chapter vi - "oh shit. we're so screwed now."
3 weeks later
The music here is loud. Too loud. I hate parties. I've always hated parties but Chloe invited me and Noah was going to be there so I figured that it was worth it. Boy was I wrong.
There were so many people around and I had lost Chloe as soon I I stepped through the door. Noah had come here with his friends so I had no way of knowing where he was. I texted him but I didn't get a reply. As a group of teenagers, older than me, start making their way around to the guests giving them all drinks I decide it's time to bail. I can't go outside since there was a large group of people in the pool so I just head to the nearest staircase. I hope there aren't people upstairs in the bedrooms doing things. When I make it upstairs I don't see anyone else so I just stand in the hallway alone and wait for my ears to stop ringing.
After a few minutes, I hear the stairs creaking and I quickly climb into the closet next to me. I don't know why I'm so scared to talk to someone but it's too late to leave the closet now. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Then the person speaks and changes my mind. "Kammie?" someone says aloud. Noah.
"I'm in here," I say opening the door. "I'm not a party person."
"I'm not either really," Noah says entering the closet and closing the door.
"Why'd you come to this one?"
"My friends were all going. They made it sound so cool. I guess I just wanted to fit in. To be like them."
"You don't need to be like anyone else. I like you the way you are," I tell him smiling.
His smile is warm and kind and he leans in and kisses me.
All of a sudden, the closet door opens and I see a boy about our age standing there. "Sorry I... you're Noah Schnapp!" the mystery boy exclaims. Shit. "Wait, are you guys like, together?"
"It was supposed to be a secret," Noah mutters.
"I'll make you a deal," mystery boy tells us smirking. "If you can get me a date with Chloe then I'll keep your little secret," he tells us.
"Hey Branson!" Someone shouts from downstairs.
"Gotta go!" he says before closing the door.
I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. Then I turn to Noah.
"We can't do that," I say. "That boy isn't anywhere near being good enough for Chloe. Besides we don't know him."
"So we let him spill. Then what?" Noah asks nervously.
"Chloe isn't going to be happy."
"That's better than her going on a date with him."
"Agreed."
"Should we go tell him?" Noah asks.
"Yeah."
Two minutes later Noah and I stand in front of the boy who apparently is Branson. I squeeze Noah's hand and he takes a deep breath before saying, "We won't do it. I won't get you a date with my sister."
Branson's eyes fill with rage and he punches Noah in the face. I grab Noah's arm before he can fight back. "Stop he isn't worth it," I tell Noah, gripping his arm tightly to stop him from reaching out. Branson seems a little less angry but his words are still bitter.
"I'm posting about your relationship on every social media platform I can find. Your relationship isn't secret anymore," he declares before storming away.
I immediately turn to Noah and look at his cheek which is red and splotchy and beginning to bruise. I help him to the bathroom and grab a towel and soak it in cold water before gently pressing it onto Noah's cheek. "I'm so sorry," I tell him.
"For what?"
"I don't know. I feel like this is my fault," I tell him sadly.
"It isn't your fault. If it weren't for you I would've tried to hit him back and he'd have beaten me to a pulp by now," Noah says with a laugh.
We sit in silence for a few minutes and I try to keep cold water on his cheek. My mind wanders back the whole ordeal and I think about Branson's words. Your relationship isn't so secret anymore.
"By tomorrow everyone is going to know," I say nervously.
"Oh shit. We're so screwed now aren't we," Noah says with a laugh and even though we're sitting in the bathroom of someone else's house and I'm nursing Noah's bruised cheek after he was punched in the face and our relationship is about to be revealed to the whole world I can't help but laugh with him.
