Better Than You | ✔️

36| Pizza or Calzone?

As much as I loved volleyball, high school season was never my favorite in the long-run. But I would never have just stopped trying out for the team, since my parents loved it so much, and I ultimately would have regretted it. However, I was beyond ready for season to be over so that I could take some time off of volleyball. Of course club season would start up in a few months, and the boys season, but I wasn't necessarily planning on playing a huge part in their season because of the recent events.

I shook off the thought, not needing to remind myself of Noah and I right now. I grabbed out a black cropped tank top, and a pink jean skirt, also known as the fanciest outfit I would be caught dead wearing. That is, the fanciest outfit that I would wear from my own closet and not Gracie's. Heading to the bathroom, I quickly changed and threw my straight hair into a high ponytail.

Dinner was at 7, and we all headed down to the lobby at 6:45 to start walking to the restaurant. Which was only around 15 minutes away.

As we entered the restaurant, a very fancy Italian one, a waiter immediately took us all to a large table in the back where coach and the boys were already waiting for us. But not all of the boys, only the ones who had come to help out for the weekend. And of course that included Noah. My heart sunk a bit when I saw him, making eye contact with his deep brown eyes that I missed so much. Noah looked away almost immediately.

He was so mad at me.

We all sat down, and Gracie sat next to me, immediately whipping out a menu and blabbing about the endless calzone options. I, however, was unable to focus on her calzone talk, instead drifting off into my own world of endless thoughts.

The extent to which I liked Noah was mind boggling considering our past. And the extent to which I had gotten used to having him around was even more so. I was used to spending off periods studying at the cafe, or making fun of each other playfully at lunch and across the net. I had even gotten used to Noah lacing our fingers together when we were alone, and being someone I could confide in about my parents.

But that was the other thing. I couldn't come to the conclusion that Noah was right about me and my parents. I couldn't just listen to how he had criticized me for not standing up for myself, or him for that matter, and accept it as fact. My parents were all I had ever since Billie disappeared, and the last thing I ever wanted to do was disappoint them or make them look down on me. But they didn't control me. He was wrong about that. He had to be.

As much as I tried, or wished, to stop thinking about Noah, I couldn't. He was always right there at the front of my mind. His stupid, rude remarks, his contagious smile, his studying face where his eyebrows were scrunched together beneath his glasses, and his eyes slightly squinted to focus intently on the papers before him.

I was right to acknowledge the fact that Noah Locke would certainly be the death of me.

"Pizza or calzone?" Olivia asked from across the table.

I snapped out of my thoughts, raising my eyes up to meet hers, then looking down at the menu before me. "Uh... pizza. Definitely pizza."

"I just can't believe Gracie is a calzone girl," Olivia said. "Blows my mind."

"Hey, Clay took me to that one calzone restaurant years ago, and ever since then, I haven't been able to go back to just regular old pizza without feeling slightly disappointed," Gracie shrugged.