afterthought || d. wayne (2)

TWO

BEANZ CAFÉ
MAY 30TH
12:58 PM

"We don't have to do this," Noelle reminds for the umpteenth time since they met that morning. She gives Damian's hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it swing between them. "They'll understand, they know what you're going through."

"Both have texted their condolences," Damian says as they continue walking on the street.

"Okay?" Noelle frowns, furrowing her brows at him. "That doesn't apply to this." She steps in front of him, stopping the both of them in their tracks in the middle of the sidewalk. "We can turn around. If you're not ready, that's okay."

He eyes her for a moment. "When you were hit with the fear toxin, how long did it take for you to convince your parents to let you leave the apartment?"

Noelle frowns. "I don't know, a week? Homewrecker, this is very different—"

"If you can get over that toxin within a week, I can set aside my grief for a double date." Noelle opens her mouth, presumably to argue, but Damian's quick to interrupt. "I promised you a fun summer—"

"That was before everything happened." Noelle grabs both of his hands, ignoring the people shoving past them. "You don't have anything to prove and you don't have any promises to fulfill."

"It's been eleven days since the ceremony," Damian retorts, "and nearly a month since I watched him die. I'll be fine."

"Grief doesn't have a time limit," Noelle reminds gently. "We'll leave whenever you want. If you ever feel uncomfortable or dissociative, try to let me know."

Damian gives a small smile, though it seemed forced to Noelle. "I enjoy their company as much as you do. I'll be fine, King."

Noelle lets out a sigh, not entirely convinced, but she doesn't say anything else about it. "Alright, fine." She continues holding his hand when she faces the right way again and starts pulling him behind her. "Come on, we're late."

"Would've been on time if we didn't stop," Damian chimes, earning a pinch to the side. He follows her lead anyway, allowing them to make it to the end of the block before turning into the café.

It takes a few seconds for Noelle to find the two boys in the corner, but she smiles at the sight. Christian was already watching for them from their booth. He has to elbow a distracted Silas so he could smile and wave as well.

Before Noelle reciprocates the greeting, she gives a look to Damian. He doesn't seem as nervous or unwilling as she thought he would. In fact, he's giving a small wave back.

She can't help but bite the inside of her cheek, refraining from saying anything about it. He'll talk about it when he's ready, she tells herself.

They make their way to the booth in the corner, noting how Silas and Christian have already gotten the things they ordered.

"Noel, Damian," Silas greets, giving a bright smile to the two. "You guys made it."

"Yeah, we did." Noelle gives a tight smile. She takes the inside of the booth to sit across Silas, while Damian sits across Christian.

"Didn't think you would," Christian admits. He leans back against the booth, moving his dyed blonde hair out of the way before eyeing Damian. "You doing okay, man?"

Damian's smile went away the moment he sat, but it isn't uncharacteristic. However, these were different circumstances.

"Christian," Silas scolds. Noelle didn't expect Christian to be so blunt, and clearly Silas didn't either. The latter looks at Christian with wide eyes and a what-are-you-doing look, but Christian doesn't pay attention to his partner.