Emma

my eyes fluttered open due to the loud thud that echoed through the whole house. we were currently all sleeping in Carter's house, after the long night we had we couldn't go back home, so we ended up crashing at his place.

slowly i removed Abby's arm from around my face, and not too gently threw her legs out of the way before standing up to see what the hell was happening outside. Della was on the couch, her hair a perfect mess with drool coming from her mouth. Carter, Lucas, and Logan were missing, which only concluded that they were the reason for the thud.

suddenly when i was about to open the door, Carter barged in the room with a torn out t-shirt.

''we are so fucking late for the fucking school!'' he screamed, getting after him Logan with bloody nose.

''what the hell happened to the both of you?!'' i shouted at them, my hand reaching out to inspect Logan's nose. bloody hell!

''oh no big deal, we..uhm, played?'' Lucas's voice entered the conversation. i looked at him, and instantly my eyes went wide as i saw his wounded forehead.

''what the hell ?!'' Abby's scream startled all of us, and caused Della to shriek from her place, sending her on her butt. i laughed silently, and did the huge mistake of checking my phone to see what time it is. it was already 8:30!

''oh my god we are so late! we are so getting a detention!'' i gripped my hair in frustration.

''well i wanted to inform you about that, but then you noticed that we just got out from world war II.'' Carter mumbled under his breath, and in return he earned a glare out of me.

''no time for that we have to be there in less that 10 minutes, which is impossible anyway, but we still have to try!'' Logan semi-motivated us in a kinda bored tone that made everybody on their feet.

for the coming 5 minutes, we did nothing but stumble upon each other in order to get ready in time. for us girls, we didn't have much to do, as we were forced to go with the same clothes we were wearing because there weren't any clean ones. the guys didn't shower and quickly were ready after changing their clothes. we were stuffed in the car within a second, and this time Carter drove us like flash.

''shit shit shit,'' i stumbled on my own legs once we entered the school, ''first period is done.''

''where were you?'' a voice boomed through the corridor, causing us to stop jumping around. we slowly turned our heads to the voice to be faced with our beloved principle.

''lie lie lie.'' Logan whispered to all of us, and i took this as my clue to put my acting skills into action. slowly i took a step forward, and nervously placed one hand over my elbow stroking is gently.

''we are so sorry, but our grand-father was met by a very deadly accident yesterday and we had to stay in the hospital with him.'' i topped my lie off with a fake sob, and in order to prevent him from seeing the grin that threatened to show on my face, i took Lucas by surprise and stuffed my face in his embrace.

i could feel him vibrating from laughter, and that's probably why he also buried his face in my hair.

''we are so sorry, but we couldn't leave him when he was this vulnerable, he needed us there.'' Logan joined into the act sounding perfectly convincing. damn! my brother is a professional actor...

''it's okay man, the doctor said he is gonna be fine--'' Carter was cut off by Abby.

''but he is in a coma, Carter!'' she cried out loud, and quickly Della interacted, after we warmed her up into our play.

''it's fine Abby, he is a strong fellow, surely he can pass anything.'' Della patted her shoulder ever so softly.

we slowly looked at the principle from the corner of our eyes, and just like that he had a soft expression on his face. easy old people are fun, if i hadn't said that already.

''it's alright for now, go to your classes and we will talk about this later.'' he dismissed us, and i couldn't be more relieved.

''even when he is dead, he is still helping us.'' i giggled as we vanished out of his sight.

''wait, what?'' Della shrieked making us laugh even more. oh man, she is new, she doesn't know that he is actually dead from before we were even born.

''he didn't get to see us.'' Lucas explained, and she laughed nervously at herself.

''this was fun.'' Abby smiled, and i nodded totally in agreement with her.

xxx

''thank you for all the effort, ladies! you may go change your clothes.'' the captain finally announced after a heck of a training.

the past couple of days we have been training more in order to get ready for that freaking tournament that God knows how much i already despise. just the fact that am gonna be stepping foot in that death-trap makes me wanna run miles away. i don't think i am that ready to face Ethan or Lea, and i don't think i will ever be willing to see them after what happened either.

''what are you thinking about?'' Abby cut through my thoughts and i couldn't be more grateful. she was a panting mess, with her hair sticking to her forehead, all i wanted to do was laugh.

''nothing, i just really need to get this bio project done with Asher and there is no way in hell that guy is stepping foot in my house again.'' i said, remembering that last time he showed up at my place. the guy was about to pee his pants with literally all the eyes on him.

''oh yeah? then why don't you go to a cafe or something?'' she suggested, as we finally entered the changing room.

''that's what i was thinking.'' i remarked, opening my locker to get my clothes, and my phone. i sat down on one of the chairs and decided to text Asher and inform him about the change of plans, and i am sure he is not gonna reject even if it's hell.

