Family Friends- A Noah Schnapp Fanfiction

*twenty seven*

I finished telling the story of the night of Sadie Hawkins, and then I was sent back to the holding area. This time, however, Kathleen came too. After I walked back in, she held the door and looked out to everyone. "Thank you all for being so patient so far," she smiled. "Now, we want to speak with Julia, Noah, and Sam along with James." My heart dropped to my stomach and I could tell that Julia's and Noah's did as well.
"How will this be executed, exactly?" Mrs. Raskin asked. There was strain in her voice. She didn't want Julia to have to face James again.
"James is waiting in another room across the hall- a room we use when we're hearing from two different sides. We'll take the kids to that room where there will be police officers and a judge making sure everything flows smoothly. If any parents want to come to accompany their child, you may, but the kids are usually more honest if they are alone." Mrs. Raskin began to stand up, but Julia sent her a look. After a moment of eye contact, Mrs. Raskin sighed and sat back down. "Ok, lets go," Kathleen prompted. Julia, Noah and I stood up and followed her across the hall. The thought of James being in there made my stomach churn. I felt chills run through my body and Noah instinctively put his hand on my arm.
"You're ok," he whispered. And suddenly, I was. Kathleen approached an old wooden door. The knob looked like it was about to fall off. She turned it gently and I heard the door click open.
"You three sit in those chairs," she said before we could even see inside the room. She then swung the door open revealing a long table. There was a chair at the head of the table, along with six chairs- three on either side. I saw the ones that must've been saved for us. I also saw James, Andrew, and who I was guessing was James' dad sitting in the others. Andrew was trying not to look at us. His head was down, but I could see his eyes peeking up. James on the other hand, was openly looking at me with no shame. He looked exactly the same, but he was different: His usually floppy blond hair was gelled back. His usually warm blue eyes were squinted. His usually charming demeanor had turned dark, with stern pursed lips. His dad had a similar expression.
Kathleen walked around the table and sat in the chair at the head. She prompted me to sit in a chair. I was so busy examining James that I had completely forgotten. I sat on the end, with Julia and Noah to my left. I saw Kathleen shuffling through papers out of the corner of my eye. I also saw two police officers, the judge, and another man in the corner of the room that I tried not to look at. "Ok, let's get started, shall we?" Kathleen said quickly. Her energy had changed from the personal meetings. She now seemed like she wanted to get this done quickly and thoroughly. "This is all being recorded, and Judge Mason is here as well." She acknowledged the judge who was seated in the corner. "I'll be asking you some questions and then Mr. Nicholas' lawyer will ask you some more." She then gestured to the man I had seen in my peripheral vision. Now that I had an excuse to look at him, I saw his dark eyes and pitch black hair, gelled back just like James and his father.
The air was cold and dry. I couldn't wait for this to be over. "James Nicholas," Kathleen started. "Did you, or did you not attempt to put tranquilizing drugs in the drinks of Julia Raskin and Sam Marcus?"
"I did not," James replied sternly.
"Interesting, then what is this?" she asked pulling out a piece of paper. I could see it was a screenshot of a text conversation. James' eyes grew wide.
"Um, I don't know, what is it?" he asked.
"A text conversation between you and your cousin, Andrew." I saw Andrew gulp. "Let's see..." Kathleen started as she skimmed the messages. "Andrew said 'the only way you'd ever get with Julia is by drugging her.' Is this some slang I don't know about?"
"It was just a joke," Andrew defended. "I didn't mean he actually should."
"That, I believe. It's this next message that really sets me off. James then answered you saying 'Wait, I got a friend that could help. Do you think I could get away with it?' This seems pretty clear to me." My eyes darted to James and I saw him let his guard down and look at his lap for a quick second.
     "I was just joking around too," he said quietly. He knew he was caught.
     "Ok," Kathleen responded. "I'm not allowed to make any accusations, so I'll honor that. Tell me why then did the cops show up at the Sadie Hawkins dance?"
     "Samantha called them," he shrugged.
     "And why'd she do that?"
     "Pandora Morgan is paranoid and thought I did something to Sam's drink," he replied. I felt my blood boil.
     "Did she talk to you about it?" Kathleen asked. She already knew the answer.
