Two Weeks to Fall in Love

8. Two Weeks to Set the Trap

Luckily, the last class of the day was very much Noah-less.

Which meant I could actually pay attention without someone's eyes boring a hole into me; or so I thought. Even without him present, thoughts about him still somehow invaded my mind, mixed feelings about this unexpected date coursing through me.

It's not that I had no interest in dating. After all, I'd had my fair share of crushes through the years, although usually nothing really came out of them. Probably because, for some reason, I'd become a blubbering, blushing idiot whenever I'd be around my crush, so making the first move was out of the question. Even being myself around the guy I liked felt like mission impossible. Eventually, my infatuation would just fade, so most of my attention was focused on studying.

But, at the end of last year, I made the firm decision that I would enjoy the final year of being in high school. I would go to parties, talk to boys, go on dates, kiss someone -- I just wanted to make some fun memories.

At the start of this year though, I never expected that I'd be dating Noah Archer.

Even less so that I'd be the one who asked him out. It was a first for me. But, I guess things were different when you didn't actually like the person.

With a heavy sigh, I slammed my locker door shut, earning a few frowns from the students still left in the hallway.

"Damn, Sky, what did that locker ever do to you?" A familiar, deep voice spoke from behind me and I turned around with a grin on my face.

"You say locker, I say improvised punching bag," I said, shrugging and taking in the guy in front of me. His curly blond hair was short but looked irresistibly fluffy, blue eyes that studied me, laced with humor. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages, Jake!" I added, my smile widening.

"Not sure how to feel about you saying that, seeing as we share the last class," Jake replied, laughing as he tilted his head.

"You know what I mean!" I clicked my tongue, lightly pushing his chest, "I just can't remember the last time we spoke, you always rush out of class to some Club of yours."

Jake grimaced, and ran his fingers through his hair, "Guess you have a point there. But if you'd stayed on the Debate Team...." His words faded, but I knew the insinuation.

Letting out a sigh, I shrugged, "What can I say? I thought I'd better leave and let the rest of you shine for a change."

He laughed, his eyes crinkling as he shook his head, "How mighty noble of you, Sky." After another chuckle, he cleared his throat and looked me in the eye, "I'm serious though, we miss you. I miss you." Jake said, softly and my eyes widened.

"Uh, yeah, I miss the team too," I said, biting down on my bottom lip as I fought through my slight wave of confusion about this entire conversation, "So, uh, I have to get going now though but--"

"Oh yeah, of course, come on, I'll walk with you." He said, squeezing my arm before he started walking.

"Don't you have a Club meeting now?" I frowned, tossing my bag over my shoulder.

Jake just shook his head, grinning, "Nope, it was postponed today. Which is great since I got to run into you like this."

"Alrighty then...." I muttered, feeling suddenly stiff as we started walking down the hallway.

In a way, I could consider Jake a friend. We weren't nearly as close as we once were, but after spending a lot of time together as part of the Debate Team over the years, I did feel like I knew him pretty well.

At the same time though, I had a feeling like he'd been avoiding me this year. I kind of assumed that he was busy and probably upset that I decided to leave the Debate Team after being their Ace since the start of high school. No one debated with more fervor than Skyler Fox. Our team was reigning champion for years, so I wasn't surprised when some of my old team members shot me nasty looks once I'd abandoned them.