Dedicated to Be_Fool_For_Ever. If I could, I'd dedicate the whole book to her! Chrysa, thank you for being you. I love you!
So, this one is short, because the last one was I think a little long. Anyway, I hope you like it.
Vote, comment and enjoy!
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"Zeus, stop!"
Noah tries to catch Zeus, who is now running full speed to catch a squirrel. Zeus' leash is dangling in the air as he drags it behind him. Noah is ruining after him , yelling, "Zeus! C'mon, buddy!"
I duble over laughing, hitting my knees as I do. Oscar is next to me, playing with his chew toy.
This morning, Noah asked me to go to the park and walk our dogs. I didn't know what to expect, since I've never actually done it. But, never did I assume it would be this hilarious.
Zeus turns right and continues chasing the squirrel. Noah, in his poor attempt to outrun him, trips and almost falls on some kid's toy truck.
I laugh harder, not able to control myself. Oscar gives me a weird look, probably wondering what the hell I'm laughing at.
When my hysterical laughter turns into giggles, I see Noah finally reach Zeus and take his leash. He brushes a few leaves off his pants and comes to Oscar and I.
"Stay." He says to Zeus in a deep voice that says 'don'tmesswithme'.Surprisingly, it works. Zeus lays down and Oscar comes running to him, nudging his paws. I still can't get over how well they get along.
And by 'well', I mean Oscar starts licking his face and playing with his paws, while Zeus completely ignores him.
Noah sits next to me on the bench and says, "I see you're entertained."
I giggle. "Yeah, that was quite a show."
He shakes his head, amused. "Yes, I chased a three year old Rottweiler who chased a damn squirrel around the park for a show. Glad you got the idea."
I laugh and open my mouth to say something, when a voice cuts me off, "Little brother!"
I see Noah's expression turn to stone as he turns around, clearly knowing the intruder.
A tall boy, probably a few years older than me, with dark hair and light blue eyes comes toward us.
When he stops in front of Noah and I, Noah spits out, "Zach."
Zach?
I see the resemblance now, although it's small. Their hair, both messy and dark, is the same. They both have blue eyes, but where Noah's are dark, Zach's are light.
Zach grins, and it's surprising how good it looks on him.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" He asks Noah.
"No," Noah says at the same time as I say, "I'm not his girlfriend."
I turn to Noah, confused by his answer, but he's glaring at Zach.
I'm surprised by his behavior with Zach. I know what happened between him and Kath, but Noah said he forgave them.
Zach is clearly amused by the situation, judging by the smugness his smile hides.
"I guess I have to do it myself," He holds out his hand and says, "I'm Zachary. Noah's brother. And who might you be?"
I take his hand and say. "Haven. Noah's friend."
Instead of shaking my hand, Zach brings it to his lips and kisses it. He says, "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
Beside me, Noah scoffs and mumbles something.
I have to hold in the laughter, myself. I mean, come on.
Zach, completely oblivious to his brother's behavior, sits between Noah and I.
"What are you doing here, Zach?" Noah says, even more irritated.
"Can't I just miss my baby brother?"
Noah gives a humorless laugh and says, "Well, your babybrotherdoesn't miss you."
Zach fake gasps and turns to me, "Haven, can you believe this? Well, I came here for him but I as well might stay because of you." He winks at me and I blush.
And not because I'm flattered or actually feel good about his words. I'm sure he doesn't even mean them. I blushed because I really hate getting stuck in between two people. And it's clear that Zach is flirting with me to piss Noah off.
"So, is this your baby?" Zach asks as he bends down to pet Oscar. I smile and take Oscar in my arms. "Yes, he was my birthday present."
"Your birthday? When was it?" He asks.
I try to ignore Noah's glare toward me. I know that he and Zach have their issues, but that's really none of my business. I can't be a jerk to Zach when he never did anything bad to me.
"It was a few days ago. I'm seventeen now." I say, still holding Oscar.
He smiles and says, "Happy birthday, then. Did you have a good one?"
I smile when I remember Anna and I watching movies on my birthday. We laughed like maniacs and I still can't forget Anna's dance to Justin Timberlake's Sexyback. But, the real fun was before that.
