Destiny: BWWM High School Romance

by Rachael Glass

  “Thanks Miss Cathy,” Destiny was already calculating all the pages she would go through.

  “Yeah, yeah but I’m not letting you eat lunch with just anyone. Call him over.”

  Destiny laughed as she waved Noah to the table. He was there in a flash. After a few minutes of grilling, Cathy let them be. As Destiny watched Cathy interrogate Noah, she felt overwhelming warmth. No one had ever done that for her - question a guy to ensure his intentions were good. No one had ever been so concerned for her.

  They ate their lunch in silence and Destiny finally stood up after the meal. She was quite thrilled that she had been given the chance to go home early. Although the lunch, she had been picturing her schedule for the rest of the day. If she got home early enough, Ronnie would not be around and her mother would probably be slumped in the living room. All she would have to do was pick her way through quietly and get through the halls and into her room. She would be able to lock herself in and no one would even know she was around until late in the night whenever Ronnie found his way back to the house. It was perfect.

  “Are you leaving already?” Noah’s voice interrupted Destiny. She nodded and pointed towards the door of the employee lounge.

  “I’ve got to get my bag and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Can I walk you home?”

  “What?” Destiny’s mouth fell open. “Uh, trust me, it’s not the kind of environment that you would be comfortable in.”

  “Why don’t you let me decide that? Come on.”

  Still skeptical, Destiny hurried off. She picked up her bag in the lounge and paused at the door. What if he is already gone? Well then, I will just have to head on home and move on with my life. And come to think of it, I will get home earlier if he isn’t with me. He has probably thought about his spur of the moment offer and changed his mind. Yeah, it’s better this way.

  Once more, Destiny was shocked when she stepped out of the lounge and saw him leaning against the door, waiting for her. Cathy was talking to him and she hurried forward. When they saw her, they turned and Miss Cathy smiled as she patted her shoulder.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow Destiny. Noah, take care of her.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Noah took her hand and led her out of the café.

  “You didn’t have to do this Noah. I bet you have a lot of things that you need to do,” Destiny started but Noah cut her short when he pulled her closer to him. She felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach and she could not pull her eyes away from him.

  Not stopping in his tracks, he looked down at her as he said, “I want to so let me please, alright?”

  Destiny sighed and let him hold her hand as the walk continued. Initially, they were silent but then, Noah broke the ice when he mentioned how nice Cathy was and of course Destiny agreed. Soon they were talking about music and then books. Destiny was surprised when she saw the butcher shop just a block from her apartment building. They had spoken for so long about everything and anything that she had not realized how far they had gone. The day was still very bright and it was not up to five pm.

  “Well, this is me,” Destiny pointed at the building. “Thanks for walking me home.”

  “Sure,” Destiny watched Noah as he let go of her hand. He rocked on his heels as he fidgeted. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

  “What’s wrong? And don’t say it’s nothing because I won’t believe that.”

  Uncertainty flashed across his face and he sighed and said, “Promise you won’t get mad. Promise me you won’t walk away and choose to distance yourself from me.”

  “You can’t be…”

  “I’m serious Destiny.”

  “Fine, I promise,” Destiny said with an eye roll.

  Noah nodded. Then he said, “You should stop undermining how important you are. You don’t deserve to be ill-treated and you shouldn’t be so scared of them and what you fear they can do.”

  “What are you talking about?” Destiny asked slowly, averting her gaze.

  “We both know what I mean,” Noah said as he took her hand in one of his. He turned her face to him with the other and Destiny felt herself drowning in his grey pools once more. He was right. She knew what he meant. She had no idea how he found out but he had and he was here, wanting to be her friend, not caring how cowardly she was or about the fact that she was a scholar. As Destiny looked up at Noah, she realized something. She had a friend in him and did not know why or when it happened but she knew it was real.

  Her lips turned up in a smile and she nodded, “Thanks Noah. I should go. I’ve got a lot of studying to do.”

  “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “It’s Friday,” she reminded him.

  “At the café of course,” he winked.

