Noah reached out, opened the front door of the school, and then stood there expectantly.
My eyes narrowed, unsure of what he was waiting for. I had amped myself up for the task of asking him out, and now after the deed was done, I needed some serious me-time. Not to mention that, in my search for adrenaline, I had drunk two coffees this morning, and was now glad that there were still 10 minutes left before the end of class bell rang because I was going to need the toilet, and it was not going to be pretty.
Seeing as he was still standing there, holding the door like the gentleman I was sure he wasn't, it seemed that my wish for alone time wasn't going to be granted.
"What?" I barked at him through clenched teeth, and he nodded his head in the direction of the entrance.
"After you, girlfriend." He said, a cocky smirk on his lips, and his tone laced with obvious humor.
A shudder passed through me at how absolutely wrong that sounded, and I quickly dipped past him. Had I made a mistake? Could I really go through this for another two weeks?
Even though my steps were swift, I could feel him keeping pace behind me. Just as he'd caught up to me, I turned around and placed my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why are you following me? Are you the overly attached type?"
"Um, we have the next class together," He answered bluntly, raising an eyebrow, and pressing his lips together -- no doubt in order to stop himself from laughing at me. "Sweetie."
Ugh, this insufferable jerk. Was this nickname thing going to be a recurring theme during the next 2 weeks? Because I was going to lose it.
I'd been so preoccupied with his little name calling that it took a few seconds to process what he'd said before that. Shit. He was right, we did share the next class. It's not like I usually paid attention to him, so could he really blame me for forgetting? As much I hated to admit it, it did kind of look bad for me though so I decided to stand my ground.
I crossed my arms over my chest, tilting my head to the side, "Well, I'm going to the bathroom first, do you want to follow me there too?"
"Depends. Are you inviting me?" A crooked smile played on his lips, and he winked.
My eyes almost popped straight out of their sockets. "N-No! Of course not!" I muttered, feeling my cheeks burn under his sapphire gaze. I quickly turned and practically ran in the direction of the bathroom, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the hall -- along with the sweet sound of Noah's devilish laughter.
Splashing my face with water did little to soothe my burning cheeks. I took a deep breath, trying to push through the intense feeling that I had just started something very dangerous with a guy I knew nothing about.
This was the most contact I'd had with Noah in my entire life. If we were ever at the same party, I made sure I was at the opposite end of the room. When we were on school trips, I took the seats farthest from him.
And now? Now, I was dating him.
The whole point of this thing was to uncover his secrets so I knew that I'd have to get used to spending time not just around him, but with him. Even so, did he have to be so infuriating?
Feeling the vibration of a text message I took my phone out and saw that Melissa had already texted me four times. I could tell that she was getting frantic, probably ready to call in the search dogs, and I quickly shot her a text asking her to meet me in the first floor women's bathroom once first period ended.
A few moments after the end of class bell rang, a winded Mel burst in, her face almost as furious as her voice.
"You dingbat, where were you?" Her tone was an accusation I didn't know how to reply to. Especially considering I hadn't actually told Melissa about my little date Noah plan, only because I knew full well that she would have killed me and most definitely not let me go through with it.
Then again, now she was going to kill me for not telling her. So, in either scenario I should have planned my funeral along with my dating Noah strategy.
"Um, okay, I need to tell you something but promise you won't be super mad at me." I chewed on my bottom lip as I spoke, my anxiety rearing its ugly head. "Like, you can be a little mad, but I'm already kinda freaked so I really need you to not drown me in a toilet. Considering how often they clean them, I don't even want to imagine how--"
"Sky, you're rambling. Which means I'm definitely gonna be super mad because you only do that when you've done something to be super mad about so just spit it out." Mel placed her hands on her hips, striking her typical I'm about to chew your ear off with my lesson pose.
Okay, just blurt it out, like ripping off a bandage. Inhale. Exhale.
"I asked out Noah Archer and now we're dating." Wow, there have never been words in my mouth that tasted more foul than the ones that had just come out of it.
