"Why do we have to go to the stupid game?" I moaned, digging my heels into the dirt to stop Sam from pulling me any further.
"You know why we have to go." She said and rolled her eyes at me, tugging my arm so hard I thought it was going to dislocate from my shoulder and land on the floor.
"No," I reasoned, "I know why you have to go to the game. Your mom didn't say anything about me." I said smugly, and Sam shot me a look that would have killed me in an instant if she had laser-vision.
"True, but I'm the one with the car, therefore wherever I go you go." Sam grinned evilly, and I stuck my bottom lip out like a child who'd just been told by a clown that there were no balloons left to make an animal out of. Sam's mom occasionally forced Sam to go to football games at school. She claimed that Sam needed more socialising with her peers and that it would do her good to show some support, given that both of her older brothers had been on the team in their high school years. Secretly I thought that her mom just wanted the house to herself for a while.
"Don't pout sweetheart." A jock I recognised as JC, Noah's best friend, cooed to me as he walked past clad in his jersey and spandex-type shorts. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and shoved my lip back where it belonged, knowing full well that that was the first thing JC had ever said to me in my entire seventeen years of living in Stratford.
Sam peered back at me in shock. "First a nod from Noah, now a 'sweetheart' from JC? Girl, did someone hit you with a flirting stick or what?"
I rolled my eyes and started to walk properly so that Sam would drop my (now very sore) arm, and we located Tommy in the middle of the bleachers, munching on popcorn and staring down onto the field at the boys warming up. "Could you be less subtle?" Sam asked as we approached him, and immediately Tommy turned bright red from his ears to his neck.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged, fanning himself with one hand. I bit back a laugh as I sat down beside him, and Sam beside me.
"Oh please," She snorted, "we all saw you checking out Michael Green's butt." Sam laughed, making Tommy turn even more red.
"I was not! Besides, Michael is straight and way out of my league. Now, Zachary on the other hand..." Tommy trailed off and raised his eyebrows in approval, making Sam and I burst into laughter.
Subconsciously I found myself searching for a familiar dark haired boy on the field, knowing that he was the QB but not knowing what that meant or where he'd be standing. I located JC easily due to his towering height, and Noah was stood beside him near the coach, talking about something that was no doubt regarding the upcoming game.
"Ugh, and so arrives the Wicked Witch of the West." Sam muttered, glancing down at her phone. Sabrina and three of her minions had sat down directly in front of us, completely blocking our view of everything. I stared as she turned to her friends, grinning from ear to ear like she'd just won the lottery.
"So Jackson asked me out yesterday." She told them eagerly, flipping a lock of dark shiny hair over her shoulder.
"But what about Noah?" A minion asked loudly, glancing longingly at the football field where our opposing school, the Troyton Tigers, were bounding out and cheering.
Sabrina sighed dramatically. "I don't know. I mean, we made a cute couple and all, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully let him go, but I have to try you know? Besides," she lowered her voice a little, though I could still hear her, "he's backed off a lot lately, like I wanted him to. Maybe he's maturing after all." She shrugged.
"Wait... so he still has a chance with you?" A different minion questioned unsurely. Sabrina was silent for a moment as she considered.
I saw her cheeks rise as she smiled. "We'll see. Not that I'd ever tell him that. As far as he's concerned he has no chance in hell; wouldn't want him to think he wears the pants now, would we?"
I shrunk back into my seat as the game began and Sam and Tommy leaned over Tommy's phone. So Sabrina was being so cold to Noah just to prove that she was more dominant and that he couldn't dictate their relationship? I frowned to myself. Last time I checked, a relationship usually involved two people, not just one pigheaded one.
But on the bright side, at least Noah still had a chance with her. And I still had a chance at Princeton.
Everyone on our side of the bleaches cheered suddenly, and I followed their lead, not even realising that our team was winning.
I sat in silence for what felt like forever, watching Tommy and Sam stalk Zachary on Facebook since Sabrina was still blocking my view of the game. I stood and cheered when everyone else stood, and otherwise completely zoned out.
Sabrina's words trickled through my mind like a leaky faucet, 'wouldn't want him to think he wears the pants now, would we?' I figured that Sabrina craved to be in control, which was why when she thought Noah was flirting with another girl she broke up with him-- because she couldn't stop him. If Noah wanted her back, he had to first, make her miss him like we'd discussed, and then let her be in total control. He had to be the ultimate push-over, at least until they were official again. I also felt like there needed to be another step though, something that made him irresistible to her so that she had no choice but to take him back. But how on Earth was I going to figure out how to do that?
I startled as I noticed that everyone was filing off the bleachers, and Tommy and Sam were heavily engrossed in a conversation with someone I didn't recognise, so I made my way down to the field. People were crammed into every corner possible, and I uttered a million 'scuse me's and 'sorry's as I shoved my way through the crowd. I pulled my scarf a little tighter around my neck, considering it was ridiculously cold tonight.
"Looking for someone?" A voice popped out from nowhere, making me shriek. I turned to find JC grinning at me, his hair plastered to his forehead by a sheen of sweat.
