Page 56 of The Boy I Once Hated

I inhale sharply when I feel the soft stroke of fingertips sliding along my bare back. I quickly glance behind me, only to see Noah passing by, Stacy's hands on the back of his suit coat like a barnacle.

He's turned away from me, but I know it was him that touched me.

The question is…why?

I suddenly feel overheated. "I'm going to take a bathroom break," I murmur as soon as the song ends.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Kyle asks attentively.

"To the girls bathroom?" I tease, scrunching up my nose. Kyle laughs awkwardly. "Oh yeah, right. I'll just be over there when you come back." He points to where some of his friends have sat back down at the table where we ate. I notice that Stacy and Noah have disappeared from the room.

I go out into the dimly lit hallway and make my way into the blissfully empty bathroom. I stall after I finish, standing in front of the mirror noting how…alive I look. Kind of like after that "mistake" with Noah.

Too bad it takes misery for me to feel anything.

Wondering how much longer I have to stay, I make my way out to the hallway, only to be immediately pushed against the wall.

I squeak as a hand slaps across my mouth and stare up into Noah’s fiery gaze. I'm caught off guard for a moment, but thankfully my survival instinct kicks in and I start to struggle. But all Noah does is laugh cruelly at my poor attempts to go free. When he loosens his grip, I freeze as his hand moves away from my mouth and he softly trails a finger from my lips, down my neck, to my collarbone. He traces along it, almost absentmindedly.

"What do you want?" I growl.

"Why does he look like that?" Noah answers instead.

“What are you talking about?"

"Kyle. Why does he look like that?"

"Look like what?" I counter confused.

"Like he knows what it feels like to be inside of you."

I gasp, my eyes wide and my cheeks darkening. I honestly had never gone there in my head with Kyle. For heaven sakes, I hadn't even kissed him. I haven’t even been kissed.

Before I can say anything in my defense, Noah leans forward, his lips brushing against the edge of my ear, goosebumps trailing down my skin. "The only person who’s going to know what that feels like is me," he whispers, the threat hanging between us. “Remember that.”

I’m frozen as he abruptly pushes away from me and ambles down the hall like he hasn't just rocked my world.

I'm achy…hungry. My breath is coming out in gasps. I'm still leaning against that wall when Kyle comes out to look for me. He stares at me questioningly. "Everything okay?"

I force myself to move off from the wall.

"Everything's fine," I murmur, and I let him grab my hand to lead me back into the gym where the dancing is still going.

For the rest of the night I try to have fun on the dance floor. Emphasis on try. With Kyle’s friends actually being nice to me, and Noah and Stacy rooted on the other side of the room, after a while, it doesn’t feel too hard to pretend that I am.

The only thing that prevents me from actually enjoying this rite of passage that is Homecoming is the constant flashbacks of what happened in the hallway with my stepbrother. I can't stop thinking about what Noah said. I can't stop thinking of his lips brushing against my skin, the hard weight of his body against mine.

I just can’t stop thinking about…him.

I’m so consumed in my own thoughts that when something cold and wet falls on my head as Kyle and I are slow dancing to some song, it takes me a while to register it. I let out a small scream and turn, just as more cold punch is splashed right at my face. Stacy and three of her friends are gathered around me, and before I can move, the rest of their cups are dumped all over my head. I stand there, dripping wet, my beautiful pink dress completely ruined, my mascara streaking down my face, and my hair plastered against my head. The music is cut off and everyone's just staring at me before they start laughing.

I gape at the three of them.

"Why?" I stammer.

"Because Cinderella always has to return back to her place at midnight. We just wanted to make sure that you remembered that," says Stacy sweetly.

Just beyond her shoulder is Noah, leaning against a column with some of his friends, laughing just as hard as everyone else.

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