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Noah
Berries and Jasmine.
Nothing has ever existed to make a person fucking insane yet so sane at the same time. But I got itâberries and jasmine. She smells of berries and jasmine.
Dancing, I held her as softly as I could, as far away as I should. She looked at me with those chocolate eyes; so hopeful and full of trust that I won't hurt her ever. Not only I could hear my heart bursting out but I felt hers, slow and fast, against mine.
I think I whispered something, forgetting all about what I told myself this morning, and lost to the darker half of my brain. So, I moved forward, grazing my nose against her soft skin on her neck.
Goosebumps rose on her skin as a blush crept up from her chest so slowly that I saw it happen. It stirred something in me that screamed more, strongly. I angled my head and put my lips on her skin, feeling her pulse hammering and the blush intensifying.
Damn me to that place of demons but with that dress, red blush is starting to my favorite color on her.
It could have stoppedâI would have if she had said the word, but she didn't. Instead, she tilted her neck and pulled me closer, making me do the same.
That was when my senses returned.
My ears were ringing loudly. Everything in me was heightened and when I looked back at her, I noticed the way she bit her lip, anxiously, and clenched her fists. I knew what that meant...
But no. No. This cannot happen, I know very well it won't. So, after looking at her once again, I turned and walked away from her.
For some I do not know minutes, I have been sitting at our table, drinking water. Glancing at the opposite side of the room again in the past few seconds, Bella is at the buffet, eating cake and talking to Daisy and Percy. They are a better company anyway.
"Noah, are you listening to me?"
"Fuck off," I grumble to Adi, drinking another glass of water.
Even though I am not looking at him, I am sure that he is narrowing his eyes and probably will do something to piss me more. Aditya shakes me so vigorously that if I had been shocked, I would have dropped the glass.
Adi turns me towards him and I give an unimpressed expression. "Listen. To. Me."
"What," I say.
"Why is the right question." He grins. "Why didn't you tell me that you are the captain with your best best friend Caleb Wallace?"
I raise my eyebrows. "Who told you?"
"Colt." He pulls up his phone as if it came out of a magic trick, before keeping it back.
"That bastard," I murmur, running my hand through my hair. "I would have told you tomorrow; did not want anyone knowing today."
"Oh, okay." Adi nods. "In other words, you wanted to tell Iris first."
"No," I lean back on the chair, nonchalant. "I want to drain you of all your blood and organs, and make your flesh as a carpet."
"Damn," He holds up his hands. "Did you argue with her again?"
"It was nothing."
"Butâ"
"Nothing, Aditya."
"The full name again," He says, taking my glass and giving me a look. "Please tell me this is alcohol, not water."
"That is not alcohol." I take the glass. "It is water and you know, I hate drinking."
"You need a life."
Chris has joined them and Bella is laughing at something he said, now. Even though she is away and the room is blasting with bloody EDM, I want to get up from this seat and, andâ
"Dude, you are glaring," Adi points out, before letting out a laugh. "You are so royally fucked."
Cazzo, I am.
Adi continues and points towards the other side of the room, "Danielle has been glaring at Iris for a long time."
"Yes, I have noticed too."
Danielle is drinking her long wine and glowering at everything Bella is doing. In fact, Bella noticed first. When I saw her looking across the room and frowning, I knew something was off. It was Danielle and her brother, Zachary.
"Everyone saw you eating each other up. So, is this start of a love triangle?" I give Adi a dry look but he just shrugs.
So, I state, "I did not kiss Danielle back."
There is a brief silence on Adi's part which is either disastrous or he is just speechless, something that is very rare. So, I look back at him and indeed it is a rare occurrence.
"Youâyou didn't?"
"You are surprised?" I stare at him, giving him chance to explain.
"Uh, duh. Of course, I am." He loosens that hideous tie of his. "It seemed so well that you did kiss her."
I let out a breath. "I did not because I was not interested."
"But you said you were withâ"
I interrupt him. "Because I needed to tell her very specifically that what we had was past and we are not repeating that, ever again."
"That's it and she agreed?" Adi scoffs. "Noah, we all know how stubborn Booker siblings are. What they want, they get it, no matter what."
"Perks of being fed by a silver spoon," I say back. "Nevertheless, the matter is closed."
Adi says something next but it is a hum to my ears. Danielle and Zachary are still looking at Bella and for whatever reason, I feel this matter is far from close.
***
Iris
I cannot stop touching my neck.
No matter what I do, I cannot even stop thinking about what happened yesterday.
Noah and I? I don't know what we are. Hell, I don't even know what I feel, except that I feel safe with him. Everything in me screams that he won't do anything and I trust him but should I trust him with my feelings?
And speaking of feelings...
"Iris!"
I turn towards Thomas who is running towards me as I clench my fist around my bag's belt. Now, I am going towards the homeroom. I have worn green joggers and an oversized sweater with white converse. My hair is tied back in a small bun.
