THE SWEETEST ADDICTION [karlee]

[EMMETT HIKARU NAKAMURA]

It's been so long since Emmett went into Maple Hollow. Ever since the accident regarding his phobia happened, he avoided the town like a plague. It was always so busy and full of people. He felt suffocated wherever he went, so he stopped going all together. Doing the math in his head, Emmett realized it'd been two years. He laughed cynically to himself. His phobia really did turn him into a hermit.

And so, the final question is, why was he here now, after two years? Simple. A fiesty girl named Karlee. They had met near the lake, where Emmett was taking a nap. She'd trip over him, and boy, was it...a pleasant first meeting. They were at each other's throat, heat and electricity mixing in the air. He was irritated, she was stubborn, and a beautiful friendship was born after the initial bad first impressions, to say the least. He says 'least,' because he's a thickheadeded sixteen year old boy who wouldn't know romance even if it was dangled in front of his face.

Because of the bad traffic of Maple Hollow, he selected the place to meet that would have the least people--at least, in this weather: the ice cream parlour. He didn't really think Karlee would have any problem with it, at least he hoped, because frankly he was sure that she could warm herself up--'cause you know, she's a fire. And they produce heat. Yeah. Emmett sat at a table with those big umbrellas hovering over it outside, waiting patiently (well, as much as he could) for Karlee. This was probably the first time he was on a date. He hadn't expressly called it that when asking the fire, but by the way she looked at him implied that she knew exactly what he meant. Emmett's pride prevented him from saying anything further, but he was sure that he had a stupid grin on his face. He doesn't really function well without his naps, let alone act like himself. He and Karlee met under weird circumstances, so Emmett just went along with the flow.

He absentmindedly began playing with his ice cream. His hot fudge wasn't so hot anymore, so it was now just a clump of chocolate in the process of freezing. Since he got his and Karlee's ice cream a few minutes ago, he didn't eat a single bite. The pit of his stomach was going haywire--it resembled the feeling of being on a roller coaster as it began to free fall and a soft smile formed. Emmett raised his spoon to his lips, savoring the taste of chocolate as he shivered, and he waited for the most confusing thing that ever happened in his life to arrive.

[karlee]

There had been quite a bit that happened recently. Besides finding out she had to repeate her 11th grade year, that wasn't really the most of her worries. Truthfully, it was the boy she hadn't been able to get out of her mind. Emmett, a thunder who was a year younger than her. Although actually, they would be in the same grade next year. Curse being a bad student. But her mind wasn't really right right now. She wasn't really the type to start crushing on guys, esspecially ones she just met, but there was something about him that was different. He was hard headed, and surprisingly, she liked that. Despite rather quick and heated arguing, they got past that pretty quickly. Two fiery personalities.

As most girls, she spent most of the day getting ready for her date. He hadn't said it was a date, but she got the gist of it. He had implied that it was going to be a date, so that was the way she took it. Plus, Ice cream was amazing. She loved ice cream. There was a lot of sugary things she wasn't a fan of, but everybody liked ice cream. If they didn't they where crazy. She had crimped her hair, so it was a little bit wavy. She usually straightened it, but figured she would do something different for this occasion. She wasn't dressed super fancy, as it was fairly cold out. But lucky for her, she never really got cold. So she was just wearing a pair of jeans that had modified rips up the thighs. They looked like rips, but they weren't really. Though the fabric was thinner. She was also wearing a black tank top, adorned by a dark blue jacket with faux fur on the hood. She didn't see a problem with it. It didn't scream "I spent three hours trying to pick this out" but also didn't scream "I rolled out of bed wearing this." It was simple but decent.

