Chapter 2
Aria stood there speechless, lost in those amazing eyes. They were the exact color of the Caribbean and all she wanted to do was stare.
"I'm so sorry." The guy said again. He wore a plaid button down and khakis, and those eyes were framed in thick glasses. He tried to dust her off, but Aria shrugged him off.
"It's fine." She said curtly. Who did this freak think he was, touching her like that? She was part of Rosewood's most exclusive clique, for crying out loud! Then she realized what she'd just thought and shook her head. Since when did she think like Ali?
"Seriously, I'm so sorry." he gushed.
"I said its fine." She repeated, pushing past him and heading towards her car. As the she drove over, she realized that their encounter had left her so unsettled, but she had no idea why.
~Never Speak~
"So tell us again what Noel said." Emily said eagerly. It was just like any other sleepover at Ali's. The 5 of them were seated on their sleeping bags in Ali' s preferred spokes and wheel pattern. Bowls of pretzels, popcorn, and various candies were placed in the middle of the circle, along with a rainbow assortment of nail polish and dozens of eyeshadow palettes.
Aria groaned and covered her face with a furry pillow. "Not again. I've told you guys everything!" She reached for a piece of popcorn.
"Sure." Hanna teased, grabbing a handful of pretzels from the bowl in the center.
"Um, Han, are you sure you wanna eat that?" Ali eyed Hanna's fistful of pretzels. Hanna reddened and slowly released them back into the bowl.
Ali smiled in satisfaction. "Anyway, Aria, I hope you're thankful that I set all this up. Pretty soon you and Noel will be Rosewood's new It Couple."
"Who said anything about dating?" Aria asked. "It was just one kiss, Ali."
"For now." Ali smiled mysteriously. But before Aria could question what she meant, Ali yawned loudly.
"I'm tired." She reached over and flicked off the lights. "Good night, girls."
~Never Speak~
"Wake up!" Ali clapped her hands commandingly. Everyone just groaned and rolled over.
"Ali, it's 7." Spencer opened one eye and peeked at her phone. "Go back to bed."
Ali reached over and ripped off Spencer's covers. "No more sleeping. It's time to go shopping."
"Why?" Emily mumbled into her pillow. "It's too early."
"C'mon guys!" Ali urged, throwing pillows at them. "Don't you want to go back to school tomorrow looking as amazing we everyone knows we are?"
"We're beautiful." Aria waved her hand in the air. "Now can we go back to sleep?"
"No!" Ali snapped. "We're going shopping and that's final!"
Half an hour later, they were all gathered at Saks, sitting on the fitting room couches, sipping large coffees, while Ali modeled various pairs of skinny jeans.
"How gorgeous do I look?" Ali blew a kiss at her reflection. Then she turned to the others, who were slouched against each other, half sleep. "God, you guys, you're such downers."
"That's what you get for waking us up at the ass crack of dawn." Spencer yawned.
Ali rolled her eyes. "Babies." She grabbed a handful of clothes and thrust them in Aria's arms. "Go try these on."
"Me? Why?" Aria looked surprised. Usually when they went shopping Ali and Hanna were the ones who did all the trying on and stuff. She looked at the clothes that Ali had pushed at her. "These aren't really my style."
"Just go." Ali shoved her into the fitting room.
Aria came out moments later. She wore a flowered blouse and black skinny jeans. "Um…"
"Oh my God, you look amazing!" Ali gushed, rushing over to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles. "Doesn't she, guys?"
Emily, Hanna, and Spencer nodded in agreement.
"All we need is to get rid of this." Ali reached over and plucked off Aria's clip on pink hair streak. "And
those shoes. We should get you some black pumps."
Aria wrestled away. "What's all this for?"
"Why, your date with Noel, silly!" Ali smiled widely.
"What?!" Aria gasped. "I…date…Noel? Since when?"
"Since last night. I called him and set it all up. Don't worry, you can thank me later." She waved her hand nonchalantly. "Now, we should really get to the shoe department."
"I don't even like Noel." Aria argued.
"Of course you do." Ali said dismissively. "Everyone does."
"I don't want to go on a date with him. Why did you do this?"
"I just want you to be happy, pink hair and all." Ali said with the puppy dog face.
