Falling - NOAH CENTINEO

ch. 18 | Blackmail

School was in less than 2 hours and I hadn't slept a wink.

I tossed and turned all night but couldn't get the thought of Anthony blackmailing me out of my head.

Noah's alarm on his phone went off to wake us up for school, but I was already picking out clothes for the day.

"Mornin'" He yawned, stretching his arms.

"Goodmorning." I said, slipping a shirt over my head.

Noah rolled out of bed and walked behind me. I stood in front of the mirror and watched him wrap his muscular arms around my waist and kiss my cheek. I smiled at him in the mirror. Even at my lowest moment, I felt safe with Noah's arms wrapped around me.

We both got ready for school and hustled downstairs to my mom cooking bacon.

"Goodmorning, sweetie!" She said, flipping the bacon.

"Um, good morning."

Noah shot me a raised eyebrow and he shrugged.

"And good morning to you too, Noah." She said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, good morning." He smiled back.

"Um, whatcha doin?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

"What does it look like, silly?" She laughed. "I'm making you guys breakfast." She smiled, putting the burnt strips onto a plate.

"You've just, never done that before." I said.

Her eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Well, first time for everything." She whispered quietly.

I could tell in her eyes she felt bad. The way she looked down when she said it. It made me feel like shit too, for some reason.

I grabbed a piece of bacon off the plate and took a bite.

"Its delicious." I smiled.

She grinned back at me. "Good, I'm so glad. Not too burnt?" She asked.

"Nope, theyre perfect." I lied. "Well, we gotta get to school now." I said, walking towards the door.

"Okay, have a great day, you two!" She called out.

Noah and I walked outside to his jeep across the street. "That was weird, right?" Noah asked, starting the car.

"Very weird." I nodded.

Even when my mom was all there, she never made me breakfast. It just wasn't something that she did. She always slept in and relied on me to get up for school by myself.

Noah took off down the street to Mark and Rita's houses. I leaned my head up against the window, thinking about the video, the letter, Noah and I almost having sex, everything.

It honestly felt like everything in my life was so chaotic at the moment.

We pulled up in front of Marks house and waited for him to come outside.

"So...we're not saying anything, right?" Noah asked.

"Yea, not yet." I nodded.

He nodded and had a solemn look.

"Whats the matter?" I asked, facing him.

"That means I can't do anything until after school." He laughed. "I wanna hold your hand and shit."

I laughed and grabbed his hand and held it in mine. "Happy?" I smirked at him.

"Very."

We got to school after collecting our friends and I finally realized I was going to have to talk with Anthony at some point. This absolutely terrified me.

We stepped out of the car and walked into class. Rita was asking me a million questions about how my spring break was, but I was not focused on that. All I could focus on, was keeping an eye out for Anthony.

"Earth to B." She waved a hand in front of my face.

I snapped my neck towards her. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned in close, careful to not let anyone else hear. "So what the hell happened to Noah's face?" She asked.

I looked around, careful to make sure he wasn't around. "Anthony showed up to this fair that Noah and I were at. Anthony was just talking shit and Noah and him had an all out brawl."

"What?!" She whispered, looking from me to Noah in complete shock. "What the fuck? How does Anthony look?"

"Alot worse than Noah does." I said.

Our first period bell rang, signaling me to go to class. As soon as I sat down, I got a text. One that made my stomach drop.

Anthony
Quad. now.

I swallowed the pit in my throat and raised my hand.

"Yes, Blake?" Mr. Harrison asked.

"I'm not feeling too well, can I go to the nurse?" I asked.

He sighed. "Alright." He said, writing me a pass.

I took it and immediately raced out of the room. I was scared to leave Anthony waiting for me at all, in fear he'd release that video.

All I could think about, was if Noah watched that video. He'd be absolutely destroyed.

I walked to the Quad and saw Anthony leaning up against a tree. His face looked awful. He had a black eye, swollen lip, scratches along his face and exposed arms. Noah really did some damage.

"Well, well, well. You got my note." He smirked.

I nodded, crossing my arms. "What do you want?" I asked, hearing the crack in my voice.

"The Blake that I know, would ask me how I'm-"

"Just tell me." I demanded, sick of his games.

He laughed quietly, stepping towards me.

"Go on a date with me." He said, biting his lip.

I laughed and walked backwards. "Go to hell."

"Thats not how it works. Remember that video?" He asked.

I closed my eyes, hoping it was all disappear by the time I opened them again. No such luck.

"Ok but for real, go out with me." He smirked, attempting to grab my hand.

"Why would I do that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"C'mon, Blake. I'm not as evil as you make me out to be." He laughed, nonchalantly.

"You do remember that the only reason I'm talking to you, is because you're blackmailing me, right?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, putting his hands on his hips like he was deep in thought.

He lifted his head up, glaring at me. I tensed up as he got closer to me. He was only a few inches away from me.

"I'll pick you up on Wednesday." He winked, walking past me. "Unless you want Noah to see that video." He warned.

I whipped my head around. "So you'd only send it to Noah?" I asked.

"That's the only person you don't want seeing it, right?" He smirked.

I looked down at the ground, knowing he was right. He really is the only person that cannot see that video. Yeah, I'd get teased by my other classmates, but I can't lose Noah. Not when I'm still trying to figure out what we are.

Anthony walked back into the school and towards his class. I wished I had driven myself to school today so I could just leave and never come back, but that was not an option today.