Page 19 of The Secret Of Us

I leave the locker room and enter the bathroom, splashing water on my face to cool down. I’m a red-faced mess, my hair sticking up at all angles even though I tried my best to wrestle it into a bun. I don’t bother attempting to fix the way I look because I’m going to shower as soon as I get back to my room anyway. I leave the bathroom, chugging what’s left of my water so I can refill it before I go back.

“You can avoid accidents like that from happening if you just quit.”

My ears perk up at the sound of Ryan’s voice. When I turn the corner, he’s there. But he’s not alone.

Noah is leaning against the wall, his head tipped to one side as he looks at Ryan, his face completely blank. Neither of them has noticed I’m here yet, so I keep listening.

“It was a cheap shot. I’m not going anywhere,” Noah says, his voice deep.

“You think I don’t know why you’re here? You won’t get away with acting like that while I’m around,” Ryan says.

Noah just sighs. All the rumours circulating this week must be getting to him. They’re bothering me, and it’s not even about me.

Ryan steps away from Noah, turning his back to him for a second as he runs his hand across his face, letting out a sarcastic laugh. In his mind, he must think he sounds intimidating but really, he sounds like the bad guy from a low-budget horror movie. It’s embarrassing to hear.

In that split second where Ryan has his back to him, I look at Noah and his mask drops. He looks dejected, his shoulders dropping as he tilts his head back against the wall. As soon as Ryan turns around though, that blank, unbothered expression is back.

That tiny glimpse of his true emotions is all I needed to push me forward, and then I’m approaching the two of them. In any other circumstance, I would never start a conversation with Ryan first, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Ryan,” I say loudly, dragging his attention away from Noah. I glance at him quickly, hoping the mask will drop, but it’s still there and he’s not even looking at me. “Leave him alone.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Isabelle.”

I clench my jaw at hearing my full name. He’s the only person who calls me that. Even teachers call me Izzy because it’s what I prefer. But when we started dating, Ryan wanted to be different from everyone else. So he insisted on calling me Isabelle despite me telling him multiple times that I didn’t like it. The more I look back on these things, I wonder how I put up with him for a few days, let alone months.

“You’re bothering my friend, so yes, it does,” I tell him, crossing my arms.

Noah finally looks at me then, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“You’re friends with this guy?” Ryan steps closer to me, shifting his full attention to me instead. It’s the perfect chance for Noah to escape, but he doesn’t. He just watches me.

“Haven’t you heard what everyone’s saying about him?” Ryan continues.

“None of it’s true,” I say.

I doubt I’ve heard even half of the rumours being spread about Noah but from the few interactions I’ve had with him, he seems harmless.

“Why are you defending him so much?” Ryan says, taking another step closer to me so I have to tilt my head up slightly to look at him. I keep my arms folded across my chest, trying to maintain some distance between us.

“Because I like him.”

Time freezes as Ryan stares at me, and he has that confused look on his face that he gets when he doesn’t understand his homework. At one point, I thought it was cute, but now he just looks like a gawping fish.

When my eyes flick to his side to look at Noah, his mask has slipped, and he’s staring at me, slack-jawed. Pure shock shows on his face as his hazel eyes go wide. He blinks comically a few times as if he’s coming back into his body after being taken out of it. He opens and closes his mouth like he did on the first day when he struggled to tell me that he played football. He looks cute.

“Noah, let’s go.”

I hold my hand out toward him, hoping he takes it without making too much of a fuss. Ryan looks back at Noah for a second, and his mask is back up as quickly as it dropped. I take the chance to mouth the word‘please’to Noah while Ryan can’t see. I just need the both of us to get away from him as soon as possible.

“Are you serious?” Ryan scoffs as Noah pushes off the wall and steps toward me. He doesn’t take my hand though. A tiny part of me wishes he did.

Once he’s next to me, we turn our backs on Ryan. I look up at Noah, giving him a quick, reassuring smile before gesturing with my head for him to start walking. He does, and I go with him, both of us leaving the sports building side by side.

I hold my phone up, opening the camera to use as a mirror. I fiddle with my hair, but really, I’m looking to see if Ryan is following us, and we need to speed this escape up. Luckily, he’s not.

Neither of us says a word as we walk back to the dorm buildings. It’s a chilly evening, and the weather is getting colder already, even though it’s only September.

I steal a glance at Noah. He has his hands tucked into his pockets, and his lips pressed into a thin line as he keeps his eyes focused straight ahead. I don’t know why Ryan is bothering him so much, but I don’t like it. His words come back to me, and I’m curious to know exactly what incident he was talking about.

---