I rapidly rubbed my palms together and exhaled into my gloved hands as I walked towards the front doors of Easton. I watched as my breath appeared like a puff of smoke against the cool, fall air.

Trying to limit the amount of exposure outside, I entered the school in a hurry. My cheeks had finally returned to a normal hue when a tall blur entered my vision.

Noel.



The beautiful specimen of a man walked down the crowded hallway. He ran his slender fingers through his ruffled hair as a strand fell over his face. He didn’t even have the slightest clue of how godly he was. A group of freshman girls stared as he passed by and quickly retreated to each other in a fit of nervous giggles.

As I came into his line of sight he casually adverted his gaze and pretended if I ceased to exist.

I stared after him in defeat as he walked towards a petite blond. As Noel approached her, she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his and shot him a breathtaking smile. Sutton Von’Clair. Porcelain skin, luscious pink lips, and hair spun from gold itself. Noel returned the smile as they engaged in conversation, forgetting the prying eyes of those around them.



An angelic voice interrupted my gaze. “Elena!” Serena called from across the hall.

She seemed to glide towards me, never breaking her stride.

How did the most perfect people end up as siblings?

Serena gently grabbed my cold hand as she informed me of her weekend outing with a tall, brooding, older man.

“He even pulled the chair out for me! He was an absolute gentleman,” she finished dreamily.

Lucky you.

“Where do you even meet these guys?” I questioned with a smirk.

“I’m not sure if it’s safe to tell you just yet…” she muttered, biting her plump bottom lip.

“Serena, I’m kidding! You of all people should be entitled to your own private life,” I answered, trying to hide my disappointment.

“Elena, I’m so glad Noel was there that night a couple weeks back! You’re like one of the only girls that I can talk to,” She replied with gratitude.

“I’m glad too…” I trailed off as I started to remember his soft lips on mine. The way he caressed my cheek with his thumb and the radiating warmth of his body.

I was prematurely brought back to reality when I saw Sutton get bumped into Noel by a passerby. Her hazel eyes widened as she accidentally touched his arm in order to steady herself. He mouthed something to her and she smiled as he reassured her.

“They know each other?” I questioned out loud.



Serena followed my gaze and inhaled, “Elena, don’t get mad at me.”

“Tell me,” I replied, bracing myself.

“Sutton’s been coming over pretty often and they seem to be getting pretty close,” she finished in a rush.

You know when you hear something that you wish you didn’t? Yeah, that would be me right now.

I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

“Elena, I really wanted to tell you but I didn’t know if you wanted to know, seeing you like my brother and…” her sentence trailed off.

“No,” my voice wavered, “It’s perfectly fine.”

As the bell indicating the start of first period resonated through the halls, I vowed to myself that this was the last time Noel would make me feel this way. Noel wouldn’t define my happiness. I would forget about him like he forgot about me.

~

Boy’s Gym Class – 12:15 p.m

Colton quickly laced his running shoes and headed towards the treadmill. According to Coach Sloane, today he would be working on his cardio. Colton pressed the ON button and adjusted the settings as he waited for the machine to whirl to life. He began to jog, keeping his pace steady.

“You call that a workout?” yelled Coach Sloane in Colton’s ear, “You better boost up that machine, boy, or you’re going to be doing laps out in the cold.”

Colton quickly increased the speed and adjusted his pace. Sweat trickled down his face and his grey t-shirt began to cling to his toned back.



“That goes for the rest of you! Don’t just stand there. Jesse, at least look like you’re doing something,” sighed the coach as he hit the bespectacled boy with the back of his clipboard.

“Where the hell is Montgomery,” asked the coach to no one in particular.

“If I didn’t know better, Ty’s probably getting sucked off by some chick in an empty classroom right now,” scoffed a heavily-muscled boy to his spotter.

“What the hell did you just say, Beau?” roared the coach.

“It’s just unfair that your ‘star athlete’ can skip out on training,” challenged, Beau.

“Alright, training is extended an extra 15 minutes today. You can all thank Beau.” Sloane replied with a look of triumph.

The sweaty boys groaned as they returned to their workouts.

Colton glanced at the only clock in the room and sighed. The clock didn’t seem to be moving at all. His muscles started to tighten from the build-up of lactic acid.

“Fuck, I’m out of shape,” he thought to himself as he tried to focus his attention on the treadmill.

“Your focus is all wrong,” came a voice from Colton’s left side, “focus on your breathing instead.”

Colton quickly turned his head towards the speaker. It was Beau Lornes – the very reason practice was extended.



