✧.* letters addressed to the fire // drake parker

chapter three

letters addressed to the fire -- chapter 003.

the next monday came faster than nova would have liked. she found herself dreading her 6am alarm, pressing snooze as many times as she could before her mother, stephanie eventually had to come pull her out of bed. "come on, honey. you can't miss any school. i'm sure mindy doesn't want to have to wait up on you." her mother spoke with a condescending tone. she didn't care. she just wanted the house to herself for once. 

nova sighed, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. "mindy isn't picking me up today. i was wondering if you could take me."

her mother stood there, biting the inside as her cheek. after a few moments of silence she shrugged. "i guess so. i'd like a little more notice next time." and with that, she was walking out, making no notice of how loud the door would shut behind her. nova's mother had some issues. she was always tired, never cleaned or picked up around the house-- in fact, nova did most of the dirty work while her mother sat back and relaxed. so, she could manage driving her to school for the week. nova pulled herself out of bed, finding a quick change of clothes, brushing her teeth, her hair, grabbing her backpack & purse, before walking out into the living room. 

"i'm ready to go." nova said, rubbing her eyes.

stephanie sighed, snatching her purse from the couch and heading out through the door. the car ride was painfully silent, unlike the ones she shared with mindy. but they hadn't spoken since mindy made a big deal about drake. it rubbed nova in the wrong direction. friends aren't supposed to treat each other like that. the thought of seeing her made her anxious, which was a warning in itself. eventually, her mom stopped at the front of the building, looking at nova expectantly. "you know, all of your friends have cars. you need to get your license."

nova bit her lip, trying to hold back a snarky remark she had up her sleeve. but she's learned that in the case of her mother, it's best to just keep it to herself. so she nodded, giving a thumbs up before hopping out of the car and closing the door. 

as soon as she walked into school, a pit formed in her stomach. she realized in that moment, without mindy, she was alone. she thought about apologizing, but for what? for being independent? there was no reason nova should apologize. eventually, nova reached her locker seeing that mindy hadn't waited like usual. but across the hall she spotted drake putting things away. her heart skipped a beat. everything he did seemed so effortless. she shook away the thoughts and opened her locker, putting away her bag and grabbing the books she needed for first period. when she turned around, she noticed the brunette walking in her direction. she froze, not knowing what do to. was he coming to talk to her? about what? a million thoughts raced through her head, and before she knew it, he was stood in front of her. "hey, nova. how was your weekend?" he asked, like it was normal for them to be having a conversation. 

nova's brows furrowed in confusion as she listened, "it was alright, you okay?" 

his brows furrowed in return. "yeah, why wouldn't i be?"

"you just don't usually talk to me. and i thought after friday you wouldn't want to. i figured mindy scared you away." she said, pulling her lip in between her teeth. she watched his face. he looked guilty, which was a little confusing. why would he feel guilty about any of this? did he regret what happened? or, what almost happened?

drake shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing at the ground, and then back up at her. "yeah, sorry. i've seen you around a lot though. never actually knew who you were until last night. i guess i just didn't really pay attention before." he said softly, a twinge of remorse laced through his words. "but, i don't really care what mindy thinks. she's mean to my brother, she's controlling, you always seem anxious around her. i just... she rubs me the wrong way."

nova nodded, taking in his words. the more she thought about it, she realized he was right. she was controlling, and mean. maybe their falling out was for the better. "well. you know me now, so we should talk more. and you're right. she is. but, we haven't really been talking." 

the boy smiles, nodding in agreement. "you have my number. and i usually ditch gym class 5th period so if you're ever bored i'm always in the cafeteria around that time." 

"interesting. i think i'll stick to hanging out not during class hours." she chuckles. "oh and, i totally would have kissed you if mindy hadn't interrupted." nova smiles, feeling her heart race.

drake raises his eyebrows, smile turning into more of a smirk. "well, we're here now." and with that he was putting a hand over her shoulder, leaning onto the locker behind her. she looked at him with such an innocence. it drew him in. he started to lean in, eyes glancing to her lips and back up to her eyes- making sure this was what she really wanted. when she nodded, he closed the gap between them.

his lips felt so warm and inviting. her hand went to caress his cheek, the warmth of his cheek soothing her cold hands. she could tell she was definitely not the first girl he's kissed. his lips moved with such ease against hers, and before she knew it, his hand was moving from the locker to her waist, holding her tightly and pulling her in. she'd never kissed anyone like this before, especially not in front of a bunch of other people. but he didn't seem to care. he pulled away for a second, then kissed her one more time for good measure. 

once it was over, nova found herself only wanting to kiss him more. she knew they were moving way too fast-- but it was hard not to when he looked at her with those deep brown eyes. the freckles on his face complimented his nose perfectly. she was noticing all of the little things she hadn't before. they were so close. drake smiled, pecking her on the lips again before humming. "do you maybe wanna hang out after school? we could go to the movies-- or whatever you want." he shrugged, giving a little chuckle. 

all she could do was nod at first, finding herself tripping over all of her words. "uh. yeah no movies sound great. if you want you could come to mine after and we can play guitar some more." 

he nodded, hand moving from her waist to hold her hand. "alright, cool. i'll see you tonight at the premiere. 6 o clock work?" 

"yeah. 6 is great." she said, intertwining their fingers. she could feel people staring. 

drake kissed her again, taking her by surprise. how many times had they kissed already? she lost count, but she definitely wasn't complaining. "okay. i'll see you later, nov." and with that, he was on his way to class. leaving her completely a mess standing there in the hall.