Chapter 1
Glancing around the hallway, attempting to reach my homeroom, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was confident as I slipped into my favorite sundress this morning, but it's only my first year here at The Julliard School of Arts. "I won't fit in, but this is what I wanted." That thought was running through my mind in the parking lot as I rushed into the school. My choral instructors throughout the years have told me that with a voice like mine, I could go pretty far in this world. Along with having a powerful set of lungs, I've got this strange beauty about me. Dark, chocolate brown hair flows over my shoulders, and my alluring brown eyes are framed with enough lashes for three girls. "I'm ready for this," I chanted over and over again in my head. I had two minutes to spare as I arrived in my homeroom. A young man, who looked oddly familiar, was staring at me. I simply chose to ignore it, but I could feel his eyes on me. As the bell rang for my first class, ballroom dancing, I got up out of my chair and walked out the door toward room 632, Mrs. Hillard's studio. The boy from homeroom with his dark auburn hair cut into a mo-hawk and beautiful green eyes was still observing me. He glanced at me, looked away, then stared at me until we got to our places in Mrs. Hillard's studio. He looked a lot like my best friend in Ohio. Oh! It's Noah! When he caught me staring, I looked at the floor, and his head shot up.
"I need to tell you something," he said urgently. He grabbed me by the hand and I willingly followed him out of the studio, no questions asked by Mrs. Hillard. He took me down a hallway, our hands still linked, and stopped. "I love you."
I looked up at him and said, "I love you, too. Do we need to get back to the studio?" I asked nervously.
"No, she doesn't care if you leave," he said with a twisted smile on his face. Okay then, here we are in a hallway, alone, with no visible cameras anywhere. This was different than any relationship I've ever been in before.
"I felt you in homeroom earlier today. Like you were holding my hand and stroking my face, though you were all the way across the room. I... I don't understand anything that happened this morning."
He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb and said, "Don't worry about anything, okay? I'll figure it out and then it'll all be okay. Do you want to go out sometime? I mean there's a Starbucks here but a lot of people are there, and it's not very private." He looked into my eyes and I said,
"Well, where are some good places to eat? I haven't been here that long so I have no clue where anything is..."
He put our joined hands over my mouth and said, "Then it's only appropriate that we have dinner and a tour this evening, don't you think?" I could only nod because he still had his hand over my mouth. He grimaced and pulled it away because I bit him. I giggled and took his hand again as we walked back to the classroom.
During my last class of the day, choral arts, Noah came over and told me to meet him after class. I had no clue what he was planning, but, by the smirk on his face, I assumed it was something very twisted. He continued to sing his part in our duet, 'Defying Gravity', like nothing had happened at all a few hours before this class. Right at my closing with a high 'F', he winked and mouthed, "Nicely done!" I was pleased about hitting the note spot on this time, unlike almost losing my voice at home back in Ohio last week. Just as the piano cut off, the bell rang, and Noah, once again, took my hand and led me to our dorm building.
"Meet me back here in about half an hour." I turned toward my room and glanced back right before he was gone. Sigh.
I retrieved my key from my back pocket and turned it in the deadbolt. I turned the knob and stepped into my newly painted lilac dorm. I changed out of my dress and put on a jean mini skirt with striped knee-high socks and threw on my deep purple silk top. There, I feel normal again. I still had to figure out what shoes to wear. I chose flats over converse; they just seemed appropriate for the occasion. I quickly threw my hair into an elegant bun and brushed my teeth thoroughly, you know, just in case. Wink wink. I grabbed my purse and walked out the door, almost running into a waiting Noah outside the dorm.
"Sorry! Didn't see ya there," I said in a soft voice. He just smiled at me like usual, then he took my hand yet again and led me out the dorm building. We talked about the places that are rarely busy, but they're still really good.
"The Ruby Tuesday is almost always empty since the IHOP was built last summer. We should go there after we go to the park this evening." I just nodded in agreement. I was again stunned by his mysterious beauty. He stared at me with an identical look and said, "We need to get going before everyone else decides to leave campus like us." He smirked and we walked out the glass double doors at the exit. I walked right behind him, not entirely sure which car was his. We approached a black Pontiac GT, and he pulled out a set of keys. He pressed the unlock button and gestured for me to get in. I carefully lowered myself into the vehicle with Noah's assistance. Once I was seated, he closed the passenger side door and went around the front of the car, his eyes never leaving me. He opened his own door, sat down, and closed it. He looked at me, and I put my seat belt on. He did the same and put the key in the ignition. Turning the key, he glanced once more at me before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Do you mind?" I asked as I turned the radio up.
He said, "You can change the station to whatever you want." I flipped through the stations, and I heard the beginning of 'Semi Charmed Life' come on. My hand froze, and a smile spread across both of our expressions. "You like Third Eye Blind, too?" he asked me. I just nodded as I sang along to my favorite song on the planet. He began to sing with me, and we harmonized together perfectly. During the bridge of the song, he stopped singing and let me have my solo. "So do you want to eat then go to the park, or walk in the park then eat? Your choice," he said.
