🎵 "Breathless" - The Corrs

🎵 "Papercut" - Linkin Park

🎵 "Points of Authority" - Linkin Park

🎵 "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris

🎵 "Crazy for This Girl" - Evan and Jaron

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TRACK #9 - WINTER

"Breathless" - The Corrs

Early in the morning before the rest of the world was awake, we all stood outside in the gentle cold, waiting in the long line of ski trip participants to load the bus with our luggage. I stood with Emma, Elijah, and Noah, yawning softly as we waited quietly for the line to move. No one was awake enough to have a real conversation yet. I had never been skiing before, so I was excited to try something new, especially since I was going on a trip for the first time without my immediate family.

"Did you bring your discman?" I asked Noah before segueing directly into a yawn. What time was it, anyways? He nodded in response and tapped his backpack as the line inched forward. There had to be at least fifty people attending this trip. I sighed impatiently, wanting nothing more than to get to my seat and snuggle with the fleece blanket I packed for the journey.

Finally, all of the trip participants were loaded onto a large, beautiful coach bus. I sat next to Noah, and we commenced our regular bus routine of organizing snacks and music. The bus also had little TVs that we could watch movies on. I marveled at how comfortable the seats actually were as I snuggled into my dark purple zip-up fleece jacket and pulled my legging-clad knees into my chest to get into a good sleep position. Luckily, I couldn't see Brock or Brittany from my spot next to Noah. I wasn't thrilled that the both of them would be on this trip, but I figured there would be enough people attending that I could just avoid them.

"Look what I got for us," Noah beamed as he pulled out a y-shaped cord and plugged it into the discman. He then got an extra set of headphones out and handed them to me. "Put them on," he instructed me, smiling as he loaded his first CD selection, Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory." "It's a splitter so we can have two sets of headphones at the same time. Cool, huh?" My smile widened when the album began. Why was he so thoughtful? It was getting harder not to just tell him the truth about my feelings for him. I settled for Brock not taking this moment of happiness from me, instead.

"This is so cool!" I squealed, though I was sure my voice was muffled by the first track, "Papercut." I sat back and pulled my blanket up to my face, leaning my head to the side to close my eyes and enjoy the music. When my favorite song, "Points of Authority," came on, I immediately sat up and started dancing in my seat, mouthing the words to the music. It took Noah less than a second to join in. The sun wasn't even up, but Noah and I sat on the bus head banging and trading lines to the song in dramatic lip-sync fashion. We snickered loudly as both Emma and Elijah turned their sleepy eyes towards us from their pair of seats directly across from us. Both of their faces turned in half confusion, half mild annoyance.

"It is entirely too early for that," Elijah commented absently while he laid his head back on Emma's already turned down head. Noah and I both chuckled as the song ended. We both went quiet again, but not before I gave him a high five. Our awesome setup made the several hour ride to the resort feel like minutes. It was around noon when we finally arrived, and everyone exited the bus to gather our things and receive room assignments.

The lobby of the ski lodge was a gorgeous expanse of rustic charm. The hardwood floors gleamed beneath oriental rugs and cozy furniture. Simple black chandeliers hung from original hardwood beams in the ceiling. A large fireplace served as the focal point of the room, surrounded by stone that reached the ceiling encased by large wooden spiral staircases.

"This place is... stunning," Emma scanned the impressive space with wide eyes. My gaze drifted towards the signs pointing to the various areas of the resort– pools, hot tubs, ski areas, a spa, restaurants, and shopping. We were all led to the same floor, males on one end of the hall, females on the other, chaperone rooms in between. Emma and I entered our small, yet cozy room and put our bags down on our respective beds. I was excited to see that we both had full-sized beds to ourselves. "I guess we should probably get dressed to actually attempt to ski, right?" Emma laughed, digging through her bag for some of her gear.

"Yeah..." I trailed off apprehensively, though there was a smile on my face. We began extensively layering, topping ourselves off with puffy snowsuits. When we were ready, I looked at Emma, and we both burst into a fit of giggles. "We look like oompa loompas!" Both of us continued howling as Emma took a photo of us in the mirror. "This is ridiculous. I feel like I can barely move." I raised my arms in my large ski jacket before there was a knock on the door.

"Open uppppp!" Noah yelled while he continued to bang on the door obnoxiously. I opened the door to see both of the Walker boys looking like an advertisement for LL Bean. I blinked at them a few times, feeling positive that they knew how to ski expertly, as well.

