Suddenly, seconds felt like hours. Either that or Noah was driving purposefully slower than usual. It could have easily been a combination of both. He was humming a song that was playing from the radio, as I anxiously thrummed my fingers against my knees.

"So, what's the next question?" Might as well get something out of this eternal ride to school.

I saw his eyes widen a little but luckily, he kept his focus on the road. 

"Aren't you a little too eager?" There was amusement in his voice, as if I was just as much of an enigma to him as he was to me. Good, I didn't need him to know me.

Clicking my tongue, I muttered, "I just want to get through them all." And learn all your secrets.

As soon as the words left my lips, I regretted them. Perhaps I should have worded it differently. Maybe saying I was eager to get to know more about him would have sounded sexier. I'd been dating Noah for one day, and I was already becoming painfully aware of how much I absolutely sucked at dating. Probably should have read up on some seduction articles before I decided to date the most popular guy at school. I was coming across as more of a Nancy Drew than a Femme Fatale.

Suddenly, my torrent of self-deprecating thoughts was interrupted by loud laughter.

Noah was laughing at me. Even though I had fully expected him to be annoyed at my antsy behavior. What was wrong with this guy?

"You do know this isn't an exam, right? I'm not gonna grade you at the end of it." He glanced at me and shook his head, seemingly enjoying my odd behavior.

"Aren't you though?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he threw a confused glance at me, "Your little questions test had only two grade though, pass or fail. You're either in love, or you're not. Or am I wrong?"

Noah's lips quirked up, his eyebrows raising in the air. He threw another look at me, and tapped his fingers on the wheel, "When you put it like that, I guess you're right, Fox."

A surprising sense of accomplishment spread through me at hearing that, even though I already knew I was right, and didn't need his praise. So, then why did it feel so good to get it?

Shaking my head, I narrowed my eyes at him. My will-power was stronger than his charm, and I wasn't going to let myself be swayed by it.

"So, what's the next question?" I asked again, crossing my hands over my chest.

Noah let out a long sigh, realizing that I wasn't giving up, "Fine. We'll do only one though." He said, and tilted his head, "Would you like to be famous, and in what way?"

After he asked the question, I stayed quiet. When a few more moments passed, Noah glanced at me and frowned, "Well?"

"Well, I answered the last question first so now it's your turn." I replied, raising an eyebrow.

Noah just chuckled and nodded in response, "Fair."

Then he went quiet, as if he was trying to frame the answer in his head, "I'd like to be famous for my music."

Surprising. Mainly because I had no idea he was interested in music or knew how to play an instrument. Based on the little I did know about him, he seemed more like the scientific approach guy. But then again, I did know very little about him.

"I thought you were into science," I muttered, unable to filter out my thoughts.

"I am." He gave a curt reply. Not that I deserved a better one for that stupid comment.

"What do you play?" Clearing my throat, I tried again.

"Lots of things. Guitar, drums, bass, piano...." He hummed out the words and trailed off, his tone making it obvious that he'd answered this question many times before. Probably in the same exact way.

"So, you want to be a famous musician?" I said nonchalantly, and received a surprising reply.

The corner of his lip quirked up again and he shook his head, "I didn't say that."

"Then a producer?" He shook his head again, "A manager?" What was he playing at?

"Nah." Noah chuckled, briefly glancing at me and my furrowed brows. "You look cute when you're confused."

I blushed instantly, unsure of whether it was because of his unexpected comment or my inability to grasp the right answer.

"Oh, I know!" I snapped my fingers in victory, so convinced that I finally got it right, "A songwriter!"

"Nope." Another hit-and-miss. What else was there?

I thought about it for a few moments, trying to imagine what he could have meant by his answer if it wasn't being a musician, a songwriter, producer or manager, and ended up with a blank.

Letting out a sigh, I leaned my head back on the seat and stared at him, "I give up. So then, what did you mean by wanting to be famous for your music?"

