Chapter 4

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

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last. Reality came back all at once. The security guard was still yelling. Students were still staring. And Noel's arm was still around my waist. My brain immediately gave up trying to process any of it.

"Frankie?"

His voice snapped me out of it.

I jumped backward so quickly that I nearly tripped again. This time Noel didn't catch me. Mostly because he looked busy trying not to laugh.

"Don't."

His mouth twitched.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"I wasn't."

"You absolutely were."

Now he was definitely trying not to laugh.

The worst part was that he looked annoyingly handsome while doing it.

Meanwhile, I was standing in the middle of a courtyard after being caught attempting revenge for the third time in two days.

Life was unfair. The security guard finally reached us, breathing heavily from the chase.

"Miss Miller."

I straightened immediately.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to explain why you were running?"

"No."

The answer escaped before I could stop it.

For a moment, the guard simply stared at me. I stared right back, as if there was any possible way to recover from what I'd just said.

Beside me, Noel covered his mouth.

Traitor!

The guard pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Principal's office.

"My stomach dropped.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

I glanced at Noel.

"Help me."

"No."

"I thought we were friends."

"We're not."

"That does explain a lot."

Twenty minutes later, I found myself sitting outside the principal's office while Noel leaned against the wall across from me. Neither of us had actually gotten into serious trouble. The security guard had listened to the story, looked exhausted, and decided a warning was punishment enough. Apparently, even adults didn't have the energy to deal with me.

I was still annoyed. Noel, meanwhile, looked thoroughly entertained by the entire situation, which only made me more irritated.

"You think this is funny."

"I do."

"You're the reason this happened."

"Actually, you're the reason this happened."

I wanted to argue with him, but the words died before they could leave my mouth. Because, unfortunately, he had a point. Which was deeply annoying...

"It still would've been successful if security hadn't shown up."

Noel laughed. Not the polite kind of laugh people used when they were trying to be nice. This was a real laugh, completely unfiltered and entirely at my expense. The kind that immediately made me want to shove him into a locker.

"You've failed three revenge plans in two days."

"I like to think of them as learning experiences."

"Sure."

I pointed at him.

"Keep talking."

His eyes dropped briefly to my finger before returning to my face. For a moment, something about his expression shifted. It was subtle enough that I almost thought I'd imagined it.

Then it was gone.

"We should probably stop meeting like this."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"The last three conversations we've had involved either screaming, threats, or attempted crimes."

"You're exaggerating."

"The first time you screamed at me."

I wanted to argue with him, then remembered the Pink Razor Incident and closed it again.

"The second time you threatened to kill me."

Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong about that either.

"The third time involved a security chase."

When he put it that way, the pattern was becoming difficult to ignore.

I sighed.

"This isn't making me look great, is it?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, that's disappointing."

For some reason, that made him smile again. The smile was smaller this time. Softer, somehow. Different from the amused grin he'd been wearing all day.

And for a second, my stomach did something strange. I immediately blamed low blood sugar.

That evening, Felix was waiting for me when I got home.

Of course he was!

The moment I walked through the front door, he appeared from nowhere, looking far too pleased with himself.

"You got chased by security."

I froze. "How do you know that?"

"Video."

"What video?"

His grin widened.

I didn't like that grin. Experience had taught me that nothing good ever followed a grin like that.

Without saying another word, he pulled out his phone. A second later, I found myself staring at a video of me sprinting across the courtyard while a security guard chased me. Apparently, my humiliation had been recorded for future generations.

"No."

"OH, yEs."

"Delete it."

"Absolutely not."

The moment he said that, I lunged for the phone.

Unfortunately, Felix had spent his entire life being taller than me and took full advantage of it. He immediately lifted the phone out of reach, holding it above his head while I made several completely unsuccessful attempts to grab it.

Being short was a scam.

"Give it back."

"I don't think I will."

"Felix."

His grin widened.

Mom walked into the room. One look at us was enough.

"Whatever is happening, STOP."

