twenty-one

                                    

                                          
Even though Ian woke up early the next day to go back to his own room, Finn was already awake when he came back. 
                          
"I guess you were with Noah?" he asked as he put on his uniform and Ian replied with a tired yawn, causing Finn to smirk at him. Of course the pervert would think it was Noah's fault that Ian barely got any sleep. 
                          
It wasn't though, Ian just found it hard to sleep through the night lately. 
                          
After they had gotten ready they walked to school together, and the memory of Finn ignoring Ian not even a week ago was already fading into the back of his mind. He understood Finn's reaction - after all Ian had kept things from him for weeks, and Finn had needed distance to decide how to feel about it. 
                          
They were good now though, so Ian didn't see the point in thinking about it any further. 
                          
During lunch Noah asked Ian to pick him up after the council's meeting again, and once school ended Ian found himself lingering in the same spot as yesterday, waiting for their meeting to end. Today it only lasted about fifteen minutes, and when Tegan and Franny left the room, Ian pushed past them to enter. 
                          
Madeleine had been sitting next to Noah and was now slowly packing her things, her gaze hardening once she noticed Ian. "You're not supposed to be here." 
                          
Ian couldn't help but react surprised about her words - the girl must have found some confidence lately. He didn't let her harsh words get to him, though. 
                          
"I came for him," he replied, nodding at Noah who smiled back. 
                          
Madeleine's expression didn't soften like it usually did. "You don't even like him. You tried to get him expelled, you're cruel." She glanced at Noah. "You didn't forgive Kilian, did you?" 
                          
Ian sat down on one of the desks, legs dangling as he waited for Noah to pack his things. "Just because Noah calls me Kilian doesn't mean you can, too, Maddy," he replied, unnecessarily dragging her name. "Noah, can you hurry the fuck up? Time is money." 
                          
"You say that as if you had a job," Noah replied, at last shouldering his bag. He stopped once he noticed Madeleine's almost pleading look, knowing what was hiding behind it and that he needed to put an end to it. "I'm sorry, Maddy, but I only pound Ian." 
                          
The girl blushed profusely as the boys left the room, Ian finding it hard to hold in his laughter. "Of all the ways to tell her you're not interested, you chose this one?" 
                          
Noah just shrugged, smiling down at Ian. "It's true. Besides, it was getting uncomfortable. I didn't want to lead her on any longer." He tilted his head. "I wasn't even really leading her on. I was just doing my job, and she read too much into it." 
                          
"Ian." 
                          
They stopped walking, and the blonde turned around only to see Kyle walk up to them. He tensed up upon seeing the anger flaring in Kyle's eyes. 
                          
"Why the fuck did you rat me out?" Kyle hissed, coming to a halt way too close in front of Ian. "Why did you ruin it?" 
                          
"It was wrong," Ian replied, trying to appear as confident as possible. "Maybe you don't feel bad about it, but I'm not a complete piece of shit." 
                          
The last of Kyle's composure snapped and he had Ian pressed up against the wall in an instance. "What the fuck did you just call me?" 
                          
"You're already on thin ice with principal Moreno, let him go," Noah said, and even though his voice was calm, he couldn't hide the anger in his eyes as he glared at Kyle. He didn't dare touch him since he too was on thin ice with Moreno, and a fight would only get all of them in trouble.