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Disclaimer: still FICTION.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. hands out cookies You have no idea how much I appreciate feedback. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted, but I wanted to finish summer assignments before going online again. Hope you guys like this chapter.

c h a p t e r FOUR
{ breaking hearts has never looked so cool

*
Peter's POV

"So, what's your story with Emi?" I asked, shooting a zombie in the head.
"Well we met in preschool. She flew off the swing set into me, and we've been friends since then...And no, we're not dating," Patrick said, reloading.
"I see that you get that a lot."
"Yeah. I guess we seem like a couple, but that's just Emi being Emi."
"Crap, I'm dead." A zombie came from the left, and caught me off guard. As I put the gun back in the holster, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small crowd forming in the corner of the room.
"What's going on over there?" I asked.
"Is it by the DDR machine?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Heh. Emi's a master at that game," he replied casually, shooting at the undead.
"But why's there a crowd?"
"Check it out for yourself."

I walked over to the corner to see what all the commotion was about. Emi and a guy in his 20's were standing on platforms.

"You sure you wanna do this?" the guy asked. "I mean, you're only /half /Asian."
"That's not going to stop me from giving you a /whole /ass kicking."

Soon a really fast Japanese song was pulsing from the speakers. Arrows filled the screens. Both their feet seemed to be moving at a hundred miles an hour. I couldn't tell who was winning. This went on for 2 minutes or so and neither looked like they were slowing down. After the song ended, letters appeared on the screen. Emi had an A while the other guy had a B. They danced to 2 more songs. He won once, then Emi won again.

"Good...game," Emi said.
"You too," the guy replied.

She stepped off the platform and grabbed her water bottle off the floor.

"I see that Pete learned of your amazing dance skills," Patrick said from behind me.
"Yeah... that was...Wow," I said, at a loss for words.
"Thanks...You guys ready to...eat now?" she asked, panting.
"Yeah. Are you gonna be okay, Emi?" I asked.
"Just give me...a sec..." She took a drink from her water bottle, then wiped sweat off her forehead. "Okay. Lets go."

We made our way to the food court.

"Where to?" Patrick asked.
"Subway," Emi and I said at the same time. We smiled then walked over to the counter. Within 5 minutes or so our food was ready and searched for a free table.
"There's one over there," Patrick said. Emi looked to where he was pointing and sighed.
"Any other places?" she asked.
"I don't see anything," I said, scanning the tables. Then I noticed why she didn't want to sit there. That creep from Tower Records--Trevor, or something--was sitting next to the open table with some of his friends.

"Don't worry. We've got this," I said, slipping my hand into hers. She gave me an unsure smile, then started walking toward the table. Emi and I sat on the side farthest from Trevor, while Patrick acted as somewhat of a buffer. Awkwardness faded as we ate lunch.

"Damn, Em! You practically inhaled your lunch!" Patrick said, only half finished with his sandwich.
"Didn't you order a foot long?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I was hungry," she innocently said.
"You're always hungry." Emi stuck out her tongue at his comment.
"Hmm. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of thirsty too. Would you boys care to join me at Gloria Jeans?"
"I'll pass. Their coffee's a little too sweet for me," Trick said. "But why don't you take Pete?" She shifted her gaze toward me.
"Pete?"
"Sure," I said, getting up. I inadvertently took her hand in mine was we walked to the coffee place. The line was a little long, giving me time to decide what to order.
"What should I get?" I asked, reading the plaque on the side of the wall. Mocha chiller, latte, hot cocoa.
"I'd suggest the cookies and cream chiller," she said, stepping forward.
"Hi, one mocha coconut chiller," she said.
"That'll be $3.75."

I stepped up and the other girl behind the counter greeted me.
"Hello. What can I get for you today?"
"A small cookie and cream chiller."
"$3.75." I pulled out 4 singles and handed them over. She handed me a quarter in change then poured coffee, ice and other ingredients into a giant blender, making small talk with the other girl ad she did so. She turned off the blender and poured it into a plastic cup, still engaged in conversation.

"I wish I had could multi-task," I thought to myself.

"Whipped cream and sprinkles?"
"Yes please." She topped off my drink and with a quick "Thank you," I grabbed a straw and followed Emi back to our table.

"What do you think?" she asked.
"It's pretty good," I said, sitting down. Patrick was finishing up his soda and reading a newspaper.

"Where'd you get that?" Emi asked.
"Old guy left it here. I'm done with it," he responded, handing it over to Emi. Emi took Art & Leisure, then handed me the Comics and Sports section.

*
Patrick's POV

Emi and Pete were both reading the paper, turning their pages in synch. Freaky

"This is really good, wanna try some?" she asked, still reading.
"Sure," he said, also reading. He slid his drink over after Emi did.

They picked up their cups at the same time, took sips, then turned the page.

"Yours is good."
"Yours is too."

They slid their drinks back to each other.

"Wow," I said.
"What?" they said in unison, putting their papers down.
"You two are acting like an old married couple," I laughed. They looked at each other as if on cue, then blushed.

