The End Is Only the Beginning

16. ...Two Steps Back

16. ...Two Steps Back

When Monday rolled around I was surprisingly prepared to face school again.

Aaron had been pushed to the back of my mind, and for the first time since starting at this school, I could focus on more than just worrying about when I'd bump into him next. Instead, I was excited to update Noelle about the situation in person and to see Eli, and possibly arrange a further date.

"I'll meet you two after school," I told Evan and Emily.

They nodded with two mumbled 'bye's before disappearing into the school crowd.

Like every other day, I walked into the school like normal and headed over to the row of lockers that Noelle, Lindy and Kasim would usually be waiting at. Noelle was waiting there alone, sipping some sort of Starbucks iced-coffee through a straw.

"Morning," she smiled when she saw me. "How was your weekend, other than your date with Eli?"

"About that-," I began.

"Oh no, it's not already gone pear-shaped has it?"

I shook my head. "No, there's been no advancements in my love-life since I spoke to you yesterday," I said. Noelle grinned again with a quiet, 'good.' "But, I was thinking about what I told you, and also that maybe we shouldn't mention this to Kas or Lindy...or anyone in fact."

"Why? They'd be totally stoked for you," Noelle insisted.

"Yeah, but I don't think that Eli's out and it's definitely not in our place to out him."

Noelle nodded, chewing on the plastic straw. "Shit, I didn't even think about that. Don't worry," she began, miming herself zipping her lips, "my lips are sealed until further notice!" And then she threw her imaginary key over her shoulder with a wink.

"Thanks."

"Now, what happened with Aaron on Friday night?"

I told Noelle about mine and Aaron's argument- if it could really be called that- and she expressed her sympathy to a typical Noelle-standard. "But now you have your new lover-boy to throw in his face," she announced, her voice quiet but her hands moving as if she was yelling.

Lindy was already in history class when we arrived, her head down as she stared at her phone in her hand.

"Good morning," Noelle spoke, and I smiled at Lindy when she looked up to us.

For a moment, a weary look flashed over Lindy's face and my first thought was that she had found out about Aaron and I, but her usual smile was back a split-second later. "Morning you two," she pulled her bag off of the table, moving it out of Noelle's way.

"That's not a typical Lindy greeting," Noelle said; wasn't it? "What's up?"

"Aaron," Lindy answered, and it explained quite a lot.

Noelle rolled her eyes, shrugging off her own bag and tossing it under the table. "What's he done this time?"

I was expecting her to give us her usual 'he's been acting kind of weird' speech. Instead she surprised me by saying, "he's disappeared. Gone AWOL."

"Disappeared?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Lindy nodded as her phone vibrated in her hand. When it did she instantly fell silent, looking down at it immediately. "Sorry, I thought that was him," she spoke as she looked back up to us. "I've not spoken to him since Saturday, and even then it was just a five minute phone call," Lindy announced, "his dad says that he's not heard from him since Saturday either."