The Kissing Booth: Adult Edition

Catch Me When I Fall

"So, how's this friendship thing gonna work?" "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, I've never been friends with an ex before; primarily because you are my only ex." "Heh, do you know how sexy that sounds?" "Stop it, Noah! You shouldn't find anything I say sexy anymore!" Noah and I left the park and were now heading up the stairs in the library; there were some books I wanted to look for on the fifth floor. The clatter of our footsteps echoed through the staircase. Noah walked behind me, keeping his hands buried in his pockets like usual.

"Gees, uptight much? When did you become such a prude?" His voice sounded mildly unimpressed. "Seven years of abstinence will do that to ya," I retorted, feeling a little smug with myself. That was witty, I had to congratulate myself. "Seven years.... How'd you manage to go that long?" He asked me casually. "Well, being in the honours programme, going on a year-long exchange, and finishing a masters degree in two years helped big time..." My eyes narrowed unenthusiastically. "You did all that in seven years? Boy, you were a busy bee." "I take it then, that you've never read any of my work?" I peered at him from over my shoulder. He yawned and shook his head. "Are you joking? Your stuff is super boring." "Nugh, you're just like your brother," unimpressed, my eyes turned back forward. "Don't take it personally, Elle. I'm sure lots of other nerds have read and appreciate your work," I could sense his cocky smirk from here. This guy..... "I'm not a nerd. I don't like comic books or superhero movies." "No, just dull five-hundred-year-old texts." "Hey!"

My tirade was interrupted by the sound of a door opening two floors above us. We both grew quiet, glancing up curiously. Though I couldn't get a good look from down here, I knew who it was. My heart lit up in hopefulness. Noah blinked at me when I started yelling for her. "Ji-yoon! Ji-yoon, it's me!" Without any warning for him, my feet began running up the stairs; I dashed as fast as I could while carrying all my stuff. "H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Noah chased after me. But my full attention was on catching up with Ji-yoon.

I prayed that she'd change her mind and let me borrow the books I needed. I had yet to call Daddy about the train ticket; if she gave them to me, it would save me a trip to Busan. I shouldn't have been surprised, however, when she totally ignored my calls. "Ji-yoon! Wait! Please let me talk to you!" I cried in Korean. My hand stretched out in front of me, like that would do any good. I had made it to the fifth floor; Noah was just turning the round-about when I reached the top of the steps of that case. But I guess I was running to fast.... I heard Noah gasp from up here as the bottom of my shoe suddenly slipped against the concrete. It didn't register what was happening right away. You know that sinking feeling you get when you slip and fall backwards? Well, that's how I was feeling now. My brain momentarily shut off as my body went flying down the staircase. I should have crashed into the wall at the bottom. I should have....

There frantic footsteps, then a loud thud noise. I opened my winced eyes to find that I hadn't smacked into the wall like a pancake. I was sitting on the floor in between a pair of big, long legs. One arm was snaked around the front of me overtop my chest, while a broad hand was securely on the top of my head. Noah was on the floor behind me, holding me in his arms. It took a moment for me to understand that he caught me..... He caught me so I wouldn't land against the wall. "N-Noah!" I blinked up at him astonished.

"Are you hurt, Elle?" Those were the first words he asked me. My eyes grew wide in shock. "Me?! You're the one who crashed into the wall! Are you ok?" "It's nothing.... Just a little sore, that's all." "A-Are you sure?" I stood up, offering him my hand. He took it, slowly getting to his feet. "Y-Yeah." Seconds after he said this, the door to the seventh floor shut above us, causing us both to look. Ji-yoon was gone again.....

"You didn't have to do that," I sighed, leading Noah back to my office in my building. We took the elevator this time. "Do what?" He inquired. My lips frowned, mildly upset by his nonchalance about all this. "You didn't have to catch me." "And what? Let you flatten yourself against the wall? I think I can handle pain better than you, babe." "Would you stop calling me that? We're not dating anymore." "You don't have to date someone to call them "babe"." "Yeah, but I don't want people to get the wrong idea," I huffed. "So what if they do?" "Noah....."

We arrived at my office and I opened my door. Once inside, I went over to my desk where I set Marco's cookies down. An inward groan echoed throughout me as I hesitantly untied the pink handkerchief and removed the lid. A frown appeared across my lips. "Great..." "What?" "My cookies.... They're all broken." "So? They'll still taste the same," Noah made himself right at home, plopping down onto my chair. My head shook, disappointed. "They weren't for me; they're for Marco." "Marco?" Noah's eyebrow suddenly twitched.

"Hold on. I thought you said you guys weren't going out," my ex leaned forward a little, looking much sterner now. "We're not. I just wanted to do something nice for him. He's always making Lee and I special lunch boxes; he puts so much time into them..... I wanted to surprise him for once, but.... Well, they sucked anyway. I bet he wouldn't have liked them..." Noah's eyes lowered onto me. "Still suck at baking, do ya?" He said this, but his tone was much gentler. "You have no idea....." My vision rolled out the window, where I stared into space sadly.

Noah waited a second, then stood up and walked over to my side. "Come on." "Huh?" "Let me have one of those things." "You don't have to be nice to me, Noah. I'm not in the mood for cheering up....." "Yeah? Well, too bad. I'm gonna try one of your crushed cookies." My head shot over his way surprised. Noah picked up one broken off edge of a cookie. He proceeded to stick it in his mouth and chew. I watched him swallow and gaze back at me. He smirked..... Smirked and smiled at the same time. "You're right; they do suck." "I knew it....." "But you made them, so they're the best-tasting cookies there are." Noah.... My eyes met his. He seemed sincere.... "That's really childish," I smirked, feeling slightly better. "So is making cookies for some guy," Noah shot back, but not in a mean way. My mouth opened slightly. Some guy...

Noah's expression changed as mine grew more serious. I turned my feet so I could face him full-on. That's right, we are older now; I've learned from the mistakes of our past. I know what I have to do now, if I want to do this right. My eyes sharpened onto Noah's.

"If you're serious about this friendship thing, Noah, then we're going to have to include Lee and Marco."