Chapter 3

I stride out of art class and almost bump into Rashmi, who comes out of her French lecture.

"You wanna grab a movie before going home?" she asks me, and I debate the pros and cons. I have homework, as well as a few paintings to complete, but I can do all that after the movie.

"Sure," I say, and text my mother and father to let them know that I'll be late.

"Let me just use the washroom for a bit," Rashmi says, and shimmies down the hallway.

I'm five-feet-five, with a slight wheatish complexion, red hair and brown eyes. I wouldn't call myself extremely beautiful, but I'm okay.

I tap my hands impatiently on my phone as the smell of expensive cologne clouds my nostrils. Panic rises in my chest, because I know that scent too well from sitting next to it in chemistry for three months.

Noah Krasinskin stands beside me, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He's wearing a red flannel t shirt that has its sleeves rolled up, and I'm fairly certain that his shirt costs more than my phone.

What does he want now?

"What?" I snap, immediately irritated, because he's wearing his smirky smile again. Noah takes his sculpted hands out of his pockets and looks me up and down.

This time, his eyes don't reel with disgust like they normally do, but instead they look... embarrassed?

Nope, not possible. That guy has the arrogance of the richest and the ego that can frustrate the softest people in the world. Like me.

"I need to talk to you." Noah whispers, rubbing the back of his neck, and I'm not sure if I heard him right.

He said, NEED? NEED?

What could the boy I've spent so much time hating want to talk to me about?

We barely talk in school and never outside of it, but when we do, it can never be called talking.

He lets out mean retorts and charming sentences that annoy the hell out of me, and I roll my eyes and give him some much needed reality check. He should know that I'm immune to his charm.

But when Noah rounds his eyes at me, expecting an answer, his face softens and for a moment he looks so cute I'm not sure about that anymore.