Chapter 33 - Too Obvious.
952 Words
Lily made the critical mistake of rereading the sticky note during third period.
Which immediately ruined her ability to function like a normal person.
Eat something today too.
Four words.
Four completely harmless words.
And yet somehow they carried the emotional weight of a small natural disaster.
Lily stared at the note hidden inside her notebook while her teacher explained algebra at the front of the classroom.
Why did his handwriting look so careful?
Why did Noah Carter apparently notice things about her nobody else did?
Why was she suddenly aware of the fact that he remembered her favorite coffee order?
Most importantly—
Why did that make her chest feel weird?
“This is painful to watch,” Emily whispered beside her.
Lily slammed the notebook shut instantly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve reread that note six times.”
“That is both inaccurate and invasive.”
Emily leaned closer.
“You like him.”
Lily nearly inhaled air incorrectly.
“I absolutely do not.”
“Lily.”
“He’s just…”
She stopped.
Because the problem was she didn’t actually know how to explain Noah anymore.
At first he had just been quiet.
Annoying sometimes.
Impossible to read.
But now—
Now he looked at her like she was important.
And that was infinitely more dangerous.
Emily watched her carefully.
“Oh no,” she said softly. “You’re in deep already.”
“I’m not in anything.”
“You carry the note in your pocket.”
Lily froze.
That traitor
Emily pointed dramatically.
“I KNEW IT.”
“Can you lower your voice before I pass away?”
“No.”
Before Lily could threaten her properly—
Someone knocked lightly against her desk.
Lily looked up automatically.
And immediately forgot how breathing worked.
Noah stood there.
Hands in his hoodie pocket.
Calm.
Completely unaware that his existence was actively causing problems.
Or maybe fully aware.
Honestly, impossible to tell.
The teacher had stepped briefly into the hallway, leaving the classroom buzzing with conversation.
Noah glanced at Emily once.
“She bothering you?”
Emily looked delighted.
“Constantly.”
Lily glared at both of them.
“What do you want?”
Noah’s eyes flickered toward the notebook she had nearly hidden under her arms.
Then back to her face.
“You forgot your pen earlier.”
He held one out toward her.
Lily stared at it.
Then at him.
“…I did?”
“You spent ten minutes trying to write with a highlighter.”
Emily physically turned away to hide her laughter.
Lily felt humiliation consume her instantly.
“Oh my God.”
A tiny smile appeared on Noah’s face.
Tiny.
But real.
And apparently that was enough to shorten Lily’s lifespan significantly.
She took the pen carefully.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Neither of them moved afterward.
Which became noticeable very quickly.
The classroom noise seemed louder suddenly.
People were watching.
Or maybe Lily was just imagining it.
Noah leaned slightly against the side of her desk.
“You ate yet?”
Lily blinked once.
“What?”
“You skipped breakfast.”
Her brain completely stalled.
“How do you even know that?”
Noah looked mildly confused.
“You told Emily yesterday you weren’t hungry this morning.”
Emily looked ready to collapse emotionally.
“He remembers conversations,” she whispered dramatically.
Lily ignored her aggressively.
“I ate,” she lied.
Noah looked at her for exactly two seconds.
Then—
“No you didn’t.”
The certainty in his voice was horrifying.
Because he sounded completely confident.
Like he knew her already.
Lily crossed her arms defensively.
“You can’t prove that.”
Without breaking eye contact—
Noah reached into his hoodie pocket.
Then placed a granola bar onto her desk.
The entire situation became emotionally catastrophic immediately.
Emily made a wounded noise beside her.
“Oh, he’s in love with her.”
Lily wanted to evaporate.
“Noah,” she said weakly, “what is this behavior?”
He looked genuinely thoughtful for a second.
Then—
“You forget to take care of yourself sometimes.”
The words hit too hard.
Too soft.
Too honest.
Lily suddenly became aware of every single person breathing inside the classroom.
Because somehow this had stopped feeling like teasing.
It felt real.
And that terrified her.
Noah seemed to realize it too.
His expression shifted slightly.
Less amused now.
More careful.
Like he could see the exact moment her heartbeat betrayed her.
The bell rang loudly before either of them could say anything else.
Students immediately started moving.
Noise returned all at once.
But Lily barely noticed.
Because Noah still stood there looking at her quietly.
Then Jason appeared in the doorway like a disaster sent by fate itself.
“There you are,” he announced loudly. “The school’s most emotionally confusing non-couple.”
Noah closed his eyes briefly.
Lily considered jumping through the window.
Jason pointed dramatically at the granola bar on Lily’s desk.
“Oh my God. He brought snacks now too?”
Ryan appeared behind him already looking tired.
“At this point,” he said calmly, “they’re basically married.”
“We are not married,” Lily said immediately.
Jason gasped.
“She didn’t deny the emotionally confusing part.”
“I hate every single one of you.”
Noah looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
But despite that—
When Lily glanced at him again—
He was still looking at her softly.
Like none of the teasing mattered.
Like she mattered more.
And honestly?
That was becoming the real problem.
- Writer