"N-no. Actually, yes. H-have you seen N-Noah?" I asked him, my teeth chattering violently in the cold. At least, I'm pretty sure my stutter was because of the cold. "I need to talk to him about our B-biology p-project." I clarified, making JC narrow his eyes at me. He stared at me a few seconds more before nodding over towards the snack bar, where Noah was talking to an official-looking man; a college scout, no doubt. I waited for them to shake hands before going in for the kill, saying a quick thank you to JC. I tried my best to catch Noah's attention, but he was swept into a conversation with a leggy blonde girl before I could even get near him. I waited patiently by the fence, watching for an opportunity to approach him. Person after person went to talk to him, to congratulate him, to tell him he was the next big thing. I was waiting a solid fifteen minutes before he even realized that I was here, and when he saw me he immediately ended his conversation and pushed through the crowd towards me.
"If I didn't know any better, I might have thought you actually came to watch the game, Cupid." Noah teased, taking a swig of water from his bottle.
I rolled my eyes at him and stared down at my feet, which were currently freezing in a pair of converse. "I did come to watch the game. Kind of." I sighed. "Okay, so Sam forced me to come and your ex-girlfriend's head blocked my view the entire time but still... I showed up which is what counts."
Noah burst out laughing at my ramble, leaning over to ruffle my hair. I shoved him away, rearranging my ponytail. "Will you stop that?" I snapped playfully. "And while we're on the subject, stop calling me Cupid! I was given the name Isabelle for a reason, you know-- for people to actually call me it." I stated, jumping up so that I was sat on the fence rail. Sat up here I was almost the same height as Noah, and I could see his face more clearly. His bronzed skin was shiny with sweat, and little beads sat on his forehead threatening to spill down. His dark eyes were sparkling with excitement, most likely from the thrill of playing football... and winning.
"Sorry little Cupid." Noah grinned, making me unsure whether to laugh or smack him. I decided both would suffice. All of a sudden, I realized that we were having a genuine conversation. Not about Sabrina or Biology (at least, not yet).
I cleared my throat, feeling slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden. "So I heard Sabrina talking to her min- I mean friends." I informed him, trying to go back to a safe topic.
Noah shot me an unreadable look. "Okay, and?"
"And you still have a chance." I breathed happily, unable to stop the small smile from growing on my face.
Noah turned to me with a grave expression. "Wait, seriously? But the way she spoke to me at her house the other night... I thought she hated me!"
"Yeah I thought so too, but apparently not!"
"Tell me exactly what she said!" Noah urged me like a preteen girl wanting gossip on the guy she liked. I bit back a laugh.
"Well, she said that she liked that you weren't being clingy anymore because it made you seem mature. She said that she'd never be able to fully let you go, and that you definitely have a chance but she'd never tell you that. Oh and then she asked one of them to murder you in your sleep." I joked, earning myself a deadpan expression from Noah.
"Cupid." He warned me, making me sigh.
"Fine. She didn't say that. She did, however, say that she was going on a date tomorrow. You know what that means right?" I asked dubiously, and Noah frowned quickly before turning it into an evil grin.
"We need to crash her date?" He questioned, pursing his lips. I blinked at him, wondering how Sabrina could ever have thought that he was becoming more mature.
"No, marshmallow brain, it just means that you have competition now so we have to step up our game." I informed him, giving him my best 'duh' look. He continued to stare at me flatly, still not having a clue what I meant. I exhaled slowly and moved my knee as a huge man walked in between us rudely.
"Whatever you're doing-- avoiding her and making her feel like she's missing out-- it's definitely working. But you need to step it up. We need to find out where she goes to hang out and make sure that you're there for her to see you." I told him. A guy from the team suddenly appeared next to us, waving his tiny Scorpions flag in front of my face.
"It's party time biittchhess!" He screamed like he was yelling a warcry, making me flinch. Noah laughed at him and gave him a high five as I jumped off of the fence to go and find Sam.
"Hey." A large warm hand circled my wrist and pulled me back gently. "Where are you going?" Noah asked me, his eyes shining. I tore my own eyes away from our interlocked hands and shrugged, feeling my face burn scarlet.
"I need to go find Sam." I yelled over the sound of the guy who was still yelling about the party.
"Come to the party tonight." Noah said, nodding. I shook my head but smiled.
"I don't really do parties." I informed him sheepishly, shivering as a blast of icy cold wind shot through the field.
"Just come, and we'll finish talking." He promised, staring at me intensely. I didn't respond, and Noah dropped his hand to let me go, still watching me. I gave him a small smile before traipsing off to locate Sam.
***
I'd been too chicken to ask Sam and Tommy to come to the party with me, so instead I just walked there myself and stood outside on the path willing myself to go in. I mean, how bad could it be really? Some drunk teenagers, dancing and beer pong? I could live with that. Taking a huge breath of fresh air I wandered slowly into the open house, hit by the scent of weed and alcohol. Though I didn't drink myself, I had nothing against people who did, so I wasn't too bothered by it. The weed, on the other hand...
I felt ridiculously awkward surrounded by a bunch of people I hadn't ever spoken to before, so I trundled through to the kitchen hoping to grab a glass of water. As it turned out, the kitchen had become the prime make out spot, which meant I was in there for approximately three seconds before I rushed out with my tail between my legs.
