LOVE BEYOND THE SPOTLIGHT

The alarm rang loudly at exactly 8 in the morning Ava groaned beneath her blanket and blindly reached for her phone. Her fingers searched across the nightstand until they finally found it. She slammed the alarm off Silence returned to the room For a few seconds, Ava stared at the ceiling with her sleepy eyes Then she closed them again " Five more minutes"...... She pulled the blanket over her head and went back to sleep Her peaceful moment didn't last a minute Her phone began ringing again Ava frowned. Who could possibly be calling her this early? She reluctantly picked up the phone, squinted at the screen Mia Of course She answered the call. " Hey girl, what's up?" " Avvvvvvaaaaaaaa" A loud scream exploded from the other end Ava immediately pulled the phone away from her ear " Do you want to burst my ear drums?" " Are you insane?" Aren't you coming to school today?" Mia shouted " Of course, I am" " I don't think so, because you're probably on bed right now " Ava chuckled. " Wow. You should probably get an award for knowing me too well." " Forgot about the jokes, get your ass up." Mia paused. " And get something on your way here" The call ended before Ava could respond Ava stared at her phone " Unbelievable " She dragged herself out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom As she walked out the bathroom a while later, she dried her hair with a towel and smiled at her reflection as she stared at the mirror " It's finally another semester " she muttered " Gotta look beautiful " she smiled while she applied her makeup After applying her makeup, she changed into her uniform, grabbed her backpack and headed out of the house The school gate had been crowded while Ava arrived at the school Ava got out of the cab, took a deep breath " Here we are" Ava walked through the hallway, greeting familiar faces along the way Then she spotted someone she knew " Mia!" Ava ran towards her best friend and playfully tickled her " Hey girl" Mia giggled and pushed her away " I thought you wouldn't be resuming today" Ava raised an eyebrow " Were you missing you already " She gave Mia a teasing smirk Mia rolled her eyes " Oh, get over yourself" Ava laughed The two friends continued walking, teasing and playing with each other Then Mia suddenly remembered something " Oh! I almost forgot" She reached for the backpack, pulled out two tickets " Ta-da" Ava stared at them " What is this?" " We're going..... To a show" Mia giggles. " My idol's gonna be there" Mia's eyes lit up " Yeah... Well, I'm out" She turned and walked to their classroom " Wait up, b***h " Mia laughed as she ran after her They both eventually entered their class together The students settled in their seats as Professor Daniel walked in " Good morning to my lovely students..." The class quieted "I welcome you all to this new semester, I hope you all enjoyed your break" The students murmured their responses Professor Daniel smiled " Today, we have a new student joining us " He turned toward the classroom door " You can come in" A tall young man walked into the classroom He had dark hair , hazel eyes, an athletic build and a charming smile The room immediately went silent Then the whispers began " He's so cute" " I think I might fall for him" " He's so tall" " Oh my gawd!!" Mia leaned on Ava " He's so cuttttteeeee" Ava gently pushed her " Get off me" Professor Daniel looked at the young man " Introduce yourself" The young man stepped forward. " Hi, my name is Noah Blake. it's nice to meet you all". The whispers grew louder. Ava sighed and shook her head She couldn't understand what everyone was making a big deal about Professor Daniel pointed out an empty seat beside Ava " Have your seat" Noah nodded politely " Thank you sir" He walked toward the empty seat beside Ava Professor Daniel continue with the lesson After a few minutes, he gathered his things " Alright class, I'll take my leave now " Professor Daniel left the classroom The moment he disappeared , the students began talking again Noah barely seemed to notice. The minutes later, the bell rang. After class Students flooded into the hallway, laughing and talking. Ava and Mia walked towards the exit They were joking around when Ava suddenly bump into someone Her books fell. " Oh, I'm so sorry! " She bent down immediately to pick up her books " I didn't mean to bump into....." Ava looked up. Noah. He was staring at her. She waited. Surely, he was going to help her. He didn't. Instead Noah simply walked past her Ava's mouth fell open. " Seriously?" She quickly bent down and pick the books up " You could have helped me in picking these up!" Noah didn't even turn around "Did you see that?" Mia looked at her. " See what?" " That!" Ava pointed angrily toward Noah. "He's so arrogant" Mia glanced at Noah and smiled. " You mean handsome?" " What?" Ava stared at her. " He's not freaking..... handsome, he's a total jerk!" She shoved her books into her bag and walked away angrily Mia placed her hand on her forehead " She's got