Chapter 1

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sophie was warily watching Eleanor as she paced around the aisle, biting her nails, "You could just let the whole thing pass instead of picking a fight with him."

Usually, I would have taken up arms for Eleanor, ready to fight whoever tried to cross her, but this time I wasn't so sure. For one, we were talking about trying to pick an argument with Noah Sterling, which should have been problematic enough in itself, but you go to war with the Russians in Russia. In this college town that was essentially Sterling-ville, getting into any and all sorts of trouble with Noah Sterling was not a good idea.

"Tell her, Bri!" Sophie nudged me, making me squeamish. Eleanor's pink tipped hair looked like they were on fire, ready to attack the first person who came close to pissing her off.

"Do this only if you're sure of what you have to say," I shrugged finally, "You can just mail this thing back to him instead of directly confronting him."

Eleanor bunched the jersey she had been holding, conflicted in the options she was presented with. Either she could tell Noah off for giving her some false illusions or she could stay down low for the rest of the year. I knew what she had decided even before she said anything, for her jaw was squared and she stood up straighter. A confrontation was in order.

"We're going to see Noah, and we're going to let him know-"

"Whoa, there's no we here," Sophie rolled her eyes, "Brianna and I are only coming for moral support."

"False," I jabbed her in the ribs, "you're coming along because you hate missing out on drama."

"It's the action that counts, not the thought," Sophie laughed before Eleanor interrupted us with a sharp admonish, "Guys!"

"Okay then, are you ready?" I jumped off the small hole in the wall I was sitting on, grabbing my bag and jacket. Eleanor squared her shoulders, checking her eyeliner and lipstick on her phone. I hadn't said anything about the sharp wings or the red lipstick when I first saw her, but I could see the point she was making.

"Yep, I'm ready," she squared her shoulders, "Noah wouldn't know what hit him."

"Okay, where do we find him now?" Sophie asked, shutting her notebook and grabbing her belongings too. Eleanor looked at her phone one more time, "It's Tuesday, isn't it? If we leave now, we should be able to catch up with him before he reaches the locker rooms. He has practice in like twenty minutes."

The fact that she knew his schedule down to the minutes should have been alarming, but I had seen her obsess over him for about two whole months the same way. Frankly, at this point, I was so over it. The crazy obsession with this god crafted man was not misplaced as long as it remained a mindless fantasy, but Eleanor was convinced that Noah was a 'nice' person despite all the rumors about him. They made out at a party once, before she had lost all her spine, and then ended up losing her virginity to him.

It was no secret that Noah Sterling had the looks to match his father's bank account. It pissed me off that the richest of people were the ones who never had an acne trouble in their whole life. Noah Sterling had clear creamy skin, and brown fine hair that he was always running his hands through, giving them a messy but attractive look nevertheless. Noah Sterling was the face claim for every YA Romance novel I could have picked up at a store, except that the similarities ended there. There was no sweet, vulnerable boy that was hiding behind the cold exterior, Noah Sterling was an arsehole, through and through.

"Let's go then," Sophie exhaled sharply, "I'm going to hell if Alex is there."

I rolled my eyes. Right, we had to be worried about Alex too. Sometimes it felt like a blessing to be single and happily un-entangled with any men around me.

It wasn't hard to spot Noah walking out from the science wing, and Eleanor was going over what she had to say to him right at the curve of the field. When Noah approached us, surrounded by some of his teammates, Eleanor stepped forward to interrupt him. I made eye contact with Daniel, who was among the group, confused at our presence.

"Hello ladies," Noah's voice was smooth and confident as always, "What brings you here?"

Eleanor raised her chin, "Take your stupid jersey back." I had never heard such ferocity in her voice before, "I don't know what you thought you were doing, but I cannot be one of your little whores," she took a deeper breath while Sophie and I exchanged surprised looks, "that you can parade around on campus and display as a trophy, so you need to keep-"

Noah interrupted her with the wave of his hand, "Whoa, babe," he took back the jersey Eleanor had shoved into his chest, "What's your name again?"

Rat.

Someone snickered from behind and I took my eyes away from this train wreck to glare at him. Brianna Winters was known for her frigid bitch appearance, so he shut up immediately.

"El- Eleanor," My poor best friend stuttered, the fire doused from her. He stood impossibly close to her, possibly invading her personal space and overwhelming her.

"Well Eleanor, I guess there has been some sort of misunderstanding, and it's entirely my fault," Noah's face was equal parts captivating and sultry, "I'm not trying to display you as a trophy."

