Noel’s POV
“Beast!” I exclaimed.
“Belle!” Aaron also exclaims and then we start to walk to each other, dramatically ofcourse. “Belle? You came back?”
We both hold each other gazes trying to look as passionate as ever. Aaron’s acting pretty well because his ‘passionate’ gaze was making my heart flutter and I was struggling so hard not to lose myself in his beautiful eyes. We’re distracted as Ma-fe comes running from behind the chair, making weird sounds. I’m not sure that’s in the script but whatever. She dramatically hit Aaron and Aaron over dramatically roars before falling to the ground. I try to laugh as I rush to him.
“You came back,” he says again this time slowly and sounding like a dying person.
“Ofcourse I came, I couldn’t let them… Oh this is all my fault. If only I had gotten here sooner,” I wail looking at him with eyes filled with sadness.
“Maybe its better this way,” Aaron says his eyes fluttering close then opening up again.
“No don’t talk like that. You’ll be alright. We’re together now. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” I assured him.
“At least I got to see you one… last time.” He says placing his hand on my cheek, its supposed to be a pur but we don’t have any costume. I cover his palm with mine, holding it in place on my cheek. I close my eyes counting number to distract myself from the tingling feeling of Aaron’s hand on my cheek. I’m really something else, my stupid hormones are going wild.
Aaron hand dramatically falls from mine, and I open my eyes to see his closed. He is supposedly dead– or dying now. My hand goes go my mouth in shock- pretence shock and I start thinking of Titanic and how my wonderful Leonardo DiCaprio died, bomb blast victim, hungry dying kids, my father before the white cloth was put over his body. That does it.
“No, no please! please! Don’t die. I love you!” I wail as a drop of tear falls down my face followed by two others.
Bella and Mafe starts throwing glitter around and a large cloth is used to cover Aaron’s body, I move away giving them space and also obeying the script. When the cloth is removed, I’m supposed to see the Prince. The cloth is finally yanked away from Aaron’s body and somehow he now has sunglasses on, pushing his hair behind. I look at him mysterious as he stands up, one; I’ve never seen him with sunglasses and with his hair pulled back he looked double gorgeous. Two; the script says to look at him mysteriously.
“Belle is me!” Aaron says sounding excited.
I give him a look and when I finally meet his eyes, my face lights up as I rush to his arms. “It is you!”
Uh oh time for the kissy part.
Aaron arm wraps around me and his other hand goes to my chin tilting my head up to look at him. My heart’s beating so wildly, its about to jump out. Its a play Noel, it’s just a play. Mere acting. He leans down, his face really close to me, I can feel his breath, I Lean up to him….
“Cut! Cut! Cuuuuuut!” Bella shouts making us pull away from each other. Aaron looks at me and then we both look away, his hand going to massage his neck and me hiding my blushing face.
Well that was awkward.
“So, the act was perfect. No flaw unlike the other EIGHT.” Bella says raising her voice a little, calmly she turns to Aaron, “Satisfied now AL?”
“Um.. yeah. Yeah we did good.” He shutters.
She claps her hand together and starts walking away then turns back to us. “Oh and if you two want to kiss so badly, AL room is available, so is the garage and the bathroom and the several rooms here and the…”
“Hey!” Aaron yells at her throwing a cushion pillow at her, she giggles running away. He looks at me his face as red as mine. “Um…”
“Yea,” turning away, I walk- speed upstairs to Ma-fe’s room. Heaven knows I can’t stay in the place with him now, not after that ‘almost kiss’.
I’m still feeling the effect for Christ sake.
.
.
I place my cupcake on the spot and go stand behind waiting for buyers to come. To say I’m proud of this cupcakes would be somewhat an understatement. I cherished them, if not that it was a pastry made for this fundraiser. I would have taken it to a museum or something. Even put it up in a my trophy case as a life achievement.
After much pleading and helping her clean up, Linda reluctantly allowed us to use to kitchen once more. This time I was way more careful and Aaron supervised and told me what to do more carefully. The cupcakes turned out really nice. My mum almost devoured all when I brought it home. Now sadly I’ve to let them go.
Cornerview really did great in this fundraising event. Girls were dressed in bikini bras and short anything; skirt and short as they washed cars. There was a kissing booth and a cotton candy machine. There were other pastries except mine being sold but in my opinion, mine is the best.
People were coming over to bye from me and I was selling them off with a smile. A little selfish side of me was unhappy that the money won’t go to me. As my eyes were wandering about, I saw Aaron– Shirtless. He was wiping and cleaning the mirror of a car. He wore khaki shorts and his chest was glistening with water. I could also see girls publicly and shamelessly ogling him and his beautiful body. Some walking over to borrow something in an excuse to talk or touch his body.
Argh why I’m I stuck selling cupcakes again? I could wash cars, I always washed my dad’s or mums car.
“Hey are you giving me the cupcake or not,” a girl snapped bringing me back to the present and away from the shirtless, hot Aaron.
“Um… I’m sorry what?”
.
I see Quinn walking toward me in her blue bra and faded blue shorts, her hair was wavy wet but she still had makeup on looking at beautiful as ever.
