“I don’t hate you, Liam. If you can't figure this out, I'm afraid you might lose Noah. Something’s going on with him, I don’t know what though. He needs his friends, don’t ruin your friendship with him over me. It’s not worth it, you barely know me.”
“He’s a closed book, you can't find out things about him he doesn’t want you to know.”
“Well, I'm going to figure out a way to open up that book.”
“You’re exactly what he needs. I'm sorry, I’ll lay off.”
“Thank you.”
We mosey back towards Noah and Miranda. They're having a serious conversation but they stop the second we get close enough to hear.
You ok? Noah mouths to me. I can't help but smirk, thinking of that summer we learned to read lips.
“Ok, so I’ll mouth something to you and you write down what you think I said. Got it?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it. Then we can talk to each other in class when the teachers separate us.”
“We don’t talk too much, we’re best friends, it’d be weird if we didn’t talk constantly. It’s not like we interrupt other people, we whisper.”
“You wouldn’t know how to whisper if someone paid you to, Frankie.”
“Shut up! Go back to your house so we can try this.”
“You know we don’t need to be in separate houses. You can mouth the words without making a sound, then we can still hang out here.”
“Oh... I didn’t think of that. Ok, let’s do that, but then can we watch heavyweights.”
“What else would we watch?”
“Dunston checks in?”
“That’s a great movie too. We can watch whatever you want but only if you can figure out what I'm saying.”
“Fine.” I sigh.
We work for a while before we finally start getting it right.
“You’re my best friend?”
“You know that, right? Like I don’t think I could live without you, Frankie.”
“I gotta get going but I’ll call you after I talk to my parents. I’ll be back, I promise that.” Miranda’s voice pulls me from my memories. I hate the fact that she’s leaving. I want her here with me.
I throw my arms around her, squeezing her hard enough that she groans, pushing me away from her.
“I love you, bestie! Noah, take care of my girl, I'm going to miss both of you so much. Liam, don’t get beat up by any girls while I'm away. I’ll protect you when I come back.” She smirks at Liam when he scowls at her. Miranda sways her hips more than normal when she walks past Liam, patting him on the chest as she goes. She’s gone within seconds.
Chapter Thirty-One
Noah
“So, what did Miranda’s parents say?”
“Oh my gosh! I can't believe I didn’t tell you! They didn’t even care, like at all. They’re hiring a moving company so they don’t have to help her move. I feel bad for her, they treat her like shit, she might as well be invisible.”
“How does she feel about that?” My typical frown deepens. I don’t like the fact that she doesn’t have a loving family in her corner. Everyone should have parents like Frankie and I have. If your parents don’t support you, who can you count on?
“She acts like it doesn’t bother her but it does. I see it when she doesn’t put up a front. She was never close to them though; she’s only ever been close to her brother. Once he left for college, she had no one.”
“That sucks. When does she move then?”
“She should be here by the end of the week. She needs to get her transfer papers in order before she makes the move.”
“I can't believe she’s actually moving in with you, I'm shocked your mom was cool with it. I can’t imagine having to live with Miranda.” Liam grumbles.
“Is this going to be an issue too? Are you going to be an ass to Miranda?” I challenge him. Miranda’s a force, full of sass and snark but she has a good heart and cares about her friends. I won’t put up with Liam treating her like shit.
“She gets under my skin. I don’t know what it is about her that drives me crazy with anger.”
“You can't figure her out. You like to know how people will react before they do. Miranda’s a total loose cannon and you don’t know how to handle that. You’re a control freak, you know you can't control her and that drives you crazy.”
Liam glares at me but doesn’t say a word. We both know he’s a control freak but I don’t know why that is. Frankie shrugs her shoulder, one side of her lip quirking up.
“I think you like her.”
“Oh my gosh, Frankie. I definitely don’t like her. What are we five? It’s not a case of a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails and being mean because he likes her. She drives me nuts, I don’t like having her around.”
“You do know she’s going to be around all the time soon, right? I mean she’ll be living with me and she’s my best friend. We’ll be doing everything together. You and Noah do everything together, and since were dating...”
“Why? Why does everyone hate me?” Liam stares up at the ceiling like it’s going to open up and reveal every secret of the world.
“Everyone does not hate you, just Miranda.”
“Oh, isn't this cute. The besties are back together.” Bianca’s shrill voice sounds from behind me. I can feel Frankie stiffen beside me. Bianca’s been trying since elementary school to put Frankie down every chance she gets. I'm so sick of it.
“What do you want, Bianca?” She moves so she’s standing at the end of the table. Her fake blonde hair pulled up into a high pony tail. She’s wearing her cheer spirit wear with a massive cheer bow in her hair.
“Why haven’t you returned my calls?”
“Because I don’t want to talk to you.”
“You’re my boyfriend!”
I turn and stare at her. She’s got to be kidding me. I’ve never dated her or even hinted at dating her. She’s such a royal witch, I want nothing to do with her.
“I'm not your boyfriend, I'm Frankie’s boyfriend. I’ve never wanted to date you, Bianca. Whatever you think is going on between us, it’s all in your head.”
