❝I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you.❞ -Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
It takes about five minutes of awkwardly standing beside Noah for him to finally remember I am also there. He turns back to me, an arm still around her waist. He has this shine in his eyes that I have never seen before.
His words from around a month ago echo in my mind: "Amelia doesn't matter to me anymore. I know she's happy and healthy in France and that's all that really matters."
Well isn't that just punch-you-in-the-gut hilarious to think back on. It sure seems like she still matters to him now that she's standing right in front of us.
"Sorry, Diana," Noah apologizes, still beaming. "This is Amelia. Amelia, this is my friend, Diana."
"It's great to meet you," A subtle French accent tinges her voice. She's pretty, polite and has a gorgeous accent? How is that fair?
"What are you doing here?" Noah asks her. "Visiting over winter break?"
"Actually, my parents want to move back here," Amelia grins. "We decided to come for winter break, just to see if we still liked it here. So far, my parents are falling in love with the city again."
"So you're here to stay?" I ask, feeling jealousy as Noah's face lights up with excitement.
"Looks like it," Amelia nods. "We already found a house and got the papers to enrol into school. Hopefully, I'll be enrolled after the New Years."
"Will you be at our school?" Noah asks.
Amelia nods, happiness gleaming in her eyes. "I've already talked to the principal. She says there's a spot available for me!"
"That's so great!" I manage to get out, hoping it doesn't sound too forced.
Noah is looking at her in such a way that makes me believe she is his miracle. He looks like he had never stopped loving her, and for some reason, that hurts more than anything.
This is the moment when I realize that I like him. I like Noah Jackson.
I am falling for his smile, those hazel eyes and messy hair. I am falling for his flirtatious remarks and witty banter. I am falling for him.
Well, this fucking sucks.
I like a guy who currently has his ex-girlfriend latched to his arm.
"Well, we were going to go get dinner, but we can go later, right?" Noah asks me, giving me a pleading look.
Despite the irritation that runs through my body, I nod. "Of course. I'm sure you want to see some old friends."
"Damon and Hunter will be so excited," Noah agrees. "What do you say, Amy?"
Amelia smiles. "That sounds great. I've missed them."
"I've missed you." Noah says so quietly that I almost don't catch it.
"I've missed you, too, N," Amelia says gently. "So much."
They may as well have hit me with a car at this point. That is how much fun I am currently having.
"Hunter and Damon should be in our room by now," Noah says, leading her towards the staircase. "You can meet our new friends, too."
"Oh? You started talking to more than just each other?" Amelia teases.
"What can I say? Diana stole my heart." Noah turns back to me to throw a wink. I roll my eyes, but my stomach does summersaults.
Amelia glances back at me in surprise. There is no jealousy in her eyes, but curiosity. I can tell she has questions, but she keeps her mouth shut.
We enter Noah's hotel room, and sure enough, Jasper, Katia, Alyce, Hunter and Damon are all there. Even Mackenzie is sitting upon Damon's bed beside him. Thalia and Dylan are nowhere in sight. Thalia had mentioned earlier that they were going to get some hot chocolate, so I suppose they are still hanging out.
As soon as Amelia enters the room, Hunter, Mackenzie and Damon's jaws drop. Alyce, Katia and Jasper all look confused, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that this girl is someone special to Noah. It also doesn't help that I have been gritting my teeth in irritation from the moment we stepped into the room.
"Alyce, Katia, Jasper, this is Amelia," Noah introduces. "My ex-girlfriend."
Alyce's eyes widen. "Oh. That must be awkward. Hope the breakup wasn't too bad." She says with fake sympathy. I can tell she is trying to start an argument amongst the two, and I appreciate her for that.
"Not at all," Amelia replies. "We broke up because I moved to France, but it looks like I'm moving back for the rest of senior year."
"Oh, well he hadn't seemed too upset," Alyce says casually, even though we didn't even know him last year.
"It's Amelia," Hunter chuckles nervously. "Amelia LeBlanc. Standing in front of us. With Noah. And Diana."
"Are you alright, Hunter?" Amelia asks, amused. "I never knew I could get you so tongue tied."
Alyce doesn't like the flirtatious tone and her eyes begin to narrow at the French girl.
Amelia's eyes drift to Mackenzie and she grins. She looks up at Noah, "You made up with Mackenzie? How times have changed, mon amour."
I may have gotten a C in French, but I know for a fact that mon amour means "my love." Do ex's normally use such endearing nicknames?
