ELLE'S POV
I couldn't stop crying. The tears just kept flowing as everything crashed down on me, what had almost happened, what could have happened if Noah hadn't been there. Anger suddenly surged through me, and I started punching Noah's chest.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you warn me?" I demanded between sobs.
Noah didn't try to stop me or defend himself. He just took it, his arms still around me, his expression pained. He didn't remind me that he had tried to warn me, that he had called and spoken to me, but I never listened. He just let me get it all out.
"I should have made you listen," he said finally, his voice rough. "I should have done more."
He continued to caress my hair until my sobs subsided. Gently, he laid me down on the bed and stretched out beside me, keeping a respectful distance.
"Sleep," he told me softly.
But sleep felt impossible. My mind kept racing through what-ifs. "I wonder what would have happened if you weren't there," I whispered, staring at the ceiling. "No one would have saved me because they all hate me."
Something in Noah's expression changed. He reached out and dragged a hand through my hair, his touch tentative. "Don't say that. They don't hate you..."
"They do," I insisted, the words bitter on my tongue. "People bully who they hate."
"But I don't hate you," Noah said quietly.
I turned my head to look at him. "Do you like me?"
"I do."
A laugh escaped me, hollow and disbelieving. "A fluffy Elle like me? A fat whale?"
Noah's eyes flashed with anger. "I've told you to stop calling yourself that. I never called you fat because you're my type of woman and I do like you. I bullied you because I derive joy from seeing you upset. You always look so damn hot when angry."
My mouth hung open in shock. Was this really Noah talking? The same Noah who had tormented me for years?
"You don't believe me?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.
"Is that why you kissed me? That day when..." I trailed off, remembering the first day we kissed. When I fell on him during piano class.
He nodded. "I would never have done that if I didn't like you."
I snorted in disbelief. "That's a lie. You're a playboy. You sleep with almost all the girls in De-Fountain that throws herself at your feet."
"Says who?" Noah challenged.
"Says me, Elle."
"Well, Elle is a pretty liar. You will make a bad journalist if you turn out to be one." There was a teasing edge to his voice I'd never heard before.
I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips. "Why?"
"Because you don't verify your information before dissemination."
"So it's not true?" I pressed. "Can you count with the numbers of girls you've slept with in De-Fountain?"
Noah lifted his hand, holding up one finger. "Just one and that's what is about to happen now."
He leaned in and kissed me softly, leaving me breathless when he pulled away. My mouth dropped open again.
"What do you mean just now?" I stammered.
"I never slept with any girl, Elle..."
"Not even Benita?" I couldn't keep the skepticism from my voice.
"Not even her," Noah confirmed, his expression serious. "I don't fall for girls who throw themselves at me. I fall for those who hate me like you."
I chuckled, the sound surprising even me. "What?"
"But I've kissed several girls," he added with a grin.
I hit his chest playfully, and he retaliated by tickling me until I was laughing uncontrollably.
“You're a jerk.”
It felt surreal to be laughing after everything that had happened tonight, but somehow also exactly what I needed.
When we finally calmed down, we stared at each other, something new and uncertain sparking between us.
"I like you, Elle," Noah said softly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"What?!" I exclaimed loudly in disbelief. After years of being his favorite target, after everything that had happened tonight, after the emotional rollercoaster I'd been on—this was the last thing I expected to hear.