“Ugh what do you want?” I asked not in the mood for her drama. I just want to continue my shameless ogling of Aaron’s perfect body and wishing for all the girls flirting with him a painless castration.
She smiled innocently, “nothing much. I just want to get a cupcake.”
I watch I take one of my precious cupcake and takes a tiny bite out if it. She squeezes her face and horridly spits it out; all over my tray of cupcakes and some landing on me. My jaw hang open as I stare at myself and my now germ filled creation.
“Eww, how can you sell those to the public? They’re absolutely horrible and terrible. You, you should be arrested this is food poisoning.” She throws hers to the ground and steps on it crushing it.
Noel calm down, calm down. She’s just a bitch no need to angrily go hulk on her, it’ll be a waste of talent, energy and time. “Twenty dollars please, for them all.” I said calmly smiling at her. Yesterday I found out I was a skilled actress, I surely can pull the ‘don’t pull her head out’ act.
“Twenty… What? I’m not paying for all this crap.” She says putting her hands on her hips.
I sigh and walk out from behind my post and to her, stretching forth my hand, I asked again, “Twenty dollars please.”
She scoffs, “go to hell.” Then she turns to walk away.
Bye bye act.
I grab the waistline of her jean shorts and pull her back, she stumbles and fall to the ground. I take the opportunity to climb on top her and start searching her pockets for a wallet.
“Get off me, get off me you crazy bitch!” She yells trying to push me away and sit up.
I hit her forehead, “stay down you lunatic. You’re going to pay for those cupcakes whether you like it or not.”
Her hand flies to my hair knocking my beanie off and grabbing two fist full of my hair, pulling at them. I yell in pain before I grab hers too, pulling it like she’s doing mine. By now a crowd of students have gathered around us, some urging cat fight. Others telling me to get off Quinn. I punch her in the guts and she let’s go of me screaming in pain. I use the opportunity to yank her wallet out of her back pocket.
Then I feel someone stronger than me pull or drag me off her. I glare at the boy that I don’t recognize. How dare he put his hands on me. He glares at me and uses one hand to roughly shove at me, I almost lost my balance. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I look at him in disbelief, he did not just don’t that. I rush at him using all my strength to shove him too. “What the hell is wrong with you too?”
He glares at me and starts coming at me, a familiar shirtless boy– boys appear by my sides.
“Back off Tyler,” Aaron growls taking a step closer.
“You don’t want to do this here Robb.” Jesse says cracking his knuckles.
Tyler or Robb or both sees that the odds are against him and turns away lifting a still crying Quinn and moving away the crowd slowly dispersing.
“What was that about?” Aaron asks, “are you ok.”
I nod.
“Your girl is a feisty Koala.” Jesse says grinning at me as we slap hands together.
Your girl?
“No, no. Not koala, Dolphin. She’s a feisty little dolphin.” Aaron says smiling at me.
“Don’t mind that Quinn witch coming here to look for my trouble and ruin my creation.” I complain still angry. Aaron picks my beanie off the ground dusts it and place it back on my head. “Thank you.”
“Hey you want me to beat up Tyler for you?” Jesse asked observing my cupcakes.
“Who’s he anyway?”
“Tyler Robb is Quinn’s boyfriend. They’re in love.” Aaron says nodding his head as I look at him confused.
In love? On what planet? Definitely not earth.
Jesse seems to think the same as me and burst out laughing, tapping his leg and shaking his head. “In love my ass. She has him wrapped around her little c*nt oh wait… large cu*t.”
“Jesse!” Aaron yells then uses his hands to cover my two ears. “Language.”
Jesse and I share a look before we burst out laughing. Aaron joining us afterwards because our laugh is just so contagious.
“Jesse No!” I shout watching as he wipes the top of the cupcake and takes a bite off it. “She spit on those.”
“So?” He asks like I have two head. “You want it to go to waste?”
“You’re eating germs.” I whine feeling pity for his poor health.
He scoffs and continues eating, “nothing I haven’t kissed before.”
I shake my head at him totally baffled. Aaron links our hands together and starts pulling me away. “Don’t mind that oaf, it’ll soon be time for the play.”
“Ugh, must you do it?” I asked totally disgusted that Quinn’s is Belle.
He laughs, “don’t tell me it’s because you don’t like Quinn’s role in the play that you punched her?”
I look away blushing, “no it even occur to me then, if not I’d have knocked out her teeth.” I say to myself.
Aaron starts laughing, hm guess I said that out loud. “Are you worried someone’s gonna be kissing me?”
“No!” I yell. “Ofcourse not, why would I be worried. You can go kiss anyone you want. Not my business.”
He laughs again, then tightens his hold our linked hands. ” don’t worry there’s only one girl I want to kiss.”
He looks down at me, his lips crooked up in a ghost smile. Everywhere is suddenly hot and I look away blushing and remembering our act in his house.
I wonder when it happened, I wonder how. I really really wonder how I’ve come to completely like everything about Aaron. I like him. I like like him. I like him so much and the strange thing is; I like that I like him.
Slowly a large smile appears on my face and I move closer to him as we walk, hands linked together swaying between us.
————
~
The best and most beautiful thing in the world cannot be seen or heard but must be felt with the heart.
~