So about 15 minutes before they where supposed to meet, she got in her 69 Firebird and started driving towards the ice cream parlor. She didn't really feel that nervous. At least she told herself she didn't. It had been a while since she had been on a genuine date. She wasn't one hundred percent sure he was considering this a date, but she did. She drove fairly quickly, as she always did. But also managed to be just a few minutes late meeting him. She was almost always late. If he spent enough time with her, he would realize that soon enough. She parked in front of the parlor, and checked her hair and make up in the mirror before getting out. She bit at her lip for a moment, before seeing him. She smiled and waved, and made her way over to sit across from him. "Hey." She said, sweetly. Her blue eyes lit up a little. How does he do this? Stupid girly crushes never happened to her, but it was happening now. "How are you?" She asked, glancing down at the ice cream. It looked like his had been mauled. "I'm guessing this is mine." She said, smiling, motioning towards the un mauled glasse. "Even if it's not, I'm gonna eat it anyways. So thanks." She said, laughing a little, as she winked at him. There was a smirk tacked on her lips, as she moved the spoon around the glass a little bit. Now, she was starting to feel nervous.

[/size]

[EMMETT HIKARU NAKAMURA]

Emmett suddenly had taken an interest with his ice cream. He loved sweets, adored them to no end, but he just didn't have an appetite. He felt as if he took a bite of it, he'd throw up or something. Curse this girl for making him feel like this. Even his beloved bowl of ice cream wouldn't survive the electric current going haywire in his stomach. He refused to call it butterflies. It just...didn't suit him. Call it his pride overflowing, he'd rahter just call it a better use of vocabulary. Besides, butterflies sort of freaked him out. One touch and it'd be dead.

He waited patiently, well, as patiently as he could, for Karlee to arrive. He was usually good with these kinds of things, but honestly, the only other female he could say he really interacted with on friendly terms was his best friend Isabella. And even then, it was just a brother-sister relationship. Completely different to what he and Karlee have. At least he hoped. Wait, what? Of course. Ugh. Emmett felt like banging his head against the table. Never have so many thoughts run through his head like this. So this is the power of girls. Emmett never really had any romantic experience before because in all honestly, he thought it was kind of stupid. In the end, one of them would end up in heartbreak, or they'd end up hating each other--eventually they just become strangers, like they were in the beginning.

Great. Now he was in a bad mood.

Emmett blew out a gust of air, glancing down at his cellphone's clock. He usually wasn't a stickler for time, but he felt his patience slowly depleting, almost as it always had. But when he looked up, Emmett saw the familiar bright, blonde hair and big, blue eyes. He nodded at her as she waved, succumbing into his usual calm composure--even if he was far from it. Karlee's lit up blue eyes didn't help the situation either. He just hoped it didn't show. "Hey Karlee," he greeted, his voice somewhat gentler than usual. What in the actual fuck. Emmett noticed she was looking at his glass of ice cream. He laughed, pushing it slightly away from him. "I'm not in the mood for ice cream at the moment. And I'm good," he said, answering her question. Emmett sat there awkwardly for a second before leaning forward, his hands clasped together on the table. "You? I hope you still aren't going around and disturbing people from their naps," he joked, an expectant glint in his eyes. Emmett still couldn't get over the fact that she actually tripped over him.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead." He pushed his own glass slowly towards her. "Have mine while you're at it," he laughed, patting his stomach. "I don't think I can take it." Okay. He has to admit it. He ate three glasses off ice cream before Karlee arrived. "Alrighty then, Miss Glutton." Emmett laughed, slowly slouching in his chair. He returned her smirk, his eyes mischievous. With his stomach ready to drop and the girl who was causing it right in front of him, Emmett just knew this day was going to be interesting.

[karlee]

There was certain people Karlee just seemed to click with. Like her best friend, Asher. They had became friends rather quickly. It seemed all her friendships stemmed from awkward meetings. She had literally tripped over Emmett, and with Asher, well she almost sent him plummitting to his death. Completely by accident, of course. but that was beside the point. They had become best friends since then. Although it was different with Emmett. There where... different feelings there. She wasn't a romantic at all. No, she was a flirt. Hit it and quit it. She had a male mentality when it came to relationships. She had boyfriends before, but she never stuck with them long. They where more usually just for the sex, which she found was easier to get outside of a relationship anyways.

