things we did when no one was looking

the one with the date

I spend the next day in total fear of what I'm about to do as Max throws outfit after outfit out of my closet, giggling like a little kid who learned a huge secret he's not supposed to spill. "My best friend, MY best bitch has a date with the one, the only, Noah Aiden Thurman- today!" 

The image of Noah's grin after I agree to one date keeps playing through my head, the way he stuttered through telling me he'd text me what time he'd pick me up tomorrow, tomorrow being today. And that fucking strand of hair that keeps falling into his forehead. Groaning, i turn onto my stomach to bury the blush coating my cheeks in my pillows. "This was a horrible idea, maybe I should just tell him I'm sick or that I have to study for my test, which isn't a lie, but-" 

Max cuts me off by throwing a dress at me. "Go get dressed, you're not chickening out on the opportunity to get the guy of your dreams just because your brother's cock blocking." 

"What am I doing?" Will sticks his head into my room, an eyebrow raised in confusion. 

"Uh, you're cooking dinner this Sunday, right?" Max saves meticulously, and Will nods. "What's up?" 

"Uh, I'm going out with Teresa again tonight, so just wanted to remind you guys to stay safe and lock the doors, okay?" I nod, a pit of guilt building up in my stomach as he smiles and leaves. I'm happy he's going out with this girl that obviously makes him happy. I just wish I wasn't double-timing him behind his back. 

"Dress." Max reminds me, filing through my nail polish collection. 

The dress is mustard yellow with thin straps and ties off around the waist. It's patterned with small white baby's breath and ties off with a bow in the back. Slipping into a pair of white converse, I sit on my bed and let Max paint my nails a peachy nude. Downstairs, the door shuts, signaling Will's absence in the house. "Listen," Max sighs, sensing all my worries about tonight. "He plays around, I'm admitting this. But- and don't interrupt me, I think he really does genuinely like you. He's never been serious with a girl before, so the fact that he's willing to try it out and go steady with you probably means a lot. Take it from someone who's had more hookups than boyfriends. And Will- yeah, there's the no hooking up rule, but I'm positive that deep down, there's nobody he would trust you with more than Noah. You're both consenting adults so if you want to date him, date him." He finishes the last nail and sets the bottle down, taking out a top coat bottle. "But if you don't want him after tonight, let me know that I have your permission to jump his-" 

"Max!" I push his shoulder and we dissolve into laughter, impending doom forgotten as he finishes my nails. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Who doesn't?" I'm about to slap the back of his head when the doorbell buzzes. "Oh god, oh fuck, he actually rang the doorbell, oh fuck, oh no, mamma mia here we go again-" 

"Stop freaking out, if you freak out, I freak out!" Looking in my vanit mirror, I fix my hair and compose myself, taking a deep breath as Max goes down to open the door. 

"Hey Noah.....yeah, she's upstairs, hold on.....RONNIE, NOAH'S HERE!" Thank god from Max Johnson. When I walk downstairs, Noah's standing by the door, tapping hit foot nervously. I almost smile at his nerves. One hand's holding a bouquet of orange tulips and the other's running through his hair as he takes a deep breath. 

He sees me as I walk down the stairs and grins. "You look great." he holds out the flowers, looking me up and down. "These are for you, I didn't know what kind you liked but the lady in the store said tulips were good." 

"You look great too," i compliment and it's not a lie. He's wearing ripped jeans and a tan hoodie under a jean jacket. And he makes it look like it's designer. "And thanks for the flowers, they're beautiful." 

"I'll get these in some water," Max offers, giving me a wink as he disappears. 

"So let's go?" 

"Where are you taking me, rockstar?"  

"It's a surprise, Miss Ryder," he smiles as he opens the door in a sweeping bow. "Shall we?" Noah's car is- not his car? I give him a look of confusion as I look at the Dodge pickup that's replaced his fancy red sports car, and he explains as he opens the foor for me. "It'll make more sense later, but I swapped cars for the night with a buddy." 

He plays The Rolling Stones on the radio as we head downtown. After a while, he pulls a red light and sighs. "Alright, in all honesty, I'm really nervous tonight if you couldn't tell." 

"Don't worry," I sigh and look at him with a sort of empathetic smile. "So am I." 

"Probably for different reasons. I'm worried that this will go bad and-" 

"And I'm worried that this will go good. Let's let the night go on and see who's got more to worry about." He smiles back and takes my hand, lacing his fingers through mine as he keeps his left hand on the wheel.  

The night's dark as we drive under the streetlights, and we watch each other. I notice his little mannerisms. He squeezes my hand and closes his eyes at every red light, when someone's driving slow he runs a hand through his hair. If I look away, he looks at me, and when I look back, he smiles and looks back at the road. He mouths along to the radio but doesn't sing, fingers tapping on the wheel. He's nervous. We talk about New York, the summer, college, law school, movies, everything. 

"Alright, we're here," he says and I have to lean forward to be greeted by the pleasant surprise of the Drive-In around the corner. 

"Drive-In movie for the first date? Isn't that a bit corny?" 

"What can I say, I'm a corny guy." Pulling back in reverse into the theatre, he jumps out and I follow. Out of seemingly nowhere, he's pulled a bunch of blankets and pillows and suddenly the pickup makes more sense. "Now you see, a Mustang wouldn't be the most comfortable place if I were trying to do this." God, I'm terrified. My heart's beating a mile a minute as I climb into the back of the pickup, Noah joining with a large picnic basket. When he sees the shock on my face, he laughs. "What?" 

"Nothing, I just- where the hell are you hiding this shit?" He just laughs and puts a finger to his lips. The screen lights up and the opening credits of The Shining begin to roll. "I'll hand it to you, rockstar," I sigh as I snuggle back into the blankets, Noah passing me a bag of Taki's, which he knows are my favorite. "You're got good movie taste." 

"Well I was going to go for The Silence of the Lambs, but I thought that's more of a second date thing.." My face flushes as I look back at the screen, shaking my head lightly and he laughs. 

Halfway through the movie, he yawns, stretching my arms and I roll my eyes. "Just do it." I can feel the smirk on his face as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer as the Overlook Hotel plays on the screen, little Danny Torrance on his Big Wheel. I lay my head on his shoulder. Maybe this isn't that bad, I think with Max's pep talk going through my mind. 

***

"So, not bad for a first date, huh?" He asks as we pull up in front of my place. It's well past midnight and I'm exhausted, but I still smile as I reach over to squeeze his hand. 

"Not to overinflate your ego, but yeah, you did good." He grins and laces his fingers through mine again. 

"So who do you think's got more to fear?" Noah sighs as I look down in my lap. "I really like you, V. And I'm willing to take the risk with Will if it means I can show you that I'm serious."

"And what if it doesn't go good? What if we break up and things become horribly awkward or Will finds out and you two fight and you have to choose between your best friend and-" He leans over the handbrake and kisses me softly, effectively shutting me up. 

"Just stop thinking for a minute and say you'll risk it with me." 

And with the looming force of Max Johnson on my shoulder, I nod and kiss him back with just as much softness, as if he's a porcelain doll that could shatter any moment. 

And that is what we are, really. Dolls, and if we make one wrong move, we'll smash. But I still kiss him in the dark pick up, his lips tasting like coke and cigarettes. It's almost addictive. 

When I shut the front door behind me, the house is dark. Max is asleep on the couch, and Will's probably still at Teresa's. 

noah- goodnight, v