As Thomas reaches me, he smiles but I don't smile back.
"Why are you so... happy?" I ask.
"I just am," He replies, smiling at me. "You look you."
"Sorry, I didn't do the plastic surgery I so wanted to." I give him a dry look.
"...really?"
"No, Thomas, that was sarcasm."
"You are going to class, right?" He asks and I nod my head in reply, not wanting to say more to him.
As we start to walk together, the atmosphere between us starts to be awkward and tense. But I guess, that's just me because Thomas is busy humming some tune.
As I am about to tell him that I have to go, he says, "Hey, uh... Iris?"
"Yeah?"
"You are... uh..." Thomas takes a deep breath as I look way confused than I was a second ago. "You are going to the soccer game this Friday, right?"
"Obviously. I amâ"
"Will you go out with me?"
Surprised and shocked, I stare at him. He looks way nervous and seems way scared about what I have to say, which even I don't know.
He rubs his neck, looking down at the floor. "I know, uh, it is kind of sudden and... all... I just â holy shit â I wanted to ask that so that we can... catch up with each other and... You know what? You should think about it and, then, later tell me?"
I don't nod. I don't even shake my head. I just look at him.
"Iris?" he says, looking across my face.
"Why?" I breathe out and he looks taken aback. "After all this time, why again?"
He starts to back away, still looking at me. After six seconds, he replies, "Because I was a jerk, then, but, right now, I don't want to do the same mistake of letting you go."
"Letting me go?" I repeat his words. I shake my head and turn away. "I have class."
"Iris, Iâ"
I don't listen to him as I go into the classroom.
All I wanted was a drama-free senior year but I guess, I cannot have that, can I?
"Iris!" Adi says, excitedly, and I smile, as all of the guys look at me.
"Hey," I say back but, then, the seats beside me and Adi are empty.
I also got to know, yesterday, that Noah is the captain while Caleb is the vice. Of course, Nick told meânot Colt, Caleb, or Noah even when I literally was in a party at Noah's place. Whatever, my main concern is that those two don't do anythingâliterally anything to kill our chances at the championship.
"He must be coming," Colt says to me as I sit. "He and Caleb wanted to talk to the freshers in our team."
"Both of them together and alone?" I ask, surprised. I look between Adi and Colt. "You two left them alone?"
"They'll behave," Adi assures me. "Don't worry, milady."
Next enters Caleb grumbling about people in a very uncensored way, followed by Noah with his blank face.
"Yup, they'll behave." Adi nods while Colt and I share a look.
Caleb hugs me, before ruffling my hair. I push him away, glaring at him, but he just shrugs as he sits at his seat.
"Bella," Noah says, looking at me, as he sits beside me.
"Congrats to both of you then?" I say and both of them freeze. "Quick question: when were you both going to tell me about the announcement?"
"I was gonna tell you soon," Caleb replies and I raise an eyebrow.
"How soon is soon?"
"Some months?"
I roll my eyes, before looking at Noah. He looks at me for a second and then, looks away. I look away too just when Noah whispers, "Yesterday was fucking tiring."
I wish I can disagree.
***
"Arden. Back here. Right. Now." Coach's yell comes to my ears and I am entering through the gate, right now, which is like six to eight meters away from the field.
Yes, it is that loud.
During dance practices, Keisuke and I literally went through every dance routine, even ours, as Julio, very critically, assessed them. In the end, he has kept us in such a position that we have to work on every single one of the dancers and the routines.
It was a bad day for dance in here and, now, it looks like it is a bad day for soccer, too.
I notice they, all, are playing a match, and looking at all of their breathless composure, I am sure they are three-fourth near their death.
"Esme. In. Right now." Coach tells Esme, a junior, to go in. Then, he looks at everyone who has stopped. "Why are you stopping? This is going on till I get ten goals each."
Okay, this is way too bad.
I reach, cautiously, near him but make no move to call him out until he, himself, calls me out. "Cooper. What took you so long?"
I came three minutes before.
"I waâ"
"Assess them, Cooper. We have a game this Friday and I need this whole team in A-grade position. You listening, Radcliffe?" He yells and Noah looks up, breathing, and gives him a thumbs up.
He gives me the whistle and board and, before going back to his cabin, he yells out, "If I see anyone drinking water or having a break, he will do 55 burpees, tomorrow, along with the Captain."
And, Noah's dead, too.
Noah sighs, running his fingers through his hair, and says to the whole team, "You heard the man! Now, get moving! Luka, pass that fucking ball to Esme and..."
Noah taking action as a Captain is something else, entirely. He gets along with most of the players, makes it his mission to improve the new players in the team, and one thing, I have never seen any captain do is to make the freshmen players play in the team, too.
