Dixie

March

~~~

It's been a month since Noah Beck hit Dixie with a door, causing a raging concussion and frequent trips to the nurse in the week or so afterward. But ever since then... Noah has been acting strangely. Every time she glances at him in a class or on the courtyard or every time she cheers in the stands of their school's soccer games, she catches him looking at her. And she's not the only one who notices him looking at her.

"I swear he looks at you like you're the next big superstar. Or a piece of meat. I can't decide if it's cute or creepy." Kate comments, after the game, while the boys celebrate the win. "Either way, you should go for it. And that's coming from ME, who thinks you should've picked someone easier to go for."

Dixie sighs. "Just because he hit me with a door doesn't mean he's suddenly in love with me. He didn't even want to help me in the first place. Why should I go for it when he didn't even want to help me after hitting me with a door?" Truth be told, she did want to know why he was suddenly noticing her now, but she'd never ask him herself.

"Dude. The hottest guy in school and the quietest stares at you and notices you, yet you won't do anything about it. Sorry, Dix, you're my best friend and everything but, you're an idiot." Kate says, bluntly. And maybe she had a point, but Dixie really didn't want to take that chance just to have him look at her like some freak animal in a zoo.

She shakes her head at Kate as she pulls out the keys to her car. She shivers a bit when she notices how cold it is. She'd been too busy cheering her lungs out to notice until now. Her black beanie, hoodie and windbreaker and some jeans did hardly anything to cover her from the cold night. "Thanks. I can feel the love. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, alright? We're meeting at our normal spot right?"

Her friend nods. "Yup. See you tomorrow, biatch! You better make a move on him or else I'll do it for you!" With that, she walks away in the other direction to her car.

Dixie, now alone, tries to warm herself up while walking to her car with the keys in her hand by blowing on her hands and rubbing them together. What she doesn't realize, is that it rained last night, and also that it's the temperature of freezing.

By the time she realizes this, her foot is already sliding against the pavement of the parking lot. She thinks, "This is it. This is how I die. I'm going to fall and break my head open on this pavement and everyone will witness it."

But before she can hit the ground, strong arms catch her and pull her back up and onto her feet.

"So clumsy. Can't even stay on her feet for three seconds before falling to her death." Her captor mumbles. Turning around to see who saved her, she's once again met with the familiar eyes that were staring at her only moments ago during the game.

"Noah," Dixie says, breathlessly, still recovering from her near-death experience. "What are you doing here?" She knows this is a dumb question, probably the dumbest question she could ask since he's the star soccer player, whom she just watched play, but what can she say? She panicked. He radiates intimidation. Everything about him screams, "I could crush you with the flick of my finger."

He scoffs a little, smirking at the same time. She's never seen him smile, or even smirk, so she isn't sure how to react or take this. "Well, what does it look like? I just saved you from yet another serious injury. Duh." He runs his hand through his black hair, which looks even darker in the night sky.

For a moment, neither of them say anything, just standing there in the awkward cold night. She's too surprised and nervous to say anything and he just doesn't know how to talk to people. It's never been one of his best skills.

"Sorry. I don't really know what to say right now." Dixie says, shakily. Usually, she has no trouble talking to guys, but Noah is different. She didn't quite know why. It's quite possible it's because he's the most attractive guy she's ever seen and that he looks like he could be on the cover of a steamy romance novel.

"Well. Usually a thank you is a good way to start. Since, I did, save you from falling on your ass." Noah says, his breath leaving smoke because of how cold it was. She shivers a bit, the adrenaline of nearly falling wearing off.

Dixie looks away. "Thank you for saving me. Now, I should really be going before another near-death experience strikes again." Gathering the confidence, she starts to walk away from Noah, realizing that they're in the middle of the parking lot and cars are starting to pull out and notice them standing there, blocking the way. Students are walking by, staring at them and wondering what's going on with Noah and the new girl.

As she's walking away, she hears her name called out.

As she's walking away, she hears her name called out.

"Hey, Dixie, wait up." His deep voice calls out. She freezes in her place... He knows her name?

Dixie turns to him, as he stops in front of her. It's then when she really looks at him, she hadn't looked at him fully until now, because his eyes always seemed to capture hers before she even had the chance to notice him fully and appreciate just how attractive he is. Especially in his soccer gear, his cleats now exchanged with some black beat up Old Skool Vans.

Noah stood there, in front of her for a few seconds not saying anything before blurting out. "Can I have a ride? My car's been having some trouble lately..."