Not gonna take it

Before anyone could react, Tony shoved Sarah hard with his other hand. She stumbled backward, tripping over her dress and falling to the floor with a cry.

Noah was already upset at being grabbed at and spoken to in such a disrespectful way by Tony, but seeing Sarah treated so cruelly by this drunken jerk was too much. In that moment, it didn't matter that she had dumped him, that heartbreak was momentarily forgotten. Without thinking, Noah drew back his arm, hurled his pretty, manicured fingers into a fist, and swung, catching Tony square in the jaw with a satisfying crack.

Tony sprawled backward onto the floor as the crowd was stunned. Noah stood in place, false chest heaving against the corset, his hand throbbing. Sarah's friends brought her to her feet, but it looked like she was more embarrassed than hurt.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Davis's voice boomed across the gym as he pushed through the crowd. Seeing Tony struggling to get back on his feet, his face darkened as he caught the unmistakable smell of ****.

"Anthony Martinez," Mr. Davis said coldly, hauling Tony to his feet. "Care to explain?"

Tony stumbled, unable to find his balance or his words. Mr. Davis shook his head as he dragged Tony away, Noah became acutely aware of all the eyes on him. His hand was starting to throb, as they lingered in silence.

Noah caught Sarah's eyes and she simply said, "Thanks," before she and her friends went to the bathroom together.

Jacob touched Noah's arm gently. "Are you okay?"

Noah looked down at his hand and all the stress and nerves bubbling inside him turned into laughter that escaped his red lips. Jacob was concerned by the response as Noah let it all out before turning to Jacob.

"I think I broke a nail," Noah chuckled.

Jacob didn't see the humor, instead, he cautiously took Noah's and looked at it, "We should put some ice on it."

"Why ahead of you," Courtney and Pari appeared holding a damp paper towel.

As Pari gently wrapped Noah's hand in the cold paper towel, the feedback from the DJ's microphone pierced through the tension lingering in the air.

"Alright, what a night it's been!" The DJ's voice boomed. "If you haven't cast your votes for Prom King and Queen yet, get those ballots in! Voting closes in 10 minutes!"

Students began migrating toward the DJ, the drama with Tony already becoming gossip fodder. Courtney shooed Jacob and Pari away with surprising authority. "Go vote, you two. I need a minute with our champion here." Jacob hesitated for a moment before going up to vote.

Once they were relatively alone, Courtney studied Noah's injured hand, "Doesn't look broken, but you should keep an eye on it."

Noah brought his hand in close, "Thanks."

Courtney studied his face in a way that was beginning to make Noah worried again, "I'm sorry I gave you a hard time earlier. If I had realized that you-"

Courtney stopped herself before continuing as if to second guess the sentence she was going to say. Instead, she told him, "I'm glad I got to meet you tonight, Noelle."

"Same," Noah replied nervously wondering if he heard her putting emphasis on the female name.