Chapter 2

"Hey, u awake?"

Emma's heart did a little flip. She tried to play it cool. "Yeah. What's up?"

The reply came fast. "Can I come over?"

Emma blinked. It was late. Really late. But Jake never asked things like this. She typed back. "Sure. Everything okay?"

"Can I just come? I'll explain when I get there."

"Yeah, of course" she wrote.

Emma put down her book and got out of bed. She unlocked her window, the one that faced the backyard, and pushed it open. A cool night breeze swept in. She sat on her bed, waiting, wondering what was wrong.

A few minutes later, she heard a soft thump outside. Then Jake's head appeared, his dark hair messy, his face half in shadow. He climbed in, landing quietly on her floor. He was wearing track pants and a hoodie, and he looked tired.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back.

He sat down on the edge of her bed, not looking at her. Emma closed the window and sat beside him.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "My parents. They were fighting again. Really bad this time. I just... I couldn't stay there."

Emma's chest ached. She knew Jake's parents fought sometimes, but he never talked about it. "I'm sorry, Jake."

"Thanks for letting me come over," he said. "I didn't want to go to Ethan's. His place is too loud. And I didn't want my parents to know I left. They'd feel bad."

"You know you can always come here," Emma said.

Jake finally looked at her, and his eyes were soft. "I know."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Emma said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jake shook his head. "Not really. Just... can we just hang out?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "Of course."

They talked for a while. About school, about footy, about the little kids and their antics. Jake started to relax. His shoulders dropped. He even laughed a couple of times. Emma told him about the time Tom got his head stuck in the fence, and Jake laughed so hard he almost fell off the bed.

Eventually, the talking slowed down. Jake yawned. Emma yawned too.

"You should sleep," Emma said. "You can stay here. I'll get you a blanket."

"I don't want to put you out," Jake said.

"You're not."

Emma got up and grabbed a spare blanket from her closet. She tossed it to him. "You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No way," Jake said. "I'm not making you sleep on the floor. We can share the bed. It's big enough."

Emma hesitated. Her heart was beating fast. But she didn't want to be weird about it. "Okay," she said, trying to sound casual. "But no stealing the covers."

Jake grinned. "Deal."

They settled in, each on their own side, with a gap between them. Emma turned off the lamp. The room went dark, lit only by the soft glow of the streetlight outside.

"Goodnight, Em," Jake said softly.

"Goodnight, Jake."

For a while, Emma lay awake, listening to Jake's breathing. It was slow and even. He was asleep. She smiled in the dark and closed her eyes.

Emma woke slowly, sunlight streaming through her curtains. She slowly became aware of a weight resting on top of her. It wasn't uncomfortable but she began to wonder what it was as her brain slowly started working again. Then she opened her eyes and saw what it was. Jake, still fast asleep and looking ever so blissful, was leaning half on top of her. She smiled. Then she blushed. He'd taken off his shirt sometime in the night. And sure enough, there it was on the floor.

Even though there was no one else there to see, she pretended not to look at him. But she found herself staring anyway. She didn't even try to move out from under him.

A few minutes later, Jake began to wake up. He felt strangely comfortable and happy, he wasn't sure why. He stretched and sighed, then opened his eyes. He saw Emma and froze. Then he remembered last night. He couldn't help smiling. "Mmmm... morning," he mumbled.

"Morning," Emma said, her voice a little high.

Then he realised he was lying on top of her. "Oh. Sorry." He said, rolling off her. He wished he could stay there though.

Jake stretched and yawned. Then he looked down at himself and remembered taking off his shirt in the night. He blushed. "Oh. Uh. Sorry. I got really hot in the night."

"It's fine," Emma said, trying not to look. "It's fine."

Jake grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it on. "Sorry," he said again.

"It's really okay," Emma said, finally looking at him. His hair was even messier now, sticking up in all directions. She smiled. "You look like a startled cockatoo."

Jake laughed. "Thanks. Real nice."

They both laughed, and the awkwardness melted away. Emma checked her phone. It was 8:17 AM.

"My parents will be up soon," she said. "You should probably go before they find you here."

Jake nodded. "Yeah. Probably." He climbed out of bed and headed for the window. But before he climbed out, he turned back. "Hey, Em?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For last night. For everything."

Emma smiled. "Anytime, Jake."

He smiled back, and for a second, neither of them moved. Then Jake climbed out the window, dropped onto the grass, and gave her a wave before jogging across the yard and disappearing around the side of the house.

Emma closed the window and leaned against the wall, her heart full. It was going to be a good day.