The Art of Falling in Love

Chapter Twenty One

❝And the sweet little angel couldn't keep her eyes off the devil.❞ -4am-reflections via tumblr

Josh's relentless flirting only increased after our dinner, despite me telling him I only think of him as a friend.

"People change their minds all the time," Josh says easily. "I think our dinner was a good step for us. It helped show that I actually have changed. For you."

Noah walks up to us, probably catching my scowl from a mile away. "Hola, douche. Hola, love."

"Noah," Josh acknowledges, smiling nonchalantly. "That reminds me, while you're both here, I'm having a party Saturday night. I'm inviting a bunch of people from both schools, kind of as a way to start my senior year here."

"You're throwing a party to welcome yourself to our school?" Noah asks in disbelief. "Isn't that a little...conceited?"

"Of course it is," Josh scoffs. "But if there's anything this school loves, it's a good party. I'm just helping out my new, fellow classmates."

"Unbelievable," Noah rolls his eyes and turns to me. "You dated a social climber."

I shake my head, but I can't help but laugh a little at them. They are so similar yet different in many ways.

"We'll be there," I assure Josh as Noah groans beside me. "And we'll make sure our friends come, too."

"Great," Josh exclaims. He smirks a little, "and Noah...bring your sister."

Josh sends me a wink as though we share an inside joke, but I'm just surprised he is bold enough to bring up what happened during Spring Break. Josh walks away, and I can feel the annoyance radiating off of Noah.

"Why is he talking about my sister?" Noah frowns. "I didn't even know they knew each other."

Oh Noah, if only you knew their past.

Instead of telling him the whole truth, I simply shrug. "Josh says weird things. I wouldn't think too much about it." I am not in the mood to make sure Noah doesn't kill Josh.

Noah still looks bothered, but he doesn't say anything else about the subject. "The grad trip is next week. Is Josh going?"

"I don't want to know," I groan. "It's a little late to sign up, but knowing Josh, he can charm his way into anything."

The grad trip is during the second week of December for four nights. Despite my initial reluctance to go, I'm actually pretty excited now. Four nights of just friends and snowboarding. Could it get better than that?

❀ ❀ ❀

Joshua knows how to throw a party. A bunch of Westside students are at his party, as well and Harley also ended up coming, despite me hinting that it may not be the best idea. Noah isn't too happy about it either, but the girl is sixteen; no one else makes decisions for her.

"I hate to admit it, but Joshua throws a good party," Alyce crosses her arms, analyzing the giant home. "I wonder if Superman is here?"

Hunter glares at her while she smirks, successfully making him jealous. Those two are too much for me. They really need to just start dating.

"He is," Josh appears beside me, and I feel his hand resting on my lower back. I give him a warning side glance but all he does is wink at me. "Glad you guys could make it."

"Paws off, douche," Noah says. He's holding a red solo cup in one hand and the other hand guides me out of Josh's hold. The motion almost makes me drop my drink; he is so distracting. "Don't think just cause Diana's getting drunk tonight means you can take advantage of her."