𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟒𝟔

"𝙰𝚗 𝙴𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺

"YOU COMING TO THE FOOTBALL GAME on Friday?" Parker asks Noah as they walk down the hallway.

"Yeah, 'course," Noah beams.

"I bet you're a football expert now from watching all the games," The boy jokes.

"Yeah, you better watch out, I might be able to beat you in a one-on-one," Noah giggles.

"No way!"

"You're underestimating my strength," Noah says and playfully punches Parker's arm.  The boy pretends to be in pain, making the girl laugh.

"So, tell me what's new," Parker suggests.

"Last night, I was reading this book and—"

"You know I don't read," Parker cuts Noah off, not wanting to hear about her book.

"Maybe it would help that tiny brain of yours," Noah jokes and shows a small smile.

"Reading is for boring people—" Parker groans.

"It's not," Noah states as her smile drops.

"You waste your time with books. Wouldn't you rather see the movie?" He asks.  Parker's face is serious and he seems to not be in the mood to joke around.

"No, I wouldn't," Noah replies, not sure what happened to their upbeat conversation.

"Whatever you say," Parker says as he rolls his eyes.

"Don't be like that," Noah snaps and looks up at him.

"Like what?"

"Cocky," She says in a snarky tone.

"I wasn't being—" Parker tries to speak as he puts his hand on her waist.

"Yeah, you are," Noah says and steps away from his reach, "I gotta go, I'll text you later," She adds and walks down the hallway alone.

—
ᴊᴇꜱꜱ

"Hey!" I chime as I walk up the bleachers to my friends.

"What's up, Chess?" Ronan asks before him and Tate give me a fist bump.

"Be careful, Mrs. Alred is in a bad mood today," I warn the boys about our math teacher.

"Ugh, great," Tate groans.

"Where's Noah?" I ask as I peer around at everyone.

"I don't know, she didn't answer my text," Liv shrugs.

I sit down with a frown on my face.

I never noticed it too much before, but I am an outsider in the group.  It took for Noah to come in for me to realize I don't have much in common with them.  Noah somehow is able to blend all of our personalities together and bring out the best in everyone.  I don't know how she does it, but she caters to everyone perfectly.

She brings out a brighter side to Liv; I've never seen her laugh so much.  She is the only person who willingly feeds into Ronan and Tate's antics.  Before Noah joined our group, Ronan and Tate were a duo.  Now, I see them more as individuals and their separate personalities.  God, she even has Parker falling head over heels for her.

"You okay?" Liv asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah!" I exclaim and try to pay attention.

For some reason, without Noah here, I don't even know how to fit myself into the conversation.