This is War

Chapter 35

a Christmas present for all of you ♥

Chapter 35 - Natalie's P.O.V

On the morning of the Winter Formal, I was awoken quite rudely at the ungodly hour of eleven o'clock in the morning.

"What the actual--" I began, but was cut off by a preppy voice.

"No time for swearing, get up!" The voice exclaimed.

Peeling my eyes open, I glared at Kate-- hard. Very hard. She just rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips, giving me a motherly look that said "get your ass out of bed before I drag you out".

Groaning, I kicked the covers off of me until they were only over my feet and sat up, rubbing my eyes, "I hate you so much."

Kate scoffed, "Whatever. Get up! It's already 11:07 and you haven't even started getting ready!"

Grumbling all the way to my bathroom, I slammed the door behind me for extra emphasis.

I don't appreciate being woken up early if it's not a school day.

In the bathroom I took my sweet time, tying my hair up in a high ponytail and washing my face and brushing my teeth. Eventually, I made my way downstairs and into the mostly empty kitchen, save a few plates, silverware and a platter of bagels and muffins. Snatching a chocolate chip muffin, I moaned in delight as it hit my taste buds.

Nate, who was also standing in he kitchen, chuckled, "You're a strange one, Nat."

I shrugged, "You set the example."

He nodded and raised his bagel at me, "Touché, little sister. Touché."

"Alright," Kate clapped her hands and gave me a devious grin, "let's get ready." 

There are four fundamental pieces to getting ready for a dance:

Screaming - check.
Hair Pulling - check. 
Swearing - check. 
Pain - double check. 

By the time Kate and I were both ready, I felt like a Barbie doll who's been played with one generation too many. 

"We look f*cking hot," Kate nodded in approval as we both stood in front of the mirror. 

I glared at her, "I hate having to get ready. You always torture me with those god awful tweezers!" 

She rolled her eyes at me, "Well, if someone would keep up with their eyebrows more often, I wouldn't have to."

I didn't get a chance to reply snarkily as the sound of the doorbell cut me off. She squealed, "They're here!" 

Huffing, I picked up my matching silver clutch and slowly walked out of my room and down the stairs, whereas Kate had rushed down to meet up with Jarrett; the two of which have gotten very close to each other. Close enough to have me catch them in the girls' bathroom at school making out. 

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I looked up from my feet to see Noah staring at me, eyes wide and his mouth parted slightly. Recovering, he cleared his throat and walked forward, offering me his arm, "You clean up nicely, Brooks." 

"You don't look too bad yourself, Hall," I shot back at him, a teasing smile on my face. Truth be told, he didn't look bad at all. He looked like a f*cking god in his tuxedo, his hair slicked to the side, but still somehow managed to look messy and sexy. 

Wait, what?! 

Shaking the thought out of my head, we managed to leave the house after only ten minutes of pictures and be on our merry way to the dance. 

As we drove in silence besides Kate and Jarrett occasionally flirting, I prayed to who knows where that tonight would be exactly the evening I wanted it to be. I wanted everything to go perfectly; I wanted to remember this place as my perfect life, even if it wasn't exactly perfect. 

But maybe it's a bit presumptuous goal. 

When we got to the dance, there were many questionable looks as people took in the sight of Noah and I together, without the thought of ripping the other's throat out. 

"You know," I started, speaking lowly, "I kind of was expecting this to be some big prank of yours." 

He smirked, "I called a truce, remember?" 

I shrugged, "I wouldn't put it past you." 

Noah laughed, "Alright, how about I prove it to you with some damn good dancing skills?" 

"You dance?" I asked, taking my turn to laugh. 

He only rolled his eyes at me before dragging me out on the dance floor. 

They were only playing slow songs right now and surprisingly enough, it wasn't awkward as we swayed together. 

"You know, you're not that bad of a dancer, Hall," I complimented. 

"You could use a little work, though," He said, ruining the nice streak we had going on between us. I only laughed at his weak insult. 

Looking into his eyes, I felt this intensity between us. His eyes flickered down to my lips and he began leaning in. Following suit, our lips were almost together when we were stopped. 

"Mind if I cut in?" A deep voice interrupted and I looked to see Duke standing there, and my smile dropped. 

Glancing at a now angry Noah, I squeezed his hand, "Sure. You have one dance." 

Duke placed his hands on my hips and I lightly rested mine on his shoulders, "What do you want?" 

His expression looked pain, "Look, I get you hate me, but I don't get why." 

"You left me without a second thought, without a goodbye, Duke," I shot at him, "I think I have the right to hate you because of that." 

"We never technically broke up," He mumbled. 

I "accidentally" stepped on his foot with my heels as we danced, "In case you haven't gotten the message, we're way past broken up, Duke." 

He nodded, "Alright. What do you want me to do then?" 

"I want you to leave me alone. I want you out of my life. Okay? So just f*ck off!" I told him and sure, it was harsh, but it was necessary. I just wanted to end everything and anything between us. 

He clenched his jaw, "Fine." 

Dropping his hands, we stopped and he gave me a curt nod before making a beeline towards the punch which I was sure was spiked. Soon enough, I was back in Noah's arms, dancing around. 

"What did the bastard want?" He questioned and I could sense a heap of jealousy, but decided against bringing it up. 

I smiled at him, "Nothing now." 

"Why's that?" He questioned. 

"Because I told him to f*ck off." 

At that, he burst out laughing before stopping and taking my hand, "Do you wanna get out of here?" 

I sighed in relief, "Hell yes." 

Grinning, he led the way out as we left the dance and as we made our way out, my thoughts drifted back, not to Duke, but to the almost kiss with Noah. What was that, the second? third time? I wasn't sure of anything, but that I had gotten rid of Duke and that I really want to kiss Noah. 

What the hell is happening to me? 

~

a/n: just 2 more chapters and the epilogue left.. AH!! Btw, how did everyone like that cute little Natoah moment?? hmm???? ;) OKAY MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HANUKKAH AND HAPPY KWANZAA!!