  And as usual, Destiny felt the somersaults of her heart. She grinned and left him. That walk that fateful Friday afternoon became the first of many.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  NOAH

  “You can come in Natalie,” Noah said, not looking away from the screen of the phone in his hands. His eyes were fixated on the picture that was displayed on it. He could not stop staring at the bright smile on Destiny’s face and he laughed out loud when he remembered what he had to do to convince her to take the picture; he had dunked down three huge milkshakes.

  “It’s been two months already since you met that girl Noah. Isn’t it about time you get over her?”

  Noah’s eyes flashed in fury as he looked over at his sister. “What do you mean Natalie? Is that really why you are here? To begin your speeches about Destiny being a bad influence and how I should stay away from her? Come on sis, it’s already been months. I think that you should have let this go already. You should be smart enough to realize that I am not letting Destiny out of my life.”

  “But for goodness sake, she is not the best for you. You cannot control your demons when it comes to her Noah! She is the one you think about and care for more than everyone else!”

  “You all are as important to me Natalie. You know that you are exaggerating. For crying out loud, you honestly don’t expect me to sit by and watch someone hurt Destiny. Oh no, that’s not going to happen. I’d rather crack skulls and make them all pay and I’m sorry if you cannot accept that. I am not leaving her side no matter what you say.”

  “Oh come on, she is not frail and she certainly does not need your protection. Didn’t you witness her altercation with Lilian yesterday? She certainly had the effrontery to talk back to her.”

  “I will stand by her Natalie because I care about her. I treasure her, she is a good person and she is my mate!”

  “Oh come on, you can’t be too sure about that. You can still meet others and-”

  “I am sure. I sense her, I feel her when she’s sad and when she’s happy. I understand her and she understands me too. It’s inexplicable. You should leave now Natalie. I need to get ready for the hunt as do you.” Noah stood up and walked towards his sister. He stood at the doorway, towering over her.

  “This girl is so not good for you and-”

  Noah’s fist shot through his door and he pulled it out as his sister looked from his fist to the hole, her grey eyes blazing.

  “Get out now!”

  “I wonder how many items you are going to break before you realize that I am right! You know, I’m not the only one who thinks she’s bad news. Mom does too and she has never met her. What does that say?”

  “Get out,” Noah repeated in a deadly whisper, his eyes were blazing with fury.

  Natalie backed away. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and said, “I wonder how beautiful you think your love story will still be when she finds out what you are. We just have to wait till then, then it’s ‘Bye, Destiny’,” And then, she stormed off.

  Noah stepped back into his room and slammed the door with so much force that the paintings on the walls fell.

  ***

  DESTINY

  The volume of the music out in the living room went u
p and Destiny sighed as she stared at the pages before her. As the walls vibrated as they always did, she looked up and looked out the lone window in her room. It was a full moon and it looked very bright out there. I wonder what Noah is up to, Destiny found herself thinking. She grinned as she remembered that they had made plans to spend the afternoon at the café tomorrow after her shift. He really is such a great guy and I am so glad that he is in my life. I can always count on him.

  Yeah, and your stomach always goes topsy-turvy when he is around. We know what that means and that’s certainly not friendship speaking, another voice said in her head. Destiny mentally slapped herself and chuckled. I need to stop thinking about Noah and study. It had been a very long day and upon arriving at home, she had found her mother wasted on the couch, typical. Ronnie had been nowhere to be found but an hour ago, the music had begun and she knew he had been found.

  Destiny’s head turned towards the door when she heard a knock. She swallowed hard. What on earth does Ronnie want? Letting out a sigh, she headed to the door and unlocked it. When she pushed it open, she gave Ronnie a onceover and in that instant, she realized that she had made a big mistake. His chest was bare and he was in just briefs. He leaned his hand against the side of her doorway and licked his lips. Destiny tried to close the door but he blocked it with his foot and pushed his way in.

  As she backed away, Destiny gulped. “What do you want Ronnie?”

  “Something I have wanted for a long time. Trust me, you will enjoy it as much as I will. Ooh yea, my little pie, this is going to be the start of many fun sessions,” he whispered as he stroked her hair.

