Chapter 3

I spent the entire school day plotting murder. Not actual murder, obviously. Probably. The important thing was that Noel Carter had betrayed me, and I intended to make him regret it.

Unfortunately, revenge required patience, and patience had never been one of my strengths.

By the time the final bell rang, I had already come up with six different plans, three backup plans, and one idea that Aurora had described as "a felony."

Personally, I thought she was being dramatic.

The moment class ended, I practically threw my books into my backpack and headed straight for the parking lot. At that point, I had spent an entire day thinking about Noel Carter's betrayal, and none of those thoughts had made me any less angry.

Unfortunately, Aurora Clover, my best friend and the only person capable of talking sense into me on a regular basis seemed determined to prevent whatever revenge plan I came up with.

"Frankie."

I kept walking.

"Frankie."

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

Actually, I did. Aurora had known me long enough to recognize the warning signs of a bad idea, and apparently I'd been displaying all of them since first period.

"You're going to tell me not to do anything stupid."

She sighed. "I was."

"See? I saved us both time."

Aurora gave me a look. The kind of look usually reserved for people who were about to do something spectacularly dumb.

"You realize this is exactly how every bad decision you've ever made started."

"That's not true."

She raised an eyebrow.

I thought about it for a second.

"Okay," I admitted. "Most bad decisions."

"All bad decisions… . "

We were still arguing when I spotted Noel leaning against his car. The second I saw him, every ounce of patience I possessed disappeared.

"There he is."

Aurora grabbed my sleeve.

"Frankie."

"Let go."

"Be mature."

"I am mature."

"You once tried to microwave a fork."

"That was an experiment."

"It was a fire."

Before I could defend myself, Noel looked up.

His expression immediately brightened.

I hated that.

I especially hated that I noticed it.

"Frank," he called.

The nickname somehow made everything worse.

I marched toward him. Aurora made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a prayer. Noel waited calmly as I stopped in front of him.

For a second, neither of us spoke. Then I pointed a finger directly at his chest.

"I'm going to kill you."

Noel looked down at my finger, then back at me.

His mouth twitched.

"Get in line."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Felix said the same thing this morning."

I stared at him, while he looked entirely too pleased with himself.

"You told the whole school."

"I told one person."

"You told everyone."

"I can't be held responsible for what happened after that."

"You knew exactly what would happen."

"I had faith in the student body's commitment to gossip."

"Ughhhhhh. Seriously?? "

The worst part was that Noel actually laughed. Not a guilty laugh or an apologetic one. He genuinely looked amused by the entire situation, right in front of me. I had never been more offended in my life.

Aurora stepped between us before I could commit violence.

"Okay," she said quickly. "This has been fun."

"It hasn't."

Noel looked far too delighted by the entire situation.

Aurora grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. As we left, I heard him call after me.

"See you tomorrow, Frank."

I didn't turn around. Mostly because I was busy imagining several creative ways to ruin his life.

The next morning, I arrived at school with a plan. Not just any plan, either. This was a good plan. A foolproof plan. The kind of plan that seemed so perfect in my head that I couldn't imagine a single way it could go wrong.

Which, in hindsight, should have been my first warning.

Noel always bought a bottle of water before first period. All I had to do was replace it. Not with anything dangerous, obviously....I was angry, not insane. I just needed to add enough salt to make him spit it out in front of his friends. It was simple, elegant, and, as far as I was concerned, absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, the universe hated me.

I successfully switched the bottles, walked away without getting caught, and hid nearby to watch the results. Everything was going exactly according to plan. In fact, it was going so well that I was already starting to feel proud of myself.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten one very important detail: I had also bought a bottle of water that morning, and it was the exact same brand, the exact same size, and the exact same label as Noel's.

Five minutes later, feeling very pleased with myself, I took a triumphant sip from what I thought was my water.

It wasn't.

The second the salt water hit my tongue, I sprayed it across the hallway.

Students jumped back. A nearby teacher looked absolutely horrified, and Noel nearly collapsed laughing.

My revenge had lasted approximately four minutes.

Plan two went even worse.

During lunch, I decided to stick an embarrassing note onto Noel's back. I wasn't looking for anything cruel just something subtle, humiliating, and, most importantly, mature.

The note read:

I LOVE PINK RAZORS.

Looking back, the mature part may have gotten lost somewhere along the way. Still, the concept had potential.

I managed to sneak up behind him, carefully attach the note, and walk away without getting caught.

For exactly thirty seconds, everything seemed to go according to plan. Then somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around.

Noel was standing there with a big smile on his face.

That smile should have warned me. Noel never smiled like that when something good was about to happen to me. My eyes immediately searched the note on his back.

But the note was no longer attached to his back.

It was attached to MINE.

Students passing by started laughing.

I closed my eyes.

"How?"

"You looked more suspicious than the note."

"What?"

"I saw you coming."

I hated him.

I truly did. -_-

By the end of lunch, I was more determined than ever to succeed. At that point, I wasn't asking for much. I didn't need an elaborate master plan or a dramatic victory. I just wanted one successful act of revenge.

Considering how badly the previous two had gone, my standards were becoming increasingly reasonable.

Fortunately, an opportunity finally presented itself after school.

Several clubs were setting up equipment for an upcoming festival. The drama club had left a stack of cardboard props near the gym. An idea immediately formed.

Aurora took one look at my face and sighed.

"What now?"

"Nothing."

"You have the face."

"What face?"

"The face that gets us into trouble."

I ignored her, which turned out to be a mistake.

Ten minutes later, I was crouched behind a display board with a spool of string.

The plan was simple. When Noel walked through the courtyard, he'd trip over the string and make a complete fool of himself in front of everyone. I wasn't trying to hurt him or anything. I just wanted to embarrass him a little.

After everything he'd put me through, that seemed perfectly reasonable.

Unfortunately, I was so focused on tying one end that I failed to notice a security guard approaching.

"Excuse me."

My soul left my body. I slowly looked up.

The guard looked at the string, then at me, then back at the string again as if trying to decide whether I was a threat or just deeply confused.

In that moment, I made a decision. A very bad one.

I ran.

"Miss!"

I ran faster.

The courtyard exploded into chaos. Students turned to watch. Someone laughed. Some started recording.

I sprinted across the lawn while the security guard chased after me.

At one point, I heard Aurora shouting my name, and I was fairly sure I saw Felix laughing from a second-floor window.

The worst part?

The absolute worst part?

Noel was running too. Not because he was helping me (obviously), because apparently this was entertaining.

"Frankie!" he shouted.

"Go away!", "You know this is your fault, right?"

"I know that!"

At least I appreciated his honesty.

I risked a glance behind me. Big mistake.

The moment I looked back, my foot caught the edge of a low stone border. My balance disappeared. The ground rushed toward me. And for one horrible second, I was absolutely certain I was about to face-plant in front of half the school.

But??? It never happened… .

An arm wrapped around my waist, catching me before I could hit the ground. It was strong enough to stop my fall completely, and sudden enough that for a second my brain forgot how to function.

I froze.

The world seemed to stop moving.

When I looked up, Noel was standing toooo close.

One hand braced against my side, the other still holding my arm.

Neither of us spoke.

For the first time since I'd known him, Noel looked just as surprised as I felt.

The noise of the courtyard faded into the background. All I could hear was my own heartbeat.

And suddenly, I became painfully aware of how close we were. Too close. Close enough that I could notice details I absolutely did not need to notice in that moment.

Noel's gaze met mine. Neither of us moved. Neither of us said a word..

And for reasons I couldn't begin to explain, I forgot all about revenge.