Chapter Six: Why Are You Hiding In A Closet?

“What are you even doing here then?” I asked bitterly.  Noah ran his fingers roughly through his hair and jumped off of the stool.  “I told you I would talk to you, and I did.  So now, just leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone.”  He walked out of the kitchen and I quickly followed behind.  A slap across the face would have hurt less than that.  “So you’re allowed to tell me to stay away from you, but when I tell you to stay away from me, you don’t listen?”

He glanced at me over his shoulder and said, “I told you, I don’t follow the rules.”

And I do.  “Well, please, don’t let me keep you.” I said sarcastically with a smile to match.

Noah reached for the door, but the door swung open before he got a chance to touch the knob.  Ash’s head rose as he closed the door, and was taken by surprise when he saw Noah.  “Uh, hey, what are you doing here?” Ash glanced at me and back to Noah.

                “I was looking for you.  I was going to see if you want a ride to my house.” Noah’s lies came out so easily.  He didn’t stutter or hesitate.

Ash took a step closer to him, examining his face.  “What the hell happened to your face, man?”

Noah started laughing, “I can’t say I’ve heard that one before.  I was jumped by a couple of losers, no big deal, I took care of them.”

He was a little too confident.  “I wouldn’t doubt it.  Are you okay to practice today?”

Noah nodded, “It’s just my face, and my hands are in one piece.”

                “I’ll just ride with you then.” Ash turned to face me.  “Are you coming?”

My eyes immediately found Noah’s.  He was staring at me, nervously picking at his bottom lip.  He was slowly shaking his head no.  I put a smile on my face, “Let me get my jacket.”  Noah’s eyes went wide and he clenched his jaw.

                I walked up to my room and grabbed my jacket.  I walked back down the stairs and followed them out to Noah’s car.  I got into the backseat, directly behind Noah.  I didn’t want to be anywhere near his line of eyesight.  I don’t know why I’m even going.  I just wanted to piss Noah off, and now that I’m actually in the car, I want to go back inside.  But the thought of being alone trumped pissing Noah off.  If he wouldn’t have shaken his head, I wouldn’t have gone.  Damn it, Willow.

                The drive to Noah’s felt like it was taking forever.  Noah and Ash babbled about some video game, and then mentioned a band.  I tuned them out when they started talking about senior girls they just had to have.  I’m used to it coming from my brother, and Noah is just like him.  But darker.  The only secret I know that Ash has is accidently running over the neighbor’s cat last year.  Poor Bruno.

                When we reached Noah’s house, I was the first to jump out.  I waited for Noah to get out so he didn’t hit me with the door.  He stepped out and glared at me with the shake of his head.  “You should have listened to me.” He whispered in a harsh tone and started walking with Ash.  He’s right, I should have listened.  But I’m not staying in that house by myself, he should understand.

                Noah led us down to the basement and flipped a few light switches.  Ash was right about the set up.  It's huge.  The basement is basically a small apartment.  It stretches the length of the house.  There's a mini bar to my right at the base of the stairs and straight ahead was a small living area.  A flat screen above the fireplace, black leather sectional and a chair to match.  We walked further and I discovered a pool table and a row of different guitars hanging against the wall.  I turned to the left, and there was a set of drums, a microphone, and three guitars waiting to be played. “I’m gonna run to the ladies room.” Ash announced with the clap of his hands.

                “No need to share, Ash.” I grinned.

He stuck his tongue out at me and disappeared around the corner.

                I walked towards Noah’s drums and brushed my fingers over the top.  “How long have you been playing?” I asked, looking in Noah’s direction.  He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed tight across his chest.  “When I was eight my dad gave me a pair of drumsticks and a drum set.  I’ve been playing ever since.”

                “Did you not want to learn?”

He shook his head, laughing lightly.  “It’s all I talked about for three years; he just never took me seriously.  I think he started to when I kept them up at night.”            

I smiled, “That’s one way to do it.  Where are they?  Your parents?”

                “They took Alex somewhere, I don’t know.  I don’t really see them much.”  He dropped his arms and walked around me to get to his drums.  “You ask a lot of questions.” There was a small shelf filled with drumsticks and he grabbed a pair.  “I’m just trying to understand you.” I mumbled.

                “Well that’s pointless.  No one ever does.” He smirked and sat behind the drums.  “You shouldn’t even be here.” He leaned over the middle drums, eyeing me.

I shrugged my shoulders, “I’m not staying at the house by myself.”

                “Does anyone else know about those notes?”

                “Only Ashley.”

He shook his head, “What about the new one?”

                “She doesn’t know.  I’m scared to tell anyone.  I feel like I’m constantly being watched.”

