Listen To Me

chapter 11 ⋆ catch me

Noel

"Okay, Breakfast Club." Arden claps, beaming all over. "Commencement of first meeting is a go. How's everyone doing?"

Jax and I decided to gather our allies into the empty Sociology room. Jax and I are standing on the left side of the room, holding hands because I need the support. On the right side of the room, Emily's sitting at a table. Georgia leans against the wall behind Emily, her arms crossed.

Arden, being the dramatist he is, wanted to be the leader. So we gave him the teacher's chair.

Georgia frowns at Arden, her eyeliner looking stellar as per usual. "Can you be serious for one second?" she complains to him.

"He can't." Jax concludes, folding his arms. His golden hair gleams in the sunlight cast from the windows.

"Arden's kind of cute, though." Emily mouths at me with a smile. I'm actually grateful that she's here.

Arden's eyes are sharp, and he catches her compliment, smiling back at her. "Thanks. Who are you, by the way?"

Emily flushes. "I'm Noel's friend, Emily."

"But I'm Noel's friend." Arden replies, looking confused.

I raise my hand. "You know I can have more than one friend, right?"

"But you only have one best friend." Emily tells me.

"And it's me." Arden pipes up.

Emily glares at him. "No, it's me."

"Can we get back to the important stuff?" Georgia asks, her low voice silencing everyone. "Great. Noel, what's the deal?" she says, her eyes focused on mine.

I steady my breathing, then I speak. As I tell everyone about my struggle with alcohol, I try not to focus on their expressions. But when I finish, Arden's looking at me with sympathy. Emily's eyes are teary. But Georgia and Jax are my rocks. Their eyes are fixed on mine, unwavering in their focus.

I'm so grateful for these people. As I look around, I only see concern for my wellbeing. My health. A few months ago, I had none of this. Years ago, I had a bleak imitation of friendship hanging over me.

"So I'm getting blackmailed by this guy named Mason. He bullied me for the past two years." I conclude. "He wants me to break up with Jax in two days, or he's going to snitch about my alcohol cabinet."

Jax's hand tightens around mine, but he doesn't say anything. Arden snorts. "Mason's a dickwad. Remind me why we're taking him seriously?"

"Because he knows about Noel's alcohol stock. We can't get rid of the bottles without getting caught." Jax answers impatiently. "I don't want her to get in trouble because of his idiocy."

"We've got your back, Noel." Georgia says supportively, brushing her long hair over her shoulders. "You can count on us."

"So what's the plan?" Emily asks the group, folding her arms.

"Get a shovel and dig Mason's grave." Arden answers. Jax hits his arm and Arden recoils, scowling at his best friend. "I was joking. Obviously you have to kill him before you dig the grave."

"Ignoring Arden's bloodthirst," Georgia brushes his comment off, "I think I might have an idea."

"Go ahead, Georgia." I encourage, and she smiles at me.

"How do you get rid of a blackmailer?" Georgia asks the group at large. When no one answers, she rolls her eyes. "You blackmail them back, obviously. Am I the only smart one here?"