Two Weeks to Fall in Love

11. Two Weeks to Sing the Songs

It felt like I was losing control.

No, that wasn't it.

It felt like I was never actually in control in the first place, and that was an unexpectedly terrifying notion. As I lay in bed after our stargazing date, I tried to figure out where I made some fatal mistake. This wasn't how things were supposed to go, especially considering I still hadn't found a single flaw, or discovered even one troubling secret.

Worse still, whenever I thought about how warm his hand was as he held mine, my throat closed up. When I remembered how beautiful his eyes were with the stars reflecting in them, my heart quickened.

Those were not the reactions I was hoping to have toward one Noah Archer after two days.

Two days.

How did it already feel like it had been two weeks?

I slapped my cheeks with my hands, needing to snap myself out of this Noah-induced haze. This was the exact reason why I went on this mission and took it upon myself to uncover the true face of Noah Archer. He wielded his charm like a weapon, cutting down the hearts of lovesick girls that, even after they were cast aside, still whimpered at his feet.

The memory of Lily's tear-stained face cut through me like a knife, a rude awakening. There was no way I could forgive any boy that made her look at me with tears in her eyes and a sad smile that hid heartbreak.

That's exactly what I needed right now. I needed to remind myself why I was doing this.

Grabbing my phone, I shot Lily a message asking whether she was still awake and if she had a few minutes to talk. A few seconds later, instead of a reply, my phone started buzzing with an incoming call.

"How was your date with Noah?" she asked, instantly, her voice way too bubbly for such a late hour.

"Hi to you too Lily." I muttered, rolling my eyes at her curiosity.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so... the date?" she repeated, turning down a BTS song that was playing in the background.

Letting out a sigh, I sat up, crossing and uncrossing my legs as the bed squeaked under my restlessness.

"Sky?"

"Yeah, I'm here." I said, biting down on my lip. "It was... okay. Went on a picnic, saw some stars, drank some apple juice."

Lily was quiet for a second before she burst out laughing, "Skyler, what's with your reaction? That sounds like a dream date. Like the kind you see in romance movies, not real life."

"Exactly! That's exactly what I was thinking." I exclaimed, suddenly excited, "It does sound like a date from some movie, which is why I was thinking, maybe he's just copying stuff from a movie, you know? Maybe that's his big thing like, he picks a rom-com and then he reenacts it with whatever girl he's dating."

The silence on the other side made it clear Lily didn't share my enthusiasm about this new revelation.

"Sky, that sounds crazy, come on."

"It's not that crazy! I mean what 18-year-old guy would do something like this?" I said, pressing my lips together in a pout.

"Noah Archer, that's who." Snorting, I rolled my eyes. Lily clicked her tongue, impatiently. "Are you seriously complaining about the fact that Noah is too mature for his age?"

"Yes! No. I don't know, maybe?" What was I complaining about, actually? I narrowed my eyes, before adding, "He made you cry."

"Okay...." I could basically hear the frown that was on her face. "So did those sentimental Christmas commercials with old people, but I don't see you sending them hate mail."