Author's Note: I wasn't sure if anyone was still reading this story so I did take a bit of a break. But I'm back with another chapter :) I hope you enjoy!!!

Ember finished up the final touches of her makeup and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore her blonde wavy, loose curled hair down naturally. She decided to make her makeup more bold for tonight, adding eyeshadow and eyeliner, which was something she rarely did. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her black dress that hugged every single curve she had. She turned around to look at the back of the dress in the mirror, making sure it was acceptable. When she found that it was, she slipped on her small black heels and left the bathroom.

It had been a week since the fight and she'd barely spoken to Colt, despite sleeping in the same room as him. She had made it clear to him that she had no interest in interacting with him. Her date with Corey had to be put on hold due to the fight. His parents apparently had him on lockdown and he needed to let his nose heal from the impact of Colt's punch.

'Typical Colt. Always making a mess of things.' Ember thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

As she descended the stairs, Colt was walking in the front door at the same time and their eyes met. Hazel eyes fell upon blue. His eyes widened at the sight of her and his mouth dropped slightly. Ember kept her eyes on him, but no emotion appeared on her face. He knew she was still upset with him from the events that happened last week. Jessica appeared in the doorway of the living room, wiping her hands with a dish towel.

"Oh Ember! You look lovely!" Jessica gushed as she approached the pair.

Ember blushed and looked down at her feet. "Thank you, Jessica. I feel so out of place wearing something like this. Does it truly look okay?"

"You look absolutely gorgeous, darling. I promise." Jessica told her as she pushed a curl behind her ear in a motherly way.

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she Colt?" Jessica looked over at Colt.

For once, Colt didn't roll his eyes or come back with a sarcastic, witty remark. Instead, he looked at his mother and then looked at Ember, "She really does."

"Let me go start on dinner. You call me if you need anything, okay? Be safe and have fun!" Jessica told her as she made her way to the kitchen.

Ember was about to walk into the living room to kill time until Corey arrived, but Colt caught her arm.

"Hey, can we talk?" Colt asked her.

"About what? About how you fought Corey and ruined my plans? My date was supposed to happen last week, but you made sure that didn't happen, didn't you?" Ember pulled her arm out of Colt's grasp and then crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him challengingly.

"I didn't try to fight him. He said some things I didn't like and I reacted. I'm sorry that I upset you, but I didn't intend to."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Right. I'm sure that's exactly what you meant to do. You hate me, Colt and I've never understood why. You say you don't, but your actions prove otherwise. Did you know that I had a crush on you before I dated Rocky? I was aware of Rocky's crush, but I liked you instead. And you hated me. So I fully understand why you fought Corey. It was to ruin my date and make me unhappy."

Colt was stunned. There was so much information to process. "Wait, what? You liked me?"

"Yeah, I did. Once upon a time. I tried to be your friend, hoping that maybe one day it could turn into more, but you never gave me the chance. You hated me from the beginning."

"I don't hate you, Em. I never have and never will. Please don't go on your date tonight." Colt pleaded with her.

"Why? Give me one good reason why." Ember answered as she lifted an eyebrow.

"Because he's not who you think he is. And I don't want to see you get hurt, okay?"

"Funny. Because the only guy that's ever really hurt me is you. Don't ruin this for me. I'm going on this date."

Before Colt could reply, the doorbell rang and Ember walked as fast as she could in heels to answer it. Corey was on the other side in a nice dress shirt and a pair of slacks. "Wow, Ember. You look beautiful."

Ember blushed and looked down at her feet. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Colt rolled his eyes and walked up behind Ember to face Corey once again. Corey's eyes immediately darkened at the sight of Colt.

"Hey Pony, ready to go again?" Corey challenged.

Colt remained calm though, as he took a deep breath to achieve that state. "No, Corey. But just so you know, I know who you really are and sooner or later, Ember will too. You know what you said to me at school that set me off. If you hurt her, so help me God, I'll break every bone in your body."

Jessica appeared behind Colt and heard the entire thing. "Jeffrey Douglas!! Haven't you learned anything?!?"

Jessica's eyes softened as she looked at Ember and said, "Go, darling. Have fun. Don't be too late."

When Ember walked out the door, Jessica turned to Colt. "Care to explain what all of this is about? You got suspended for fighting someone and then you turn right around and threaten him? What in the world is going on, Jeffrey?"

Colt's shoulders slumped and he looked at his mother defeated. "I lost my cool, mom. But that was only because of what he said to me."

