Another week passes with no word from the Republic. Again we’re all growing restless, but then Belleview High announces its annual sweethearts dance. Apparently it’s a big deal for human teenagers. Guys all over campus pick wild and elaborate ways to ask their girlfriends to the dance. One guy got down on his knee during a football game, another professed his undying love over the PA system, and another littered the walls in the hallways with poems to his girlfriend.
While this dance was a chance for guys to ask girls out, it still didn’t stop a slew of girls from professing their undying love to both Thien and Noah. Every day they were given gifts and shared stories about crazy girls who either followed them into the guys’ bathroom or flashed them their tits.
“Hey, April.” Desiree calls out to me.
“Did she really just call me April?” I ask Willow.
“I think she did. Just keep walking.” She laughs.
We keep walking and Desiree runs to catch up with us with her two minions in tow. “Did you not hear me calling you?” She asks.
“Oh, were you talking to me? My bad, I thought you said April and since my name is Aria I just figured you must’ve been talking to someone else.” I feign a smile.
“Whatever, look, I want to surprise Thien with an invitation to the sweethearts dance but I need your help.”
“You do know Thien’s sleeping with Shelly Ivan, don’t you? I’m pretty sure that’s who he’s taking to the dance.” I try to reason with her.
“So is that a no?” She asks.
I glance at Willow then back at Desiree. “Fine, what do you want me to do?” I ask.
“Follow me.” She jumps up and down, clapping her hands.
I follow her out to the parking lot where it looks like the entire student body has gathered. A band starts to play my favorite song and the crowd parts to reveal Noah, standing with some members of the school band.
My heart drops.
He used to sing to me all the time when we were younger, but it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what he sounds like. He begins to sing Troye Sivan’s ‘Too Good’, and his sultry voice literally renders me speechless. I’m in awe of his voice, which has matured. It’s sexier than I remember.
“He’s going to be the death of me.” I tell Willow.
“And every other girl on campus.” She teases. “He has the kind of voice that impregnates teenage girls all across the world.”
Once he finishes the song, he walks up to me and gets down on one knee, presenting me with a corsage. “Aria Helena Bliss, will you go to the sweetheart dance with me?” Noah asks, sliding the corsage onto my wrist.
“Yes.” I nod emphatically.
He stands up and I climb onto my toes to kiss his him, hooking my arms around his neck. The student body claps and cheers for us. Everyone except Thien. He looks less than thrilled about me going to the dance with Noah. We make eye contact for a brief moment, but it’s enough to affect my mood.
I turn my attention back to Noah and now he’s pissed too. He plants a smile on his face and we make our way through the crowds of onlookers. We climb inside the SUV waiting for us and his smile quickly fades. He glances over at the SUV Thien is driving and we follow him home.
After pulling up to the front of the house, everyone gets out but Noah and I. He cuts off the engine and waits for everyone to leave before turning to address me. “I put on a fucking concert for you and how do you repay me? By giving Thien ‘come fuck me looks’?” Noah shouts angrily.
“It wasn’t like that.” I panic. “I just…I noticed he was upset and it made me feel bad.”
“Why? He chose to give you up Aria.”
“I know, but it doesn’t mean I like seeing him hurt.”
“No, just me…right?”
Noah climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him, shattering the glass window into thousands of pieces. I wave my hand over the window, repairing it, and climb out of the car to follow Noah. He’d taken off down the street and was walking so fast I had to jog to catch up to him.
“I’m sorry.” I apologize to him.
“You know what, I happen to agree with you on that.” He snaps.
He takes flight and I go after him. He’s quick, but I’m quicker and I catch him in no time. Noah creates a Vortex and we both fly through it. I have no idea where we we’re going, and Thien’s blowing up my phone. I set my phone to do not disturb and shove it back in my pocket.
Wherever we are, it looks like a barren wasteland. There’s desert land that stretches for miles, no sign of wild life or plant life, a thick brown haze in the sky and its so hot here that my skin burns.
We walk for at least an hour before we get to a gate that stretches as far as the eye can see in either direction. Noah walks up to the wrought iron fence and places his hand against it. “DNA recognition complete.” A voice calls out. A small gate several yards away pops open and I follow him inside.
“Noah, where are we?” I ask.
“My home.” He answers. “You’re on Kaalen.”