  “You’ve got to be insane. Let go of me!” she shoved his hand away and he slapped her so hard that she fell on the bed.

  “Oh you’re feisty. I’m gonna have teach you a lesson little one!”

  Ronnie grabbed her hair and she yelped as he turned her around to face him. He forced his mouth on hers and Destiny sputtered as she tried to push away. I can’t let this happen! I can’t! Her hands searched desperately around as he tore up her blouse and she struck gold. With all her strength, Destiny swung the lamp and he fell over her. Tears streamed down her face as she stumbled to her feet. She bent over and checked his pulse like she had learnt in First aid class. He was still breathing. Destiny gulped as she swallowed air, still sobbing. She grabbed her sweater and her backpack and ran out of the room. As she slammed the door, she heard him groan. Not looking back, she ran out the apartment, out the building and out the neighborhood, the tears falling at a steady pace.

  She didn’t stop until she got to the café. The doors were locked and she remembered then that the books had been checked earlier and they had closed early. Miss Cathy was not in town, even if she knew where she stayed. She didn’t have a phone so she couldn’t call Noah or Chef Nora. Though she knew where Kimberly lived, she was not in town. Miss Josie and Pepo had also traveled for the holidays. She had no one to turn to.

  She fell to her knees on the curb as she sobbed harder, her heart breaking. She looked around her, taking in the environment. The street was empty and Destiny could see that no one was lurking anywhere. I could sleep out here tonight, right? It’s just one night. But just this morning there was that news about that mugging gone wrong. Oh no! What will I do? A growl interrupted her and her head shot up as she looked across the dimly lit streets. It had snowed earlier, so most were indoors. The growl became louder and Destiny’s heart pounded harder than it had already been doing. She jumped to her feet and backed away. As her back made contact with the café’s door, out of the darkness emerged a wolf. Its fur, slivery grey, glistened in the dark. If Destiny wasn’t so scared, she’d have been mesmerized by the bluish-grey eyes. The wolf stalked towards her like she was a prey and Destiny tried to urge the wall to move further back.

  “No, no, no,” Destiny muttered before everything turned black.

  ***

  “I’m telling you Kimberly, there was a wolf,” Destiny tried to convince her coworker of what she had seen the last two days.

  “Of course there was,” Kimberly replied but Destiny could hear the sarcasm in her voice. “Tell me again Destiny, where did you see this wolf?”

  “Right outside the café.”

  “And tell me again, what happened after you saw the wolf?”

  “I fainted.”

  “And after that?”

  Destiny hesitated for a moment. That was the weirdest part. When she woke up, she was staring at the ceiling of her room. The familiar scent of run-down apartment filled her nose. Her door was locked from the inside. It didn’t make any sense to her because she had a very clear memory of Ronnie, of running out of the house, and there was really nothing Kimberly could tell her because the wolf was very much real. She hadn’t imagined it. Only Ronnie never spoke of it, he just glared at her sometimes and winked at her the rest of the times.

  “I woke up at home but-”

  Kimberly shook her head. “If there was a wolf, it’d have eaten you. It’s what wolves do. And you still won’t say what you were doing out so late.”

  Destiny shrugged. “Stuff.”

  Even though she had contemplated turning to Kimberly for help, she couldn’t imagine doing so now. Kimberly would worry about her and she didn’t want that.

  “Maybe Noah will believe your wolf story.”

  Destiny turned around and saw Noah walking in. He was wearing a black T-shirt and denim trousers. He looked like something out of a movie show, and if this was a movie scene, there’d be a slow-motion effect for when he entered. Destiny tried to look away but Noah was like the north and she was the needle of a compass, completely drawn to him.

  “Hey Destiny, Kimberly.”

  “Listen to this Noah. Go on Destiny tell him.”

  Destiny shot Kimberly a glare, but Kimberly refused to acknowledge it. “It’s nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing before Noah walked in. Now it is?”

  “Just let it go. Noah, what would you like to order?”