Jessica's eyes narrowed as she listened intently. "And just what did he say that made you so upset to make you want to fight at school?"

"He told me that he was going to take Ember's virginity. That she was cute and all, but his main goal was to date her to piss me off. He said that she agreed to a date with him only after knowing him for a day. Meanwhile, she's known me her entire life and never even looked my way. Basically telling me that he was better than me and that I will never have her."

Jessica's eyes softened with sympathy as she touched her son's cheek to make him look at her. "I understand wanting to defend Ember's honor, but why did the other stuff bother you so much? Do you have feelings for her?"

Colt stepped away from his mother and shook his head, "No, I don't. I.. I.. I... don't think I do. I was only upset that he's just using her to mess with me. What if he does get her to sleep with him??"

Jessica smiled sadly at her son, "Ember is a smart girl, Colt. She's not one to just make rash decisions without fully thinking them over. She's got a good head on her shoulders. I highly doubt she'll let that happen."

Colt let out a breath and nodded his head, "Thanks, mom."

"I'm going to finish dinner. Try to relax, okay?" Jessica rubbed his back before returning to the kitchen.

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Ember and Corey grabbed a quick bite to eat before they made their way over to the Seaside Theater. Corey had been the perfect gentleman all night. He opened the car door for her, held her hand during the ride, and paid for everything, despite her protests.

As they approached the theater and stood in line for their tickets, Corey looked over at Ember. "How has the last week been with Colt?"

Ember sighed and shrugged. "I don't really talk to him. But he did say that you said some things that upset him. What was that all about?"

Corey shifted his weight on his other foot and chewed on his lip. "I don't really feel comfortable telling you this because I don't want to see you hurt... But I didn't say anything about you.. he did."

Ember looked at him expectantly, waiting on him to finish. When he didn't, she sighed in frustration, "I need to know, Corey."

Corey sighed and looked down at this feet before returning his eyes back to Ember's. "He said that I was crazy for asking you out and that I should think it over. That you were a virgin and not worth the trouble. Especially if I couldn't get any action. Those were his exact words. I'm so sorry, Ember."

Ember's eyes welled with tears as she felt the hurt shoot through her chest. She swallowed and pushed the tears back down. "He really said that?"

Corey frowned, but nodded. "That's what started the fight. I told him to back off and that I was still going out with you. That's when he threw the first punch. He said he was going to knock some sense into me."

Ember couldn't believe her ears. She knew Colt had always been a jerk to her, but for him to be that cruel?? That was something else entirely.

Ember frowned and looked down at her feet, turning away from Corey.

Corey grabbed her arm softly and pulled her to him. "Hey, Ember, don't pull away. Look at me, beautiful."

Ember looked up at him, her eyes full of vulnerability.

"I told him to back off, okay? I know you're worth it. I don't care what the thinks. All I care is what you think, beautiful. Please don't let him ruin tonight."

Ember swallowed back her tears once more and smiled, nodding softly. "Okay, I'm sorry. No more Colt talk."

"That's my girl," Corey stated with a smile.

"Your girl??" Ember asked shocked.

"Well yeah, you're my girl. What do you say, Ember? Will you be my girlfriend?"

Ember hesitated for a brief moment, thinking about what Colt had said earlier.

'He's not who you think he is.'

'Well Colt, you aren't who I thought you were either.' She answered to herself.

"I'd love that," Ember replied and smiled up at Corey.

He took her hand in his and led her into the theater. Not really a fan of romantic movies, Ember had chosen an action thriller. Ember couldn't help but notice just how nice this felt. They whispered to each other, shared their popcorn and candy, and kept looking over at the other throughout the film. She felt... . Halfway through the movie, she felt Corey's arm wrap around her side and his other hand grabbed hers. She looked at Corey to see him smiling at her.

"What are you doing?" Ember whispered.

"I wanted to hold my girl... is that okay?" Corey asked her.

Ember looked up into Corey's eyes and smiled. "It's more than okay."

Corey's face inched closer to hers by the second. "What about this?"

Ember could feel Corey's breath ghosting against her lips. They were so close that she couldn't really focus on his eyes anymore. She couldn't find her voice, so instead, she simply nodded.

Corey leaned in slowly and their lips touched slightly. They kissed each other softly, slowly, and cautiously. His hand then came up to her neck and buried his hand in her hair as he deepened the kiss. Ember gasped at the urgency.

