Rainbow Stripes

five

That sassy look ^-^

Emma dreaded Monday morning, because she dreaded meeting Noah. 

It didn't matter whether she was right, Emma concluded when she got home, it mattered how you said it. And nobody wanted to hear the truth the way Emma just threw it in his face.

Not everyone wants to hear the truth, Em. At least not the way you threw it at him.  

She tortured herself with contemplating his reactions when they next saw each other all of Sunday. Even her father noticed something was off, but she brushed him off, told him it was nothing. 

Despite her wishes, Monday came, and Emma reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and drove to school. She maneuvered through the crowd of teenagers and made it to homeroom, where she plopped herself next to Hollie.

"Why do you look like you saw a ghost?" Hollie asked.

"You know why." 

At first, the redhead looked confounded, but then she realized what Emma meant. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No! I can talk to him myself." Emma gushed, flustered. Hollie snickered, but said nothing else. 

School started, and Emma did her best to avoid Noah till recess. She didn't give him her customary smile in Physics, she barely glanced at him in History. She sat next to Hollie and kept her head down throughout the lessons. 

She was anxious about recess, for it would be harder then to stay away from Noah. And so when the bell rang, Emma visibly flinched. Hollie threw her an odd look, but said nothing, and they both made a beeline for the cafeteria in silence.

They were a few feet away from the cafe doors when Emma heard her name being called out. "Emma!" 

Oh crap! She shouldered her bag and tried to walk as fast as she could through the swarm in front of her to get away from Noah. But he caught up with her, stopping her by placing a hand on her bare shoulder.

She spun around, on edge due to the unexpected touch. She relaxed minutely when she realized that it was Noah, but then tensed, realizing that it was Noah.

"Hey, are you avoiding me?" Noah asked, his eyebrows furrowed in distress. Emma wanted to coo at his expression.

"No," she let out obnoxiously, making her sound guilty. She tried again. "No, no I'm not avoiding you. This just isn't exactly the most appropriate place to talk." She pointed out, gesturing with her eyes at the horde of people around them.  

"Yeah, you're right." Phew, I can actually get out of this one. "Let's go outside, then. I really need to talk to you." 

Fuck. "Sure," she threw him a fake bright smile, "Let's go."

*

Emma's heart was in her throat when they were alone in the field outside the school. Her fingers  were moving on their own accord, sometimes clenching into a fist, other times stretched out like spider webs. She was on edge, and she knew there was only one way this anxiety would end.