Hanging Fire

Chapter Three: Yellow

Noa 16;

“No, absolutely not. Never.” I move a hand to cut the air between us, so he doesn’t continue, but before he does, I take off down the school's hall, and not before I see the flowers in his hand fall to the floor.

I’m Panicking.

It’s the mother f*****g guy from the party.

What the hell!?

I mean I should have known he was a student here but since I know everyone, I assumed he’d came along as a mutual friend to someone.

It’s been a week, barely, five days tops since I met the guy.

And I mean “met” him.

Whole ass air quotes, since I never even got his name. I booked it so fast out my happy place you would have figured it was on fire.

And it’s been only three days that we’ve been back in school.

Three.

Yet he showed up at seven-forty-five in the morning to toss flowers down my throat.

And that question!

“Will you go out with me?”

Who does he think he is to ask me, a stranger, that!?

He must have been joking. Which, that thought makes me even more furious.

I won’t let anyone have their fun at my expense. Not anymore.

I do what anyone would do when they’ve been asked out.

I go to my best friend.

Desperate to get it off my chest because I know already; I probably over reacted.

“I can’t get his face out of my head!” I tell Danny in his government class, slid into the seat in the row directly beside him. He’s got a look of worry on his face, but I dismiss it because I already know it’s me being here.

He’s watching me, mouth agape as I babble.

“He came up to me! Me! And asked me out!” Still Danny just stares at me like what I’m saying to him is nothing.

“And you said no. So, what, you don’t like him it’s not a crime.”

“No but his face looked so …torn. Especially when I just ran away from him.”

Danny’s smile is so big, his pearly white teeth flash and I can see those canines of his. They’re sharper than anyone’s I’ve ever seen. He shakes his head and looks around him at everyone sitting waiting for class to start. Then he leans over the isle to whisper to me,

“Do you think maybe you ran because you were more afraid?”

“Afraid of what?” I get comfortable in my seat, aware that the Bell has already rang. Everyone else in the class notices me, out of place. I can feel their stares, and hear their murmurs, but I’m a professional asshole too, and can ignore them.

“Afraid of crushes. Doesn’t romance disturb you?”

“It doesn’t disturb you!?” I counter back wide eyeing him.

Danny snorts but shakes his head no.

“No, it doesn’t. What’s so disturbing about it?”

“It’s weird.”

“Weird how?”

“That means… stuff.”

I watch Danny hold back a grin as he looks down, so he doesn’t show what he’s thinking.

“Does “stuff” mean what I think it does?”

I nod at him.

“You’re seventeen”—

“In two months”— I interrupt.

“I think your old enough to learn about the birds and the”—

Theres a presence next to me so thick, my spine tenses. I slowly look to see who.

“Noa?”

Mrs. North is who the presence is. She’s a regular sized woman with dark hair pulled back in a single braid. She loves to wear red lipstick and red dress pants and dresses. Overall, she’s nice but today she looks annoyed with me.

“Hey. Mrs North.” I turn back to Danny.

“I’ll tell you about the rest at lunch until then I’ll do my best to avoid him.”

“Yeah, you do that, No.”

“No. Exactly just like my name” I nod once for assurance in what I just said, as Mrs. North watches me with dramatization. She doesn’t really care but she has to. I took her class last year, so she already is well aware of who I am.

“Noa, I know there’s a class you need to be right now.”

“No, it’s study hall.” I lie and still she fixes a stern look at me.

“Those are still credited for, Noa. I’ll write you a pass this once and after that I won’t.”

She doesn’t get that no one cares about passes anymore. At least not here. Or it could just be that they don’t care to know if you do or not. Nonetheless I still take her pass.

After school I expect to see Danny waiting for me like he always does next to my car but instead it’s Courtney, leaned against my Kia. I still see Danny’s sedan beside mine, so I know he’s still here somewhere. I walk over to Courtney who looks like she’s waiting on something, other than me. If it were Jinnie, standing in her dainty white heels, and mini dress I would be worried but Courtney’s not as poised, she has no tact. She’s rougher around the edges.

“You waiting on Danny?” I assume and she narrows her eyes at me. Arms folding.

