Everything was blue. Or, at least, blue was the only color I could see.
Maybe that was his power. Like a male medusa, he'd trap girls with his gaze and make them forget about anything else. It was like an infinite spring, with swirling azure and green in his eyes, so vivid and breathtaking. But there was something more there, something hidden behind shades of color. Something I suddenly wanted to uncover for a whole different reason than a plot to take him down...
Snap out of it!
"Pudding," I yelled out, shaking my head to try and dispel whatever enchantment those eyes put me under.
Shit. It came to me just a second too late that screaming that out might not be seen as the most normal of things. For a split second, I even dared to hope that maybe he hadn't heard that.
Noah raised both eyebrows, tilting his head. "What?"
Lord have mercy, maybe there was still a way out of this.
"Nothing."
"You just said pudding," he insisted, much to my complete and utter dismay.
Why do people always ask what when they clearly heard what you said?
And so it begins. The battle of wits.
"Nope. Must be hearing things." I shrugged, trying to play it cool as I shuffled on my feet, itching to just sprint to class and leave this whole scene behind.
"Pretty sure I wasn't." Noah's smirk made it obvious leaving this scene behind was the last thing on his mind. "Did you... want pudding?"
"No, I don't like pudding."
"You don't like pudding?" he asked, confusion and amusement seeping out of every crease of his face.
Not that I blamed him for that reaction, after all I did just scream the word at him. Mentally facepalming myself, I pressed my lips together and shook my head.
"No. I think the texture is... weird." I mumbled, glancing at Noah quickly.
He still had the same amused smirk on his face, as if he'd just caught me trying to sneak a cookie from the forbidden cookie jar.
"Noted," Noah said and raised an eyebrow with an unspoken question.
A question that was definitely not going to get answered. Because how would I even explain that outburst?
You see, Noah, I was so busy staring at your eyes that I lost myself in them and needed to distract myself with something I disliked with a passion to remind myself I disliked you with a passion.
Makes sense. Totally. Wouldn't make me seem strange at all.
Then again, could I even really claim I still disliked him with a passion? It sure started out that way, but now, it felt more like my burning hate had simmered down to a medium tolerance. My once strong, aggressive bark had become a pathetic, silent yip.
"I should get to class." I sighed, trying to swallow down the disappointment I felt in myself as I turned around.
"I'll walk with you."
I didn't manage to take a single step before Noah's arm slipped around my shoulder and he casually strode next to me. Before I could even complain about it, he cleared his throat and continued.
"Anyway, it's Friday."
"Is it? Wow, so lucky I have you in my life, I mean how else would I keep track of time? It's not like they invented a thing that helps you keep track of the days such as, perhaps, a calendar," I kept muttered, rolling my eyes.
Noah just stared at me, the glint in his eye making it obvious that he wasn't even remotely deterred by my usual shade of sarcasm. No wonder I felt like a yipping puppy around him. He could probably defuse a bomb if he stared at it for long enough.
"You know what Friday means, right?" he grinned, probably more amused by my random ranting than annoyed.
"The end of the longest, most difficult week of my life?" I sighed, trying to shake his arm off me.
He let out a sound that was supposed to represent the wrong answer buzzer, and let go of my shoulders as we reached the classroom, "Date night."
"You can't be serious." I groaned, turning to face him. "How many dates are we gonna have?"
Noah smirked, the kind of grin that made his eyes twinkle mischievously. Before I even knew what he was doing, he leaned closer, so much so that I could see every single fleck of color in those terrifying eyes of his.
"Lots and lots," he whispered in a husky tone, but because of his proximity, the sound rang crystal clear in my ears. A shudder passed through me and for the first time, it wasn't unpleasant. A part of me was very alarmed by that.
The bell rang, and Noah pulled away, clearing his throat, "Better get going before I'm late. See you at lunch." And then he was gone.
I turned around on shaky legs, ready to just melt into my seat when I saw that quite a few people in the class were intently staring at me with the kind of attention I wasn't used to receiving. Most looks were coated with a curious confusion, after all, this sort of relationship dynamic wasn't exactly the usual for Noah Archer and his steady stream of girlfriends.
We were getting some much-unwanted attention, and I was definitely not happy with it.
Knowing how warm my cheeks felt, I could only imagine the cherry red color that consumed my face. Swallowing hard, I focused my eyes on the ground and scurried to my seat.
"Is this normal? Going on so many dates?" I mumbled, pursing my lips together like a small child.
Melissa was busy fixing her eyebrows in the bathroom mirror but paused long enough to give me the exasperated mom look through the mirror.
"I mean, yah. Normally that's sort of the appeal when you're dating someone." Melissa clicked her tongue before she focused back on her reflection.
"Normally people actually date someone they like," I said, rolling my eyes.
Letting out a sigh, she finished fluffing up her brow and turned to face me, pointing her eyebrow pen at me like a gun.
"Normally people don't ask someone out unless they like them."
Well, she had me there. This impulsive decision to be Noah's two-week girlfriend was all kinds of backfiring.
