Trouble with the Devil

The devil saved her (1)

Nora's POV

I strolled down the hallway towards my locker.

Bradford would always have after school hours in the library for students who preferred to study or read.

With no doubt, I was for the latter.

After classes ended, I would always spend one hour in the library to read novels. There was a particular section specifically for the same. Putting the books inside, I locked the door when my eyes trailed on the two figures few lockers ahead.

Liam who was clad in an eggshell white sweatshirt and light blue ripped jeans was leaning against the locker, playing on his cellphone. Next to him was a girl with light brown hair I didn't recognise. She was so breathtakingly beautiful that even as a girl I found it difficult to look away, not to mention the boys around. She was looking for something inside the locker and talking to Liam. Although he was playing on his phone, he occasionally gave her replies, earning a big smile from her. His eyes containing never so seen gentleness in them. From the way they behaved, they seemed pretty close to each other. Standing together, they looked like a perfect couple.

According to what I've heard, Liam never dated anyone from the school as he regarded them as nothing but love-struck fools, which was rather true. But then again, those were just groundless rumours. Although I knew he never lacked women around him, after witnessing it personally, I felt a bit sour.

Without dawdling much, I turned around, not wanting to witness their PDAs anymore when I felt my legs swept up the floor. A pair of powerful hands caught me and spun around, earning a deafening scream from me. The person laughed heartily and put me down. The scowl on my face changed into a huge grin when I looked at the person in front.

Joshua Quinton.

Or Josh as he went by was still dressed in his sports suit. He was not just a typical jock, rather one of the hottest and coolest you'd ever meet.

He had Ink Black hair and a charming pair of dark brown eyes that always crinkled when he smiled. He was almost 6'0 tall.

Of course, his handsomeness was only second to Liam.

He smiled widely and promptly pulled me into his arms.

I returned the hug and patted his torso.

"How are you, Nora? It's been ages since we last met." He squeezed me tightly.

"Just how you left." I replied pulling out of the hug and letting him rest his hands on my arms.

"What about you? Did you just arrive?"

"Yeah! We've won yet another game." He said breaking into a grin.

God! his smile was really the most beautiful thing to exist in this world.

"And why am I not surprised?" I crossed my hands over my chest.

"Of course you're not." he replied laughing. "Let's grab a coffee. There's so much I wanna talk about." He continued, leaving no room for objections.

I nodded, and he grasped my hand, taking me along with him.

As he pulled me away, I could feel someone burning holes in my back. However, when I turned around, I couldn't locate anyone.

I shook my head, assuming I was imagining things yet again.

I first met Joshua in the second semester of our first year in Bradford when we were paired together for an assignment. It didn't take long before we became good friends, surprisingly, as I was never the one to be comfortable around a stranger so quickly. That was mainly because Josh knew his limits. He knew when to stop and give me my space.

He was always respectful, making little to no awkwardness between us. The only person to cheer me up whenever I was in a rotten mood. Taking care of me and the things I cared about. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy his company.

Josh is the best basketball player in the campus. Whichever match he participated in, victory was evident. If opportunity arises, he'd soon take part in the NBA.

Despite that, however, he wasn't the captain of the school's team. When the voting for the captaincy was held, he even won with a score of 16/20 though he declined the position later. With higher position comes greater responsibilities and Josh was like me, who didn't like to be tied down. He's already busy enough, seldom getting time off even when he's not the captain. So imagine the amount of workload he had to shoulder, had he not given up his spot.

Part of it I knew was because of me.

Having shared such a close relation, it wouldn't be surprising to tell Joshua was pursuing me. It was last year, during the annual gala, when he asked me out.

I wasn't shocked to be precise and had seen it coming.

Call it a girl's sixth sense, but I knew he looked at me in a way a man would look at a woman.

Put in a tough spot, I didn't know how to react. Joshua was the best guy one could ever ask for in her partner. The perfect ideal type a girl desired.

In my story, however, he was but The Second Male Lead.

Frankly, I had no reason to turn down his proposal, but still, being the blockhead I am, I did it. That is because I had no feelings for him. It's not like I did not try. We both did go out for several dates. But even then, my heart didn't skip a beat for him. I wasn't selfish to keep him hanging all the time, and hence I confessed my honest thoughts to him. Joshua was rather calm about it. He respected my decision and did not want to force me into anything against my will.

That only made me feel more guilty towards him. He could've had anyone, but still, he chose to fall for me.

Someone who had no place for the word called 'love' in her life. Someone who was immune to all the feelings and emotions when it came to the matter of hearts.

Anyway, we agreed not to push things further and went back to being friends.