It wasn't that she was scared of relationships. She was more scared of being hurt. One could only take so much heart break in one life time before you got tired of it. Nobody really enjoyed it. She moved on quickly though, at least, tried to move on. She had taken a bad habit of drowning her sorrows in alcohol and meaningless sex. It wasn't something she was proud of, but going to parties and stuff got things off her mind. However, this was a different story. She hadn't met Emmett at a party, nor had their been any real sexual advances made. But he made her feel like her stomach was doing flips, and that was not something the fire girl was very used to. Esspecially well, while sober. But he seemed to be different. At first they where about to rip each others throats out, now they where out having ice cream together? Strange.

The tone in his voice even sounded different. It was.. softer. Kinder. Like there was some unknown factor there. She wasn't going to dwell on it, but it made her smile. "Aww if your not in the mood for ice cream, why did we come here?" She asked, with a small smirk on her face, raising an eyebrow. That really didn't make sense. But hey, neither of them where completely normal. When he leaned forward she did the same, leaning onto her elbows a little bit, her long blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders. "Nah, of course not." She said, waving off his comment. "You are the only person I like to disturb from naps." She said, the smirk coming back across her face as she winked at him.

She was always a flirt, and a bit of a tease, but it was true. She knew it was going to be something he would always hold against her when it came to tripping over him. It was truely a blonde move, and nobody who knew about it would ever let her live it down. Without hardly noticing it, she had brought Emmett up in a few casual conversations with friends. About how they met, and just a little bit about him in general. She hardly noticed that she did it when it happened. But she also was not afraid of her eating habits. She was skinny as a twig, but she ate like she hadn't ever eaten in her life. "Hey." She started, laughing a little as she took a spoonful of the ice cream. "Don't judge me." She said, leaning back a little and patting her stomach. "I'm fat at heart." She nodded a little, a smirk playing on her lips still. It was true, she was thankful for a fast metabolism. Or maybe it was the being a fire thing. She just burned off the calories. Haha, get it?

She was feeling a bit nervous though, so eating wasn't her number one priority. She too, swirled the spoon in the ice cream for a minute, before letting her blue eyes go back up to meet his. She wasn't smirking now, it was more of a soft smile. "We should do this again sometime." She started. "I mean, if you want to, of course." She couldn't just invite herself to go back out and do something with him. She went back and took another bite of the ice cream before looking back at him. "You really cannot expect me to eat all of this by myself. I mean, I could, but we might be here for a while."

[/size]

[EMMETT HIKARU NAKAMURA]

Emmett was not a expressive person, so romance in turn was not a strong point of his, nor was it something he understood. Sure, he'd seen a few chick flicks but that was because Kai and Isabella dragged him along. Also, with him being so anti-social, Emmett admitted he was oblivious to everything that was human. One thing he knew for was that Kai and Isabella were going to have a kick when they found out about this. Emmett was never really good at hiding things from his friends, and plus there was already talk about him and Karlee spreading around the Academy. It's not like he was bothered by it--it was more like he was surprised at how fast word got around. Teenagers these days were like piranhas.

Emmett would be lying if he said he didn't think about himself being in a relationship. He was quiet, sarcastic, and preferred staying inside and relaxing rather than going outdoors on adventures. And that was the thing--Emmett knew Karlee was the opposite. She liked to party, and well, he didn't. It was like Emmett had a magnet to attract people different from him. All his friends were, and that just made it ten times more scary. He never knew how much time he'd had left with them until they left, just like his parents did so many years ago. So just the thought of being with Karlee sent both butterflies and fear into his stomach.

"Good question," he said, pausing to take some whip cream from Karlee's ice cream with his finger. "It's winter, and there aren't any normal people crazy enough to eat ice cream in this weather. So, this is the perfect place to be alone," Emmett stated simply, licking the whipped cream off his finger. It seemed logical enough for him, but then again he never thought straight about anything with Karlee involved. The electricity in his veins made the surface of Emmett's skin tingle on the surface, just as it did when he first met Karlee, although this time it had a more...positive connotation. The first time he nearly shocked her into oblivion. "Wow, gee thanks," he said sarcastically. He hated it more than anything when he was disturbed from his naps, but with Karlee, he'll make an exception. Smirking, Emmett added, "You'll be the death of me, I swear." And that was the truth.

