Falling for the Bad Brother//A Noah Flynn Story

Chapter 5

Lee's POV/ A few days later..

I walked into the house and was immediately struck by the eerie quiet.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out, glancing around the empty living room.

No response—until I heard hurried footsteps coming from upstairs. I turned just in time to see Elle and Ashley peeking their heads over the railing.

"Hey, Lee," Elle greeted, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Hey, Elle. What are you two doing here?" I asked, walking toward the stairs, already sensing something was up.

"We're planning something for Noah," Ashley chimed in, her eyes bright with excitement. "Is he on his way home from school?"

"Yeah, I think so," I replied. "I haven't seen him since French class, but I could text him if you—"

"No! Don't text him!" Elle interrupted, a bit too loudly. "We don't want him to get suspicious."

Before I could ask what exactly was going on, a car door slammed outside. I turned toward the front door, my curiosity piqued.

"Oh, shoot!" Elle whisper-yelled, her eyes wide with panic.

"We need to get upstairs—now!" Ashley grabbed my arm, yanking me up the stairs just as we heard the front door creak open. We barely made it into Noah's room, shutting the door behind us, before we heard his voice.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

I turned to the girls, still confused. "What's the big deal?"

Elle grinned, a spark of mischief in her eyes. "Ashley's going to sit here on the bed like everything's normal, and you and I are going to hide and scare the crap out of Noah. It's almost Halloween—why not have a little fun?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm in."

Elle and I scrambled into Noah's closet, shutting the doors just in time to hear him walk up the stairs. The faint rustle of his footsteps grew louder, and then we heard his voice again.

"Ashley? What are you doing here? I was just about to change and head to your place."

Elle stifled a giggle next to me, and I quickly covered her mouth to keep us hidden.

"I decided to stop by," Ashley said smoothly. "I was driving around and figured I'd wait here, but no one was home."

"Oh. Well, I was actually going to head to the beach. Do you want to come with me?"

"I don't have my bathing suit," Ashley replied.

"It's fine. I just wanted to walk. Clear my head after practice—Coach has been brutal the last few days."

Just then, Elle nudged me, handing me a can of silly string. I grinned as we both silently prepared, shaking the cans. Noah's footsteps approached the closet, and my pulse quickened. The second the door creaked open, we both jumped out, spraying him with silly string.

"Ahhh! Oh my god!" Noah yelled, covered in a web of colorful string. His shock quickly turned into laughter, and we couldn't help but double over, laughing until tears streamed down our faces.

"Surprise!" Ashley called from the bed, laughing along with us.

Noah wiped string from his face, still chuckling. "Did you plan this?"

"Maybe," Ashley said with a sly grin.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that," Noah said, his voice playful but threatening as he lunged for her.