Two Weeks to Fall in Love

9. Two Weeks to Science the Love

Noah was humming to the tune of every song that played on the radio while I nervously pulled on my sleeves.

So close to my house... yet so far.

A date. I couldn't remember the last time I went on a date.

Dreadfully, I did remember the one time I went to the movies with my crush when I was twelve, and my mother insisted we couldn't go alone. So, of course, she bought tickets for the seats right behind us, and kept making unnecessary awkward comments during the movie just to ensure that we both knew she was there. He never asked me out again, naturally.

After that I wasn't exactly in any hurry to date. Which, now that I think about it, might have been her plan all along.

"So where are we going tonight?" My voice was dry when I spoke. The unease I was feeling about absolutely everything making the desire to jump out of the moving car blossom within my chest.

"Hm, let's keep it a surprise. But you can dress casual, if that's why you're asking. Just wear whatever is comfortable," he said, his lips pulled up in a cocky smile.

Wear whatever, he said. Just be comfortable, he said.

Great. That's just great.

The only problem was that wearing whatever wasn't really an option for me.

Could I have just worn anything from my closet? Sure. Sure I could have.

Would I do that? No, of course freaking not.

Dating Noah felt like I was a lone soldier on the battlefield of love, and every soldier needed a uniform, preferably equipped with some sort of armour. Considering he seemed to know that I did not, in fact, like him very much -- or at all really -- it meant I had to adjust my battle strategy. He wouldn't just open up and reveal his secrets to someone he knew disliked him. No, of course not. He was smarter than that, that much I could acknowledge.

Which meant I would now have to convince Noah I was falling for him, and simultaneously do what no other girl at high school has managed to achieve in the past year.

I needed to make Noah Archer fall in love with me.

Was it an impossible task? Probably.

Did I have confidence I could achieve it? Not even remotely.

Would I try my best to science the love out of him? Absolutely.

Unconsciously nodding my head to my own internal resolutions, my face scrunched up with planning, I barely noticed we had parked in front of my house.

"You looked like a cartoon villain just now." The comment caught me off guard and my head immediately snapped in Noah's direction. My eyes instantly took in that usual sparkle in his eye, the annoying grin that seemed to be his default setting. It took my brain a second to recover, but when I did, I put the biggest grimacing smile on my face that I could muster.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware I needed to have a perpetual smile in your presence," I said, widening my eyes.

Noah's eyes widened as well, his face changing from shock to laughter within seconds.

"That is terrifying. Never do that again, please." He chuckled, clasping his hands into a pleading gesture to annunciate his desperate request.

Relaxing that deadly smile, I raised my eyebrows at him once before opening the car door. Before I could leave, I felt his hand grasp mine, and turned to face him.