I heard the doorbell ring and Noah didn’t even flinch.  “Ash or the housekeeper will get it.” He informed.  “Do you have the note with you?”

I dropped my voice down to a whisper, “No, I hid them.”

His smirk grew.  “So it was you?”

I looked at him curiously, narrowing my eyebrows.  “What?”

                “You took the note back from my room.”

Oh no.  My heart dropped.  “It was mine; I don’t know why I even gave it to you in the first place.”

He shrugged a shoulder and twirled one of the drumsticks between his fingers.  I don’t know why I found it so attractive.  “And I thought you followed the rules, Fighter.”

I just didn’t want him to have it.  I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound of the basement door opened followed by loud talking and laughing.  I stepped back away from Noah and watched people pour into the area.  Max, Nick, Rai, and my brother grabbed their instruments and I moved further back.  Ashley appeared standing beside me with a huge grin on her face.  “Glad you could make it.” She said.

I nodded.  The basement door opened again, followed by more laughs and talking.  A group of girls, ranged from juniors to seniors cascaded down the stairs and another group contained Ash’s friends.  I only recognized a few of them.  I noticed Laura Ryan amongst her lemmings.  They stood close the band, and Laura was pointing to Noah.  She looked at her friend, nodding her head with a giggle.  I was right about one thing.  She wasn’t here for Ash.  Ash didn’t even take two looks at her.

                After watching for a few minutes, I wondered towards the bar.  I sat down on one of the plush stools and Ashley joined me.  “Can Laura be any more desperate?  She’s eyeing Noah like he’s the last dress on the rack.”

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.  “Why is she even here?”

                “I don’t even know.  I’m pretty sure she’s been with all of them, except Noah.  Just the thought of Rai going near her makes me want to stab my eyes with a fork.”

I nodded in agreement for her sake.  “So, what happened with Scott?” She leaned her head on her hand and turned her whole body to face me.

I felt my cheeks burn a little and I looked away from her.  “We finished his paper, nothing happened.”  Did I want to tell her about the date?  Not here, anyway.

                “I get it.  Don’t tell.  But I can tell you like him.” She wiggled her eyebrows in return making me laugh.

I didn’t want to talk about this here.  “Yeah, so you’ll pick me up after Rai’s?”

She nodded, “I don’t know what time, but yes, of course.  Did you ever find out who wrote that note?”

                “No, I think it was a joke.” I lied.  “I’m still in one piece.” I pushed a smile.

                After band practice was over, Ashley and Rai left right away leaving me to fend for myself.  They all stood around talking, music was playing faintly in the background.  I didn’t know the song or the band.  Laura had Noah pressed against a wall, Noah had a smile that reached his ears.  Ash is talking to a guy I see him sit with at lunch and Laura’s friends were standing with the rest of the band.  I’m pretty sure they wanted to run by the expressions on their face.  I looked at Noah again and he had been staring at me before I locked eyes with him.  I quickly looked away and turned in a different direction.

                I pulled out my phone and texted Rebecca to ask about her grandma.  She was supposed to come back tomorrow, but I think she’s going to be out for the rest of the week.  “Want a drink?”  Noah’s voice crept beside me and he appeared behind the bar.  “Not the kind of drink you’re thinking of.”

He grabbed something below the bar and handed it to me.  A bottle of water.  “Yeah, like I’m going to give you alcohol while your brother is here.”

                “So you’re saying you would happily give me any drink I wanted if my brother wasn’t here?” I leaned my elbows over the bar.

He smiled as he grabbed a few shot glasses and various bottles from behind him.  “I wouldn’t hesitate.” He glanced up at me and opened the first bottle before pouring it in one of the shot glasses.  He did the same with the others.  “What is taking so long?”  Laura’s droning voice made my ears bleed.

She glared at me and leaned over the bar towards Noah.  “Which one has my name on it?” She purred.  Noah didn’t necessarily look interested.  He pushed one of the glasses towards her and she tipped it back like a pro.  I was kind of worried about her tolerance level, but not so much when she took another shot.  “None for you?” She asked me, her breath reeked of mixed liquors. 

I held my hand up and shook my head.  Noah smiled and took one of the shots and then took the last one.  “How are you and Ash related?” she snorted.

                “Well, let me explain how it works.  When a woman and a man fall in love, they get married.  And they do this thing, I’m sure you’re all too familiar with, and bam!  She gets pregnant.  In this case, me and Ash have the same parents.  Do you understand?”  I spoke the last part slowly.

                “You’re kind of a bitch.” She snapped.

I grinned, “And you’re kind of annoying.”  I jumped off of the stood and looked at Noah.  “Have fun.”

