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ps: long long chapter (almost 6000+ words)
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Iris
"What an amazing morning and a Monday," I hum, grinning, and look at the love of my unrealistic lifeâmy cupcake. Technically, made by someone else but they are mine, now.
Last week passed by with a lot of practices and studies and before I know (of course, I know), Monday is already knocking on my door.
"Can you give the exact same reaction when I come to your house?" Colt asks me, looking up from his phone. I narrow my eyes at how in a second his eyes drift back to his phone.
"Who ya talking to?" I lean up, trying to look at the screen but he moves away.
"No one," He pauses as a small smile starts to break on his face. "Just... Tori."
I smile, taking a bite from the cupcake, and ask, "Why do you call Victoria Tori?"
"Just... a feelingâshe didn't even protest," He looks at me and shrugs.
I eat the whole cupcake and throw the wrapper in the dustbin. When I look up, I see what's coming.
"Colt," I call out as he keeps on moving.
No reply.
"Colt."
No reply, again.
"Colt, dumbass, you are going toâ" He crashes on the glass entrance door. "âcrash," I complete, trying not to laugh while Colt curses, embarrassed. To fulfill the embarrassment more, Victoria passes the door on the other side but stops when she sees Colt cursing loudly.
"Mothâ" Colt stops when he notices her and I burst out laughing.
"Um, you okay, Colt?" Victoria asks him, opening the door.
"Uh...yeah. I have been better," Colt replies, after giving me a glare.
"I tried to stop you, idiot," I nudge Colt, before moving forward and giving Victoria a hug. "Hey, Vic."
"Hey, Iris," She replies to me, smiling. "You, guys, are kind of lateâ"
The bell rings and the three of us look at each other, frantically.
"Now, you are too," I state, before the three of us start runningâColt and I to left while Victoria to right. "Bye, Vic!"
"See you both soon!" She replies.
"Couldn't use your time counting superpower, could you?" Colt tells me as we both run towards our homeroom.
"Well, if you hadn't banged yourself on the door and not make me laugh, I would have," I retort back.
Upon reaching the door of our homeroom, Colt says, "You open it. I don't want to see McLane first."
"Geez, Colt!" I push open the door to reveal a 25-even man with dirty blonde hair, writing something on the board â his name, I think â and now looking at us.
"Um, I thought McLane would be here," Colt whispers to me.
"Ya, maybe we are in a different class," I whisper to him, looking at the man.
"That means we are a lot late. Let's go," Colt and I start to pace back when the man in front of us calls us.
"You, both, must be Iris and Colten, right?" We nod. "Enter the class and don't be late, next time."
"Um, okay. We won't be," I say with a smile and start to walk.
Colt asks, walking, "What happened to McLane?"
"McLane has left the school due to some emergency." Colt and I look at each other for a brief second and then, grin.
"Freedom," Colt whispers to me.
"I knowâoh no." I freeze, looking forward.
Colt scoffs behind me. "The improbability of that."
Noah is in the same class and is sitting on the seat, besides mine. Also (yes, another surprise awaits me) Aditya is sitting beside Caleb with a grin on his face.
"Bella," There is a slight surprise in Noah's voice when he looks at me.
"You have the same class as us?" Adi asks, excited. "And I thought it would be so difficult to make friends."
"You thought that?" Caleb asks him, surprised. Caleb and Adi have formed a weird friendship since they met each other which is surprising for me given what Caleb said to the latter's best friend.
Colt and I just look at each other before going towards our seats.
When I sit, Noah whispers to me, "I didn't take you for the late-type, Bella."
I turn towards Noah as he scoots his chair near mine in three seconds and looks at me.
"How the hell you are here?" I say to him, maintaining eye contact. "You don't attend any classes, especially not mine."
He slides a paper in my direction. It is his schedule and I swear I am cursed. He has almost every class with me, except AP physics.
"Well, can't I change coming to classes now?" He replies. I raise my eyebrow at him, looking at him, just as he looks away.
"I had a fight with the man who thinks he can control my whole life..." he says, looking in front. Before I can question further, he looks back at me.
"Though I am surprised to find that we are in the same class," He says, before a smirk appears on his face. "That just means we will spend more time together, Bella"
"I had such an amazing morning only for you to ruin it," I reply, rolling my eyes.
He smirks. "I wouldn't call it ruining."