"I think I'm going to the spa." I turned to look at Emma, and we both started laughing again.

Emma shrugged. "We have to at least try. If it's awful, we're getting massages." We grabbed the rest of our gear, and the four of us began our trek to figure out how to rent skis.

Emma and I were grouped with more people from our trip who had never skied before, where we were led to the "bunny trail" for a tutorial. Noah and Elijah were already off sailing down the mountains with the wind in their faces. At least, that's what I was picturing.

"I don't think I can do this," I heard Emma say. I glanced over at her and snickered. Her hands were gripping the ski poles so tightly that I could only imagine what her knuckles looked like underneath her gloves.

"You're a dancer, Emma. You should be able to stay on your feet."

"I may dance, but the floor isn't snowy, and I don't have long sticks strapped to my feet while doing it." I could hear her gulp. Which was saying something, since she was at least twenty feet away from me.

"Okay, just stay there. I'll come and get you." I began to haphazardly shuffle my skis towards her, barely moving much for the amount of energy I was expending. "This is so much harder than it looks," I laughed, trying desperately to make it to her. Emma was howling hysterically as she stood watching me inch towards her. The ski instructor spotted us and tried to come to our rescue, though I was positive we were beyond help.

"Watch me carefully," he said before leading into another tutorial that neither Emma nor I was all that interested in. We at least pretended to pay attention.

Emma wrinkled her face, looking down at the skis, "My legs hurt. Want to go to the pool?" She looked up at me, a devious grin on her face. I nodded quickly. Emma turned back to the instructor, "Great, can you teach us how to get out of these?" The instructor rolled his eyes, but obliged. Maybe skiing wasn't our thing, but there were plenty of other things to do.

We felt much freer after we changed into bathing suits. Emma wore a pink tankini, and I wore a black backless one-piece. We slipped loose clothing over our bathing suits and set off, Emma with magazines in her hand, me with a book. The heated indoor pool was set in a large glass room overlooking the scenic mountains. You could watch people ski as you lounged on any number of the luxurious recliners. Emma and I grabbed a few towels from the complimentary towel bin and laid them out on our recliners, not yet bothering to undress while we laid on our cushioned chairs.

"This is more like it," Emma smirked as a waitress came to us and asked if we would like anything to drink. "Oh goodness, yes," she giggled, looking to me for confirmation. I nodded furiously. "Can you make us some kind of really fun drink? Non-alcoholic, obviously, but something that feels fancy?" she asked. The waitress smiled knowingly, assuring us that she had just the thing. Between sipping on our fancy drinks, dipping in the pool, soaking in the accompanying hot tub, reading our respective materials, chatting, and laughing, the afternoon had gotten away from us. We watched as the sun began to set, stunned by the amazing colors filling the sky.

"Should we try to find the boys soon and maybe think about food?" I asked, absently backstroking in the nearly empty pool. Most people had already gone to clean up for dinner.

"Nah, let them wonder!" Emma yelled before she jumped in the pool, splashing me with her too-close cannonball. My fingers were wrinkling from being in the water entirely too long. I swam to the edge and hoisted myself out to walk to my recliner and lounge again. This felt like the most perfect day.

"Found 'em!" I heard from the door. Noah had his head turned to call for Elijah. We were busted. "What are you doing? It's dinner time!" he yelled to us, stepping into the pool area, fully showered in khaki pants and a navy blue polo.

"But we're having fun!" Emma teased while she pushed herself out of the pool to join me near the recliners. Both of us were wrapping towels around ourselves. We knew we needed to eat eventually.

"Precisely how long was it that you lasted on the slopes?" Elijah asked, looking particularly dapper in a pair of black dress slacks, a teal button-down oxford that he had folded at the wrist and unbuttoned slightly, and slicked back hair.

"Oh, you know, hours..." Emma and I both giggled as she answered for us. They had to know we were kidding. "Why didn't you tell me dinner was fancy? We would have been ready!" Emma wrinkled her face, knowing she wasn't going to be able to put the effort she wanted into her outfit since they were already dressed. I didn't care. I'd be ready to go in ten minutes.

"I apologize; I had assumed that you studied the agenda." He glanced down at the watch he was wearing. "There is still twenty minutes before we have to leave. Will that be enough?" Elijah questioned. For how intelligent he was, he had a thing or two to learn about women.

