Hera was reluctantly adjusting to her new lifestyle without any trustworthy friends around her. It was lonely without Hunter. She missed him so much. He had called on Bianca's cell phone a couple of times at night, and Hera was thankful that their evil captain didn't refuse to bring her cell phone to Hera.
But she didn't feel comfortable at all while speaking to him in front of Bianca. It was awkward to listen to him confessing his feelings, and more importantly, Hera couldn't respond to his cheesy and sometimes dirty flirting. So she had asked Hunter not to call at night time, especially on Bianca's cell.
"You didn't let me stay with you, so you don't get to speak to me," Hera had said using her petty anger as a weapon.
Eric kept her informed about Hunter's health progress. He and Michael made sure she was safe in Hunter's absence. Michael still kept her company in the Library. One of them would walk her back to the dorm from school and vice versa..
She didn't get to meet Abby much, nor Danny was anywhere near her sight. It seemed both of them preferred avoiding Hera for reasons unknown to her.
It was lunch break, and Hera thought it was better to sit alone in an empty room instead of coming face to face with people she once considered friends. She had been avoiding going to the luncheon bar all week. Though Eric and Michael made sure to join her whenever they'd free time, Hera didn't want them to waste their precious time for her sake anymore.
Moreover, it irked her to entertain Samantha's death glare she persistently threw at her. That's why she stayed back in the empty classroom once all her classmates left. She was hungry, and the two large energy bars she consumed before Noel appeared to annoy her didn't curb her hunger.
Hera was tired of avoiding and ignoring Noel. The boy wouldn't take the hint. He kept cornering her whenever they crossed the path. Hera wouldn't repeat the mistake of trusting other boys after what Andrew did. She wasn't stupid either to not grasp the boy had some hidden agenda. She sighed and got up from the chair, packing her bag.
Noel blocked her way when she tried to cross him to reach the door. She huffed her annoyance out and fixed him with a glare. Before Hera could speak, Noel beat her to it.
"Don't waste your energy in vain to threaten me with your watchdogs," he said and fleered. Hera was tired of his insults and sarcastic remarks. Holding her head high, Hera maintained eye contact when she spoke. "If you get caught harassing me, they would rip your limbs for sure just how the hunting dogs would hunt," Hera retorted.
"Hmm not bad for a comeback," he said, cocking one eyebrow, lips twitching in a smirk. Hera tilted her head, mimicking his arrogance. "If you don't move and waste any more of my time, I'll scream bloody murder," she warned. Noel grinned at that as if she shared the funniest joke.
"Seriously, Hera, harassing is too big of a word. I'm hardly harassing you," he said, sounding offended. "And by the way, by referring to the hunting dogs, you proved it that they are dogs," he said, his voice boisterous, eyes sparkling with joy while he snickered. Meanwhile, Hera pursed her lips and resisted the urge to pluck his eyes off his sockets.
"Why are you bothering me, Noel? What in the hell do you want? If you're here to ask me about Andrew again, I don't know anything. Now can you please fuck off?" She asked, sounding not so polite. Noel looked pissed but why would she care?
"Wow, Hera, I never took you for someone with so much arrogance. Your boyfriend is rubbing off on you, I see," he said. "But don't you think it's unfair on my part when I'm the disappointed one?" He asked. Hera frowned in confusion. "I have no clue what you're talking about, Noel," Hera said. He laughed humourlessly. The hurt that crossed over his face didn't seem like he was faking it.
It only made her more confused. "You stood me up, and you don't even look guilty," Noel stated, his tone undeniably accusing. Hera laughed nervously. "When did I do that? You're not making any sense here," Hera replied.
Noel shook his head in disappointment. Shoving his hands in his pant pockets, he kicked the imaginary stone. "At least you could have said no. I wouldn't have made a fool of myself, you know. I waited the whole evening expecting you to come at any moment. I thought you're taking extra time to get ready for our date or something," he said.
When Hera still refused to admit that she was at fault, Noel exclaimed in frustration. "For God's sake, Hera, stop pretending."
"When did you ask me out, Noel? I would know if you did, right?" Hera asked, tone equally matching the level of his annoyance. Noel revealed how he dropped a note in her bag last week. He thought she would straight up reject if he asked her directly. So he wrote a confession letter, a love letter to be precise.
Noel had mentioned the time and the place of their meeting in the letter. He waited at the same spot for two hours. Hera felt pity, but how could she take the blame when she didn't know anything about it.
"I'm sorry, Noel, believe me, I never found any letter in my bag," she said and to make sure she searched for it after asking him where he had put it. To her surprise, she found it, a white rectangular envelope in the front pocket of her bag. Hesitating, Hera opened the cover, and she instantly felt guilty.
Black ink scribbled on the pure white paper that had a broad red border was very eye-catching, and she found a few dried rose petals along with it. But Hera didn't read the letter. Folding it, she put it back into the envelope. She took a deep breath and looked at Noel, giving him an awkward smile.
"You should've told me directly, Noel. I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's not exactly a secret that I have a boyfriend. You already know," she said, letting out a little chuckle. "I would've rejected it anyway, Noel because I'm not the cheating type," she stated. "But your boyfriend is," came Noel's quick response.
Hera stared at him, mouth agape.
'Ouch! That hurt.'
She didn't expect that harsh reply.
"It's none of your business," Hera snapped, and when she tried to walk past him, Noel grabbed her hand. Hera flinched immediately yanking her hand back. The action unsettled her nerves, and he held up his hands in surrender as he saw the look of horror on her face.
"Hey, relax okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I've heard the rumour about you and that Andrew guy. I don't know how much of it is true, but you can trust me, Hera, I'll never take advantage of a helpless girl," he said, assuring her. Hera walked past him without giving him any response. She was thankful that he didn't follow her.
Distantly she heard him requesting her to at least read his letter once.
That night while packing her backpack for tomorrow, Hera remembered Noel's letter. She took out that envelop from her bag and was going to tear it before throwing it into the waste bin. But as Hunter had mentioned once, maybe it was the effect of reciprocal liking.
Contemplating whether to tear it without reading or to peek in once, Hera sighed.
'That 'please' he added after requesting me to read it, God, he sounded so desperate.'
Hera felt pity and decided to read it.
She started reading the letter, but she didn't expect what he had written.
"Dear Hera,
I'm not good at writing confessions, yet I'm trying it out for you. I didn't want to give you the chance to reject me, that's why I'm asking you out on a date through this letter.
I know you think I'm showing interest in you only to win that bet against Ace Hunter. But believe me Hera, I like you for real. I'm not the best, but I'm better than your abusive, stalkerish, manipulative boyfriend. You deserve better, Hera, and I bet he doesn't know shit about romance and treating his partner with respect. I would treat you right.
However, if you can't go out on a date with me, then at least, go out as a friend. I promise I'll prove my worth and would never mistreat you or take advantage of you. Let's start with a friendship. I'm a good friend, and I can guarantee you that much.
Will you be my friend? If you consider me worthy of your friendship, please do come.
I'll be waiting at the school gate for you.
Looking forward to finding a friend,
Noel."
He had written the date and time on the left side of the bottom. Hera scowled at the part where he had accused Hunter as unworthy and scoffed.
'Noel thinks I deserve better, and obviously, you're not the best, Mr Hunter.'
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