  “I’ll like to order what Kimberly wants me to hear.”

  Kimberly nodded her head. “If she won’t say, I will. Destiny saw a wolf.”

  Destiny watched Noah but his expression gave nothing away.

  “That’s not abnormal, we’re surrounded by thick trees.”

  “I’m not done telling,” Kimberly informed Noah and Destiny shook her head. She was really thankful they had a few more minutes before they opened. Destiny poured Noah a glass of water. He smiled his thanks to her and raised it to his lips.

  “Apparently, the wolf took her home.”

  Noah choked on the water and Destiny breathed in deeply.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You implied it.”

  “I said I woke up at home and I recall going out of the house.”

  “Storming out of the house was the word you used. And you said and this is a direct quotation. ‘I stormed out of the house and ran all the way here because I had nowhere to go. When I got here, it was locked, you were out of town, so was Cathy, Ms. Josie and Pepo. I didn’t want to bother Noah. Then a wolf came, I fainted and when I woke up, I was at home.’ That was you implying the wolf took you home.”

  “It’s not.”

  “Well, it’s either that or you never left home.”

  Destiny considered that, but it was impossible. Ronnie had slapped her that day. He had tried to do something unthinkable. She was scared of Ronnie, but not enough to imagine him carrying out his sick plans. That meant she was sick, like twisted sick. Besides, Ronnie had stared at her weirdly when she had stepped out that day. He had even promised they’ll get a chance to revisit what they couldn’t finish.

  Destiny shook her head. “I did, I’m sure I did.”

  Before anyone could reply, Destiny turned and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen was empty, Chef Rosie would arrive soon and they weren’t supposed to open until four o’clock, and it was still thirty minutes until open time. The doors opened and Dest
iny shook her head.

  “Alright Kim, you win. Let it go.”

  Kimberly didn’t reply but came to stand behind her. Destiny froze. It wasn’t Kimberly. Noah’s cologne filled her nose and he turned her around slowly. When Destiny looked up at him, his grey eyes were staring down at her. Destiny felt her throat run dry and when Noah reached up and stretched out a strand of her hair, Destiny struggled to keep still. He let the strand go and it bounced back to its normal curly stance.

  “You never said why you left home.”

  Destiny swallowed hard. Having Noah stand really close to her was messing with her senses. It was a different feeling from when Ronnie stood that close. With Ronnie, she felt repulsion but with Noah, it was something else. Noah had been walking her home a lot, even spending more time than required at the cafe. Destiny didn’t mind, in fact, she enjoyed his company. He was always making her laugh, and she was always nervous around him. But it was a good type of nervous. More often than not, Destiny had found herself imagining what it’s be like if Noah was to kiss her. And more often than not, her subconscious mind would tell her he’s way out of her league. He was but here he was trying to seduce her with those grey orbs.

  “I probably never did,” Destiny said in a whisper.

  Noah licked his lips and Destiny subconsciously did too. He raised his hand and ran it slowly on her face, his eyes never leaving hers. Destiny felt hot all over and she tried her best not to show. Thank goodness for melanin, else she’d have shown how bothered he really made her.

  “You’ll never be a bother to me. If you ever need me, just call. I’ll be there. Okay?”

  Destiny didn’t trust herself to speak, so she nodded. But Noah didn’t let her go, he stared at her more intently and Destiny felt her heartbeat pick up. Noah’s hand on her face was like a thousand lights kissing her skin.

  “Destiny,” Noah whispered, but before she could reply, he pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back and looked down at her. They hadn’t even kissed properly and she was already panting. Only he didn’t care, he pressed his lips to hers and when his lips touched her lips, Destiny didn’t put up any resistance. Noah’s arms went around her waist, and he pulled her close and Destiny pressed herself to him. Not once did she ever think she’d be kissed and like this. Noah nibbled on her lips and Destiny shuffled backwards, and he followed. She stopped only when her back hit a cabinet, and even at that, Noah barely had time before he was lifting her up and placing her on the cabinet. When they pulled away, they were both panting for breath.