"Twenty minutes?! Let's go!" Emma popped up from her seat and started gathering her things. I did the same, and soon we were bouncing off to the room to get ready. Since neither of us had time to shower, I put my hair in a french braid, and Emma pulled hers into a high bun. I pulled on a pair of fitted black pants and an off-the-shoulder light blue blouse that brought out my eyes. I added my black heeled booties, silver jewelry, and a little makeup. Emma wore a pair of black tights with a red sweater dress and black knee-high boots. She also added some matching jewelry and just a little bit of makeup before we were both pulling our coats on while we dashed down the stairs to hopefully catch the bus. Luckily, Elijah and Noah dragged their feet to buy us a few extra minutes. Emma and I both sighed a breath of relief when we found our seats on the bus.

"You made it!" Noah ridiculed us jokingly.

"Barely," I responded, then bit my lower lip. "I think we'll pay more attention to the agenda tomorrow."

He shrugged. "Probably a good idea if you want to eat. Otherwise, you'll have to pay for ridiculously priced, unincluded food at one of the resort restaurants." I really didn't want to do that.

Dinner was at a large buffet with decor that was similar to the rustic feel of the resort. I sat with Emma, Elijah, and Noah, but this time we were joined by Adrian and his new love interest, Mia. I knew her as one of the girls on the squad. Adrian seemed more comfortable hanging out with us now that he seemed to get over Emma.

"They have the craziest dessert bar." Noah's smile widened as he carried not one, but two plates of delicious treats back to the table.

"It was kind of you to bring enough for all of us." Elijah reached to get a cookie before being batted away by Noah. Adrian swiped a tort while Noah was otherwise distracted, causing Emma to burst into giggles.

"I definitely did not bring enough for everyone," Noah laughed before pulling his plates closer to him and pointing towards the dessert bar. "Go get your own!" I gave my eyes a nice roll before standing to go retrieve some for myself.

I stood marveling at the hot chocolate bar equipped with large mugs and plenty of mix-ins: miniature marshmallows, peppermint sticks, chocolate chips, and long chocolate and vanilla twisted cookie sticks.

"This place is amazing, right?" a deep voice rang in my left ear. I looked up to see Brock Miller, dazzling in a white button-down oxford left slightly unbuttoned and a pair of pressed khaki pants. He looked like a model for Abercrombie and Fitch. I swallowed hard.

"Uh–" I carefully pulled a cup out to begin creating my own concoction, hoping my trembling hand wouldn't fail me and send the cup shattering to pieces on the floor.

"You look beautiful tonight." He didn't even wait for me to respond before giving me his signature lop-sided grin. The smile that told me he was up to something.

"I gotta go," I mumbled, setting the cup down and rejoining my group. Emma locked eyes with me, then slid a plate of chocolate chip cookies between us. I took one gratefully and exhaled slowly before savoring a bite. I felt like I dodged a bullet.

The next day, Emma and I explored the resort shops, got pedicures at the spa, had lunch, and found our way back to the pool. We were actually on time for dinner, and then we enjoyed s'mores and board games with our entire group in the activities center. The room led to outdoor fire pits that allowed us to go back and forth between the two. While we stood outside roasting marshmallows, the drum corps captain, Katie, noticed a hot tub area just beyond some trees. "We should all check that out tomorrow night," she nodded to it, speaking to the entire group, which included Emma, Elijah, Noah, Adrian, Mia, and me. "Looks like it's outside my room."

We all agreed to meet at there late tomorrow evening. Somehow, Elijah and Noah talked us into trying skiing one more time with them during the day. Emma and I were reluctant, but ended up having a lot more fun with our own personal instructors. Neither of us was very good, but at least we tried. Plus, it meant that I didn't see Brock or Brittany all day, for which I was immensely grateful. Emma and I trudged back to our room that evening with sore muscles aching to be dipped in warm water.

Outside of the main resort, the hot tubs bubbled with heated water while snow gently fell overhead. The sky was pitch black, stars vibrant across the night sky, and the only light that shone was the gentle glow of string lights that hung above each small cove. Emma and I both had placed sweatpants and sweatshirts over our bathing suits before slipping into boots with no socks. We stomped through the light snow, carrying towels as we made our way towards the outside of Katie's room. There were two large tubs connected to each other, each able to hold at least ten people. When we arrived, Katie and Adrian sat chatting in one of the hot tubs alone. In the other, Brock Miller sat with Liam O'Brien and two other guys I didn't know. Great.

