Divided We Stand, United We Fall

Chapter 14

Lauren woke up with a dull throbbing in her heart. She groaned and turned around. Noah wasn't beside her. She really regretted what she had done yesterday. She wanted to make it up to him. She knew that she had upset him. She had obviously hit a nerve by calling him a freak. He didn't deserve any of what she called him.

Speak of The Devil, Noah walked in, towel wrapped around his waist. It was evident that he had just been in the shower. Noah looked at Lauren, blankly, before opening up a rosewood wardrobe that contained, to his delight, casual wear (kind of). His wet hair was dripping down his back as he turned the opposite way to Lauren to get dressed. He slipped on a graphic T-shirt. Lauren stared at him transfixed with the thought of what she was going to do to make the whole situation better.

"If you are done staring, I'd like to get dressed."He grumbled. Lauren almost chuckled at this but the way he said it was all too serious. She turned around so that she was facing away from him.

"Noah, about yesterday, I'm really---"

"I don't want to hear about it, Lauren." Noah interrupted, causing the conversation to end abruptly. With that, Lauren felt three emotions sadness, embarrasment and frustration.

"Noah, you can't keep on shutting me out like this. I've apologised, what more do you want me to do? "

"Lauren..."

"Don't you 'Lauren' me! I really care about you and when I make one mistake. One slip of the tongue, you blank me!"

"Look just listen to m---"

"And by doing this to me it proves that you don't l---" It was Noah's turn to interrupt. He crashed his lips into hers bringing one wet hand to the side of her face.

Lauren's eyes opened wider than an owl's. What was he doing? Why was he kissing her? She honestly thought that he hated her. He pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"Shut-up." He smiled, pecking her nose and then continued to get dressed. Noah seemed bipolar to Lauren. One second ago, he was all cold and held almost a kind of hatred towards Lauren. Now he had just kissed her. He slipped on his trousers, loose shorts and then looked at Lauren once again.

He had forgiven her of course. Who wouldn't. She was his first love. It pained him to hold a grudge. If the world didn't hold grudges, many people would be healthier, better human beings. Noah smiled at the thought that Lauren thought that Noah was ever capable of hating her. Sure, it hurt his feelings when she had said he was a freak but he loved the girl, Lauren with all of his heart and nothing was going to change that.

He rubbed his hair with a towel causing his darkened-blond hair to frizz. It was easier to dry that way. His violet eyes twinkled as he looked at Lauren who hadn't said a word sinced he had kissed her.

"It's strange how there are clothes here but no one happens to live here." Noah explained, randomly.

"Yeah." Lauren replied, her voice raspy from not speaking in such a long time.

"By the way, we will be leaving in approximately, two hours." She heard the disgust laced in his voice when he said the word 'approximately'. That was his OCD acting up again. The fact of there not being a clock in the place was really quite bugging him. Lauren nodded and headed to the bathroom to get washed.

____

When they were both dressed (Lauren was wearing jeans and a large T-shirt) they decided to leave. This was totally understandable to Lauren as he had dreams last night about being taken back to that God forsaken facility.

As they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, they felt it more and more difficult. They were getting hungry, the mountain was getting steeper and the trees were getting thicker.

"Noah, can we stop, please? I'm so tired." Lauren begged. Noah reluctantly slowed.

"L-Lauren. Ugh! I'm so hungry. We haven't eaten for ages." He groaned, rubbing, slowly across his stomach.

"Maybe we should eat that mushroom over there." Lauren suggested, pointing to a group of red, white spotted fungi. They approached the shrooms.

"No stay away from those mushrooms!" A foreign voice yelled. It was too late though. They collapsed to the floor. Falling unconscious.

~~~~~

Noah was the first go slowly be brought back to consciousness. He was in a foreign room. Lauren wasn't there. He sat on the bed and looked around the room. It was a bedroom with floral walls and salmon floor. If he knew more about women, he would compare the room to a little girls' dollhouse. It was too pink and smelt like some sickeningly sweet perfume.

His head ached and as he got out of the bed his balance was distorted. He meandered down the corridors. They seemed endless. He entered a random room, happy that they were push doors. A girl with bright red hair was sleeping on a bed that was pink, it made him feel sick.

He walked up to the girl and shook her awake. The girl's eyes fluttered open. She looked at him and sighed.

"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice was annoyingly high-pitched. She sounded rude.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Noah decided.

"Ugh fine, I'm Stella." The girl rolled her eyes, rude and obnoxious.

"I'm Noah, nice to meet you." He said, politely.

"Whatever, what are you doing in my room?" She questioned, rolling her eyes for the seventh time now.

"I just woke up here and decided to see if I could escape. Do you know where I am?"

"I have no idea myself. Some man had got us locked up in this place. He makes us grant him favors otherwise he is going to spank us, that horny fuçk!" Stella explained. Noah gasped at her rude language. "I thought that you were one of his friends...but I'm glad that you are not." She smiled, happily.

"You see men a lot then?" He wondered why she saw men without getting into trouble.

"Yeah, I'm pretty submissive to it all now. Even though I don't want to. I get punished if I don't." That wasn't what he meant. He wondered what she thought he meant. Noah changed the subject.

"I was with a friend when I came here. Do you know if she could be here." Noah asked.

"Probably, but when you enter here you can not leave. I don't know why you're here though. You are probably the first boy that our honorable master has accepted to this place."

"Could I ask whom this 'master' is?"

"Ashton. Master Ashton, Noah."

______

Ooh! Ashton!

I have no idea how long this book is going to be. Guess I'm just going to have to hold my breath 'till then.

Hoot!

Toot!