english - c.hood 01 | au

seventeen

n o e l l e

when luke dropped me off along with the car, he helped me settle in before he walked back to his flat.

i had just gotten back to campus.

i made him a promise.

i can't break that promise.

so due to the fact that i didn't have his number, i sent him an email because that's all i could do.

to: professor c. hood
from: student noelle carter

hey mr hood! just wanted to let you know that i'm back from my sudden break and will be returning to class first thing in the morning! if you could email me with the details to any important things that i've missed, that would be great!

~noelle

he replied within minutes, as if he were waiting for my email to come in.

re: professor c. hood

meet me at the coffee shop by the media building in 5 minutes.

and here's an easier way to contact me, love ;-)

+213-000-0000

-hood

i threw my jacket back on, fixed my hair, and walked out the door.

i darted straight towards the coffee shop, and he was already there.

the perks of having driven into campus late at night.

"m-mr hood." my teeth chattered.

"let's go inside, love." he smiled, walking me into the empty caffe. "one hot chocolate with no whipped cream, one black espresso."

"how did you—"

"you walk in with one every morning, noelle." he says lowly. "i'm glad you kept your promise, love."

"y-yeah." i stuttered. "w-why did you want to see me?"

"please don't do that noelle." he said through a clenched jaw.

"don't do that." i repeated, holding both sides of his face lightly and allowing his jaw to relax. "causes tension and headaches. but what was i doing?"

"that." he spoke, tapping at the lip i was biting down on, which i quickly released from the grip of my teeth.

"why?" i asked. "it's a force of habit, out of frustration."

"same with myself clenching my jaw then." he says.

"no, it's force of anger, seems like." i say. "you, my dear, need to deal with your anger in a way that you won't get hurt."

"and what do you suggest, miss carter?" he questions me.

"well, when i'm upset, in any sense, i find something to put my time into." i say. "something worth while."

"i have an idea if something worth while." he wonders our loud. "something i think you'd like."

"o-oh?" i stammered. "and what did you have in mind?"

"stand up, love." he said to me. and come sit right here, facing me."

oh god.

slowly, i risen from my seat and climb onto his lap as instructed, sitting up and facing him just like he said.

"tell me, noelle, what would you make if this situation right now?" he questions.

"i-i—"

"would this be something worth while?"

it was a good question though.

the risk of getting caught was high, hell, we were sat like this in an empty cafe where anyone could just walk right in and bam, it's over before it could begin.

it was all too much.

but then i heard nora's voice in my head.

it's like when you have that little angel and devil in each shoulder.

the devil-me is replaced by nora and she always wins.

live a little.

"yeah, i think so." i exhaled.

"good girl." he smirked. "now show me that it'll be worth it."

and so i did, by taking his face in my hands and pressing my lips against his.

the thing was that out of all of this, mr hood, calum, whatever he wanted to be called, made me happy.

and who said someone was allowed to stand in the way of my happiness?