White Noise // Noah Sebastian

21.

"Noah!...Noah! Please, please, please don't leave." Those words spewed out of my mouth as I frantically tried to get Noah to stop packing his bag. This was chaos.

"Noah, please!" I yelled once more, chasing him down the hall as he stormed away, he stopped in his tracks and turned to me, I could see the flames in his eyes burning into my tearful ones.

  "Really? Because you told me that he tried to kiss you. That's not what I heard, or read. I've seen the picture Avery, the article, it's everywhere. You are giving him fuck me eyes and everything!"

  "That's not fair, Noah! You were with that girl Molly that night and were 100% going to take her home." I poked him in the chest. "He tried to kiss me and set me up, someone else took those photos and he wrote that article. So if you don't believe me and believe everyone else then so be it. Fuck you, Noah." I spat. He looked at me in the eyes, still fire but a little bit of hurt, but what I'm saying is the truth.

  Noah turned around and marched out the door, slamming it. I turned around rubbing my eyes to only see Ruffilo appear from his bedroom. I immediately felt embarrassed but broke down in tears and made my way to the couch.

  Nick sat down next to me and rubbed my back. "He'll be back Avey. Do you want to talk about it?"

I removed my hands from my face and met Nick's gaze. "He doesn't believe me and won't listen Nick. Marcos twisted everything, everything.
Trusting Marcos was a mistake, and could cost me everything." Marcos had this plan to get me to kiss him that night at the party. We had taken some nice photos earlier that night by another crew member I am not familiar with.

When we were at the bar this person snuck more photos of us talking, being close to one another, almost kissing. An "unknown source" just decided to leak an article about me dating Marcos right after Noah and how I was flaunting it in his face and using Noah. Every twisted thing he could put in that article to pin me against Noah, he did.

"Nick, I cannot lose Noah." My chest was starting to tighten and my heart is about to beat out of my chest. "Hey.." He got closer and pulled me into his side. "You're not going to lose him. He's just confused right now. Let's get you to bed, everything is going to be okay. For the record, I believe you."

Nick believing me put me at a little bit of ease. I'm disgusted with myself. I'm such an easy target, how could I let him do this to me? I deserve to have everything ripped away. Maybe everyone was wrong about this dream of mine.

I lied in my bed, doom scrolling. So many people have read this article and voiced their opinion about it, about me. I was at war, everyone v. me. It was 10pm at this point and I'm curled up in mine and Noah's bed with Binx and Jaxson at my feet, waiting for Noah.

The door slightly opened and I hoped it was Noah. To my disappointment, but surprise it was all of Ice Nine Kills, and Caleb. No one said anything, Caleb walked over to my bedside, yanked my covers off of me, and drug me out of bed.

"Caleb, what the fuck! I was comfy!!" Not having it, I whined and fought him but clearly he was not going to give up. He set me down on the couch and noticed there were snacks and blanket forts and we were set up for a scary movie night. I couldn't speak, just started crying. Spencer wrapped his arms around me tightly. "It's okay, Avey. We're going to get this all figured out. We all support and believe you. He's going to come back, he'd never just leave you." He pulled back and wiped a tear sliding down my cheek. I returned a sad smile to all of them. "Thank you for this guys."

"Anything for you, Avey." Pat chimed in. "What he said!" Ricky pointed to Patrick. "Where's Nadia?" I asked Spencer. "She said she'll be over in a little bit, finishing up some work, but she'll be here I promise."

Spencer started up Candyman on the tv. All of us were too into the movie to notice Noah slide through the front door, everyone but me that is. I was leaning into Caleb's side for comfort when I noticed Noah glancing at me from the kitchen. I could tell he's still angry and probably not happy with what's going on in his living room, he'll get over it. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and marched to his bedroom, slamming the door causing everyone to flinch.

A little later, Candyman has ended and Ricky, Pat and Joe are asleep, leaving Spencer, Caleb and I bullshitting about anything other than Noah. The front door slightly opened followed by Nadia peaking her head in.

"Hi babes!" She whispered, running in to give me a long tight hug. "What about me?" Spencer pouted. "Hi honey." Nadia smiled and gave him a quick kiss, turning her attention back to me. "C'mon, let's go." She took my hand and made our way to the spare bedroom. I groaned, "What is with people dragging me around today?"

-
The next morning I woke up, feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I could hear commotion and remember everyone crammed into the townhome for breakfast. I rolled out of bed in my olive green tank top and black running shorts, my hair in an unbrushed bun and mascara tear stained down my cheeks. I didn't give a fuck who saw me like this.

I made my way down the hall to the kitchen, being greeted by the smells of bacon, eggs, and sausage. There was even a quiche and fruit, my favorite breakfast of all time. "Good morning." Everyone chirped in unison, except for Noah as soon as I entered the room. They were clearly discussing the situation beforehand.

I fixed a plate and took a seat between Nadia and Caleb, of course right across from Noah. I will not breakdown, I am staying strong and will stand by my innocence. The tension had become increasingly thick. Noah and I just stared at each other while eating, challenging one another to say something, making it extremely awkward for the rest of the group.

"I think I'm going to walk to the coffee shop and grab my own coffee, thanks INK and Caleb, Nadia. Love you guys." I rushed, grabbing my phone and wallet. "I'll come with you!" Nadia jumped up. "I would really rather go alone. Sorry, Nad." I didn't wait for her to respond, I quickly closed the door and soaked in the June sun as I walked to my favorite mom and pop coffee shop.

"Good Morning, sweetheart." Carol greeted me at register. Carol is an older woman who runs the shop with her husband, Richard. They have been married for 50 years and we have become fond of each other.

"Good morning, Carol. Hi Rich!" Rich appeared from around the counter and gave me a sweet hug. "Hi honey, how are you?" He had a look in his eyes. "Y'all saw the article, didn't you?" I questioned. "We may be old but we're not dead sweetie. Noah loves you so much and you will work it out. Don't listen to those people. Here's your usual, on the house." I grinned, tears wanted to form but I pushed them back down. "So sweet, you guys are the best." I still put 5 dollar bill in the tip jar and sinking into my chair.

  I picked up my sweet cream cold brew and made my way to a table, not helping myself but diving into this article again

   I can see a couple of fans notice me and whispering, probably about the article. I rolled my eyes and went back to the article. I know I shouldn't dwell on this, but this could cost me a lot. I just want this nightmare to end.
.

"Oh, hi Noah!" I froze hearing Carol's sweet voice greeting Noah. Of course he's here. I sat and stared at my coffee waiting for him, knowing I was not getting out of this.

I may or may not have started writing a sequel. This story is not quite over yet, but there's so much more to tell in another story. 💖