“Thank you for trying to cheer me up Cameron. It’s getting late so I think I’ll head home after dinner.”

“Wait! Is it because you’re not having a good time? Am I boring?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I noticed throughout our date, you were always lost in thought. I started to think that maybe you didn’t really want to be here, that maybe you only agreed because you felt sorry for me. I don’t have much experience but I…”

Rylie widened her eyes in surprise but gave him a genuine smile. She reached out to touch his trembling hand.

“How I’m feeling today has nothing to do with you. I admit, something did happen and I don’t really want to share it at the moment but I may some day. Just give me some time.  It’s been a while since anyone’s shown me any kindness and I’m grateful to you. I promise, the next time you see me, I’ll be back to my old self.” Cameron smiled at this and felt relieved.

“I’m sorry if I caused you to worry but to show how sorry I am, I’m going to give you something. Close your eyes.” He closed his eyes and turned his hand over so she could place something in it. Smiling at his innocence, she quietly got out of her seat and grabbed her phone. She opened up the camera and snapped a photo as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Surprised, he opened his eyes and let the heat from her lips linger. But it was quickly overpowered by his own cheeks heating up.

Rylie grinned as she sat back down. Cameron sat there frozen as he cupped his cheek. There was a ping and he saw Rylie pointing to his phone while holding hers. He opened a message from her and saw a photo of the kiss.

He died from embarrassment as he buried his face into his arms.