Chapter Eight
We Sit in the Dark
“How can you hate someone so gorgeous?”
“I don’t hate him; I just have a great dislike towards his general direction at all times.”
Corrie sighed as they stopped in front of their lockers, leaning up against hers and looking very dramatic “You are so prejudiced, Noel.”
“Of what?” she scoffed “Guys named Gabriel? Good looking and popular people?”
“Yes.” Ned said, not even looking up from the game of online chess he was playing “Well, not guys names Gabriel, but good looking and popular people. You’re very narrow-minded and think they’re all nitwits.”
“I never said that!”
Corrie huffed in annoyance “Yes you did, in ninth grade. You said –and I quote – ‘all these people who are good looking and popular are utter nitwits’ End quote.”
Flustered, Noel stared angrily into her locker. Yes she found the loud and obnoxious ‘good looking’ and ‘popular’ people rather nitwit-ish, but that’s not why she disliked Gabriel. He gave her a funny feeling, he was the boy in chains – something wasn’t right.
Oh, and he though he was the son of Hades.
That was biggie, the ultimate winner. He was nuts, cuckoo, off his rocker, lost his marbles.
“Oh wait a second.” Ned looked up from his game “He gives you a funny feeling, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, he does actually.”
Corrie laughed and tugged on the end of her hair “Oh Noel, I thought you’d given up on those.”
“It’s not funny!” she cried, slamming her locker door. “They’re not just funny feelings – I know it sounds mad, but they’re real!”
“Sure Ellie.” Ned started another game.
“This is why I didn’t tell you.” She said, upset – to her utter embarrassment she felt tears threatening to spill over, and she walked swiftly to the bathroom “I’ll see you guys in the canteen.”
“Okay, and if anyone else gives you a funny feeling on the way over, let us know!” Corrie sniggered, and they walked off.
It was the last day of school, her friends were making fun of her and Noel’s sandwich was soggy. The day had started out bad by Noel once again putting her contacts in backwards; she’d slipped on the stairs and slammed her finger in the locker door.
“You okay?”
Noel hadn’t noticed, but Gabriel was reflected in the mirror. His smirk was cut off by a swipe of lipstick on the surface, but she knew it was him.
“This is the girl’s bathroom!” she cried, whirling around.
“I know,” he said, peering into a stall “And its considerably cleaner than the guys. Good gossip, too.”
Flushing scarlet, Noel took off her glasses and cleaned them vigorously “You’re not a girl.”
“I know – and I don’t think Marjorie Flint would want me to eat caramel out of her bellybutton if I was.” He laughed, eyes scrawling down the bathroom stall wall.
“I think you’re missing the point.” She said “If you’re caught in here the principle will practically threaten you with the strap.” Narrowing her eyes at him, Noel crossed her arms “What are you doing in here anyway?”
“Oh you know, catching up on my AyCa tittle-tattle.” He laughed at the look on her face and leaned against the wall “Oh come on Angel, lighten up. I wanted to talk to you, and this seemed like a pretty good place to ambush you.”
She swallowed, feeling a hiccup bubbling up “Ambush?”
Gabriel nodded “Yeah, since you’re so good at avoiding me.”
“I was avoiding you for a reason, but I don’t think you caught on.” She moved for the door “Let me spell it out for you: I don’t want you near me. You’re nuts, Gabriel, plain and simple. You scared the bejeezus out of me, and feed me all this nonsense about gods and seers and-and chickmeras!”
“Chimera.” He corrected “And I didn’t meant to scare you Angel, honest.”
“And stop calling me Angel!” she cried “My name is Noel. Not neighbour, not birdie, undeniably not Angel. Noel.”
“I’m sorry Noel.” Said Gabriel softly “Just hear me out.”
Noel shook her head “No.” she said coolly “I don’t want to hear any more of your faerie tales – leave me alone.”
The look on Gabriel’s face made Noel know that what she’d said was low, lower than anything she’d insulted him with before. Not looking back, Noel ran out of the bathroom, screams telling her that someone had found Gabriel.
Serves him right she thought bitterly cornering me in there.
But part of you kind of liked it sniggered her conscience I mean, Gabriel Darcy cornering you in the loo…
Refusing to talk to herself, Noel thought wistfully of the winter holidays, only hours away.
With the final school bell Noel made a beeline for her locker, brightening when she saw Ned and Corrie waiting for her.
“Ready for the ultimate gore?” asked Ned, obviously excited “I heard it’s made tons of people puke!”
