Chapter Ten

Danielle was furious. Not only had he been rude to Shirley, now he was trying to embarrass her. Not that she cared very much about what the rest of the class thought of her, nor was she embarrassed about the fact that she had to be called out to class for a private word, which undoubtly, her classmates would think of as a private scolding. Now that they were both outside the class, standing opposite with their arms crossed, she was bracing herself for a harsh scolding from him. Instead, he had merely stood there staring at her, as if he was mentally assessing her. It felt to Danielle like an eternity that they had stood outside the classroom, staring at each other, but in reality, it had only been less than five minutes. Unable to bear the silence and his stare, she broke the silence.

"So? I'm out here now," Danielle spoke curtly. "What is it that you want to tell me privately?"

"Why is it that you and the class don't seem to be on friendly terms?" Noah asked, shoving his hands into his pockets instead. He could see that she was doubly irritated that she had to be the one to break the silence and he would have smiled if not for the fear of angering her further.

Danielle couldn't believe what she just heard, and she let her face show her shock. "You asked me out of the classroom just to ask me why I'm the outcast of the class?"

"Well, that wasn't my original intention but I observed that you seemed to be having trouble fitting in with your class," Noah explained, amused at the shock displayed on her face, how it had made her eyes sparkle and her cheeks flush. "I was going to ask you why you didn't answer to your name after you gave me your answer to my first question."

"I don't need a saviour," Danielle informed him, her hands on her hips now. "And I don't need to fit in. All I need is the teachers to stay out of my way and out of my business. Perhaps that would solve my problem."

"And as for your second question, I'm afraid you won't be getting any answer from me."

"Okay," Noah had replied, when she would have expected him to demand an answer from her.

"Okay? That's it? You're not going to insist on an answer from me?" Danielle asked, looking at him incredulously.

"You've already given me your answer," Noah answered calmly.

Danielle looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. She had just flatly refused to answer him and he just accepted it without any resistance. She ran her gaze down his length, her look incredulous, while he merely stood there, watching her like he did minutes before. Unable to bear his presence anymore, she shot him one last look before walking back to class, leaving him standing there alone. While she was angry with him for his attempt to embarrass her, she was even angrier with herself. She had stolen a glance at him as she passed him, and found herself admiring him. He was dressed in casual jeans that seem to mould to the shape of his legs, and had donned a white shirt that had a few top buttons left open for it to be considered appropriate attire for a stand in teacher. She had noticed that he had bluish gray eyes and a head full of dark brown hair, and lips that were so full that it didn't seem to belong to him. Disgusted at herself for admiring his appearance, Danielle attributed her admiration to his change in appearance and attitude. The last time she'd seen him, he was clad in a green shirt that seemed to tight for him and faded jeans with his hair tousled by the helmet that he'd been wearing. By the time Danielle sat down at her seat, she had convinced herself that deep down, he was still that rude delivery man.

Danielle was so relieved when she heard the bell that signaled the end of school ring. She hurriedly packed her bag and walked out of class, her mind clear on her destination. After her encounter with that man today, she desperately needed to calm emotions down. She didn't know why, or how, Noah Westland managed to affect her the way he had. She had painfully endured two lessons today, each an hour long with that ill-mannered fiend that didn't seem to be ill mannered or a fiend. But nonetheless, Danielle had concluded and convinced herself, that he was merely pretending for he couldn't afford to show his true self if he hoped to keep his temporary job. As soon as she reached her destination, Danielle hurriedly threw her bag down at the tree and slipped her feet out of her shoes. Stepping out of the shadow of the oak tree, Danielle raised her face towards the sky, her arms open wide at her sides with her palms facing skywards, and began to rid herself of any negative emotions, tuning everything else out besides the sound of the wind and the feel of it against her face.