"Oh, look! The pretty girls are here," Katie said with a devious grin. "Time for the party to start." Emma and I both gave an uncomfortable laugh just as Brock turned his head to see who she was talking about. He smiled when he saw me, and I felt the hair stand up on my neck while his eyes traced the length of me. I thought I was going to be sick.

I put my towel on an empty chair and slipped my boots off, already regretting this endeavor. It was freezing. I took a deep breath and pulled my sweatshirt over my head to reveal a red and white diagonally striped bikini top that tied at my neck and sides. I shivered as I slid my sweatpants off and set them on the chair, showing off matching bottoms. I could feel both Brock and Katie's eyes on me while I undressed, and another wave of discomfort washed over my body. After swallowing the lump in my throat, I climbed the ladder to slip into the hot tub.

Warmth spread through my sore muscles once I stepped in. I let the hot water rush over me. "Emma, you have to get in," I instructed, crouching down further. "It's so nice." My hair was now floating in the water, so I stood up for a moment to pull it in a messy ponytail above my head with a holder I had around my wrist. Emma was smart enough to pull her hair back before we left, and I should have listened when she suggested it.

Emma wore a doubtful expression while walking over to the tub and dipping her fingers in to test the temperature. The radio played behind us, currently featuring "What's Your Fantasy" by Ludacris. I backed up against the edge of the hot tub to find a ledge to rest on, trying to ignore Brock and his friends. Katie and Adrian were sitting on a ledge to my left.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure it's worth freezing my ass off before getting in." Emma smirked at me. I flicked some water at her, which she dodged with a squeal as she retreated back to the chairs.

Elijah was the first of the Walkers to arrive, placing his lips to Emma's forehead before tossing his towel down on top of an unclaimed chair. He quickly shed his extra clothes, having no qualms about showing off a long, toned body. Football conditioning suited him. "Come on," he encouraged her, tugging at her sweatshirt a bit then pointing to the hot tub. "Time to get in." She wrinkled her face at him and sighed, pulling her own sweatshirt over her body. Elijah poked her cheek and smiled. "No pouting."

Responding in a playful grin, Emma shimmied off her sweatpants to reveal long, toned legs. Her black halter bikini top tied at her neck and clasped at the back, and the bottoms had large silver o-rings at the hips. The top was slightly smaller than she might have liked since Emma's body matured quite a bit this year, but I was sure none of the guys were complaining about the view. While I was still waiting for my figure to start taking shape, Emma was getting curves in all the right places. Elijah escorted her over to the hot tub, holding her hand to help her get in without slipping.

"Damn, girl," Katie whistled. "Where have you been hiding those?"

"Katrina," Elijah warned before climbing in behind Emma. They made their way to the ledge directly across from me.

She shrugged. "What? All I'm saying is that you both should be happy with her glorious fun bags. I know I would be." Emma's and Elijah's cheeks turned pink while Adrian was looking in every direction but at them. Liam wasn't as subtle, and only snapped out of his trance when Elijah's eyes burned in his direction. The loud crunching of snow thankfully interrupted the awkwardness. "About time, Noah!" Katie chastised.

"I know, I know. Yeesh," Noah retorted and slipped his shirt off, throwing it on top of Elijah's things. I felt my mouth part slightly while I looked him over. Noah must have gained a few inches over the course of the year, and although he wasn't nearly as toned as Elijah, he definitely held his own with his lean physique. After he entered the hot tub, he quickly dunked his head under water and pushed his long blonde hair out of his face. I stared for a moment, studying his face, which had also matured over the school year. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding then quickly looked away, catching Katie's gaze.

"I see you," Katie eyed me with a knowing smile on her face. Damn it.

"I... see you, too?" I tried to act casually, pretending I had no idea what she was talking about. Luckily, she didn't push it.

"Good," she sniggered, and I bit my lip as I turned away from her, suddenly embarrassed that she caught me staring. Katie's face lit up like she had an idea. "So, Truth or Dare?"

"Lame," Noah chided, though I noticed that Adrian was nodding at him to play along. Noah raised his eyebrow at him in question. Brock and his friends retreated into their own conversation, thankfully no longer interested in our presence. I was pretty sure it had to do with Brittany and her cronies arriving in bathing suits that left little to the imagination, but I was just happy we were no longer the center of their attention.