'hey Asher, what do you think about completing our project at Starbucks today?' i clicked send.

i was about to stand up and enter one of the showers but my phone dinged, so i checked it instead, and it was a reply from Asher.

'sure, meet me there after school?'

'yeah okay'

and with that i was finally able to wash off all the dirt and sweat off my body, and within 5 minutes we were all ready to go and eat lunch. starving is an understatement to what i was feeling right now, with all this amount of training i felt like i might be able to eat the whole cafeteria.

we three entered the cafeteria and found the boys gathered around Nora and Veronica.

dear God! save those girls from these ass-holes!

''oh sweet mercy!'' Abby muttered, as we finally stood in front of them.

''oh! you finally showed up!'' Nora glared at us, and i couldn't help but giggle at her desperate state. Carter gave me a warning look, but being me i ignored him and started eating my burger.

thank the heavens for these amazing inventions! aka food.

''so how do you like the school?'' Logan asked Veronica in a flirtatious way. i fought the urge to roll my eyes, and waited to see her reaction.

to our surprise, she gave him a disgusted look and returned back to eating her fries. my eyes widened automatically, receiving Logan's first rejection. i could see his eyes getting slightly bigger, but quickly he composed himself and cleared his throat nervously.

''so you like the food?'' he asked, attempting again to flirt with her.

''i would like it better if you stopped talking, so that i can eat.'' she shot back, taking a bite of her pizza. i grinned like crazy when Abby nudged me with her elbow, her face having the same silly look as mine.

from across the table Della was winking at Logan annoyingly, and i had to force myself not to break out laughing when Logan shot her a warning look. Lucas and Carter were whispering, giving him uneasy eyes, which only helped in irritating him even more.

suddenly my phone dinged, so i fetched it out of my pocket and checked the message Noah sent me with a silly smile on my face.

when did i become such a sweet heart?

'come meet me at the back of the school.

p.s. i missed you.'

my heart fluttered, and did a little back flip, but do i really mind? hell no!

''i think i need to pee.'' i excused myself as quickly as possible, and made my way to the back side.

slowly walking, i saw him resting his back on a tree at the entrance with a boyish smile on his face. he opened his arms wide for me to go and hug him, and i quickly sprinted there and got stuffed into his bulky arms.

''i missed you so much.'' he kissed the top of my head, and i slowly craned my neck to look up at him.

''and i didn't.'' i teased earning a pout out of him. he pecked my lips quickly, making me hit his shoulder playfully.

''what are you up to today?'' he asked, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

''nothing much, just gonna complete this project, AND i couldn't be more excited to go see granny again tomorrow!'' i changed the subject as quick as the lightening.

he hummed in response, circling his arms around my waist.

''what about you?'' i stroked his hair gently, causing him to smile in my neck.

''nothing much, just gonna hang out with Levi,'' he sighed, oh something is coming, ''when are you gonna tell your brothers?'' and here it is.

''about what?'' acting dumb is key.

''about us, Emma.'' he glared at me, after making some gap between us, so he could see my face.

''oh, i am gonna tell them.'' i smiled sweetly.

''that is not the answer to my question, i asked when are you going to.'' he threw me a scolding look.

''come on Noah! i am going to tell them when the right time comes by.'' i took a step back.

''our timings are different, i believe,'' he sighed, ''look, i just wanna get this over with.'' i understand.

''i will try, i swear!'' i said.

''you know what? let's go tell them right now!'' he started taking steps towards the entrance, making my soul jolt out of my body.

''no no no! what are you thinking? they are gonna eat us alive!'' i shouted, desperate to make him stop moving.

oh god!

''why not?'' he placed both hands on his hips.

''i am the one who should tell them, Noah!'' i shouted at him, ''you know what? i left my burger to come and have some quality time with you and here you are arguing!''

''of course i wanna have some quality time with you, but i also want to have it whenever i want to.''

'' and i want my burger, Noah. Bye!'' i glared at him and started walking to the entrance, when quickly his hands came around my knees and i was lifted up in the air, on his shoulder.

''a burger? really?'' he asked, amusement lacing his voice.

''yes, Noah, a burger! better than arguing with you, and put me down this instant!'' i screamed, moving my legs up and down quickly trying to free myself out of his like steel grip.

''i am not arguing with you, Emma. i was modernly negotiating a matter.'' he explained.

''modernly negotiating my ass.'' i hit his back.

''oh look at how she sweetly she talks.'' he teased, finally putting me back on the ground. i crossed my arms over my chest, and gave him an angry look.

''i am upset.'' i informed him coldly.

''oh i wouldn't have noticed.'' he acted in shook, placing a hand over his mouth.

