We Can Try - Audrey and Noah, Chapter 1

Chapter One

Audrey

It's two in the morning and I'm still wide awake. I've been tossing and turning for two hours now, but sleep still won't come. The first restless hour I blamed the cup of coffee I had at midnight. The next thirty minutes I blamed my lumpy pillow and the hot temperature of my room. But during the next half hour I finally allowed the truth to creep in...I can't sleep because I'm too busy thinking about Noah. The past few months whenever he looks at me I feel...different. I instantly feel the heat start spreading to my cheeks and my heart starts beating faster.

After the fallout with Emma, I didn't really have any close friends until I met Noah. We met and bonded over our love of film and horror movies and it was great. We started hanging out a lot and quickly became best friends. Noah wasn't judgey like all the other idiots at George Washington High. He liked my style, admired my wit, and matched my sarcasm. Noah made things feel okay again.

Then the murders started. Going through something like this changes you; none of us will ever be quite the same as we were before the murders. Everyone dealt with it in their own way; my way was to get angry. To sometimes push people away out of guilt or fear. But Noah understood. He knows me and knows how I deal with things. He knows that I'm tough and try to handle things on my own. He knows that it's hard for me to ask for help; that even though I'm strong and independent, I still need someone to be there for me. And he was. Noah was my rock.

But that's what best friends do, right? So why do I feel so weird around him lately?

Noah

It's Friday night and I'm currently going through my massive horror movie collection to try to narrow down the watch list for tonight. Audrey always comes over on Friday nights to hang and watch movies. It's been our ritual since about a week after we met, although the past two weeks she's blown me off. I didn't see her much at school today, but she text me earlier and said she'd be over later.

The door to my room swings open and Audrey walks in and throws her bag down on the floor.

"Hey."

"Hey." I said, wondering if I'm just imagining the tinge of awkwardness in the air.

The vibe between us has been different lately and I wonder if she senses it too.

"So, should we start with the classics first and then go for the newer-yet-slightly-tasteless movies last or the other way around?"

Audrey flops down on my bed and says, "Doesn't matter to me, you choose." She glances over at me but then quickly averts her eyes. She's acting so weird lately. Normally she would have definitely given her opinion about how you should always start with the classics first so that later you can realize how truly crappy the newer horror movies are. She's very passionate about that.

"Okay, um...how about Psycho first?"

"Sounds good."

I put the movie in and go sit beside her on my bed. Suddenly I'm a little nervous and very aware that Audrey's sitting right beside me. On my bed. In my empty house. With me. Which shouldn't feel strange; we've been here alone millions of times. I shoot a tiny glance in her direction and see that she is completely invested in the movie. Her legs are crossed, and she's leaning forward slightly with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on one hand. In the other hand she has a handful of popcorn, absentmindedly eating it while watching Norman Bates silently creep up on Marion Crane.