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CHAPTER SEVEN - ELENA

Auteur: J.O
last update Dernière mise à jour: 2025-03-21 15:34:58

The gym had pulsed with restless energy, a mix of sweat, expensive cologne, and teenage excitement thick in the air. Fairy lights, lazily draped across the basketball hoops, cast a warm, artificial glow over the crowd.

The student council’s chosen playlist blasted through the speakers, a chaotic blend of pop anthems barely cutting through the chatter and bursts of laughter.

The Annual Spring Fling. A tradition carried out every third week after resumption. It wasn’t exactly necessary, but we all needed the release.

I stood at the edge of the makeshift dance floor, my back pressed against the cool wall as I tried to ground myself. Cameron swayed beside me, his hand resting firmly on my waist. He was everything a girl like me was supposed to want—handsome, popular, the star athlete. And, most importantly, completely devoted to me.

But tonight, his touch felt suffocating.

I shifted under his grasp, forcing a smile even as my gaze wandered—again—to the opposite side of the room. My heart betrayed me the moment it found him.

Noah.

He leaned against the far wall, effortlessly detached from the chaos around him. While everyone else was dressed in bright dresses and crisp button-downs, he remained in his signature black t-shirt and dark jeans, his quiet defiance standing out as much as it intrigued me. His dark hair, usually neatly styled, had fallen slightly over his forehead, shadowing his eyes.

And those eyes were on me.

A familiar flutter erupted in my chest, unbidden and frustrating. I shouldn’t have looked. I should have turned away and focused on Cameron. But ever since that night in my room—

I swallowed, pushing the thought down before it could surface.

Cameron’s fingers tightened slightly against my waist, bringing me back. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked, his voice raised just enough to cut through the music. He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “You seem a million miles away.”

I forced myself to meet his gaze, taking in the sharp jawline, the bright, boyish smile that had once made my heart race. He had always been the perfect choice. The right choice.

So why did I feel like I was lying to myself?

“Just tired,” I said, hating how easily the lie slipped from my lips.

His expression softened, his grip loosening just slightly. “We can leave if you want.”

I shook my head quickly. “No, I’m fine.”

Across the room, Noah was still watching.

Cameron wasn’t buying it. I could feel the weight of his stare as he followed my gaze across the room, his entire body tensing when his eyes landed on Noah. A muscle twitched in his jaw, and I knew. He knew.

He had noticed it before—at dinner with my parents when I barely reacted to his touch, in the car that morning when I had been distant, and now this. He could feel me slipping away, little by little, like sand slipping through his fingers, and that terrified him.

His arm tightened around my waist, his grip firm, almost desperate. Possessiveness rolled off him in waves. “He’s always watching you, isn’t he?” His voice was low, edged with something sharp. But I knew what he really meant. You’re always watching him.

I stiffened. “Don’t be ridiculous, Cameron.”

He let out a humorous laugh. “Am I? I see the way he looks at you, Elena. Like you’re the only thing in the room.” He paused, tilting his head slightly, as if considering something. “And I see the way you look at him.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could, Cameron leaned down and kissed me—deep, slow, purposeful. A kiss meant to prove a point. A kiss meant to remind me who I belonged to. Or maybe to remind Noah.

I let him kiss me. But inside, I felt nothing. No spark, no warmth, no flutter of excitement. My mind was elsewhere, tangled up in thoughts I shouldn’t be having. As I pulled away, my eyes betrayed me, flickering toward Noah before I could stop myself.

He was still watching. But there was no jealousy in his dark eyes, no flicker of longing. He didn’t look hurt or angry. He looked... bored. Unimpressed.

Something inside me twisted violently. The reaction I wanted—the reaction I needed—never came. And that infuriated me.

The rest of the evening blurred together, a haze of forced smiles, laughter that didn’t quite reach my eyes, and Cameron’s possessive hand never leaving my skin. The music was too loud, the lights too bright, the air too thick. I couldn’t breathe.

When the final song began to play—a slow, saccharine ballad that had couples swaying together—I saw my chance.

“I need some air,” I muttered, slipping away before Cameron could protest.

I pushed through the gym doors and stepped outside, inhaling deeply as the cool night air hit my skin. The emergency exit led to a small concrete platform that overlooked the city, the twinkling lights stretching endlessly beneath me. It was breathtaking, a quiet contrast to the suffocating chaos inside.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to sort through the mess of emotions clawing at my chest. Why did Noah’s indifference hurt more than Cameron’s suffocating attention? Why did I care so much?

Footsteps sounded behind me.

I didn’t need to turn around. I knew who it was.

“You really don’t like me, huh?” My voice came out quieter than I intended, almost swallowed by the wind.

Noah didn’t respond right away. He stepped beside me, his presence filling the small space, yet somehow still feeling miles away. His gaze remained fixed on the city lights, unreadable, detached—just like inside.

When he finally spoke, his voice was even, almost lazy. “Do you want me to like you, Elena?”

The way he said my name—slow, deliberate, like he was savoring it—sent a shiver down my spine. It was a simple question, but there was something underneath it. A quiet intensity that both thrilled and terrified me.

I turned to face him then, searching his face for something—anything—that would crack his carefully controlled exterior. But there was nothing. Just the same maddening calm, like I was just another girl at just another party, and none of this mattered to him the way it mattered to me.

I hated that.

I hated the way my stomach twisted at his words, the way my heart clenched at his indifference. I hated that no matter how hard I tried to act like I didn’t care, a part of me wanted him to care.

I exhaled sharply and looked away, back toward the city. The silence between us stretched, heavy with things left unsaid. Maybe I was foolish for expecting a different outcome. Maybe I had been fooling myself all along.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the sudden chill. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely above whisper.

And for the first time, I was telling the truth.

I didn’t know what I wanted. Not from him. Not from myself. Not from anything.

Noah didn’t respond right away. The silence between us stretched, thick and unbearable.

"That's a problem, Elena," he finally said, his voice low, husky. He turned his head then, his dark eyes meeting mine, and the intensity in his gaze was almost too much. "Because not knowing what you want can hurt a lot of people."

There was something in the way he said it—a weight to his words that made me feel like they meant more than they appeared to. Like he wasn’t just talking about me.

Did he like me? Was he just as confused as I was? Was this his way of telling me he felt something, too? Noah had always been a tough nut to crack, unreadable in ways that made me want to scream.

"Do you like me, Noah?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "Why are you always there? You’re forcing me to feel things for you. It’s your fault I’m all flustered and confused."

He let out a quiet exhale, shaking his head slightly before looking back at the city lights. "Elena," he said after a long pause, "are you seriously going to blame me for that again?"

Something in his tone made my chest tighten. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t teasing. He sounded... tired. Like he had already figured out where this conversation was going and was bracing himself for it.

And maybe that was the worst part. That he knew me well enough to predict this. That he wasn’t surprised.

"You know what?" I snapped, my voice rising slightly, laced with frustration I didn’t understand. "I hate you, Noah. And I’ll keep hating you. I don’t want you around me. Just... avoid me."

I didn’t even know why I said it. Maybe because I wanted him to fight me on it. To tell me I was wrong. To prove to me that he wasn’t as indifferent as he pretended to be. But he just looked at me, his face unreadable, his expression calm.

And then he smirked.

Not a cruel smirk, not one filled with amusement, but something softer. Something almost... knowing.

"That, Elena, is up to you," he said simply. "Feels like you’re always around me, though. I don’t blame you."

The smugness in his tone made my blood boil but before I could say anything, he took a step back. Away from me. Away from the moment.

Leaving me standing alone on the platform, brimming with anger and something else I couldn’t quite name.

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