Neither of us listened. Some things were stronger than parental authority.

The next day should have been normal, or at least I thought so….The moment I arrived at school, people started asking about the security chase. Well well, humiliation had become my personal brand now.

By lunchtime, I was seriously considering home-schooling. ¶∆¶

Aurora sat across from me in the cafeteria.

"You know, most people manage to go through an entire week without becoming a school-wide topic."

"Everyone needs a talent."

"Yours is public embarrassment."

I stabbed a french fry on her plate.

Aurora smiled sympathetically. Unfortunately, she was enjoying this too. Everybody was enjoying this. Everybody except me.

As if summoned by my suffering, Noel appeared beside our table.

Aurora immediately looked interested. I, meanwhile, looked annoyed. Noel as usual looked far too pleased with himself.

"What do you want?"

"That hurts, Frank."

"Good. Now we're even."

He pulled out the empty chair beside me and sat down without permission, which felt incredibly rude considering he was the reason my life had become a public spectacle in the first place.

Aurora watched the entire interaction like she was front row at a concert.

Traitor. Hmpphhh!!! Sometimes I genuinely wondered whether Aurora was my best friend or Noel's.

Noel leaned back casually.

"So."

"So???"

"Any revenge plans today?"

I rolled my eyes.

"No."

"That's disappointing."

"Why?"

"You were starting to get creative."

Aurora nearly choked on her drink.

I pointed at him. "This is all your fault."

"Still blaming me?"

"The entire school knows about the pink razor."

"People would've forgotten by now."

"They absolutely would not have."

Noel thought about that for a moment before nodding slightly. "You're probably right."

For some reason, that answer annoyed me even more. He wasn't even trying to defend himself anymore.

The conversation continued for several more minutes and consisted largely of arguments, insults, and Noel enjoyed the entire situation far more than he should have.

At some point, I noticed Aurora had gone strangely quiet. I looked over. She was staring at us.

"Why are you looking at us like that?"

She blinked. "What?"

"The face."

"What face?"

"The weird face."

"I don't have a weird face."

She absolutely had a weird face, but before I could investigate further, the bell rang.

Students immediately began standing. Chairs scraped across the floor as the cafeteria exploded into movement.

I stood as well. Unfortunately, Noel chose that exact moment to do the same.

We both stepped forward at once and immediately blocked each other's path. I tried moving around him, only for him to move in the same direction. A second later, we both adjusted again and somehow managed to repeat the mistake.

Aurora started laughing before either of us had even said a word.

For one awkward moment, neither of us could get past.

"Move."

"You move."

"I'm trying."

Neither of us was trying. Judging by the fact that neither of us was making any real effort to solve the problem, I suspected we were both being stubborn on purpose.

"This is your fault."

"I'm pretty sure it's yours."

Eventually, Noel stepped aside with an exaggerated sweep on his hand.

"After you, Madam"

"Thank you, Sir"

"So polite."

"Shut up."

His grin followed me all the way to class. And annoyingly enough, I found myself smiling too.

The realization was so alarming that I immediately stopped.

That night, while I was supposed to be finishing my homework, my thoughts kept drifting back to the courtyard. More specifically, they kept drifting back to the moment Noel caught me. Not because I wanted to think about it. Quite the opposite, actually. I would have preferred if my brain had focused on literally anything else. Unfortunately, my brain seemed determined to ruin my life.

Every time I remembered it, my stomach did that weird thing again.

Ughhh....I hated it!

The next morning wasn't any better.

Noel was standing by the school entrance when I arrived. The second he saw me, he lifted a hand. "Morning, Frank."

I rolled my eyes. "Go away."

"Good morning to you too." Then he smiled.

And for some reason, my heart forgot how to behave. I immediately walked past him as quickly as possible, pretending this was the behavior of a completely normal person.

Unfortunately, I never saw the look on Noel's face as I disappeared into the building.

If I had, I might have realized that things were about to become a lot more complicated.