The New Kid: a Noah Beck Fanfiction *completed*

19

"Mind if I step in?" a voice came from behind us.
We turned to see Ryland standing behind us. I could sense Noah's anger bubbling just under the surface. I rubbed his arm in an effort to calm him. "No thanks, Ryland. I'm doing just fine with Noah. Don't you have your own date to dance with?"
"Kelianne isn't as much fun as you," he said, stepping closer to us. My efforts to calm Noah were a waste.
"You thought that she was more fun a year ago. Back off, Ryland. You ruined this opportunity for yourself," he said, shoving me behind him protectively.
"Noah, stop," I said, pulling on his arm to no avail.
"Listen, Noah," Ryland said mockingly. "You may think that you've got her wrapped around your little finger, but she'll always come back to me. Does he know that you came back to me this summer?" he asked, looking around Noah to make eye contact with me.

Blake and Bryce had noticed the altercation, and they were crossing the room towards us with Amelie and Addison in tow. "What's going on over here?" Bryce asked, trying to subtly flex under his suit jacket.
Noah wasn't listening to anyone else as he turned to look at me. "You, you went back to him? How many times? When was the last time?" he asked, a pained expression crossing his face.
"Noah, it's not like that. It was only once or twice. It hasn't happened since we went on our first date, I swear," I said, grabbing his arm again.
He shrugged it off. "But it has happened since we met?"
My lack of an answer was enough for him, and he stormed out of the ballroom. I didn't run after him, but I turned to Ryland instead.

"Are you happy?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. "Why did you feel the need to do that? Does my being happy piss you off that badly? You screwed up. I screwed up by trying to deal with my shit by crawling back to you."
Bryce grabbed my arm as I swung it towards Ryland. "He's not worth it, Gracie. Let's go find Noah." I let him lead me out of the ballroom, and Addison, Amelie, and Blake followed behind.
"You guys don't have to come with me," I said, stopping in my tracks and turning to look at them. "I'm the one that messed up. You guys go have fun."
Addison looked at the others, and they nodded, leaving us alone in the hallway.

"Gracie, I didn't even know that you and Ryland were still in contact," she said, leading me to a set of chairs in the lobby.
"It's not something that I was proud of, so I knew that sharing it with any of you would turn it into a thing, and I didn't even want to think about it," I replied, shrugging.
Addison nodded as if she understood, and she stood, pulling me to my feet. "We are gonna go find that boy, and you are going to explain whatever happened to him. You are not going to let Ryland ruin something that has so much potential."

We walked around the lobby, turning down various hallways. As we passed the pool, I spotted Noah sitting on a bench outside. Addison nodded, turning to go back the way that we had come from.
"Hey," I said softly, taking a seat next to him. He didn't speak. "Okay," I sighed. "If you don't want to talk, that's fine, but will you at least listen?"
He nodded, and I began. "Noah, this summer, I couldn't stop thinking about the disaster that was my life. There was one person that had been a constant in my life, and in a spur of the moment, stupid decision, I called him."
Noah didn't even flinch as I spoke.
"It happened again, that night after I had dinner at your house. So many things were running through my head. I thought that you were interested in someone else. I didn't think about it. I just acted. It doesn't mean anything to me."
For the first time since I had sat down, he spoke. "I invited you to my house. You met my mom and my sister. You left my house that night, and you went to be with your ex? How am I supposed to trust you, Grace?"

"Noah, that's not fair. We weren't, and still aren't, by the way, anything official. If we had been, I never would've gone to see him."
"It's plenty fair. How am I supposed to trust you if I know that I'm going to constantly be in competition with someone that you have a lot of history with?" he asked, turning to look at me.
"Noah," I began.
"No," he said forcefully. "I don't want to hear any more of your excuses. I get it. You weren't sure that I would work out, or even if you wanted me to work out. It's probably best if we just pretend the last month didn't happen, Grace. I'm not looking to spend my senior year chasing after someone who doesn't want me. It was fun while it lasted, Grace. Maybe I'll see you around." He stood, leaving me sitting on the bench as he turned the corner. By the time I had worked up the courage to follow him, he was gone.

I walked numbly back into the ballroom, and Addison spotted me first. "How did it go?" she asked.
"Well, Addi, he didn't come back in here with me, so what do you think?" I snapped, immediately regretting it. A hurt look flashed across her face. "Addi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"Um, it's okay," she said. "Let's just go."

We headed back to the group, and everyone looked at me expectantly. When I didn't speak, they went back to dancing. Griffin made his way around the circle, leaning close to whisper in my ear. "Are you okay?"
I shook my head. "I want to just go home, Griff."