I stop dead in my tracks and he turns around to face me. “I can’t be here. There are demons here who want me dead.” I gasp.
“You’re more than welcome to leave if you can find your way back, but no one will dare touch you as long as you’re with me.”
I didn’t have much of a choice. Getting to Kaalen was a lot easier than leaving it. I couldn’t leave here without permission from the Republic, who didn’t know I was here, or without the consent of the Royal family. In short, I’m at Noah’s mercy. He continues to the front steps of his palace and I quickly follow.
“Noah!” His little sister Rexa exclaims, running over to hug him.
He swoops her up into his arms and carries her into the house. “Noah.” His mother Fatima seems surprised. “I thought you were in the human Galaxy.”
“I was.” He replies, looking back at me.
Fatima follows his glance and immediately bows to me. “Forgive me Princess Bliss, I didn’t know he had company.” Her voice sounded nervous.
“You don’t have to do that Queen Archer. Here I’m just Aria.” I smile to put her at ease.
Fatima looks at Noah then back to me. “Does her parents know she’s here?” She asks.
“No, and we’re going to keep it that way.” Noah casts her a warning glance.
Noah takes my hand and guides me down a series of halls before he makes it to his destination…his bedroom. I’m apprehensive about going in, but I’m also curious. I follow him inside and he has model motorcycles all over his room.
Is his room bigger than mine??
“Not bad for a nobody huh?” Noah smirks, setting Rexa down on the floor.
“I can’t believe your father built an entire kingdom here.” I look around, impressed.
The walls, the ceilings, and the furniture…it was all handcrafted and painted. Before the Archer’s there was no sign of civilization on Kaalen. That’s why the Republic banished people to this part of the Legion. Now, the kingdom Noah and his family built is large enough to rival any other.
“Did you bring me something?” Rexa tugs on Noah’s jacket.
Noah checks his pockets, pretending he can’t find anything. When Rexa starts to pout, he pulls out a packet of skittles and hands it to her. She’s beaming from ear to ear in no time.
“Watch out for her okay.” Noah points to me. “She’s a known skittle thief.”
“Oh no!” Rexa shouts, running out of the room.
I laugh. “You’d make a great dad one day.”
“I don’t want kids.” He quickly dismisses the thought.
“Why not?”
“They make you weak.”
“You can’t possibly believe that do you?” I frown.
“With kids you have something to lose.” He nods. “It’s a weakness that can be exploited and often is.”
“That’s a very cold way of viewing the world.”
“It’s the only way I’ve ever known.” He replies.
Noah takes off his jacket and then his shirt. I can’t help but sneak a peak at his abs. His ‘V’ lines disappear into his jeans, but I know where it ends. I’ve seen where it ends thanks to his little shower episode.
Focus Aria. You’re here because you want to talk about what happened with Thien.
“About earlier.” I swallow hard. “Noah, what you did in front of everyone…it was beautiful. I didn’t mean to ruin it worrying about Thien.”
“You could always make it up to me.” He smirks.
“What do I have to do?”
“Follow me.”
Noah throws on a different shirt, grabs his leather jacket and one of the sports cars from his parents’ garage. He told me his father receives them as gifts from humans and supreme beings alike. For what…well, that’s a whole other story.
When Noah brings the car to a stop in front of a club with a long line that wraps around the building. He tosses his keys to the valet and we walk up to the front door. The bouncer lets us in without so much as a fuss. “We own the place.” Noah smiles, noticing the puzzled look on my face.
He greets a series of people whose names I don’t catch and then he plops me down in a seat closest to the stage. The DJ announces Noah’s name and my eyes light up as he takes the stage. He dedicates the next song to me and proceeds to sing a song he wrote for me.
I’m in awe of his singing ability. I can hardly carry a tune, but Noah’s a natural on stage. I’m so enamored with him that I don’t see the seats on either side of me being pulled out. Two figures sit down in the chairs and one of them clears his throat. It’s Desmond. “You’re a long way from home Princess.” His eyes burrow into mine.
“Yeah.” The guy behind me snickers. “Where’s your backup?”
“What makes you think I need any?” I ask.
I can see the movements of the guy behind me through Desmond’s eyes. “You should have stayed home little girl.” Desmond smiles.
I look over at Noah whose watching me, but he’s not coming to back me up. Suddenly it dawns on me…I’VE BEEN SETUP.
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