Chapter 3

Changing Feelings

    The next morning Emily went downstairs, sleepily. She tried to push the bathroom-door open when she heard Sam screaming.

    "Hey! It's us, we'll be ready soon."
    "But...I need...to...toilet!!!" Emily whined.

    "Then use the bathroom upstairs!"

    "No...Hannah is..."

    Suddenly the door was opened, just the same time as Hannah came down. Brianna and Sam were already dressed while Hannah and Emily still wore their night-shirts.

    "Come on, hurry up! I think Georgia has already prepared our breakfast! I'm so hungry!" Sam rolled her eyes, she was hungry everytime, she could eat the whole day, but the blond girl tried her best to keep it under control.

    After having a wonderful breakfast the doorbell rang. Sam jumped up, grinning.

    "Perfectly punctual, like they use to be!" She ran out of the kitchen, to open the door. Brianna and Hannah followed, Emily was taking a shower.

    Three boys came in, two blondes and one with dark hair. One of the blond guys went over to Sam and gave her a little kiss. At this moment Emily came downstaris, with nothing wrapped around her body but a white towel. She almost felt the glance the boy next to Samantha gave her. But he was holding hands with her friend, so why did he look that way?

    Em tried to ignore him, but that was quiete impossible. At this very first time the feelings were just too strong. She tried not to recognize them. This was Kian, Sam's boyfriend!

    Kian introduced the girls to his mates Shane and Bryan. Shane, brown-eyed and handsome, smiled at Hannah: "Nice to meet you!" He took her hands, softly. The girl was really blown away. She smiled goofily, although knowing that this reaction was childish, but indeed, Shane smiled in the same way.

    Bryan and Shane battled about being the first to shake hands with the girls. Kian shouted at then, playfully.

    "Heya, Filan...leave it there...The same for you, you you...you big blond brother!"

    "D'you've said anything, Egan-boy?"

    "Nothing, Mr. McFadden, I just wanted to be nice...to the girls!" Kian smiled slyly and punched his mate's back.

    "Kinda endearing, that guy..." Emily stood next to Brianna, admiring Kian.

    "Don't you think so, Bry?" Brianna wasn't listening.

    "Bry!" Em shouted, a little to loud for that short distance. One of the blond boys whirled around, the tallest one. He looked a little confused, then catched Sams glance. He smiled slightly.

    "This is Kian?" asked Hannah who stood next to Sam. The latter shook her head.

    "No, this is Bryan..." She seemed dazzly, but tried to keep it under control. Hannah didn't recognize it, she melted in Shane's beautiful eyes..

    Emily pretended not to see it. She had fallen in love head over heels. Just by the first time she had seen his blue eyes, his well-shaped mouth, his marvellous body. As Kian wanted to kiss Samantha, she sighed sadly. But: Sam didn't seem to be very happy about that, the same for Bryan. He stood in one corner of the hall, being a kind of exasperated.

    Brianna went over to him, grinning. Bryan smiled back at her, weedily. She started joking about their similar nicknames, but Bryan was quiete apathetic, a little listless.

    'He doesn't seem to be envious, just soooo sad..." Emily thought while scrutinizing Bryan. He looked quiete handsome, but not that cute like Kian. She managed to wrench her gaze away from Kian and Sam kissing passionately, or better, claiming to do this.

    Brianna wondered seeing another boy coming in. He smiled at her:"Hey, Miss Summers!" The girl was pleased. Now she met that gorgeous guy again. Mark took her hands, smiling. He looked into her brown eyes, and squeezed her hands softly.

    Emily disappeared to put on some clothes, when she came down again, the group was ready to go. It hurted her a little bit to see Kian together with Sam, but she tried to appear happy and cool, like she used to be.

    The boys and girls got going, Shane drove them all downtown where the best markets and sights were. Emily sat next to Bryan, talking and flirting a lot with him, just to demonstrate her independance, and to show Sam the boundries. She didn't want to hurt Kian, but why couldn't he see what she felt?

* * * * *

    The group walked down the big market streets of Dublin. On every corner people were selling flowers, and this smelled so good. Only four days to Valentine's day. One woman stopped Shane's casual walking.

    "What a nice girlfriend you have", pointing to Hannah who stood next to him. "A lovecoloured rose for everlasting love. Don't you think so, young man?" The woman smiled and gave a rose to Shane. The guy had gone a lovely shade of red. He was completely open-mouthed and staggered. The friendly woman didn't want the money he tried to give her, she just kept on smiling, then turned around to go away.

