No Place Like Home

2 ~ Can't Get Away

No Place Like Home

Chapter Two- Can't Get Away

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Ella shuffled her books in her hand, readjusting them to a more organized fashion as she journeyed onward towards her car which was only feet away. The breeze picked up behind her, immediately taking a stray paper from her hands and blowing it out in front of her.

"Get back here!" Ella squealed as she rushed forward to catch the radical paper that seemed to find joy in flying higher and further out of her reach. She watched as a silhouette came into view, jumping up and snatching the paper out of the air with ease.

Ella closed her eyes, grateful for the unknown person catching what was probably unfinished homework. She sighed in relief, with a smile on her face as she opened her eyes to thank the nice stranger.

"Hello, beautiful." His honey laced voice smacked the smile off faster than she could think of a knock knock joke. Those hypnotizing hazel eyes locked onto her own and his smile grew wider.

"Noah." Ella spoke sternly. She did her best to look annoyed by his sudden appearance, but by the smug expression on his face, she could tell it wasn't working. "Are you going to give me my paper, or are you going to make goo-goo eyes at me all day?"

He let out a pleased chuckle, letting his eyes drift off beyond her and letting his free hand rake through his hair. "Are you always this charming?" His gaze was locked on hers once more. "Or am I an exception?"

"I don't make exceptions." She spoke cooly, glancing down and taking a chance at grabbing the paper from his grasp. He jerked away, a playful grin dancing on his face.

He held up his fore finger, moving it back and forth. "I don't think so, Bug." He relaxed his posture and he checked the time on his watch. Ella ignored the pet name and watched his eyes flicker back up to hers and a cocky look flashed across his face. "I'll make you a deal." Noah suggested.

"I don't want to make a deal." Ella sneered, stepping forward and reaching for the paper. Noah stepped back again and raised his eyebrows in a challenging way. Ella rolled her eyes, shifting the books in her hand. "What do you want?" She growled through a clenched jaw.

"A date," he looked satisfied with his proposal.

"Really?" Ella scoffed, moving her books to the crook of her left arm and running her now free hand through her wild strands of blond waves.

"Well, we have to start slow, Bug, the wedding plans come much later. Unless you want to rush things, I'm not objecting." His joking tone was almost unnoticeable until she caught that mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"You're gonna have to step up your game if you expect me to even consider dating you." Ella paused, deciding she could dominate at this little game he was playing. "Monkey-man,"

It took every ounce of Noah not to laugh at her words. Monkey-man? What was that? He let a muffled laugh escape his lips. "Monkey-man?"

Ella looked away, showing a faltering confidence. "Yeah, Monkey-man. You jumped, caught the- look it doesn't matter," she quickly retorted, only fueling the desire for Noah to let out his suppressed laughter. "I need to go, will you please give me my paper."

"Do you have other plans?" Noah asked curiously, his gaze straying from her eyes to watch her nervously look to the ground.

"No," she mumbled, her gaze refusing to meet his own. Noah smiled hopefully at her answer.

"Good," his words immediately caused her to lift her face up to meet his eyes. "'Cause we have plans." Noah took a step forward and watched her tense at his actions.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She shifted her weight over onto her left foot.

"With you? Anything," Noah answered vaguely. He seemed to be thinking over different things. "Actually, I think I have something good," he smiled devilishly and Ella tried to focus.

"But I-"

"No buts, Bug." Noah let his face slip into a serious expression. "Go put your things in your car and we'll take my truck," he demanded with authority.

"I don't have to-"

"Now," Noah said, raising his eyebrows up and, after a moment, wiggling them in a silly fashion. Ella let a small smile creep onto her face and she sighed in defeat. He held up the paper she so desperately wanted. "This stays with me until the end of our date." Noah smiled at the word.

"Whatever," she mumbled, turning her back on Noah and advancing towards her car. She unlocked the vehicle, gently placing her things in the back, and shutting the door. The car locked behind her as she sluggishly made her way back to Noah. "What now?" Ella asked, attempting to sound bored.

Noah simply smiled, snatching her hand and dragging her as he rushed off.

"Why are we here?" Ella asked bluntly, her eyes shifting from the parked cars to Noah as he put the truck in park.

"I need to grab a few things," was his answer, unbuckling his seat belt and flashing a smile at her.

"Like what kinds of things?" Ella was trying not to sound too interested, but he wasn't as easy to figure out as she had thought.

Noah loved the way her eyes always seemed to look at him with curiosity, the way her lips curled into a small smile when he would say something stupid. Making her laugh had suddenly become a new hobby, and he was enjoying every bit of it.

"Bug," Noah opened up the truck door, letting a foot slide out as he paused to look at her. "Stop asking questions, and let me surprise you."

Ella grumbled at the semi romantic gesture and opened the door to step out. "Surprise me," she mumbled in a mocking voice. "Let me kidnap you away from a night of reading and s'mores and-"

"What are you doing?" Noah interrupted, walking around the bed of the truck to stand a few feet in front of her.

Ella stopped her muttering rant and looked innocently into his eyes. "What?" She asked.

"You can't go in with me," he stated simply. "It'd ruin the surprise part." He emphasized, reminding her of what he had said only minutes before.

"Fine," Ella sighed, opening the door and sliding back in. She shut the door, glancing behind her to watch Noah disappear behind a nearby van on his way inside Wal-Mart. "What is he up to?" She whispered to herself, turning back to look in front of her and took notice of an opened letter on the dashboard.

Noah shoved all the blankets and pillows he could manage in the back seat of his truck, his eyes shifting over to Ella in the passenger seat as she looked at him in wonder. After gathering the necessities at the store, he headed home to pick up a few more essentials.

"No questions, Bug." Noah reminded her. Shutting the back door, walking around and opening the drivers side.

"I didn't ask anything," Ella argued in her defense, narrowing her eyes at him as he buckled his seat belt. He mimicked her expression.

"Are you giving me attitude?" He questioned, letting his seriousness fall and allowing the corners of his mouth to tug up into a grin.

"Just drive, Monkey-man." She breathed out a laugh, leaning against the side of the door and fixating her gaze on the road beyond them.

Noah let out a small laugh, turning the key in the ignition and boosting up the volume on the stereo.

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~Ani