𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟏𝟎

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡'𝐬 leg bounces as she looks out the tinted window in the backseat. She nervously rubs her palms against her pants as she tries to make them stop sweating. When the car pulls up to the restaurant, Noah takes a deep breath before an agent opens her car door. She steps out and walks up the sidewalk, heading to the doors of the restaurant.

After opening the door and stepping inside, she looks around and sees a table in the back corner. The breath she was holding releases as she sees her friends waiting for her. Her throat becomes soar as she feels a burning sensation from the sudden tears trickling out of her eyes.

Noah rushes over as Liv meets her halfway and they clash into each other's arms. Noah cries as Liv rocks them back and forth.

"I missed you so much," the redhead whispers.

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't be sorry," Liv cuts her off. "We can't even imagine what you're going through."

They pull away and Noah smiles as she looks into Liv's eyes. She turns to look at Parker and hugs him tightly. He mutters that he's missed her and he's sorry for her loss. Then, she feels a hand on her head before Tate pulls her into his arms and Ronan turns it into a group hug as he wraps his arms around both of them. When they release, Noah turns to see Brittany crying as she holds onto Clay's arm. When she realizes that it's her and Clay's turn, she embraces Noah tightly, not wanting to let her go.

"We're so sorry," Britanny says as she steps back to let Clay hug Noah.

Noah turns to Hailey, hugging her as well. She is surprised to see her there, but it means the world to her.

In the middle of a random restaurant, they've all created an intimate moment where they're reuniting with their friend. The hole that formed when she left is now whole again and all they want to do is take care of her.

"Hi, gorgeous," Jess says quietly as she wraps her arms around Noah's neck. "Happy birthday."

Noah smiles softly at the words and feels Jess kiss her cheek. She pulls away and looks deeply into Jess' eyes. The get-together was all her doing and Noah was hesitant at first, but she gave in eventually. And now she's glad she did.

"How are you?" the blonde asks. "1 day until 16."

"Better," Noah nods as everyone finds their seats at the table. Noah sits beside Jess and feels her hand on her knee.

"What do you wanna do?" Jess asks softly. "We can not talk about it and just have fun or we can all listen."

"I just want to hear everything I've missed," Noah says with a small smile. "I just wanna have fun with you guys. I want it to be normal."

Everyone smiles and looks around at each other. They seem to be hesitant to start the conversation, and no one really knows how to be normal. They all feel heavy for her and they can see how it's affected her. But, of course, Liv is the one to break the ice.

"So...we're not gonna mention the new red hair?" she asks and everyone looks at Noah, who laughs at the joke. Everyone laughs as they realize that Noah really does just want to be normal.