The rest of the weekend flew by in a blur, leaving more questions and fewer answers. Bella had been pacing the kitchen since Friday night, anxiously waiting for Jacob to call her; she was worried about him being sick at the movies. Something inside me knew part of the reason Jacob wasn't answering our phone calls was because of Noah.

Our almost kiss kept replaying in my head as I tried to focus on keeping myself busy at the bakery. I didn't know how I felt about it and I hadn't heard from Noah as the weekend turned into Monday morning. What if Noah was avoiding me because he realized he didn't like me? What if it's awkward at school? Would that mean I'd have to change lab partners?

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Mom's voice broke through my thoughts. I jumped, unaware that I had zoned out.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying my best to remain calm and act innocent. Mom gave me her "don't play dumb" look.

"You've been out of it ever since Noah left Friday night. Did something happen? Did you get into a fight?"

"No," I sighed, laying down my fork next to my plate as I finished my omelette. "I think... Noah almost kissed me. But a pair of headlights flashed across us as the car passed, and it was Jacob."

"Oh, Leaf." Mom patted my hand. "Is that why you've been moping around here?"

"Jacob isn't returning my or Bella's phone calls. Something just feels... off. I don't know how to explain it."

"Give him a few days. If he doesn't answer by the end of the week, go over and talk to him. And go talk to Noah, if you're worried about your friendship." Mom smiled before turning to the coffee pot. "Communication is best in any kind of relationship. Remember that."

"I will." I looked at the clock. "I have to go before I'm late. Love you, Mom!"

"Love you, baby girl. Don't forget to talk to him!" She called as I ran out the door.

As I pulled into my parking space ten minutes later, my eyes scanned the sea of students and vehicles. Noah's truck wasn't in the parking lot, nor was he with his friends. A mixture of disappointment and sadness swelled in my chest and I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat, hurrying into the school and to my locker.

"Have you heard from Noah yet?" Angela asked just as I yanked my locker open.

"No," I sighed. "Radio silence all weekend."

I called Angela Friday night as soon as I left Bella's and told her everything; I needed girl talk and as much as I loved Bella, I knew it would make her uncomfortable. Calling Jessica had been out of the question; we hadn't spoken much since we went to the movies with Bella.

"Maybe he was busy. Or waiting for you to call him first."

"Maybe," I said before groaning. "I don't even know why I'm all worked up over it. It could've just been a 'heat-of-the-moment' kind of thing... maybe he's not actually into me like that."

"Do you like him like that?" Angela asked. "More than a friend?"

"Honestly... I have no idea." I shook my head, feeling foolish. "I mean, it's nice being around him. He can make me laugh and we enjoy being around each other. I just... I didn't see myself getting attached to anyone after Reed. And with everything being complicated with Jacob... it wouldn't be fair to anyone, would it?"

"Can I be honest with you?" Angela waited until I nodded for her to continue. "I think that if you have feelings of any kind for Noah, you owe it to yourself to see where it goes. You deserve to have someone who's completely all about you, and I know you like Jacob but it could take him months or years to figure out his feelings for you and Bella. Why waste an opportunity to be happy with someone, ya know... we're only seventeen once."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way after Friday night?"

"Well, why don't you go ask him?" Angela nodded down the hall, and I turned to see Noah standing at his locker with a few of his friends.

He was laughing at something one of them had said, a big grin across his face. Our eyes met, and his grin turned into a soft smile. Somehow, I knew he wasn't mad about Friday; he was just giving me space.

"What are you thinking?" Angela asked, her voice laced with curiosity and concern.

"Something crazy and completely not me," I admitted, staring at my locker before glancing back at Noah.

"Oh. Oh!" Angela's eyes grew twice their size as the light bulb clicked in her head. "Are you sure that's what you want to do? Right now?"

"Will you stay here for a minute?" I smiled mischievously as she nodded. Without a second thought, I headed for Noah.

"Hey, Lodgeman! You forgot something at my house Friday."

"What?" His brows wrinkled together in confusion.

"This."

I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him toward me, our lips molding against each other almost perfectly. His friends started to whoop and holler as I poured everything I had into the kiss, making sure Noah got the message. As soon as I released his shirt, I turned and walked away, the feeling of satisfaction washing over me. Angela was giggling as I reached her, glancing over my shoulder.

"I don't think he saw that coming."

"I don't think so either." I grinned at her before turning toward the sound of my name being called. Noah was grinning from ear to ear as he stayed rooted to the spot by his locker, his friends high-fiving each other.

"Damn, Watson."

"I can't believe you kissed Noah Lodgeman in the middle of the hallway!" Jessica squealed. Everyone knew what happened by lunch, and I was still surprised that I did it.

"Well, he should've kissed her Friday night," Angela scoffed. Jessica's jaw dropped.

"He almost kissed you?!?!?"

"Shush," I covered her mouth with my hand, glancing around the cafeteria. "The whole school doesn't need to know about that."

"Wait, why didn't he kiss you Friday?" Jessica asked, lowering her voice as a group of cheerleaders walked by.

"They were interrupted by Jacob." Angela whispered, filling her in.

"Oh my god. What about Jacob? Aren't you still crushing on him?"

"I don't know about him. He seems to be interested in someone else." I said, toying with my salad. Before Jessica could say anything else, Bella and Mike sat down at the table, talking about Biology.

"So what are you going to do about lab partners?" Mike directed to me. "Heard you laid quite the kiss on Lodgeman this morning."

"I did." I beamed. "And if Noah is uncomfortable with being my lab partner, then I'll just ask to switch. It's no big deal."

"What's no big deal?"

Noah plopped down into the seat next to Mike and smiled at my friends, who were all grinning like idiots. I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Switching lab partners if you were uncomfortable working together after this morning." I managed to say with stuttering.

"Autumn," he said, waiting to continue until I looked at him, "I'm not going to switch lab partners. Because let's be honest, that kiss was... mind-blowing."

My cheeks flushed at the compliment. Noah gave me a smirk and cleared his throat.

"I'm actually here because I wanted to ask you, would you go on a date with me?"

"I would love to," I smiled at him.

"How about Friday night, 7 pm?"

Before I could answer, for some reason I looked outside the windows on the other side of the cafeteria and saw Jacob standing in the rain. His expression was hard, his eyes full of anger and betrayal. As we made eye contact, he spun around and took off. My body was already rising out of my chair before my brain figured out what was happening.

"I, uh, I have to go. Bella," I turned toward her, my eyes pleading with her, "we have to go."

"Okay," she said, getting up as quickly as I did. Without another word, we bolted from the cafeteria to our lockers, grabbing everything we needed.

As we clambered into Bella's truck, I could tell she knew where we were going as soon as the words came out of my mouth.

"He's not sick anymore."