When I wake up the next morning, everything still feels like a dream. The concert, the boys, the kiss. It all seems too good to be true, lying there in my bed with the sun falling through the curtains. I'm about to turn over and fall back asleep until my phone dings twice.
Max- YOU'RE VIRAL
Noah- I hope you had fun last night x, call me when you wake up, baby
Max's message seems like it needs a more immediate response, so I send him a question mark. Maybe he sent it to the wrong person? He has Noah's number, maybe he meant to send it to him. But he doesn't correct himself, just sends me a link that I click on.
It's a video of the concert. So I guess that wasn't a dream. Noah's finishing up Babylon when he steps into the crowd, fans parting like the Red Sea as he makes his way...to me...in the back. My heart beats faster as he cups my face and kisses me, pulling away and winking before heading back to the stage. The video is titled "NOAH THURMAN KISSES MYSTERY GIRL IN CROWD" and it already has over 2 million views.
My heart's beating faster than I can control, and I turn my phone off, my fists bundling around the blankets. God, this can't be happening. I never wanted a public relationship, especially with someone as high profile as Noah. Oh, what if Will sees this? What if Noah loses fans because of this?
Opening my phone, I watch it again. It's dark, and I'm wearing Noah's jacket from before. The lights are dim and cast everything in a shade of purple, so it's practically impossible to tell that Noah Thurman's mystery girl is his best friend's little sister from Los Angeles, who shouldn't have even been in Huntington Beach last night.
I don't know if Noah's seen this. Or maybe he thinks I haven't and he's trying to cover it up. Either way, I want him to know I saw it.
V- I know about the video.
Noah- what video??
V- https://youtube.com/Noah-Thurman-Mystery-Girl
He doesn't respond for another few minutes, in which my anxiety goes crazy until my phone lights up again.
Noah- fuck
Noah- I'm so sorry, I didn't even think..fuck, this is my fault
Noah- can we meet up?
V- I don't think that's the best idea right now
V- you can't see my face all too well, so I think we're good, but you're gonna be watched like a hawk for the next few days
Noah- please, V, I'll come to you, I need to see you right now
V- please, no. I just need to think clearly for a minute
V- I'll text you later
Noah- Veronica, please
I put my phone on silent and leave it in my bedroom as I go downstairs
***
"Did you hear?" Will asks as he pours the waffle mix into the iron, passing me the plate of finished waffles and the bottle of syrup. The room smells like vanilla. I raise an eyebrow in him, mouth filled with waffle. "Noah went viral for kissing a girl at his concert."
"Oh really?" I try to sound surprised, ignoring my aching heart. It's been a day since I texted Noah.
"Yeah. That fucker, I thought he'd tell me if he started dating again. Teresa's practically in love with him, she would've loved a double date."
Will officially asked Teresa to be his girlfriend last week. She said yes, which of course is some of the best news ever. I met her at Sunday family dinner, and she's completely awesome. I might love her more than Will. He says I don't. He's probably lying.
"Maybe they're not that serious," I shrug.
"Ronnie, Noah's never bought any girlfriend or fling, or hookup to his concerts. Let alone kissed them publicly. God, that poor girl, and her privacy."
There's a stab o longing in my heart to just run to Noah's place and let him pull me into his arms. I need to see him, but that alone is a bad idea.
I finish breakfast and go back upstairs. My phone's lit up. Noah.
Noah- v, please respond
Noah- fuck, please, I need to know you're okay, I'm going crazy
Noah- fuck, I'm coming over
V- no, don't
V- I'll come to your place, do you have a back door?
Noah- no, but I know somewhere we can meet up
He sends me an address of a small motel, and I give Will the excuse of Max being hungover before I take off.
Noah's car's parked outside the motel as I get there. Climbing up the stairs, I reach room 206 and knock. The door opens almost instantly and he pulls me in.
"God," I can feel how fast his heart is beating. "Fuck, V, I thought I was gonna lose you."
"You're not..You're not losing me, Noah, I just...I'm just upset."
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have kissed you in front of everyone."
"I'm not upset with you." Stepping away from him, I sit on the bed, fingers gripping tightly on the white sheets. "I don't know, I guess I just..I never wanted things to be so public, I guess. Especially when Will doesn't know."
"Then let's tell him." I look at him like he's crazy. "What, it's nothing. 'Will, I like your sister and I'm dating her. Nothing to it."
"And you think he'll be fine with that? Why do you think he made that no hook-up rule in the first place?"
"Because I sleep around."
"Because he doesn't want his best friend dating his sister."
"Come on, Ronnie. I'm serious about this. I'll make him see that."
"And what if he doesn't?"
"Then he doesn't." He shrugs like it's so simple and I scoff, turning away. "Well fuck, what do you want me to do?"
"I..I don't know! But I don't think I can handle this. The media, your fans, lying to my brother every day.."
"So what, you want to break up?"
"No!"
"Then what? God, Veronica, I want to be with you so bad. If you asked me to quit music and move to Monaco, I'd book those tickets right now. Because I love you, V."
"You what?"
"I love you. And I don't care what Will says, I want you, I need you"
he gasps as I kiss him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down. He kisses me back.
"I love you too, Thurman." I gasp, pulling away for a second. He grins and pulls me back in, sliding his tongue across my bottom lip.
"Jump," he whispers.
YOU ARE READING
things we did when no one was looking
Teen Fiction"What are you doing to me, V?" He asked, and I was surprised I could hear his voice over the thumping of my heart as he leaned in. - Veronica Ryder is a normal girl living in LA. She goes to college, watches crime shows with her best friend Max, and...