"I'll play," Adrian responded happily enough. Emma and Elijah loosely agreed as well.

"However, there will be no daring Emma or me to do anything that would disrespect our relationship," Elijah warned, eyeing Katie cautiously.

She nodded in response. "Fair. I'll start. Noah, truth or dare?"

"Truth, only because I'm afraid of you," Noah said honestly to which everyone responded in laughter.

"Fine. You have a thing for this girl?" She pointed at me. I felt my face flush immediately. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Emma tense. Brock's head slowly turned towards our group. I think we were all holding our breath.

Noah shrugged casually. "You just wasted your turn because I don't think that's a secret to anyone here." My heart stopped beating. Had Noah just confessed? Right here in front of everyone? In front of Brock?! Noah looked around the hot tub and then to Emma, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth!" she chose quickly, clearly trying to draw attention away from me. As she answered, another girl came up to our gathering, apologizing for her tardiness. In a few moments, Mia had stripped down to her hot pink bikini, which complimented her dark complexion. She threw her curly ebony hair into a messy bun on top of her head before climbing in to join us. I noticed Adrian's lips curve into a smile as he looked at her.

"Mind if I sit?" She motioned to the empty seat on the ledge next to me. I shook my head and scooted over to give her space, thankful for the distraction from my haphazard thoughts.

"Ugh, boring..." I heard Noah comment about Emma's choice. "Okay, if you had to choose between going naked or having your thoughts appear in bubbles above your head so everyone could see, which would you choose?" he asked. The entire group chortled at his ridiculous question.

"Naked," Emma answered quickly. I raised my eyebrow to her, surprised. She shrugged. "Katie, truth or dare?"

"Let's keep these fun truth bombs going," she responded casually, sitting back to wait for her question.

"Ummm... who do you find most attractive in this hot tub?" Emma asked.

Katie considered the question for a moment before responding, "That's hard. It's a toss up between you and Aria. You're both hot in different ways. Aria is like... exotic looking, and you want to take her back to your room. You're very girl-next-door, and I'd want to take you home to mom, maybe get married." I was happy that we were in a hot tub and that my face was already red, because if we weren't, it would have been obvious that I was extremely embarrassed at this point. The tension was already bubbling as much as the water, but it intensified to a whole new level when Brittany and a few of her friends began glaring at us. I cleared my throat and tried to focus.

"Aria," Katie said with a sneaky glance, "truth or dare?"

I felt my stomach clench. I truly did not want to choose either, but I didn't want to answer any personal questions. I decided to take my chances. "Dare."

"Good. Kiss him," she instructed while she pointed to Noah. My eyes immediately widened, and my stomach dropped.

"Oh, come on. That's the best you can do?" Emma, blessed Emma, tried to save me. Surprisingly, Noah was laughing, though I wondered if it was out of sheer nervousness.

"Really? We're friends!" I protested. I felt Brock's silent, steady gaze burning into me from the adjoining hot tub. This wasn't good.

"It's one little kiss. You don't have to use your tongue. No one outside of this group will ever have to know." As she spoke, I was suddenly cursing myself for staring at him. Why did I do that? If she hadn't caught me, this wouldn't be happening.

"Can't you think of anything else?" I was begging now. I knew we both had some level of feelings for each other, but this was not the way I wanted to explore them. Especially not in front of Brock, who had in fact threatened me to stay away from a very recently-confessing Noah.

"Okay," she considered for a moment, thinking of an alternative. "Well, you can kiss him... or you can kiss me."

"We'd all like to see that over here!" Liam interjected, and their entire group broke into sleazy cackles. That also was not a show I was willing to provide.

"I–" I began to protest again when I locked eyes with Noah.

"It's fine, Aria," he assured me. Taking a deep breath, I hesitantly walked through the water to where he was sitting. I didn't exhale until I was standing in front of him. My stomach turned as I searched for the nerve to lean in and do it. Suddenly, I felt Noah's hand on my waist while he pulled me into him and pressed his closed lips gently against mine. I felt my entire body go numb. What was supposed to be a quick, one-second kiss lingered much, much longer as I felt unable, or even unwilling, to pull away. When we parted, he opened his eyes, and we stared at each other for an intense moment, trying to understand what had just happened. If I ever thought that I had needed confirmation that I had feelings for Noah Walker, there it was.

