My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 19: Romeo and... Noah?

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Gigi’s voice rang through the hallway like a siren. "Wait—what?! You’re just now telling me you’re working with Ethan Seymour? Ethan freaking Seymour?"

I almost dropped the books I was holding. "Can you not yell that out for the whole school to hear?" I whispered, glancing around as a couple of freshmen turned to look. "You’re practically making a public announcement."

But Gigi, being true to herself, didn’t lower her voice at all. She was already half squealing, her eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. "Bro, this is massive! You two are basically living out my slow-burn romance fanfiction right now. Working together? Late-night study sessions? Accidental hand brushes? It’s all bound to happen. I mean, it’s fate!"

I groaned and grabbed her wrist to keep her from getting any louder. "Oh my god, Gigi! Can you please just be quiet?!"

We quickly ducked into the nearest janitor’s closet, the sharp scent of disinfectant hitting me as I shut the door and leaned against it, pressing a hand to my forehead. "Do you even realize how loud you are?"

Gigi just grinned, unfazed by my frustration. "I’ve got a healthy set of lungs and a borderline obsession with your love life. Now spill it—what happened?"

With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and opened our text thread. "Nothing happened. We’re just... discussing the project."

"’Just discussing’," she echoed, looking at me skeptically as she snatched the phone from my hand before I could protest. Her eyes skimmed over the screen, and her grin grew wider by the second. "Mmhmm. ’Meet me after practice.’ ’Let’s go to a diner.’ A wink emoji? Oh, he’s totally flirting."

My cheeks turned hot instantly. "You don’t know that! Maybe he’s just— I don’t know—being friendly!"

So, was Ethan actually into guys? That could explain why he hadn’t gotten serious with any of the girls who were always after him.

Gigi gave me that incredulous look, you know, the one people make when you say the Earth might be flat. "Friendly guys don’t send wink emojis, Noah. Believe me, he just asked you out."

I buried my face in my hands, groaning. "Oh my God, what if he’s just being nice and I end up making a fool of myself?"

She let out a soft laugh, nudging me playfully. "You’re overthinking again, as usual. Ethan’s not like Adrien or those other jerks. He’s a good guy. And if he’s flirting with you—which he clearly is—you deserve it. You’ve dealt with more than enough losers."

Her tone softened as she spoke, and I peeked at her through my fingers, caught between feeling embarrassed and something that felt a lot like hope. "You really think there’s a chance he likes me?"

Gigi smiled, linking her arm through mine. "Sweetheart, if that boy doesn’t like you, I’ll personally hex him. Now let’s get out of here before someone finds us hiding in a closet and starts rumors that we’re dating."

I couldn’t help but laugh as she pulled me back into the hallway, her words echoing in my mind. If that boy doesn’t like you, I’ll hex him.

God help me, I wanted to believe her.

As soon as we left the janitor’s closet, Gigi was in full-on dramatic monologue mode, raising her voice like she was narrating a romantic prophecy. "This is it, Noah. The universe is finally rewarding you for all those years of pain and suffering. You’re going to have a boyfriend before college! And a cute one too!"

I rolled my eyes, gripping my books tighter as we walked down the hall. "Can you keep your voice down? I don’t want the whole school thinking I’ve already picked out my wedding dress."

She, of course, ignored me, wrapping her arm through mine and bouncing along. "Do you even realize what this could mean? You and Ethan Seymour? That’s like, a redemption for your reputation. You won’t just be ’that pool boy’ anymore. People will finally see you for who you are—smart, funny, adorable, totally crush-worthy. This is the universe balancing your karma."

"Or," I said dryly, "maybe it’s just a school project and the universe has bigger things to worry about than my nonexistent love life."

Gigi gasped dramatically, clutching her chest like I’d just delivered tragic news. "Don’t you dare say that! My tarot cards predicted this, babe. The lovers card came up twice this week. Twice! That hardly ever happens unless something big is about to go down."

I tried to stifle a smile, but it slipped through anyway. Her enthusiasm was contagious, even if I didn’t take half of what she said seriously. "Look, I’m not looking to date Ethan just to check ’getting a boyfriend’ off my to-do list," I said, my tone softer now. "I actually like him, Gigi. I always have. And if there’s even a small chance he likes me too..." I trailed off, just thinking about it made my stomach flutter. "I don’t know, it feels... good. Scary, but good."

Gigi halted for a moment, tilting her head and grinning knowingly. "Awww, you’ve got it bad." Then, without missing a beat, she added with a playful glint in her eyes, "And if you play your cards right, you might lose your virginity before graduation."

I nearly tripped over my own feet. "Gigi!" I hissed, my face burning bright red.

"What?" she laughed, holding up her hands like she was innocent. "I’m just saying, the cards don’t lie. With that boy’s smile? I’d risk detention."

I groaned, covering my face as some students passed by, glancing at us with curiosity. "You’re impossible."

She giggled, bumping her shoulder against mine. "But you love me. Now, come on, future Mr. Seymour! We’ve got a lunch period to conquer."

Despite myself, I laughed too, the kind of genuine laugh that catches you off guard. Maybe she was onto something—maybe this really was fate. Or maybe it was just one of those rare days when hope didn’t seem so bad after all.

We barely made it halfway down the hallway when a familiar voice called out behind us.

"Gigi!"

Before I could even turn around, Gigi squealed like she’d just seen a long-lost friend. "Sky!"

And just like that, she leaped into her girlfriend’s arms in the middle of the hall. Skylar spun her around once before kissing her like they were the only two people on the planet—completely oblivious to the crowd of mildly shocked students around them.

I stood there awkwardly, clutching my books to my chest. "Wow. Okay. PDA level: boss mode. Nice."

Skylar finally pulled back, her dark eyeliner looking flawless despite the passionate display, and flashed me a crooked grin. "Hey, Noah. What’s the gossip? You two were whispering like you were plotting something."

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, Gigi shot me a wicked grin and said, "We’re actually strategizing the best ways to get Ethan Seymour into Noah’s bed before graduation."

"Gigi!" I shrieked, my face turning so crimson I thought I might burst into flames. "That’s not at all what we were talking about!"

Skylar raised an eyebrow, amused. "Ooh, Seymour, huh? He’s a solid choice. Tall, polite, probably great with his hands—he plays basketball, right?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I groaned, hiding my face as Gigi burst into laughter at the thought of him using those big veiny hands on me. "Can we not do this in public?" I muttered through my fingers. "People can actually hear you."

"That’s the point," Gigi teased. "Manifest it out loud, babe. Speak it into existence."

Skylar linked her arm around Gigi’s shoulder, smirking at me as we started walking toward class together. "You’ll thank her when it works."

"I’ll thank her when she stops talking," I grumbled, though it was hard to suppress the smile creeping onto my lips.

They kept teasing me all the way down the hall, tossing around dramatic predictions about my "future love life," while I tried to hide my face behind my books. I thought I was in the clear once we reached the classroom—until my phone buzzed in my hand.

It was a text from Ethan.

Ethan💖💙: Don’t forget to cheer for me later this afternoon 😉

My heart skipped a beat, and I could practically hear Gigi’s voice in my head shouting, "manifestation!" I bit down on a grin, quickly stuffing my phone into my pocket before either of them could catch on to my blush.

Yup. Too late. I was definitely blushing all the way to class.