It took a few more days but James finally called. Emma was watching some stupid show on TV when his ringtone started playing. She rushed over to answer it.

"James?"

"I'm coming over," he said simply before hanging up.

Emma was a nervous wreck for the next fifteen minutes. Was he coming over to yell at her? She couldn't remember James ever being so mad at her in their lives. Sure, she'd pissed him off plenty of times. Reunions, however, often came about much sooner than this one. This was the longest they'd ever gone without talking to each other, and that terrified Emma.

Finally the door bell rang and Emma hopped up to get it. She tore open the door and saw James standing there, a pizza box laying on his right hand. He passed by her nonchalantly and headed for the kitchen. Emma followed behind him in a silent daze. He took two plates out and put a slice of pizza on each. Wordlessly, and without making eye contact, James extended one towards her. She took it slowly, afraid to make any sudden, rapid movements. Once the plate was securely in her hand, James went back out into the living room, plopped on the sofa, and took a look at the TV.

"Emma," his voice called. She walked out and sat nervously next to him. He turned to her, his eyes more beautiful than she remembered now having gone without them so long, and grinned. "What shit are you watching?"

She laughed. "I don't know."

"For God's sake, woman, give me that remote. You're terrible at picking out shows."

Laughing, Emma said, "I'm terrible? You stop at anything that shows boobs."

"And that's usually an indication of a great show."

Emma laughed again and James shared it, his eyes sparkling and happy.

And they were back to normal.

"So I'm hosting a party next weekend," Caroline said. She took a bite of her sandwich and winked at Emma. "You and Frank can talk more."

Emma groaned at the thought of another party. She also didn't want to share her new matchmaking plan with Caroline. She wouldn't get that Emma wasn't interested, and she'd only have negative things to say about getting something brewing between Frank and Hannah. Only when they got together and she saw how happy they were with each other would Caroline drop the dream of uniting Emma with Frank.

Faced with what would surely be a boring night, Emma thought of the one person that could make it somewhat tolerable. "Can I bring James?"

"Sure, sure. I'm so glad you guys made up. You're both useless when you aren't talking to each other." Caroline sighed and glanced over at Laura and Jane a table over. "I wish I could just invite Jane without Laura. Laura makes everything so lame. She'll probably chew our ears off with her stupid stories."

"Be nice," Emma said with a smile. "She's not that bad."

"You have no objection over me inviting Jane, then?" Caroline asked, looking over at the two again.

Emma looked over, too, remembering Jane's tears the other day. "No. She can come."

"Good!" Caroline squealed, clapping her hands together. "I like her a lot. You know...," Caroline started, her lips curving up slowly in a satisfactory smile, "you two are a lot alike."

Emma doubted that very much; she just smiled and shook her head.

As the party neared, Emma got a text from Frank.

I'm pumped for the party. We can finish our convo.

Sighing, Emma texted Yes! back.

The party, she could feel, was going to be an extremely important one. Emma could feel the energy in the air and that gut feeling that something big was going to happen. She could only hope it was something good.

The day before the party, James stopped by with some books. "I thought you might like these," he said, pushing past her and heading for the sofa.

Reading the summaries, Emma agreed they were her kind of books. "What's up?"

Without taking his eyes off the TV, James shrugged. "I have a date with Greg's sister tonight."

Emma dropped the pile of books. As she gathered them, she stole glances at James to see if he was kidding. He looked very serious as he watched some cooking show.

"A date?" she finally asked. "How old is she?"

Shrugging again, James said, "About your age."

"I never knew Greg had a sister..."

James made a noncommittal noise and remained transfixed by the chef's stirring some eggs. Emma sat next to him, trying to act like his news hadn't rocked her world. But it had.

"Well, where are you taking her?"

"To Franco's," he said, turning the volume up on the TV.

Franco's was the nicest restaurant in town. Emma was silent again. Something dropped in her throat and churned in her stomach. A few times she tried to say something, but what could she say?

"So... what brought this about?" she asked a few minutes later.

"She asked me out. I said okay." James voice was far too calm. He was acting like this wasn't a big deal.

And then Emma wondered why it was a big deal. Surely she couldn't force James not to date because of her own warped views of dating.