Her gaze zeros in on Frankie. If looks could kill, Frankie would be six feet under right now.
“You’re going to regret taking him away from me.” She stomps away in a huff. All eyes in the cafeteria follow her out. Most of them hate her but they're too afraid of her to do anything about it.
“She’s going to hate me even more when she realizes I'm trying out for cheerleading.” My eyes widen and my mouth falls open. Frankie’s a cheerleader?
“Since when are you a cheerleader?” My lips turn up in amusement. I can picture Frankie’s dark hair pulled up, a big orange bow on the top of her head. A tight shell with a short skirt, white socks and white shoes. She’d look freaking adorable. My lips curve up even more.
“Stop imagining me in a cheer uniform.” She laughs, it’s music to my ears. It’s probably my favorite thing to listen to. “Miranda made me try out freshman year with her. I was the captain at my old school.” She shrugs like it isn't a big deal but it totally is.
“You were captain? Wow, we’re quite the cliché. Captain of the football team and captain of the cheerleading squad.”
She rolls her eyes but doesn’t try to hide her smile.
“I'm not captain anymore, Noah.”
“You know try outs are next week, they don’t pick the captain until after that.”
“Seriously? I need to tell Miranda; she’ll be so excited!”
“I can't believe you and Miranda are cheerleaders.” Liam says with a shake of his head.
“Why? Am I not pretty enough?”
“No, it’s not that. You just don’t seem peppy enough.”
“Oh, I can be peppy. I’ll blow your mind with how peppy I can be.”
“Do a cheer for us after school.” I challenge, wiggling my eye brows. “Do you have your old pompoms?”
“No! They take that stuff back. I have my cheerleading uniform
though.”
“I want to see you in it.”
“I have never felt like more of a third wheel. You’re literally asking her to dress up like a cheerleader and perform for you! What’s it your fantasy to screw a cheerleader?” Liam looks shocked.
“First off, what guy doesn’t have that fantasy? Second, I want to see my girl’s moves.”
“Fine. But only because I love you and I want to see those sexy dimples when you smile.”
Frankie leans in to kiss my cheek but I turn my head at the last second. I can feel her smiling against my lips but she doesn’t pull away, instead she leans in closer. Her tongue swipes across my bottom lip, teasing me, making me want more. I groan when she pulls away.
“This year’s going to blow.” Liam grumbles.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Frankie
“Bestie!” Miranda squeals as she jumps out of her car. She rushes to me, throws her arms around my neck and wraps her legs around my waist. I hug her back with so much ferocity.
“I missed you so much!”
“You know you saw her like five days ago, right?” Noah chuckles from beside me. “You didn’t act like this the last time she showed up.”
“That’s because you were asleep in bed next to me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Liam’s mouth falls open, his eyes darting from Noah to me and back again.
“I sleep at her house or she sleeps at mine, every night.”
“What? Why? Your parents don’t care?”
“I can't sleep unless Noah’s holding me. I have nightmares of my dad being shot. I was there when it happened. He got shot outside our house. I was upstairs... I'm the one that found him.” My eyes water, my throat clogs up with emotion. Miranda slips her arms off me to stand next to me. Her hand rubs up and down my back, trying to comfort me. Noah steps closer, wrapping his arms around me. I breath in his mint and woodsy scent, he smells like home to me. “That night you came over to watch movies, I fell asleep in Noah’s arms after you left. It was the first time I was able to sleep for longer than an hour at a time since my dad died. Noah begged my mom to let him stay over just so I could sleep.”
“Seriously? But you’re dating now, don’t they know that? Don’t they think something more will happen?”
“Dude, we had sleep overs almost every night before she moved. Frankie’s always been like a daughter to my parents. They absolutely love her and would do anything to make her happy. Mrs. Valdo’s rule is the bedroom door needs to be open.”
“I can't believe how chill your parents are.”
“Alright, now that we got that sorted out, help me move my crap into my new room!” Miranda bounces on her toes. I swear she has so much energy in that tiny body of hers.
“Why do I have to help you move in? I don’t even like you.”
“I don’t care if you like me or not.” She bounces towards her car, when she passes Liam, she squeezes his biceps and winks. “I just need those muscles of yours.” She says it in a sing song way. Liam blinks, clearly confused on how he’s supposed to deal with Miranda. She really is an enigma.
It takes us most of the afternoon to unpack all of her things and get everything put away. The guys are good sports, hanging out in her room while we get everything done. They keep us company with the promise of pizza.
When they agree to go pick up the pizza, I have to hide my smile. I have plans for when they're gone.
“Where’s your cheer uniform?”
“It’s in the closet. Why?”
“Noah and Liam don’t believe that we’re cheerleaders. I say we get all dolled up and do some cheers for them.”
“Why can't you just say I want to turn on my super-hot boyfriend. I mean we both know it’s true.”
“Oh, shut up. Liam will be all over you.”
She snorts a laugh out and shakes her head.
“Liam hates me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Let’s get ready, they’ll be back soon.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Noah
“I’ve never seen so many clothes and shoes in my entire life. Why does one person need that many things?”
