School was too slow today.  It was too long before I was standing in front of my locker at the end of the day.  I pulled out the books I needed, and got rid of the ones that were rendered useless until tomorrow.  I’m just glad tomorrow is Friday or I think I might die.  “I want you to meet my parent’s.” 

I turned to my side, seeing Scott leaning against Noah’s locker.  “Seriously?”

                “Why not?”

I shrugged, closing my locker.  “I didn’t know we were that serious.”

                “I think it’s safe to call you my girlfriend now…” He trailed.

I felt my cheeks heat and I forced a smile.  “I think so.”

He grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers before walking out of school.  “Would Saturday be okay?”

                “That would be fine.”

We walked to his car and he leaned his back against his door.  “Do you need a ride home?”

                “No, I’m going to the hospital with Ash.”  Half of that was a lie. 

He leaned forward, kissing my temple and opening his door.  “I’ll text you later.” I told him.

He smiled and got into his car.

                I walked back to the front of the school and Ash finally came out with his friends trailing behind.  Including one of my friends, which happens to be Ashley.  She’s been attached to Rai’s hip ever since that party.  I was actually happy for her.  It only took a few years, but it happened. 

The last person out of the door was Noah, of course.

I wish I was homeschooled, it would make my life easier.

                Ash stopped in front of me, placing his sunglasses over his eyes.  “Are you going to the hospital?” He asked.

                “I just want to see how she’s doing until Dad gets off.  Do you think you could give me a ride?”

Ash sucked air into his teeth and sighed, “I have to take Max home before his mom grounds him again.  I can give you money for a cab—”

                “I can give you a ride.”  Noah stepped forward.

Ash glanced at Noah standing next to him and back to me.  “Is that okay?” He asked.

I looked at Noah, his eyes watching me carefully.  “I guess.  Thanks.”

                Ash’s wave was cut off as I followed Noah to his car.  I hopped inside, and Noah was already starting the car when I closed the door.  We pulled out of the school parking lot and he finally spoke.  “I’m sorry about last night.”

                “Why are you sorry?”

                “Because you told me not to do something and I did it anyway.”

I laughed.  “That wouldn’t be the first time, Noah.”

He didn’t find it funny.  “It’ll be the last.”

                “This shouldn’t be so complicated.” I muttered, leaning against my hand.  “I don’t understand any of it.”

                “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.  I thought I left all of that behind.  I’m still trying to find the person responsible, but I have nothing.  It’s a dead end.  And what’s even worse is the fact that people actually think I would kill my best friend.  Why would I do that?  What reason would I have to murder the only person I was actually close to?  There’s none.” 

I was just staring at him.  Watching his lip twitch as he raised his voice, the way his lips drew into a hard line, and the way his eyes looked like they were about to cry.  “You didn’t do it.” I said softly.  I reached over, placing a hand on his leg.  “I’m trying to help, but it seems all I do it make it worse—”

                “You make it bearable.” He interrupted.

I needed to tell him I went to the cops.  I didn’t know what his reaction would be, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.  “I need to tell you something.” I whispered, pulling my hand away.  “I, uh…I went to the cops about Joel.”

His reaction really wasn’t good. 

Noah jerked the car off of the road, parking in the grass.  “You did what?”

                “I told you, I don’t feel safe and it was the only option—”

                “And I told you I can handle this.”

                “You don’t understand, Noah.  He almost killed my mom.  It could have been any of us.  It could have been Ash or my dad.  I don’t think his intentions were to put my mom in a coma.  I’m pretty sure he wanted her dead, but he wanted it to look like an accident—”

He held his hand up, cutting of my sentence.  “You did what was expected, I can’t be mad.” He sighed, running his palms over his pants.  “This is my fault, and like I said, I’m going to fix it.”

I’m not going to stop him.  “Let me help you.”

He finally looks at me.  Actually looks at me, nothing hiding behind his eyes.  No secrets.  “You can teach me how to defend myself.  I can take you up on that offer about teaching me about the daggers.  Teach me how to protect myself.”

