When I Met You

Chapter14

The library smelled faintly of old books and coffee, a comforting yet suffocating scent that seemed to follow Natalie everywhere she went. She had arrived early, as usual, hoping that Noah wouldn’t be here yet. She wanted space, time to think, and a little control—something she hadn’t felt in weeks.

Of course, that plan didn’t last long.

Noah appeared just as she tucked her notebook into her bag. He carried his laptop, a pile of papers, and that smug, self-assured expression that used to make her roll her eyes and groan in frustration.

“Hey, Natalie,” he said casually, setting his things down at the table across from her. “Ready to start the project?”

Natalie didn’t look up. She ignored him, flipping her notebook open to the first page and scanning the messy notes she’d scribbled the night before. Her pencil hovered above the paper, but she didn’t write.

Noah raised an eyebrow. “Nat? You there?”

She let out a slow sigh and finally looked up, meeting his gaze. There was no warmth, no hint of the teasing or flirtation he usually carried in his eyes. Her expression was flat, unreadable. “I’m here,” she said, her voice quiet but firm.

He frowned. “That’s… cold.”

“I’m not in the mood,” she said, picking up her pencil and pretending to make notes.

Noah tilted his head. “Come on, Nat. We need to—”

“Stop,” she interrupted, sharper than she intended. Her pencil scraped against the page as she made a jagged line, deliberately avoiding his eyes. “I don’t want to talk to you right now. About anything.”

Noah blinked, clearly taken aback. He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand. “Not a word,” she said, voice steady despite the storm brewing inside her.

He hesitated, finally letting out a frustrated sigh. “Fine,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I can deal with this. But we still need to work on the project.”

Natalie nodded once, sharply. She refused to give him any more attention than necessary.

The next twenty minutes were silent, punctuated only by the scratching of her pencil against paper and the faint tapping of Noah’s fingers on his laptop. Natalie felt herself calming slightly, focusing on diagrams, timelines, and research notes. Keeping her mind occupied was easier than facing him—or the guilt, the anger, and the confusion that lingered whenever she thought about last night.

Eventually, Noah cleared his throat. “Okay, we need to decide on our presentation angle. Any ideas?”

Natalie shrugged. “We could do the… marketing analysis approach,” she said flatly, keeping her eyes on her notes.

“Noah,” she said suddenly, not looking at him, “don’t talk to me like everything’s normal. It’s not.”

He blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Nat…”

“I don’t care what you want to say,” she cut in, sharper than she meant to be. “I don’t… I can’t deal with the jokes, the flirting, the—everything. Not right now.”

Noah leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His expression softened, but there was a stubbornness there too, the kind she knew well. “Natalie… I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean,” she repeated bitterly. “Do you even hear yourself?” Her pencil paused mid-note. “You left. You did. And now, everything’s… everything’s messed up. You’re acting like it’s nothing.”

Noah’s eyes darkened slightly. “You think this is nothing for me?” he asked quietly, voice low. “Do you really?”

Natalie said nothing. She couldn’t. The words she wanted to say were tangled up in anger, humiliation, and heartbreak. Instead, she scribbled a line in her notebook, avoiding his gaze.

“Look,” Noah said after a long pause. “I messed up. I know that. But I’m not trying to make this harder for you. I just… want to fix it.”

Natalie froze, her pencil hovering over the page. She wanted to look at him, to say something—anything—but she was still raw from the embarrassment of the viral video, the fallout from Jarred leaving for the exchange program, and Elliot’s death that still haunted her every step. She couldn’t trust her heart to not c***k if she looked at him now.

“I’m not… ready for that,” she said finally, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m not ready to pretend everything’s okay.”

Noah exhaled, leaning back in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair, the familiar frustration she had seen so many times before creeping into his posture. “Fine,” he said, a little harsher than before. “We’ll do this your way. Silent treatment and all.”

Natalie glanced at him briefly, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t respond.

The silence stretched. Minutes passed. She focused on charts and bullet points, deliberately ignoring the quiet tension from across the table. She could feel his presence, though—persistent, irritating, and somehow… impossible to ignore.

After a while, Noah cleared his throat again, softer this time. “We can’t avoid this forever,” he said. “I know you’re upset. And I know I hurt you. But we still have this project. And we have to work together.”

Natalie looked up at him, meeting his gaze for the first time in what felt like hours. Her expression was guarded. “I know,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Noah’s lips twitched, almost a smile. “Fair,” he said. “I’ll take it.”

They started working. Natalie explained her ideas, her mind sharp when she wasn’t thinking about him. He listened, occasionally making suggestions, but he didn’t try to push her boundaries. She noticed, a small part of her appreciating the effort, though she would never admit it aloud.

The project slowly started to take shape. Charts were drawn, notes compiled, and slides arranged. Natalie focused so hard on her work that she almost forgot about the tension lingering between them. Almost.

Then Noah leaned over to point at a section on her notes. “Here—maybe we can add a case study,” he said.

Natalie pulled back slightly, keeping her voice even. “Fine. But only if it’s relevant. I don’t want fluff.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

For a few minutes, they worked in silence again. But it was different now—less hostile, more… professional. Natalie could feel the walls around her heart slowly softening, even if just a little.

“I don’t hate you,” she said quietly after a pause, almost to herself.

Noah looked up sharply. “Excuse me?”

“I said… I don’t hate you,” she repeated, more firmly, still avoiding his gaze. “But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forgive everything yet.”

He nodded slowly, a small, almost imperceptible smile on his face. “I’ll take it,” he said.

Natalie went back to her notes, her pencil scratching against the paper. For the first time since the morning, she felt a small spark of relief. She could work with him. She could survive this project. She could even… tolerate his presence.

But deep down, she knew the storm between them wasn’t over. The hurt, the embarrassment, and the secrets would linger. She didn’t know when or if it would ever be fixed completely.

And yet… sitting across from him, watching him carefully respect her space, she realized maybe it could be repaired—slowly, step by step.

By the time they packed up, Natalie felt lighter. The air between them wasn’t easy, but it was manageable. Noah offered her a small smile as they left the library together, and she returned it, guarded but not entirely cold.

It was a start.

And for now… that was enough.