“It’s okay,” I say quickly, squeezing his wrist. “I’m glad, honestly. I think this is the way it’s meant to be.”

Emmitt scans my expression for a sign I’m lying, but he must not find any, because he tilts his head in confusion. “Really? What changed?”

“I got into NYU,” I say, tapping my thumb against his pulse. It speeds up underneath my touch. “And I realized that this is where I want to be. Home is where you find love, right?”

A pause, and then Emmitt softly says, “Right.”

“Just kiss already!” Kaity shouts, making me jump in surprise, bumping into Emmitt’s chest.

I turn my head to see half of film club standing in the doorway, the freshmen jumping to see us over the heads of the seniors. Rosie is smiling at me warmly, and even Grant has a wide grin on his face.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” Linli starts chanting, elbowing Noojman to join her. “Kiss, kiss, kiss!”

“Oh my God,” I say, covering my face with my hands, though I let myself peek between my fingers. “What’s wrong with all of you?”

“Just kiss!” says Sofia, clapping her hands together in delight. Behind her, Christina and Brighton nod eagerly.

“I’m gonna end it all,” I whisper to Emmitt, and he laughs, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “And once I’m done ending it all, I’m going to come back from the dead and end all of them.”

Emmitt shift slightly, blocking me from sight. Then he turns a look on them, an eyebrow arched. “Privacy, if you will?”

I can’t see Linli, but I can hear her. “You’re a celebrity—aren’t you used to invasive paparazzi?”

He flips them off, but his eyes are glittering with amusement. He even switches back to his usual British accent when he says, “Paps are usually called by PR teams, actually. My publicist didn’t mention any of you lot to me?”

“You’re such a dickhead,” Rosie says, but I can hear the grin in her voice. “Mina was right.”

“It happens on occasion.” Emmitt flicks my nose. “Now if you’d all kindly go back inside?”

The club members grumble, but I hear rustling as they all return to the classroom, and then the sound of the door closing. Despite my death threat, I can’t help the fondness bursting to life inside my chest.

I love being a part of film club so much, and I wouldn’t be here, in this moment built of dreams and magic, without it.

Emmitt turns back to me, his mouth curling in the corner. “You were saying?”

“I don’t remember,” I say, my own lips curving in response. “Maybe that you were a dickhead?”

“No, I don’t think it was quite that,” he says, his hands cupping my cheeks. “Something about home?”