                I have little patience for people who make stupid comments like the one Laura made.  Was it needed?  Absolutely not.  Me and Ash are two completely different people, doesn’t mean he loves me any less.  He is my brother after all.  If Noah wasn’t standing there, Laura probably would have smacked me across the face or declared some kind of war that involved making my life a living hell.  I wish her all the luck.

                I left the basement and walked outside of the house.  I grabbed my phone from my pocket and paced the driveway before scrolling through my contacts.  I stopped at Scott’s name and hesitated before pressing the call button.  Just when I thought he wasn’t going to answer, he did.  “Hello?”

                “Hey, Scott.  I know it’s late and sorry if I woke you-”

                “No, you didn’t wake me.  What’s up?”

                “Are you busy?”

                “No, did you need something?”

                “Yeah, a ride.”

I heard him laugh softly.  “Where are you?”

My nerves eased.  “Noah’s.  I just don’t want to be here anymore.”

                “I’ll be there.”

I muttered thanks and we hung up.  Who else was I supposed to call?  Ashley is with Rai, Rebecca isn’t here, my parents aren’t here, either, and Ash is inside.  There’s no way I was going to make him take me home.  I didn’t need to give his friends another reason to hate me.  I didn’t know where Scott lived, so I had no idea how long it would take him to get here.  I needed to tell Ash I was leaving, so I called his phone.  And of course he doesn’t answer.  Do I really have to go back in there?

                I canceled the battle with myself and walked back inside.  I made my way to the basement door and pushed it open.  I walked back down the steps slowly and quietly.  The music was louder and I spotted Ash with Cassie, one of Laura’s friends.  I held my gaze forward, not looking in any other direction.  I walked up to my brother and tapped his shoulder.  Cassie wasn’t as mean as Laura, but she was a total airhead.  “Oh, hey.”

Cassie came up behind Ash, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.  I ignored her and said, “I’m going to go home.  I have a ride.”

He raised an eyebrow, “With whom?”

                “A friend.  And I’m staying at Ashley’s tonight.”

                “I’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled and playfully pushed my shoulder.

I’m glad that was over with.

                As I was walking back through, I felt someone’s fingers wrap tight around my forearm and pulled me into a dark room.  I didn’t catch a glimpse of the persons face before they slammed the door closed.  “Let go!” I shouted, yanking my arm from their grip.  I felt my heart beating hard and my breathing was rapid.  Suddenly a light turned on and Noah was hunched over laughing.  “I hate you so much right now.”  I let go of the breath I was holding and placed a hand over my chest.  “What is wrong with you?  And why are you hiding in a closet?” I looked around.  Coats hung on hangers, old board games stacked on the shelves, and other things you would find in a basement closet.  Hopefully no dead bodies.

He stood up straight and took one step towards me.  “Laura keeps following me around.  She kind of freaks me out.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, “You better get used to it, because she won’t stop.  And shouldn’t I be staying away from you right now?”

                “Yeah, you should be.”  That stupid smirk of his.

I took a step back, and my phone started ringing.  I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it quickly.  “I’m out here.”  Scott.

I sighed with relief.  “I’ll be there in a minute.”

He said okay and hung up.  I put my phone back in my pocket and looked up at Noah.  “Did you need something?” I asked him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  Instead he just shook his head.  “Have fun playing hide and seek with Laura.” I teased and walked out of the closet.

                I left the basement and walked back outside.  Scott was leaning against the passenger side, doing something on his phone.  “You are a lifesaver.” I told him when I got close enough.  He looked up from his phone, a small smile playing on his lips.  “I was thinking about you anyway.”

I knew my cheeks were rosy by the heat of my skin, but it was dark and he couldn’t see.  I was grateful for that.   He opened the door and closed it when I got inside.  We started in the direction of my house and I couldn’t get Noah off of my mind.  There’s just something about him that’s alluring.  Maybe it’s his eyes, or his smile, or the way I’ve grown used to him calling me Fighter.  I still think it’s an odd nickname.

                We pulled into my driveway and Scott parked the car.  He jumped out the same time I did, and walked me to my door.  “Hey, would you like to watch a movie or something?” I offered.  The thought of being left alone right now scared me.  Another smile surfaced and he nodded, “Only if it’s scary.”

I unlocked the door and we walked inside.  “Nothing but.  My parents rented Evil Dead; I’ve been too scared to watch it by myself.”  I took my jacket off and sat down on the couch.  Scott sat next to me, almost a little too close, but I didn’t mind.  I felt safe with Scott.  For once, I actually felt safe.

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So I'm really considering making this a series, and attempt to get it published.  I know it probably doesn't compare to any of the books out there, but I honestly think it's my best.  The next chapter will finally start some awesomeness, so keep reading! :)

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