'' i am leaving.'' i informed him again, and once i turned around, a smile broke on my lips at how childish we are. he called my name a few times, but i ignored him and sprinted my way inside.

xxx

''can i please have an iced latte with one vanilla shot, and only one brownie?'' i ordered, and the barista kindly smiled at me. i was now at Starbucks waiting for Asher to show up, so that we can continue the damn project. i took my order and went to sit on an empty table, when out of no where someone knocked on the table.

i looked up to be faced with the grinning face of Noah. my jaw dropped on the ground as he sat across from me, crossing both arms over each other.

''hey babe.'' he winked and threw me a kiss from where he was sitting.

''what are you doing here?'' i asked from between my gritted teeth. shoot!

''i thought we have this project to complete?'' he asked, acting confused.

''i have this project with Asher, Noah, AND you know about it.'' i glared at him. he smiled. i glared even more. his smile widened.

''oh Asher is sick today, so he sent me instead.'' he shrugged, resting his elbows on the table, taking a sip from my coffee.

i snatched the cup away, ''firstly, don't drink from my coffee. secondly, what the hell are you talking about?''

he sighed taking a bite from my brownie, ''i don't know, he told me to fill in.''

i snatched the brownie out of his hand, ''what happened, Noah, and don't lie to me!''

''maybe i threatened him, but so what?'' he shrugged carelessly, taking another sip from my coffee, ''damn, i should get this drink from now on.''

''stop eating my food, Noah, and tell me what did you say to Asher!'' i shouted, my patience running out.

''well nothing much, i saw your text in the changing room, and ordered him not to go, or you know, i ... will do stuff, and it was actually me who replied to your text.'' he smiled at the end, putting his hands under his cheeks, making himself look adorable.

stop it, Emma! be angry! be furious!

''what the hell, Noah?!'' i hid my smile behind my raging look, but if he looked closely he would know that i don't really mean it. ''this is a project that i am supposed to finish with someone who is actually taking biology.'' i snapped.

''well, you will not believe the amount of reading i did just to come here today.'' that's it, i smiled. but hid it quickly, though.

''you are a caveman, you should be more flexible.'' i warned him, poking my finger in his chest.

''babe, i AM flexible. i read this whole biology book just for you, and i am actually smart so i grasped a bunch of info already. you just tell me what to do, and that's it.'' he gave me the puppy eyes look.

''b-but, that's not what i am talking about. what is your problem with Asher? actually, what is everyone's problem with the guy?!'' i exclaimed out loud, frustration getting the best of me.

''maybe the problem is that you don't see how much of a trouble that guy is.'' he talked, back to his serious state.

''he hasn't done anything bad to me, Noah.'' i argued.

''hell, will i wait for him to harm you in any way?!'' he growled angrily.

''how will we get this project done then?'' my shoulders slumped down in defeat. no way in hell i am gonna be able to win when it comes to this specific topic.

he smiled, ''don't you worry, princess.''

and just like that, we started completing the project, and surprisingly enough he actually knew what he was doing and saying. we ordered more drinks and more food by the time we were finished, but at least now am gonna say good-bye to this freaking project.

''oh it's 8 already.'' i sniffled a yawn, finally relaxing on my chair a bit. he slumped back down on his chair as well, his hair a freaking mess, but again his hair is always perfect.

''thank you so much, Noah for helping me out today, even though Asher woul--'' i was cut off by Noah half standing from his place, just enough to reach out for me, and quickly he devoured my lips in a kiss leaving me in a daze.

''shut up.'' he pecked my lips lightly before sitting back into his place.

he took one of the cookies from his plate, and brought it up to my lips for me to eat. slowly i opened my mouth and took a bite of the lovely soft cookie, and with his thump he cleaned my mouth gently before throwing the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

''ready to go?'' he asked, quietly taking the books from above the table and placing them in my bag.

''yeah.'' i stood up, patted my pants and made sure i had my phone with me. he on the other hand, had my bag on his shoulder, extending his hand out for me to take. smiling like an idiot, i took his hand in mine and together we made our way out to his parked motor-cycle.

he sat down and began to start it, but involuntarily my eyes were glued to the un-usual movement from across the street. the street by now was empty and quiet, so it was really clear that someone was... hiding maybe?

i felt like we were being watched for some unknown reason.

''Emma, are you okay?'' Noah's voice brought me back from my phase.

''y-yes yes, let's go?'' i smiled, to which he smiled back nodding.

XOXO

okay! i can not believe that we reached 1.7K reads! i had to check and restart my wifi just to make sure that this info was right!

okay, i am exaggerating, but come on! a girl gotta be over-dramatic.

i am very happy that this story is finally being read by lots of people and thanks for the ones who voted too!