A part of Emma, however, really hated this. She wanted to say something, anything, but she didn't even know what words were necessary.

Why was she so affected? she wondered.

Emma talked to him about the party and he agreed to go. They watched TV quietly for the next few hours before James left for his date. Emma felt so sick she went up to bed and tried to take a nap. It was futile, however. Every time she shut her eyes, she envisioned James kissing someone who looked like Greg and she couldn't stand it.

Why? she wondered, just before she finally fell asleep.

Emma woke up to a barrage of texts, all from Hannah. They said she'd run into Greg again, and this time he asked for a date. She said she didn't know what to do but she gave him her number and they were probably going to the party together the next day.

Feeling dizzy, Emma's head swam. Everything was spiraling out of her control and she didn't like it one bit. She quickly gave Hannah a call and invited her over.

It wasn't long before Hannah showed up, hyper and excited. Her cheeks were nice and rosy and her eyes had never quite sparkled like they did then. Emma hated to disappoint her, but Greg was the unacceptable choice for her good friend. In comparison to Frank, he was just laughable.

"You need to cancel the date," Emma said once Hannah calmed down a bit.

Hannah stopped her excited pacing. "What? But I really like him, Emma!"

"There are so many guys out there, so many better guys. You could have anyone you want!" Emma was desperate to show Hannah that Greg was all wrong for her, but she could tell she was hardly making a dent in Hannah's opinion of him.

"But..."

Emma put her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Trust me. I have a feeling something big is going to happen for you tomorrow night. In a few days you won't even remember liking Greg, let alone wanting to date him!"

A small unsure smile crossed Hannah's face. "Really?"

"Really. I'm going to take care of it, and you!"

Emma walked around restlessly. First she tried to read a book. Then she tried to see if any good movies were on TV. She checked her phone obsessively to see if she had any texts; she didn't.

And her thoughts kept going back to James and his big date. Was he having a good time? Was she making him laugh? He deserved the best, not some random sister of his loser friend.

Emma didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

James showed up a little early the next day. He saw Emma's face- pale, slightly puffy from exhaustion-and frowned. "Are you feeling okay?"

Emma weakly swatted her hand. "I'm fine. I just didn't sleep too great."

"Me either," James laughed.

A cold, sharp sensation pricked Emma in the chest. "What does that mean?"

Perplexed, James said, "Something I ate didn't agree with me..."

Emma decided now was the time to ask about the date. "How did the date go?"

James shrugged as he focused on raiding Emma's fridge. She hated that shrug. It didn't tell her anything.

"She's not really my type."

Emma felt she could breathe a little better at this news. Why, she didn't know and she didn't particularly want to ask herself.

"So no love match?"

James peered at her around the refrigerator door with a big smile. "I guess not. Maybe I'll meet someone tonight."

The temporary relief Emma felt evaporated, allowing the nausea to slip in once again.

Caroline's huge house was really the perfect place to have a party, with sprawling grounds and far away neighbors.

James and Emma were fairly silent on their ride over. Even though he didn't like the girl, Emma was still perturbed by something. She didn't have the time to give it too much thought, however, since they finally reached the house. Together they entered the already booming, pulsing estate and looked for Caroline.

Finally Emma spotted her, talking to Frank in the corner. She didn't feel like going over to Frank without Hannah, so she changed my direction and headed toward the kitchen for a drink. James followed her, obviously confused.

"You're giving up your opportunity to schmooze with Churchill?"

Emma laughed and handed him a drink. "I can't wait for Hannah to get here," she said, ignoring his question.

"She's over there," James pointed.

Hannah stood alone, obviously uncomfortable. "Hannah!" Emma called out. She looked around for a moment before spotting her. Her face broke out in a smile as she navigated through the sprawling crowd.

"You know," James said in Emma's ear, sending a chill down her spine, "your friend's not that bad looking."

Then Hannah was there, smiling and perky. Emma didn't have time to question the peculiar sensation, or why a compliment about her friend could give her a pang of such angst. Instead she smiled at the nervous Hannah.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Hannah looked more than a little relieved.

"Come on Hannah, let's go see what Frank's up to." Emma looked at James whose smile had faded. "Coming?"

"Nah. I'm going to mingle."

