Say It's Me ☾ Charles Leclerc

23 | Glad to hear

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Justin Jesso - If You're Meant To Come Back:
'I know what I say to get you to stay the night. Sleepin' by your side like the old times but it's better for me if I set you free to decide. Either way, we're gonna be alright, alright, yeah'

"I'm going to the toilet before we head out, okay?" Sophie said while she stood up from her seat and before Noelle could even stop her, the brunette girl was already walking away. It surprised Noelle how much of a rollercoaster it had been to see Charles again today. At first, she was shocked as she hadn't seen him in so long. The near proximity of his body to hers, not really helping with that. She had been a little angry still, but as they were talking, the comforting feeling of his presence had calmed her down and the warm expression his eyes gave her was already making her forgive his actions. But now they were alone at the table together again and Noelle felt more nervous than ever. 'Was he feeling the same? Should she say something or is it best to just wait for Sophie to come back?' 

But before she could even begin to think about something to say, Charles spoke up already: "So you're with that Stephan guy now?" He sounded genuinely interested, but Noelle could nearly taste the judgment and the hint of jealousy in his question. She was shocked that this was the first thing he mentioned as if he had been waiting for an opportunity to ask her this question. Noelle hesitated a while before she answered because she wasn't really sure what to tell him but mostly because she didn't even know the answer herself. "We've been on dates, yeah. But we're not officially together or anything". It was the truth so she just decided to go with that. Charles nodded, his eyes looking down at his hands that were playing with his empty mug. 

"I know I have no right to ask you this, but.." He still wasn't looking at her and his voice had gotten softer as if he was afraid to say the next words. "Are you happy?" Noelle furrowed her brows at his question. She didn't understand where this was coming from all of a sudden seeing as he hadn't spoken to her in forever. 'Why would he suddenly be interested in her happiness?' She thought about her answer for a moment, considering all the feelings she had felt over the last few weeks. Of course, she had been hurt when Charles left without saying anything or when he didn't respond to her text messages for weeks. Noelle felt betrayed when she had seen the Instagram Stories of him partying in a different club, immediately confirming he was just trying to avoid her. 

She had felt stressed with the deadline for school projects and of course, the fashion show that was coming up. The last few weeks had been filled with exams and tying together loose ends, contributing to the many sleepless nights Noelle had experienced lately. She hadn't seen much of the outside world, making her feel low on energy and to be quite frank, lonely. But the overwhelming feeling she experienced right now was happiness. Since she managed to pass all of her exams and finish sewing the three dresses that would decide if she graduated or not. Noelle had visited Julie, her childhood nanny and she had been meeting with Sophie to brainstorm about their brand. She had started taking late-night walks to get outside more and it gave her so much peace.

The dates she had been on with Stephan had been nothing but lovely, the butterflies flying through her stomach when she thought about their first kiss or the first time he had spent the night at her house. They hadn't had sex yet, as Noelle didn't want to rush anything but their relationship was progressing steadily, even if it wasn't really a relationship yet. So when it was time for Noelle to answer his question, she nodded, letting Charles know that she was, in fact, happy. His eyes were compassionate when she answered, a small smile showing on his face and he looked genuine and sincere. "I'm glad to hear that". He said and Noelle felt a small blush rise to her cheeks at the nice moment they just shared. She was sure that there was more to why he had suddenly left and that he would tell her about it when the time was right, so she decided to let it go for now.