Emma's POV

I'm vaguely aware of movement, but I'm not sure if it's part of my dream or not. If you can really call this a dream. It's more like an interactive memory.

I'm sitting in a clearing, in the woods outside my house. In the memory, I'm waiting for someone. But since this is interactive, I can change how I do things. The memory will remain the same after I wake up though.

I get up, and walk throught the clearing to the other side, moving as if submerged in water. I know he was coming from that side. I just know it. I reach the opposite edge of the clearing, and push through the fern and thorn barrier into the woods, still moving unnaturally slow.

The woods are dim, cool, and damp. Light filters through the leaves in the canopy above me. I can see a doe and her fawn grazing off a little ways to my right. Birds are chirping. It's so peaceful. It honestly looks like a scene from a movie.

I take little baby steps along the almost-grown-over path, careful not to disturb anything. Then, as I become overwhelmed with some stupid emotion - wonder, surprise, anything light and bubbly in your chest - I start to take longer steps, looking around for him. Suddenly, my foot breaks a brittle twig on the ground.

All goes silent for a moment. Then, the birds let out a mighty caw, all at once, at they take flight, and form a black mass over my head as they fly away. The two deer turn tail and flee, kicking up the forest floor as they went. There is no more light filtering through the canopy of leaves anymore. Because there is no more canopy. All the trees are dead. The few that stand upright are bare of leaves, and everything looks sinister now. There's a clicking sound, and the sound of a million bugs wings as the unknown bugs flit about in their swarms. Like I said, sinister. And scary.

"Emma?" He said, right behind me. I scream, and whirl around to face him.

He looks same as always. Dirty blonde hair as dirty and wild as ever. His eyes were alive with a mix of emotions, like anger, pain, sadness, hate.... He towers over me, as always. The only thing different about him is his face. His face was always a careful mask of politeness before. I never noticed how fake it was, because at the time I wasn't used to a kind face. But now I can see how artificial it is. He is no longer the good looking boy I once knew, the one who I thought was leading me out of the darkness. Now I know he was leading me deeper.

"Emma?" He said again, bending forward a little bit to get a better look at my face. "You're Emma, right?"

"Yes," I say quietly, "Yes, I'm Emma. Who are you?" I know perfectly well who he is.

"Emma! Come on!" He says lightly, as if we were old friends. His face is positivly frightening. "You know who I am! I'm Billy!" When I don't respond, he continues. "Did you really forget me, Emma? It's only been a year!"

"A lot can happen in a year...." I say. In the context of what we were talking about, what I said fits, but I was referring to Billy's and mine relationship, and how quickly the dynamics changed in just a year.

"Yes," Billy agrees, "a lot can happen in a year. For instance, in a year, a girl can decide to go behind her boyfriends back - her boyfriend who made her lot in life better - and cheat on him." His voice was no longer light, and his face was demonic. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Emma?"

I smile sickeningly sweet at him. "One, you and I were never dating. And we were never going to date. Two, if anything, you made my life worse. But you deluded me into thinking you were my knight in shining armor. I hate knights in shining armor. Three. Since you and I were never dating, I couldn't have cheated on you. Especially when I was just being a good friend to Kevin when he needed it."

In answer, Billy took out his phone. I knew what he would show me, before he even turned the screen to me. It was a little clip of Kevin kissing a girl from our school. I saw them kissing in tenth grade, right around when Billy accused me of being a cheater in front of the entire school. And it hurt, seeing Kevin kissing another girl. And I had no right to be hurt, because like with Billy, I wasn't dating Kevin, and I never will be.

Billy turned the phone back to him again, and selected another video clip. I also knew what this one would be. It was another clip of Kevin. Same girl. Another girl was there too. I remember seeing this little clip on Kevin's phone. Seeing this one the first time was heart wrenching enough, but now, it just shattered what was left of my heart. And by heart, I mean the thing in my chest that makes me feel things. I broke.

Suddenly I was in the back seat of a car, tears on my face and neck. And though I was crying, I don't feel anything. Just numb.

__________

Ok! I'm glad I got at least some of what was bothering Emma off of my chest! This isn't nearly all of it, though. More to come! 5+ comments, alright?

And please check out my other stories, especially the one I coauthor with BigBangAngel, Breaking Through!