Emma really wanted to stay and talk with James more than anything else, but she had a couple to set up. "See you later!" she yelled over the music, dragging Hannah along with her.

Frank was now chatting with Laura Bates. "Oh, God," Emma mumbled under her breath as they walked over. Frank spotted them and his eyes lit up.

"Hi," he said with a smile. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

Emma smiled. "Hannah and I were looking for you."

Frank smiled politely at Hannah. "Great."

Suddenly James was there, along with Greg. Emma nearly flipped out. She had no invited Greg along. James caught her glare and whispered in her ear. "Greg's friends with Caroline's brother, too. Calm down."

Hannah didn't look at Greg, but Emma could feel the tension in her poor friend's body. She felt terrible. Then Jane appeared, looking as beautiful as ever.

As Frank and Hannah conversed stiffly, Jane laughed with James over some private joke. Jane's smile grew flirtatious, and she could hear James's own flirty tone even over the music. Emma desperately wanted to know what they were talking about, but she was also trying to pay attention to the conversation between Frank and Hannah. Laura butt in occasionally, but it seemed to be going well.

"You'll have to come by some time," Emma heard Jane say seductively. "I could show you around."

Emma wanted to know what place they were talking about but they wouldn't say.

"Well I'll only go if you're my tour guide," James chirped back.

"I'm terrible with directions," Jane grinned. "We'd probably end up lost."

James took a swig of his drink and chuckled. "I wouldn't mind getting lost with you."

An unbelievable amount of rage swelled in Emma's body. How dare Jane speak to James like that? And how dare James flirt back like that? Bile bubbled angrily in Emma's stomach, threatening to rise up into her throat.

"Are you okay, Emma?" Emma heard Frank say.

She turned and gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you."

"Am I boring you?" Frank asked, laughter in his voice.

Emma's smile widened. "Of course not." She looked at Hannah, who looked incredibly bored. "And I'm sure Hannah's not bored, either, are you Hannah?"

Hannah perked up.

"How could everyone be bored when Frank's here?" Laura cut in. Then she heard Jane telling James about how one day she'd like to be an actress but she feared she didn't have what it takes and butt into that, too. "Oh, shut up Jane, you're beautiful! You're practically perfect. Isn't she perfect, James?"

James smiled at Jane, a private kind of smile that fanned Emma's fire, and said "She surpasses perfect."

Jane blushed and Laura giggled. Frank turned to Emma and said, "Perfection is boring."

It was definitely a rude comment, and Jane's blush dimmed somewhat, but it gave Laura more ammunition to praise her cousin.

"Not when it comes to Jane! She's perfect at everything she does. She can't help it. And she looks so perfect, too, without even trying. James, feel her arm. Feel that muscle. She works out so much and so hard. She's just so-"

"Will you please shut the fuck up?"

At first Emma didn't know where the words came from. Then she realized they came from her.

James turned to her, his expression shocked. "What's wrong with you?"

Embarrassed by her words but too upset now to take them back, Emma went on talking, making it far worse. "Laura never shuts her mouth. It's so annoying! I can't take it anymore." She turned to Laura. "No one cares about your clothes or your family or any other of your stupid, pathetic interests. NO one! But you never stop. On and on you go. I don't want to hear it anymore!"

Emma panted after her explosion and realized nearly everyone at the party was staring at her like she'd suddenly become possessed. And in a way she had. She couldn't keep it in anymore, and all the vitriol had frothed out of her mouth like the water of a boiling pot. Now the words were out, and there was no dragging them back in. Instantly she was filled with regret, even more so when she glanced at Laura's stricken face.

"I guess... I guess I do talk too much," Laura said, tears in both her voice and her eyes. "I don't mean to. It's just..."

"Of course," James cut in. "I always say bullshit. We all do." He hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go for a walk."

He shot Emma a nasty look before heading out of the house with Laura, and Jane in tow. Hannah blinked at her friend like she'd suddenly been replaced by someone else. Someone cruel. Frank gave her a sympathetic, but uncomfortable glance.

"That wasn't the best way of handling her," he said in a soft voice. Someone called his name and he appeared relieved.

And then he, too, walked off, leaving Emma more alone than ever.