some issues" Then she ran after her " Wait up" Meanwhile , Chloe Bennet had noticed Noah She is known as one of the most popular girl in school. She confidently walked toward Noah with a bright smile. " Hi, I'm Chloe" She stretched out her hand Noah looked at her hand, then at her face After a brief thought, he shook it. " Nice to meet you Chloe" Chloe smiled. " I could give you a tour around the school if you want " Noah considered it. " That would be nice " Chloe smile widened " Great " She turned and walked back to her seat, trying not to look too excited Almost immediately, the classroom filled with whispers Everyone had noticed The bell rang It was break, the hallway quickly filled with students rushing towards the school cafeteria Chloe sighted Noah, then walked towards him " Ready for that tour? " Noah stood up " Lead the way " The two walked away together Ava happened to see them She frowned " That's so disgusting " Mia glanced at her Ava looked away As Noah walking away with Chloe , he suddenly felt someone watching him He glanced over his shoulder Ava She was staring at them. " Strange" Noah muttered. " Did you say something? " Chloe looked at him " No " Noah stared at her " I wasn't talking to you " " Oh " Chloe smiled awkwardly. " This is where the science building is " She continued showing him around the school Across the hallway, Ava was still watching them. Mia noticed. She gave Ava a suspicious look. " Are you jealous? " Ava immediately looked away. " Jealous? Please!" Mia chuckled. " Are you in love too?" Ava scoffed. " Oh please! I wasn't the one drooling over him while he was in class" Then, the final bell rang. Ava picked up her bag " Coming?" Mia smiled. " Yeah" Mia gathered her notes into her backpack,slung it over her shoulder. The two friends went out of the classroom. Later that evening Noah arrived home, he walked into a large mansion. The moment he stepped in, his manager, Victor Hayes welcomed him " Welcome home, Mr Noah " Noah dropped his bag onto the couch " Thanks " Victor studied him. " How was your first day at school?" " It was cool" Noah sighed. " But someone caught my attention " A voice suddenly came from across the room " Who could be the lucky one?" Noah looked up. Ethan Brooks stood there with a smirk on his face. Noah chuckled. " Lucky?" Noah shooked his head. " Nah. She's not my type" Ethan raised an eyebrow. " She caught your attention though " Noah looked at him. " You're crazy" Both of them laughed. Victor came in with drinks and cups. " Here you go" He placed them on the table and pour them some drinks Noah took one and took a sip " Now we're talking " Ethan leaned back. " I think we should go out... You know have some fun " Noah took another sip. " I don't think I can.... I need to rest" " Come on, you could see her there" Noah looked at him. " Seriously?" Ethan chuckled. " You don't want your crush to know you're famous and rich right?" Noah nearly choked on his drink. " Oh, f**k you " Noah glared at him " I do not have a crush " " Sure " " Ethan, don't get on my nerves " Ethan stood up. " I should probably go and prepare for the night " He finished his drink and head towards the door. Before leaving, he turned around. " You should probably come " " Why?" Noah raised an eyebrow. " You could eventually meet your crush " Ethan laughed as he closed the door Noah shooked his head. " That son of a b***h " He sighed. " Crush? He's crazy " A while later Noah came out of his room dressed in simple shirt,shorts and sneakers He deliberately chose something casual He didn't want to look like a celebrity. He wanted to look like an ordinary guy. " Victor " His manager immediately appeared " Yes, Mr Noah? " " Get the car ready " " Where are you going " " The show " Victor sighed. " You cannot go because of _ " " I know " Noah cuts him off. " You worry too much " He adjusted his shirt. " That is why, I dressed this way " Victor shooked his head. " Alright sir " He called the driver. " Get the car ready, Mr Noah is going out " He turned to Noah. " Which car are you going out with? " " Lexus " Victor eyes widened. Noah smiled. " I'll be driving " Victor sighed. Back at Ava's house Ava threw herself onto the bed, exhausted. She wanted to forget everything that had happened that day especially Noah. Knock! Knock!! Ava frowned. " Who the hell is that? " Before she could get up, the door opened. " Get your ass up " Ava's expression changed. " Mia? What are you doing here? " Mia walked inside. " I came to drag you out " Ava groaned. " Why? " " We're going to the show " " No, I'm not " Mia folded her arms " Yes, you are " " No " " Yes " " Mia " " Ava " The two stared at each other. Ava sighed. " Fine" Mia grinned. " That's my girl " Ava grabbed her bag " Let's just go " The two friends left together. Neither of them knew that the night ahead would change everything. And neither of them knew that the boy Ava had called an arrogant asshole that morning was about to become a much bigger part of her life than she expected.