The New Kid: a Noah Beck Fanfiction *completed*

15

You've got to be kidding me.
I looked up and made eye contact with Ryland. "Can I just have a black coffee, please?" I asked, looking back down at the menu in my hands. I felt Noah tense up next to me. I placed a hand on his arm to calm him down, and I felt him relax slightly.

We placed our orders, and as soon as Ryland stepped away from the table, Griffin spoke. "God, I always hated that kid."
"Griff, hate is a strong word," Dixie replied, rubbing his arm.
Noah didn't speak, and I was worried about how he was going to take this, especially after last night.
The table grew silent, and I'd never been so uncomfortable in my life. "How was the party after we left last night?" I asked, trying to fill the silence.
"It was a party at Bryce's. There was a huge fight, and the cops were called. What else could you expect?" Dixie answered, not doing a very good job at filling the silence.

The silence returned, and the tension at the table grew thick. "Excuse me. I'm gonna go use the bathroom," I said, standing up.
When I got to the bathroom, I splashed some water on my face. I don't know how that was supposed to help the situation in that booth, but it was worth a shot. I walked back out of the bathroom and smacked straight into Ryland.
"Hey, Grace. It's funny that I would see you here."
"It's not funny, because it's a public diner, and I didn't even know that you worked here," I answered, trying to get past him.
He grabbed my wrist as I tried to walk by. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to convince myself that this was some sort of dream. "No, it's funny, because you and I both know what you were taking that kid upstairs to do, but when you saw me, you just couldn't bring yourself to do it."
"You need to let go of her," Noah said calmly.
I let out a sigh of relief as Ryland released my wrist. "You think that you want him now, Gracie, but just wait until he breaks your heart. You'll come crawling back to me. I'll count on it."

Noah led me back to the table, and I felt safe again. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that," I said, sliding into the booth next to him.
"Yes, I did. You wouldn't have your eyes closed like that if you wanted him to grab your wrists," Noah replied, sipping his coffee.
"Wait, what the hell just happened?" Griffin asked, finally looking up from his phone.
I shook my head to dismiss the situation, and Griffin didn't press.

When our food was up, I noticed that Ryland had another waitress deliver it. Griffin and I shared a look and burst into laughter. Noah wrapped his arm around me, and I found comfort in knowing that we were okay.
We ate quickly, and after we paid, we drove back to the house. Dixie and Griffin stayed downstairs, and I hugged Noah goodbye before I crawled back into bed.

When I finally woke up, I had ten missed calls from Addison. I decided not to keep her waiting, so  I called her back.
"Hey, Addi. What's up?"
"Um, so when I finally got up today, I realized that you never came back to my house, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
I laughed. "You didn't think that you should try calling my brother?"
"I probably could have, but I didn't think of that."
"Addi, I love you. You don't have to worry about me anymore. Noah took me home last night."
"Yeah, I talked to Amelie, and she said something about Ryland. Care to comment?" she asked accusingly.
"I'll text the group chat later or something. I'm exhausted right now."

I hung up and headed downstairs. "Griffin! Have you talked to Mom and Dad lately?"
"No, they said they'd be back by Wednesday. Why? Is everything okay?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Everything sucks lately, and I just wish that our parents were here to be supportive during it."
Griffin crossed the room, wrapping me in a hug. "I know that it's not the same, but I will always be here for you. If you need anything ever, you can come to me."
I nodded into his chest. "Thank you for being the best big brother that I could ever ask for."

I headed back up to my room, and my phone rang with a group FaceTime.
"Hey, guys. What's going on?" I answered.
"We all just want the story with Ryland," Addison said, setting her phone up on her bathroom sink as she got ready.
"Fine. I was taking Noah upstairs last night, and we ran into Ryland. I decided that I needed a drink. I had a little bit too much to drink, and Noah ended up taking me home. When we went out for breakfast with Dixie and Griffin this morning, he was our waiter. It was super awkward, and then he tried to stop me when I came out of the bathroom. That's literally everything."
"Well," Amelie began, "we missed you at the sleepover last night!"
Avani chuckled. "Don't pretend that you didn't go home with Blake, goofy."

I took this opportunity to change the subject. "How was the rest of the party? Dixie gave me a generic rundown, but I want to know specifics."
"Bryce and Thomas got into a fight. Again," Addison said, rolling her eyes.
"Jaden spent the entire night sober, talking about the game," Mads sighed.
Cynthia agreed. "Quinton did, too! I think that Blake is the only football player in the group that let loose last night."
I was letting their conversation wash over me, but my mind was elsewhere. My phone rang with another call. "Guys, I have to take this. I'll talk to you later."

"Hey."
"Hey, Gracie. Are you feeling any better?" Noah asked.
"I am. Even better now that I'm talking to you."
Noah chuckled softly. "Are you busy right now?" I shook my head. "Come outside then."