    Shane's face was a puffing red. He smiled sheepishly at Hannah, handing the rose to her. She took it, with a stunning smile. Her dreams came true, or was it just imagination? Overwhelmed by joy she gave him a little kiss.

    "Thank you..." the girl whispered. Her cheeks were hot and glooming. Shane looked deep into her green eyes and smiled foolishly.

    Kian snorted teasingly: "Now be aware of Shane's powerful virility!" Shane's head grew more and more red. Hannah giggled but took his hand softly, squeezing it gently.

* * * * *

    "Tell us something about yourself, Brianna!" Kian asked, hoping to start a conversation. The group sat in a cafe, drinking some hot chocolade and eating ice-cream.
    "She's an existentialist!" Hannah gestured, laughing. Brianna punched her friend playfully. „Yeah, that's true!"

    Brianna smiled a bit. "I am a follower of my own modern philosophy supporting the importance of the individual's freedom to choose my own way of living and create myself through my actions...That's what the dictionary says!" She laughed, the others joined.     "No, not really an existentialist, but in some way it is right..." She shrugged.

    "But this is quiete a good attitude for life. Maybe I should think about it...really!" Kian piped up.     "Do you like poetry? Like poems?" Kian was really curious.

    "Yes, of course! I am a big fan of Tennyson and of Lord Byron! I am fascinated by his unconventional livestyle and his emotional lyrics." Brianna chuckled and gave a little laugh. "Although I don't know much about him..."

    Mark seemed deliberate, but then he lit up. Shane'd just asked for boyfriends. Em, Hannah and Brianna started laughing.

    "No, not yet..." Hannah grinned. "But maybe, this will change in the next time... Right, Bry?? Hey, here are some nice..."

    "Shush!!!!! Keep quiet. Hannah!" Brianna screamed. The two girls bickered a little, but soon got back to the conversation. The blond girl looked at Mark, giving him a shy glare.

    Emily and Bryan chatted and babbled, Sam watched them wistfully. Kian seemed to be indifferent, he pretended not to notice this. Casually he talked to his mates, planning the next days, together with the girls.

    He went on asking the girls about their former lifes, he wanted to get to know then as good as possible. Shane interrupted him from time to time, but Kian didn't let his friend get the word.

    "Dude, don't even dare to steal my job!"

    Samantha still observed her friend Emily and her loved Bryan. She didn't know what to do, how to act. Agitated she sat on her chair, quiete uncomfortable. The girl winced when she heard Hannah calling her name.

    "Are you dreaming, girly?" Sam pretended to smile and nodded.

    "Don't care, I was thinking about something. Nothing important..." Sam smiled and punched her friend's back playfully. Bryan watched her moving and needed a lot of strength and conviction to wrench his gaze away from her.

    "You were quiete uneasy at the London-airport. Was it just because of Mark trying to steal your bag?" Shane asked Brianna carefully while the others were distracted in chatting.The girl looked at him, worriedly. Shane continued.

    "Mark told me 'bout that...Everything's OK?" Shane felt that something was wrong. But she managed to smile and calmed him down, not letting him get the chance again to go on asking.

* * * * *

    The phone rang. Sam was the first to arrive, she picked it up. Bryan was on the line. After a loud and enthusiastic "Hi!" she quickly calmed down her voice and went into her room, locking the door. Emily was very curious. She started listening to the conversation Sam tried to keep secretly. Em was shocked when Sam ended the call. What she had heard...Kian should know this! But although it hurted her to hear this, she kept quiet and felt a kind of happiness she never felt before.

    Emily laid on her bed, trying to calm down. She remembered herself of minding her own business, but although the girl tried her best it was impossible. She realized that she was gone on Kian, she fell in love with her friend's boyfriend. That was one thing she thought that never would happen to her. A tear found it's way down her cheek, and Emily wiped it away furiously. 'Childish!' she told herself. But there was nothing to make her feelings change, to make them disappear.

    The girl felt hunger and went downstairs to prepare some sandwiches. She heard the TV, Sam sat on the sofa and surfed through the channels, without even noticing what happened on the screen.

    "What's up with that goofy smile?" Emily asked with an ironic grin. Sam didn't recognize it. She went on smiling and humming. Em stared at her friend, fiercely.

    "I think you'd better stop this right now! Stop cheating and tell Kian...! I won't give details about that, you know what I mean!" Her voice sounded agressive and annoyed. Sam snapped back to reality. She wanted to answer, to explain and state reasons for this tricky situation. But Emily was gone.