I heard Katie slow clap behind us, and my head snapped to look at her. "See? Easy!" She winked at me. Mortified beyond reason, I went back to my seat and decided to instantly steer the game. I could still feel Brock's eyes on me while I searched for my target.

"Adrian, truth or dare?" I stammered, barely able to catch my breath. Emma was staring at me, her gaze filled with concern. I gave her a reassuring look. I wasn't going to let anyone see me shaken.

He shrugged. "Dare." I stalled. trying to think of something good. My brain was so scattered while I relived the kiss I just shared with Noah. I knew that I didn't want anyone to see me upset, but I could feel my knees shaking below me.

"I dare you to streak in the snow... to that banister and back." I pointed to a tall wooden banister about twenty feet away. I wasn't sure what it was used for, but it served as a decent landmark.

Noah wrinkled his face when I delivered the dare. He protested for Adrian, "C'mon, no one wants to see that!"

"Better close your eyes then," I countered, pursing my lips. There was no way I was the only one leaving here embarrassed tonight.

"That's our cue," Liam announced sarcastically while they all exited their hot tub to locate their towels. Brock forced a smile towards Brittany, though his face was flushed with anger. He toweled off before throwing a hooded sweatshirt over his body. He turned to face me, and our eyes locked one last time before he left. Despite the heat of the water, I could still feel a bone-chilling wave crash over me.

"Okay, fine," Adrian's voice brought me back to Earth. "If Aria wants to see all this, then I guess we'll have to give her what she wants." He got out and began walking to the edge of the concrete block that held the hot tub. "Holy shit, it's cold." He chuckled lowly as he slipped his swim shorts off. Katie, Mia, and I began clapping, Katie throwing in a loud whistle. Noah and Elijah were both covering their eyes. Elijah reached his free hand to cover Emma's, though she was cracking up too hard for it to actually block anything.

"Woooooohhhhoooooooooo!" Adrian yelled while he rushed to the banister and back. He immediately grabbed his shorts and slid them back on before he got back in the hot tub. We broke out into a round of applause, our snickers slowly dying. "You liked that, huh?" Adrian's mouth stretched into a huge Cheshire grin.

"You caught me," I responded sarcastically, trying to stifle my remaining giggles. I locked eyes with Noah, and he smiled softly at me, causing my laughter to finally die down. He held my gaze, and I had to take a deep breath to try to steady myself once more. In my mind, I couldn't stop replaying the feeling of Noah's lips on mine. It might have been an innocent, closed-mouth kiss, but it made my heart completely stop. I knew that I loved him, now more than ever.

I had to protect him. From Brock's physical threats, sure. But I was also going to have to do everything I could to make sure Noah never found out what happened between Brock and me. Emma didn't doubt that he would still love me, but I couldn't help but wonder... would he even want to date me if he knew?

I laid awake late that night as the events replayed in my head. I felt so lost, so confused, so... angry.

"Aria, you should try to get some sleep," Emma instructed, somehow knowing I was still awake. A smile spread across my face as I processed her words. I loved that she knew me so well. I finally allowed my eyes to close and began to drift off when there was a loud thud against our door, followed by echoes of jeers and taunts.

"What in the–" Emma sprang out of bed and turned on her bedside lamp.

"What was that?" I rubbed my eyes to try to clear some of the sleepiness while I trudged towards the door, barefoot in only a pair of flannel boxer shorts and Noah's Lifehouse t-shirt. More laughter filled my ears. Emma filed in behind me. Another thud against the door caused me to jump, and I instinctively pulled the door open. On the ground laid Brock, Liam, and one of the guys from the hot tub earlier, rolling in fits of glee. Their faces were red, hair unkempt, and they reeked of vodka.

"What are you guys doing?!" I shrieked, trying to remain quiet so as to not wake up the chaperones. Unfortunately the three boys were going to end up doing it anyway.

"We had to see you!" Liam screeched dramatically while he and Brock's other friend rolled over in stitches once more. My stomach turned as I could now only picture Liam in his over-the-top awkward encounter with Emma and Elijah. He sloppily made kissing sounds at her, which she recoiled from.

"What are you talking about?! You guys are going to wake everyone up!" I stared at Brock. His body wobbled as he struggled to straighten himself. His eyes were bloodshot red, and he wore a large smile on his face.

