Ren and Noelle had found a rhythm but the school environment added a layer of complication. They were careful, not because they weren't serious but because their classmates weren't fully aware of the depth of their relationship.
Ren's presence was easy to notice; his 1.85m stature and commanding aura naturally drew attention. Noelle, on the other hand, had to balance her own awareness by trying to walk the line between appearing casual and maintaining a subtle closeness with him without attracting unnecessary whispers.
Gossip moved fast. There were teasing glances in the hallways, whispered conversations at lockers and the occasional loud comment that made them both flush. Still, they handled it with a mix of light-hearted teasing and subtle gestures. A hand brushing hers as they walked between classes, a shared smirk across the room, a quiet inside joke in the middle of a crowded lecture. These small acts further signalled their connection without making a scene.
They learned to manage the attention by controlling the narrative themselves. If someone asked, they'd share just enough: a casual "We're seeing each other" or "Yeah, we are together." Nothing dramatic, nothing to fuel more speculation.
Even in group settings, Ren had a way of subtly claiming his space with Noelle. Sitting beside her during lunch, letting his hand linger near hers or casually standing just a bit closer in the corridor.
For Noelle, the key was confidence and patience. She learned to meet Ren's gaze with quiet assurance, to smile at his jokes without blushing too obviously and to enjoy the closeness they shared in ways that felt natural. She realised that their relationship didn't need constant validation from others; the whispers didn't define them but they only added a playful edge to their connection.
Together, they navigated the school day like partners in a private world, balancing the ordinary pressures of classes and homework with the subtle thrill of being known and cherished amidst the noise of gossip. However, not everyone is rooting for them.
The badminton team couldn't help noticing the change in Ren. He was sharper but also strangely distracted, his gaze sometimes drifting across the cafeteria, tracking someone who wasn't on his team. It didn't take long before his friends caught on.
During lunch, one of his teammates tossed a ball of crumpled paper at him. "Oi, Ren. You've been zoning out a lot lately. What's her name?"
Ren caught the paper easily without looking, crushing it in his palm. "Don't you have drills to run?" he said dryly, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him, with an almost-smirk that gave everything away.
"Ah, so there is someone," another chimed in, leaning over the table. "No wonder you've been smiling to yourself after practice. Must be serious."
Ren shot them a look, the kind that usually shut people up but his teammates only laughed. One of them followed his line of sight toward where Noelle was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, half-hidden behind Mei Ling and her group of friends.
She was in her usual loose shirt, sleeves rolled up, hair pinned half-heartedly with a clip. Nothing loud, nothing trying too hard. But there was something about her that drew him in every time. The quiet way she tilted her head when she listened, the curve of her smile when she thought no one was watching.
She hid her curves beneath layers of soft fabric but Ren knew better. He'd felt the warmth of her skin, the way she fit against him like a secret he didn't want to share. She wasn't the loud, flashy kind of pretty that turned heads but she was the kind that caught you off guard, held you there and never let you go.
"Wait. Her?" the guy whispered, tone curious but not unkind.
Ren's expression didn't change. "What about it?"
"Nothing," his friend said quickly, grinning. "Just didn't think you'd go for someone that quiet. I thought you would go for someone more glamourous and sexier."
Ren leaned back, voice calm but laced with something final. "That's because you don't know her."
That was enough to silence them.
A few tables away, Noelle felt his gaze before she saw it. When their eyes met across the room, the noise faded, replaced by that familiar pulse of awareness between them. Ren didn't wave or smile; he simply tilted his head slightly, an unspoken wait for me.
And she did.
When the lunch bell rang, Ren was already at her side before Mei Ling could even finish her sentence. He didn't say much but just took Noelle's tray from her hands, his fingers brushing hers for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Around them, conversations dipped and picked up again, whispers starting at the edges.
The sky had turned a deep coral by the time Ren offered to walk her home. Neither of them said much at first; every few steps, their hands brushed. Once. Twice. By the third time, Ren simply caught her fingers in his, his thumb gliding over her knuckles as if testing how long she'd let him hold on.
Neither spoke for a while. There was too much unspoken, too much simmering in the way his thumb traced distracting lines against her palm. When she finally looked up, he was already watching her with that same steady gaze that made her pulse skip.
"You really have no idea what you do to me," he said softly.
Her breath caught. "Ren…"
He took a small step closer, his voice lowering. "You drive me crazy, Noelle. You show up, smile at me like that and expect me to just walk you home like nothing's happening."
Her heart thudded against her ribs. "And what's happening?"
For a moment, neither moved. Then, before she could blink, his hand came up to her cheek. His touch was gentle, but his eyes were anything but. He leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath.
"This," he murmured.
The kiss was slow at first, searching, unsure, then deeper as the restraint began to crumble. Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, and he responded instinctively, his arm curling around her waist. The world tilted. The air thickened. Every breath between them felt stolen.
"You don't even know," he murmured, his voice low, rough, reverent. "How much I want you."
Then he kissed her again. Slow at first, savouring, then deeper, hungrier, until it felt like he was pulling the very air from her lungs and giving her something far more intoxicating in return.
Every time she thought the kiss had reached its peak, he pulled back just a fraction then met her again, harder, fuller, until she was dizzy, lost, undone.
And all the while, his hands held her steady, as though he'd never let her fall.
Ren pressed his forehead against her chest for a heartbeat, just breathing her in, steadying himself. His voice was low, strained, almost ragged.
"You have no idea what you do to me."
When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard, faces still close, foreheads nearly touching.
Ren's voice was low, roughened with everything he was holding back. "You should go in before I forget I'm supposed to let you."
Noelle couldn't find her voice. She just nodded, her lips still tingling.
He smiled, faintly, almost ruefully as his thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. "Go, before I change my mind."
She took a step back, then another, her heartbeat still stumbling out of rhythm. At the door, she turned once more. He was still there under the streetlight, watching her with that unreadable expression.
Ren lay on his bed that night, staring at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come — not after the way she'd looked at him before slipping inside her door, her lips still red from his kiss, her breath catching like she wasn't quite ready to say goodbye.
He rubbed a hand over his face, groaning softly. The memory of her pressed close to him, the warmth of her fitting him like a glove was impossible to shake. Noelle always tried to blend into the background with her oversized tops and quiet grace but Ren knew better. No one else but him got to see her lustful expression, something magnetic that drew him in without her even trying. He remembered the look in her eyes, that mix of hesitation and trust, of wanting and restraint. Every little expression played back in his mind: the slight parting of her lips when she breathed his name, the tension that melted from her shoulders when she gave in to the moment.
And now he couldn't stop replaying every second of their walk home, filled with her laughter, her teasing, the way her fingers had trembled slightly before curling around his shirt.
He shut his eyes, a helpless smile tugging at his lips. Ren tilted his head back against the wall and laughed under his breath, half in disbelief, half in frustration. Noelle had this way of undoing him completely without even realising it, with a mixture of wanting her and protecting her.
Ren sighed, turning over and burying his face in his pillow. Tomorrow, he'd see her again. Pretend everything was normal. Pretend he wasn't still burning from a single goodnight kiss.
As he stepped into the shower, he started relieving himself of his desire while stroking his manhood. He shut his eyes, trying to breathe evenly, but the ache in him only deepened. His body remembered every moment, every sound she made, the way she'd looked at him and that memory alone unravelled his restraint. With her name caught between his breaths and the restless heat of wanting something both forbidden and inevitable, he released his frustrations violently.