“I said on day one I thought he was hot! And you just didn’t think to tell me you know him!?”

I ball up my face in utter confusion.

“Are you saying the new blonde from your English class is my stranger?”

That’s when it registers on Courts face.

That I knew him first.

“The one from the Jinnie party?”

I nod at her and her face falls looking sad.

“f**k. Then he really does like you. “She eyes me up and down but then smiles. “Why did you tell him no then?”

I sigh, “Danny talk about it with you?”

She curves a brow, lost.

“Danny? No.” Then she sorta laughs. She turns it into a cough pretty quickly but it’s definitely only a Ha at first.

“Oh, wow it’s all over the school ain’t it?” I want to disappear.

“Oh yeah and let me tell you. Jinnie and I are taking so much s**t for it!”

I stare at her. Grasping at what she just said.

“You and Jinnie? Why would you guys be involved at all?”

“Because you’re our bitch.” She pouts out her lips, but doesn’t miss a beat when she tells me that, reaching a handout to touch my hair.

“Jinnies getting all those whores we’ve heard talk about you transferred out classes now, and if she can’t do anything academically, then it’s phase me. And I like dads.”

She’s does too. Jinnie doesn’t know…but Courts been trying her father, Robert for the last two years and he doesn’t say anything to anybody. Just tells Courtney to relax and then ignores her.

I’m just grateful for that.

Jinnies dad isn’t the first and he won’t be her last. I just hope he’s a good man. Malia is quite perfect, so I can’t imagine him ruining that.

Even for too hot Courtney Clark.

Jinnies parents to me, hold the highest pedestal, in my mind. They have a family I want in my future.

One I had…then lost. All because my father couldn’t ignore girls like Courtney.

I hate to think it, but Courtney might have gotten the idea from me.

“Calm down. What are you even taking about I don’t need anyone transferred because of me. I can handle whatever is being said.”

“They’re pissed because they all want a chance with what you could have.”

“Then they should be relieved I told him no.”

“You smashed his heart.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“I bet you’re going to regret that.”

I think of my stranger.

Nothing.

“Nooo!” I say shaking my head, baffled she thinks I care about what anyone thinks, let alone how Yellow feels about my rejection.

“Sure. Fine because you’re just going to wait around huh?” She

“Wait around?”

“You know.” She says looking behind me. I turn to see what it is and wander if she’s referring to the Sedan.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not waiting on anything I just don’t like that guy!”

“He’s a beautiful golden boy what’s not to like about him?”

“We like golden boys now. I thought society says to like the bad boys?”

She knows I’m kidding but entertains me. Her favorite thing is, all men, so she’s the expert.

“They’re the same thing now.”

“Maybe here in Port Sutton but I don’t think it’s like that in general anywhere else.”

“Just a generalization. Most men are the same. I think Peter is one of the good ones though.”

“Whose Peter?” I ask crumpling my face like that name sounded familiar.

Court smirks at me.

“The stranger!”

“Yellows name is Peter?”

She shrugs, “guess so”.

“He’s even got a name that makes me think of yellow.”

“All peters I’ve ever known were blonde. Got to be the blonde.”

I shudder and she notices, laughing.

“You just don’t know what you like.”

I flash her a look as I turn to scan the crowd of people for Danny.

When I spot him relief floods through me.

I don’t want to talk to Courtney about yellow. She just wants to me to date a guy because she thinks it would be interesting.

Entertaining.

I’m not anyone’s puppet.

“Before he gets here, I’m running off.” I’m not sure what’s going on with Courtney and Danny lately, but they seem to not want to be in the same room as each other.

Hell, even when I mention I’m texting the other they grow more distant.

“What’s up with you two?”

She flashes me a look. One that looks a little scared. She shakes her head.

“It’s nothing. Daniel and I are fine.” If she didn’t call him Daniel or say it in a high-pitched tone. I would have believed her. Of course, she didn’t want me to.

“Tells me about it when he’s not around?”

“Next time.” She promises and then disappears between the cars and back toward the school where I’m sure she’s heading to Jinnie.

Danny however is already inside his car. Blinking, I rush to his passenger seat and slide inside. He makes a face.

“What?” I say not sure why he looks so fed up with me.