"It's been a while, mon ange," Noah smiles back at her.
Mon ange? That hurt. It looks like I'm not the only one he has a nickname for.
They look like two love struck puppies, and that hurts more than anything. I plop down beside Mackenzie with annoyance washing over me like a tsunami. Mackenzie looks my way sympathetically, and I realize the reason for my bad mood is no longer the girl sitting beside me, but instead the strawberry blonde girl holding on to Noah.
❀ ❀ ❀
"I knew it! You like Noah!" Alyce exclaims.
After Amelia talked to Hunter and Damon, Noah and her went back to talk to her parents. Amelia raved about how much her parents loved Noah and couldn't wait to see him again.
Alyce, Katia and I went back to our room where Thalia was waiting. She didn't mention anything about Dylan, so we didn't ask.
It was pretty unavoidable at this point and I told my friends about how I felt for Noah. To say the least, they had been beyond ecstatic.
"Here's my proposition," Thalia says. "We take her skiing and 'accidentally' lose her in the forest. Call it a freak accident. You and Noah live happily ever after."
"As amazing as that plan sounds, let's be real for a second," Katia says, being the only voice of reason. "Obviously Noah is excited to see her. They were probably best friends. But I can just tell that Noah has feelings for Diana; it's so damn obvious it hurts. You guys are head over heels for each other."
I scoff, "I'm too much of an emotional mess for Noah to like me. He likes girls like Amelia: perfect with an accent."
"Move to the UK for a while and pick up an accent," Alyce suggests. "British accents are hotter than French accents."
"But French is a hotter language than English," I dispute. "Even if I had a British accent, she could ask where the toilet is in French and have anyone fall in love with her."
Thalia whistles. "Can't argue with that. French is hot."
"Guys, I'm perfectly fine with living in constant pain of heartbreak and fear of rejection," I say lightly. "I've done it for seventeen years, what's a lifetime more?"
All three girls give me the same, deadpanned look. "I don't trust the girl," Alyce finally says. "There's something about her. She seems too perfect."
"I bet she pours milk before cereal," Thalia suggests. "There's gotta be something wrong with her."
"As much as I appreciate this moral support, I've accepted that Noah will never like me that way," I shrug, trying to act nonchalant. "Besides, I've only just realized I have feelings for him. I'll get over it quickly."
Katia looks at me with a disapproving expression. "I refuse to let my ship sink so easily."
"Your what?" Thalia asks dumbly.
"You know, my ship," Katia repeats without explaining anything further to Thalia. She turns back to me. "Just say the word and I'll meddle. I have a way of finding out what I want."
"I think I'm over this conversation," I sigh sadly. "I'm going to find Damon. He knows what it is like to pine after someone seemingly unobtainable."
❀ ❀ ❀
Damon and I are currently sitting in one of the cafés of the lodge. He had ordered a latte while I ordered a hot chocolate. I told myself I would start cutting out caffeine, despite how much I crave it.
Damon can tell I am sulking and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. He leans back in his chair with amusement, "He likes you back, you know."
I know he is talking about Noah and I don't bother asking how he knows about my feelings. "It sure doesn't seem like it."
Damon chuckles, "Noah's a good guy. He used to love Amelia; of course he's spending all of his time with her right now. They haven't seen each other in over a year. Just give it time, he'll come around. Plus, if you gave Amelia the chance, I'm sure you would like her. She's sweet."
"I know, that's what sucks," I groan. "It would be so much easier if I could hate her, but I can't. She's actually nice."
"Noah is a man of taste," Damon winks at me. I laugh, feeling slightly better. "He really likes you. You should talk to him if you feel weird with Amelia around."
"And say what? 'Hey, Noah, I really like you and Amelia is making me the most jealous bitch ever,'" I say sarcastically. "'Please stop talking to her and date me, thanks.'"
Damon rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee. "Grow a pair, Diana. If you talk to Noah reasonably, then he will definitely listen. Maybe don't say that, but just say it feels like she's taking him away from you. The one thing Noah values more than anything are his friends."
I raise an eyebrow teasingly. "Did you friend-zone me for him?"
Damon chuckles. "You're too cute, sweetheart, too cute."
A/N: we love friendships in this house :) I think Damon and Diana are v cute friends.
What do you think Diana should say to Noah? Should she tell him how he feels?
How do you guys feel about Amelia? Let me know!!