AN: Because everyone needs a Lulu Collins in their life right? This is after like "Being Nikki" and probably sometime during "Runaway". To me.

Steven walked into the loft first so I got a glimpse of blonde and sequins as she rushed up and clamped her arms around him. It would've been kind of comical to me actually if it wasn't so cute. I seriously felt tears prick my eyes and turned to see Christopher smiling wryly.

"Em?"

I jumped, startled, at Lulu using my real name. She had (shockingly fast) disentangled herself from Steven Howard and was staring at me with her huge kohl-rimmed eyes.

"Is that you? You're still Em, right?" She asked, cocking her head.

I nodded my head and all of a sudden the floodgates opened.

"Oh my GOD!" She wailed, running into me, and despite her extremely doll-like stature, nearly knocking me off my feet. She sobbed into my shoulder. "I missed you sooo much! And it was soo weird, because I never miss Nikki!!! And I was to Christopher all the time 'I miss Nikki!' but you were never Nikki, you were Em!" She blathered into my hair. I could feel her tears sliding down my back through Christopher's sweatshirt and my heart nearly broke in two.

"Well, I'm here now," was all I could think of to say, patting her on the back as Steven and Christopher looked on half-amused, half-concerned.

"Can't separate best friends," Steven said nonchalantly and I found myself frozen, blinking. Best friends?

I always thought of Christopher as my best friend. Sure, he was a guy but who needed a girlfriend when you had Christopher? I didn't like shopping or doing any of those girly things anyways.

But as soon as Steven said that, I knew it was true. Sure Lulu acted more like a human Cosabella who needed to be looked out for, but she just confirmed I was Em before running and jumping on me (she had quieted her sobs but was still latching on like she wasn't ever going to let go). Yeah, Emerson Watts, the real me. Not the Nikki Howard she'd thought I was for a while.

"Don't leave again, Em, okay?!" She asked viciously and I nodded and gave a wobbly smile as she penetrated me with her eyes. "Good," she smiled and tugged on my hand. "Now I have to tell you what happened while you were gone."

"What?" I asked intelligently.

"That's what girlfriends do, duh. Talk about all the gossip if one girl happens to miss it." She raked me quizzically. "You sure you're Em? Because if you're Nikki, you're out of here."

AN: Haha, okay that was bad. But I can just kind of picture Lulu snapping a little in the last book. Nikki used her a lot and Em was always a better friend to her.