“I already had to hear about it.”

“Other people said something to you too!?” I’m mortified! What is it anyone’s businesses who I date or don’t date.

“No.” He says turning to me, “He did.”

I am baffled. I almost feel like shaking. I’m so angry.

“Yellow?” I watch Danny try and comprehend that but I’m too busy trying to talk myself out of what I’m about to do.

“Yellow has the balls to talk to you. About what? Me?”

“Yep.”

“What about me?”

Danny’s expression looks somber, like he’s exhausted himself today. He stays silent. I tilt my head at him. “What is this?”

He doesn’t keep anything from me. Yet here he was turning his back on me for a new guy.

“He really does like you.”

My mouth hangs open at his words. My tongue is dry, and my chest is caved in while my stomach pumps butterflies into my throat.

“I don’t really like him.”

“You gave him a name.”

“Because I didn’t know his. He looks like, if he were a crayon…and that crayon turned to a human it would be him! Yellow!”

I spread my arms out like it should be obvious to him. I see a faint smirk on his face.

“Noa. Who was your last crush?”

“I dunno, Superman.”

His face falls.

“Super—you mean the actor!?”

“Yeah. I’m not like hot and heavy for a superhero in tights!”

Danny stays silent, shaking his head lightly.

“That’s a tough comparison.”

Annoyed I flash a look.

“Compared to who?”

He blows out a laugh through his nose.

“Yellow.” He says but I can tell he’s unsure if he should use that name too or if it’s offensive. He probably realizes he won’t call him that to his face but knows I won’t call him by his name.

“There’s no comparison that’s what I’ve been saying. I don’t like this guy and now everyone is going to make me feel like I should!?”

Danny turns away from me. Staring out his front window and starts his car.

“It’s fine if you don’t find him attractive. It’s fine if you don’t like him. However, you don’t really know him. Which I told him that. You’re not the type to date someone that fast. That and you never had a relationship before.”

My cheeks flush and again I feel the familiar wave of annoyance flood through me.

“I didn’t have a relationship? In case you don’t remember when I kissed”—

“Stop! I don’t—nope! I’m not doing that because there was no relationship there. A kiss means nothing.”

I sit back in the seat crossing my arms.

“It meant something to me.” I lie, unable to look at Danny when I do.

He leans over, putting his forehead near my temple, grinning playfully.

“No, it didn’t.” He says matter of fact and I swallow when he does.

“Okay fine it was an experiment, but I’d rather be with him than have an uninteresting conversation with yellow boy.”

“I think you would like him.” He says a little dazed, like something about it makes him a bit blue.

“I already talked to him. I smooshed my garbage at him.”

He turns quickly smiling, holding back a laugh.

“You did what?”

“At the party… I thought he was teasing me so I, like, had all my trash trying to clean, in my hands and shook it at him.”

I mimic what I did to Yellow. Danny sucks all air into his cheeks before he combusts in laughter.

“You’re a lunatic. He likes that about you. I told him to be your friend.”

I ease.

“You told him to be my friend? That’s it?”

“I wasn’t going to lie to the poor dude. He wanted to buy you a necklace next.”

I mouth the word necklace.

“But I got a date. Sorry to leave you behind.” He politely tells me to leave. I groan getting out his car so he can go be free. Except as I pass his window to head to my car, he rolls it down.

“Anyways. I said to be your friend so I’m expecting he’s going to try and call you.”

“Call me?” I say the words as if they’re foreign to me.

He starts to pull out. The further he gets, and it hasn’t hit me what he said, I notice a mischievous smirk.

“Did you give him my”— but Danny’s pulled off now. Down the road already.

Groaning I realize it’s best I get home, before it’s Yellow who comes out next and notices I’m alone.

It’s not until I’m home. I’m my checkered baby blue and white Night shorts and a Winnie the Pooh tank top, nestled in my bed watching TV, that I get the text.

Unknown: Is this Noa?

Me: Who is this?

But I know who it is. I realize it hadn’t mattered if I stayed at school longer or not because this boy is after me. He couldn’t get to me in person, so he’s going to try and persuade me through the phone.

My phone vibrates with his reply,

Unknown: Yellow lol