“I should’ve told you how I felt, should’ve told you I’d considered you my girlfriend from like age five and up. I should’ve given you the world. I should’ve made you feel special.”
Letting out a long breath, I replay all the times Noah made me feel special—the memories flowing through my head like a movie.
“Crap!” I groan, trying to make sense of my tangled yarn. I was so excited to make my mom a hat, but it’s gone all wrong …
I chew my lip trying to decide if I should rip it all out and start over.
Noah steps into the room, taking in the tornado of tangles.
“What did you do?” He laughs.
“I’m trying to learn how to crochet … and I got too ambitious and now it looks like … this.” I hold up my failed work.
Noah shrugs, moving towards me. “Ah, that’s easy to fix. Here, let me help you.”
I try not to smile too big. “I thought you and Connor were going to play video games.”
“Psh, he can wait. You’ll always come first!” Noah replies, nudging my shoulder with a smirk on his face. “Just don’t tell him I said that.”
“Hey, what's wrong?” He drops his backpack on the ground, striding towards me as I cover my eyes, frowning.
“Jessica called me a ‘brown-nosing goody two-shoes’ in front of the class,” I whisper, half-debating hiding my head in my locker.
Noah leans against the locker beside mine.
“Fuck Jessica!” he says it so enthusiastically that I can’t help but laugh. He squeezes my shoulder before adding, “But for the record, that’s code for you being a smart ass … and that’s accurate.”
I shake my head, shoving his arm as a smile fills my face. “Shut up.”
His finger taps my nose. “Nah. If it makes you smile, it’s worth saying.”
Noah’s sitting in the stands alone with a faraway expression on his face, so I move towards him.
“Hey, No. You okay?” The team lost pretty badly today, but he’s beating himself up more than usual and I don’t get why.
He blinks a few times before turning to face me, opening his right fist. “My clover ripped.”
I look down to see it in his hand.
“I can fix that, easy-peasy,” I promise him.
“Really?” His blue eyes fill with appreciation.
“Of course.”
He’s quick to pull me into a tight hug. “Thank you! I’d hate to lose my good luck charm. Especially when one of my favorite people in the world made it for me.”
“Auddie, you look absolutely beautiful,” he whispers as I reach him. I stare down at my Junior Prom dress, blushing. The gym is decorated with pink hearts and streamers, but all I can focus on is him.
I take in his navy blue suit. “Thank you. You look dapper tonight.”
“Thanks.” He looks down at his watch before smirking at me. “You’re just in time.”
“For what?”
“To dance with me, silly.”
“Going in?” Noah asks, coming to stand at the water’s edge with me.