"What is it then?" I ask back, looking at his amber eyes.
He looks back into my eyes and replies, "When I figure it out, I will tell you."
Just then, the teacher speaks up, and both of us look away.
"I am your new homeroom-slash-math teacher, Nathan Matthews. You may call me Nathan."
Then, he looks down on his sheet and says, "We also have a new student in the class. Aditya Subramaniam. Wow, that's a long name." he sighs in the end.
"If my name's long for you, I wonder what you will think of my paternal relatives. Anyway, a very well Namaste from this handsome fella to everyone present in the class, I am Aditya. Just call me Adi," Adi says, casually, with a smile.
Now, when two good-looking guys are in your class, you probably know the reaction of most of the studentsâthey are intrigued with just some students sighing at their appearance.
On that note, a girl, in front of Adi, says to him, "Do you...work out? Those muscles are really showing."
Before Adi can reply, Noah says, "They are not musclesâjust fat."
I can't help but snicker at the bluntness.
"They are not fatâthey are carbohydrate." Adi rectifies.
This is not the end as Noah speaks up, "He also sleeps with his blue lightsaber."
Almost the whole class starts laughing.
As everyone starts to snicker and Colt and I exchange an amused look, I hear Caleb say to Adi, "Dude, you such a geek."
I look at Noah who is smirking at his best friend, and then, at Adi who gives a deadly stare in return, before turning towards everyone.
"What can I say? I just wanna be a Jedi. I just wanna save the Republic." He says, casually. The class fills up with 'cute' and 'adorable'.
"You have got to be kidding," I say to Noah. He shrugs.
"He is my best friend; I have the right to do that to that wanker." He says, smirking. I give a look as he says 'wanker'.
"You are so English," I say, smiling, as the class starts. There are some moments of silence until Noah talks again.
"You free after school today?" He asks.
"Why?" I look at him as he just smirks. "Okay, you are up to something again, aren't you?"
"Are you free?" He asks, again, as his eyes glimmer.
***
"That is nuts," Victoria states as we walk towards our lockers, after our respective practices, which are pretty much very near to each other.
Thank God for Victoria.
"No, it is not," I tell her.
"You love food and yet, you don't know how to cook," She says while looking wide-eyed at me.
"Uh, yes. That is not a big deal, okay? I mean my dad pretty much sucks at cooking and is banned from my mom's and Daisy's kitchenâsometimes," I add in later, remembering some good dinners.
"Oh, so, like father like daughter."
I smile at her statement. "Occasionally."
As we reach our lockers, Victoria looks at me with conflict and then, opens her locker. Questioningly, I look at her as I open my locker, putting the books in my bag.
"What's up?" I ask her, closing the locker.
"Uhm, I don't know what you are trying to say," She says, looking away. I roll my eyes as she tries to lie.
"Okay, Vic, unless you don't think I am your friend, you have to tell me what is bothering you."
"How do youânever mind. You and...Colt are both really good at reading people," She says, sighing and closing her locker.
"No, we are really good at reading those who we care about," I tell her. "So, tell me."
"Um, it is just that, in Texas, I never really had any friends. I never used to go out of my home. My world mainly revolved around my older brother and dad â you see, I have my habit of swearing from them," She sighs a bit, before looking at me again. "So, I think I just want to say that I am really grateful for our friendship, Iris."
I pull her into a hug, "And I am really grateful for your friendship, and secondly, don't expect me to go out to any parties. I hate them."
"Yeah, me too," She says as we pull away. "It is just a gathering of hormonal teenagers wanting some action in bed."
"True that." I look at her, trying to choose my words correctly for the next question. "Can I, um, ask about your mom?"
"Yeah, she divorced my dad when I was two or something. I don't remember much of her, anyway." I look at her in surprise as she replies casually with a smile.
"Okay, let's talk about something else." Victoria laughs at my stupid attempt to change the topic.
"Let's do. So, any relationships till date?"
"Yeah, one. Thomas Scott." She looks at me, wide-eyed.
"What? No."
"Yes."
"Woah, I need to know everything. I mean you dated a jock, that's for sure," She says jock like it a sin.
"Isn't Colt a jock too?"
"He's different," She replies and I grin.
"Uh-huh. Anyway, what about you?" I ask her. She sighs and then, looks at me, with a smile.
"Till now, none. I, sure, had a crush in middle school but got over it soon after he said Assassins Creed is overrated."