It would take a blind man in a dark room not to see that Pete was falling for her. Though Emi has 20/20 vision, I think she's worse off than the blind man. She's my best friend, but I've got to say that she's totally unaware when it comes to guys. I guess it's because she grew up with 2 brothers. I dunno. I had a crush on her in sixth and seventh grade, and she never noticed, but that's beside the point. She flirts with guys, that's just the way she is. Sometimes it just got a little out of hand.

We hit a few more stores and before I knew it my watch read 6:00.

"Still up for a movie?" I asked.
"Sure. Pete, why don't you pick, since you're the new guy in town."
"How about You, Me and Dupree. I heard that was pretty good."
"Cool."

We exited the mall and walked to the theater, which was just across the parking lot. We paid for our tickets and bought popcorn and icees to take place of dinner.

Though the theater was packed, we found decent seats towards the front. Previews rolled while Emi and I were guessing the titles, getting them wrong as usual. By the third one, Pete had joined in.

"Four Girls and a Funeral!" Emi guessed.
"Vengeful Chicks?" I said.
"Payback's a Bitch."

The end of the preview revealed that the title was "John Tucker Must Die."

"Meh, close enough."

*
Peter's POV

The movie was pretty good. You would think that an Owen Wilson movie would be all laughs, but there were a few moments that were downright chick flick.

We walked back to the parking lot and Patrick's car. He quoted lines from the movie as we got in. "If you're humping, stop. I'm coming in." Getting in the passenger's side, Emi laughed and spilled her icee on the seat,

"Gah. Sorry, Trick," she said, trying to clean it up.
"It's fine, Em," he said, taking some napkins and out of the glove compartment. "You should probably sit in the back with Pete, though. Unless you want the back of your jeans dyed blue."
" 'Kay." She closed the passenger's door and climbed into the backseat next to me.

"So, have we convinced you there are more than tall buildings in Chicago?"
"Yeah. Today was pretty fun."
"That's good," she yawned. "Sorry if I fall asleep on you. I'm kinda tired." Emi leaned on my shoulder and within minutes she was asleep. Her head was nestled in the crook of my neck, and I could feel her breath on my skin.

Around 20 minutes later we were parked in Emi's driveway,

"Emi, we're here," I said, gently shaking her.
"Oh," she replied, brushing her lips against my neck.
"Sorry for using you as a pillow, Pete."
"No problem."
"Night, Trick," she said, getting up and hugging him, then kissing him on the cheek. Then she turned to me.
"Night, Pete. It was nice meeting you," she said, pulling me into a hug. "Don't be a stranger."

She got out of the car and opened her door, waving to us before stepping inside. As we pulled out of the driveway, Patrick looked at me through the rear view mirror.

"You're falling for her, aren't you?"

I was caught off guard, but there was no point in denying it. "Yeah."

*
Emily's POV

Today was fun. Pete was...wow.

"No. No. Stop it, Emi," I thought out loud. I felt ADD when it came to boys, and I hated it. I'd constantly be gushing to Paige about how Tyler gave the best hugs, while Rafael had the prettiest eyes, and the kid who sat in back of me in algebra was gorgeous. I needed to clear my head, but it was a little late to go to the park.... "Myspace."

Trick joked that "all the crazy rapists" were trying to add me. I logged in and saw that I had new comments. I clicked the link and saw that it was Paige.

"Hey beautiful!
I'm commenting all the way from sunny Los Angeles! It's incredibly hot here, but so are the boys, so I can't complain ;)

How's life back in Chitown? Break any hearts?

Love you,
Paige"

"I remember when I first laid eyes on you, my man Tom introduced us but I was to shy to say hi when finally built up enough nerve to drop a line you made it clear you wasn't just another myspace mistress..." I sang to myself. I left a comment on her page, informing her of my break up with Trevor and that I missed her a lot a lot a lot.

Right was I was about to edit my profile, an IM popped up in the corner of my screen.

trophy boy: Hey
d3structive: umm, hey
trophy boy: about today...
d3structive: don't worry. we can both forget it happened.
trophy boy: actually, I was hoping that you'd reconsider.
d3structive: trev, please just move on
trophy boy: c'mon Em, give me another chance.
d3structive: I have a boyfriend. Bye.
trophy boy: you could dump him

I closed the IM window, then another one popped up. "Gah, this boy just won't quit!"

d3structive: Please just leave me alone.
PeterPanda: sorry.

Wait. PeterPanda? Pete!

d3structive: shit! Sorry, I thought you were my ex.
PeterPanda: for a minute there I thought you didn't like me.
d3structive: lol. what's up?
PeterPanda: just finished unpacking. you?
d3structive: myspace.
PeterPanda: you have one too?

He gave me his link and we added each other. I know, nerdy as hell, I know. We talked for an hour or so, then I decided to go to bed.

"The one time that I try to forget about the male species..."

I brushed my teeth and changed into a tank top and shorts, wondering that tomorrow would bring.

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