The Trouble With Willow

Chapter Three

Chapter Three:

 “Where is your church again?” Lola asked looking up from the magazine she had been leafing through.

A frown found its way onto Willow’s face at her friend’s question. Lola was over at her house ‘hanging out’; which mainly consisted of Lola lounging on the bed whilst Willow worked on an assignment. The young girl had just informed her friend about seeing Noah at her church, twice for that matter.

“Why the sudden interest?”

Lola gave her friend a flat look, “Noah goes there, duh, of course I want an excuse to see him an extra day.”

Willow was taken aback by her friend’s bluntness. “Church shouldn’t be used as an excuse for anything,” she snapped.

Lola rolled her eyes, “sorry for breathing.”

A sigh slipped out of Willow’s lips, as her eyes fluttered closed in frustration. “I just… I just don’t understand everyone’s fascination with Noah. He is just a guy.”

Lola darted her head upwards, surprised by her friend’s question. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s pretty, freaken gorgeous.”

Willow groaned, there is was again, everyone’s amazement with looks. It was almost insulting the way everyone only cared about whether someone was good looking or not. It was like that was the one factor that deemed people worthy of others time. And if you weren't good looking? Well, it was tough luck for you.

“Come on Will, it was the same thing with Adam. Remember? When he first came here everyone was obsessed with him and then he met you and when you-“

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Willow’s eyes snapped open, shooting her friend a menacing glare.

Lola winced, knowing she’d hit a sore spot. “Look, girl I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“Forget it, its fine.”

But both girls’ knew that it was far from fine. Willow’s past was something that continued to haunt her, without the help of others reminding her. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was him.

Snap out of it, Willow chanted, it's been six months already.

And yet time had dragged it's finger in the sand, slowly and torturously moving forward, leaving a line in the smooth surface. To Willow, it didn't matter how many weeks or months went by. She would never forget the people who hurt her most. Even though they were gone, the scars still remained. Scars that couldn't fade.

******

The next day, school was buzzing. Loud chatter and laughter echoed amongst the hallways, swirling between the whispers of gossip from small clusters of cliques.

Willow had never been more out of the loop. It seemed everyone knew something she didn’t. And she was determined to find out what it was.

Lola bounded towards her friend, eyes wide with excitement.

“Did you hear the news?”

Those very words spoken were second nature to Willow.  Usually she would simply ignored whatever ‘news’ Lola had to share, but this time it seemed as though it were worth listening too.

“Jacob Walters had his annual birthday party over the weekend. Apparently it was insane! The cops showed up and everything.” Despite her wild personality, Lola was not a party goer. She didn’t mind the occasional night out, but if there was alcohol involved, Lola wouldn’t step foot within a five mile radius. It was something that Willow and her friend shared in common.

Still not attending the party didn’t stop Lola from gossiping about it. “Noah was apparently off the rails.”

Willow attention peaked at the mention of his name. She’d forgotten about Noah's wild reputation after seeing him at church on the weekend. And now she was hearing about him partying. How typical. “Really?” the words dripped with sarcasm.

“Yea, he was crazy. Apparently he-“

Willow completely zooned out. The last thing she wanted to hear was the misadventures he got up too. Anger boiled up inside of her as she pondered on Noah’s hypocritical behaviour. Unbelievable, she thought. It was unbelievable that he could pretend to be a Christian ‘do gooder’ on a Sunday and then party on a weeknight of all things.   

“His popularity just boosted even more.”

Willow tuned back into the end of Lola’s rant. “And I’ll bet his ego,” she stated flatly, turning her head and catching sight of the very boy himself.

Noah was laughing, surrounded by a group of students sharing the same awe struck expression. It seemed Noah had that effect on many people. Willow watched him from affar intently, noticing his every move. There was something in the way he spoke; even though the words could not be coherently heard. His voice was mysterious and yet delightful. Willow wanted to reach out her long fingers and grasp his words before the flutered away. But she kept her hands by her side and watched the words float past the students crowding the hallway. Words that probably didn't mean anything. Words of stupidity. But none-the-less they were words; spoken with such a delicacy, such softness, that they could convince anyone who listened that they were important.

A nudge promptly dragged Willow from her cloud of thoughts.

"What?" she snapped, a little harsher than she indended.

"Chill out, gosh, I just wanted to say that was the bell." Willow stared after her myterious classmate still surrounded by his flock of admirers. "Well are you coming or not?" Lola added when Willow didn't move. The girl simply nodded and made her way to class in a daze.

*****

It was no surprise when Noah was a no show at church on Sunday. Noah had been away every other day at school since the morning Willow saw him in the hallway. Willow secretly hoped that Noah's attendance at church was a once off. She tried her hardest to ignore the guilt that sat it the pit of her stomach.  

Willow’s mother noticed Noah’s absence. “Where’s that nice boy from school?” she asked.

Willow cringed at the word ‘nice’. So far, everything she had heard about Noah was far from ‘nice’. He was exactly the same as the rest of the popular kids in school. A huge, fat disappointment.

A/N: I've updated! Ahh, I'm sorry it's been so long. School was hectic and blah blah blahhhh. I'm sorry that this chapter is so short but hopefully I'll add a bit more onto it. I'm still sorting out the direction of this story. So that's why it's taken me so long to update. Anyways.... comment, vote, fan.

p.s can't believe this story has reached over 700 reads so far! And that has been only two chapters in! Seriously so excited for the future of this story.

 

Love you guys!