"What the hell? That game is a classic and stress buster, definitely."
"I know, right? He had a terrible taste too. He liked pineapple on pizza."
"Okay, I am grossed out, now." We both laugh at it. I tell her, "Ah, there comes a time in every girl's life when they suffer stupid boy problems."
"Bella, you are suffering from boy problems?" I close my eyes, knowing what's coming next. "You are in love with me so soon?"
"Do not get so ahead of yourself, Noah," I say, turning to him.
"Just don't want anything to be awkward between us when I reject you." He says, smirking.
"Oh, poor me," I say, feigning heartbroken.
We, both, look at each other. I have always noticed whenever we do, we just gaze into each other's eyes. It is just a reflex reaction and I don't mind looking at those amber eyes. They look light brown in bad lighting but in natural light, they glow... and I seem to like them.
Then, someone coughs from my left direction and then, I realize Victoria is still here.
"You, guys, going somewhere," Then, she looks at me and asks, "Together?"
"Yeah we are going somewhere but, apparently knowing that Bella is in love with me, we might go somewhere else."
"Apparently, knowing that you are such a stupid guy, I might want to kick you hard on your shins." I smile tightly at him, before turning to Victoria, who is looking at me, questioningly.
"Yeah, we are going somewhere," I reply to her.
... I don't know where, though.
"Okay, I guess we will talk later." she gives me a look as if saying 'I need all the deets.' before she goes away.
"So, I am guessing you weren'tâfuck!" I nudge really hard on Noah's stomach as I walk away from him.
"Why did you do that?" Noah asks as he catches up with me.
"That was for assuming that I am in love with you. I mean, seriously, out of any guys in this freaked up world, I would never be in love with you."
"Never say never, Bella," He replies, cockily.
I roll my eyes at him, walking towards his bike. Reaching near his bike, he puts on his helmet in a swift motion and gives me another. He twirls the keys in his fingers while I, like always, get excited to feel the fast and soft winds upon my skin.
"Where are we going? Let's go paintballing!"
"Sit, Bella," He says, tilting his head towards the back seat. When I sit properly with my bag slung on my shoulder, he revs the engine and starts moving fast.
"Bella, we are going to my place."
***
Let's skip the part where I shouted out every profanity, I have ever known, to Noah Stupid Radcliffe and he ignored me.
So, right now, after twenty-four minutes and forty-five seconds, crossing the beach, Noah slows down TS near a black gate. The white walls surrounding are extending to a very long distance as the branches from the trees from the other side dangles on them.
"Hey, it's Noah." He says, out of the blue. I look at him, through the mirror.
"Who areâ?"
Suddenly, the gates slid open, revealing a driveway full of plantation on its sides. I look at him again, intrigued. "You have a voice-activated gate system?"
As we enter the driveway, he looks back at me, through the mirror. "Uh, yeah. That is for security reasons," He says like it is very normal for ordinary houses to have.
"Security reasons? What forâokay," I say, looking ahead at the place, this stupid guy calls home.
It is a mansion, really. I can't fathom my thoughts on how beautiful the place is. Sure, it is huge and screams out billionaire but it also lays a cool and homely vibe, thanks to the lovely off-white walls. It seems the architecture style is Elizabethan and, thus, gives the vibes that this house has been through a lot of generations. Honestly, this is a type of mansions definitely found in Hamptons, not in a small city like ours.
"Okay, you are a liar," I say, still looking at the house, while Noah turns the bike on the roundabout in front of the huge brown door.
"Huh?" he says as he gets TS to a stop, near a gate that I assume is of the garage.
I turn to look at Noah, thoroughly. Well, sure, he owns an awesome bike but, seriously, I never thought this would be his house.
"Why are you looking at me like you can't believe I live here?" Noah asks, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, I don't."
"So, what do you think where are we?" he crosses his arms as he leans onto his bike.
"I think I am being transported to England, for some sort of reason, and suddenly, I am standing on the lands of Queen Elizabeth's summer house," I blurt out, looking at everything before looking back at Noah. "So, you are rich?"
"No, the owners are rich."
I narrow my eyes at him at his bluntness. I ask, "Can I ask another thing?"
He sighs, running his fingers through his hair as he says, "Go on."
"Can you gift me a space shuttle so that I can visit Saturn?"
"What?" He looks at me in shock.
