CHAPTER SIX: THE TEXT MESSAGE

NOAH'S POV

I’d been in this chair for ten minutes and nothing has changed. Worse still, Jim’s poker face wasn't helping.

“Look, I can't accept this role, I didn't even ask for it,” I argued, staring dead at the theatre art president — Jim.

He sat on the chair opposite me, his hands resting lazily on the table before him as if this conversation was the most boring thing ever. He exchanged a glance with the vice president beside him.

Loe reacted quickly, and sighed.

“Hey, listen, this would benefit ….”

“I don't want the benefits. I'm not gay!” I snapped and she shrank back, pursing her lips.

“You don't need to be gay. There …” she trailed, noticing my cold gaze, then she shifted a bit and continued, “there is simply no one more suitable than you for this play, besides…”

“More suitable? Hah!” I let out a low laugh as my chest tightened. Anger? I couldn't tell. “Do I give off gay aura?”

“Of … course you don't, we are just saying that Liam already accepted, and it's obvious he wouldn't want to act with anyone else other than you,” she said in one breath.

Everywhere went dead silent.

Liam accepted?

My pupils contracted. I had texted him, thinking that he would be pissed and probably blow up but instead he …

“Uhm…Noah?” Loe called and I snapped my head upwards to look at her. She had a pleading expression but that wasn't what got me. It was the fact that Liam's name and mine were already signed on the damn papers.

Gay fucking romance?

My hands clenched at my side but I could only swallow, and nod stiffly.

“Fine”.

Her eyes widened as a bright smile crept to her lips, “hey, really?” She asked again, and clasped her hands together.

I nodded stiffly, exchanged a glare with Jim and directly walked away from the auditorium. I retrieved my phone from my pocket and opened my chat with Liam.

My messages still laid there unreplied. Two fucking grey ticks. That bastard didn't have the time to reply to my message but replied the theatre art president?

I typed into the phone.

You accepted the role without telling me?

I paused, stared at the message for a while, then sent it. Two grey ticks appeared. I waited.

No reply.

I sucked in a breath, then wrapped my hand around my phone. My phone pinged and I lifted it quickly to check.

Leela.

She wanted to have lunch with me. A sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it.

“Hey!” Ethan popped out of the corner with a grin. He seemed to have been waiting for me to show up, probably to scare me which of course, didn't work. I gave him a death glare, he grinned widely and leaned closer.

“Tell me, you accepted the role, right?”

I glared at him again.

“I hate to admit that,” I gritted out and pushed his arms off my shoulders.

He smacked his tongue against his teeth, “look…”

“Why would he accept it?” I asked, not to him in particular, just a lingering question that I haven't quite gotten an answer to.

Liam never involved himself with the public. Never. It made me wonder what kind of role he would take up as an actor in the future but suddenly, he accepted this?

“Who ….he?” Ethan asked as we both slowed down.

“Liam” I dropped and Ethan stiffened for a moment. I noticed the way his expression hardened and the slight shift in his eyes.

“What?” I asked, turning to look at him, arms crossed.

He forced out a smile, “ah —ah, it's nothing! I mean it's Liam, your best friend.” he shrugged, keeping the plastic smile on.

“What do you mean?” I asked and he shook his head, as if the question made him feel cold.

“Listen, it's Liam. That guy is ….”

“Weird?” I heard another voice behind us. We both turned to look.

Aiden. He was holding a thick stack of books with sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked like shit.

Ethan's eyes widened in recognition, like he had been waiting for that answer, “yes!”

“Look, asking why Liam does things is like asking why you breathe” Aiden added with a serious expression and I rolled my eyes.

How the fuck did I end up with these two?

“It's just Liam, he isn’t all that scary,” I said and began walking. I didn't want to miss class because of these two.

“Well….. he …he just makes my spine do things spines shouldn't do,” Ethan added with an unsteady voice.

I raised an eyebrow and they both shrugged.

Later the same day, I walked into the restaurant Leela invited me to. She was already seated when I saw her.

Pink dress, pink heels and a pink hair tie. Tell me you love pink without actually saying it out loud.

I walked over, she saw me and smiled, tugged on her sleeve and shifted a bit.

“You look handsome as ever,” she complimented and I pressed a smile. Just a slight tilt at the edge of my lips. Bet it didn't reach my eyes.

I closed the distance between us, lips close to her ear. Her orchid scent hair wash invaded my nostrils and I swallowed, took a sharp inhale. She stiffened.

“Want to have a taste?” I asked and her cheeks burned a brighter shade of red.

She didn't say a word, just leaned back, eyes wide, staring at anything other than me. A smile crept to my cheeks, she was too innocent. Well, that was why I agreed to let her have my number when she asked for it.

My gaze fell on my phone again.

Grey ticks. They haven't turned blue.

“Uhm ..Noah?” Leela called and I glanced up, she had a stiff smile on her face as she gestured to the phone in my hand. “Do you mind?”

I understood and turned it off. She smiled.

“So, I heard you would be ……”

It fell to background noise again when my phone pinged. I couldn't help it. I checked, and my pupils immediately contracted.

A friend request from Andrew Stone. I knew him because he always seemed to be around Liam most times.

The question was, why did he send a friend request?

I accepted it.

“You are doing it again,”i heard Leela’s voice, there was an edge to it this time.

I glanced up. Her expression was calm. Too calm as if she was trying hard not to get angry.

I noticed a new message, but I ignored it. Turned off my phone and smiled.

“You were saying?” I asked and she pursed her lips, then leaned backwards and let out a plastic smile.

“I heard it's your birthday soon,” she said, “what do you want?”

Oh, it was my birthday? I totally forgot.

“Just stay as my girlfriend, that's all I want,” I said and she shook her head.

“That won't do….” She trailed when her phone pinged. She smiled, and lifted it to check.

I scoffed internally, my gaze still fixed on her. She checked the message and her expression tightened. She awkwardly slid her phone back in her bag and pressed a smile.

“What is it?” I asked, but she immediately shook her head.

“Ahh, nothing, it's just … girl’s thing,”

The waiter arrived with the order and she immediately downed a glass of water, looking everywhere other than me. I studied her for a while, lifted a glass of water and took a sip.

“Ok”

I swiped my phone to check Andrew's message.

"Liam is busy with his part time job, probably won't return today" the message read.

My hands tightened around the phone as bitterness pooled in my mouth.

Busy?

Won't return?

My best friend was too busy to reply my messages but not busy enough to accept the role?

When I found him, I would kill him.