𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆

ears perked up  ,  and she wants to know what he thinks --- subtly was never an odette trait  ,  but for as long as she can remember ..  he was one opinion that had mattered in the course of a crowded classroom  .  first coming to a country  ,  and never being one to have an disadvantage- duchess thrived above her fellow students  ,  reeling in knowledge with a matter of fact grin  ,  and a tilt of preciseness in her chin  .  she’d learned english early on as a child  ,  but it was her second language  ;  and most of which she’d picked up from reruns of i dream of jeannie  .   but she’d learned to crush  ,  and to crush hard when she’d rounded a corner quickly to a high school that she’d only set foot in a time or two  .  without a guide  ,  she’d scurry up the stairs to get to class on time  ----  or more so  ,  before everyone else  .  and as she did so  ,  she’s caught toe-anchored to the floor as voice carried down a railing  ,  and dark curls bounced with a smile  .  her heart stopped that day  ,  and started again in a static shock of flutters  .  so yes  ,  she cared what noel thinks of her  ,  and maybe she’s been trying to impress him for years now ----  only to falter under the touch of brushed lips  ,  and uncertainty that came with falling  .  “intimidating .” she’ll repeat  ,  letting the word loom over in her head for her to analyze  .  of all the choice of bad he could have went with --  he’d chosen intimidating  .  and odette  ,  five foot foot  ,  with blonde hair and blue eyes  ,  an enormous crush that outweighed the practical ,  she wondered how on earth she was intimidating to him  .  and then it’s followed by intriguing  ,  and her nose scrunches  ,  a bashful gaze flickered down and away  ;  but her smile rises to blue eyes  ,  and casts a warm glow through heightened cheeks  .  “me too .” she finally adds  ,  in response to the sleeping beauty comment  .  “besides .. who goes pricking spinning wheels anyhow-” a little nudge of playfulness  ,  and her gaze is fixated on the new shade of pink staining his hands  .  “i like that color-” she nods  ,  side glancing  ,  and catching a memorizing smile that dug inside her chest and kept her dreams awake  .  and then he’s muting any sense of rationally in her head  ,  her brows wavering up at the mention of slide shows  ,  and bullet pointed reasons as to why percy deserved to have a home of his own  .  “complete with visual a-- yeah i think i might have just fell in love a little bit .” and the comment slipped out  ,  and it surprises her  .  --- brows furrowing   ,  mouth slightly agape before she’s snapping it shut with a laugh  .  nice  ,  odette  .  you nicolettes and your inability to shut up while you’re ahead  ,  or spurting out secrets that was suppose to stay your inside voice  . the only difference was  ,  caroline wasn’t here to stop the from being yanked out from under you  .   luckily  ,  percy is barking- and the tiny yips drown out any need to dig herself a deeper hole  .  for a girl who didn’t believe in love a few months ago  ,  it rattled her a little how easily the phrase slipped out  .  noel’s arms wrapped around her  ,  and odette is yelping through a laugh  .  “no- it was an accident i prom-” only to be cut off by water drenching the front of her shirt  .  and he’s only making the laughter bubble  ,  percy nipping at the outward sprays of water  ;  and odette cowering int the crook of his neck with wavering hands  ,  only to hug into a burrowed chest  ,  using the water to backfire and drench him too  .  her only defense to playfully bite at his shoulder  ,  muffled by another onset of giggles  .  odette reaches for the faucet  ,  slipping and falling back into his chest  .  “mercy- mercy--” using her weight to push him back carefully on the bathroom floor  ,  reaching up to sneak the sprayer in the fall  ; then straddling his lap and pointing the face at him like an old western  .  “hands up- this is a robbery-” and with the light flutter of a smirk , percy yelps in the background in contingent  .  

her cheek still burns  ,  and the red has still flushed her features now  ,  with distance between them  .  brows are softened  ,  but that racing heart of hers is frantically too far gone to catch  .  she’d never had anyone as close as noel  ,  she’d never been on the receiving end of affection as vast and as kind as the type given from a curly headed boy  ,  with sparkles in his eyes  .  her mother  ,  all her life  ,  had undertoned and lightly warned her of looking out a window of a tower  ,  to a handsome prince that whispered sweet nothings from a step down below  . she had been a girl of practical intentions  ,  she had cared with promise to not venture over lines she’d watched time and time again ----  everyone but her  ,  cross  .  she’d watched as caroline fell from like  ,  to love  ,  and how jude had suddenly looked at her best friend in a different light  .  when he came back one summer  ,  and he’d grown taller while caroline finally stopped  ;  with long hair and dark lashes  ,  and a heart that simply wouldn’t stop  .  even now  ,  with westley ---  she had seen the same flicker of hope  ,  in the midst of an after party clean up  .  it’s why  ,  she’s fumbling with the towels  ,  and sucking in a breath  ;  glancing over her shoulder with a narrowed smile that suppressed just how scared she actually was  .  “it’s not my fault that caroline hogged all of it  ,  there was nothing left for me  .” and if she wasn’t bouncing forward with supplies in her hands  ,  she would have perched them on her hips in a ‘matter of fact’ kinda’ way  .  “and for the record  ,  you make me sound like --  a scary evil villain or something  .” she’s plopping one towel on the ground  ,  to catch the water  ;  and the other on the side of the tub  ,  to wrap the puppy in  .  however  ,  before taking a spot next to noel  ,  she’s hovering behind him  ,  dipping and giving his cheek an upside down kiss  .  “clearly  ,  very scary-” and another one ,  her edges softened  ,  and fingertips massaging gentling into his shoulders  .  “oh  , by the way ..” and her chest down that thing ,   where it viciously leaped inside itself ,  at the way he looked at her  .  “i remember everything-” smirked  ,  and she’s internally reeling  ;  trying her best to not let it show on curved lips  ,  or the gentle stroke of scarlet that highlight her cheekbones  ;  the bridge of her nose  .  she’ll tug her lower lip between her teeth  ,  and sit  ,  leaning over and fumbling with the slippery container of spilled shampoo  ;  or maybe at the way she’s still nervous in such close proximity  .  “good thing logically compromising people into agreeing with me  ,  is my specialty . and if all else fails  ,  maybe i’ll bat my lashes  .  i dunno’ if that’s ever worked for me though .. ” a side glance  ,  and a tiny smirk that taunts at the corner of dimples  .  “maybe i’ll take a few lessons from you- though  .” teased  ,  and the little yips from the bathtub turn into feigned and incredibly fake whines  ,  while odette shakes her head  .  “it’s not our fault you decided to dumpster dive  ,  percy-” and with that  ,  the water is checked for temperature  ;  only to be splashed in a tiny shake  ,  splattering in drips across her shirt  ,  and a scrunch of her nose  .  “if for whatever reason he says no---  you can keep percy at my place until i badger this guy into seeing my point of view  .” another splash  ,  the last bit of her sentence cut off by a yelp of her own  .  “hold still---” odette’s nose is scrunching ,  and she’s leaning forward a little too bravely  ,  before slipping and swashing water up at noel  .  “oops-” mouth slightly agape  ,  and she points her finger at him  .  “noel silva- that was an accident!”