Page 19 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Build the Relationship

Noah’s blue eyes swirled like an infinite spring, so vivid and breathtaking.

Maybe that was his power. Like a male Medusa, he’d trap girls with his gaze and make them forget about anything else. But there was something more there, something hidden behind his hypnotizing gaze. Something I wanted to . . .

Snap out of it!

“Pudding,” I blurted, shaking my head to dispel whatever enchantment those eyes put me under.

Crap. It came to me—just a second too late—that screaming that out randomly might not be seen as the most normal.

Noah tilted his head. “What?”

And so it began.

“Nothing.”

“You just said ‘pudding,’” he insisted, much to my complete and utter dismay.

Why did people always ask what when they’d clearly heard what you’d said?

Lord have mercy, maybe there was still a way out of this.

“Nope. Must be hearing things.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool as I shuffled on my feet, itching to just sprint to class and leave this whole scene behind.

“Pretty sure I wasn’t.” Noah’s smirk made it obvious leaving this scene behind was the last thing on his mind. “Did you want pudding?”

“No, I don’t like pudding.”

“You don’t like pudding?” he asked, confusion and amusement seeping out of every crease of his face.

Not that I blamed him for that reaction; after all, I did just scream the word at him. Mentally face-palming myself, I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

“No. I think the texture is weird,” I said casually, glancing at Noah quickly.

“Noted,” Noah said, as if it was a question, his tone still very much amused.

Even if I wanted to, how would I even begin to explain that outburst?

You see, Noah, I was so busy staring at your eyes that I lost myself in them and needed to distract myself with something I disliked with a passion to remind myself I disliked you with a passion.

Then again, could I even really claim I still disliked him with a passion ? It sure started out that way, but now it felt more like my burning hate had simmered down to a medium intolerance. My once strong, aggressive bark had become a pathetic, silent yip.

“I should get to class.” I sighed, trying to swallow down the disappointment I felt in myself as I turned around.

“I’ll walk with you.”

I didn’t manage to take a single step before Noah’s arm slipped around my shoulder and he casually strode next to me. Before I could even complain about it, he cleared his throat and continued.

“Anyway, it’s Friday.”

“Is it? Wow, so lucky I have you in my life, I mean how else would I keep track of time? It’s not like they invented a thing that helps you keep track of the days such as, perhaps, a calendar,” I rambled, rolling my eyes.

Noah just grinned at me, not even remotely deterred by my usual shade of sarcasm.

“You know what Friday means, right?” He continued grinning, probably more amused by my random ranting than annoyed.

“The end of the longest, most difficult week of my life?” I sighed, trying to shake his arm off me.

He let out a sound that was supposed to represent the wrong answer buzzer and let go of my shoulders as we reached the classroom. “Date night.”

“You can’t be serious.” I groaned, turning to face him. “How many dates are we gonna have?”

Noah smirked, the kind of grin that made his eyes twinkle mischievously. Before I even knew what he was doing, he leaned close enough that I could see every single fleck of color in those terrifying eyes of his. “Lots and lots,” he whispered in a husky tone.

A shudder passed through me, and for the first time, it wasn’t unpleasant. A part of me was very alarmed by that.

The bell rang, and Noah pulled away, clearing his throat. “Better get going before I’m late. See you at lunch.”

And then he was gone.

I turned around on shaky legs and continued into class, ready to melt into my seat.

When I entered, I saw that quite a few people were intently staring at me.

Most looks were coated with a curious confusion; after all, this sort of relationship dynamic wasn’t exactly the usual for Noah Archer and his steady stream of girlfriends.

I could only imagine the cherry-red color that consumed my face. Swallowing hard, I focused my eyes on the ground and scurried to my seat.

*

“Is going on so many dates normal?” I queried, pursing my lips together like a small child.

My eyes focused on the graffiti on the wall of the school bathroom as if I was searching for an answer among the declarations of love and some very inappropriate doodles. Melissa was busy fixing her eyebrows but paused long enough to give me the exasperated mom look through the bathroom mirror.

“I mean, yeah. Normally, that’s sort of the appeal when you’re dating someone,” she said, focusing on her reflection.

“ Normally , people actually date someone they like,” I said under my breath.

Letting out a sigh, she finished fluffing up her brow and turned to face me, pointing her eyebrow pen at me. “ Normally , people don’t ask someone out unless they like them.”