I closed my eyes, expecting a torrent of fury to come spewing out of Melissa's mouth, but there was only silence. Only the sound of water falling from a broken bathroom sink.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Carefully prying open one eye, I looked at my best friend in trepidation. Her eyes were wide, mouth open, hands that had been previously firmly placed on her hips now limp at her sides. It seemed that Melissa was speechless.
Huh, that was new.
"Um, Mel?" I asked, carefully and as if she had been in a trance until that moment, she inhaled loudly.
"What?!" Her voice came out in a shrill scream and I jumped back. There we go. "How? When? Why? You hate that guy!" It seemed like her mind had been overloaded, unable to focus on a single question but demanding answers to all of them. "Not to mention the fact that you didn't tell me before you did it! How could you keep something like that from me? I feel betrayed, nay, stabbed in the back! Now I know how Caesar felt! Et tu, Brute?" There we go, her skills from drama class were coming into full swing as she waved her hands around, pacing all over the bathroom.
I opened my mouth to try to reply to at least one of her questions -- or were they accusations? -- but she wasn't done yet. Her face was red, cheeks puffy, eyes full of daggers she was ready to hurl right at me.
"Noah freaking Archer, Sky! You're dating Noah Archer?! Have you been hit on the head? Why would you date Noa--"
Her words were cut off as the door to the bathroom opened and two girls walked inside. They stopped, looked at us in confusion, looked at each other, and then walked back out.
"Um, maybe we should talk about this somewhere else?" I offered apologetically, glancing nervously at the door. We'd already been in here for a few minutes and it was a miracle we were still alone.
Mel opened her lips, just as another girl opened the door. Then she looked at me, grabbed me by the arm, and pushed past the confused freshman until we were out in the busy school hallway.
"Don't think you're safe," Mel whispered, squeezing my arm for emphasis, "I'm still extremely angry with you."
"I know," I mumbled, dragging my feet as we walked.
"And you have a lot of explaining to do, and I mean a lot," she continued, narrowing her eyes into tiny, threatening slits. An angry Mel was a dangerous Mel.
"I know. I'm sorry." More mumbling. More dragging my feet.
"And a lot of that too. One sorry won't cut it! I can't believe you didn't tell me about this." She groaned, taking out her aggression on her locker; she was slamming it so loud we were starting to get strange looks from the people around us.
"Yes, yes, I know. Come for dinner again tonight and give me a chance to explain?" I unleashed the full power of my puppy dog stare on her. Mel stared back, unrelenting, and just when I thought the cuteness of my puppy face had betrayed me, she exhaled and shook her head.
"What am I gonna do with you, huh? You better buy me ice cream for dessert," she muttered, clutching the notebook she'd taken out of her locker to her chest.
I grinned, nodding enthusiastically as I pulled her toward my own locker. "Now, I need to get my things because I cannot miss another class." This day had tarnished my flawless record, and I was not about to have two strikes in a row.
To my utmost horror as soon as we stepped into class, I locked eyes with Noah, and he winked at me. A shiver ran through me and I quickly looked away, making my way to the other side of the class -- a seat carefully selected due to the very distance it gave from him.
As I found my seat, I glanced at Noah again, but his attention was back on his notebook and whatever he was scribbling inside of it.
"Just give it a try, go ask him!" A girl I shared a few classes with, Isabelle, whispered to her friend, nudging her in the direction of Noah. The girl's cheeks were flushed, and she was nervously twirling her hair as she approached him.
I swallowed loudly, knowing full well what was coming.
"Um, Noah?" He looked up at her, but I couldn't see his expression, "Hi, I was wondering... if no one asked you yet, maybe you'd want to go out with me?"
The whole class went silent. This was the event. The event that the whole school would be buzzing about after: will this girl be the one? Bets would be placed. Friendships would be shaken. Rumors would be spread.
"Ah, sorry, I'm already dating someone."
A collective gasp could be heard echoing through the classroom and then the rumor mill had begun. Phones came out, texts were sent.
And me? I had started wishing I was part turtle and could just casually hide inside of a shell. At least there was no way they could know I was the one dating him.
