PROGRESS

Samantha taps her pen on the desk and grumbles something under her breath. I sink lower in my chair and stare at the clock on the blue wall. Our substitute is useless and I'm bored. I thought about escaping to see Noah but he has class.

"Are you sure you don't want help with the lock in? Friday is approaching quickly."

"I'm the only one who can know the plot, otherwise it's ruined and I've worked too hard for that to happen. Do you know how hard it was to convince the school to allow us to have this night?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. I also know you'll murder me for real if anything happens."

"Thank you for the offer but I need to figure this out myself. I could do with some help for something else, though." She smiles.

"What do you need help with?"

"Can you give the final plans to Mr. East? There's a schedule for how the entire night will run."

"I'll see if this is a good reason to leave because I can't sit for much longer." I chuckle.

"Good luck and thank you."

The substitute teacher allows me to leave because I hyped up how important the documents are. When I arrive at Noah's classroom, I knock on the door before entering.

There's younger students everywhere and loud music which drowns out the machinery. It's a different vibe to our class time because these students are actually working on their projects.

Noah's explaining something to a student, so I step aside and hug the folder to my chest. He walks over and smiles which makes my heart skip a beat.

"I've got paperwork for Samantha."

"Paperwork, how exciting." He plasters on a fake grin.

"I'm excited because." I trail off and smile. "Except its school."

"You should be excited because Samantha's put a good event on. Plus it's only on a Friday night, there's always the weekend." He winks.

"Oh." I bite my lip and smile.

Noah looks at his watch and sighs.

"There's three minutes left, what do you say?"

"I hope you're thinking the same as me." I chuckle.

Noah places the paperwork on his desk and turns the music off. Students stop their work to look at him.

"It's almost lunch, so pack up and head out."

Some students cheer as they race out the doorway, other's race to put their things away. Once the last student has left, he locks the door and grins.

"I've missed you."

"Same." I sigh.

"How's your day been?"

"Percy's talked to me, well, he asked for a pen in English. I think he was trying to look at the answers on my page, though."

"What happened after I left?"

"He wanted to get back together but I explained I wanted to be friends."

Noah takes my hand and squeezes it.

"I hate that this hurts him, but I'm happy you're with me."

"One day he'll find the spark we have and he'll understand."

"That's a good way of thinking about it."

"I hope we can be friends again."

"I'm sure you will."

He tugs me closer and kisses my forehead.

"You should stay for lunch, unless you have somewhere else to be?"

"Samantha's in a mood, so I'd rather stay here."

"Good choice."

Noah cups my cheek and plants his lips on mine. I tangle my fingers through his hair and pull his warm body closer to mine.

When lunch is over, I untangle myself from Noah and move to my usual spot. He opens the classroom door and students wander in and carry on with their projects. I slouch against the table and tap my fingers against the wood.

"For those of you who have finished your projects, there's plenty of cleaning to be done." Some students groan while I perk up.

"Can I have the speaker if I organise the black abyss?"

"Sounds like a good deal." He grins.

"I'll help you," Percy offers.

Noah frowns and I shoot him a glare. This is progress and I really want there to be progress between us. Percy and I could be great friends once we get past this.

I find the speaker in Noah's office and meet Percy in the storage room. He dusts over things while I put the obvious things away, like the power tools on the wall hangers.

"Do you think Uncle Noah will notice if I throw this scrap wood away?"

"I could distract him with questions."

"Distract who?" Noah raises an eyebrow.

"Nobody, nothing, I have no idea what you're talking about." I smile.

"You're such a bad liar." Percy laughs.

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

"It's looking good in here."

"Thanks," we say together.

Noah awkwardly nods, then wanders out of the room.

* * * * *

In the afternoon, the Cheerleaders gather in the gym for a workout. Annika bumps her shoulder into mine and smiles.

"Where were you at lunch?"

"I had an assignment to finish."

"Or a secret boyfriend?" She winks.

"He must be so secret that even I don't know about him." I laugh.

"I wouldn't tell a secret."

"Thanks, Annika."

Samantha plays music and leads the exercise class which is a combination of stretching and dancing, which is much better than staring out a window and running on a treadmill.

Percy walks out of the change room and our eyes meet. He smiles and joins the group.

"What are you doing?" I laugh.

"Do you think Uncle Noah will notice?"

"He'll kick your butt." I sigh.

"I'll take my chances."

Noah finds us, but I smile at him and he doesn't pull Percy away from the exercise group. Once we're finished, we head to the change room and I collect my things.

Percy bumps his shoulder into mine and grins.

"Hey, do you need a lift home?"

"Um." I bite my lip. "Sure, that would be good because my legs are part jelly."

"I don't understand how you do all those kicks and flips." He shakes his head. "I think I'd scramble my brain if I did that."

"We can't have that happening, Mr. Captain of the football team."

We leave the gym under the watchful eye of Noah. I don't want to make Noah uncomfortable, but this will put us back on the road of recovery and I care about making it work.