| Amelia |
The loud, almost obnoxious ring of the bell announced the end of the class, making me shut my book rather loudly and rush out of there as soon as possible.
A couple hours had passed since the still terrifying encounter with Noah Carter - and much to my dismay, I couldn't help but imagine how I was going to pay for it.
Because there was no doubt in my mind: I definitely was going to.
Call me a scaredy cat, but I had spent practically the entire morning trying to avoid his dominating figure like the plague, even when he was nowhere around. The encounter was probably the last time I was ever going to talk to him, but picking a fight with Noah Carter - someone who certainly wasn't known for letting grudges go - wasn't a thing I could forget on the very first day of school.
My eyes travelled through the entire cafeteria as I entered it, making sure he was nowhere to be seen. Once that was ensured, I smiled in relief and spotted Zoey already at our regular table, walking to the secluded place in the corner a few seconds later.
"This year, chemistry is going to be the death of me." Zoey groaned tiredly once I was seated, reaching her hand out to take a fry from my plate.
"Hey! Hands off!" I chided petulantly as a reflex, swatting her hand away.
She simply rolled her eyes and groaned again, resting her forehead down on the table between her arms.
I let out a sigh as I pursed my lips, trying to pacify her, "C'mon Zoey it's just one subject...I know you're going to end up acing it as you usually do-"
"Nuh uh, not this time. It's just so difficult! I can't believe the first day sucks so much already."
I chuckled dryly. "Tell me about it."
Hearing that, she shot her head up and gave me a questioning stare, somehow forgetting her chagrin from earlier. "What do you mean?"
I flinched and bit my lip; I had not wanted to let Zoey know about this morning, at least not yet - I knew exactly what her reaction was going to be.
But as she looked at me expectantly, I realised there was no other way and sighed, launching into the sequence of events a few seconds later. Every thought in her head could be sensed worsening as each word escaped my lips; by the end of my narrative, she stared at me with wide eyes, her expression screaming only one thing: concern.
"You know you should stay away from him." She yelled while whispering, lowering her head to keep the conversation between ourselves, her voice aggravated in worry.
"Yeah, but-"
"You know he's...dangerous. I'm pretty sure he's in a gang." She refused to listen and continued instead, placing her hand on mine to convey just how serious she was about this.
I chuckled hesitantly. "I know, but...it was barely an interaction, he was the only one talking...plus, you can't possibly think he's actually involved in illegal stuff. Those things are just rumours."
Even though my tone was offhanded as I tried easing her tension, I did believe that a small part of what I said was true. Everyone at campus thought -or rather, was sure- he was in some sort of a murderous gang, but I somehow never believed those rumours. They were based mostly on just his bad boy reputation, and were a way for people to decipher the secrets he seemed to be hiding.
Letting the thoughts go from my mind, I shook my head and returned my attention to a worried Zoey, deciding to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere.
"Well, even if he did try anything, I have you and Leila to kick his ass...but mostly Leila, of course." I joked, not wanting her to get too worried. I probably wasn't going to ever talk to him again, anyway.
I was happy to see her chuckling at my comment. "Well, that's true." she smiled and settled on leaving the topic alone, continuing to chew on her burger before pausing. "Speaking of Leila, where is she?"
I sighed. "She left school before the first class started. I think something's on her mind."
Zoey pursed her lips but nodded nonetheless, understanding immediately.
Over time, we both had learned and gotten accustomed to the rare times Leila would shut herself off for a bit, whenever something troubling clouded her mind. We knew and trusted her to tell us what was going on on her own, whenever she felt ready - just the way we knew she wanted it.
Hence, we brushed the topic aside and continued to talk while eating before the bell rang and I separated from her to go to my next class. After retrieving my books from the locker, I began walking through the corridor, scrolling lazily through my phone.
It was at this moment that my shoulder suddenly collided with someone else's, making me let out a flustered yelp as I looked back and mumbled a frantic 'sorry', only to freeze in my place when I saw who it was.
My breath caught in my lungs as I took in Noah Carter's form glaring at me, his expression making it clear that he had collided into me on purpose.
So much for never talking to him again.
His green eyes screamed danger as they looked me up and down, filled with an equal mix of anger and disgust.
"Well, look who it is." He mocked, walking nearer while cocking his head challengingly, "Little miss goody shoes."
I gulped as he took each step, clutching my books closer to my chest while my brain begged me to stop being such a wuss. His lips curved into a smirk as he noticed my reaction, instantaneously making me shiver a bit, knowing that whatever he was about to do couldn't be good.
"Who's the Good Samaritan going to try and save now?"
My chest burned in annoyance, some of the advice of my brain creeping out through my mouth. Mustering up all the courage I could, I attempted to look him right in the eyes. "Whoever the devil manages t-to get his claws on."
I turned around and continued to walk through the corridor, trying to act courageous while widening my eyes at what I had and hoping that he would let it pass.
I was wrong. For one swift action later I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist tightly as he turned me around, pushing my back onto the nearest locker roughly without a care in the world.
I let out a mousy whimper because of the cold metal hitting my back, immediately looking up to find him glaring at me.
Once again, the sheer coldness of his piercing gaze froze me in my spot as I was almost mesmerised, his face resting inches away. One of his hands placed itself beside my head on the locker, while the other was still encasing my wrist in a deadlock.
"Not so fast." his low growl made my guts churn ominously, making me exhale sharply and lean further into the hard locker. His agitated breath fanned my face rhythmically as my stomach swirled with anticipation.
"Stop running your mouth like that, sweetheart." He warned, his unrelenting gaze not moving from my own even a bit, "Or I might make sure you regret it."
My heart pounded in my chest wildly at his barely veiled threat, but I stringed together my words much better compared to last time. "I haven't done anything...what do you want me-"
"What I want," he cut me off irritatedly, "-is for you to shut up and listen, and listen well."
"But I haven't-"
"Sh." He whispered sharply to shut me up as he looked down at me, seemingly more aggravated by my constant attempts to reason with him before clenching his jaw.
"Now, you might think you're fooling everyone with this fucking do-all-good façade of yours, but trust me, I see right through it." His eyes darkened as he stated in a deadly voice, tightening his hold on my skin, "Because when it comes to me, let me make it clear: I don't give a single fuck."
My breathing became ragged at his open warning, my eyes widening as I stared into his dark, threatening orbs; my pulse was so loud, I was almost sure he could hear it. Words failed to leave my throat as I stared at him, completely flabbergasted, my guts churning at the thought of what he was going to do next.
How did things escalate so fast?
"I suggest you get your hands off her right now."
A distant yet determined voice echoed through the empty hallway, making me jump in my spot due to its suddenness before I recognised it.
Leila?
Noah and I turned our heads simultaneously at the sound, finding her standing a few feet away from us, her arms crossed in front of her chest. A confused yet agitated look dominated her face.
It could've scared anyone, but Noah didn't seem afraid even in the slightest as he chuckled lowly before turning his head back to my direction, "That's okay, we were just about done, weren't we?"
His mouth curved into a smirk as he eyed me up and down while releasing his grip on my wrist and chuckling at how his action caused a huge exhale of relief to escape my lungs.
Just as I thought he was about to leave me alone, I felt the heat of his breath on my neck as he whispered a dark, menacing warning in my ear:
"Remember what I said, Winters."
And with that, he backed away and began walking without giving me another look.
My lids open and shut rapidly as I blinked, frozen in my spot against the locker, trying to process everything that had just happened. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Leila approaching me with the same look of concern on her face as Zoey a few minutes ago.
"Do you have something you need to tell me, Amelia?"
I turned my head to look at her.
Oh, you have no idea...