I start, excitedly, "You see, I love Saturn. It is my favorite planet and I really wanna visit it andâ"
"Bella, you have officially gone crazy," He chuckles, shaking his head.
"Oh, come on. You can literally buy the whole NASA as far as I can notice."
"Not really," He grabs my hand, pulling me towards the door. "It has to go through a lotâ"
"Are you trying to show off?"
He raises his eyebrows and then, looks down at me with a smileâdamn, a smile. I am freeze at how good he looks with a smile. He has a resting bitch face but when he smiles, I can see why so many are actually attracted to him.
He whispers, "Iris Cooper, I would rather show off my football skills than my home."
My breath hitches as he says my name; this is the first time he has ever called me by my name. I look, blankly, at him as he looks back at me and then towards the door. I realize that he has put an arm around my shoulder and our bodies are so close that I feel his heat upon my body, now.
I look away from him as he opens up the door.
There is a small straight pathway leading to the main hallway. Inside, I can see a staircase made up of a black handrail and white steps. The path has been decorated with four potted plants on the floor and paintings on the walls. Reaching near the staircase, I look around.
There is another pair of stairs going down as the handrail continues from the big staircase. As the handrail passes this floor, there is a silver-white couch with cute yet elegant pillows in front of it. The floor is filled up with different brown doors, leading somewhere I have no idea about, and similar colored paintings with flower vases, having jasmines, in front of them.
"Tiffany, come back!" Someone yells from a room, followed by a giggle.
A little girl, Tiffany, I guess, with the pink fluffy dress and curly black hair pushed up by a pink hairband runs out of the room.
Aw, she is so cute.
"Catch me if you can, Sammy!" She says, giggling, as she runs in her matching heels. Lost in her own trance, she doesn't realize I am standing in front of her as she crashes with me.
"Oops," She says, obviously giggling. She looks up as I bend down to her height and give her a smile.
"Hey, princess."
Her eyes widen as she grins. "You think I am a princess?"
"Yup. You will be a really cool and beautiful and fierce queen when you grow up." I tap her nose softly. She giggles and looks at me.
"You look really beautiful, um..." She says. I feel my cheeks warm up on her compliment.
"Call me Iris," I tell her.
"What does that mean?" She asks, confused.
"Well, Iris is also a flower but, in Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow."
"Okay..." She says, thinking. "What isâNomy!" She dashes towards Noah. He smiles, picking her up in his arms. I stand up while noticing the way Tiffany hugs him, tightly as he chuckles.
"Hey, girlfriend," He says to her, flicking her nose. She swats his hand away and glares at him.
"Ugh. Do not flick my nose, Nomy!" She says to him. "Otherwise I will break up with you."
"I can't believe you are cheating on me."
I turn towards the voice and look at the guy in surprise. "Sam?"
He looks at me and smiles. He is wearing a black plain muscle shirt with grey track pants and weirdly, his hair is in a French braid â looks good, though.
"Hey, Iris," Before I can even reply, he turns to giggling Tiffany and smirking Noah. "You promised me a kiss after you make my hair."
"Good hairstyle, bro." Noah chuckles.
"I love Nomy more than you. He gives me chocolates and sparkly stuff. What did you give me?" Tiffany asks Sam, narrowing her eyes. Sam raises his eyebrows as he answers her.
"I can take you to the mall for shopping and theâ" Tiffany spring off of Noah and dashes towards Sam.
"I never doubted you, Sammy." Then, she looks at Noah. "Sorry, Nomy but I love Sammy more now."
"Too bad, I thought I was going to take you to the princess castle..." Noah says, shrugging. Before Tiffany can bounce off to Noah again, Sam catches her and picks her up, looking at me.
"Sammy!"
"Tiffany!" He says back, laughing. Then, he looks back at me and Noah. "You both go wherever you were going. I will handle this girl."
"Sam is your brother?" I ask Noah.
He looks at me for a moment, blankly, before nodding. "Yes. You met him with Augustus?"
"Yeah, how do you know?"
"That day when he came home, he kept on blabbering about how a girl didn't fall for his pickup lines," He replies, shrugging.
I laugh. "They were so bad and funny 'cuz Gus kept on glaring at him but he didn't stop."
"I guess I can do better," Someone says.
I turn my head towards the voice to find a tall guy, not as much as Noah and Sam, with short brown wavy hair and blue eyes and is wearing a white muscle shirt with black pants, steps down, smiling in a very playful way at me.
