𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 ☾ 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

eight

noa's first party

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The sun had set over the Swan household hours ago and with the darkening of the sky came New Year's Eve. Charlie was out, with this particular holiday being one of the only times most, if not all, of the police staff were needed in office and in the field. He left with the promise of his return just after dawn in return for their promise to stay inside on what he referred to as the most dangerous night of the year.

Bella gave no comment and Charlie knew it was futile to even mention it to her as she hadn't left the comfort of her room in hours, and Noa offered him a quick nod of her understanding before returning to her novel under the safety of her quilt while she sat perched on the couch.

Charlie hadn't even been gone for an entire hour before there was a few rhythmic knocks at the door that let Noa know that her uncle hadn't forgotten anything in his quick haste to get to the station and someone else was begging to be let in as they continued their patterned knocking. The dark haired teen abandoned her book and quilt on the old couch and made her way over to the foyer where she could see Quil, her cousin, pressing his face quite childishly into the sidelight window next to the door, his cheeks red from the late December cold.

Noa rolled her eyes but opened the front door, surprised to see not only Quil standing on the doorstep but Embry, Jacob, and Seth as well. She smiled at the four boys, beckoning them in quickly with a promise of hot chocolate to warm them up. Seth took his time, allowing the boys to enter first while he lingered by the front entry way, his boyish face adorned with a grin that Quil chided was "stupidly moronic" as he waved at Noa, closing the front door behind him and successfully cutting off the cold breeze that swept into the warm house.

While the boys argued over the lack of chairs and who-got-what-seat, Noa stole a quick kiss to Seth's cheek, trying her hardest to suppress the laugh that threatened to spill out and over at the sight of his blush. She followed after the boys with Seth so close behind he nearly ran into her backside when she stopped at the head of the small dining table, mumbling about how she'd have to find one to fit them all comfortably sooner than later, while Embry pulled up a chair with a shrug.

She made quick work in the kitchen to prepare the hot chocolate, with Seth somehow knowing exactly where the bag of half eaten marshmallows were right beside her, digging into the bag and ignoring the displeased sounds from his friends, begging for a serving of their own. "It's not safe for you all to be driving so late, especially on New Year's Eve. Charlie says there's more car accidents on this one night than the town gets the entire year...besides the Fourth of July," she told them with a frown as she poured herself a cup before doing the same for each of them, her and Seth choosing to stand near one another while the boys huddled around the small table.

Jacob offered her a look of understanding, with Noa trying her hardest not to emit a single shred of pity in her gaze as she looked at him, knowing he'd hate it. She knew his mother had been taken from him young, by a drunk driver no less, and she imagined these holidays were hard for him. She wondered how they'd convinced him to drive all the way over from the Rez. She didn't feel comfortable asking so, she slowly sipped her hot chocolate, watching the boys fight over the bag of marshmallows.

"And miss one of the biggest parties of the year, fuck no," Quil scoffed, chasing a particularly large handful of marshmallows with a long gulp of hot chocolate and ignoring Noa's raised eyebrow at his use of foul language. "It's one of the only nights a year that us and the pale faces get along, getting shitfaced on the beach and cross mingling with one another. Last year, I even got to second base with a senior girl."