It won't keep us apart

Chapter 3: Thinking out loud

A/N: Ignore the fact that Noah's solo in the vid above is related to voting him out

~ONE DAY LATER~

"Something's different now

I'm just thinking out loud

And I try to be cool

But my feelings keep pulling me down." 

Noah's POV

My mind is still reeling about how bitterly Richelle reacted when I tried to talk to her. I've given her some space to think and I'm going to get back to her soon. Regardless of that rough patch we went through, she can't keep her feelings all to herself. I get myself up from bed and throw on a top, a grey hoodie and black tracksuit pants. My parents have already left for work, so I'm all alone. I grab an apple from the kitchen downstairs, and I head outside to my car.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm at the studio. I've decided to go dance in Studio One to clear my mind. It's the only way to empty my head of all the worries that have been troubling me lately. My worries slowly ease out of my mind as I move my way around. I push all my emotions into my dancing and do some acro and turns. Puffed, I sit down on the floor in the middle of the studio.

I hear footsteps in the background, but I'm honestly not bothered to get up yet.

I turn around and I see Jacquie running towards me. I lift myself up, eager to see her again. After greeting her, I take her into my embrace. Giving her a peck on the lips, I grin at her.

"So, what were you doing here today?" Jacquie asks me brightly.

I pull myself away from her. "Well, I just needed to go somewhere to clear my mind and I decided to come dance here."

She looks at me curiously. "And is everything alright?"

"Hey, I'll tell you later?" I raise my hands in surrender.

Jacquie nods, looking unsure on what to say next.
"How about we go grab lunch down at the café across the road?" I suggested. "After all this, I'm feeling hungry."

She agrees with a smile. So I take her hand and together we walk to the café. 

Jacquie's POV

It's great that Noah and I are hanging out after our last date that kind of went downhill for him. Here, I order a chicken salad and he chose a grilled beef wrap. We sit down at a table together. The café is actually quite busy right now, but I'm glad we got a table as soon as we came in. Waiters and waitresses buzz around us, trying to deliver orders to customers as quickly as possible. My eyes wander and then I look back at Noah. His eyes have wandered off in another direction. I snap my fingers in front of his eyes. 

Startled, he flinches. I giggle. "Noah! You're back!"

Noah knits his eyebrows together. "Um, Jacquie? What are you talking about?"
Aww Noah's cute when he's clueless. I cheekily smile at him. "Well, if you were listening, you'd know." 

He rolls his eyes at my cheeky response. "Come on Jacquie," he groans impatiently.

A waiter places our plates down on the table. The mouth-watering waft of chicken fills my nose when I inhale. Wow, I can tell it's going to taste good.

"Enjoy," the waiter says, and then departs.

Before Noah says anything, I quickly grab my fork and start eating my salad. He can question me some other time. Noah takes a bite out of his wrap, chewing thoughtfully.

I point to his wrap. "Is it good?"

He nods absently. I frown at Noah. Seems like he's not here in a way. He doesn't see to talk as much as he usually does. Seriously, what is on his mind? I'm not sure how to ask him what's really on his mind without offending him.

Placing my fork down, I peer at him. "Noah."

He tilts his head at me. Let's just get straight to the point, shall we? He can't keep dodging my questions.

"So, what's up with you today?"

"I. Uh... I honestly don't know," Noah shrugs.

"There's more to it than nothing," I say, leaning forward in my seat.

Noah sighs. "I'm serious that I've got no clue Jacquie. Maybe I should head home and get some rest?"

I fiddle with my hair. "Sure it isn't about someone else?"

He nods. "Yes Ri-"

Noah hurriedly shuts his mouth, looking extremely flustered. His face is as red as a tomato. Feeling shocked, I lean back into my chair. Is my hearing okay? He didn't do that just then...

He was that close to calling me Richelle. Excuse me, I'm his girlfriend, so I'm sure he should know better.

"I-I'm so sorry Jacquie. Sometimes I say the weirdest things without realising it until it's out of my mouth," he runs his hand through his hair.

I shrug and give a half-hearted grin. "You sure do."

He guiltily drops his eyes back to his food and continues to eat. I decide that I should finish my salad too. A curtain of silence hangs over us as we finish up our lunch. I hear a chair scrape across the floor as it's being pulled back. I look up to see Noah out of his chair.

"Oh, I gotta go now. Sorry Jacquie," he says hurriedly as he looks at his watch.

I arch my eyebrow at him, puzzled. "Do you wanna get something sweet?"

"Nah. We can something another time. I'll go pay for us at the counter, yeah?"

I simply nod and he walks over to the counter to pay. After placing my fork down on my empty plate, I sink back into my thoughts. So, he almost calls me Richelle. Then tries to leave early and he doesn't want to get a slice of cake to share with me? He seems so different ever since our last date a couple of nights ago. I wonder whether something's changed about me: maybe that could be the case.

"Jacquie."

A hand comes into my view and my eyes trail up his arm to his face. He's back with me now. I clasp Noah's hand and he pulls me up from my chair. Noah tells me that we should go now. We make our way out of the café, weaving through the rows of tables and chairs. Once we're outside, he pulls me into a big hug. I rest my head on his chest and he kisses my forehead.

"Later Jacquie. Love you," he whispers.

"Love you too Noah," I reply as he pulls away.

Noah crosses the road with me back to the studio. Then he gets into his car. After one last wave to me, he drives off.

A/N: Yeah, about this chapter, it was pretty much all about Noacquie. Sorry guys!

However, Noah's distracted on his lunch date. What did you think when Noah was close to calling Jacquie Richelle? I must admit that I actually didn't really like Noacquie as a couple in Season 5, but Season 6? I found things were much better between the two.

This is my longest chapter so far in this story, but I'm not sure whether to keep up this length when writing chapters.

Oh, one final thing: the lyrics at the top of the page? I felt like adding them in as a foreshadow I guess, but from this chapter onwards, I might add lyrics at the beginning. Well, you'll see if I do :)