| Amelia |
"The fight was absolutely gruesome," Zoey recalled while her nose scrunched at the violent memory, "Like something straight out of a movie."
"Exactly," I nodded in agreement as the three of us walked through the hallway; lines of students bustled around as the bell rang loudly in the background, signalling the beginning of lunch break.
Leila snorted, not changing her expression much. "I'm not surprised. Not a day here passes without Noah Carter causing the headmistress to pull her hair out."
Despite our chuckles, Zoey's solemn expression remained. "No, it was just...I don't think he started this one..." she fumbled with her words, unsure of what to say, "It seemed like...it seemed like it was Chase's fight."
A momentary silence engulfed our trio, all three of us aware that this was the first time after what had happened that Zoey had managed to actually say his name out loud.
Leila and I shared a brief look before I decided to break the cloud of tension.
"Yeah, you're right," I introspected, playing out the brutal scene in my head. "I remember him threatening the guy he was bashing...Chase was almost shaking in anger."
Noah, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying all that was going on; beating burly football players was apparently child's play for him.
The thought of him caused a slight chill to go down my spine, my mind unassailably going back to what had transpired last night.
Noah Carter had not only been in my bedroom, but had also wrapped his hand around my throat - all while pressing my back into the wall. He had placed his lips right by my ear, threatening me with such intensity, I could almost still hear his words echoing in my head.
And to top it all off, he had ended the night by stuffing my own panties down my pocket, without me even realising it.
I shuddered.
It was then that I knew that Noah Carter had no fears; my mom could've walked right into the room and I doubt he would've cared.
"I wonder why that was." Leila's voice broke me out of my thoughts, my gaze refocusing to find us now settling in our seats in the lunch hall.
Curiously, her voice had held a very clear hint of anger in it, and when I turned to her, I found her looking directly in the direction of someone approaching us.
Chase Foxx had captured the entire student body's attention as he walked toward our otherwise secluded corner of the cafeteria. Chatters erupted everywhere he walked, yet their quietness allowed an almost complete silence to engulf the space.
"I need to talk to you."
He spoke as soon as he reached our table, his gaze unrelenting and fixed solely on Zoey.
This was not going to go well.
Her fists clenched over the surface as she refused to raise her head, choosing to use her hair as a curtain against the growing attention.
"I have nothing to say to you."
At her quiet response, a frustrated groan resounded from his throat. "Why won't you listen to me? I tried calling, texting...I need to explain myself-"
"There's nothing to explain," the tightening in her fists increased, along with the grip on her fork; she still refused to meet his eyes.
"Yes, there is." He snapped back in determination, trying to reach a bit closer to where she was seated. "Please, listen to me, Zo, I-"
"Don't call me that."
Her fork clanged on the table with a shrill metallic sound, her eyes finally lifting to face those of the students who were witnessing this - and those of Chase.
Hurt and anguish instantly swirled in her eyes as they stared at each other.
Before he could speak, she broke their contact and stuffed her things in her bag as quickly as she could, slinging it over her shoulder.
She prepared to rush past him, but Chase wasn't having that.
His hand immediately reached out for her arm, pulling her back into him. He turned her around to face him just as Leila and I started to get worried. We needed to stop this.
But as we sprang up from our seats, Chase noticed the attention the entire student body was giving them and shook his head determinedly, swiftly guiding Zoey away from the crowd.
They disappeared as he led her inside the school.
"We should go after them," I shot Leila a concerned look, "There's no way Zoey wants to see Chase right now."
She nodded at me, agreeing, and hurriedly began following the same trail they had gone through a few seconds ago.
But before I could do the same, the sudden silencing of all the chatters and whispers around us managed to anchor my attention.
"You're not going anywhere."
Oh lord.
I could've recognised that voice anywhere.
Biting my lip when I turned around, a flinch rested on my face as it took me less than a second to recognise just who was behind me.
Unlike yesterday, all the mischief and playfulness seemed to have vanished from Noah Carter's face as he towered over our lunch table in all his glory.
No, today, all that his expression radiated was a simple, yet frankly menacing warning. His eyes narrowed as his gaze zeroed in on my form.
"Do you understand?"
His question was short and simple, yet it took me a few seconds before I finally shook my head and some semblance of a grip came back to me.
"She's my friend," I spoke as I walked over to stand in front of him, "And if she doesn't want to talk to him, she doesn't have to."
The determination with which my voice came out had admittedly surprised even me.
Noah, however, was completely unaffected.
"Well," he ground out, once again invading my personal space as he got closer to me, making me tilt my head just a bit to maintain his gaze. "He's my friend. So when I say that you're going to let them talk and keep your pestering self out of their business, I mean it."
His open, unbridled warning came immediately afterwards.
"Are we clear on that, sweetheart?"
Our proximity could've fooled the people around us and painted us as a mere couple of lovers, but only I knew of the way he was looking down at me; an expression that said very clearly to not mess with him.
But my daft self had obviously not learned from any of the experiences this past month, my little sense of pride ultimately winning the war.
"Since when do I listen to what you tell me to do?" I thus asked him in the same tone, however unsurely, lifting my eyes to look straight into his mesmerising ones.
My inner turmoil intensified as I observed his mouth curve into a smirk. Lowering his head to my level, his lips touched the skin of my ear as he whispered in it, concealing his words from the rest of the world.
"I don't know, you've kept a lot of secrets for me when I've told you to, haven't you?" He teased, his tone laced with mockery. "Some might think you like to be ordered around."
