Numbers

Chapter 1

"Dad! I'm late. Where are the car keys?" Naomi shouted up the stairs. When no one responded she pulled out her phone to dial her best friend, Chealsee. "Sup babe." Naomi heard after the third ring. "Any chance you can pick me up from my house?" She heard Chealsee sigh, but she agreed and promised to be there in five minutes. "Never mind dad, Chealsee's coming to get me!" Her father walked out of the back hallway and rested his arm on her shoulder. "Have a great senior year, bunny." Naomi smiled. "I have a gift for you!" Mr. Marvin, her father's husband, walked out of the kitchen. "Ooh, what?" She bounce up onto the first step. "You've always got gifts." Her father sighed, fearing Naomi would always depend on other people for things. "But it's her senior year, love. She deserves concert tickets." Naomi screamed at his statement. "I mean, it's not like I got her front row tickets with backstage passes to see Twenty One Pilots or anything. Oh wait, I did." Naomi threw her arms around her step dad, and then he proceeded to hand her two tickets and two backstage passes.

"Nicholas Jedidiah House, guess what!" Naomi ran into her busy high school. "Naomi, child, calm yourself." She rested her arm on his shoulder to catch her breath. "Twenty One Pilots tickets, you're coming with me." He wrapped his arms around Naomi's waist, picked her up, and spun her around. "That's not even the best part. Mr. Marvin bough me back stage passes as well." Nick put Naomi down a stood in the middle of the hall with a toothy grin. "Are you saying we're going to meet the Joshua Dunn?" Naomi nodded enthusiastically. Coming from behind Nick, Naomi saw Chealsee. "Babe, I know you don't care but Mr. Marvin bought me tickets to see Twenty One Pilots." Chealsee sighed, she and Thomas didn't have the same taste in music as Nick and Chealsee. "You know, things were so much simpler when you tried to go main stream in like, sixth grade." We all laughed, then started walking to class.

There was a knock on the door of Naomi's first hour physics class. It's Thomas, she thought to herself. To no surprise, seconds later the mop-topped boy tripped into the classroom. All of the contents of his folder were sprawled out across the class room floor. Naomi kneeled down on the floor to help pick up the mess. "Nice one, ass-wipe." He smirked at Naomi's comment.

"Your hair is a mess today, as per usual." Nick observed as we all met up at our usual table for lunch. "Well, it's just my unique personality showing through." "Ass-wipe." Naomi mumbled under her breath. "I heard that dick-face." Naomi stuck out her tongue as a response. "You two are the cutest couple!" Nick leaned their shoulders. "Hey everybody! Vote Thomas and Naomi for cutest couple at the end of the year!" Nick stood on top of the table and shouted across the entire cafeteria. No one seemed to be listening but, a few choice words were shouted back. "What are you talking about? You're the one who married her in kindergarten. I'm more of a Chealsee type guy." Thomas leaned over and gave Chealsee a sloppy kiss on the cheek. She wiped it off with a faux-disgusted look on her face.

"So when exactly is the night all of our dreams will come true." Nick piled himself on top of Naomi's bed. "September twenty-second. Seven o'clock." He rolled over onto her legs. "You know what tomorrow is..." Naomi half ignored him as he blabbed. "Um, it only going to be the thirteen year anniversary of the day all four of us met." Naomi chuckled at his enthusiasm from behind her computer screen. "Nine five zero two." He repeated over and over until Naomi shut her laptop. "Let's go skate boarding." She declared. They rushed to the back door and grabbed their skateboards on the way out. It was about a mile to the skate park, so it only took a few minutes to get there. "Let's stop for beverages." Nick suggested, then pulled into the parking lot of a convenient store.

"Hey Nai!" The store owner greeted Naomi. She used to walk down to the store almost every day with her dad when she was younger. The employees were basically her second family. Naomi nodded, then made her way to the back of the store. She picked out two Calypso Lemonades, a peach and a berry. "Three fifty eight." The cashier read off the register. Naomi handed him a five and took her change. Once they were outside, Naomi handed Nick his peach lemonade. "You always know what I want... Nai." He laughed at the nickname the owner gave me. "Don't even. It's better than the ones me and Thomas give each other." He laughed. "Yeah, true, dick-head." He quoted the way Thomas had been addressing her all day.

"So, do you know any tricks?" Some boy, who also happened to have the number 9502, had been chatting up Naomi for ten minutes now. "No, I penny board. It's not really built for tricks." She tried to sound respectfully uninterested. "Well, I can show you a few if you want." She nodded as the boy started to skate. "I can show you a few if you want." Nick mocked. He then proceeded to roll around on the ground as if he were talented. "Get up loser."

"Do you remember when we got married?" Nick asked as they sat at the top of the largest ramp at the park. The park was mostly cleared out, since it was almost dark. Naomi rested her head against his shoulder. "Vaguely." She replied. "Chealsee put a bunch of grass in your hair and you wouldn't stop sneezing." They laughed at the memory. "And that was the day I learned that I was allergic to grass. Maybe that's what my number stands for, the day I learned something that could potentially save my life." Nick shrugged. "I like to think of it as the day that my life changed for the better." Naomi adjusted herself so that she was lying down and had her head in Nick's lap. "Isn't that sweet, you nostalgic bastard." He smirked. "Hey, you're the best thing in my life right now. What do you think the numbers stand for?" Naomi shushed him. "Watch the sunset. Don't worry about it."

_____

"Naomi Leia Thorn, wake yourself up." Naomi was shook out of her slumber by none other than her 'best friend.' "Shut up Nick." She mumbled and rolled over. "Come on, we have to get to school early for rehearsal." Naomi immediately rolled out of bed at the reminder. "We do!" She shoved Nick out of her room so she could get dressed. "Nice outfit." Naomi walked out of her room wearing an oversized Green Day shirt and jean shorts. She smiled back sarcastically at him. "No, seriously. Nice shirt." She smiled for real this time. They proceeded down the stairs so Naomi could grab her bag, then they left the house.

"How did you even get in my house?" She queried from the passenger seat. "Your dad let me in. Plus, you showed my where you keep the spare key in fifth grade." Naomi looked out the window, surprised at her surroundings. "This isn't the way to school." She stated. "Um, construction on Lincoln?" Nick said, unconvincingly. "Seriously, bro." Nick knew she was serious, she only called him 'bro' when she was serious. "Just wait and see. I swear you'll love it."

They pulled into the almost empty parking lot of St. Joseph's Church. She saw Chealsee's car across the lot. "Chealsee's here?" Naomi asked. "Yuppers." They stepped out of the car and headed to the back entrance. Once Naomi was inside, she saw Chealsee draped over her boyfriend, Kendall. Thomas was leaned up against a wall, chatting up some girl.

"The gang is all together." Nick shouted, startling Naomi. "Mhm. Time to get this anniversary started." Naomi shook her head in disapproval. "You guys are like white dads."