Growing up in a large, middle-class (if not lower) family had its challenges. More than I can account for actually. I had five older sisters and two older brothers. Throw me into the mix and that's a grand total of eight children living under one ro...
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"Did you miss me?" My heart nearly leaps out of my chest due to his random and totally unexpected appearance. I close my locker and send Noah the fiercest glower I could manage. However, he doesn't seem the least bit fazed by it as he smiles handsomely at me. Curse those blessed genes of his! "So did you?" he inquires with a bemused expression this time around. God, I'm going to go insane because of him. Actually, scratch that. I'm already well on my way to admitting myself to an asylum.
Give it a few more weeks and I'll be in a straitjacket, banging my head against the wall.
"Why would I miss you?" I scoff, despite what my insides are feeling. Next, I start walking towards the exit and of course, strolling alongside me is none other than Noah. How can he act so casual after telling me I was the angel that saved him? Doesn't he know it's completely unacceptable to just drop an atomic bomb like that on a girl and not talk about it ever again?
It's cruelty at its finest if you ask me. Why hasn't he mentioned it yet? Is he, maybe, regretting it? No, that can't be it. He hugged me and told me I was beautiful this morning. And people say girls are the complicated anomalies in life? As if.
Sometimes, guys can be just as, if not more, confusing.
"That's not what your actions were saying at lunch," he hums and at the recollection, I grow silent. Did he see me looking around for him? How embarrassing! How am I supposed to live this down? Hooray for awkward moments. What would my teenage life be without them? Oh yeah, less humiliating. I'm not sure what I should say and before I realize it, we're already outside, the brisk and chilly November air nipping at our exposed skin. A strong gust of wind sweeps by us and my long, brown locks start flying around in a flurry, whipping my face as it dances wildly in the air.
Once the wind subsides, I reach my hands up in order to fix my hair. I don't need a mirror to know I probably resemble a lion right now. Just as I'm about to adjust my appearance, Noah beats me to it. His warm palms run down my hair, skimming past both of my cheeks as well. Before I can react, he pulls out a beanie from his pocket and secures it over my head. I immediately freeze as I watch him tug it down so that my ears are covered.
He is slightly hunched over, allowing our faces to be less than six inches apart from each other. The thumping in my chest is erratic and unconsciously, I grasp onto the hem of my jacket. His muddy brown eyes meet with mine. We are so close that I am able to catch sight of my own bashful reflection in them. I wonder what Noah sees when he looks at me. My senses slam back into me a minute later, and I step back, returning some of the distance back between us. My hand moves up to the beanie, prepared to take it off.
His voice stops me from making another move though. "Keep it on," he says gently, tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat. "It'll keep your hair from attacking innocent bystanders." A thin layer of blush paints over my skin and slowly, I find myself lowering my arm.
"Thanks," I mutter.
He nods. "No problem."
We stand there in silence and it's killing me. Isn't he going to say something? I wait a little longer, but still nothing. People loitering around us send questioning gazes in our direction and I grow uncomfortable under their scrutinizing stares. I clear my throat. I guess I have to be the big person here. If I don't take the initiative to talk about what happened in the library, who will? Not Noah, that's for sure. My lips separate, ready to ask him about what has been gnawing away at me, but shockingly enough, he beats me to it, again.