“Because she’s a chick. They want to look nice. Miranda obviously likes to impress guys.”
“Yeah, but does she really need that much? Guys are simple, we don’t care what girls wear at a-“ He stops talking abruptly, I follow his gaze to find out why. My mouth goes dry, falling open. I almost drop the boxes of pizza on the floor, if I wasn’t standing over the kitchen island, they would’ve. Instead, they only fall a few inches, onto the top of the counter.
“Damn, baby.” I whisper. Frankie’s standing in the living room in her cheer uniform. Her chocolate hair is half up, half down in loose curls. She has a big red bow in her hair. Frankie’s wearing more makeup then I’ve ever seen on her before, she doesn’t look better or worse this way, just different. She has little paw prints at the corner of each eye. Her red, black and white uniform fits her curves like it was made for her. Her legs are long and lean, ending in the classic white sneakers and socks.
I glance over at Liam, his eyes are locked on Miranda, I don’t think he’s even noticed Frankie. He licks his lips as he stares at her.
I stalk over to Frankie, pulling her into my arms and kissing her like she’s my last breath. She looks amazing and I'm going to make sure she knows it.
“You’re so beautiful.” I growl, my lips finding that delicious pulse point on her neck. She giggles and squirms in my arms, my lips moving up and down her slender neck. She pushes against my chest, ending my peppering of kisses across any exposed skin I can find. Her eyes widen as her gaze bounces between Miranda and Liam. I smirk, trying to keep in the laugh that wants to explode out of me. They act like they hate each other but they don’t. They definitely like each other.
“So, what movie are we watching tonight?” Frankie tries to break the trance the two of them are in but it doesn’t seem to be working.
“Adam’s Family?”
Her face lights up with a smile. I know all of her favorite movies. I know all of Frankie’s favorite things. Like the pizza sitting in the box on the counter is garlic sauce, green peppers and onions. Her unsweetened black tea is in the fridge. The cozy quilt on the back of the couch in the basement is the one her nana made when she was a kid, she can't part with it. She only eats the red chocolate candies because she thinks they taste better. Refuses to believe that they’re all created the same and taste the same
There are things I don’t know anymore. I don’t know which shoes are her favorite, or which pants are her comfy pants but I know as much as I can without knowing her for the past few years.
“Dude, what’s up with your obsession with 90’s movies? You know there are tons of great movies that were made since, right?” Oh, look, Liam’s finally realized people other than Miranda exist.
“They're my favorite.” Frankie mumbles looking down at her feet. A blush stains her cheeks, she’s never looked more gorgeous.
“Come on, pretty girl.” I hold out my hand for her to take. She looks up at me through her long, thick eye lashes. Tucking her hair behind her ear, a smile tugging on her plump lips. Lacing her fingers with mine, we grab the pizza and drinks, then head to the basement. Liam and Miranda can follow if they want to, or they can figure out whatever is going on between the two of them. I don’t care either way. I just want to be with my girl.
“There’s so much tension between the two of them. They should just kiss already.” Frankie whispers, snuggling into the couch cushion next to me. I love having her so close to me, I don’t know how I made it so long without her in my life. She came back and filled in the hole in my heart in days. It’s like she never left at all.
“I dare you to tell them that.” I snort with laughter. I can only imagine how Miranda would react. Liam would deny any feelings towards Miranda until he’s blue in the face. He doesn’t realize how visibly he wears his emotions on his sleeve
. We can all see how he feels.
“Miranda would strangle me.” A hand flies up to cover her mouth but I still hear the giggle.
“Why would Miranda strangle you?” Miranda’s voice calls as she bounces down the steps. I’ve never met someone who’s so peppy all the time. It’s like she has ants in her pants and can't sit still for even a few minutes at a time.
“If I let Noah eat all the pepperoni pizza.” Frankie’s eyes are locked on mine. They widen, a silly smirk spreading across her face. She looks like she did when we were kids.
“Frankie? Do you know where my black sweatshirt is?” Mr. Valdo calls from the kitchen.
I stifle a laugh, staring right at Frankie. Her tiny body is swimming in the exact sweatshirt that Mr. Valdo’s looking for. Her eyes widen and a goofy grin appears on her face. She’s such a bad liar that it’s comical to watch her try to do it.
“No clue, Daddy. Did you check the wash?”
“I did, Kiki. Your mom said she saw you in it though.”
“Never!” Her laughter breaks through the fake defensive voice.
“Kiki, if I come down these steps, am I going to find you wearing my sweatshirt?”
Frankie and I start laughing quietly, slowly getting louder and louder until we fall over, tears streaming down our faces. That’s exactly how Mr. Valdo finds us. Laughing so hard we can't breathe, tears staining our cheeks and Frankie in his sweatshirt.
“Huh? Your mom never saw you in it?” He crosses his arms over his chest but he can't hide the amused smile or small chuckle. Frankie will never do anything wrong in his eyes. He loves his daughter more than anything.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Blue eyes narrow, examining me. I kiss her neck, whispering against her skin.
“I was thinking about what a horrible liar you are. Remember that time your dad asked where his sweatshirt was and he found us crying with laughter and you wearing it?”
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