Caleb, I know, has the knack for leading. Being a critical person, he gives very honest feedback and helps weak players to improve. One thing is, when he wants to, Caleb can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
I look at Caleb who is running behind another team player to get the ball. He is almost near to taking the ball when...
"Dammit!" I say to myself, before yelling out. "Caleb lookout! That guy isâ"
The player kicks him just above his ankle and, due to the force, Caleb falls down on the ground.
Why theâ
Throwing away the board to the ground, I run towards Caleb. As I reach him, Colt and Nick come at the same time. Caleb holds the spot and groans a bit in pain.
"Colt. Check it." I instruct Colt, pointing towards the spot. "Cal, Cal. Look at me." He opens his eyes and this idiot grins at me. "Why are you grinning?"
I hear some whispers behind me but I pay no attention to them as he replies, "I feel a bit pain. Benji couldn't kick it bad."
I take a deep breath, shaking my head. I turn towards Colt and he looks at me. I ask, "Swelling?"
"Nope but still, I guess, some ice is needed." Colt looks back at Caleb. "What happened, Cal?"
I look at Nick and he is glaring at someone. I say, "Nick, talk to Caleb."
He looks at me, back, and I know he saw it too. He nods, replying, "Yeah."
Standing up from the ground, I turn to find this BenjiâBenjamin talking with Noah and looking at Noah, I know he is furious but he is keeping his anger in control.
I stomp towards them. "What the hell was that?" I glare at Benjamin.
Looking at me, he scoffs. "Now, what? You are going to glare and scold me. I was winning the game."
"This was not the actual match, Russo," Noah says, glaring at him, and damn, this guy has a bad glare. "He could've got more hurt and what the hell were you thinking doing that foul?"
Benji glares back at Noah, coming a bit closer to him. "You want to know what I was thinking? Let me tell you. You fucking don't deserve to be the captain. I deserve to be." He backs away and gestures to Noah. "Mister Hot Shot Rich Guy will be the captain. You know what I think? I think your rich father bought you this whole thing. Didn't he?"
Oh no.
No.
No.
This cannot be happening just on the first day of Noah and Caleb being in charge.
"Benjamin Russo. If you say another word..." Noah's eyes darken more when he glares at Benjamin.
"What? Why? Ooh, Mister Captain is losing his temper and patience. I know all your tricks, Noah Radcliffe. I know this soccer thing is just a cover for what yoâ"
I see Noah take a menacing step towards Benjamin and Benjamin smirks but nothing happens... at least from Noah.
Because I hit Benjamin Russo.
I punch him, directly, on his jaw, making him not complete his whole sentence. I don't even need to see a slow-motion clip to listen to his groan as he falls down, blood falling down his nose.
He spits out. "Damn, for a girl, you sure throw a good punch."
"You know, for a boy, you sure squeal out in a small pain, and actually, that wasn't my good punch, at all. You know what my good punch isâ"
I proceed to hit again as the anger boils in me but I feel large arms wrap around my waist before I can reach that bastard's face.
"Let. Me. Go," I sneer, wiggling under Noah's arms, as I look at the guy, glaring back at me.
"Bella," He whispers in my ear, lifting me up and taking me a bit from the guy. "He is not worth it."
Ignoring him, I say to Benjamin, "Hey, you know what? I think, for a boy, you don't have anything in yourâ"
Noah puts his hand over my mouth.
"Bella. Iris Cooper, listen to me," Noah says, again, and I feel myself relax a bit. "I'll handle him, later. Calm down, right now."
Leaning against Noah's shoulder, I say, breathing out, as he takes his hand away, "I am going to kill him."
"No, you won't. Now, calm down."
"You were gonna beat him too. Why aren't you..."
"Because, Bella, I actually would have killed him and, right now, I am thinking of things that are important to me and how may it hurt them," He whispers to me and I calm down, properly.
I look up at Noah, already finding him staring at me. I say, "Thanks for calming me down."
He replies, "Always."
"This school is shit." Benjamin gets up from the ground, scoffing. I step away from Noah and he lets me, after walking towards Caleb.
"Not more than your attitude," Nick says, glaring down at Benjamin. I look at Caleb as he gets up from the ground, turning his ankle a bit.
Benjamin glares back and shrugs, "You know what? I am leaving this group."
"Thank you very much for your considerate services to the team," Noah says, sarcastically, and giving a last glare, Benjamin goes out of the field in seventeen seconds.
"I, sure, hope I never meet that guy," Colt says but, suddenly, my mind pops up a question.
Why did I beat that guy?
Obviously, because he kicked Caleb to the ground.
Now, my eyes drift to Noah's blank face as he is talking to Caleb.
Is it the only reason?
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
- a u t h o r ' s n o t e -
i know, i know today ain't saturday but hey, i was excited. really really sorry for being inactive. i will make up for all activeness soon. okay, i just have been watching The Originals cuz why the hell not?
stay cool and hydrated
Inerys