Chapter 3.

Each class period ended without much to tell, Alex spent the whole time ignoring her, immersed in his playlists. By the end of the day he had left without warning. Noah tried not to look sad in front of the boys, despite Alex's attitude they were very happy about her return, and she didn't plan to overshadow their plans with long faces and bitterness.

Alex on his part could no longer bear this absurd and uncomfortable situation, as soon as he left the institute he went to take refuge far away from where he could be found. He needed time, he needed to think, and then someone suddenly threw a huge pillow over his face.

"Stop screwing around and get out," he complained. "Shouldn't you be on duty at the hospital?"

"No, and it isn't your business," the person answered. "Besides, I remind you that this is my apartment, so what are you doing here?"

"If you didn't want me here, you shouldn't have given me a copy of the key."

"To the point, Alex"

"Don't fuck with me, Jessica. I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood. Yeah, I hear you. What's going on?"

"You are some nosy sister, huh?"

"And you are a troublesome brat, now speak."

He hesitated, not that he didn't trust his sister, and it was just that he didn't want to talk about Noah. Later he was sure he would have to put up with Bruno scolding him for his behavior, and not just him. Travis was perhaps not too talkative, but he did scold him when he deserved it, and his speeches were always much more brutal and crueler than that of his best friend.

"Is this about Noah?"

In a bounce, he was seated on the bed where he was resting. He always kind of knew that his sister was a witch, but he never imagined that she was a real one. Did she read his mind? How and how much did she know about it?

"Don't look at me with that donkey face," she mocked. "The Headmistress told me."

"I still wonder how it is that you are friends." He suddenly realized something, he exploded "Shit! You knew it! Why didn't you tell me?"

"To see your stupid face, of course."

"Jesus Christ!"

"Because I knew you'd go crazy!" She pointed out. "Just look at you, you're racking your brain trying to figure out how you should feel. Although the answer is somewhat obvious."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You loved her when you were kids, you never managed to forget Noah," his sister exposed the obvious "And you still love her".

"Have you been drinking? Are you drunk? You're talking nonsense."

"Don't be an idiot and go with them, go with her."

"That's not... who?" His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Bruno?"

"Bruno"

"Anyway, I'm not going," he stretched out on the bed once more.

He loved his brother more than anything in this world, so he hated it when he acted like a coward and started running away from any problem that could complicate his life. Outraged, she bent down and grabbed the edge of the blanket to pull it and make her brother roll off the bed. Alex now lay face down on the plush carpet with his face completely red with rage.

He got up as fast as he could and went toward his sister who was sitting with her arms crossed and her back leaned on the door frame. "You are...Damn it!" He murmured angrily but detected danger when Jessica left that peaceful posture to come quickly closer. Step by step he backed up until he ended up stamping himself in a little fuchsia couch, his sister was much smaller in terms of height but equally intimidating, he swallowed saliva strongly before that accusing finger pointed at him.

"Listen, you grumpy brat." Alex was just paying attention. "If you don't want to see the girl, go and tell her to her face, if you are so upset by what happened, behave like a man and face her."

"You are …"

"Crazy? You're the crazy one. You have a second chance and the best thing you can do is hide here in my apartment."

"It was something childish," he remembered. "The years went by-"

"And you still feel the same as in the past," she walked away and took her bag off the hanger. "Grow up and take charge of your feelings."

Jessica was like a thorn in his ass, like the buzzing of a bee in his brain, annoying and irritating. He didn't feel anything for Noah anymore, or rather, he never did, he was a child and he was stupid, that's the only explanation why he suffered so much - what about the dreams about Noah? - The damn treacherous voice in his mind hit just the point where he couldn't justify himself, but he would never admit that. His cell phone started to vibrate, alerting him to the incoming call.

A buzz.

Two buzzes.

Three buzzes.

He decided to answer when he realized that he would not stop, but just as he reached it the sound stopped - bless him! - Or so he thought until he heard the message notifications. Well, if he didn't answer it, he was likely to continue, so for his own sake, he decided to answer. Bruno's name on the notices didn't surprise him, he surely planned to scold him for his behavior this morning.

"Stop hiding at your sister's house, piece of shit!" This time he seemed furious "We'll be on the court. You better get your ass over here."

"That's out of the question, you fucking snitch," he texted. "Whatever you have in mind you can do without me."

"Stop being a fucking child and come!" Took a while to continue with another message "Well, if you don't want to come it's your stupid problem, I hope you won't regret it."

He didn't understand the last words until a photo was downloaded to the screen. The guys were happily drinking soda and eating delicious pizza - it must have been from Scott's mother's restaurant, only that woman could create such a wonderful delicacy - they seemed to have fun, everyone was laughing and one or two were doing some clowning around. It all went to hell when he realized that Henry wasn't alone in it, but embracing that short black-haired girl with a shy smile who looked a bit uneasy, probably from the blond man's closeness, but she didn't seem to do anything to get away from him. It irritated him.

"There you can see how much you missed me," he said sarcastically. "You lying little dwarf."

He cursed as he rushed out the door of the apartment. Damn Bruno for sending that picture, damn Henry for… for… Ah! He didn't know the answer, but damn Noah for letting herself be hugged so easily by anyone, even if that wasn't his business. He then stopped halfway down the stairs of the building. What would he get out of it? He was no one to complain about what she did, much less who she allowed to get close to her or not, he felt another buzz from his cellphone, it was a new picture.