He wondered if Karlee knew what she was doing to him. The smirk, the winks, and the eyes--it all made the electric current inside him sputter out of control, causing his whole body to shiver from the unfamiliar feeling. Luckily it was winter, so it didn't look too peculiar. "Just stating the truth," he said, laughing slightly. "Besides," he started, smirking, "it's nothing bad." Emmett unconsciously reached over and swept the hair away from her shoulder. "Girls with appetites are more attractive anyways." His face softened for a slight moment before returning into quick nonchalance. It was then where Emmett fully processed what he just done and said, and he quickly retreated his hand and returned to demolishing his cup of ice cream.

Being caught off guard was an understatement at this moment. It took him a few moments to process her words, and even then he wasn't sure if he heard correctly. "Uh, yeah, sure," Emmett replied awkwardly. He quickly smirked though, to cover up his shock. "Just can't get enough of me, huh?" he joked. He honestly wouldn't mind going out with Karlee again. There was just something about her that kept him coming back for more. Being with her was exciting, something he never felt before. "That's the point." He gave her a quick, lopsided smile. "Besides, I'm in no rush."

[karlee]

Karlee raised an eyebrow, and leaned forward on her elbows as he took some her whipped cream. She didn't say anything about it, just smirked at him a little bit as she waited for him to finish talking. "Mmm, I agree." She said, taking a bit of the whipped cream off with her finger also. "And it was a good idea, then." She said, licking it off her finger and smiling at him. She actually felt more comfortable around him than she thought she would. But at the same time, there was a pang of nervousness she wasn't used to. A feeling like she felt like she had to impress him. Not that it was a bad thing, it was just different for her. "You are very welcome." She said, before taking another bit of whipped cream, and not really giving him a warning before wiping it on his nose, and smirking a little bit. " Don't pretend like you don't enjoy it." She said, winking at him again.

Karlee already felt different around Emmett. It was rare she did these type of things with guys. The whole going out in public and getting ice cream wasn't usually her cup of tea. However, it felt right like that with him. There was something between them, she just didn't know what. At least, she thought there was. She wasn't the best with relationships to know. She hadn't had too many boyfriends, when she realized casual sex was so much easier. It was more for the sake of protecting herself that she did it. If there was no emotional connection, there was no risk for heartbreak, right? Her smile softened a little as he brushed the hair away from her shoulder, and she just looked at him. Her smile brightened a little and she laughed a little. "Then I must be the most attractive girl in the world because I can't ever stop eating. I'm almost like a human garbage disposal." She smirked a little bit, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was obviously joking around, but it was true. She could almost eat forever.

She hadn't meant to catch him off guard. She didn't think wanting to hang out again was going to be a bad thing. However, she knew Emmett was not the most social person. She smirked back at him at his comment. "Actually, I just wanted to grace you with my presence one more time. It's a privlege to buy me ice cream esspecially, you know." She said, her smirk still present as she took a bite of the ice cream. "But no really, I'd like to do this again. Or, something like this, anyways." She said, smiling sincerely at him. She was subconsciously spinning her spoon around in the bowl of ice cream. Maybe it was a nerves thing, but she was still smiling at him nonetheless. "You have a cute smile, you know." she said, biting her lip after she said it. Flirting was something she was used to but this felt different, still. "And you don't have to keep feeding me to make me stay. I promise." She said, smirking at him before glancing down at her ice cream, which was just about turned to water at this point.

[/size]

[EMMETT HIKARU NAKAMURA]

"Good." He repeated. This was literally Emmett's first date ever, as sad as it was, so this kind of reassurance boosted up his mood a little. He was still a little nervous though, and it wasn't helping with the way Karlee looked at him with her bright blue eyes. "You little sadistic fire," he joked, shaking his head. "Never disrupt a guy from his nap, especially when he relies on them to function properly." And that was another thing--Karlee had seen his bad side. Granted, it was barely half of it, but she'd seen it. And she hadn't run away from him, and that was what made Karlee different than the rest of the girls at the Academy. He flinched as Karlee wiped whipped cream on his nose. Being caught off guard was an understatement, and all he could do was stare at her in disbelief before laughing. "As if I'd admit that." And he took another bit of whipped cream from her cup and swiped it across her cheek, laughing freely. "And even if I did," Emmett continued, licking off the leftover whipped cream on his finger. "it wouldn't make a difference, now would it?" he raised his eyebrows and smirked.

