Chapter 20 is dedicated to

Thank you for your support ❤

---------------------------------------------------

"Take cover!" I yelled, ducking behind the counter.

Noah quickly realized what was happening and managed to dive under the table just in time as the experiment exploded, releasing a fog of hot, white fumes. Again.

"What are we doing wrong?" I groaned, fanning the air around me.

"Maybe we're getting the measurements mixed up," Noah frowned.

"But this was our fourth try," I protested. "Let's do it again."

"Again?" he asked tiredly. "Maybe we should call it a day."

I glanced over at him and couldn't help but smile at the desperation in his eyes. I guess for someone who detested Chemistry, this wasn't exactly a fun day.

"What's going on in here?"

We turned around to see Linda, our lab supervisor fanning away the fumes as she entered the room. I handed her a mask with a sheepish smile.

"Are you two trying to burn the place down? I heard an explosion."

She gave us a demanding look and we explained the situation to her. She frowned as she inspected the chemicals we were using.

"The experiment will never work," she stated.

"What? Why?" I asked. "We did everything we were supposed to. We mixed 25cm3 of hydrochloric acid with-"

She held up her hand to cut me off.

"If only this was hydrochloric acid," she sighed. "The lab tech mixed the labels up. I forgot to tell you."

I frowned. "But then what about the experiment?"

"Leave it until tomorrow," she suggested. "It's pretty late and Mr. Warren here looks drained." she laughed as Noah dramatically collapsed into a chair.

"Yes. Yes, I am," he laughed. "Let's finish this up tomorrow, Queen E."

"Fine," I conceded with a sigh.

It hurt me to walk away from a failed experiment, but Noah did look exhausted and we'd been at it for more than two hours.

Linda walked out with a nod. I shrugged out of my lab coat as Noah gathered his stuff together.

"Woah, woah, whoa," he said coming over to me.

He sat on the lab stool beside me and pulled me closer to him. "You got hurt. You must have hit your hand on the counter just now. I'll get you an ice pack."

I glanced down at my arm. The bruises that Nicole left were still visible. When I had taken off my lab coat, the action caused my sleeve to roll up a little.

"We don't have any ice packs," I reminded him.

"We have ammonium nitrate and water. That's good enough."

"I still don't understand how you know so much about Chem when you hate it that much."

"If I didn't get good grades, then my mom would have killed me," he said as he rummaged around for the ammonium nitrate for the makeshift ice pack. "Which meant hours of stuDYING until I knew my stuff. Looks like it came in handy," he grinned. "I get to save you."

"As much as I would love for you to save me, the bruise is from earlier."

"Earlier," he frowned. "You mean after the first explosion?"

"No, at school."

He froze and his eyes travelled to my arm again. I rolled down my sleeve, but it was useless. He came back over to me and inspected my arm. His lips were drawn into a thin line and his brows furrowed.

"Did you bump into something?"

"No."

"Did someone do this?"

I gently pushed his hands away. "Don't worry about it, Noe."

His eyes darkened and his fingers drummed along the sides of the counter.

"Noe..."

"If someone is bothering you-" he started, but I shook my head.

"It's nothing I can't handle. It was just a misunderstanding."

He stared at me incredulously and I nodded.

"Just a girl being jealous. It's fine."

"It doesn't look fine," he muttered. "What kind of jealousy would make her do this?"

"She thinks I like her boyfriend." I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous that whole situation had been.

"Her boyfriend? But you don't, right?" His green eyes bore into mine.

"Ashton and I can't stand each other. So trust me, there's nothing going on there."

"Ashton," he murmured. "He's that guy who saved you at the party."

"Yeah."

"Maybe..." he searched for the words. "Maybe he likes you."

"He has a cheerleader girlfriend," I dismissed. "Besides, other than the one good thing he did for me, he's just been doing bad."

"Oh," he said.

He looked conflicted. "I'm very angry with him for being mean to you, but I'm glad there's nothing going on between you. I'll always be here for you."

I beamed at him. "Thanks for looking out, Noe."

He grinned.

"So shall we go, Queen E?" he asked, extending the crook of his arm to me.

"Why yes, kind sir," I played along, taking his arm.

We got into his car and took off for the arcade.

---------------------------------------------------