She pushed him away softly after a few moments and smiled. "I don't want to go too fast. Colt's right, I am a virgin. I know that's so embarrassing to say."

Corey took her hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes. "That is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, beautiful."

When the ending credits displayed on the screen, Corey and Ember stood up together and walked out of the theater holding hands.

"Should we go for ice cream?" Corey asked her as he held the door open for her to exit the theater.

"That sounds great!" Ember agreed.

Corey walked Ember to the passenger side of his car and opened the door for her to get in. Once he saw that she was seated comfortably, he shut the door and walked around the car to the driver's side.

'I'll be in her pants within a month... this is too easy', Corey thought to himself as he smirked.

Corey got into the car, started the engine, and drove over to the ice cream parlor.

———————————————————————-

"I had a really nice time tonight," Ember said as she looked over at him as he drove her home.

"I did too. We should definitely do this again," Corey replied.

Corey pulled his car into the driveway and turned off the ignition. Ember undid her seatbelt and smiled at him before opening her car door to step out of the car.

"No Em, let me get that!" Corey protested as he ran to the other side of the car.

"I'm alright to get my own car door, Corey," Ember teased.

"Just because you're capable doesn't mean you should," Corey told her as he held out his hand to assist her in stepping out of the car.

Ember took his hand and laughed, stepping out of the car. Corey shut the door behind her and walked her up the sidewalk to the front door.

Standing at the front door, Ember looked over at Corey and smiled. He appeared to be nervous with his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you for tonight, Corey," Ember told him.

"It was my pleasure, Em," Corey replied.

When he noticed her slight reaction to the nickname, his expression turned into a confused one. "Do you not like that nickname?"

Ember shrugged. "It's what Colt calls me. No one else has ever really called me that."

Corey's eyes darkened at the mention of Colt. "Well from now on, it'll be my nickname for you. He doesn't deserve to call you that."

Ember smiled softly and looked up at him.

"Well goodnight," Ember whispered as she was leaning into him.

"Goodnight, Em," Corey whispered back as he leaned into her.

Just before their lips met, the front door opened wide. It has been so dark at the front door that when it opened, the light blasted the pair's eyes causing them to squint.

"Hey! Keep your nasty lips off Emmy! She don't need all that kissy-kissy business!" Tum-Tum declared.

Ember threw her head back in frustration and groaned. "Tum-Tummmmm, are you being serious right now??? Get back inside, you little twerp!"

Tum-Tum didn't crack a smile at all. "Dead serious, Emmy. Now come on. Say goodnight to him without your lips."

Ember looked at Corey and mouthed an 'I'm sorry'. Corey smiled in response. "I'll see you at school. Thank you for tonight."

Corey walked down the sidewalk, returning to his car and Ember walked into the house with Tum-Tum, shutting the door behind her.

"What was that???" Ember shrieked.

"What was what?" Tum-Tum asked her innocently.

Ember's face had began to turn red at his pretend ignorance.

"Don't get mad at him. I told him to interrupt you two." Colt's voice was heard from the stairs.

Ember turned to look at Colt, and if looks could kill, well Colt would be six feet under right now.

"You did what?!" Ember shrieked.

Tum-Tum held his hands up in surrender and then dashed up the stairs wanting to avoid the brewing confrontation.

"I told him to interrupt you two. It's not his fault. It's mine."

"But why? Why would you do that?!"

"Because I told you Corey's not who you think he is."

"Will you stop with that??? If anyone is pretending to be something that they're not, it's you!!" Ember replied.

"And what's supposed to mean?" Colt asked, his voice slightly raised.

"Corey told me what you said about me, Colt! Stop pretending! I know everything!" Ember replied.

"Pretending about what?!? Corey is the one who said things about you!"

"Right! Who do you think I'm more inclined to believe, Jeffrey? A guy that I just met, but has been absolutely perfect to me? Or a guy I've known since childhood that has spent majority of that time hating me and treating me like shit?"

"You know what? Believe him. I don't care." Colt told her loudly, letting his temper get the best of him.

"Good. Because I do believe him," Ember replied as she pushed Colt out of the way and made her way up the stairs.

Colt turned to watch her disappear up the stairs and into their shared room. When the door shut behind her, Colt sat down on the staircase and buried his face in his hands in frustration. He sighed to himself.

'What am I going to do?'

'That asshole is clearly twisting the narrative to make it look like I'm the bad guy here.'

'Em believes him...'

'Have I really screwed up this badly?'