"Besides, just because it started without feelings doesn't mean it has to end that way."
My eyes almost popped out of their sockets at her words. "Ex-squeeze me?"
"I mean, technically there's no guarantee you won't develop feelings for each other." Melissa crossed her arms over her chest, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Uhm, yes there is. There is very much a guarantee," I said, but her eyebrow remained unmoved. "Me. I'm the guarantee. There's no way I'd fall for him. I'm only with him to try and reveal his secrets."
"That's what you say now." Melissa hummed, grinning as she walked toward the door.
"You can't just say that and leave," I protested, stomping after her with heated fury, the door of the bathroom slamming shut behind me.
"Hm, pretty sure I just did."
My best friend was quickly becoming Jerkface #2.
Before I could come up with a retort, she continued in her sing-song voice.
"Better hurry, Sky. Don't want to keep loverboy waiting."
As we walked a way, there was the smallest thought in my head that, considering where our conversation ended up going, we probably should have checked if there was someone in the bathroom with us.
But then again, the hallways were empty and we were in the bathroom for several minutes. There was no way someone could have been in there without us noticing.
"Shouldn't we wait until our date for the question section today?"
Noah was driving me home, as usual, after school, the radio quietly playing a new Popish song. He nodded his head to the beat and shrugged at my question.
"I mean, lots of questions, so little time..."
"Didn't know you were so efficient." I snorted, tapping on my knee in the rhythm.
Somehow being stuck in the car with him still made me nervous. Maybe it was the fact that you couldn't exactly escape from a moving vehicle if things got awkward, and I really liked that option.
"There's a lot you haven't learned about me," he said, grinning as he threw a quick glance my way.
Yeah, and the things I keep finding out aren't exactly the quality name-smearing ammo I was hoping to get.
Quite the opposite really.
"So, what do you value most in a friendship?"
Well, that was an easy question at least.
"Honesty. If your friends can't be honest with you, you won't ever be close enough. Sometimes I hate how honest Mel and Lily are with me but they also stop me from doing a lot of stupid things so..." I started, realizing a bit too late that it was his turn to go first. "Uh, sorry, I just jumped right into that."
Noah chuckled and waved one hand at me, "I don't mind. It doesn't matter that much who goes first."
I smiled and nodded, gesturing toward him. "Then, what do you value most?"
He thought for a few seconds before speaking. "Trust. It's the foundation you build any relationship on, don't you think?" His smile was so innocent and bright, the words made me feel guilty.
What we were building on top of was a mountain of lies.
Then again, it's not like we really had a relationship to build. Or at least, we shouldn't have had one. This was supposed to be a mutual disliking going on. But the way he phrased it felt oddly as if it was also meant for us.
Two days ago, I would have been thrilled to see that perhaps he thought we were growing closer. Building something. It would mean that maybe I could make him fall for him, and give him a taste of his own breakup medicine.
Now, it felt more like I was slowly walking toward the edge of a very sharp, very tall cliff, and there was no way to go but down.
"Right," I replied, the sinking feeling in my body feeling increasingly more uncomfortable by the second.
Noah looked at me, confused and with his brows furrowed at my sudden mood change. I mean, considering I was giving myself whiplash with all the warring emotions inside of me, I wasn't really surprised.
As simple as this question was it felt like the most loaded one. The one I wanted to avoid thinking about the most.
Time for a topic change.
"Anyway, where are we going for a date this time?" I cleared my throat and asked.
He raised one eyebrow, glancing at me briefly with the same satisfied smirk on his face.
"It's a surprise," I replied to my own question, trying to mimic his voice.
Noah laughed, shaking his head. "You do know me pretty well, Foxy."
Another loaded comment. I clearly knew nothing about him because the things I had learned so far were in complete contrast to what I thought I knew. Getting to know him better had become a surprisingly scary thought.
"Not well enough, Katniss."
His booming laughter surprised me, so intoxicating and contagious I found myself chuckling as well.
It was so easy being around him.
With other guys, guys I maybe kind of liked, I always tried to be what I thought they wanted me to be. The best version of myself. The one without the flaws and the darkness and the snappy comebacks.
With Noah, I never cared from the start. I didn't need to be liked. I didn't care what he thought.
With him, I could be unapologetically myself.
Which is why it made it so much worse when he laughed at my jokes.
And, even worse, when he made me laugh in return.
Hi lovely person you! ❤️
The new chapter is finally here! I like the first half but then I feel like the second half was rushed. I still hope you enjoyed it though!
What do you think, did someone hear Sky and Mel in the bathroom? 👀
So, August was hectic and a lot, I was feeling sick over the weekend, but I'm much better now! I also finally got vaccinated, yay! How has your August been?
Also, time for a question:
6. What do you value most in a friendship?
For me, my answer is a mix between both Sky and Noah. I think both trust and honesty are very important for any relationship, especially a close friendship. I really like that I can count on my best friend to tell me straight even when other people lie to make me feel better.
Anyway, hopefully, I'll have the next chapter ready soon! I'll try my hardest to post way more often, like at least once a week. ❤️❤️❤️