Well, she had me there. This impulsive decision to be Noah’s two-week girlfriend was all kinds of backfiring.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, focusing on water dripping from the broken tap.

Drip . Drip . Bonk . Drip . That did not sound like water.

My eyes opened in confusion, and I glanced around the bathroom with a frown.

“Besides, just because it started without feelings doesn’t mean it has to end that way,” Melissa said with a resolute pop of her freshly stained lips.

All other thoughts instantly evaporated. My eyes widened, intently focusing on my best friend. “Ex-squeeze me?”

“I mean, technically there’s no guarantee you won’t develop feelings for each other.” Melissa crossed her arms over her chest, studying me with a questioning expression.

“Um, yes, there is. There is very much a guarantee,” I said, but her eyebrow remained unmoved. I pointed both index fingers at my face, widening my eyes for effect. “Me. I’m the guarantee. There’s no way I’d fall for him. I’m only with him to try and reveal his secrets.”

“And what then, Miss Investigative Journalist?”

“Huh?” I frowned.

“You find out his secrets, and then?”

“Then I, uh , show the entire school who he really is,” I said, wavering. He’d shown me his true colors that day at the hospital, even if he didn’t seem like that person right now.

“Mm-hm, sure you will.” Melissa hummed, grinning as she walked to the door.

“You can’t just say that and leave,” I protested, stomping after her with heated fury, the door of the bathroom slamming shut behind me.

“Pretty sure I just did.”

My best friend was quickly becoming Jerkface #2. Before I could come up with a retort, she continued in her singsong voice.

“Better hurry, Sky. Don’t want to keep lover boy waiting.”

*

“Shouldn’t we wait until our date for the question section today?” I asked.

Noah was driving me home, as usual these days, the radio quietly playing a new pop-ish song. He nodded to the beat and shrugged. “I mean, lots of questions, so little time.”

“Didn’t know you were so efficient.” I snorted, tapping on my knee to the rhythm.

Somehow being stuck in the car with him still made me nervous. Maybe it was the fact that you couldn’t exactly escape from a moving vehicle if things got awkward.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said, grinning as he threw a quick glance my way.

Yeah, and the things I keep finding out aren’t exactly the quality name-smearing ammo I was hoping to get.

“What’s most important to you when deciding if you want to be friends with someone?”

At least it was an easy question. “Honesty. If your friends can’t be honest with you, you won’t ever be close enough.

Sometimes I hate how honest Mel and Lily are with me, but they also stop me from doing a lot of stupid things, so.

” I paused, realizing a bit too late that it was his turn to go first. “Uh, sorry, I just jumped right into that.”

Noah chuckled and waved one hand at me. “I don’t mind. It doesn’t matter who goes first.”

I nodded, gesturing toward him. “So, what’s your thing?”

He thought for a few seconds before speaking. “Trust. It’s the foundation you build any relationship on, don’t you think?” His expression was so innocent and bright, the words made me feel guilty.

What we were building on top of was a mountain of lies.

Two days ago I would have been thrilled to see that perhaps he thought we were growing closer.

Building something . It would mean that maybe I could make him fall for me, and give him a taste of his own breakup medicine .

Now it felt more like I was slowly walking toward the edge of a very sharp, very tall cliff, and there was no way to go but down.

“Right,” I replied, with an uncomfortable sinking feeling in my body.

Noah looked at me, confused at my sudden mood change. I mean, considering I was giving myself whiplash with all the warring emotions inside of me, I wasn’t really surprised.

As simple as this question was, it suddenly felt loaded. The one question I wanted to avoid the most.

“Anyway, where are we going for a date this time?” I cleared my throat and asked.

He raised one eyebrow, glancing at me briefly with the same satisfied look on his face.

“Oh, it’s a surprise,” I replied to my own question, trying to mimic his voice.

Noah laughed, shaking his head. “You know me so well, Foxy.”

“Not well enough, Katniss.”

His booming laughter surprised me, so intoxicating and contagious I found myself chuckling as well. It was so easy being around him.

With other guys, I always tried to be what I thought they wanted me to be.

The best version of myself. The one without the flaws and the darkness and the snappy comebacks.

With Noah, I never cared from the start.

I didn’t need to be liked. I didn’t care what he thought.

With him, I could be unapologetically myself.

Which is why it made it so much worse when he laughed at my jokes.

And, even worse, when he made me laugh in return.