"We're just playing around," Brock squeaked. He was trying to hold in his bubbling hiccups. He could tell that Emma and I were unimpressed with this display. The scowl on my face must have said it all.

"C'mon, Aria," Liam interjected, trying to stick up for his friend. "Brock just wanted to see you! He thinks you're sooo hot."

"Dude," Brock looked over to him, shaking his head to cut Liam off. I looked over to Emma, who was clearly contemplating going to get an adult. This had "catastrophe" written all over it.

"What? Isn't that what you said? You wish she weren't such a prude?" Liam howled as he and the other crony laughed wildly.

Brock's face turned to stone, and his eyes narrowed at Liam. "Seriously. Shut. Up." Brock growled a low warning.

More doors were beginning to open, and in seconds, both Walkers were at our sides. Elijah was the first to speak. "Enough," he said with authority.

Noah's fists clenched as his cheeks burned hot. Liam let out a primal howl upon noticing. "Aria, you must have some serious goods. You've got both Brock and Little Walker hung up? It's all making sense now!" Liam reached out to grip my wrist, trying to drive his point home. "Maybe I should see what all the fuss is about..."

"Don't touch her!" Noah warned. In one swift motion, Noah brushed Liam's grip from my wrist and turned to connect his fist with the side of Liam's face. Liam fell backwards against the wall, slamming his back with a loud bang.

"Oh, I see, Little Walker. You do enjoy sloppy seconds." Brock towered in front of us, grinning wildly, and suddenly I felt every inch of his 6'1" frame. I looked up and immediately took in his disheveled hair and wide pupils. Acid burned my throat.

"It's only sloppy seconds if you get to have it the first time," I hissed harshly as if saying it loud enough would kill any rumors he was trying to start.

Brock quickly gripped my forearm and pulled me into him, whispering just loud enough for the two of us to hear, "Your memory must be failing you."

I could hear myself scream, like I was outside of my own body, as Noah's fist connected with Brock's jaw. My stomach dropped at the bone-shattering crunch. Seconds later, Brock's arm jolted sideways in a quick hook that sent his clenched fist directly into the side of Noah's head.

"STOP!" I yelled, leaning down to pull Brock away from him, but it was no use. A moment later, Elijah jumped in, tearing me away from them and tossing me into Emma's outstretched arms before slamming Brock into the wall to hold him. Soon, Elijah pinned Brock with a firm grip, and the third guy in their group held Liam, who was trying to rejoin the scuffle.

My eyes were wide, and my throat dry. I broke from Emma's grasp and threw my arms around Noah's waist, pulling him backwards with all my might until we were just a pace away, but he was no longer fighting to move forward. He breathed heavily as I put my hand on his face to shift him towards me. Please... stop, I mouthed seriously, locking eyes with him. Frustrated, he broke away from me, doubling over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He then started walking in the opposite direction to calm down.

"What's going on here?!" One of the male chaperones entered the hallway, fury in his eyes.

I snuck a panicked glance at Emma before we watched Elijah release Brock. Brock cleared his throat, trying to look as if he weren't both drunk and fighting on a school sponsored-trip, an infraction that would earn him at least a ten-day suspension. Liam straightened up, too.

"Nothing, sir. We're sorry," Liam responded quickly with his face tilted towards the ground.

"We just had a little disagreement. Everything is fine. We'll go back to our rooms," the friend added quickly.

"Go. Now. And don't let me see any of you until the morning," the chaperone hissed before turning on his heel and slamming the door to his room.

Elijah stood firmly in place until Brock and his friends left, which also made the remaining stragglers scatter. "Are you both alright?" he asked as he followed us into our room, throwing the latch across the door frame before gently propping the door against it. "What happened?"

Emma immediately threw her arms around him, and he wrapped her in his embrace. Tears began to gather behind my eyes. "They just showed up at our door," she tried to explain. "They were obviously drunk and–" There was a gentle knock on our door before Noah slipped inside and closed it completely behind him. "Those assholes were taunting Aria."

"Are you okay?" Noah looked at me with a deep concern on his face, though I noticed his eyes trailed to my choice of sleepwear. I swallowed hard. Busted.

"Fine," I exhaled heavily as I sat on the edge of the bed, lowering my head to cupped hands. Noah sat beside me and rested his hand on my shoulder. The gentle squeeze he gave me helped to settle my nerves. There was just something about Noah. Something that always made me feel calm, no matter what was happening.

