lovely | JJ Maybank

7

always be kinder than you feel

The sound of vibrating echoed through the silent room. It continued on and on until it stopped for a moment, but the silence only lasted a good thirty seconds before it began again.

Finally, Noelle was brought out of her slumber with the next echo of vibrations. She felt around until she grabbed the ringing phone, her eyes widening as she saw Sarah's name flash across the screen.

"Shoot!" She exclaimed, sitting up from her spot. Sliding her thumb across the bottom of the screen, she quietly exited the bedroom and walked down the hall. "Hello?" She asked quietly, holding her phone to her ear with both hands.

"Elle! I thought you were coming over?" Sarah immediately asked, "I've called you like a million times."

"Yeah, yeah I'm still coming over," Noelle quickly responded. She glanced back for a moment, "I just had a busy night and slept in."

"Busy night? Doing what?" Sarah asked, "Were you up all night practicing again? I mean you're already perfect at dancing as is, Ellie, I don't think you need to break yourself trying to practice for a show you've already got in your back pocket."

Noelle's first instinct was to deny it, but then she remembered her conversation with JJ the night before. They'd agreed to keep their friendship a secret, which meant she couldn't tell Sarah - despite her being her best friend.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I just got a little worried." Noelle shrugged. She'd let Sarah think that's what she'd been doing, even if it was the opposite.

"Well, I'm glad you got the part. I should've stayed to talk to you about it but Topper was rushing me to leave so I didn't get to make sure you got home safe. Sorry about that," Sarah apologized. "Sometimes Topper can be a little too much."

"No, you don't need to apologize. It's okay." Noelle softly smiled. She leaned against the wall, putting her weight against it as she twirled her hair between some of her fingers.

"I'm still sorry either way," Sarah mumbled. "Are you ready? Rafe and I can be there in like five minutes if you're-"

"No!" Noelle quickly exclaimed, cutting the blonde off. "I mean, I can be ready but I'm going to need more... time." Her eyes darted from her bedroom door to the floor in front of her, her cheeks going red at the thought of them showing up instantly.

"Yeah, no worries girl." Sarah laughed on the other end, "How long do you need?"

"Give me like an hour... and a half. Yeah. An hour and a half." Noelle nodded to herself, "I need to shower I'm like really gross and haven't showered."

"Will do. I'll let you go then so you can get ready, Rafe and I will be there then." Sarah chirped, "See you soon!"

Noelle didn't care to respond, quickly hitting the red button. She sighed as she held her phone close to her chest, shutting her eyes momentarily. She was a horrible liar, and she knew this, and the last thing she needed was for Sarah or someone else to catch her in such a random lie.

She took in a few deep breaths before making her way back into her bedroom. The moment she arrived she paused, looking at the boy who'd fallen asleep in her bedroom the night before.

JJ Maybank lay on the bean bag in her room, curled up as she peacefully slept. It wasn't the biggest bean bag, but enough to where he could curl up to it and fall asleep - which is exactly what he did. Noelle almost didn't want to wake him, but she knew she only had an hour and a half before Sarah and Rafe showed up at her house.