Chapter 139 Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Nine
Students and more students packed together in a massive crowd, all of them packed along the parking lot, all of them facing the same direction, all of them with their phones out.
A group of junior girls next to me started squealing. "It's her! It's her!"
"Oh my God, I can't believe she's real!"
"Do you think she'll talk to us?"
Allison stood frozen in the middle of the lot, water still dripping off her, her fists clenched so tight that her knuckles had gone white.
“You get out of that fucking car right now or I swear to fuck, I will ruin you, for doing this!” she screamed. She was glaring at the approaching car with pure, undiluted hatred.
"What the fuck is going on?" I demanded.
Marcus leaned in. "Well… I don’t know if you’ve noticed but your girl has basically achieved celebrity fucking status.”
Donovan finished for him, “Ain't that the truth. I’m telling you, after that viral video of the fight with your cousin and all the drama that went down, everyone wants to see this mystery chick that the two best players at Westbrook are fighting over."
My blood went cold just from hearing him say that, comparing me to that slick bastard. "Since when has Noah been getting called that?"
"Since he helped us win against the Sharks," Donovan said matter-of-factly. "You know we couldn't have done it without him, dude. I hate to admit it but the guy is a fucking beast on the field."
"You know I would've done it if it weren't for my fucked-up leg," I bit out, huffing with frustration.
"Yeah, but I mean, it's still facts at the end of the day," Donovan said with a shrug. "We won because of him. Plus, the guy's a total charmer, so everyone fucking loves him now."
I seethed with rage, wanting nothing more than to punch something, preferably Noah's smug fucking face.
The car, a flashy silver Corvette that probably cost a ridiculous amount of money, pulled slowly into the parking spot. After almost five minutes of waiting, the engine cut off, and the door finally opened.
Noah fucking stepped out like he was auditioning for a goddamn cologne commercial, and the crowd lost their fucking minds.
Girls screamed while the guys called out greetings, and phones flashed nonstop like paparazzi.
I groaned with disgust, already walking away from that bullshit, thinking “Don't you people have anything better to do, for fucks sake!”
Apparently, they didn’t because all of them stopped whatever they were doing before, just to watch Noah walk in.
He was wearing earm sunglasses, a perfectly tailored navy sweater over a crisp white shirt, thousand-dollar khakis, and old money loafers.
He looked like he'd walked straight out of a Ralph Lauren ad, which was fucking weird, especially since I'd never even seen him dress like that before.
I watched in disgust as Noah smiled obnoxiously, wearing the same calm, easy, charming smile that made people think he was a good guy from the beginning.
I kept my eyes on him even as he walked around to the passenger side with infuriating confidence.
Then he opened the door, and who the hell did he let out?
Lena.
My Lena.
Except she didn't look like my Lena anymore, definitely not the same girl in the sweats and hoodie who I’d been dreaming about last night; instead, she looked like someone from another world entirely.
Her hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders, her usual mess of curls now tamed into obedience.
Her makeup was subtle but flawless, just enough to highlight those big doe eyes that had haunted me for months.
She was wearing a small light pink tennis skirt, along with a flawless white button-up shirt. I vaguely remembered Allison commenting on it a long time ago, calling it "clean girl aesthetic” or whatever the fuck.
It was nothing too fancy, but somehow she made it look like high fashion. Even her goddamn shoes looked elegant and put together.
She was breathtaking.
And she was holding Noah's hand.
The cameras started to go crazy, flashes everywhere while students pushed forward, whispering, pointing, and recording every second.
I heard fragments of conversation around me:
"—Is that really her?"
"—the new girl. I heard her dad's the mayor—"
"—no way, someone said she's a model—"
"—Victoria's Secret, I think—"
None of it was true, but I couldn't blame them for believing it.
She looked like she belonged on a runway instead of a high school parking lot. She was also completely unrecognisable as Lena.
Behind them, Nicole's car pulled up along with a junior football player, Jake or John or something driving. I remembered those two, the idiots who had barged into my house last week at four in the morning, looking for Lena.
Nicole was hanging out the window with her professional camera, documenting very seriously, like she was shooting some kind of music video.
They fell into formation beside Noah and Lena, and the four of them started walking toward the school entrance.
It was like watching the fucking Avengers assemble.
"Where the fuck do you think you’re going," Allison sputtered, stepping forward to block their path.
She wiped a patch of mud off her face with one hand, and her eyes narrowed as she suddenly recognised Lena. "You again? Look what you did to my dress! It's designer, you stupid bitch, and you’re going to fucking pay for it."
Lena stopped in her tracks and the whole crowd held their breath.
For a second, just a second, I saw her old self come back. The nervous, scared, helpless girl biting her lip because she was scared.
I watched her shrink back a few steps to make herself smaller, already thinking of an apology.
“Shit.” I scrambled forward to intervene, to put a stop to all this before it went any further.
But then Noah leaned down and whispered something in her ear. His lips brushed against her cheek, and I wanted to rip his fucking head off.
Whatever he told her must’ve worked because Lena's entire demeanour changed. Her spine straightened, her chin lifted stubbornly and her eyes went icy and determined.
“Who are you again?” Lena asked coldly.
“What?” Allison sputtered, “Don’t act like you don’t know me, everyone knows me!”
“Right.” Lena looked directly at Allison, looked down at her, even though they were nearly the same height, and said, her voice clear as a bell: "Well. Thanks for the welcome party, stranger… But you're in my way."
Then she walked forward, her shoulder deliberately checking Allison's as she passed, making her stumble backwards.
While the whole crowd watched, Lena climbed the steps to the school entrance with a proud-looking Noah beside her, leaving Allison in the dust.
Her band of followers gasped with disbelief, and the crowd fucking erupted.
"Holy shit, did you see that?"
"Oh my God, who IS she?"
"I think I'm in love."
"Did Allison just get—"
Allison stood there, mouth hanging open, dripping and humiliated in front of the entire school. "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" she shrieked. "WHO DOES THIS BITCH THINK SHE IS?"
But no one was listening to her anymore. They were all watching Lena disappear through the doors, Noah's arm around her waist, while Nicole and Jake flanked them like bodyguards.
"Shit. Is that the new Lena you want to get back?" Marcus laughed so hard he had to wipe a tear from his eye,"Looks like you've got you work cut out for you!"
"Fuck," I said under my breath. Then louder: "FUCK."
Marcus looked at me, concerned. "Dude, you good?"
No. I wasn't fucking good.
Because I'd just watched the girl I loved walk into school like an empress, on the arm of the person I hated most in the world, while hundreds of people cheered her on.
How the fuck was I supposed to top that?!