Noah's smile widened, "It might not seem like it, but there's kind of a science to creating music. Of course, it's a very individual thing as well. One song can create completely different reactions for different people." He said, glancing at me, and when he seemed satisfied by my undivided attention, he continued. "But, I think there's also something similar underneath it all, something that unites us all. Certain songs, regardless of which genre you prefer, are just universally loved. They invoke emotions even in the least emotional people. They change you at your core."

He sighed, as he pulled into the school parking lot, "So that's what I want to do. I want to study that, and try to find a formula that can create songs that will change people. Make them happy."

Noah Archer and his formulas for a happy life. This time however, I kind of felt impressed. Maybe it was how mature he sounded when he spoke about it, or the fact that he seemed so sure of himself but it seemed to me like if anyone could crack the code to music, it would be him. There's also the fact that I was familiar with binaural beats, so I knew there was at least some truth to his claims this time.

"That's... very inspiring actually." I muttered after a few thoughtful seconds and heard him chuckle.

"Aw, you'll make me blush, Fox. Coming from you that's basically a standing ovation." Noah said as he parked the car and turned to focus the full intensity of his gaze on me.

"Yeah, don't let it get to your head," I mumbled, even though I knew that his ego was so big already it would probably suffocate all the air around him if it got any bigger.

Suddenly exhausted before school even started, I tried to open the door before his hand gently wrapped around my wrist.

Noah playfully clicked his tongue, "Not so fast, Fox. Your turn to answer the question."

He raised one eyebrow, a smirk plastered on his charming face, and I let out a sigh.

"We're gonna be late to class!" I tried in vain as he shrugged at me.

"Better talk fast then." Noah replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

Groaning, I settled back into the seat and stared at him, "I guess fame could be useful, but I'm not sure." I said, running a hand through my hair. As someone who tried to stay out of the spotlight most of the time, I didn't really ever consider the concept of fame as something I would seek out.

"Hmm, explain?" He asked, seemingly unsatisfied with my brief answer.

"Well, fame usually comes with power right? So, people who have fame can use their voice to make a difference, they can stand up for what they believe in, they can fight against injustice, and help people do better." That was the one thing that had always bothered me about fame. It seemed like when people had it, they were so scared of losing it that they rarely did something revolutionary, and this world needed revolutionaries. "With fame you can change the world, or you can ruin it," I muttered, gazing out at the crowd of people surrounding the parking lot.

Maybe some of them would become famous one day. Would they use it for good or for bad?

Noah rubbed his chin and nodded, "So, we both want to change the world," He concluded, bumping my shoulder with his. "Can't say we're not ambitious."

"Delusional sounds more like it," I snorted, rolling my eyes at him.

Noah just shrugged, and grinned at me, "Hey, it's usually the dreamers that end up making a difference. Gotta dream it to make it happen, Fox."

"Now you sound like one of my Mom's self-help books." I groaned at his corny words, but he just chuckled and shrugged.

Looking back out at the school, I noticed people turning to look at his car, and discreetly point at us. A shudder ran through me instantly. Of course. How could I get carried away and forget?

Skyler Fox and Noah Archer would be the main topic on today's agenda.

Dating Noah was probably the most scandalous thing I'd done in my 12 years of being at school. It's not like I was a wallflower, but I didn't really stand out either. Just a regular girl, going about her regular life. Definitely not the type of person that would have people stare and point at her. When I decided to date Noah, my lack of a social status wasn't even a fleeting thought that passed through my revenge riddled brain. It should have been.

"We should get going," I said through clenched teeth, taking a deep breath before I pushed open his car door. It was now or never, and never wasn't actually an option.

Noah quickly jumped out of the car, and caught up to me with just a few smooth steps.

Much to my dismay, he also grabbed my hand in his and entwined our fingers. Something that, I was realizing, I'd have to get used to in the next two weeks, or maybe, I was already getting used to.

Letting out a sigh, we walked into the halls of Evergreen High, hand in hand.

"Was your plan to sit on my lap or?" It was the third class of the day, and I felt as if I'd already endure a year of mental warfare in the span of a few hours.