     "Yeah, I told her I didn't."
     "So why did she call the police?"
     "I dunno, she went to the bathroom and then next thing I know, the cops are here."
     "That's not what happened," I interrupted annoyed.
     "Sam," Kathleen stopped me. "Wait." She turned back to James. "So the cops just randomly came and told you they were taking you to the station?" James nodded. "Interesting. Then why did they find you four blocks away from the school running towards your house?" James' eyes grew wide. Guess he forgot that minor detail.
     "I-I um."
     "I'm done," Kathleen said quietly and quite satisfied. She stood up and walked towards the wall. "You're turn," she smiled almost mockingly to James' lawyer. Wow. She's so cool.
"Mr. Hilton, you may begin," the judge said jotting something down. I almost forgot he was there. That's how badass Kathleen was being.
"Great," Mr. Hilton spoke as he walked over. "Ok kids. I'm not gonna waste your time today. Sam," he said looking at me intensely. "Do you know what happened at the Schnapp's barbecue after you left?" I shook my head. "Well then you're in for a treat, because it wasn't as peaceful as you think," he laughed. I felt mocked- ridiculed. This man was acting like he knew my life.
"Noah didn't assault James," I said sternly.
"Really?" He asked pulling something out of his pocket. A remote emerged in his hand and he clicked it towards a tv that was hanging on the ceiling. He pressed a few buttons, and all of the sudden, I saw the Schnapp's backyard. It was footage from their security camera. Noah, Chloe, Andrew and James were sitting in a circle. I recognized it as from right when I left. "Take a look at this," Mr. Hilton said smugly.
There was no audio in the video. I just watched as they all had a silent conversation. After around a minute, something interesting happened. Noah shook his head and walked towards the house. Chloe immediately reached her arm out towards him, and I felt myself flinch as Noah hit it away. James said something quickly and then something terrifying happened: Noah turned around and started punching him. Like, actually punching him. I felt my body freeze as Chloe jumped on him and he shook her off. He pushed James away and went into the house as Chloe followed. She looked terrified. James and Andrew quickly and shakily picked up all their stuff and ran away. Then the screen went black.
     I turned back to Noah in real life. He was leaning back in his chair so I could barely see him past Julia. He wouldn't look my way. "James, why did this fight start?" Mr. Hilton asked.
     "I was talking about how nice and cool Sam seemed, and Noah got mad." There was no way.
     "Noah, will you please confirm this?" Mr. Hilton prompted. Noah shook his head subtly.
     "They were saying gross things about her," he corrected.
     "Bull. I was just saying how I hoped I could go with her to Sadie Hawkins- which Noah ruined. He framed me," James said.
     "What?" Noah asked appalled.
     "Wait," Mr. Hilton said to Noah. "Continue."
     "When I was hanging out with Julia at the party, Schnapp was mad because she's his ex so he drugged her and set me up." Noah's eyes grew wide. "Then at the dance, he set me up again because he's in love with Samantha."
     "Noah, please confirm," Mr. Hilton said. He was totally manipulating Noah. I couldn't take this.
     "Ok, that was a lot to take in," Noah shook his head overwhelmed. "Um, ok so: yes, I dated Julia, but it was a long time ago and I broke up with her. There were no feelings left over."
     "Julia?" Mr. Hilton asked. She nodded.
     "We dated in seventh grade and there were definitely no feelings left."
     "And what about Sam?" Mr. Hilton almost teased. "Any feelings for her that caused you to frame James?"
    "My feelings for Sam have nothing to do with this," Noah scoffed before realizing what he had just said. I bit my lip to keep from showing any expression.
     "So you and Sam do have something going on," Mr. Hilton raised his eyebrow.
     "No," Noah whispered shaking his head. "It's irrelevant."
     "It's actually very relevant," Mr. Hilton corrected. "You were jealous that Sam asked James to the dance. Maybe you told this Pandora girl that James had done something. Maybe you were even the one who called the cops. It all makes very much sense." Noah shook his head not knowing what to say. "You just turned yourself in, kid." Mr. Hilton chuckled to himself and stood up. "Looks like your Netflix contract might be cut short."
     "Ok, that's enough," Andrew exploded. "It was James. It was all James. Leave them alone, let them go home, please!"