It was rare for Emmett to act so freely around someone other than his two best friends. It was...refreshing. Like he was taking on a whole new persona, and he wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried. This was a first where Emmett felt so comfortable around someone so quick--it would only be a matter of time until either one of them got hurt. At that thought, Emmett sat up straighter, shaking his head slightly to clear any negative thoughts. No. He was not going down that road of pessimism, not now. "Good to know. Remind me that next time so I know how much to bring," he laughed, patting his jeans pocket to indicate his wallet. At least Karlee wasn't one of those girls who dieted excessively and was obsessive about their weight. He absolutely hated those types of girls and unfortunately, there were a lot of them at the Academy.

Emmett was just about to slap himself. He usually had good composure, but the thought of Karlee wanting to hang out with him again was mind boggling to him. He also hadn't meant for the atmosphere to become awkward, but Emmett was thankful when she joked back. "Oh, well then, it is my pleasure, Madam Karlee," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes with a faint trace of a smile on his face. "Yea. Next time, something not too cold," he admitted, zipping up his coat. Oh, the things he did for her. But he couldn't help it. That darn smile of hers...Emmett followed her and swirled his spoon into his demolished ice cream, almost absentmindedly, before looking up in surprise at Karlee's compliment. He was silent for a moment, then smirked. "Finally fallen for my charms, I see?" He reached over, almost hesitantly, and touched her lips, her teeth still biting down on them gently. "And thank you," he said, his whole face and voice softening, before he dropped his hand. Emmett's fingers were still tingling, and he kind of hoped Karlee didn't feel the static electricity when he touched her. It was something that Emmett had a hard time controlling, and besides, it was embarrassing. "Good. I'll keep you to your words," he warned sternly, before his lips broke out into a smirk. Following Karlee's eyes, he laughed and shook his head. "I guess the ice cream date was a failure."

[karlee]

Karlee smiled as he responded. She couldn't even really tell that he was nervous. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who had twenty girl friends or anything though. That was the kind of guys she was used to. It was almost a relief. There where obviously sparks between them, literally, though. She felt it when they first met, like something had forced them to come together. However, she didn't really believe in fate. She wanted the ability to make choices for herself, not that some higher power was choosing her life paths for her. "Hey, it's your fault for napping in public. Maybe next time I will just trip over you on purpose." She said, chuckling a little bit. His reaction to her wiping the whipped cream on his nose was kind of cute, and she laughed as he wiped it across her cheek. "It doesn't have to make a difference." She said, raising an eyebrow at him, and taking the wiped cream off her face and licking it off her finger.

"By the way." She started, a smirk crossing her lips. "Never get into a food fight with me," She started, taking the last bit of whipped cream off her finger. "Because one thing you should probably know about me is that I never lose." She laughed a little bit, brushing her hair away from her neck. It was true for the most part. Rather, she did lose, she just hated to lose. In all senses of the word, she was extremely competitive. In any way. Whether it was a race, or seeing how well she could score on a test. If somebody was to bet her money on anything, you could be damn well sure she was going to win. "So there is going to be a next time, huh?" She said, smiling a little more sincerley, and raising an eyebrow at him. "But don't worry, I'm not that expensive." She paused for a moment. "Most of the time."

