"Giselle."
I opened my eyes to Gab's face looking at me curiously. His chubby finger poked my cheeks.
"Mom's mad at you," he announced and then climbed into my bed to tuck himself next to me. "You were drunk when Noah dropped you home yesterday."
I wrapped my arm around his waist, spooning him. My head was pounding like thousand bricks had been dropped on it. I remembered bits and pieces of last night, but it would take a while to get the whole picture. That is if this headache didn't manage to knock me out.
"You stink," Gabriel said, pinching his nose as I yawned. Brat.
I widened my mouth and yawned exaggeratedly to tease him.
"Ewww, stop it Giselle." He thrashed in my arm. "You're so stinky."
I chuckled and after a minute of him wiggling I finally let go. He was right. My morning breath wasn't pleasant and add in last night's countless glasses of alcohol my mouth probably smelled like a gutter.
"On a scale one to ten how mad is she?" I asked, getting up. The urge to go back to sleep nestled against my little brother was strong but I persisted and dragged myself out of bed.
The clock showed I had an hour before the school started. Mom always checked on me to make sure I didn't miss the alarm. However, today she sent Gabriel instead of coming up herself.
She's angry at me.
"Ten thousand," Gabriel said. He sprawled out inside my comforter as though he didn't have a school to attend. Well, the bed indeed looked very inviting.
I groaned and massaged my throbbing temples. Now I realized why people moaned about hangovers. Noah had predicted right and thank him for stopping me from drinking more. If not I'd probably not even make it out of the bed. Or maybe that'd be better to procrastinate facing my angry mother.
"Gab, go get ready or you're going to be late," I ordered Gabriel who imitated my groan. Ugh, kids. "Now."
With a pout he too got off the bed and waddled to the room's door.
"And Gab." He turned around. "What I did yesterday is not meant to be copied. Alcohol is bad."
"Mom already warned me about drinking." He grinned. "She told me she'll whip me. Maybe that's what she'll do to you."
I glared at the little imp. "Get out before I whip you."
During shower my brain started functioning and events of the last night returned. I cringed hard replaying all the embarrassing things I had said and done in front of Noah and Silas while drunk. I was never drinking again. My mouth ran like a motor with alcohol in me.
Noah had booked a cab to drop me home last night. Throughout the ride I ate his ear off, and he was surprisingly very patient with me, like every drunken word I spoke was a gospel. I was sure even driver got irritated at some point. When we reached home he carried me to my room because I had turned into a clumsy mess.
I blushed under the sprinkle of hot water remembering how he tucked me inside the blanket. Maybe he wasn't as jerk of a person I thought him to be. Maybe he was very sweet.
When I stepped into the kitchen my mom's scowl greeted me. I silently joined her at the kitchen counter to help her with breakfast. Gabriel was on the table playing a game in Mom's phone while waiting for his food.
"Giselle, are sandwich and juice enough for you or do you need a scotch to go with it?" Mom taunted me, flipping the breads on pan.
I heard Gabriel's snicker from behind.
"Sandwich and juice are fine," I made the mistake of replying and that was enough for her to finally combust.
She went on about how embarrassingly drunk I was last night and what kind of example it set for my impressionable little brother. I was supposed to be careful around drunk boys, not lose my senses with alcohol. She was very upset with my careless behavior.
At some point I had to take over the pan when bread got crusty so that Mom could continue her lecture without having to worry about burning breakfast. I nodded and kept mum, the best course of action I had learned in my eighteen years of experience when she was angry.
"And why the boy changed?" She asked as I was handing Gabriel his sandwich. "The one who brought you home was different."
"His name is Noah," I said, gauging her anger had simmered down after ranting. "He's a... friend."
"What happened to the other boy?"
"Jason had some thing to take care of," I lied. I didn't want to narrate the petty drama to my mother. Also she already had prejudice against rich people and I didn't want to fuel that.
"I specifically asked Jason to take care of you." She huffed. "I like this Noah better. He took responsibility of you when you were out of your mind."
I didn't say anything and poured a glass of orange juice for myself keeping an eye on my sandwich on the pan. What was to say? Last Martin too had fallen for Noah's charm.
"You know how ashamed I felt when that young boy carried you to your room because you were so drunk that you couldn't take a step straight?!"
My face heated, remembering how I clung to Noah as he took me to my room. "I'm sorry. It won't repeat," I apologized.
"It better not." Her glare dimmed. "Also don't forget to thank that boy today for bringing you home safely."
I nodded and flipped my sandwich to the plate.
******
The hangover was yet to clear. The aching in my skull had dimmed but it wasn't gone and I would give anything to just roll around in my blankets instead of walking down the loud hallways of our school. Every little noise was like a hammer to my head. But I knew if I stayed at home I had to endure another lecture of Mom, and I wanted to avoid those because then there wouldn't be much rolling around in bed until she left for office at eleven.
Even in a shambled state my mind still held thoughts of Noah and my eyes searched for him as I trudged to my locker. I was embarrassed of my last night's behavior but I also knew that it brought us closer too. My stomach still fluttered reminiscing how my drunk self so casually laid in his arms like I belonged there. We were so close, touching.