"Can we all agree that it would be wise to avoid them in the future?" Elijah offered.

"They knocked on our door!" I shot back defensively. "We were trying to sleep!"

Elijah's eyes widened at my response. I was clearly on edge. "My apologies," he corrected calmly. Elijah gestured his head at Noah, who stood from the bed and trailed behind him. "We should take our leave, unless we want to risk being caught by another chaperone." Emma nodded silently. He met her eyes once more. "Should you need anything, let us know. If they return, do not answer the door. Call our room immediately."

Emma nodded once more and went to hold the door open for the boys. Elijah looked down at her before giving her a short kiss goodbye. He disappeared through the door once he confirmed the coast was clear, but Noah hesitated as he got to the threshold. His fingers twitched a few times before he turned back around to me and enveloped me in a tight hug. Completely caught off guard, I was only able to slowly lift my arms to return the embrace. He let go, and without another word left the room.

Emma and I looked at each other before both sighing heavily. We made our way to our respective beds and turned out the lights. I wasn't sure how I was going to sleep that night.

When we sat on the bus the next morning to head home, no one made eye contact. I sat with Noah and desperately tried to pretend that everything was normal. There was so much to say, and yet no one spoke. Even though we continued to share music and snacks like nothing had changed, everything felt different. I felt different. I had so many thoughts and emotions swirling around inside of me that I didn't even know what to think or how to feel anymore. I had kissed boys before, but none of them could compare to the way I had felt with Noah Walker. With my lips on Noah's, I felt safe, protected, home. That one, simple kiss with Noah felt more intense than every kiss I had ever shared with anyone.

I looked out the window, trees passing by while I mulled over all of this. A mix of Noah's own making spun in his player, and a beautiful acoustic version of "Crazy for This Girl" by Evan and Jaron came on. I listened for a few moments, absorbing the lyrics before I turned my head to Noah with a shy smile. I tapped my own headphones to signal to the song, then mouthed, This version is really good. Noah's smile widened as he nodded his head in agreement.

We let the music entertain us for the entire ride back to the school. Noah seemed like he was lost in his own thoughts, and I was obviously distracted with my own. It made for a long trip. While we gathered our luggage from the stowaway compartment underneath the bus, I took a long breath to try to relieve some of the stress. I heard Brittany let out an over exaggerated laugh, causing me to look in her direction. I wished I hadn't, for she was touching Brock's arm and making eyes at him. Gross. I grabbed my suitcase and rolled it away.

"Aria!" I heard Noah call after me as he jogged up next to me. "Can we talk for a minute?"

It was ironic that we had the whole time on the bus to speak to each other, but neither one of us struck up a conversation. "What's up?" I asked with as much of a chipper mood as I could muster. Spoiler alert: it wasn't much.

"Look, I, um, just wanted to say sorry," he began. Wait, what? I blinked at him. I must have looked clueless because honestly, I wasn't sure what Noah felt like he had to apologize for. "I could tell you were uncomfortable before we kissed in the hot tub, but I encouraged you to do it anyway." Oh. "And I know my involvement in everything that went down last night wasn't exactly gentleman-like. I wanted to apologize this whole time, but I didn't even know how to begin."

To say that Noah never ceased to amaze me would be an understatement. It took me a minute before I was able to properly respond. "You really don't have to apologize, but I do appreciate it. I actually have been meaning to thank you this whole time for sticking up for me." A small smile tugged at my lips. "That's a pretty mean hook you've got."

He smiled at me, relief washing over his face. It dawned on me that this was probably what he had been stressing about during the whole ride home. He closed the distance between us and gently touched my hand, gesturing for me to let go of my luggage. Without thinking, I did as he silently asked, giving him a grateful smile in return. We walked in comfortable silence to Emma's car, my heart feeling ten times lighter than it had just moments ago. And despite his earlier teasing about never holding a door for me again, he did exactly that. I had no idea where it left us, but in that moment, I knew that my heart would forever belong to Noah Walker.

__________

⭐ And the crowd goes wild!! "NOIA! ...NOIA! ...NOIA!" Also got to give it up for our boy Noah, who finally gave Brock a piece of what he deserves. Amirite? 

Don't forget to hit that STAR like Noah hit Brock 😆