Karlee thought this whole thing was going pretty well. They had both certainly calmed down quite a bit since first meeting. They where actually civil, and it was getting to the point where she wanted to be with him. She felt almost giddy, which was not usual for the girl. She didn't usually crave the attention of well, anybody. She was more than content to be alone, or with her best friend. Asher was the only person she really felt that way with, simply because he was the one person she could tell anything to. She felt comfortable around Emmett. More so than she should at this point. "Ew don't call me madame. Makes me sound old." She said, jokingly. She nodded and rubbed her arms for a moment. "I agree. Maybe somewhere inside. Where there is.. you know, heating. Or something." There where many places they could have gone besides here, but hey, she wasn't complaining. She really wasn't cold, after all, she could warm herself up. She was actually a comfortable temperature. She was her own personal space heater. "Finally? I didn't realize that's what you where trying to get me to do." She smiled, and smirked at him a little bit. When he touched her lips, though she really wasn't expecting it, she felt the electricity. It was coming from him, she knew it, but she just smiled at him as he pulled his hand away. She couldn't tell him, that would be embarassing. The fact that she was pretty sure she was falling for the boy sitting in front of her. "And I always keep my word." She said, with a small nod. It was true. She was an honest person. "Hey it wasn't a failure. I'm having fun." She said, smiling brightly at him. And she was. "It was only a failure if you didn't accomplish something."

[/size]

[EMMETT HIKARU NAKAMURA]

Emmett laughed, shaking his head. Sleeping out in the open wasn't one of his best ideas, but it was either that or he was irritable for the rest of the day. Granted, that was like another ten hours at the time, so anyone who crossed his path would've been fried to a crisp. He would've slept in his dorm, but Emmett's roommates were very...he stopped at that thought. No need to insult them, even if it was true. "Fine, fine. It wasn't a smart idea. But the grass was surprisingly comfortable," he joked. Besides, if he didn't make that stupid choice, he wouldn't have met Karlee. Ugh, how cheesy did that sound? Emmett watched as she cleaned her face and smirked. He grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped his nose, hoping he wasn't missing any or that'd be embarrassing. "Very true."

"Is that so?" Emmett raised his eyebrows at her and smirked. "Neither do I." He was rather competitive, but that was mostly due to his pride. And boy, did he have a lot of it. Challenge him and he'll show you what a battle really is. Emmett became a little embarrassed at Karlee's question, but he didn't show it. Did he sound to eager? Was it too soon? Too many questions ran through his mind, but he was eased when she smiled at him. "You better not be," Emmett warned jokingly. He didn't have a lot of money and he worked a part-time job to support himself--with him not having any parents, it was hard sometimes, but he managed. Besides, every now and then the foster home he used to live in would send in money with a little note wishing for his happiness. Emmett was grateful, but he didn't like accepting charity money.

When he watched Karlee rub her arms, Emmett began to feel sort of guilty. One of the main reasons why he chose the ice cream parlour was because of his ochlaphobia. He noticed that his phobia was a hindrance to a lot of people, for example, his best friends. They usually didn't go out a lot because of it, and in turn, they haven't met up like they used to. Emmett knew they understood, but he still felt guilty. "Oh no, have my real intentions been revealed?" he asked jokingly, smirking back at her. He hoped it was working though. "And what have I accomplished?" Emmett raised his eyebrows, leaning a little more forward before continuing, "And save that thought for later. I'll go get us some hot chocolate." He rubbed his hands together, indicating that he was cold and smiled at her. "No worries, I'll be right back." And he ran off into the direction of the nearby cafe.

Emmett hurried, not wanting to have Karlee wait to long. He smiled, thinking about how their date was going, but somewhere along the way he found himself lost. Emmett paused, looking up and down the street, before taking the direction he thought it was. Instead of ending up at the cafe though, he ended up in a completely unfamiliar location. "Crap." He sighed, annoyed at himself and just continued straight. Maybe he'd meet someone along the way and ask for directions.

Seeing a street ahead, Emmett faintly thought he was going the right way. So he ran toward it, not wanting to take any longer, and was met with a busy crowd of people. Emmett froze, his feet glued to the ground. A pain in his chest pulsated and he groaned, bringing his hand up to where his heart was. He began to back away, hoping to avoid a panic attack, especially at a time like this, but he ended up running into a stranger. "Sorry," Emmett mumbled, but he was now surrounded by people. He felt himself break out into a cold sweat, his breathing harder to control now. The cold air wasn't helping, and as his breaths began to eradicate, Emmett felt himself panicking. He could feel his uneven heartbeat and he desperately pushed through the crowd, his only goal now to escape. Not now, not again... Emmett was trapped in a memory he so desperately tried to forget. Vision blurred, he felt himself losing consciousness, until the whole world turned black.

end thread.