Page 3 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Date the Jerk

Noah was late. Very late. I’m missing first period kind of late. I’m missing first period while hiding among bug-filled bushes kind of late.

So by the time I saw him strolling up to the front door in his dark denim jeans, blue hoodie, and headphones firmly placed over his ears, I had steam coming out of mine.

“Hey.” I ambushed him before he could open the door to the school, stretching my arms in front of him as if I was playing the goalie in handball.

Noah looked up at me, curiosity in his deep-blue eyes, and moved his headphones down. I heard the melody of a familiar rock band flow out from them, our similar music tastes only increasing my anger.

He scratched the back of his neck, eyes drifting to the bushes I’d emerged from and then back to me. The corner of his lips moved slightly upward. “Um, hi?”

“Are you dating anyone right now?” I muttered through my teeth, my eyes maintaining a razor-sharp focus on him. There was no use beating around the bush. Pun intended .

He looked me up and down and tilted his head, confusion swirling in his blue eyes. “Um, no, not yet.”

I breathed out a sigh, almost disappointed that I was the first one, even though that had been my goal. With a few quick breaths, I tried to steel my nerves against the disturbing words that were about to cross my lips. “Okay, then date me.”

His eyes widened. “Why does it sound like you’re challenging me to a duel more than asking me out?”

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, excuse me , I didn’t know we were supposed to serenade you or that there were rules to this game.”

Noah frowned, a puzzled expression on his face. He stuffed one hand into the pocket of his jeans and slowly ran the other hand through his messy brown hair. “There are no rules, and this isn’t a game.”

Well, you could have fooled me .

I raised an eyebrow and for a few tense moments we just stared at each other. Then he chuckled, shook his head, and reached out to me.

I froze in place, my eyes going wide as his hand stroked my thick, messy hair. “What do you think you’re—”

A second later he pulled his hand back, revealing two leaves clutched between his thumb and index finger. Noah’s eyes were gleaming with amusement, and I blushed as I realized how ridiculous I must have looked.

“Yeah, okay, let’s date, Skyler.”

Noah reached out, opened the front door of the school, and then stood there expectantly. I narrowed my eyes at him, unsure what he was waiting for.

“What?” I barked at him through clenched teeth. He nodded in the direction of the entrance.

“After you, girlfriend ,” Noah said, a cocky smirk on his lips, tone laced with obvious humor.

A shudder passed through me at how absolutely wrong that sounded, and I quickly dipped past him. Had I made a mistake? Could I really go through this for another two weeks?

Even though my steps were swift, I could feel him keeping pace behind me. Just as he caught up to me, I turned around and placed my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why are you following me? Are you the overly attached type?”

“Um, we have the next class together,” he answered, trying not to laugh. “Sweetie.”

Ugh, this insufferable jerk .

He was right, we did share the next class. It wasn’t like I usually paid attention to him, so could he really blame me for forgetting?

I crossed my arms over my chest and my jaw tightened as I stared him down. “Well, I’m going to the bathroom first, do you want to follow me there too?”

“Depends. Are you inviting me?” A crooked smirk played on his lips.

My eyes almost popped straight out of their sockets.

“No! Of course not!” I muttered, feeling my face burn under his sapphire gaze.

I quickly turned and practically ran in the direction of the bathroom, the sound of my footsteps—along with the sweet sound of Noah’s devilish laughter—echoing through the hall.

*

Splashing my face with water did little to soothe my burning cheeks. I took a deep breath, trying to push through the intense feeling that I had just started something very dangerous with a guy I knew nothing about.

This was the most contact I’d had with Noah in the past three years. If we were ever at the same party, I made sure I was at the opposite end of the room. When we were on school trips, I took the seat farthest from him. Ever since that day, I’d wanted no contact with him.

And now? Now, I was dating him .

The whole point of this thing was to expose Noah as the heartless person he really was—the person I knew him to be. At this point I wasn’t exactly sure how my little exposé was going to play out, but what I did know was that step one was spending time with him, not just around him.

Feeling the vibration of a text message, I took my phone out and saw that Melissa had already texted me four times.

I could tell that she was getting frantic, probably ready to call in the search dogs, and I quickly shot her a text asking her to meet me in the first-floor women’s bathroom after class.