Reaching in front of me, he takes my hand, looking at me. "Are you Gillette?"
I look at him in bewilderment when he says next, "Because you are the best a man can get."
Before this guy can actually kiss my hand, Noah steps forward and says, taking my hand, "That one really sucked, Chris. Keep up with the reputation."
Then, he fists bumps with Chris.
I gape at Noah. I thought, maybe, for a first, this guy will actually try to be a gentleman. Then, Chris looks at me with a genuine smile, making him look a bit like Noah.
"I believe my introduction is due. I am Christopher Robin Radcliffe. Apparently, my elder brothers loved Winnie the Pooh so much that they wanted my name to be that and my parents agreed."
"Hello, I am Iris," I say, chuckle. "I have seen you in school."
"You have seen him but never me?" Noah asks in between but I ignore him.
"You are a sophomore, right?" I ask Chris and he nods.
"Guilty. Aren't you the one who played Black Swan in middle school?" I nod, smiling. "Oh, you areâ"
"Were you going somewhere, Chris?" Noah says, giving him a look, but he just smirks. "Don't you have some work in the park?"
"Yeah, yeah. I am going. I am going," He says, smirking. Before dashing out, he looks at me and says, "I will tell you later about it."
I nod at him, trying to understand what just happened but, obviously, didn't. These Radcliffe men are too much for me to understand. I feel Noah's eyes on me as I turn towards him, realizing that we are still holding hands.
"So, want to eat something?" He says, looking at me.
"I am hungry," I reply.
He nods as he pulls me with him, walking towards the kitchen.
Leaving my hand, he goes behind the island and puts an apron and chef cap while I take a seat in front of the island. Suppressing my laughter, I take out my phone and snap a picture of him as he tries to steady the chef cap on his head. As the sound of the click happens, he gives me a disbelief look while I just ignore it and smile.
Since, I guess, I don't reply anything, he mutters something, again in another language.
"You are bilingual?" I ask him, taking him off-guard.
He nods. "Yes, Mum's Italian but has an accent like in Jane Austen's book."
I laugh, lightly.
"What you want to eat?" he asks in a thick Italian accent.
I start laughing at it but manage to say, "Surprise me, Stupid."
He shakes his head in amusement as he takes out some vegetables andâwait a second.
"That is white chocolate?" I ask, pointing towards the pack. He nods, smirking at me.
"Noah, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"
A man, an inch shorter than Noah, comes from my behind, holding a book in his hands. Standing just beside me, he is reading his book, deeply. He has brown hair with brown eyes, covered by spectacles, and is wearing a maroon polo t-shirt with black trousers.
"There wasn't any practice today and our guest is hungry," Noah replies, looking towards me. Realizing my presence now, the person turns towards me with a smile but then, it falters a bit.
"Percy?" I say, shocked.
"Hi, Iris. Um, I have to go," He says, turning back towards the door as I look at his retreating figure.
"What's up with you and Percy, huh?" he asks, looking at me. I look back and forth between Noah and Percy for five seconds straight.
"He is one of your brothers?" I ask him, shocked. "How many are you?"
He just shakes his head as he cuts the vegetables, before asking, "What's the story?"
The way he is cutting the vegetables is like looking at a professional. After gaping at his cutting skills for three seconds, I look up at his serious and concentrated expression.
"I don't think you know, but if you both are actually really close like me and Daisyâ" Then, he stops cutting and slowly lifts up his head to look at me.
"You are Daisy Cooper's younger sister?" He asks, blankly, after two seconds.
I roll my eyes at him but I understand his reaction.
"I know we both don't really look similar except the facial structure. But, seriously, everyone knew and you came to my house; you must have seen the pictures in the living room."
"I didn't notice," He replies, shrugging. "And you shouldn't be the one to tell me 'everyone knew'... you never knew about me until some days ago."
"Seven days, fifty minutes and thirty seconds ago," I blurt out. I guess, he is pretty much habitual with me blurting out the exact time, now that he didn't give any look.
"I assume you know what went down with the two of them?"
"Wait, what do you know about their relationship?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. He raises both of his eyebrows at me.
"The question should be what I don't know?"
"I never thought Percy would the type of guy to spill the tea to his younger brother," I say, laughing. He shivers in disgust as he thinks about it. "I swear I had to put a tape on Daisy's mouth to stop talking about him. Love, am I right?"
