Their lunch lasted for almost the entire day. Rafe found out more about Norah, her childhood and her family. Norah even convinced him to stay for a movie.

"Thank you for today. It's been amazing," Rafe said, folding his hands into the front pockets of Benny's hoodie as they stood outside the house. "Sorry if I made a fool of myself earlier today."

"I'm used to you being a fool," she murmured with a smile, leaning against the gate.

"Yeah. I am. I got into a huge fight with my dad and now he blocked all my cards."

Norah stopped leaning against the fence and came closer. "Why? You're getting good grades. You haven't been a fight. Your football team is winning all the games."

"I told him I'd be flying out to Italy to mum's grave, and I didn't care what he said. He got pissed off and cut off the access to all of my allowance. He told me not to set foot in London, or Milan, or anywhere else."

"I'm sorry," Norah muttered.

"It's all her I think. Bianca. I think she was winding my dad up about me. He's never been this pissed off about me before."

"Well, once you get your offer from LBU, you'll redeem yourself."

"But that means I can't afford to pay for my lessons anymore," Rafe said the words quickly and looked away when he said it. It killed him to say these words. In front of Norah. To Norah. He, Rafe Ferreira, couldn't afford to pay for his fifty quid an hour tutoring. This was new and humiliating and frustrating.

He's been able to afford anything and everything his heart desired his whole life. Now he has to admit that his ass is broke if front a girl he's beginning to suspect he likes.

"Don't worry. I'll still help you. We have mocks coming up next week. We came so close," she was so casual about it, his heart soared. She would help him. Not for money, just because she wanted to.

"Really?" he asked with a grin.

"Sure! Kind of grew on me to bully you. And you can always pay me back with interest once your dad gives you back your allowance."

He blew out a sigh. "I thought we had something special. You're brutal, Norah."

"Make sure you revise. We're having a test tomorrow."

"We just did!" he said, pointing at her house.

"Watching 'Great Gatbsy' is hardly revision. More like fun recap."

"Norah," Rafe said with sudden seriousness once they walked further away from the house.

"Yes, Rafe?" Norah said, unsure whether Rafe was about to crack a joke.

"Why didn't you tell me you went to St Claires? Why didn't you tell me that you knew me way before?"

Norah flustered at his unexpected questions and fidgeted with the sleeves of her hoodie. "Well, technically I didn't know you."

She was trying to weasel out of the question.

"But you knew we were supposed to meet. You knew of me. Our friends were going to set us up. I had you on Facebook. You were Norah Brandwell from St Claires. You didn't wear glasses at the time. And you certainly weren't so... nerdy."

"I didn't think it's that big of a deal..."

"Are you crazy? This is not a coincidence! It's like we were meant to meet, eventually. You never came to that party at Craig's. You just disappeared from school, from Facebook and then much later on I heard you moved to another country."

"No one told you why?"

Rafe shrugged. Maybe they did. He just probably didn't care at the point. Or forgot.

"Rafe. I didn't want to talk about it because unlike you I have terrible associations with that school, with that crowd—"

"Why? You were popular!"

"Yeah but at what cost?" Norah snapped. "What was the point? Whilst trying to stay popular, I got an eating disorder. I was constantly worried about how I was looking and what I was saying. I couldn't be myself. I hated myself. When I tried to do well in school instead of partying with the 'crowd' I got bullied. And when my parents divorced and my father no longer could pay my tuition in St Claires, it was a nightmare," her voice cracked.

"Oh shit..."

She breathed in deep to keep her composure.

Rafe saw how hard she was trying not to cry. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. Her tiny body fit into his snugly and he breathed in her scent. She smelled of soap and strawberries. She trembled in his arms and put her hands around his torso.

"I came here to be invisible. To enjoy the peace and the quiet and the small things like the smell of wisteria and conversations with my grandma over a cup of tea."

Rafe sighed and didn't let her go. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that, had she come to that party where he was waiting for her, they could've been dating. Or maybe they would've hated each other. Who knows?

He recalled just how brutal the girls at St Claires could be. Hazel looked like a pussycat compared to them. No wonder Norah walked around school like she didn't care about its social hierarchy. She'd been at the top in a place like St Claires. This school must've looked like a playground to her.

He couldn't understand her when she told him she knew exactly what he was going through. He thought she was being polite. But he realised she'd had it much harder. She got bullied out of London and had to adapt to a completely different environment.

"Thanks for today," he said into her ear. She sniffed and nodded into his chest.

"You needed a friend today," she said with a smile, wiping away the moisture around her eyes. He decided not to ask her any more questions. And there was nothing more to ask.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah yeah, just— you know. I hate talking about it. Why bring up such unpleasant memories, you know?"

Rafe nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, friend," he said giving Norah's pink, tear stained cheek a light squeeze.