"I'm not very hungry. Let's walk first." He nodded in agreement and turned left into a parking lot. He unbuckled and got out. I lingered for a moment, and then released the seat belt as he came around to open the door. I stepped out of the car and looked around.
"You act like you've never been to the park before," he said jokingly. I nudged him in the ribs playfully with my elbow. He let that go and took my hand as we strolled on a pathway. "Hmmm it's getting darker. We may have to leave earlier than I expected."
I looked up at him and said, "Or we could stay here all night," with a huge grin on my face.
He gave it some thought, and then said, "Okay, how about we compromise. You can spend the night in my dorm tonight, then, on Saturday, we'll pull an all-nighter here. Sound good?"
I nodded and said, "How about eating now, okay?" He led me back to the car and helped me in again.
Thankfully, the Ruby Tuesday is about a minute from the park. I got out and walked to the front of the car, waiting on Noah. He walked right by me and opened the restaurant door. I walked on in, and I felt him walking right behind me. The waitress greeted us happily, like usual, and led us to a private table. Noah ordered a Mountain Dew, and I got a raspberry tea. I wasn't very hungry, so I just got the salad bar while he got the Ruby Minis. I piled my plate high with ice burg lettuce and black olives, and then drizzled some honey mustard over it. When I arrived back at the table, my raspberry tea was there and so was Noah's food. Quick service. He removed the pickle from the miniature burgers and sat them on the edge of his plate. We ate and talked about our pasts, but I was still curious about why he and I clicked instantly. I asked him about it, but all he said was, "Soul mates, I guess." I still saw a different answer in his eyes but didn't say anything.
"Thanks for dinner, Noah. Let me grab some clothes for our little slumber party. You can wait in here if you want." I wandered over to my dresser and grab some sweat pants, an old t-shirt, and a pair of underwear. I heard him chuckle at me. "What's so funny?" He just shook his head. I went into my closet and grabbed an orange blouse, a jean mini skirt, and my favorite knee high socks. I threw the clothing into my overnight bag and grabbed my toothbrush and hairbrush out of a desk drawer.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"Mhmm." He took my hand and we walked out my door, stopping only to lock it. He lifted me into his arms and cradled me like an infant. "Why are you carrying me?" I asked, anxious about being dropped. And my butt being shown to the entire world. Hello! I'm in a skirt. "You've been walking all day. I don't want you to get too tired." I let it go and relaxed in his strong arms once again. As he walked in front of a door, he instructed me to hold on to him so I didn't fall to the floor. I tightened my grip around his neck as he reached for his front left pocket. I heard the click of the door unlocking, but my eyes were locked on his. He opened the door with his free hand, and it swung open enough for him to get through with me still in his one arm. He flipped the light on with that empty hand then wrapped his arm under me again while closing the door with his leg. Wandering slowly over to his bed, he asked me, "Do you want to change right now or wait for, oh, about two hours?" I glanced at the clock and wanted to turn back time. It was already 8:30. "I can wait a little while. So what were you planning for tonight?" Well, that could be taken many different, or perverted, ways. He gazed at my lips and said, "Well, I wanted to go over 'Defying Gravity' again. I don't think I got it right today." He looked disappointed and I said, "You hit them all perfectly, but if you want to try again..." I trailed off in thought. He glanced over at the keyboard in the corner of the room and led me to it. He sat down while I stayed standing. He patted his legs, wanting me to sit on his lap. I smiled and lowered myself lightly onto his thighs. He wrapped his arms around my waist, squeezed gently, then released so I could play the piano. I began the soprano opening of the piece from 'Wicked', and he began the melody in bass shortly after me. Like always, he hit every single note and doubted his own talent. Shame on him! We closed in our own parts, except I was an octave higher than I started, which, in this case, is a good thing. "That was better than before," he said. "No, it was perfectly identical to what you did earlier, which was stunning. Don't doubt yourself!" I got up off his lap and said, "I'm going to go change real quick. Be right back." Grabbing my bag on the way, I swung around the corner to his bathroom. I pulled off my skirt and blouse and replaced those with my sweats. Once everything was packed neatly back into my bag and my teeth were brushed, I went back to the bedroom and saw Noah lying on the bed. He looked really peaceful so I walked toward the bed and lied next to him. When he felt me snuggle up beside him, he wrapped his arms around my waist. "You getting tired, Rachel?" he asked me, still squeezing me gently. "A little bit," I responded sleepily, eyes closed. I knew it couldn't be past ten o' clock, so I glanced at his alarm clock to check. Ugh, it was only 9:30! How am I so tired? When I turned on my side toward Noah, he kissed my forehead and said, "Sweet dreams," and I drifted to a deep slumber in his arms.