He was glued to my side at lunch, and during every period we shared he somehow made it a point to stick by me until the very start of class -- an action that didn't go unnoticed by everyone else.

Noah was leaning on my table, his head slightly tilted in amusement as he looked at me,

"Is that an--"

"No, that was not an invitation," I intercepted him, knowing full well how that sentence was going to end and earning a wholehearted laugh from my boyfriend.

I'd never actually noticed how many classes the two of us shared together, but now that we were dating it sure felt like there were a heck of a lot of them.

"Too bad," He said and winked at me, before moving back to his usual seat on the other side of the classroom.

Letting out a deep sigh, I smacked my forehead against the desk, wishing I could just disappear. Noah was sticking to me like super glue, and I had a distinct feeling that this would be my life for the next two weeks. Oh, joy.

Soon after, the start of class bell rang and I could at least try to focus on something else -- something more important than Noah Archer -- like for example, class. Only, life is rarely that simple. Even as I listened to the professor talk about the Civil War, my mind was anywhere but in 1864.

I could feel Noah's gaze on me the entire time, and whenever I turned around to glare at him, he just wiggled his eyebrows at me. His elbow leaning against the desk, head pressed against his palm, that signature smirk ever present on his smug face. This little staring contest had been happening throughout the day, and I was not amused.

Noah Archer was infuriating. This entire situation was infuriating. How permanently red my cheeks were becoming was infuriating.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text message, and I checked to make sure the professor's back was turned away before I checked who it was from.

I let out a frustrated groan at the end of our little text exchange, forgetting that I was actually in the middle of class.

Until Mr. Davidson cleared his throat, staring directly at me with a raised eyebrow, "Is my lesson frustrating you for some reason, Skyler?"

My blush deepened, and I quickly shoved my phone into my pocket.

"N-No, sir, I apologize. I, um--" I tossed a glance at Noah's direction who was staring back at me, sheepishly. I gritted my teeth and focused my attention back to the professor before letting out a defeated sigh, "I had some cramps."

Instantly the classroom was filled with spontaneous chuckles and giggles, and I wished the ground would just swallow me up whole right then and there.

Mr. Davidson's eyes widened as he replied, "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"N-No, I'm fine now, sir, thank you." It felt like all the blood in my body was redirected into my cheeks. If I was in a cartoon, my head would be steaming.

The professor nodded and continued on with the lesson but a few of my classmates kept glancing at me with smirks on their faces.

Taking a few deep breaths, I turned back to glare at the guy who got me into this mess in the first place and, of course, he was still staring my way.

When he caught my gaze, he mouthed, "Whoops, sorry?" And grimaced, wrinkling his nose in a way that, despite my outrage, I found kind of cute.

Internally steaming at him, and at myself, I turned back around and tried to focus on the rest of the lesson.

This guy. This guy would be the death of me. 

Hi lovelies! ❤️

How has your week been? Also, if you're finishing up this semeter of school and have exams still I want to wish you GOOD LUCK! You've got this! 💪❤️ 

I had a bumpy start to the week due to my migraine problem but I hope to catch up to everything over the weekend. 

Also, we had our second out of thirty six questions asked in this chapter, so you know what that meaaaans.... Time to get to know each other better! What's your answer?

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

My answer might be typical for a writer on Wattpad, but I'd like to one day be a 'famous' author. Not so much for the fame, but more so because I'd love to make a living doing what I love. I've also been shaped a lot by authors during my childhood and teen years, particularly when I was going through depression, and my dream to kind of pay-it-forward and to write books that will make people happy and give them an escape from real life for a bit. And I'd really love to one day hear from someone that my book made a difference in their life. I know it sounds silly, but there you have it. ❤️

Anyway, I'm off now to catch up to comment replies I owe, and messages, hehe. 

Thank you so much for reading and commenting and voting, you're seriously THE BEST.

Sending you my love; stay safe, stay strong, stay you!