Chapter 75 — Lock Me in the Moment

Emily's POV

As I made my way out of my last class, a smile made its way on my lips at the thought of seeing Noah again. Obviously, I had seen him two periods ago, but I missed him already.

Talk about being pathetic.

I walked down the hallway, smiling like a creep, might I add, looking around for Noah when I saw Nichole and her minions making their way towards me. 

Here we go again. 

She 'accidentally' bumped into me and I stumbled back. 

"Look who is it. Oh, it's the one who steals other's boyfriends," Nichole said, loud enough for all the eyes in the hallways to turn to us. 

"Noah was never your boyfriend," I sneered, and she laughed humorlessly.

"Oh, and what? You think he's yours?" she clapped her hands together and threw her head back in a mocking laugh. 

"Y-yes," I stuttered as she took a step dangerously close to my liking. 

"If he kissed you once doesn't mean you own him already. Watch him throw you out like garbage," she said in a voice cold and low that made me sulk my shoulders down in defeat.

"And what if she does?" an oh-so-familiar voice said from behind and my heart jumped out of my throat and a grin made its way to my lips. 

I knew I was safe.

Noah came and stood right beside me with a cold and angered expression on his face. He snaked his arm around my waist and tugged me to his chest in a protective manner. 

"Oh please, we all know how are you gonna throw her out when you're done playing around with this naive little wrench," Nichole rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing ever stated and it felt as if Noah was seconds away from spitting fire.

"Don't ever talk about her like that," Noah's voice was so cold and hard that an involuntary shiver ran down my spine and goosebumps rose all over my skin. 

"And what are you going to do about it?" she challenged and Noah smirked.

"Oh, nothing much other than releasing a video you wouldn't want to be released," Noah's smirk grew wider and Nichole's eyes filled with fear and she stumbled back.

"What are you t-talking about?" she fumbled on her words and for a second my curiosity got the best of me and I was about to ask Noah about what video was he talking about when my senses got back and I internally smacked myself for being so stupid.

"Don't you remember? Kyle's party, Ezra the footballer and y—"

"You wouldn't dare," she cut him off with eyes wide with horror.

"Try me," Noah smirked as nonchalance dripped from his every word. 

Nichole gulped down and took a step back. She averted her eyes from Noah to me and all I saw in them was nothing other than rage and anger. She glared at me for a good three seconds and then without much of another word, spun on her heels and walked away. 

Noah turned towards me and his expressions replaced with something that can only be read as adoration and longing.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he cupped my cheek with his hand.

"Perfectly fine," I grinned and he smiled, making my heart go crazy inside my chest. 

I could never get used to it. 

"What was all of that about?" I asked and Noah sighed.

"Not now. I'll tell you some other day. Really not in a mood right now," he said and I nodded. 

He interlaced his fingers with mine and started walking towards the exit with me following behind. 

Being with Noah seemed casual and easy that I didn't have to worry about pretending and being judged about anything. If I was sad, I was sad, I didn't have to fake a smile to let him know that I was okay when I was not. I knew he would always understand me no matter what I said or did, and honestly, I still didn't know what I did to have him in my life. 

We reached the parking lot with hands clasped together and all the eyes our way. Noah was a new student plus he was undeniably hot and cool that girls wished to be with him and boys envied him. Since the day Noah had come, he never hung out with a girl other than me and of course, people made different kinds of assumptions of me being his cousin or girlfriend from day one. 

Some even said that I was his step-sister. 

What a bunch of losers.

But today when Noah kissed me in the corridor, in front of everyone, people finally got the answer to their question and I even heard that Noah had officially called me his girlfriend in front of all the football team. 

People weren't done staring yet but at this point in my life, I really didn't care about them anymore. Surely they would get used to it and forget it in a while, finding themselves another hot topic to spread rumors about. 

Noah stopped in front of his bike and only then I realized that we were out in the far end of the parking lot when he let go of my hand. 

He cheekily smiled at me and took his bike out, making me want to lean at it and stare at him all I wanted. 

When did I become so pathetic, again?

He sat on the bike right in front of me and grinned. I knew what was going in his head right now and I wanted nothing more than to smack his head with my school back. 

No, forget it. 

"Every time we come across this situation, my mind goes back to when you first sat on this bike with me," Noah's smile was distant, as if back to where his thoughts were. 

"Yeah, and you don't need to mention that every time," I rolled my eyes but somehow I wasn't annoyed at him anymore rather happy that he remembered all that. 

"God, I remembered how you used to blush and stutter whenever I was around," he teased and chuckled lightly.

I wanted to tell him how I still did that but knew better than to make more fun of myself in front of him so decided to stay silent. 

"You still do by the way," Noah winked and circled around the bike to stand right by my side. 

This boy knew how to read minds. 

"You know you can stop teasing me, right?" I said and he chuckled again. 

"And where would be the fun in that?" he winked and said against my hair as he picked me up by my waist to make me sit on the bike. 

"Lunatic," I muttered and he placed a soft kiss on the top of my head, making my body melt in his arms. 

"But you know I'll always love the way you blush," Noah smiled and my heart swelled with warmth and love. 

I wanted to tell him that I loved him too, that it had always been him, that there always had been a reason why I became a stuttering mess around him. The words were on my tongue but I just couldn't let them out. I just couldn't. 

He sat me down on the bike and sat down himself too. Roaring the bike up, he sped off to our place. 

I wrapped my arms around him tighter than I had ever. Not because I was scared but because I knew that I could. I knew that he wasn't going anywhere and he was here, right beside me. That I had the right to call him mine. 

We reached our houses, much to my dismay and Noah got off the bike when my phone chimed in my jeans. I had been getting texts and calls since morning but I didn't have time to check them out with all the classes and ....stuff. 

That included staring at Noah. 

I took my phone out of my pocket and frowned when I saw fifteen text messages and six calls, all from Aaron. 

I sighed as I opened the chat and read his messages. 

"What's up with the sad face?" Noah nudged my shoulder and I looked up at him and smiled. 

"Nothing," I shook my head as he picked me from the ground and sat my feet on the ground. 

"You know you can't lie to me right?" he held my hands in his and gave them a light squeeze. 

"It's Aaron," I sighed and I felt Noah's muscles tense up.

"What does he want?" Noah asked, his voice devoid of any emotion. 

"He's sorry," I whispered and let my head rest against Noah's chest. I didn't know what to do and how to respond to both of them. 

Forgiving Aaron would be a hard step for me but I knew deep down that I had to do it or else I would never be able to move on. But I just didn't know how to. Holding grudges would get me nowhere but only if forgiving was this easy. 

"What do you want?" Noah asked and this time his voice was soft and gentle that told me that he knew how much I was struggling with all of this already. 

"I don't know. I want to forgive him but I don't know how to," I whispered as Noah held my face in his hands and made me look at him. 

"It's alright to feel this way. Give yourself a break you'll know what to do when the time comes," he smiled and I nodded my head. 

He captured my lips in a soft and gentle kiss and curled my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. He pulled me closer to his chest as his hands roamed all over my body. All I needed was him at the moment and the way he was kissing me told me he knew that too. I let my senses fill up with him. His scent, his taste, everything about him. 

Noah somehow made everything cease to exist when he kissed me and honestly if I had a choice I would never want this moment to end. 

Shut the world and lock me in the moment.