Page 5 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Ask the Questions

I had never felt more dread about the last school bell than I did today.

Usually, that wonderful sound was met with happiness and excitement. But not today; not for this girl. Even after the bell rang I took my time putting all the pens back in my pencil case, carefully, one at a time.

I was already completely drained. For the entirety of the day, I had been followed by whispers and pointed fingers, and no matter how much I tried to ignore the stares I was getting, the stress had taken its toll. And the worst was yet to come.

“Sky, you’ll be fine! Seriously, what’s the worst thing that can happen?” Melissa asked, rolling her eyes as she tossed her colorful backpack over her shoulder with a grace that I could never possess.

“Um, being trapped in a tin can on wheels with Noah Archer?” I did try to look at the silver lining of it all.

Being in his car meant I could ask him questions, and he wouldn’t have anywhere to escape to.

Then again, he could just toss me out on the side of the road.

Maybe I should make it my mission to annoy him until he does just that .

“Oh yeah, having the guy all the girls in school are crazy about drive you home. Sounds just awful. How ever will you make it out alive?” She laughed, offering zero amounts of compassion to her overwhelmed best friend.

“Not all of the girls,” I said through clenched teeth, and Melissa huffed.

“You know what I mean! Put your big girl pants on and face your new beau .” Melissa winked at me and walked to the door of the classroom.

“Don’t call him tha—wait, you’re leaving me?” I yelled after her in outrage. She just waved her hand in the air, not even bothering to turn around.

“Well, duh! I’ll see you later, okay?”

And then there was one.

Walking down the now-empty school hallways was nerve-racking.

The sound of my footsteps echoing against the stone as I got closer to the exit was ominous.

It was made that much worse since I knew what awaited once I crossed the threshold of the front door.

Or rather, I had no idea what was waiting for me because I had never been in this situation before.

I knew this entire thing was my own fault.

I had wanted this. I had done this . So, just like Melissa had said, it was time to put my big girl pants on and stop throwing myself a little pity party.

I had a plan. Well, I kind of had a plan.

Sure, it didn’t involve getting dropped off after school by Noah Archer, but I was resourceful.

I could adapt. Right? Inhaling deeply, I grasped the handle and pushed the front door open.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I felt personally attacked by how peaceful everything seemed compared to the raging typhoon that was building up inside of me.

Glancing at my surroundings, I nervously tried to spy the familiar figure of Noah Archer, and almost did a little dance when I couldn’t find him.

My excitement was short-lived however, because as soon as I took a few steps, I could see him standing at the bottom of the staircase, his usual headphones firmly placed on his ears, head nodding in rhythm with whatever song was playing.

I let out a deep sigh and jogged down the steps toward him. Better to get this over with quickly.

As if he sensed my presence, he looked up and pulled down his headphones.

“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind and wouldn’t show up.

” Noah watched me with a little too much interest, amusement dancing in his eyes.

He clearly knew I wasn’t dating him because I had feelings for him.

Which just made me more confused about why he’d accepted in the first place.

“I don’t know why you would think that,” I muttered, trying to plaster the sweetest possible smile on my face. In the end, it felt more like I was grimacing. “We’re dating, no?”

Noah laughed and shook his head, then offered me his hand. I stared at his outstretched hand blankly, then looked up at his sparkling eyes. He closed his hand and opened it again. “We are dating, no?” he repeated, mockingly.

I narrowed my eyes, but not wanting to admit defeat to him— again! —I took hold of his hand and walked to the parking lot with wooden steps.

He changed the grip he held my hand with, entwining our fingers, and a shudder ran down my spine. His hand was gentle, but his fingertips felt curiously rough and worn.

I’d read about this sweet moment in so many books.

When I was younger, I’d even imagined what it would be like by grasping my own hand—as lame as that made me feel in the end.

In a way, it was this sweet moment when the protagonists would lovingly entwine their hands that always made my heart clench happily in my chest when I read romance books.

So why, oh why , was Noah Archer the first guy I was holding hands with like this?

He pulled me along as we walked to his car, and I tried to think about anything but the feeling of his fingers wrapped around mine.