His expression slowly went from ‘Has she gone crazy?’ to ‘Maybe it’s not a bad idea, but her brother would kill me.’  “There’s always a cop near my house.  Joel won’t go anywhere near it.”

                “If Ash—”

                “I don’t want to hear my brother’s name right now.  This is strictly between me and you.”

He drummed his pointer and middle finger on his bottom lip nervously, thinking.

                “Fine.” He huffed.  “Only because I don’t want you to get hurt…you know what I mean.”

                “So, it’s a deal?”

He hesitated, but nodded slowly.  “It’s a deal, Fighter.”

The sound of that name coming from his mouth made my heart flutter.

                I stuck my hand in his direction and he gave it a firm shake.  “We start this weekend.”

Maybe staying away from Noah isn’t what’s best. 

                Joel already knows that I know him.  What’s staying away from him going to do?  I know we can’t exactly be…intimate, but we can be friends who help each other.  Even though I want to kiss him when I see him.  But a repeat of last night can’t happen.  I can’t even stop thinking about what happened.  The way Noah makes me feel…you can’t describe it.  It’s almost addicting, but I need to remind myself it’s strictly professional and I don’t want to jump him every time I see him.

                My thoughts were cut short as Noah parked the car.  “Are you going to be okay?”

I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to face him, “I think so.  Thanks for bringing me.”

                “Do you need a ride home?”

I hesitated, rummaging through my head for a moment.  “Come back in two hours?”

He smiled and nodded.  “Sure.”

                “Thanks…again.”

I laughed nervously and opened the door.  I stepped out of the car, slinging my bag across my shoulder.

                I felt a gush of cool air hit my face as the automatic doors opened.  They moved my mom out of ICU, and she’s stabilized in a private room a floor lower.  When I got to her floor, I made a few turns, looking for room 302.  The door was slightly cracked, so I pushed it opened slowly and walked in.  I was surprised to see Officer Larson already here.  “You’re early.” I breathed.

My mom wasn’t happy.

                “She doesn’t remember anything.” Larson frowned, standing up from his sitting position by my mom’s bed.

                “No, she has to remember something.  Anything!”  I rushed to my mom’s side, cupping her hand between my own.  “Mom, you have to remember something.”

She was shaking her head, her eyes glued to the muted TV.  “I’m sorry, Willow.  I fell, that’s all I remember.”

No.  “There was evidence, mom.  Someone did this to you and I think I know.  But I need you to remember.  Something…Anything.”  I wanted to scream at this point.  But I can’t blame her.

                “A scent?  A voice?  Anything?”  Larson piped.

She started to shake her head but stopped abruptly.  “I do remember the smell of cigarette smoke.  And the sound of heavy boots.”

                “What about an accent?  Did this person talk?”

She shook her head again, “No, he was American.”

                “American?  He didn’t have an English accent?”

She hesitated, and shook her head.  “That’s all I can remember, Willow.  I’m sorry.”

She looked at me and I could tell she was tired.  “It’s okay.” I whispered, close to tears.  “It’ll come back to you.  But for now, Dad and Ash can’t know about this, okay?”

Now she was looking at me like I was the one that did this to her.  “Why?  What aren’t you telling me?”

                “I can’t explain this to you right now.  There’s just a bad person that’s trying to hurt me.  But he’s going through you guys.”

She jerked her hand away from me and put her face in her hands.

                She slammed her palms down on her lap with a heavy sigh.  “I don’t understand any of this.  Why would some man be after you?  What did you do?”

That last question stung.  “I didn’t do anything, Mom.  He’s a horrible person, that’s all you need to know.”

                “And he’s English?”

I nodded.

                “The guy that was in the house wasn’t English, he was pretty American.”

I almost forgot Officer Larson was in the room until he stepped forward.  “A friend of your daughters, Noah Lockwood?  Do you know him?”

I needed to be the one to explain everything to her, but maybe its better coming from him. 

                “I know he’s Ash’s friend, but I knew nothing about him and Willow being friends.”

                “We aren’t.” I clarified.  “I just babysit his little brother, that’s all.”  It wasn’t a complete lie.