"Yeah, love," He says like it is the most idiotic thing in the world. I look at him, questioningly, but he turns his face towards the vegetables.
I have heard most of the people I come across say, 'Love is stupid.' Or 'Love hurts you bad.' I guess I am one of those few people who are against these statements.
People who are in love are idiots; they can do anything for their beloved because they are in love with them. Then, there is the statement of hurting; love can never hurt you. It always showers you with the care you deserve.
Yes, I agree that the consequences of love have been bad, sometimes but, think about it here, what wrong did love do? That just made us feel some things we may never have imagined. Love never did anything wrong and it never has been; sometimes we fall for the wrong person but, trust me, it is worth the wait for the right person.
"Bella?" I look up and find Noah's piercing gaze on me. The lovely amber in his eyes has turned into a darker shade; I think it always does when he is thinking or focusing on something or, in the current scenario, someone.
He raises his eyebrows and I remember the question.
"Yeah, so, you definitely know that they secretly dated each other for one and a half years, like the whole senior year and half of college, till they both had a huge fight and broke up."
"But they both still are in love with each other," He says, nodding.
"Yes, I know," I say, shaking my head in amusement. He looks at me, amused about something.
"I guess, no matter what, some people are meant to be with each other," He states, looking at me.
"Yeah, I guess too." Before Noah can say anything more, three voices speak up in hushed tones.
A girl: "Damn, she is pretty."
Another girl: "Could've dressed better though."
A boy: "Yeah, how's she with Noah?"
We turn towards another door, leading to some room, and see three faces, one over another, looking through the door. It doesn't take a genius to know that they are triplets.
"You three couldn't bear not knowing things around," Noah says to them, giving a pointed look.
"Busted," All three of them say, simultaneously, before walking into the kitchen.
"We were just in the study and heard some voices in the kitchen." A guy with black hair and lovely grey-blue eyes says, leaning with his arms on the kitchen island. He is wearing a blue t-shirt with black sweatpants.
"And, also, we are hungry. So, whatcha doin'?" A girl with specs says, jumping and sitting beside me. She has a pixie cut and is wearing a mustard yellow oversized sweater with blue leggings.
Another girl, probably of the same age, with long hair and is wearing a red striped dress, tied with a lovely white belt, looks at Noah and then, back at me.
"I am Iris." I smile at her while her eyes widen for a second before covering them with a genuine smile.
"Georgina. Call me Rina. Okay, now, can I be honest?"
"About my outfit?"
"Grey sweatpants and black tee top under red windcheater are definitely not the outfits you wear to meet any person's family but, I don't know why, I like it on you a lot and also, love your hair. Your hair type isâ"
"Oh, Rina, take a break from fashion and beauty," The boy says, before looking at me. "Hey, I am Charles, thirteen and a big fan of baseball."
"Iris. Seventeen and a dancer," I say to him, shaking hands with him for three seconds. Then, the girl with spectacles smiles widely at me.
"Get ready," Rina says, rolling her eyes.
"Bethany. You can call me Beth; I love people who I love calling me that and I am a bibliophile. You are really pretty like a rainbow. I know Iris is the goddess of the rainbow since I love Greek mythology and, and I am so tired. Ugh," She says, quickly.
"That's why Dad says not to eat a lot of candies," Charles says, giving her a glass of water with a pill. Beth takes it, making a face on the way.
"She isn't usually so hyperactive only when she keeps her sugar levels normal," Rina tells me, before looking at Beth who is looking very sleepy, now.
"We have to take her to bed," Charles and Rina say to each other, simultaneously.
"I guess, being triplet makes knowing each other better," I say to Rina. She smiles in reply as Charles holds Beth from a side while Rina proceeds to hold another.
"It was nice meeting you, Iris," Charles says.
"Yeah, I hope to see you often hear," Rina says, smiling. I smile at both of them as they take a sleepy Beth out of the kitchen.
Suddenly, the smell of chocolate pulls me out of the trance. I look at Noah as he puts pasta in one bowl. He gets two forks and puts them on either side of the bowl.
"It sure looks like Mac 'n Cheese," I say, looking at it but the smell screams out chocolate.
"Eat it, Bella." I roll my eyes and proceed to take the first bite. I look at him, unsure of eating it. He scowls and, with the help of his fork, puts in it my mouth just as I think to ask something.
