The rest of the week is unexpectedly uneventful.
Well, maybe that's because I'd been tactfully avoiding my biggest problem right now, aka, Noah Hill. It's nowhere near as easy as it sounds. There's a lot of jumping from my seat the second the bell rings and a fair amount of running involved. The washroom is my haven for now, but I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I have diarrhea. Racing to the restroom at full speed gives people a few ideas if anything.
Lunch is the only dangerous part of my day, a part that I can't avoid. It's torturous for the most part, but having Haden around always brightens things up for me. He's just as charming as I remember, and everyone seems to love him, even Pete.
Yes, Samara has stopped making moves on him for the time being. At least the girl has some morals left in her.
As it goes, Noah doesn't want to yell to the world about what happened either, so it's not too difficult to bear through the day without confrontation. Of course, feeling his eyes stare holes into the back of my neck during history isn't exactly pleasant, but I manage.
I manage just fine, up until he has me backed against a locker after school.
I thought I was a genius, waiting back for Haden to finish trying out for the track team. It just slipped my mind that Noah's football team also happens to have practice today.
The coach wanted Haden to stay back and work with the rest of the team for the day, so I stayed on the bleachers, waiting for him to finish with his practice.
Eventually, my eyes wander a bit, and I find myself watching Noah. It isn't long before he notices me, and I couldn't look away fast enough. Deciding it's best to save myself before it's too late, I figure I can pass the rest of the time in my new favorite place. The toilets, of course.
I sit in one of the stalls and scrolled through my phone, sighing as I came up empty on what to do next. Today, I didn't feel like replying to hundreds of texts or look at how much my friends were enjoying their lives on social media. I wonder if it's because the past few days had taken a toll on me, what with avoiding Noah and making sure Haden avoids my past.
I can't live the rest of my school life like this, can I? I have to face the two of them eventually. I sighed again.
Life hits you a lot harder when you're contemplating it on a toilet seat, huh?
When I think it was around time for practice to end, I leavebto find Haden. Considering my luck, I should've expected it when I run right into Noah in the middle of the hallway. I swear I almost fled in the other direction on sight.
I might've, if he didn't walk over and silently take my hand, pulling me around the corner to the secluded row of lockers, giving me little time to protest. This part of school gets pretty lonely after class because it reaches a dead end, not very smart architecture-wise, but it works for people like us.
So here I am, stuck standing alone between metal and a fucking rock.
Only when he's still and staring at me in silence does the panic set in because I know I could do something stupid. He's stood close enough to touch, and I can smell the musky scent of his deodorant. It renders me stupid for a second, and I'm left thinking he's not quite as close as I'd like him to be.
Get your shit together, Kyra.
I clear my throat, averting my eyes so I don't have to look into those intense blue ones. I'm already having a hard time thinking straight, and the way he looks at me isn't helping. "So, uh... what's up?"
"That's all you can say after avoiding me for days?" The pain in his voice hits me like a ton of bricks.
This is the second time I've forgotten that Noah truly likes me, probably a lot more than I understand. It must've hurt to see me run away from him for so long, but I was too selfish to realize it, as always.
"I'm sorry." I can't even defend myself here. I was being a child, running away from my problems. I like to think I've changed, but I'm just the same as I was four years ago. Always running, always hiding, too scared to face the mess I've made.
It's about time I stop running.
I take a deep breath, slowly meeting his eyes, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just-" I laugh to myself, but it lacks any humour. "I'm just a complete bitch, aren't I?"
"You are."
I expected that, but it still stings. I try to laugh it off, "Come on, don't be that blunt. You'll hurt my feelings."
"Let me finish," he says, and I wipe the smile off my face. It wasn't real anyway. "You are a complete bitch. You're immature, emotional, and really fucking annoying sometimes."
"Go easy on me," I remind him with a sheepish smile, hoping he'd return one this time.
He ignores it, continuing instead, "But why do I still like you?"
I don't know how he could say something so cliche with a straight face, and I don't know why I didn't feel like laughing when he did.
I swallow, feeling the blood rush to my ears. People had used lines like this on me before, but seeing it come from Noah is what made me blush. He's always so cold, so quiet. I wasn't used to this expressive side of him.
"Because I'm hot?" I offer.
He finally cracks a smile, running a hand through his hair as if I'd caught him guilty, "You're not wrong."
"So you've just been after my body all along, huh?"
"No..." He pauses then, thinking it through before he says, "I think you're strong, Kyra. I said you're emotional, but it takes certain strength to care, to be vulnerable, and to speak up for the things you believe in. I admire you for being able to do those so naturally."
There is no way to hide my embarrassment, so I don't bother trying. "You're being quite vulnerable yourself."
"A week away from you gave me a lot of time to think," he grins at me, and I just about melt before he continues, "I'm sorry for being so forceful last time. I've been waiting for two years, but now I know it's not the same for you."
I'm still warm from his honesty, so the apology doesn't help my case at all. "I should be the one apologizing. We could've had this discussion a week ago if I wasn't such a baby about this."
"I guess we both have something to be sorry about then."
"Hmm..."
The air is tense again, but I don't care as much anymore. Talking to him had lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, and I'm almost high on the relief. I thought he would kiss me, it would be the perfect time to because I wouldn't push him away after everything he said, but he doesn't.
He leans back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Let's leave then."
*
"Where were you?" is the first thing Haden asks, even though Noah is still walking beside me.
I signal him with my eyes not to ruin whatever peace we'd managed to achieve. "Noah and I were just talking."
He takes the hint pretty quickly and sighs, not looking very happy about it. Noah bids us his goodbye, and only after I'm driving down the road does Haden speak again. "You were gone for a long time."
"Yeah, went to the washroom."
"For that long?"
I glance at him, wondering what he was trying to get at. Was he mad that I was hiding things from him? He knows I have something going on with Noah, but I've never told him what.
I sigh. Might as well get everything out of the way today. "Noah likes me, but I'm not very sure where I stand, so we were talking about that."
"I see," he mumbles to himself, sounding like he was sulking.
I couldn't really tell because he was looking away from me, outside the window, but I felt it if that makes any sense.
I wait a few seconds for him to say something, but he doesn't. "Are you mad?"
"What would I be mad about?" He doesn't sound very convincing, but I don't have it in me to do this for the second time in less than an hour.
"I guess it's nothing, then."
I knew at the time that it wasn't nothing, and I know I should've asked.
Haden was never upset over nothing.