                “The guy Willow is talking about, is Joel Hale.”

It’s almost like a light bulb just flickered inside my mom’s head.  “Yes, Joel Hale.  I remember him from the news, talking about his little brother that committed suicide.  A friend of mine worked on Noah’s case when he was accused.”

Now I remember that’s all they could talk about for weeks.  It was big news last year.  “Noah’s innocent.” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks turn to fire.  “Joel’s still convinced Noah murdered him.  Jesse was Noah’s best friend, basically a brother.”  And how was I supposed to explain how I knew all of this?  “Joel’s looking for Noah, and he’s seen him with me.  He’s tried forcing me to get Noah to go to him, but Noah can’t do it.  It’s not safe, none of it’s safe.”

My mom looked away, letting what I just told her sink in as she tried to process it.  “I still don’t understand, Willow.” She admitted, looking to me again.  “Why would this Joel person threaten you or us?  What do we have to do with any of this?”

If I’m going to tell her everything, now is the time to do it.  “Noah…he, uh…He cares about me…differently, I guess.”

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. 

                “He has feelings for me, Mom.” I said softly, fighting back the tears.  “I didn’t want Joel to be right, but he was.  Noah couldn’t go to Joel because I asked him not to.  Joel can’t get by with this, so if you remember anything else, please tell me.  We need to get him.”

She reached towards me, brushing her hand across my cheek.  “I’m so sorry, Mom.  I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” I heaved.  “I’m so scared all the time.  I’m scared for you, Ash, dad and even Noah and his family.”

                “Don’t cry.” She said softly, swiping a thumb under my eye.  “I’m glad you told me all of this, okay?  And I’m still recovering and things will come back to me, don’t worry.  I’m safe here.”

Her last three words were like a security blanket.

                “We’re still going to patrol the area.”  Officer Larson stated.  “I’ll be back tomorrow to check and see if you have any more information.”  He smiled sadly and left.

Joel isn’t going to get by with this.

                It’s almost been two hours and I eventually got my mom to lighten up.  We sat snuggled in her bed as we watched an old black and white movie.  “Tell me more about Noah.” She blurted, giving my hand a firm pat.

Where do I start?  “He’s not really a bad person.  He’s a good person who’s been through bad things.  He’s had his fair share of trouble and I’m sure he’s going to continue to get into trouble.  But he’s a good person.”  I repeated.

                “You know I would die if something happened to you, Willow.”

                “I could say the same about you.”  I refuse to cry again.  “I didn’t know if you were going to wake up.”

This time she patted my leg.  “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

I could finally laugh.  “And you’re not getting rid of me for at least another two years.”

We both shared a laugh and there was a knock on the door.  “Will you get that?  I’m kind of indisposed at the moment.” She joked, lifting up her arms.

                I climbed off her bed, and went to the door.  I pulled it opened, surprised to see Noah standing there.  “I thought you were going to text me?” I asked.

                “I did.  And I called, but no answer.” 

I patted down on all my pockets and dropped my hands.  “I must have left it in my locker again.  That’s the third time this month.”

Noah laughed and covered his mouth to stop himself.

I thumped his arm and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards my mom’s direction.  “What are you doing?”  He rushed in a whisper.

                “You were going to meet her eventually.” I said back.

My mom was too focused on the movie to notice us standing there.  “Honey, who was it—” She stopped midsentence when she looked in my direction.

                “This is Noah.” I gestured towards him.  “And Noah, this is my mom.  You can just call her Mrs. A, she likes it.”

I looked at Noah, and he was actually nervous.  “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I couldn’t put a point on my mom’s reaction.  I know she wasn’t exactly happy, but I can’t tell if she was mad either.  “He’s the new drummer for Ash’s band, didn’t Ash tell you?”  I informed her.

                “Oh, yes!  I remember Ash mentioning you.” She smiled the best she could.  “It’s nice to put a face to a name.”

I’ve never seen Noah nervous before, but it was amusing.  “He’s going to take me home.  But I’ll be back tomorrow when Larson’s here.”

