It won't keep us apart

Chapter 18: Little things

Noah's POV
Breathing heavily, I lift my head up with my hands still planted on my knees. I stand back up and straighten myself up.

Five, six, seven, eight. I'm currently working on the choreography with Summer for the Regionals duet.

Summer finishes her turn and slowly approaches me. I also edge closer, holding my gaze with hers. I hold my arms out in front of myself as she jumps up. I quickly fasten my hands on her sides and lift her up.

A flash of blonde in the distance catches my eye. My eyes flicker over to the doorway, watching carefully for any sign of movement. A few seconds pass by and I still haven't seen anyone. That blonde hair, I'd recognise it anywhere. After all, if you know someone that well, you would be able to spot them from a mile away.

Richelle is here.

Why is she lurking around? I told her to come over in 5 minutes' time, not now. Plus, no one else besides us know about the possible duet change. Knowing Richelle and Summer's rivalry, I don't think it's necessary to start up anything else. Hopefully Richelle has gone off somewhere else temporarily so she won't seem suspicious.

"Noah, can you please put me down?"

I blink, feeling confused. But I gently lower her down to the ground and apologise. I feel my cheeks heat up a little from embarrassment.

Summer looks at me with a worried expression.

"I had to repeat what I said a couple of times until you finally heard me."

I cringe inwardly. This isn't a great start to this duet. I didn't realise how distracted I got until she snapped me from my thoughts.

"I thought I saw someone back there..."

She turns around hurriedly and asks, "Did you see who it was?"

"Nah. I couldn't see who it was," I lie.

I definitely did not do that.

It's not like it matters much anyways.

"Okay?" she says, still looking unsure. "We can end it here today and get back to our duet tomorrow?"

"Alright." I nod in her direction and head off to my cubby.

Richelle's POV

I carefully slip into the rehearsal room not long after Summer's departure. Noah takes a sip of water as I go near him. He screws the bottle cap back onto the bottle and places it down. Noah turns around and looks at me.

"So, are you ready?" I ask, glancing at him coolly.

He stands there for a few seconds, silent. A smile creeps up on his face.

"I was born ready," he boldly replies.

"You sure about that?" I ask with an amused smirk. He took his time to reply, so I doubt he is absolutely ready for this. I mean, he says he is, but what could be going through that mind of his?

"Yes, I'm sure Richelle. Don't we have a duet to make?"

I was wondering when we'd actually get started. He finally got his head back in the game, and yes, I reckon he's ready now.

"About time you realised Noah," I shake my head at him disapprovingly.

Noah chuckles to himself then says, "Whatcha got planned for our duet?"

I stand on my tiptoes and bring my mouth close to his ear.

"I was thinking we should do ballet," I whisper, and I let my heels touch the floor again.

He raises his eyebrows at me.

"Ballet? Neither of us are strong in ballet!"

"Come on, Noah. It'll be a good idea because it's something a little different you know? Instead of our usual styles."

"But... You know what? Let's go with it."

This time, I'm the one who's surprised. I didn't expect him to agree so quickly. Or even agree with me at all.

"Y-you sure?" I stutter.

"You made a good point, so I'm with you on this," he replies, holding his hand out.

I briefly clasp my hand around his in agreement. My breathing slows as I keep my eyes on his and our hands are still together. His hand feels so warm and smooth. I don't want to let go, but something deep inside me tells me to, and I do. I step back from him hesitantly.

Noah starts shooting a couple of ideas that he said had been buzzing around in his mind. A rivalry story, an action-packed story...
Who knows what goes on in his head?

"How about we can play as a married couple? You can be-"

"Hold on a second. You and me as a married couple?! No way."

Where did he get this from? Out of the many possibilities he could think of, he reckons marriage sounds reasonable?

Noah's grin grows bigger. "You didn't let me finish, so let me finish."

"You'll be acting as a ghost of the wife and one day I visit your grave. You're there, but I can't see you. Standing at your grave brings back a memory of us dancing together, not long before your death."

I glare at him. My death? Ever since when-

"No, your character's death, Richelle. I didn't intend that to come out like that."

"Sorry Noah," I flinch at my own thoughts. "It just felt so...real."

He narrows his eyes at me thoughtfully.

"Are those tears in your eyes?"

I reach a hand out and wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. 

"No."

"There's still a tear on your cheek," he extends his hand towards me and gently brushes it off my face.

I wasn't aware that a teardrop managed to escape from my eye. I'm thankful that he noticed, and he did that all for me without any doubt whatsoever.

"All done," he smiles.

Noah doesn't question me any further and resumes his storytelling. I examine his face as he speaks. His hair is like the usual composure; I remember I laughed when Jacquie told me that he takes pride in his hair. Noah's eyes are shining with happiness and it radiates throughout his face.

This duet was obviously a good idea, and I can tell he's enjoying this too. Of course, I'm liking our brainstorming session, even though he took over since his head was bursting with so much.

That's pretty much how our first rehearsal went.

A/N: Back at it with a new chapter, a Nochelle duet in the making! Noah and Richelle have agreed to create a duet without anyone else's knowledge. Secrets don't always stay secret for long do they?