He stopped in front of a blue BMW and let go of my hand, much to my relief. In embarrassment, I realized how sweaty my hand had gotten and quickly wiped it against my black jeans.

Noah took out his keys, unlocked the car, and held open the passenger door for me. “After you.”

I rolled my eyes and settled into the surprisingly comfortable car seat. Until today, I hadn’t paid much attention to the kind of life Noah led, but he did drive a car that was nicer than that of a lot of kids at school.

As he sat down in the driver’s seat and pushed the key into the ignition, I tapped the control board in front of me.

“So, you’re rich.” It was more of a statement than a question.

He flinched, then cleared his throat. “I’m not rich .”

“This is a pretty nice car for someone who isn’t rich.” It was the first time I’d gotten a reaction out of him that didn’t involve a condescending smirk, and my detective instincts were telling me to investigate.

Noah exhaled, giving me a sidelong glance before he started the car. “ I’m not rich, my dad is.”

Hm, interesting . I didn’t know a single high-school kid who made that kind of distinction when it came to money.

In fact, if you spoke to any spoiled rich kid, they’d usually act like they’d earned the money they had themselves, instead of having it all simply thrown into their laps.

I was about to ask more questions but he peeled out of the parking lot and turned in a direction completely opposite to my house.

“Um, where are you going? My house is in the other direction,” I stated calmly. My heart, on the other hand, was pounding so hard I was afraid it’d jump out of my chest.

“Hm, we have another stop first,” Noah said, glancing at me with a crooked grin on his face. Then he threw in, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”

Somehow, I didn’t feel like I’d consider any place he’d take me as fun .

“Excuse me? That wasn’t part of the deal,” I exclaimed, my voice getting more high-pitched with every word.

“Spur-of-the-moment decision. Think of it as our first date, honey ,” he added in a happy tone and, with a quick flick of his fingers, turned on the radio.

A familiar song started playing instantly, and I narrowed my eyes, reminded yet again that we seemed to share the same taste in music.

Noah hummed and tapped his finger on the steering wheel in rhythm with my favorite song.

Letting out a sigh, I resigned myself to my fate and slammed my head against the headrest, trying to relax by singing the lyrics in my head.

*

After about forty minutes of driving, we ended up slightly outside of town and turning down an old road. My eyes narrowed as I surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings.

“And where exactly are we going?” I asked, even more dubious about his intentions. “I have the Find My Friends app thing with Melissa, just in case you were planning to murder me in some secluded area.”

He cast a brief look at me before refocusing on the road. “If I was planning to murder you, do you think telling me that would’ve been a smart move?” Touché, jerkface, touché. “Anyway, we’re almost there, so you’ll see soon enough.”

I leaned back in my seat, crossing my hands over my chest and gazing out the window. Usually I was a fan of surprises, but this time a hum of anxiety was spreading through me. When it came to the mystery that was Noah, everyone knew to expect the unexpected.

“We’re here,” he said, and parked the car, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I quickly unbuckled the seat belt and jumped outside. Surveying our surroundings, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. Noah stretched after getting out of the car, his dark-blue shirt hiking up to reveal prominent pelvic bones—that I then actively avoided looking at.

“This is it?” I waved my hand around me.

There were rocks, a few stubborn trees that seemed to be clinging to life, and then dirt.

A whole lot of dirt . The whole place felt abandoned by society, too barren to be a forest but not quite empty enough to be a desert.

The briny scent in the air made it clear we were close to the ocean, even though it was hidden from sight.

“Patience, young padawan.” Noah wiggled his eyebrows, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked away from me.

“Maybe I wasn’t so far off with my Jedi mind trick theory,” I muttered to myself as I reluctantly followed. “You do know that’s not an actual quote from Star Wars , right?”

Noah stopped abruptly, making me almost slam into his back. He turned back to look at me, a dazzling grin pulling up his lips. “Sure, I do. You a fellow fan?”

“Yeah,” I replied, begrudgingly. It seemed we had a lot in common. No matter, though; nothing would deter me from my plan to take Noah Archer down .

“And very angry about it I see, a very sour fan.” He mock-frowned. I rolled my eyes at his obvious teasing and raised my hands in the air.