"Now, what would a pretty girl like you be doing on the dance floor all by herself?" A male I had never before seen in my life asked me kindly. I glanced around quickly to make sure that he was actually talking to me, and when I turned back, his hand was outstretched towards me. "Would you like to dance?" He offered, gracing me with a pearly white smile. A tiny voice in my head told me to to go and have fun, but the rational side of my brain wanted to steer clear of any possibly embarrassing situations. Eventually, the smaller voice won, and I took the guy's hand.
"I'm Andy." He told me as he led me into the middle of the dance floor and started to move, actually a pretty decent dancer considering how tall and buff he was.
"Isabelle." I laughed as he twirled me around, starting to loosen up as I laughed. Huh, this wasn't even so bad. He continued to spin me until my back was pressed against his chest, and his chin leaned on my shoulder. I kept smiling even though I definitely did not like this position as much. "You're so tense." He murmured as he ran a finger down my spine. The smile fell from my face as I froze, trying to pull away. He held me still in his vice-like grip as his hand slipped around to my stomach and upwards.
"Stop." I said seriously, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. He ignored me, his lips pressed against my shoulder in what should've been a sweet gesture but definitely wasn't. "Stop." I demanded more loudly, but he continued to grope me as I struggled. Without thinking I lifted my foot and slammed it backwards into his tender spot (if you know what I mean), watching as he doubled over in pain. I smiled in satisfaction and leaned over to push his hair away from his ear. "Don't you ever touch me again." I hissed, before running the opposite direction, adrenaline pounding through my body.
"So Little Cupid is also Wonder-woman in disguise huh?" The familiar voice asked me as I swung around the door frame. Noah was leaning against the wall, looking like a Greek God in his white t-shirt and black jeans. He was much cleaner than when I'd seen him last, and he smelt much cleaner too.
"I was just about to go over there and help, but you seemed to have the situation down." Noah grinned, and I blushed a deep shade of red.
"Well he was being a pig."
"I know."
"I kicked him in the nuts." I said with a small smile, feeling ridiculously proud of myself.
Noah smirked, his eyes twinkling. "I saw." He suddenly glanced back at the dance floor and rolled his eyes. "It seems like he may not yet have learned his lesson." I peered over and saw Andy feeling up a new girl, except fortunately for him, this one didn't seem to have any complaints.
"There's always castration." I muttered, earning a laugh from Noah.
"I'll drink to that." He held out his knuckles for a fist bump, and I touched my boney fingers to his with a smile. At that moment, Sabrina and her minions burst through the door, and Noah noticeably stiffened beside me.
"She's here." He muttered, and then turned to me urgently. "Dance with me." He commanded, grabbing my hand.
"What? Why?"
"I need to look like I'm having fun without her, don't I?"
"Well y-yes," I stuttered, "but not with me!" I whisper-yelled as Noah pulled me out onto the dance floor and began to spin me around.
"What about the 'nobody can know' rule?" I asked as a slow song came on and Noah pulled me into him. "She'll see us together and you won't have a chance." I placed my hands on his shoulders instinctively as he sighed.
"Or maybe it's not enough to have fun with my friends to make her feel like she's missing out." He muttered, staring down at me with piercing dark eyes. I swallowed, trying to make sense of what he was clearly trying to ask me.
I glanced over at Sabrina, who was staring at us with her ferocious gaze, a scowl twisted on her lips. "What do you want me to do? I asked, turning back to Noah. "Be your fake girlfriend or something? Because I'm pretty sure there are like a hundred other girls who are much prettier than me and would die for a chance to be your girlfriend."
Noah shook his head and smiled one of those genuine smiles that I rarely saw. "Let's just keep doing what we're doing. No official 'fake couple' label. Just us discussing our 'Biology' project. Let her think whatever she wants."
I stared at him in utter confusion. "Wait... so I'm not going to be your fake girlfriend, but we're going to make it seem like I am so that Sabrina thinks I am but doesn't know for sure?" I questioned, confusing even myself as I moved my hands from his shoulders to around his neck.
"Exactly. If we said we were a real couple, her window of opportunity to ask me out again is gone. If we let her make her own judgement though-"
"-then she'll get jealous and want to get back together with you, and she can, because we're not an 'official' couple." I finished, grinning like an idiot on crack. Noah beamed with me.
"Exactly. I just want to make it as easy as possible for her to make a move. No 'I'll have to break up with Isabelle' drama when she asks me, just a plain and simple yes."
I stared at Noah for a moment longer before shaking my head in surprise. "You know, for a marshmallow brain, you're kind of a genius." I said.
He laughed, and we continued to dance as a not-real-but-not-really-fake-but-kinda-fake couple, right in front of Sabrina.
Ahh that was the fifth chapter! It was so much fun to write! Hopefully you understand the whole not-fake couple thing; if not feel free to comment and/or shoot me a DM.
Lol I don't even know where this story is going... well, I do but I don't, and I'm excited anyway. Let's just see where these characters take us :3
Talk soon my lovelies! Don't forget to vote! :)
Meg x