Well, this time he wouldn't think too much of it before his legs were rushing again. "Look at the new couple of the moment! With Henry's persistence, I wouldn't be surprised if they were soon to be engaged." Was the text accompanying the happy image, one in which Henry seemed to whisper things to Noah, very close to his face and the very clumsy girl was blushing as an answer to whatever Henry was talking about. It was an exhausting start to the school year - thank you, Noah - he said to himself as he ran through the streets towards the court. Unfortunately, when he arrived it was too late.

Sweaty and with the pulse at its highest level. It had gotten pretty dark in the minutes it took him to get there, however, no one was there anymore. The lights in charge of illuminating the beautiful square were the only thing that accompanied him, the barely-there summer breeze surrounded him, it was warm, but he felt cold in every centimeter of his skin. It was late.

Overwhelmed and disappointed, he redirected his course. Too early to go home yet, so he turned to that little hideaway where he could clear his mind and perhaps find a solution to his predicament. Over the years Alex grew too big to get inside the concrete pipes, his only option was to lay his back on them while sitting on the grass, and it was reassuring. He sighed several times, his mind and body exhausted.

"I didn't think you'd come. I made a good decision staying."

Alex quickly turned his head and found Noah's face coming out of one of the tubes. It was a good hiding place for her, after all her size allowed her to hide easily.

"What the hell are you doing in there?"

"Resting. It was a fun afternoon, but I just moved in, so I'm exhausted."

"Where do you live?" Noah raised an eyebrow in amazement. "No need to answer, I don't give a shit."

"You only have to look out the balcony of your room... if it is still your room."

Great, once again they were neighbors, and yes, it was sarcasm. It wasn't a good idea to have the owner of your... nightmares? On the adjoining balcony, which meant he would see her on more than one occasion, his beloved room was no longer as perfect as he thought.

"Did you go back with your parents?"

Noah's face became completely serious. She went deeper into the tube, Alex followed her with his eyes until he realized Noah was running away at the opposite end, he was running away from him again. Somehow clumsily he ran up and grabbed her by the arm as soon as she left the tube, then softened his grip when he saw a grimace of pain in her face, he had been a brute but for a moment he panicked when he saw her leave without saying anything.

Noah didn't look up, Alex released her gently but without moving from her side, he wouldn't let her go anywhere if he didn't get some answer, she knew that.

"I came with Danny."

Danny? A boy, if he understood his words correctly she returned to his old home with a man...Her couple? Boyfriend? Fiancé? Was she engaged to him and so they lived together? She was too young for such a commitment, but it wouldn't be strange, people do crazy things for love. Noah was in love. Noah was living alone with a man she could be in love with. He was caught up in the paranoia.

While all those thoughts were running through his mind, Noah was looking at him trying to guess what was going on in his head, after all, he had been silent for five minutes and he was making some grimaces and angry faces, or that's what it seemed. After thinking for a few seconds she realized that her answer could be misinterpreted.

"My cousin."

"What?"

Alex quickly came back to life confirming her suspicions, he was misinterpreting it completely, and perhaps what kind of film had gone through his mind to make such gestures.

"Danny is my cousin. I decided to return on my own, but my aunt and uncle didn't agree to let me live alone."

"Aunt and uncle?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Danny took the initiative to move in with me to take care of me, and because it was convenient for him to attend college, it saves him from having to rent a place to live. Besides, this is much better than living alone."

So Danny was his cousin, they were family... internally he was embarrassed by his crazy imagination, he implored Noah didn't notice his sudden relief, he tried to ignore that insignificant detail himself but something caught his attention, Noah talked about her cousin, even about her uncles, but she didn't name his parents, she completely diverted his attention from them, she was hiding something from him.

"Where are…"

"I should go," she said when she saw the time on her cellphone. "It's late and Danny will scold me if I make him worry."

Alex frowned indignantly, he wasn't stupid enough to not know that she was hiding information from him, and it bothered him that she was doing it in such a blatant way. Angry, he took a step forward, causing her to recede.

"A-Alex…" she stuttered, nervous because of his sudden closeness "Too close"

Alex moved until he cornered the little girl, he bent down so that their faces were at the same height, barely two centimeters apart, they could feel each other's breath, his face was no longer serious, it was mocking and mischievous, Noah's heart started beating wildly.

"What's going on?" He whispered as he approached her ear, his voice was a little hoarser than usual. "This morning you wanted to talk, here I am," he said letting his lips brush the brown skin. "I hear you."

"Alex, s-space...I-I-" She was too embarrassed. "I need space."

"The closer I am, the better I can hear you," he smiled. "It seems I had forgotten...how pretty your face looks when you blush."

"Alex!" she shouted. "You're not like this."

Exactly, he was not like that, Alex had no idea what he was doing, but he felt good, he liked it, and he planned to continue. His common sense wasn't manifesting, he stopped thinking, he surrendered to whatever was controlling him, but it was that reasoning that brought him to reality, there it was, in front of him. Noah closed his eyes tightly, only now he was realizing that he had her in a kind of prison created with his arms... at his mercy... almost unconsciously he softly took the girl's chin with his left hand to make her face him properly, and as he closed his eyes he brushed his lips lightly against hers, so so faintly that he almost didn't feel it.

"Seven years, Noah," he whispered.

Under the starry night of that Thursday, both were staring at each other. Noah was once again appreciating Alex's expressionless face, but this only increased the tension between the two. Alex was the first to break the silence.

"Never in your wildest dreams."