Within minutes, a smile spread across Danielle's face. Danielle lowered her head and opened her cafeteria. He ran towards the back of the school where the big oak tree was, where Danielle was, afraid that she might have already left school by the time he arrived. Fortunately for him, as he rounded the corner, he could hear laughter coming from that place. He quickened his steps and boldly ran towards the sound. Hky was clear and unusually blue. The sun was shining brightly but yet the air was kept cool by a slight breeze in the air. Danielle remembered a day like this centuries ago, when she was merely a young woman. She would run up the hill to the vast area of green land, kick off her shoes and start spinning around. A wry smile touched her lips, as she lifted her arms once more and started twirling around on the spot, her mind going back to the time when everything was in the right place, when she was in the right place.

Aidan had rushed to the cafeteria with Jake after the bell went, hoping to see her sitting in the cafeteria amidst the crowd. He entered the cafeteria and surveyed the crowd, hoping to see her face amongst theirs. However, he did not see her, and he did not try to hide his disappointment. Just as Jake was giving him a consoling pat on the back, Aidan suddenly remembered that she might be at the place that he'd saw her the last time. His face lit up again as he hurriedly bid Jake goodbye and rushed out of the cafeteria. He ran towards the back of the school where the big oak tree was, where Danielle was, afraid that she might have already left school by the time he arrived. Fortunately for him, as he rounded the corner, he could hear laughter coming from that place. He quickened his steps and boldly ran towards the sound. He was stopped dead in his tracks however, when he saw the scene that lay out in front of him. She was twirling around, with her arms open wide, her face turned up towards the sky, and she was laughing- laughter than seemed like bells ringing in a cathedral, light and pleasing to the ear. He stood there, rooted to the ground, dumbfounded by the sight before him.

Danielle was having the time of her life just spinning around just like she did in the past when she suddenly caught a glimpse of someone standing nearby watching her. She stopped in a mid twirl and whirled around, hiding her hands behind her back, a blue fireball hovering above her right palms, ready to attack. To her surprise, it was not a dark angel or any potential attackers. It was Aidan. She rolled her fingers into a fist, extinguishing the fireball in her palm just as she took a few steps forward. He didn't seem to notice that she'd moved at all, for he merely stood there, with his gaze fixed upon her. Danielle grinned. So, he was spying on her.

It took Aidan a few minutes to realize that she was no longer spinning around but standing right at that spot, staring at him with a knowing grin on her face. Aidan felt his face heat up, being caught red-handed spying on her. Shyly, he flashed her an apologetic smile and walked towards her. Thankfully, she remained there, with a smile on her face, instead of backing away.

"Spying on me now, are you?" Danielle asked when he was within earshot.

"No, I wasn't spying," Aidan answered. He was standing in front of her now, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. "I was..looking for you. I saw you here that day, so when I couldn't find you at the cafeteria, I thought you might be here."

"Ah," Danielle echoed in understanding. She nodded her head. At least he was being honest. "And how did you happen to see me here that day?"

"Well," Aidan started sheepishly. "I was sort of looking for you that day we bumped into each other. I kind of stumbled upon this path and just found you. Doing what you did today."

"Fair enough," Danielle said once more. "Well, now that you've found me, would you tell me what you want with me?"

"To be totally honest, I don't really know either," Aidan confessed. "I just wanted to see you, I guess."

Danielle laughed. She didn't know why she did that, but his shyness and honesty seemed to grow on her. The feeling he gave her felt so familiar, sending a warmth feeling coursing through her veins. She felt comfortable being around him too, a feeling that was even rarer, for she often felt defensive and threatened being around unfamiliar males. She looked at him, his eyes staring back her in earnest, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Well, would you like to go for lunch together then?" Danielle asked. She saw the shock and surprise flickered in his eyes at her question, only to be replaced with relief, and she suspected that he'd wanted to ask her just that, only he did not know how to.

"This is a highly uncommon proposal since it should come from me," Aidan said, grinning at her. He should have been the one to ask her that that much he admitted to himself. "But since you asked it first, yes, I would like to."

Danielle giggled and flash him a smile. "Alright Mr. Macho. Just let me get my things first."