Chapter 58: Who I Am
My heart pounded so hard that I could feel my chest in pain, and my eyes blinked thousands of times. ’H-He kissed me. On my lips!’
"Finally, some quiet." He said as he let my waist go. W-What? Did he just do that to shut me up?
"T-That’s my first kiss!" I shouted as I punched his back. "How could you!"
Night turned to me with an eyebrow raised. He scoffed as he moved his face closer to mine, causing me to immediately back away. "What? You’re willing to marry me but get scared with a peck on the lips?" The corner of his mouth quirked up, making me see him smile for the very first time. "Hurry up and get on." He said as he kneeled in front of me again and showed me his back.
’Why is he acting as if that was something normal? I hate him!’
I felt robbed. I want to cry, but I’m tired of retorting anymore, so I just rode on Night’s back. How is he going to climb back the cliff anyway? What is he? Spiderman? That’s when he grabbed the vine I was holding onto before and threw it to the tree above. I didn’t even see what happened, but I saw that we were already back up. "Wow, that’s amazing." I subconsciously said aloud.
"I know."
I shook my head as I was about to get down, but Night didn’t let me. "What? Let me down."
"Won’t you shut up?"
I was too tired to argue with him, so I leaned on his back and closed my eyes. "Don’t use this against me later," I said.
"I’m not like you."
What does that suppose to mean?! I’m too tired to even think. "Do you hate me that much?" I asked him again, but he didn’t respond. I guess it’s pretty obvious, so I didn’t have to ask. The walk back towards the path was short, and we even bumped into Andy, who was done with his part.
"Oho?" A teasing smile formed on Andy’s face. "What’s this? Did the two of you go someplace else?"
"No. Francesca pushed me off a cliff." When I said that, Andy’s face turned red due to rage, and he rushed back to the camp. I’ll let Andy handle that since my anger towards Francesca calmed after Night... k-k-kissed me. "You can let me down now."
Night didn’t listen, he walked back to the camp, and all eyes went to the two of us. His classmates started murmuring, and I could hear what they were saying.
"What the hell? Why is Night with that girl?"
"Did she do something crazy again and force Night to carry her on his back?"
"How crazy is she for him? It’s annoying."
"She still has that princess complex of her, huh."
Those words I heard caused me to hide and lean on Night’s back more. "What happened?" Miss Valencia asked us after approaching us.
"She was pushed off a cliff by my classmate." Night said straightforwardly, causing my eyes to go wide open.
"What? Did you know who did it?" Miss Valencia’s eyes were scary, and I could also feel anger in her tone. "Tell me, who is it?" She asked me, but I didn’t want to tell her that it was Francesca.
"It’s Francesca!" Andy said as he was pulling Francesca’s hair. "This bitch— I meant girl. This girl pushed my Ellie off the cliff because she’s such an envious snake." Why does he have to say those words? He’s turning so mean!
Miss Valencia made Andy and Francesca go to the office. Maris and Carla also went with them to testify about Francesca. ’Shoot. I didn’t want this to happen.’ Kaoru approached Night and me as we were going to the camp’s infirmary. "Milady, I apologize for not being by your side." I can see Kaoru’s pouting again, and he’s going to sulk about this for a week if I don’t calm him now.
"It’s fine. It’s not your fault."
"No, it’s your fault for not paying attention." Night said. ’Ugh, must he really need to ruin everything?’
"Can’t you put me down now?"
Night ignored me again. ’I hate him. I just hate him.’ When we arrived at the infirmary, Kaoru said he’d bring me some change of clothes since I was all muddy and dirty. However, there’s no staff inside the infirmary. ’What kind of infirmary doesn’t have any staff? They’re going to make this another scene from a drama! I don’t want that anymore.’
"I can handle everything on my own now. Go away." I told Night. "But thank you for helping me," I said. I’m not someone who can’t thank people that helped me, even though they’re someone annoying like Night Yamaguchi.
Even though I had already made it clear that I didn’t want him here anymore, Night went to the shelves and brought out disinfectants. "I told you to go away."
"I’m not your servant."
I gaped with my eyes blinking lots of times. ’Oh my god. I can’t believe the audacity of this guy.’ "Fine. Suit yourself." I said as I was about to lie on the bed, but Night pulled both of my arms to keep me sitting. "What?"
Night clicked his tongue. "You’re dirty." He said.
I scoffed. "So are you."
He clicked his tongue many times as he suddenly started removing his clothes in front of me. ’W-W-What is he doing?’ I covered my eyes with both of my hands. "Why are you suddenly stripping in front of me."
"My clothes are dirty." It’s great that he answers me every time I question him, but it’s not great that he’s stripping in front of me!
"D-Do it in your room."
Silence followed that, and when I removed my hands from my eyes, I saw that Night’s nowhere to be found. That’s when I heard the water running in the infirmary’s bathroom. Wait, is he going to take a bath here? He doesn’t have a change of clothes! "He’s stressing me out." I should be the one taking a bath right now, not him! I’m the one who got too dirty because I fell off the cliff.
"Milady, I brought you a change of clothes." Kaoru entered the infirmary. "I called the nurse and brought the young master his clothes too."
I pointed to the bathroom. "He’s there." I thought Night would disinfect my wounds. Turns out he only brought out the disinfectant and wanted me to do it myself. ’He’s just here to take a bath. What a jerk.’ I shook my head. "Could you tell him to hurry up since I want to take a bath too?"
Today’s too tiring. I want to sleep as soon as I’m done bathing, but I can hear the students preparing for the dance. ’Will Carla still ask Ryzen if she didn’t see me asking Night to the dance?’ But I don’t want to dance with that prick. Is it just me, or did I change into a mean person who now uses words such as ’prick’ and ’jerk’? I don’t want to become mean, but the world is testing me.
As soon as Night was done bathing, he left the room and made Kaoru handle his dirty clothes. ’What a jerk.’
Ace arrived and helped me take a bath. I’m glad my ankle isn’t swollen; it was only a misstep. "That Francesca went out of bounds with what she did. She got reprimanded by Miss Valencia." She said as she rinsed my hair. "Francesca even told Miss Valencia that she’s the principal’s granddaughter, so she can do everything she wants. The audacity."
I can’t believe that Francesca’s like that, even towards teachers. "Why did you let her push you like that?" Ace asked as soon as I was done bathing, and she was already drying my hair. "It’s not like you to be beaten up like that."
I used to be self-conceited and didn’t let anyone step on me because that’s what my parents taught me. That it’s okay to be kind, but I should know my limits and don’t let people use me because of that kindness. "I just... I feel powerless."
Ace ruffled my hair. "Why would you feel powerless? You’re still the Noelle that you were before. Aren’t you a princess?"
"But princesses are supposed to be weak."
Ace made me look at her eyes. "This is why I hate how people represent women. We are not just women. Who said a princess can’t be strong like a prince or a knight? Some princesses could be heroes too." She said. "You’ve always been strong. Chasing someone like that for three years is no easy feat. That’s why you should go for it this time too."
"I thought you hate it when I’m obsessing over Night?"
"I hated it when it was the only thing you wanted to do." She flicked my forehead gently. "Now you’re focusing on other things, so I think it’s fine if you keep liking Fuentes." Ace said with a smile.
"I always liked the strong and courageous Noelle. That’s what you are." She chuckled. "That’s who you are."
I smiled. "You’re really good at boosting my confidence."
Ace patted my shoulders. "Go. Before someone else asks him to the dance."
