I slammed my front door shut behind me so violently that the sound continued to ring through my ears for a straight minute. From the corner of my eyes I saw Noah's tall build jump from his seat on my living room couch and take a defensive stance, his occupied hand pointing towards my way, and I found myself on the other end of my favorite red kitchen knife.
"What the hell, Nora?!" He yelled angrily, then he huffed and lowered the weapon in his hand.
"What are you doing with my kitchen knife?" I questioned warily.
He glanced down at his hand before a dark look crossed his features. "Did you forget already what your idiot of a friend did? Those men could be watching us right this moment and we wouldn't even know it." He snapped a bit too harshly.
Well that took a dark turn. I wondered what his reaction would be if he found out I just agreed to a date with one of those men he was currently taking a stance against.
"Here's your drink," I offered him the paper cup and looked around the living room. "Where's Ariel?"
He gestured with his head back towards my bedroom. I rolled my eyes - of course she would still be sleeping.
I stalked towards my room, trying way too hard to walk normally and hide my excitement, to the point where it was obvious I wasn't normal. I glanced over my shoulder and was grateful to find Noah too occupied sipping on his drink to notice my unusual behavior.
I pulled open my bedroom door to see Ariel sprawled out on my bed diagonally, her hair ruffled and spread out across the pillows as slight snores escaped her mouth. I slammed the door shut and rushed to the windows, pulling my curtains apart to let in the morning light. Immediately my action was followed by an annoyed groan.
Slamming the cups on the nightstand, I reached for the blanket and pulled it off of Ariel, forcing her to turn on her back. She sent me a death glare. "What?" she hissed.
I clapped my hands together, "I need you to be fully alert because what I'm about to tell you could get the both of us killed." When her eyes widened like saucers, I clarified, "by Elliot."
She gradually sat upright against the headboard. "What is going on?" She whispered.
I pushed at her legs and sat down beside her; but when I opened my mouth to speak, no words came out. I didn't know how to begin.
"Nora! What happened?" Ariel pushed.
I leaned in and whispered, "you'll never guess who I ran into at the coffee shop."
She sat upright, straightening her back and shoulders, now fully awake. "Who?!" She shrieked, and I shushed her harshly, glancing at the door as if waiting for Noah to burst in at any second.
"Xavier," I finally whispered, and her blue eyes widened once more, her jaw dropping open.
"No."
I nodded my head violently, a big grin forcing its way on my face. "And that's not all."
Ariel gulped, "there's more? Please don't tell me the whole gang showed up."
A shudder ran down my spine at the mention of "gang", which diverted my attention from what I was about to confess.
"Do-" I began speaking, but didn't know how to propely word what I was about to ask.
Ariel stared back at me expectantly.
"Do you believe Xavier has something to do with all that? What if he's not as close to Vincent as we thought he was? What if they're genuinely just... just friends?" I hoped.
I watched Ariel study me carefully, not knowing how to respond. She glanced down as she contemplated a reply, but when she looked up her mouth closed again. When she took too long to answer, I suddenly blurted out,
"He asked me out," her eyes widened, and I dropped the second bomb before she could respond, "and I said yes."
"Nora!" She all but yelled, scolding me. Or at least I thought she was, until she broke out into a huge teethy grin, her dimples digging deep into her cheeks. "I can't believe this!"
"Y-you can't believe this, as in "I am so disappointed in you, I can't believe this" or "this is great! I can't believe this"?" I questioned.
Her grin widened. "This is fantastic!" she squealed.
I cringed back at her high-pitched voice. "Is it?" I whispered doubtfully.
Ariel nodded her head frantically. "I knew from the first moment you two met that there was a spark. I had never seen you so nervous around someone before."
I felt a warm blush creeping up my cheek. Ariel gasped and jerked forward, clutching my hand tightly. "See! Even now you're blushing!"
I rolled my eyes and pushed her hand away, rubbing my cheeks in hopes of them returning normal again. "I'm not too sure I should trust him though," I mumbled, sighing.
Ariel noticed my unease and shook her head. "I have a good feeling about this guy, remember my sixth sense?" I chuckled and nodded yes. "I don't think he's a bad guy. Dangerous, maybe, but not bad." She whispered.
I frowned at her last sentence. "What do you mean, dangerous?"
She shrugged. "They all looked very intimidating, I feel like there's a sense of danger surrounding them. But if they were the bad guys, you and I wouldn't have felt so comfortable around Vincent and Xavier. Which is why I was confused when Elliot took a stance against them."
I nodded my head in agreement. "That's exactly what I thought. The way I felt like I could be myself around Xavier was very confusing at first, given the fact that it takes a lot for me to trust a guy. So maybe he is a good man, and that's why the trigger warnings didn't go off in my mind." I justified.
Ariel suddenly shrieked, and I flinched back, cursing her. "So when is this date?!" I slapped her arm and shushed her, pointing with my thumb back at the door; the only thing separating us from Noah.
She bit the inside of her cheek, as if suddenly realizing that this date is something that should be kept a secret from our friends. Her eyes widened, "how is this going to work?" She asked.
I sighed, slouching forward in early defeat. "I've no idea." It will be extremely difficult. Noah, and especially Elliot, basically have radars pointed directly at us girls now after what went down at the beach.
"We can say we're hanging out, just you and me, and I can go to the movies. There's a new one I've been wanting to watch." Ariel suggested.
I shook my head. "They won't let us go alone. Not until things settle down a bit and their paranoia subsides."
Ariel nodded, gazing off into the distance as she tried to think of another solution.
A sudden feeling of frustration washed over me, and I frowned. "You know what? They can't control who I can and cannot date." I snapped. Ariel's eyes shot up to mine and widened.
"Nora.." she began, but I cut her off.
"No. I dealt with the worse and survived. Xavier isn't a bad guy. I can date whoever I want."
I hopped off my bed and stalked towards my closet, pulling the doors open to reveal my color-coordinated fancy tops. Today, I felt yellow. I began rummaging through my yellow tops, settling for a fancy pastel V-neck, long sleeved.
"Nora, you know they just worry a lot." Ariel's voice came from behind me.
I sighed. "I know. And I'm grateful that they care. But I don't need them controlling who can and cannot be a part of my life." I explained. She nodded hesitantly and gave me a tight smile.
"Is the date today?" Ariel asked, eyeing the top I picked appreciatively. "That would look gorgeous with your hair curled."
"Yeah. Would you do me the honor?" I asked. She flashed me a toothy grin, jumping once and clapping her hands excitingly.
"I thought you'd never ask!" She reached out and grabbed my shoulders, moving me to my vanity and pushing me down to sit in front of the mirror. "I'll go freshen up and you can plug in the curler."
I pulled open the desk drawer and took the curler out, doing as instructed by the beautician; the whole while my stomach churning not only in anticipation, but fear of getting caught by the people who instructed me to do the exact opposite of what I was going to so eagerly do.