Corrie jumped in “Who cares about puking - guess who’s coming with us?”
Something told Noel that she wasn’t going to be happy with this “Who?” she asked, deflated.
“Gabriel!” she cried, clapping her hands in excitement “He’s meeting us at the theatre in fifteen, so let’s go! And be nice Noel, or I’ll never return your Harry Potter box set.”
The three friends made their way to Ned’s car and drove to the theatre; Gabriel was waiting for them in the lobby, already holding four tickets. Corrie’s breathe hitched noticeably, and Gabriel made light conversation while they stood in line for snacks, then seats. Ned walked down the isle first, then Corrie and Gabriel, Noel last.
“I heard this movie is really scary,” Corrie whispered to Gabriel “I’m such a wimp when it comes to these kinds of films.”
Ned’s grip on the armrest tightened, and Noel almost laughed – her poor friend sounded so desperate, it was almost comical.
Gabriel smiled tightly “Well, Ned’s right there – I’m not great with these movies either.”
The look on Corrie’s face was priceless, and Noel had to bite her tongue from laughing.
As the lights dimmed and the first head was ripped off, Noel felt suddenly woozy – and it wasn’t from the gore. She was sharing an armrest with Gabriel, and sitting there with him in the dark was electrifying. It wasn’t like his cheesy harlequin romance novels or movies, Noel genuinely felt like someone had stuck an electric cable down her throat.
Her vision blurred, the fight on screen wavering; Noel wasn’t sitting in the theatre anymore. She was in the middle of the forest, and Gabriel was lying in front of her, blood pouring from a wound in his arm. His body was half in the stream, and the snow and water around him turned red; he let out a low moan.
Noel couldn’t speak, and suddenly she was back in the theatre. She stood up woozily, head spinning; losing all control of her legs, Noel collapsed, hearing the delighted screams of the audience.
I really have to stop doing this…Noel thought as she came back to reality, surprised to find herself in her room, in bed. Sitting up, she listened for the sounds of voices; she could hear Bernie and Mark downstairs.
After peeling her contacts from the desiccated exterior of her eyeballs, Noel headed down the narrow back stairs into the kitchen, and was somehow unsurprised to see Gabriel sitting at the island, having tea – from her mug. Again.
“Haven’t we been over this?” she said, and they all turned “Don’t put your salivated chops on my stuff.”
Gabriel only smiled as Bernie rushed over to fuss about heat and food, but Noel waved her away “So what’s going on?”
“You fainted sweatpea.” Said Mark, giving her shoulder a light squeeze “The gore must have been too much for you.”
Shaking her head, Noel reached for her own cup of tea “It wasn’t the gore.”
Bernie put a spoonful of honey in her daughters cup “What was it then Ellie?”
Noel opened her mouth, and was about to relay the scene of Gabriel lying injured in the snowy forest, but thought better of it. I saw my practically stranger neighbour in a vision were there was lots of blood in an indefinite forest setting sounded pretty nutty.
“I didn’t have lunch.” She said instead.
Mark nodded knowingly “I get the same sweatpea, don’t worry. It runs in the family, why I remember when I was your age-”
Interrupting her husband, Bernie placed an affectionate hand on Gabriel’s shoulder “Shouldn’t we tell Noel about her surprise?”
“Good idea.” Said Gabriel, who couldn’t seem to stop grinning.
“Ah, yes.” Mark smiled at his wife. “Noel, Gabriel has invited you on a road trip!”
Noel blinked a few times, looked from her parents to Gabriel and coughed slightly. “A road trip?” she asked, throat suddenly dry.
Clapping her hands, Bernie looked so excited Noel wondered if she were coming too “Yes, wont that be fun! Road trips are a great bonding thing; your father and I went on a road trip once.” She winked playfully and tended to the stew, which had begun to bubble.
Pink stained Mark’s freckled cheeks, and he looked down and rustled his papers “Ahem, well yes we did. No need to go into details there Bernie.”
Looking over at Gabriel, Noel had the sinking feeling that she didn’t have a say in the matter.
“You’ll get to meet my friends,” he offered “I know you’ll like them, especially Lola – I think you two will get along especially well.”
Somehow Noel doubted it, and sunk into a deep pit of hopelessness. A road trip with Gabriel? Corrie would have a heart attack, and Noel might just resort to drastic measures – it would no doubt end in disaster.
A/N: Oooh, a road trip! Fun!
Question: What do you think will occcur on this road trip? What do you think Gabriel's friends will be like? What do you think of Noel's weirs vision on the theatre?
Rose<3