AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noelle didn't even realize when everything was over. She'd been so wrapped in her own thoughts and fantasies that to her it seemed as though only a few moments passed.
Everyone stood up and started walking out of the classroom.
Her Blue did, too.
She was of a half mind to go and follow him, but she knew she couldn't risk that much. Especially since she was running short on time.
With a resigned sigh, she made her way off campus and went back to the music building, putting away her disguise items and dressing back up in her regular clothes.
When she arrived home, she pretended she'd had a great day at her piano lessons.
Her mother was absent, as was her usual lately. Noelle supposed that was because Cisco and Yuyu were now living with them upstate and Elena didn't want to get into another conflict with her daughter-in-law—particularly after she'd seen that Cisco wouldalwaystake Yuyu's side.
Noelle was grateful for that, however. Without the stress of having her mother on her back at all times, she felt more relieved. And the few times that they crossed paths, Noelle preferred to ignore Elena, no matter how much her mother liked to egg her own. Even that she could attribute to Blue, since he'd helped her to become more tempered and think before acting.
What her mother hadn't succeeded in a lifetime of nagging, Blue had managed in a few months by leading by example.
Noelle smiled as she remembered all the times she'd driven him to madness with her behavior, yet he'd never retaliated with malice. He'd always silently steered her towards the right path, getting her to admit her mistakes on her own rather than point them out and incur her belligerence.
"Are you ready for our practice?" Yuyu asked her after she'd had a shower.
Noelle nodded, changing into her workout gear and heading to the gym on the ground floor.
Cisco was ensconced in his office dealing with his business while Val was somewhere around the house conducting one of his many experiments. He was a very bright kid, whose sole focus seemed to be figuring out how things worked.
Noelle and Yuyu started with a warm up before they did drills, topping the training with one-on-one combat.
"You've improved a lot," Yuyu praised after it was over.
"Thank you," Noelle smiled.
"Remember it's never about size, but how well you use it. For us, since we're smaller than most men, we need to focus on speed and hitting critical spots."
Yuyu had taught her all the weak spots of the body, where to hit and how to hit it for maximum potential.
"Soon you won't have much to teach me," Noelle joked as they both stopped by the water station.
"Maybe. That doesn't mean you should stop practicing. You need to maintain your speed and stamina, and you can only do that through practice."
"I know," Noelle nodded. "I've been doing cardio daily to increase my stamina, and strength training three times a week."
"Damn," Yuyu whistled. "I knew you were using the gym on our off days, but I didn't realize you've been putting in so much effort. That explains why you've gotten so good in such a short amount of time."
"Well, I aim to get better," Noelle declared.
The time was ticking.
She was already seventeen, which meant that every month brought her closer and closer to her eighteenth birthday and the moment she dreaded more than anything in the world.
Everything she was doing, day in, day out, was to ensure she would never have to accept that face—that she would become master of her own destiny. And because she knew what was at stake, she knew she couldn't slack off.
It was another week before she could find the opportunity to sneak out again. This time, she managed to track Blue to the library. Luckily, he'd told her the day before that he was going to spend the entire day studying at the library.
The only problem?
There were multiple libraries on campus and all required a student ID to get inside.
But Noelle wasn't one to be deterred by that one small detail.
