Lost and Found

21 | blake

The four of us end up in the living room, sitting and talking amongst ourselves. It takes a while for the tension in the air to diminish, though it does before too long. Noah and I move past the point of not being able to even look at each other, and conversation slowly strikes up. Soon enough, Noah and I are able to directly talk to each other, which is nice. I hadn't realized how much I missed having Noah as a part of my life until now.

Not that he's exactly back in my life, but even just having a few minutes to catch up with him is all the time I need.

"I can't believe it," Noah says almost inaudibly as he leans back, shaking his head as he smiles at Mia and Thorne. "Two of my closest friends are going to be married soon. Time really does fly, huh?"

"I think it's the opposite," Throne retorts. "Time seems to be moving too slowly. I'm ready for forever with you, Sunshine."

Mia blushes at Thorne's words, the two of them sharing a smile. "It is hard to believe it's really happening, though," Mia admits. "I mean, it feels like just yesterday I was in high school and Thorne was nothing but the boy who annoyed me in chemistry."

"Ouch, Sunshine," Thorne teases, mock-offended. "That's all I was to you?"

Mia rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean. It's just hard to wrap my head around how much has happened in so little time."

"I still remember the first time I met you two," Noah says, lost in thought. "Wells had invited me to this party, and Thorne brought you with him, Mia. I knew Thorne distantly through Wells, but I hadn't met you yet, Mia. You took care of me when I get wasted that night. And Thorne, you gave me some of the best advice I've ever heard when I started telling you about all of my problems. I don't know if I ever thanked you guys for that."

"No need to thank us," Thorne says, grinning.

"Yeah," Mia chimes in, flashing Noah a smile full of love and warmth. "We love you. You know we're here for you, no matter what."

I watch as Noah nods, his gaze drifting down to his hands. I almost want to ask him what he's thinking about, but then I remember that I don't have the right to ask about his personal business anymore.

"You know what I remember?" Mia says, stringing the conversation along. "The first time I met Blake. Thorne had disappeared on me to go visit Noah at his dad's repair shop, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. I'd had no clue Noah was dating anyone. When Blake showed up, I could hardly believe it. I was convinced you weren't real!" Mia laughs as she meets my gaze, her words making me think back on the memory.

"You weren't the only one," I add, turning to Noah as I tease, "I was surprised to find out Noah actually had friends."

Noah scoffs, rolling his dark eyes, though he's smiling. "Of course I had friends. I mean, have you seen me?" Noah playfully gestures to himself as if to say he's "all that", and I wonder why this has me blushing as I try to laugh.

"I'd been so close to telling you guys Thorne's real name," Mia continues, smirking over at Thorne as she brings up the subject. "If you're still wondering, it's—"

"Mia!" Thorne barks before Mia can finish her sentence, expression morphing from at ease to one of panic.

"Calm down," Mia says, hazel eyes gleaming mischievously, "I was only going to tell them that your name is—"

"Mia!" Thorne hisses, cutting her off once again. Mia laughs melodically, appearing satisfied with herself as she leans back on the couch, shrugging at me and Noah as if to say we're out of luck.

As the laughter subsides, I find myself studying Noah. I'm not sure what drives me to glance his way, but it's like I can feel his gaze burning into my skin. Sure enough, I turn to find Noah's dark eyes already on me.

I hold his stare for a moment, finding that it's suddenly hard to breathe. Just having Noah's gaze on me is still enough to get my heart racing like it's trying to run away from me.

"You know what else I remember?" Noah says, eyes still firmly locked on mine. "The first time I met you, Blake."

"I do, too," I manage to stammer, forcing a smile. "I was your tour guide your first day of school, remember?" I laugh softly as I think back to that day.

"It's different now," Noah muses, the intensity of his stare mixed with the heaviness of his words starting to get to me. I don't realize that Mia and Thorne must have wandered off at some point until I hear Mia's laugh coming from the kitchen. I'm forced to face the fact that I am now alone with Noah.

"What is?" I ask. Looking into Noah's eyes, I wonder why it feels different this time when I've done it so many times before.

"Everything," Noah mumbles. "Me. My family. This town. You."

His words stick with me for some reason. Maybe because I hadn't expected him to be so blunt. Or maybe because I know he's right—I am different—yet I suppose I assumed he wouldn't notice.

"Well," I murmur in response, "you know what they say. Everything changes."

"Right." Noah absentmindedly rubs his chin, expression far-off. He speaks so softly, the words are almost inaudible when he says, "I just wonder if it's for the better."

____

a/n: i am really hungry