When it came to Noah, everything was put into a new perspective.
He didn't know how to take care of himself properly, he knew in different, less humane ways. Growing up on the streets meant he had a different coping mechanism to those who lived in a house. He got used to the feeling of being frozen, the feeling of starvation and fight or flight.
He wasn't used to comfort. He'd never had it so when Richelle came around, he felt strange. He'd never felt a sense of warmth before, only ever chills. It didn't make sense to him, the world didn't make sense to him. He had his mind set on everything being fight or flight, there was no one around to save you, only you. That's how his life had been.
When Richelle first took him in, he had some unusual habits. He didn't take the food from the cupboard, he didn't understand that it wasn't stealing. He never used Richelle's credit card, only spare change he found around the house; he thought using the card was stealing too, even with permission. He knew right from wrong, but he knew it all too well. He got himself into unnecessary trouble, but Richelle managed to take control.
He's finally become accustom to living in a house, having a friend and then having more than just a friend. A girlfriend. He's getting used to his new life, but some of the habits never went away. He always refuses to use Richelle's card, that is still stealing, but eating the food in the cupboards wasn't as long as he got permission. Richelle never finds it annoying, she finds it quite cute actually. He was and is unapologetically him and she loves it.
He never went to school, he never learnt anything. When she first met him, numbers and letters were completely foreign to him, but despite that he still knew how to speak fluently and what the words meant, he was just clueless about how things would look on paper. Richelle managed to teach him things relatively fast, but money is one thing he never wrapped his head around.
He understands the actual thing, you have to pay a certain amount to get a certain thing, but to him, everything is worth thousands of dollars. He didn't grow up with anything. No food, no water, no roof to live under. Many people would say a phone is worth more than water, it costs more, but is it morally? Does it keep you alive?
Despite not knowing all of that, he's always been able to read Richelle's emotions perfectly. He understands when she's mad, sad, happy, excited, nervous. No matter how hard she tries to hide it, he knows the signs. The way she twizzles her hair when she's nervous, the way she can't stand still when she's excited, the way her faintest smiles are often the realist.
Richelle grew up so different to Noah, she had access to education, food, water, electricity, family. She never realised how much everything was worth before she met him. He made her see everything in a new light, and now she appriciates every little thing in life, like the single word on the test.
~~~
"Noe." She whispers next to him in bed. She can't keep it in any longer, she's kept it a secret for weeks now. It's time.
"Yeah?" He asks, his voice slightly hoarse. He's tired. He wants to sleep, so badly, but Richelle can't keep this in any longer.
"I need to tell you something." She rises from her position on the bed, somehow finding a way to get out of Noah's grip.
"Where are you going?" He asks, watching her every move. She giggles. That's all she does. No answer, just a giggle.
He watches as she goes out of the room, shuts the door and then listens to where her footsteps are going. The lounge. He doesn't move though, she'll come back. And he was right. After a minute, she comes back into the room with a small wooden box in hand.
"I got you something." She says with a small smile tugging the corners of her lips. Noah sits up, his back against the headboard. She turns on the light so he'll be able to see.
