A Harsh Reality | ✓

Chapter 36

Amanda

I landed perfectly on the mat and raised my arms. As soon as I placed a step off the Floor, Hailey threw herself at me.

"Oh my God, Almonds!" she exclaimed, "That was perfect! You are so going to nail that routine in the competition!" I hugged her back and smiled.

"Thank you," I replied cheerfully, "I'm nervous, though."

"You'll do great, don't worry," Riley said, joining us as we walked towards Coach.

"Flawless landing, Amanda!" she high-fived me, "You only need to practice the uneven bars routine to finish up." I sighed tensely. That was my most challenging routine, and it had to be perfect if I wanted a high score.

I walked back to the bench near the locker room entrance to get my grips. As I was putting them on carefully, I heard a voice coming from the bleachers. I lifted my head upwards and met a pair of blue eyes with my own. A smirk played on his lips when he realized he got my attention.

"Noah? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Can't I come to see your practice?" he asked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course you can," I scoffed, "I thought you had work."

"We closed early." He shrugged. As I opened my mouth to reply, Coach shouted my name.

"Let's go, Amanda!" she said, "Charlotte just finished!" I turned back around and shot Noah an apologetic look before going back to Coach. I showered my hands in chalk and clapped them together to blow away the excess.

I stepped in between the uneven bars and sighed. I extended my arms and jumped onto the lower bar. Legs straight, toes pointed. I turned around a few times before stopping and standing for a very brief moment on the bar. I jumped onto the high bar. I got myself ready to release the bar by grabbing it in a reverse grip.

I let go and flipped forward in the piked position, catching the bar once more when I finished the turn. I went back to the low bar doing a bail before jumping onto the high bar again. I spun around, preparing to release the bar. As soon as I let go, I placed my hands on my bent knees and did a double tuck. I stuck the landing neatly after the two backflips and raised my arms. I smiled despite myself as Coach clapped in the background.

"Amazing, Amanda!" she exclaimed, "You can go now. Tomorrow I'll see you for another practice." I thanked her and said goodbye before heading for the locker room. I picked up my bag on the way, noticing Noah was still sitting on the bleachers.

I changed into comfortable clothes, packed my things, and put my hoop earrings back on. When I went outside again, Noah was waiting for me near the entrance of the gym. I waved Riley goodbye, who was being helped by Coach on the balance beam as I joined Noah.

"Ready?" he smirked. I laughed giddily and took his hand, pulling him with me. When we got outside of the club, he smiled and raised one of his eyebrows, taunting me. I bit my lip before running towards his motorcycle, Noah being right behind me. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back, running faster as I was left behind.

"Hey!" I exclaimed as I arrived next to him, "That's cheating."

"You lost, Mandy," he shrugged, "Accept it." He took out his black helmet from the motorcycle's seat.

"Yeah, sure," I said and rolled my eyes.

"Oh, stop sulking," Noah suddenly slipped the helmet onto my head, preventing me from rolling my eyes yet again, "Let's go." I pulled the black plastic up to see him.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he sat down on the motorcycle.

"I don't know," he chuckled.

"Wha-" He cut me off by swiftly pulling me to him and planting a short kiss on my lips. How he managed to do that with me wearing the helmet, I don't know.

"Stop asking questions," he stated and pulled down the plastic once more, "Let's just drive around." I gave up on my curiosity and sat behind him, slipping my arms around his waist. I pressed my head against his back and sighed. Riding a motorcycle still made me nervous.

Before I knew it, we were moving along the streets, zigzagging through cars and trucks pretty fast. I tightened my grip on Noah and felt him chuckling as I did so. We drove for a long time, and honestly, it made me happy to be here with Noah. I enjoyed the long walks we would take spontaneously and the weird conversations we had about anything.

It's crazy to think about everything that happened since the beginning of our senior year. And I wouldn't change a thing.

*&*

I was leaving my books after the last class of the day when I felt someone behind me. I smiled, thinking it was Noah. I closed my locker and turned around, but my grin faded when I saw who it was.

"Jack?" I asked, surprised, "What's up?" He had his hands inside the pockets of his gray hoodie, and his long, blond hair was a mess. His brown eyes looked into my own, his lips forming a crooked smirk.

"Amanda, hey," he said and looked at the ground as he chuckled, "This is weird."

"Yeah..." I wrapped my arms around myself and looked at him.

"The thing is," he started, "I just wanted to apologize." My eyes widened, "I'm sorry about everything. I should have listened to you, but I was pissed, I wasn't thinking straight. And I know there is no excuse for what I did, but I am sorry."

"Jack, I-"

"I don't expect you to forgive me or anything," he added, "I've been thinking about this a lot and decided it was time for me to get over it and apologize. I'm happy for you, and I know you are happier this way." He motioned to Noah across the hall.

"Thank you," I said, smiling. I couldn't help myself as I hugged Jack, "I'm sorry too." He hugged me back after a few moments. We separated just before Noah arrived next to us.

"Noah," Jack said and nodded. Noah nodded back before Jack left with a small wave.

"He apologized, didn't he?" Noah asked when he was gone.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I looked up at him.

"Because he apologized to me too," he stated, "Today at lunch."

"Well, I'm glad he did," I said, and Noah nodded in agreement. He placed his arm on my shoulder and led me to his motorcycle. I texted Tyler to let him know I was going with Noah to the small park near the club and then to train before putting on the helmet.

We arrived in a couple of minutes and sat down on one of the benches. I was facing Noah's side, my arm resting on the wooden back of the seat. He turned his head and looked down at my feet, his left hand playing with one of the shoelaces of my sneakers.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Of course," I smiled, making him smirk.

"I was wondering," Noah murmured, "I don't know what this is, but I know what I want it to be, and I wanted to know if you feel the same way." My breathing hitched, is he implying what I think he is?

"I'm going to sound so stupid saying this," he chuckled and looked into my eyes, "But, would you like to be my girlfriend?" I couldn't help myself as I grinned widely. I threw my head back and laughed.

"Is that a yes?" he raised an eyebrow. I lurched myself forward, snaking my hands around his neck, and kissed him. He pulled away for a second. "That's a yes, right?"

"Yes, Noah," I stated and smiled, "It's a yes."