"Um, could I ask who?" The girl seemed flustered and I didn't blame her. All of the girls who usually asked him out actually liked him. It must have taken an insane amount of courage, especially to do it in front of the entire class. If her question hadn't almost scared the crap out of me -- quite literally -- I would have even felt sorry for her.
"Ah, well..." He leaned back in his seat, and I saw an ever so slight twitch of his head in my direction, his blue eyes meeting with mine.
Oh my God, he was going to out us in front of the entire class!
My eyes widened in terror and I desperately tried to shake my head without drawing attention. I knew that it was inevitable that soon the school would be buzzing with the breaking news that I was the girl dating Noah Archer for the next two weeks. However, I was not ready for that to happen right this second. Before everyone else knew this fun bit of information, I needed time to wrap my head around the fact as well.
I was sure my face grew more pale by the second as I pleaded with him silently, lips pressed together into a tight line.
Suddenly, Noah laughed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Someone very interesting," was all he managed to say before the second bell rang and the teacher walked in.
I guess this was what they called saved by the bell.
By some stroke of good luck, we managed to grab the lunch table we'd usually sit at before it was taken. One of the rare smaller ones that now felt unnaturally big without Lily there with us. Mel took out her lunch bag and since I'd, naturally, been too stressed out to actually pack myself a lunch today, I was forced to eat the school cafeteria food -- the only good thing about today's menu were the fries. I could tell that Melissa was itching to get answers to all the questions she'd bombarded me with in the bathroom by the way she kept glancing at me. There was no way she would make it to the evening without getting at least some details out of me.
"Okay, what do you want to know first?" I tossed a fry into my mouth and prepared myself for the interrogation.
"Um, let's start with why?" Mel tried to keep her voice level but I could hear it hitch up at the last word.
"It's kind of complicated. I want to expose him and for that I need to know him. I need evidence and stuff like that."
Mel exhaled loudly, leaning back in her seat. "Expose him for what? Evidence for what? Noah Archer is--" Suddenly her eyes focused somewhere behind me and she quickly leaned across the table to me, "--coming right toward us, Sky, why is he coming right toward us?" She asked me as if I was suddenly an expert on this mutant boy's thought process.
I straightened up instantly, hands balling into fists as if I was about to enter into a boxing ring, and to be fair that was how it felt.
Within seconds, Noah walked up to us, and without saying a single word, dropped his tray on the table and plopped down next to me, earning a few looks and whispers from the surrounding crowds. He didn't even look up from his tray as he picked up a few fries and tossed them into his mouth. Oh, hell no.
Round one, fight!
"Um, what are you doing here? And by here, I mean here at our table, instead of with your friends, at their table." I stared at him like he was an alien -- could he be one? I hadn't considered that before. Maybe he was an alien with mind control powers. That would have explained a lot. He looked up at me with equal puzzlement spread across his annoyingly handsome features.
"What do you mean? I'm here to eat lunch with my girlfriend, of course. Is that a problem?" Noah's lips quirked up as he leaned closer to me, and I automatically leaned away from him. "Don't know how much dating experience you have, but you'll spend a lot more time with me than just your lunch break from now on. So, y'know, you should get used to that." He smiled mischievously, clearly enjoying himself, and tossed a few more fries into his mouth.
Skyler, K.O. Round one winner, Noah.
Without saying another word, I turned toward Mel, hoping she would come to my rescue. but my dear friend looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her gaze shifting between me and Noah, confused and perplexed, before she focused all her attention on her food. Traitor.
"Lucky me," I muttered, sighed, and hung my head down in defeat. All of a sudden, a hand came into view, snatching three of my fries, and I gasped at that heinous act of theft.
My eyes flew back to Noah who was now munching happily on my fries, an innocent look on his face. He glanced back at me and smirked, tilting his head to the side as if to ask "What?"
"Did-Did you just take my fries?" I asked even though I knew the answer because I had literally seen him do it. The biggest no-no in the book!
"I don't know, did I?" He countered my question with a question, and I wanted to scream into his face. Wrapping both arms around my tray protectively, I pushed it further away from him on the table.
Noah laughed, put his elbow on the table, and leaned his head against his fist, staring at me.