Colton managed a nod. He tried to focus his attention on his breathing but felt his heart rate increase instead.

He wondered if Beau could hear the intense pounding of his heart against his rib cage.

Beau examined Colton’s stride, his eyes lingering for a few extra seconds, and shrugged.

“Not bad,” Beau replied with a lopsided grin.

~

Still Figures – 12:30 p.m

“Remember class, the due date for the final project is fast approaching. Just as a reminder, it’s 20% of your final grade and you will also be required to prepare an oral presentation to accompany it.”

A few groans escaped from the crowd as our teacher, Ms.Dawson, finished her speech.

You’ve got to be kidding right.

The teacher was a petite brunette with her hair pulled back in a messy bun with wisps of curly hair falling around her face. She had delicate, doe eyes and a pair of pouting lips. I’m pretty sure boys only took her class to try and get her number.

“Did you really think that this was a bird course?” she asked the class teasingly.

She patiently waited for the chatter to subside as some football players tried to answer her rhetorical question.

“Okay guys, let’s do something easy today! How about we sketch this water bottle up at the front?”

There were a few scoffs from the audience.

“After you’re done sketching, just bring your sheet up to me and you’re free to go!” She said cheerfully as she walked back to her seat.

I rummaged through my bag and finally produced a 3B pencil and my sketchbook. I flipped to the second page and carefully started to sketch the half-filled water bottle.



Through the corner of my eye I could see Sutton gaze at Noel while twirling her blonde locks. He momentarily held the gaze before returning to his sketch.

After 20 minutes of neck-straining and squinting I was finally finished my sketch. I signed my name in the right-hand corner and placed the copy on Ms.Dawson’s desk. I was about to enjoy a 20-minute early start to lunch when I was interrupted by a forced cough. I was surprised to see Noel with the same bored look on his face.

“Sorry,” he stated nonchalantly, “about what happened a few weeks back.”

I was about to utter a reply when he turned his attention back to Sutton.

So much for a genuine apology.

Since I had time to spare, I decided to take a detour route to the cafeteria. As I sauntered down the Math and Science hallway, I heard a faint giggle emerge from one of the nearby classrooms. How odd, everyone should be at lunch right now. My curiosity got the best of me as I decided to peer into the deserted classroom.

Ugh, I should have just kept walking.



“Ty, tell me again how much you love me,” moaned a blond-haired girl, clearly enjoying the kisses from Ty’s infamous pair of lips.

“I love you a lot, Ashley,” mumbled Ty, as he placed careful kisses on the nape of her neck.

The girl pulled back offended,” My names, Audrey!”

“Yeah, I know, I was just making sure that you knew,” replied Ty with a seductive smile as he slipped his hand into her jeans.

“You’re really sweet…” Audrey trailed off as she tilted her head back in pleasure. So young, so naïve.

“Is this what you do for fun?” Came a cool voice from across the hall.

I quickly straightened up. I was going to utter a witty remark when I realized that it was Noel who had interrupted me, yet again.

“A-are you following me or something?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

“Of course not,” Noel scoffed and slightly rolled his eyes, “You’re not that interesting.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here?” I demanded as I tried to keep my anger under control.

“I was just heading to the cafeteria,” he stated innocently, “Is there a problem?”

“Maybe if you weren't such as jackass, there wouldn't be!” I replied coldly as I started to make my way down the hall.

I felt a cold hand around my wrist. “I’m sorry, okay. How many times do you want me to say it?”



I looked down at my wrist as he seemed to realize what he had done. He released his grip on my arm and carefully took a step back, awaiting my reply.

Let me tell you, I tried so hard not to look into those deep blue eyes. He had the most captivating eyes of any boy I’d ever seen. If you looked hard enough, you could see specks of gold and emerald green.

“Well, I’m not sorry. Unlike you, I actually like those I kiss.” I blurted.

He swallowed loudly, “Elena, the reason I’m sorry is because that night didn't mean anything to me. Frankly, it was a mistake on my part.”

“Wow Noel. What a fucking gentleman you are! Thanks for implanting the idea in my head that we could actually be something!” I seethed, as I pushed him away from me.



He looked taken aback, but didn’t retaliate.

“I just don’t want to hurt you…” he replied, as if rehearsed.

“You’re so predictable. You know what, I was wrong about you. Everyone here is wrong about you. You’re just an insecure guy who doesn’t want to confront his own feelings!” I screamed.

Noel seemed to tremble with fury as he stormed down the deserted hallway. Before disappearing rounding the corner, he violently drove his fist into a nearby locker. The echo of the impact was my only comfort as I stood alone in the hall.