A few moments after the bell to signal the end of first period rang, a winded Melissa burst in, her face almost as furious as her voice.

“Miss Girl, where were you?” she questioned, tone harsh. Considering I hadn’t yet told Melissa about my little date Noah plan, her attitude was valid. But I knew full well that she would’ve killed me and would most definitely have not let me go through with asking Noah out.

Then again, now she was going to kill me for not telling her. So, in either scenario I should have planned my funeral along with my Noah strategy.

“Um, okay, I need to tell you something, but promise you won’t be supermad at me.

” I chewed on my bottom lip as I spoke, my anxiety rearing its ugly head.

“Like, you can be a little mad, but I’m already kinda freaked, so I really need you to not drown me in a toilet.

I don’t even want to imagine how dirty they a—”

Melissa cut me off. “Sky, you’re rambling. Which means I’m definitely gonna be supermad because you only do that when you’ve done something pretty bad, so just spit it out.” She placed her hands on her hips, striking her most serious pose.

“I asked Noah Archer out and now we’re dating,” I blurted. Wow , there had never been words in my mouth that tasted more foul than those.

I closed my eyes, expecting a torrent of fury to come spewing out of Melissa, but there was only silence and the sound of water dripping from a half-closed tap.

Drip . Drip . Drip .

Carefully prying open one eye at first, I looked at my best friend in trepidation. Her eyes were wide, mouth open, hands that had been previously firmly placed on her hips now limp at her sides. It seemed that Melissa was speechless. Huh, that was new .

“Um, Mel?” I asked carefully.

As if she had been in a trance until then she inhaled loudly. “What?!” Her voice came out in a shrill scream, and I jumped back.

There we go .

“How? When? Why? You hate that guy! Not to mention the fact that you didn’t tell me before you did it!

How could you keep something like that from me?

I feel betrayed, nay, stabbed in the back!

Now I know how Caesar felt! Et tu, Brute?

” Her drama-class skills came into full swing as she waved her hands around and paced across the bathroom floor.

I opened my mouth to reply to at least one of her questions—or were they accusations?—but she wasn’t done yet. Her face was red, lips puffy, and eyes full of daggers ready to be hurled right at me.

“Noah freaking Archer, Sky! You’re dating Noah Archer?! Have you been hit on the head? Why would you date No—”

Her words were cut off as the door to the bathroom opened and two girls walked inside. They stopped, looked at us in confusion, looked at each other, and then walked back out.

“Um, maybe we should talk about this somewhere else?” I offered, glancing nervously at the door. We’d already been in here for a few minutes, and it was a miracle we’d had privacy for this long.

Melissa opened her lips just as another girl opened the door. Then she looked at me, grabbed me by the arm, and pushed past the confused freshman until we were in the busy school hallway.

“Don’t think you’re safe,” Melissa whispered, squeezing my arm for emphasis. “I’m still extremely angry with you.”

“I know,” I mumbled, dragging my feet as we walked.

“And you have a lot of explaining to do, and I mean a lot,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes into tiny, threatening slits.

“I know. I’m sorry.” More mumbling. More dragging my feet.

“And a lot of that too. One sorry won’t cut it! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this,” she continued, taking out her aggression on her locker.

“Yes, yes, I know. Come for dinner again tonight and give me a chance to explain,” I offered, unleashing the full power of my puppy stare on her. Melissa stared back, unrelenting, and just when I thought the cuteness of my puppy face had failed me, she exhaled and shook her head.

“What am I gonna do with you, huh? You better buy me ice cream for dessert,” she muttered, clutching to her chest the notebook she’d taken out.

I grinned, nodding enthusiastically. “Now, I need to get my things because I cannot miss another class.” This day had tarnished my flawless record, and I was not about to have two strikes in a row.

*

To my utmost horror, I locked eyes with Noah as soon as Melissa and I stepped into class. A shiver ran through me and I quickly looked away while heading to my desk at the other side of the room.

“Just give it a try, go ask him,” a girl named Isabelle whispered to her friend, nudging her in the direction of Noah. The girl’s face was flushed, and she nervously twirled her hair as she approached him.

I swallowed loudly, knowing full well what was coming.

“Um, Noah?” He looked up at her, but I couldn’t see his expression. “Hi, I was wondering, if no one’s asked you yet, maybe you’d want to go out with me?”