"Huh-mmm...so good...You put cheese too?" I say, taking another bite; this time with my fork. "You made white chocolate Mac 'n cheese?"
He smiles, nodding. "You said to surprise you. Since I didn't know about your allergies, I guess this was the simplest thing I could have done."
"This is really good..." I say, eating. "I don't have any allergies. I go for a monthly check-up because dad is a doctor and all about being healthy... Too bad I am ignoring his advice about eating healthy."
"Of course, you are," He says, chuckling. He continues to eat from his side of the plate, concentrating on each piece. It seems like he is trying to be critical of what he cooked.
"Can I ask you something?" I say, eating.
"Don't ask me to take you to the North Pole to meet Santa and his elves only because you think I can buy the entire island of North Pole."
I gape at him in shock. Okay, honestly, I did think that but, for me, Saturn is more important.
"What? No, how did you evenânever mind. Anyway, can I ask a proper question now?"
"Proper question? Okay."
"When did you first meet me?" I ask, tilting my face. He looks at me for five seconds, running his fingers through his hair.
"Theatre room in middle school," He answers.
"What?" I say, shocked.
I never thought that Noah actually knew me during my middle school years. I remember him telling me that he knew I was the captain of the girls' soccer team in middle school but I thought he knew since everyone knew.
"What grade?"
"Seventh."
"And, I didn't know? I, seriously, need to get out more," I murmur to myself, looking down. I look up at him only to find him looking back at me.
"We didn't exactly interact," He smirks. "I saved you."
"You what?"
"I saved you. You slipped from the stage, after practicingâ"
"That was you? Shit, I think I was unconscious for some time, which obviously I couldn't count. Anyway, I am sorry."
"You should be. You gave me a backache," I look at him in shock but he just shrugs. "Just kidding, Bella."
"You better be."
"Wasn't that one of your clumsy days, Clumsy Bella?"
I glare at him. For the first five seconds, he tries not to flinch but eventually, he does as he covers it up by saying, "Bella, your glare is no good for me."
"Yeah, you are such a tough cookie," I say back, sarcastically.
"Tough cookie? Bella, I think you have obsessive food disorder. Focus on things other than food."
"Oh yeah, on what?" I say, eating.
"On the handsome sex god in front of you," He says, smirking.
I look behind him, searching, and say, "I can't see any handsome sex god here." His smirk dissolves into a frown and I smile, sincerely as I go back to eating.
"Do you know the mystery guy back in middle school?" I ask, taking my last bite from the plate. I look up at Noah as he licks his fork. I swear he looks like a small kid, right now.
"I know you are in love with me, Bella, but, seriously, stop looking at me," He says, looking at me with a small smirk.
I roll my eyes and with a whole lot of patience, say, "Noah, for god's sake, I am not in love with you. So, shut the hell up about it and answer my question."
"I don't know which mystery guy you are talking about," He replies, taking away the bowl.
"Seriously?" I ask him, surprised. I can't see his expression as his back is towards me but I notice that for a second, he tenses.
"Bella, I think I should drop you at your place," Noah says, suddenly. I look at him as he stares anywhere but me.
What's wrong with him, now?
"Um, yeah, sure." I draw out, picking up my bag.
Noah stops at my house, thirty minutes and six seconds later. I get off so ungracefully that I fall on the pavement. Noah curses, loudly.
"Were you born with falling tendencies?" he says, putting the bike, frustrated. I try to stand but to no avail as I slip and fall.
"Ouch," I clench my jaw as a small pain rushes in but I start to feel angry about why Noah is acting like this. "You don't needâ"
"Bella, don't," He holds my arm and helps me stand up while looking at me. "I can see why Caleb gets overprotective of you. You may act like you are made of steel but in actuality, you are made of glassâfragile and weak."
The words hit close to home, and as much as I want to slap Noah, I don't.
Because he is right and I hate that he is.
"Leave, Noah," I look away, moving my arm away from his touch. "That's all you doâyou leave or you push away people. Do it again, seems like it is your forte."
With that, I just walk towards home and don't turn back to see himâhopefully, ever again.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
- a u t h o r ' s n o t e -
me to Noah: *frustrated* Are you an idiot or do you ever practice?
anyway, how're you guys? i hope you all are okay.
until next chapter,
love, Inerys