She nodded and sent me a smile.  She looked from me to Noah standing beside me.  “He’s not going to get by with this.”  My mom was surprisingly calm about all of this.

                  “I’m sorry?” Noah spoke.

                  “I read your case last year. A friend of mine worked to help clear you.” She cleared.  “I don’t know what I believe, but my daughter believes you’re innocent.  Willow is the most kind-hearted, trusting person I know.  I trust her instincts.  I hope she’s right about you.”

Noah was fidgeting beside me.  “I promise nothing is going to happen to her.” 

                “Someone has to protect her, since I can’t.”  She was half joking.

Noah laughed nervously and everything got quiet.

                “I’ll be back tomorrow after school.”  I leaned towards her, kissing her cheek.

                Noah and I left the room and proceeded to the elevators.  “You told her everything?”  Noah broke the silence when we stepping inside.

                “I had to, Noah.”  I reached across him, pressing the number one of the pad.

                “No, that’s not why I asked.  She seemed to be…okay with it.”

I shook my head, “She’s not.  Like she said, she trusts me.  I told her you were a good person with bad luck.  My dad will take more convincing.”

I felt his warm hand take my own, wrapping his fingers protectively around my hand.  “Want to come over?”

I was slightly taken back.  “What?”

He turned to me, dropping my hand in the process.  “Do you want to come over?  My parents aren’t home.”

I hesitated and lightly shook my head.  “I can’t.”

                “Why not?”

                “I have a boyfriend, Noah.  I can’t keep doing this.”

                “But he slipped—”

                “It wasn’t him.” 

The elevator opened and we stepped out.

                He waited to say anything until we were driving.  “Then who did it?  He gave you the drink himself.”

                “He did, but Joel was the one that gave it to him.  It makes sense.”

It really didn’t make too much sense.

                “I still don’t trust him.  And you let him go on a date with Laura and I know how she is.”

Who doesn’t know?

                “I didn’t keep my hands to myself, either.” My cheeks were burning again.

Noah laughed a little beside me.  “I can vouch for that.”

                “You weren’t keeping your hands to yourself, either.”

He was still smiling.  “And you weren’t complaining.”  He paused.  “Do you love him?”

As long as I’ve been around Noah, he hasn’t asked me so many questions.  “It’s too early to tell.”

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

A few minutes later, we pulled into his driveway.  Noah and I can be friends.  It shouldn’t be this hard.  I stepped out of the car and followed him inside.  The house was dark until Noah flipped on the switch in the foyer.  “How’s Alex?” I asked, slipping my jacket off.

“He’s good.  He asks about you sometimes.”

A smile touched my lips.  “Good, I’m glad someone misses me.” I teased.

Noah looked at me, his mouth turning into a mocking smirk, “Don’t—”

                “You need to relax.”

He rolled his eyes and turned me around.  He placed his hands on my shoulders and started walking me down a hallway.  “We can just start now, since you’re already here.”  He dropped his arms, opened the doors to the gym.

                I followed him inside and he walked further into the room, turning on the lights.  “Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded.  “Why not?  Did you have plans?”

                “Nope, no plans.”

                “Let’s get started then.”

He clapped his hands together and pushed passed the punching bags.  I followed close behind.  Behind the punch bags, was a smaller area.  The wall ahead was taped with targets of different sizes.  The wall to my right was lined with the many daggers I’ve seen in Noah’s room.  “How many of those do you have?”

He shrugged and walked to the wall.  “I break and lose them a lot.”  Yeah, no big deal.

He grabbed an average one with a simple black handle.  “This is the one I started with.  The grip isn’t the greatest, but it’s light and easier to throw.”

He came up behind me, and lifted my arm into his hand.  He placed the handle of the dagger in my hand.  It was cool, but became warm as he wrapped my fingers tight around it.  “It’s mainly about focus.” His whispered touched my ear. 

                “I can’t focus with you this close.”

I felt his lips smile against my ear.  “I’m sorry, is this distracting?”

A shiver went down my spine, “Yes, very distracting.”

He ignored me and lifted my wrist.  “Pull your arm back and aim for that target.”  He pointed to the larger one in the middle.

