stars

seventeen

Brooke

Noah kept staring at me with an unreadable look. I didn't know what he wanted. I kept doing my work. The bell rang and Noah grabbed my arm. "Hey, I'm sorry. I won't do it again, okay? Forgive me." I pulled my arm away, taking a moment to consider it. 

"Okay." He smiled, and it made me smile too. "So do you want to go somewhere after school?" I shook my head. I was still upset about what happened in Erye. Plus, I don't want Phoebe to worry again. He frowned. "You sure?" I nodded. 

*

I walked into my English class. It was the same as it always was. People chatting and laughing, sitting on desks, telling dumb jokes, and yelling across the classroom. I sat down in my normal spot: a desk behind and across Phoebe. Someone tapped my shoulder from behind me. I turned around. A girl held a folded piece of paper. I shot them a confused look. "Give it to Phoebe." She said. "Don't read it. It's from a friend." She smiled sweetly. I wanted to open it, but I chose not to. I tapped Phoebe on the shoulder, smiling. She smiled back, confused. Phoebe turned back around, facing the front of the classroom. She opened it, smiling. 

I watched as she crumbled it, her posture changing. She shoved it in her pocket and ran out of the classroom. I was confused. A few kids in the back snickered. I got up, about to go to follow her, but the bell rang and the teacher stopped me. "Sit down, Ms. Rivers." I frowned, sitting down. Phoebe hadn't come back yet and I was starting to worry. I raised my hand, asking the teacher to go to the bathroom. She nodded and I took the pass, running out. I searched the hallways. When I didn't see her, I resorted to going into the bathroom closest to English class. I heard someone sniffle. "Phoebe?" Silence. "Phoebe, you in here?" 

"Go away." I heard her say quietly. 

"What's wrong?" 

"You know what's wrong, leave me alone! I don't want to speak to you right now, okay?" I frowned. Why was she so mad at me? What did I do? I heard more sniffles. 

"Phoebe..." 

"Get out, Brooke! Go skip class and hang out with Noah or something!" She didn't want me here, and I didn't want to make her even madder towards me, so I left. I put the pass down and sat in my seat. Towards the end of class, Phoebe returned. Her face was red and had a blank expression. I tapped on her shoulder lightly. 

"Are you o-"

"Don't touch me, Brooke," Phoebe said, facing me. She had an emotionless face, yet she spoke with so much anger, it made me feel weird. She turned back around, doing her work again, while I just slumped down in my seat. 

Later at lunch, I went to go sit with Noah. His friends were laughing and joking around, but I couldn't stop thinking about Phoebe. What was with her sudden attitude change? "Hey, Brooke," Noah said. "We're all going somewhere after school, wanna come- Oh, wait, you said you couldn't..." He frowned.

"No, I can go now! I changed my mind." I smiled, looking over at Phoebe. She's mad at me right now, she won't mind. Right?

*

I wanted to talk to Phoebe after school and see if she was still upset with me or not, but Noah stopped me. Again. "Look at her, she's having fun. Don't go over there, she's probably still upset and if you go, you'll only make her day worse. You'll probably be upset, and I don't want to see you like that." He smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder. I frowned and turned over towards Noah. "Now, C'mon, let's go meet everyone else. We're going to the beach." My eyes went wide. Oh no. 

"Oh, um," I said. "I'm afraid of the ocean." I lied. I couldn't get in the water, I can't reveal my secret to him yet. 

"Don't worry, I'll be there and I'm a great swimmer, so I can help you if you're about to drown." He said. 

I shook my head. "I have an extreme fear of the ocean, I'll just watch from the shore. I'll make some sand castles." I laughed. He nodded, understanding. 

"But, if you ever want to swim, I can help you. You should really trust me more." He frowned. We walked off school property, going to the beach to meet Noah's friends. Everyone got in the water in their clothes, but I just sat on the sand. After a while, Noah waved me over. "Come here, Brooke!" I walked over towards him, hesitant. "Let me pick you up and carry you over the water. To you know, help you with your fear." I shook my head. "Please?" He begged. I kept shaking my head, but he wouldn't stop asking, so I agreed.

"Fine! Just... Don't drop me." I said. He picked me up bridal style, as I've seen in movies that I've watched with Phoebe. I held on to him tightly, not wanting to slip out of his arms and reveal my secret. He walked out farther from the shore, and I told him to stop before the water would be able to touch me. He almost dropped me, and I shrieked. "Okay, bring me back to the shore! I don't want to be here anymore!" I yelled. He shook his head.

"Trust me, Brooke. You never trust me." He frowned. 

"Just put me down!" I yelled. 

"As you wish," Noah said, putting me down. In the ocean. I screamed, hitting the water. Once I was underwater, I knew it would be hard to refuse transformation. I swam farther away, allowing myself to transform. After a couple seconds, I tried to transform back underwater. It was painful, but I did it anyway.  I was too deep underwater to breathe easily in my human form. I struggled to swim up. Once I did, I gasped for air and swam to the shore. I lay on the sand, taking deep breaths. Noah ran towards me, snickering. 

"Oh my god, are you okay, Brooke?" He burst out laughing. I shot him an angry look. I grabbed my bookbag, walking away. "Where are you going?" He frowned, chasing after me. My clothes were soaked in saltwater and sand. 

"I'm going home." 

"But Phoebe is still upset with you, and you live with her, right? Just stay here with me for a bit longer. Please?" I shook my head, still walking. I heard that he stopped walking behind me, so I slowed down. Once I got to Phoebe's, I sat on the porch, not wanting to go inside soaking wet. I took off my jacket and shoes. I ran my fingers through my hair to get some sand out. IT was getting darker, and I was waiting for the stars to come out. 

 I saw Phoebe walking closer with Angel. They were across the street, but I could still see what they were doing. Phoebe said something to Angel, which made Angel laugh. Phoebe hugged her. Once she pulled away, Angel said something then kissed her on the cheek. I frowned. They said something to each other and Phoebe ran across the street, walking towards the front door. She looked at me once she reached the front yard. "Hey," I said. 

"Hey." She replied, walking towards the front door. "Why are you outside? Did you forget your keys at school or something?" I shook my head. 

"Just looking at the sky." I said.

"Why are you soaking wet?" She asked.

"Noah dropped me in the water. He doesn't know though, so it's okay." 

"Oh." She said awkwardly, unlocking the door. 

"So," I fiddled with my jacket. "Why were you upset earlier." Emotion wiped off of her face and she stopped looking at me, facing towards the door instead. 

"You know why, Brooke." She ran inside. 

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(Okay, so that was a thing. I wrote half of this in class instead of doing my work. Oops? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Bye <3)