When I reached my locker, my dreamy sighs stopped as I found Jason standing near it.
"Giselle," he breathed when he saw me. The look he was giving me could be easily compared to that of beat down puppy. Before I could say anything he started apologizing. "I'm so sorry about last night. I shouldn't have let Abigail and Jamal talk to you like that. I should have said something. I'm sorry for not shutting them off-"
"Jason." I stopped his rambling. "Calm down."
He nodded and took a long breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been quiet at the party."
"Then why didn't you say anything?" I asked. I felt sort of betrayed that he hadn't stood up for me.
"I wanted to but...it's just Abigail is..." He sighed. "If I fight her, she'll go after you more relentlessly and pick on me too."
"If she's such a bad person then why do you hangout with her?"
"She's a friend," he replied quietly, making me frown.
"Or you don't want to let go of the status quo," a new voice commented. Silas. When did he get here?
All the signs of meekness disappeared from Jason's face as he glared at Silas. "Rowan," he gritted.
"Matthews." Silas met his glare with a smirk. "Why are you saying sorry to our sweet Giselle now when you didn't have the balls to stop your friends last night?"
"Don't meddle in our business," Jason said gruffly.
"Giselle is my business." Silas's smirk dropped. "Also someone else's."
"What is your problem?" Jason growled. "Why are you guys so interested in her? From what I know Giselle isn't your type. Or is Noah looking for a change?... Yeah, that's it. Is he planning to add her in his list of girls he fucked?!"
"Hey! Watch it." I stopped Jason. He was here to apologize not crassly speculate about Noah and me. I was also very offended by 'not their type' remark.
"I'm sorry," Jason immediately said when I glowered at him.
"You've been saying that a lot Matthews, maybe you should start meaning it," Silas commented and I glared at him too. He was deliberately trying to incite Jason. "And unlike you, Noah doesn't keep a list."
"Seriously dude, why are you even here?"
"I'm here for my friend," he said, moving to stand next to me. "And you too should go back to your friends, who you're hiding from to apologize to Giselle."
Jason's glare hardened. "I'm not hiding!"
Silas rolled his eyes. "Leave Matthews. Come to Giselle when Abigail gives back your balls."
"Don't talk to him like that," I reprimanded Silas who didn't even look slightly apologetic. But me reproving him at least made Jason little less aggressive. I didn't want a fight on my hand.
"I'll see you later Giselle," Jason gritted, realizing Silas wasn't going anywhere, "preferably when you're not hounded by people who can't mind their business." With a last glance at Silas, he stomped away.
"What a baby," Silas muttered.
"He was here to apologize, it wasn't right to talk to him like that."
He rolled his eyes. "Jason's a big wimp. If Abigail finds him apologizing to you, he's going to tail and run. That girl has her claws in him deep."
"Why though?" I asked curiously. "Why do him and his friends are so intimidated by Abigail?"
He smiled, leaning against the locker next to mine. "Why are so many people intimidated by Noah?"
"Because he looks scary," I answered unsure. Noah was the most intimidating out of their group of four. In fact he was the most intimidating person I had known. Though personally I never felt threatened by him, I was still aware of the heavy aura he carried around. He was also the least approachable of them.
Silas's smile turned into a grin. "Exactly," he chirped but I found his enthusiasm sarcastic. "Some people can be scary. Abigail is like Noah. She's just scary." I felt like there was so much more to add but Silas didn't. He was annoyingly cryptic. All four of them were.
I gave a curt nod and started rummaging through my locker for the textbooks. If he was going to be cryptic then I was going to be ignorant. Of him.
"You're a curious little thing, aren't you?" Silas chuckled.
"Maybe I wouldn't be if you didn't give half answers and creepy smiles." I put the binder for the coming class in my bag.
"Hey, my smiles aren't creepy."
"They are."
"Girls fall head over heels for this charming smile."
"Humble much?"
Silas shook his head. "My smiles aren't creepy," he repeated firmly as if to reassure himself.
I held back a smile.
"I was here to tell you from today you'll be sitting with us at lunch," he said suddenly.
I looked at him surprised. "You guys don't know how to ask, do you?"
He shrugged. "Don't you wanna know why I give half-answers? And don't you wanna be a part of school's best elite?" He said sarcastically. "Sit with us. Besides it's pretty pathetic to watch you eating your lunch alone and ogling at Noah."
My cheeks flamed. This guy! "Don't count on me to join you," I huffed, trying to hide my embarrassment.
"Oh sweet Giselle, you come to our table using your legs or Noah throws you over his shoulders and carry you there. Either way you're sitting with us." With an annoying smirk he too walked away.
My eyes narrowed at Silas's retreating figure. I knew he was teasing me, but something told me it wasn't entirely a joke. Noah could throw my heavy body over his shoulder and make me sit with them.
And the worst part was I found it turning me on.
******
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You can read two chapters ahead on inkitt. Link is in bio.