When Noah surprised he at school and organised the picnic. When he gave me Oscar and added one more part to my family. When he promised to help me complete my bucket list. And when I realized that I had feeling for him.
"Yeah, I did." I tell Zach.
Next to him, I see Noah roll his eyes and type something on his phone. He gets up and takes Zeus' leash. His face is blank as he says, "I gotta go, there's a party tonight. See you around." And then he turns around and leaves.
I sit there and try to hold in my shock of his sudden mood change.
Whatthehellwas that?
——
"So, he just left?"
Anna asks, sounding as confused as I feel. She came to my house an hour after I came back from the park.
I sit next to her on my bed and clutch my AmazingSpider-Manpillow.
"Yeah. I don't even know why. He was completely fine, then Zach came and he got all moody and closed-off."
She raises her eyebrows. I can practically see the wheels working in her head, trying to figure out what happened.
"Did Zach say something? Maybe they fight a lot."
"Maybe." I say, not mentioning what happened between Zach and Kath. That's not my story to tell.
"Wait, you said Zach was friendly, right?" Anna asks, sounding hopeful.
"Um, yeah? He was fine." I say, confused by her enthusiasm.
"Maybe he was too friendly. Noah probably just got jealous." Anna says and I frown.
"What? Why would he be jealous?"
"Come on. You can't tell me you've never noticed the way he looks at you."
I roll my eyes, feeling uncomfortable about the topic. " 'Theway' he looks at me is the same way he looks at everyone."
She laughs, "Oh, please! I'm pretty sure he looks at you the same way I look at Alex! I don't know what you two are, but you are definitely more than friends." She actually sounds excited at the thought.
I, however, am freaking out.
What if she's right? I mean, Noah and I do spend a lot of time together lately. But, as friends. Except the kiss that happened that one time, nothing else wasmore-than-friendly. I never thought he had any feelings for me.
I thought my feelings were one sided.
But, what if they aren't? What if, by some crazy miracle, Noah actually likes me?
Only one way to find out.
Suddenly, I remember Noah saying he's going to a party tonight. I turn to Anna, "Are you free tonight?"
She sighs, "Yeah. Alex has some family dinner and we can't go out, so I'm all yours."
I grin, "Excellent."
—-
"You're sure he's going to be at this party?"
I ask Anna as she does my make-up. I told her not to go crazy on the eyeliner, and I'm glad to see that she's sticking to her promise.
"I'm positive he'll be there. Actually, the whole school will. The guy who's throwing it is pretty popular."
"What's his name again?" I ask.
"Johnson." She says and leans back.
"And you're done. Look," Anna says and turns me around so I'm looking at my reflection in the mirror.
I smile when I see how minimalistic my make-up is. Just the way I like it; mascara, lip gloss and eyeliner. Also, Anna somehow made my cheeks blush.
"Let's go." She says and we start going to her car.
My heartbeat races as I realize what I'm doing.
I'mabouttotellNoahhowIfeel.
I don't give myself a chance to change my mind and quickly enter her car.
Twenty minutes later, we're in Johnson's house. It's filled with people and half of them are already drunk. I stop and turn to Anna, "Can you wait for me here?"
She smiles and pulls me into a quick hug. She winks and says, "Go get 'em, tiger." Then she walks over to Gina and Ashley from our Math class.
"Hey, have you seen Noah Xander?" I ask some guy who I've seen hang around Noah once. He points to the kitchen and yells over the music, "He's in there." I nod a thanks and head toward the kitchen.
I take a deep breath and try to calm my heartbeat. It's now or never.
As I open the kitchen door, the bright lights catch me off guard and I squint in attempt to see clearly again.
When my eyes finally adjust to the light, I look around the room, searching for Noah.
And I find him.
Standing next to a counter, his hands around some girl's waist, his lips on hers. She giggles and I realize it's Brittany. He lifts her on the counter and she puts her hands in Noah's hair.
I stop breathing.
I want to move, but my legs stop working. I want to scream, but my throat is dry.
I want to feel, but my heart is broken.
—-
Hehehe I'msorry, Ihadto.
Dramais my middle name (Notreally, but just gowithit).
Tellmewhat you think!
Thankyou!
Love, muah! ❤