"See, now I learned something new about you," He said, his eyes twinkling with that same mischievous glint.
"And that is?" I countered, wishing I could use the severity of my glare to burn a hole in his smug face. Instead, I focused my rage on tearing open my juice carton.
"Skyler Fox doesn't share her food." He replied in an almost sing-song way, and I almost choked on my apple juice.
"That's not--" I mean, it kind of was true. It's not like I was a huge fan of people taking stuff off my plate. But, it's not like I was greedy about food either. "I mean, do you know a person who genuinely likes someone taking stuff off their plate without asking?" I countered, feeling the need to justify myself.
Noah made a humming sound, looking to the side as he considered that before nodding. "You have a point there, Fox. Guess I should have asked first huh?" He said, in a way that made it quite clear that he'd taken them without asking on purpose. This guy was messing with me and he was enjoying it.
"Even if you did, I wouldn't have given you any, Archer," I spat back at him, taking some fries and stuffing them in my mouth. I turned toward him as I chewed, making a very disting mmmm sound.
At that, Noah laughed so loud that people literally stopped talking for a few seconds, before whispers started buzzing everywhere around us. And I was pretty sure I knew exactly what they were talking about. Much to my dismay, the rumor mill had just confirmed who Noah Archer's new girlfriend was. Yours truly.
Once he'd composed himself, Noah leaned closer to me again, "I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Skyler." Then he winked, and hit me with the full force of his usual charming smile that I'd seen him use against the majority of the female population in school, and despire myself, I felt a slight heart palpitation. From the corner of my eyes I could see that even -- the now selectively mute -- Melissa was flustered.
"When does your last class end?" He asked as he stood up from the table, and I shook my head to refocus.
"2:05," I replied automatically and regretted it the very instant the words left my mouth, "Um, why?" The sinking feeling in my stomach already gave me an inkling as to what his answer would be.
"So that we can go home together." Noah said it so matter-of-factly it chilled me to my bones.
He hadn't been exaggerating when he said we'd be spending a lot more time together. And, it was quite possible, that I hadn't exactly thought through how much time that would be before jumping into this mess.
"Uh, yeah, no, I-I have plans, with Mel. She's uh, driving me home." I stammered out in a panic, trying to come up with any reason as to why I absolutely couldn't get into his car with him.
"Oh, you can go with Noah, I don't mind!" My head whipped toward Mel so fast I was dizzy; or maybe this whole absurd situation was making my head spin. She looked back at me with a naughty smile and one eyebrow raised, "You should spend some time with your boyfriend after all, and I'll see you tonight anyway."
Oh, this was revenge. She was getting her sweet, sweet revenge and I couldn't exactly blame her for it. If I knew her at all -- and oh boy, did I ever -- Mel was going to have her fun, and make me squirm in the process. But, hadn't she ever heard that revenge was a dish best served cold? So why, just why, did she have to serve it now?
"That's settled then, I'll meet you in front of the school." With a self-satisfied smirk, he grabbed his tray and looked down at me. "Later, sweetie." And then, he did the most outrageous thing I'd ever had done to me.
He bent down, with everyone staring at us, kissed the top of my head, and walked away.
Hi lovelies! ❤️
First, I want to apologize if there are any errors in the text -- as always this is a first draft, I have no doubt it'll need some heavy editing eventually, haha. I did go a little crazy with the length of this chapter but I really didn't see any good way to end it in order to make it shorter... I'm sorry!
Second, heeey, you finally got to meet Noah Archer a bit more! What do you think of him so far?
I'm having so much fun writing this story, so I hope it will be at least a fragmat as enjoyable for you to read it as well! ❤️
Also, I'm a little late with my writing so I'm diving deep into both MIQ and TWTFIL today and tomorrow to make up for not writing yesterday -- honestly I was so excited about MMIQ being ranked so high and all the amazing new readers that checked out my story that my ADHD simply didn't let me focus on writing, haha.
Thank you so much for reading and for your overwhelming support -- you already know that it all means the absolute world to me. Looooove you!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
And as always, stay strong and stay safe!