My jaw clenched as his words reverberated between us. I knew what he was referring to; all the secrets between us, his secrets I'd willingly kept for him due to my predicament.
This unlikely, illicit alliance we had despite how much hatred we shared for each other.
"I don't take orders from you, that's for sure." I gritted out, still feeling the light heat of his breath on the side of my cheek. "And if I'm keeping your secrets, it's because I don't have a choice."
"Mhm," his hum echoed as a hoarse whisper in my ear, "And we'll make sure we keep it that way, yeah?"
My fists clenched by my side. "Your threats don't mean anything to me."
Before I could even process anything, I felt the grip of his fingers wrapping around my wrist. It took simply a swift movement for him to turn me around and fully press my back against his chest, so much of our anatomy in contact, it was almost dizzying.
His breath grazed the sensitive skin of my neck when he chuckled.
"See now that's where you're wrong," his grip on my wrist tightened when I tried to fidget out of it, but still not enough to hurt. "I don't threaten. I warn. And as for you not taking orders from me,"
I felt his grip loosening away, yet the contact with his chest remained intact as he continued,
"Guess we'll have to fix that, won't we?"
-
"What took you so long?" Leila's half-questioning, half-concerned gaze met mine as I hurriedly pushed open the door leading away from the cafeteria and inside the school. "I followed them here but lost track...couldn't figure out where they went."
It took me a few moments to regain my breath due to how fast I'd ran over here; partially because of my concern for Zoey, and partially because of just how eager I was to get away from Noah Carter as soon as possible.
"What do you think he wanted to talk about?" I asked her as soon as I had, my mind beginning to recover from the raging storm Noah had raged in my stomach seconds ago.
"Probably some bullshit about how he didn't do anything, how it isn't his fault." Leila scoffed, shaking her head, "I know guys like him. Players who just love toying with feelings."
I frowned.
Truly, I did not know how to react or what to think about the whole ordeal. While the obvious, most sane explanation clearly pointed toward Chase being an asshole, my gut told me there was something more to the story.
After a few moments of thought, I sighed.
"I hope for Zoey's sake that that's not the case."
-
I idly swung the large bag back and forth as I walked back home, some of the treats and packets peeking out of it already making my mouth salivate.
Mom was out for a work trip this weekend, so I pretty much had the entire house to myself.
Dad's passing had taken a very heavy toll on mom, perhaps even more than it had on me; not only did she have to deal with the gaping hole he left behind in our family, but also the sudden burden of all of our finances. As a result, she had begun working almost twice as hard, her work trips becoming more and more frequent.
It was difficult for me to put into words just how much I appreciated all she had done for us...for me.
I, therefore, never complained whenever she had to leave abruptly. In fact, I had made some sort of a tradition out of it. For tonight, I had planned a very elaborate marathon of movies, complete with snacks.
I stopped swinging the bag and smiled when my house finally came into view. But before I could begin the search for the keys, a voice sourced from behind me halted me in my tracks.
"Amelia!"
I turned around, only to regret doing so just a second later.
Calvin made his way over to me while I remained in my spot, not believing my luck. Two seconds more and I would've already been inside my house.
Two seconds.
"Hey," He greeted me as he finally stopped right in front, a charming smile plastered on his face.
Despite the tiny inner resistance, I smiled back politely. "Hi."
"What's all that for?" He asked, eyes briefly travelling to the bag of goodies I was clutching in my hand.
"Just some snacks," I kept my answer short, "I'm planning to watch a movie."
He nodded in response, but his awaiting manner clearly told me there was something else, something particular, that Calvin had wanted to ask.
A few moments passed with neither of us saying anything before I finally broke the silence.
"What is this about, Calvin?"
He sighed.
"Look, I know this is probably of no use," he began, sliding his hands into his pockets, "but I want you to reconsider my offer."
His offer.
Calvin didn't elaborate further on what he meant, neither did he need to. I knew what he was asking me to do: rethink my declination of his plea to spy on Noah.
"Calvin, we've already talked about this, I-"
"Is this because you like him?" He cut me off, now coming closer to me, one of his brows raised. "I saw you in the cafeteria today."
I resisted the immediate urge to laugh out loud. Like Noah? We couldn't even bare to be in each other's vicinity without having a scuffle of some sort.
Hence, I shook my head and scoffed lightly. "No, of course not...I just don't want to spy on him, Calvin, I don't like him or anything. Not that it's any of your business."
"Isn't it, though?"
Before I could process what was happening, Calvin had wrapped his hand around my waist, his fingers placing themselves on the lower half of my back.
While I instantly recoiled from his trapping hold, he only tightened his grip further, coming even closer to me, pressing our forms together.
"I think it was a mistake to let you go two years ago."
He whispered in the space between us while my eyes immediately widened, my inner turmoil increasing.
Before I could shove him away, he smirked and himself removed his hands from their position on my waist, finally backing away.
"Think about what I said, princess."
And just like that, he turned the corner and disappeared without another word.
-
Hey there,
Thank you for reading the chapter! I had so much fun writing this one, just because it had a lot of interactions between the different characters.
That said, do let me know what you think of it. What do you think Chase wants? How do you think the dynamic between Noah and Amelia will progress? And what are Calvin's true intentions with Amelia?
I'd love to know your thoughts.
Please don't forget to vote, comment and share the story if you're enjoying it<3
Until next time,
Kiara❤️