Start Again // [SQUEL TO THE POPULAR KIDS]

Chapter 10

When I wake up I check my phone. I hadn't been on it since I stopped facetiming Jide. I watched TV with Caleb and then fell asleep on the couch. He or dad must've carried me up here. I see I have a few texts from JJ.

Jide💘~ Are you still awake?
Jide💘~I miss you
Jide💘~Alright you're asleep. I get it. Goodnight Em💛
Jide💘~GOODMORNING! me and the guys are going to the football pitch today so I might not be on my phone but I'll call you later.

I smile while I read all the texts. I think it's because when I read them, in my head I can hear JJ saying them.

Me~Alright have fun. I have no idea what I'm going to do today but I'll send you pictures if I do anything cool. Talk to you later:)

I type quickly before hitting send, dropping my phone into my bed, and getting up to shower. I use some of the cool products dad got me. When I get out I do my makeup and straighten my hair. I put on blue, skinny jeans and my black Sidemen sweatshirt. I grab my phone and go downstairs.
"Pizza?" Caleb offers, sitting on the couch with a box of pizza on his lap.
"No thanks." I say. I walk to the kitchen and look for anything to eat. I find a box of captain crunch but its stale.
"Alright Caleb. I'm going out." I say. I jog upstairs and grab my wallet. I hurry back down the stairs and put on my black vans.
"Where are you going?" He asks.
"I'm going to eat and then I'm getting groceries." I tell him.
"Alone? *In New York City?" He asks sceptically.
"Yeah?" I answer.
"Do you even know your way around?" He continues.
"I'll figure it out. See ya." I say and walk out the door.

When I get to a Starbucks I order an iced green tea and sit at a table. I take pictures to post on Instagram and go on Twitter. Once I'm done I find a corner store and buy some pressed juices, yogurt, granola, fruits, veggies, water bottles, milk, new cereal, some spices and some sauces. I get a taxi back to the apartment and I find Caleb on the couch, eating pizza.
"You're going to gain like, 70 pounds." I tell him while I put the groceries away.
"No I'm not. I'm going to work out later. Theres a gym in this building you know." He says.
"Cool. Don't forget about Dad's work party tonight. We have to go." I remind him.
"Right. What am I supposed to wear for that?" He asks. I think for a second before answering.
"I have no idea." I answer.
"Great." He says nonchalantly. I laugh and jog upstairs.

When dad gets home around 4 he gives us each a box. Mine has a gorgeous knee-length red dress with triangular cut-outs on the sides of my waist and a gorgeous white-gold necklace. Caleb gets khakis and a red button up shirt with a white-gold watch. Dad wears black pants with a white button up shirt and a red tie.
"We match." I say, examining our clothing.
"We don't match, our colors are just coordinated." Dad says.
"It looks good," Caleb says, "So what is even going on tonight?"
"Well my work just sealed a huge deal so we're having a party for it, we're going to have dinner and then its like a normal party except for the talking is quiet and the music will be classical. Its boring, I know, but I have to go and there will be other kids there for you guys to be friends with." Dad tells us, enthusiastically. I smile sympathetically at Caleb who already looks bored.
"How late does it go?" I ask.
"Midnight, but you guys can leave early if you want and you can just get a cab back." Dad offers. Calebs face lightens up a little bit. Dad gets a call saying our ride is outside so we have to leave. I grab my phone and shove it into my clutch and follow dad out the door.

After dinner, Caleb and I meet all of dad's coworkers, they're mostly middle aged men with short grey-black hair, charming smiles and impressive jawlines. After that we stand by a wall at the back of the place and talk. Dad goes off with his buddies so we don't really have anything to do.
"Em." Caleb says. I look up from my phone, where I'm scrolling through Twitter.
"Yeah?" I respond nonchalantly.
"That guy over there keeps checking you out." Caleb tells me, I look up and see a tall boy with dark hair, "You'd think he would try to be subtle about it since I'm standing right here and I could be your boyfriend."
"You're not that scary, Caleb." I tease. He rolls his eyes. Actually Caleb is sort of scary, he's like 6'2 now and he's been going to the gym a lot recently so he's lean and muscular too. Jide told me that he's scared of him.
"Go talk to him." Caleb says. I look up at him skeptically.
"Why would I do that?" I ask.
"Because, if I were him I would want you to talk to me. You should try to make a friend, anyways you can tell him you're taken." Caleb says. I guess he has a point. I sigh.
"Okay, let my tweet this picture of us and dad quickly and then I'll go." I tell him. I quickly open Twitter and tweet the picture before silently giving myself a pep talk and walking away from Caleb.
I end up going to the bar and getting a Shirley temple (non-alcoholic obviously) and then I sit at a table. I start to make a plan of how I'll talk to him. I'll start with Hi, then ask which one of his parents work for this company, then...
"Hey there." An unfamiliar voice says. I look up and there he is, "Can I sit?"
"Uh, yeah sure." I say quickly. I notice his green eyes and slight tan. His jawline is amazing (probably got it from his father) and his hair is messy but not bedhead-ish.
"I'm Chase." He says with a smile. I freak out a little bit but calm myself down quickly.
"I'm Emma." I tell him, returning the smile, "Who are you here for, or with?" I ask.
"My Dad. Mr. Millen. He's the Chief Operating Officer. How about you?" He responds.
"Mines Mr.Martin. He's Chief Executive Officer." I tell him.
"Oh, the only position higher than my dad. I thought maybe I could impress you with him being COO but I guess not." He laughs. I laugh too.
"The effort was there. Anyways, my dad is a workaholic so he's been working to become CEO for years." I tell him.
"Oh, good for him then." He smiles, I smile back, "I hate this. I always have to come to dad's work parties, but I've never seen you at any." He says.
"Yeah, my brother and I are just visiting with him. We actually live in England." I tell him.
"I could tell that you weren't from around here. You don't really have an accent but some of the words you say have an english drawl or something." He tells me.
"Well you don't sound like the stereotypical new yorker." I tell him. He shrugs and laughs. We start talking about school and I find out he's only a year older than me. We talk about sports and clubs and our friends and tons of other things but he never asked if I was in a relationship, and I don't think it really matters, usually guys want sex. Thats it. But Chase, he's different, he seems kind and sweet and gentle, he reminds me of Caleb when he was younger.
Eventually Caleb comes and finds us and I introduce them to each other. Caleb begs me to leave because he's bored out of his mind and I agree to go with him. I give Chase my number and then hurry out onto the streets of new york to hail a taxi.

The next 6 days were hazy. I spent the majority of my time inside. Chase came over every day and we hung out, watching TV, playing games, going to the gym and for the time I was outside, he was showing me around new york. Apparently my dad and him were close before because my dad treats chase like he's his second son, I think Caleb likes having another teenage guy around so that its not just me and him. JJ and I have been texting and I've face-timed him once but with the timezones, school, and his youtube, we don't have much time to talk.
Since I was having so much fun in New York and once I got here I discovered how much I adore my father, I decided to stay a few more weeks. Dad hasn't booked my flight home, but I just know I'm staying a little longer. Chase and I have made plans to do a bunch of fun stuff and I'm honestly really excited to see how these next few weeks play out.