"But…Ali. I am happy." Aria said.
"Well then, you'll be even happier once you have Noel." Ali said with a tone of finality. "And that's that. Now lets go."
~Never Speak~
"Aria, come out already!" Ali demanded
"Give me a sec." Aria called from Ali's bathroom.
Aria glanced in the mirror one last time. Her hair looked perfect, loose curls bouncing off her shoulders, her makeup amazing, and her outfit, although not a usual Aria outfit, looked amazing on her. I look good. She said to herself before walking out.
"O.M.G! You look hot!" Ali squealed.
"Noel's gonna freak." Hanna added
"You guys really think so?" Aria questioned, noticing that Spencer wasn't saying anything. "Spencer?"
"Aria, you look amazing. Just be careful with Noel, I don't trust him." Spencer warned.
"Psh. Don't listen to her" Ali said playfully shoving Spencer.
Aria gave them a small smile and the checked her phone. 4:55pm. Noel would arrive in 5 minutes. She grew more and more impatient as the seconds passed .She jumped a little once she heard the doorbell ring.
"You ready?" Ali asked.
"Yeah. Wish me luck you guys." Aria said before walking out of Ali's bedroom.
~Never Speak~
Aria and Noel sat across from each other at The Grille. Aria couldn't help but notice Noel was staring at her. Do I have something in my teeth? She immediately thought, blushing a little in the process. Noel smiled at her.
"Noel" she sighed. "Why are you staring at me? Do I have something in my teeth?"
"No. I just can't get over how beautiful you look tonight." Noel said smiling big.
Aria could feel herself blushing even more. Maybe Spencer was wrong and Noel wasn't the jerk he seemed he was. All of tonight all he'd done was act nothing but sweet.
"Thanks" She finally managed to say "We should probably go now, my parents want me home early."
"Sure."
The ride back home was quiet. Aria hated to admit it, but tonight she had a lot of fun. Ali was right, she would have to thank her later. She finally saw Noel pull up to her driveway.
"Thanks for everything tonight Noel. I really enjoyed it."
"No problem. Listen, I like you. A lot. I haven't stopped thinking about you since that other night." He leaned in closer to Aria. "Will you go out with me?"
Before Aria could respond, she felt Noel's lips on hers. She smiled and once again thanked him before walking in her house. She fell asleep, preparing herself for the next day, knowing that her and Noel were gonna be all that Rosewood High would be talking about.
~Never Speak~
Noel and Aria walked hand in hand into their 1st period. AP English. Noel gave Aria a quick peck before letting her wander off to her friends.
"You can thank me now." Ali beamed triumphantly as Aria reached the girls. "Am I amazing or what?"
Aria simply smiled.
"So you two are officially gonna be the new IT couple." Hanna squealed with excitement.
"I'm happy for you." Emily gushed.
"Ar, just be careful. Please." Spencer warned once again.
"Spencer, he isn't the jerk he seems to be. Give him a chance."
"Well, if that's what makes you happy..."
"I hear we're getting a new student. Complete nerd with a 4.8 GPA. Can't wait to see what he looks like" Ail laughed meanly.
"Probably a pimple-faced weirdo with suspenders." Hanna added rather nastily.
"Come on you guys." Emily said, looking around uncomfortably. She hated to be mean.
The final bell rung, sending everyone to their seats.
"Class please take out all your materials." The teacher ordered as she turned towards the SmartBoard.
Everyone was shuffling through their backpacks, obeying the teacher's orders, when someone came barreling in through the door, effectively capturing all their attention. Though Aria was looking down, she could see that whoever it was carried a large backpack and wore thick glasses. Probably the nerd Ali was talking about. She heard Ali and Hanna start to giggle.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't find the room." A voice said. His back was to the class as he spoke to the teacher.
"It's fine. Just take a seat anywhere." The teacher answered. The kid nodded and turned looking for an empty seat.
That voice. Aria recognized that baritone voice. She looked up slowly, noting that everyone was staring at the new kid open mouthed. She felt her heart beat faster as soon as her eyes met those beautiful and familiar mesmerizing blue eyes.
Author's note: So does everyone know who the nerd is? Plz,PLZ,PLZ, review or else we don't know how to improve the story!