Late nights

XI

Tom told Emily the whole plan with all the rough-etched steps.

- That's crazy. - Emily chuckled.

- Crazy enough to work. - Tom shrugged.

- Yeah, it might just be crazy enough. 

During their conversation, Tom got a call from his lawyer. He walked to the other room to have a chat. A court date had been set and Tom was over the moon.

- I told you not to smoke inside, it could literally kill us. - Tom came back and found Emily with a lit cigarette.

- Oh yeah, I forgot, my bad. I'll do it outside next time. You know, I was looking forward to having a nice summer with him.

- Yeah, stuff like that happens. You can't go back, you can't go forward, so the only real thing right now is the present.

- And what do you mean by that?

- By that I mean don't look back, we're not going that way. - Tom was sorting through his shelves.

- What are you looking for? - Emily asked. 

- I'm trying to find a chemical that can do some damage. Either potassium chlorate, cesium, or diethylzinc.

- I like your funny words, explain how they can do damage.

Tom found all elements and placed them on the table. He got ready by putting up security measures. He made Emily wear safety glasses, and put a pair on himself. 

- Alright. First of all, let's do diethylzinc. So, when this compound comes across oxygen, it...Well, you'll see.

Tom brought out a tube full of what Emily could only assume was the compound he was talking about. He squirted it out and the whole flow immediately set itself on fire. Emily took a step back and was amazed by what Tom had done.

- That was incredible, what happened there? - Emily asked.

- When diethylzinc reacts with oxygen, which is, spoiler alert, everywhere, it sets on fire. So if to say this chemical was put in a vacuum-sealed box, the person who would open the box would get a fresh delivery of fire.

- That's cool, very cool, I feel like a child again. - Emily said.

- Emily, we're seventeen, we're still children. Anyway, moving on to our second compound - cesium. Now, this actually isn't a compound, it's just an element, but it's quite interesting.

Tom poured a glass of water, set it on a safe surface, and put the cesium on the end of a long stick. He dropped the cesium in - a big explosion followed by a cloud with firework-like debris coming off the sides. both Emily and Tom laughed after everything was clear.

- I know you're gonna ask what happened there, - Tom started getting ready for the next one, - in short terms - hydrogen gets made, hydrogen goes boom. And it's really fascinating since all you need is some metal and some water.

- Hell yeah, who doesn't like an easy explosion?

- Exactly. Okay, last one, - Tom put some white powder in a test tube and started burning it. - It has to be liquid.

Emily just stood a couple of feet away, waiting for the big moment. 

- Dammit, I forgot something. Do you have any candy on you? - Tom touched around his pockets.

- I'm not sure. - Emily started going in her pockets. - I have a single gummy bear.

- That's perfect. - Tom grabbed it. - Okay, get ready.

Tom dropped in the gummy bear. The inside of the test tube started exploding by the second. Smoke kept coming out on the tube, but both Emily and Tom stayed calm.

- Alrighty, that was fun, right? - Tom asked.

- Science rocks, - Emily laughed, - I'm joking...Well, it's kinda cool.

- Of course, it's cool. Science is incredible.

- What else do you like? You know, you keep talking about science, physics, chemistry, and stuff, but I believe there's more to you than that. Tell me, Tom, what else do you like?

Tom stood there, looking at the floor for a second.

- I like chess. - He finally muttered.

- Yeah, but that's still like, brainy stuff. Parties, fun, movies, do you like those?

- I'm lead to believe that our definitions of fun are vastly different. Sure, I like movies.

- See, that's a good start.

- I don't like parties, though.

- You know that going to parties doesn't make you a good person, right?

- And going to church doesn't make you a good one. - Tom was cleaning up. - Where are you going with this?

- Nowhere, I just thought it would be good for us to talk. By the way, I made a deal with my dorm mate that I would be out for the night, so I can't go home.

- Sucks for you, I guess.

Emily stayed silent for a minute. Tom didn't realize what she was saying, so she decided to be literal about it.

- Could I stay here overnight? - Emily spat out.

- ...If you wish to do so, sure. I'm going to my room, you can go with me. - Tom washed his hands and opened the door to the house.

He lead Emily up the stairs into his room. While Tom went downstairs to tell his mom that Emily was staying, she had a great opportunity to look around the room. It was compact but cozy. There were a couple of portraits in the room of people Emily didn't recognize. There was some medicine on the counter - to ease the pain from the beating he got from Harry. 

- Seeing anything interesting? - Tom asked.

- Oh, sorry, I was just looking around. - Emily got caught off guard.

- You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor, I couldn't care less.

- You don't care but you're giving me the bed? - Emily smiled.

- That's what I just said. It's still quite early, so, do you wanna do anything? I don't know what to do, usually, I would just lay in bed or something. I don't usually have guests over. 

- Yeah, I could've told you that. This room is nice, just a bit small.

- It's fine, I don't need a giant room anyway. - Tom was sitting on the floor. - you said you wanted to get to know each other. So, what do you like?