Eleanor looked hopeful for a second, before Noah spoke again, "You're not even close to the type I want to keep on my trophy shelf."

For a split second, I didn't register what he said. Then the rage hit. White hot in my palms, my anger was burning and bubbling in my blood. Teeth gritted, I watched as Eleanor's shoulders slumped again and water lined her eyes.

"Don't go crying on me," Noah rolled his eyes, stepping away from her.

Oh, Noah Sterling could rot in hell.

"What is wrong with you?" I spit before I had the chance to think my thoughts through.

"Who are you now?"

"Doesn't matter. Just who the fuck do you think you are? What inferiority complex are you suffering from? Bad childhood? Your kindergarten girlfriend broke your heart and gave you commitment issues?"

Someone hooted, but I wasn't focusing on that at all. I had tunnel vision, only focusing on the infuriating man in front of me. Not even close to finishing my rant, I continued, "Oh I know what it is, it's your overly inflated ego making up for your tiny little willy, isn't it?" A half smile came on his rather unperturbed face.

"Well, whatever the fuck it is, fix it. Get your head out of your ass and stop being so bitter!" I turned away on my heel and walked away, realising only a stupid second later that I was heading in the wrong direction. I was done with my classes for the day, and the exit I had intended to take was right ahead of Noah and his friends. Unfortunately I was feeling very Tony Stark with my exit, and I was going to leave it unspoiled. If I had to take the longer route, so be it.

I took the stairs up to the first floor, circling to the other end and going down again, even though my bloated stomach and weak knees were protesting against all this activity.

"Hello?" I answered my phone on the third ring, seeing it was a call from Sophie.

"Brianna, you just nuked the guy and disappeared! Where are you?" She laughed on the other end.

"Near the bike stands," I admitted my wrong exit, making her laugh.

"You could have made them part for you like the sea for Moses," she exclaimed, making me roll my eyes.

"How did you find a Bible reference in this?" I rolled my eyes, "Anyway have you seen the entire team? They could crush me."

"Not if you insult their tiny penises first," Sophie laughed.

"How's Eleanor?" I changed the subject, dumping my bag into the basket and pulling my earphones out of the small pocket in the front.

"Well she kind of ran while you were ranting, but I saw Daniel go after her. I was too busy watching the scene unfold." Okay, that was good. Daniel was a close friend and I was sure that he would be taking care of her. Now off to home, so I could feed the two heathens living with me. In terms of friends, Nathan and River were absolutely amazing, but as flatmates, they were often some of the most awful choices I could have made. Nathan was nice and would sometimes do the dishes and cleaning, but River just made her bed once in three weeks and called it a day. Regardless, their company had it's own charm that I wouldn't change for anything.

I heard the screaming before I walked into the apartment, thankfully. The key was still in the hole, ready to turn when a rather loud, "River, oh fuck!" could be heard. I sighed. It appeared that River had not made it past the living room again before ending up on the couch with whoever she was screwing. This was the third time in the month, and I was not in the mood to watch some guy's naked butt as he plowed River's fields.

Hey, are you in the mood for pizza?

Sophie replied in the next minute.

River again? Sorry I'm going out with Alex tonight.

I sat down on the stairs, debating my options. Either I could run past the living room with my eyes closed and risk running into a wall, or I could hit the Subway down the block till River texted me if it was safe to come home. My internal debate settled soon as I saw Nathan exit the elevator.

"River again?"

I nodded, just in time for another loud round of moans coming out from the space. Nathan made a dirty face before giving me a hand, "Subway or Pizza Palace?"

"Pizza Palace," I jumped at the opportunity for some cheesy goodness.

Pizza Palace was a small local joint with some of the best pizza sauce on this planet, almost becoming like a second home for most students in college due to it's affordable prices and amazing artery clogging food. In between bites of the garlic bread, he told me about his uneventful day at the video library, except for the girl who walked out with a ton of R rated movies, looking like she was barely fourteen.

"Her ID said she was 19, so it's not like I could have done anything about it," he shrugged. I smiled at his excitement as the waiter dropped our pizza off on the table. One half pepperoni and one with mushrooms and extra garlic salt.

"I swear, cheese is the only thing stopping me from becoming vegan," I moaned as the wonderful delight danced on my tongue.

"That and ice cream," Nathan poked my rib, making me laugh.

As we waited for our bill to arrive, I took the chance to check my phone for any notifications. There was a message from Eleanor and a couple of messages on a group project group chat that I couldn't be bothered opening at the moment. It was the last notification from Instagram that really chilled my bones.

@noahsterling wants to send you a message.