His warmth left me as he stepped back.  He stood on my other side a foot away.

                I pulled my arm back, moving it forward and letting the dagger slip from my hand.  The dagger stuck in the corner, no were near the first ring of the target.  “Don’t get defeated.”  Noah said, taking a step closer.  “It took me a few months.”

                “You didn’t have help though.”

                “True, but I was a little more determined.”

I scoffed.  “You don’t think I’m determined enough?”

He bit down on his bottom lip.  I hated it when he did that.  “Fine.” I huffed.  I pulled my hair tie from my wrist and put my hair into a ponytail.  I unbuttoned my sheer blouse, slipping it off my arms, leaving me in my under shirt that clung to my skin.

                Noah didn’t seem too fazed by my actions.  Instead he walked forward and retrieved the dagger from the wall.  He handed it to me and stood close.  I held the dagger in front of my eyes, aiming it with one eye closed.  I lined it up with the middle, took a deep breath and exhaled as I threw the dagger.  This time it landed on the bottom ring of the target.  “Yes!” I settled my hands on my hips and turned to Noah. 

He stood there, mouth slightly opened.  “I’m kind of turned on right now.” He said slowly.

                “I’m too happy, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” I chirped and went to get the dagger from the wall.

                It’s been an hour, and I haven’t progressed much.  I don’t know what was frustrating Noah more.  The fact that I can’t make the bull’s eye or the fact he can’t touch me and that’s driving him crazy.  “Get angry!” He shouted.  “Think about everything Joel did.  Think about what he can do.  Think about what you were feeling when you saw your mom—”

                “Stop it!” I snapped, squeezing my head between my hands.  “You’re the one making me angry right now.  Just stop.”

His hard expression didn’t change.  “You’re angry, right?  It works.  It helped me.  Anger is built up adrenalin begging to be used.  Use it, Willow.”

                “You’re making it worse.” I said softly.  “I don’t want to do it anymore.”  I wrapped my arms around myself.

He took a few steps towards me.  “Do you think I learned by giving up?  No.  I learned because I was determined.  And I’m determined to help you.”

                “You’re not helping me at all.  You’re pissing me off by yelling at me.”

He grabbed the dagger from the wall and stood in front of me.  I never noticed the height difference, but it was pretty big.  He towered over me, the blue no longer in his eyes.  Darkness consumed them as he stared into mine.  “You’re going to learn.  And it’s not going to be with me being nice to you.”

I wanted to punch him or kick him where it really hurts.  “Stop.  Yelling.  At.  Me.”  I took a step with each word until I was standing closer.  I placed my hands on his chest and shoved him back a little.

He smirked, wrapping his fingers around my wrists before I could pull away.  “I like it when you’re angry.”

I jerked my wrists from his grip and pushed my lose hair from my face.  “You’re such an ass.”  I dropped my head in my hands to take a breath.  I paced for a minute and finally made my way back to him.  I snatched the dagger from his sweaty hands and pushed him back more.  I would be too tempted to throw it at him if he made another remark.

                I drowned out Noah’s instructions and focused on my breathing.  In and out; In and out.  I lifted the dagger, aiming with one eye again.  Thoughts of Joel’s hand on my arm flashed through my mind and the things I would do to him if I saw him again.  My mom in a hospital bed and Noah under Joel’s hands.

                     I let go of the dagger.

                I watched it fly forward with so much force and it finally punctured through the ring just below the bull’s eye.

I let go of the breath I was holding and leaned over my knees for a moment.

I stood up straight and turned around to face Noah.  He had his arms crossed against his chest and a proud smile playing on his lips.  “I told you.”

I slowly smiled and walked up to him.  I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.  He timidly wrapped his arms around me, giving me a gentle squeeze before letting me go.

I took a step back, “Sorry, I’m sweaty—”

                “I’m still really turned on right now.”

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

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I kind of got carried away.  I love writing Noah and Willow scenes because, let's be real.

I feel like I'm going too slow?  Like am I confusing anyone?  Does anyone have any questions?  If you do, let me know.  Or tell me to speed things up, haha.

I love you guys!