UNRAVELED

5

The sun had barely started to rise, Dad was still asleep, so I grabbed my jacket and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. I walked down the quiet street, the cool breeze pushing a few strands of hair into my face. It was one of those mornings where everything felt sharp, clear, like something was about to happen but you didn't quite know that.

As I turned the corner into a part of the neighborhood with much nicer houses, something caught my attention. Voices. Raised, but muffled coming from one of the larger houses at the end of the street. I slowed down, curiosity getting the best of me. It wasn't like this neighborhood to have any kind of drama, so it stood out.

I glanced toward the driveway, where a sleek black car was parked, looked very familiar. And there, standing on the porch it was Noah. He was facing two people probably his parents, and even from a distance, I could tell something wasn't right. His posture was tense, and his voice carried frustration.

I couldn't make out everything there were saying, but the few words I did hear told me enough.

"you're never satisfied," Noah said, " It's never enough for you, is it?"

His mother said something back, but her voice was too soft for me to hear. Noah's father liked stern, arms crossed, but Noah didn't back down. it wasn't the same calm composed guy I'd seen before. there was an edge to him now, something raw.

Before I could decide what to do, Noah's eyes flicked toward the street, landing directly on me.

For a second I froze, caught in the awkward position of being an unintended witness to something personal

but Noah didn't look angry or embarrassed, instead his expression shifted, still intense, but softer. like he wasn't surprised to see me. He said something quietly to his parents, and without waiting for a response, he turned and walked down the steps, heading straight toward me.

My heart raced as he closed the distance between us, his face unreadable but the movements confident. I thought he might yelled at me for not minding my business, but when he reached me he just nodded in the direction away from his house.

"You want to get out of here?" he asked. his voice low, and tired. "I need to get away from here"

I blinked, surprise by how direct he was, but I nodded. "Yeah, sure."

We started walking, neither of us saying much at first. The tension from the argument seemed to linger in the air, but I didn't push him to talk about it.

" You never told me your name," Noah said suddenly breaking the quiet. "But I asked around."

I raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on my lips. "You asked about me?"

he shrugged, glancing at me sideways "maybe."

We kept walking, and eventually, we ended up at a small park on the edge of the neighborhood. As we sat down on one of the benches, I noticed the tension in his shoulders was still there, but he seemed a little more relaxes.

"So you live here, that's actually insane because I've lived here all my life and I've never seen you around."

"Yeah, my dad's place is just a few streets over. I'm only here on weekends or during breaks.

Noah nodded "that makes sense, we've seen each other at school enough times, but I had no idea you were from here too"

"Do you want to talk about it?" I couldn't hold back.

Noah didn't respond right away. he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his jaw tight.

he let out a long sigh. "its the same thing every time," Noah said quietly, his voice rough around the edges. "they want me to follow this path they've laid out for me. Business, taking over my dad's company someday. But that's not me. it never has been."

I listen as he goes on, I could hear the exhaustion in his voice, like he'd been carrying this burden for a long time.

"what makes it worse," Noah continued, his tone bitter. "is that my brother's got it all figure out, he's the golden child. Successful, rich, owns his own company, and they couldn't be prouder of him."

I stayed quiet, letting him talk, trying to process everything. This was more than just a family argument- this was bout expectations, comparisons, and a lifetime of feeling like he couldn't measure up.

"It's always about him," Noah added, his voice dropping. "he's the one they point to whenever I try to do something different"

I nodded slowly my heart tightening at his words. "That must be so hard. feeling like you're always being compared to someone else."

noah glanded at me , his eyes softening slightly. "Yeah" Noah said

"so what do you want to do?" I asked gently, genuinely curious

he shrugged, his gaze drifting toward the ground. "I've always liked ideas. like creative stuff, writing maybe film. "

" That's amazing" I said way too loud than I had meant to

Noah leaned forward slightly, his voice low, almost a whisper. "that's amazing you think?" his tone was laced with disbelief but also curiosity, like he was trying to see if I really meant it.

"Yeah, I do" I said, my voice quieter now, matching the moment. "it's not easy knowing what you want, especially when everyone around you expects something different."

He stared at me for a long moment, and I could see something change in his eyes. The tension from earlier seemed to melt, but what replaced it was a different kind of intensity. He reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face, his fingers lingering a s second too long on my skin. the touch sent a spark through me, and I felt my breath catch in my throat.

" I don't usually talk about this stuff," Noah admitted. his hand still hovering near my face, his eyes searching mine. "but with you.. I don't know. it's different."

I couldn't look away, even though my heart was racing. I felt like we ere on the edge of something, something I wasn't sure I was ready for but couldn't pull away from either.

without another word, Noah moved closer, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, his fingers threading through my hair. the touch was gentle but firm, and it send a shiver down my spine. His other hand found its way to my waist, pulling me toward him.

"is this okay?" he asked, his voice rough, eyes dark with a kind of hunger I hadn't seen before.

I nodded, barely able to breathe. "Yeah" I whispered, may voice trembling slightly

that was all the confirmation he needed. In one smooth motion, he closes the distance between us, his lips crashing into mine. the kiss was anything but gentle- it was urgent, almost desperate, like he had been holding back for too long and couldn't any longer. his grip on my waist tightened, pulling me flush against him, and I felt the heat of his body, his strength, overwhelming me.

I kissed him back, matching his intensity, feeling like I was drowning in the sensation. his lips were soft but insistent, his hands roaming up my back, holding me closer, like he couldn't get en ought. every nerve in my body was on fire, my mind spinning, lost in the moment.

Noah pulled away just slightly, his forehead resting against mine, both of us breathing hard. his fingers grazed the side of my face, this thumb tracing my lower lip. "you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he murmured.

I swallowed hard still catching my breath. "then why didn't you?" I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest

he smiled, but it was a little crooked, like he wasn't used to showing his side of himself. "maybe I was waiting for the right moment."

"and this is the right moment?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

his eyes darkened again, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. "it feels like it."

"I don't know what this is,"I said quietly not wanting this moment to stop. " but I don't want it to stop"

he looked into my eyes, " me neither" he whispered.

And in that moment, I knew things between shad changed, shifted in a way that couldn't be undone.