The New Kid: a Noah Beck Fanfiction *completed*

25

The next two weeks felt like they flew by. Studying for finals was so exhausting that I didn't have time to worry about anything else.
Noah's gift came in, and I wrapped it, putting it under the tree. Our parents had been home for long enough for us to put the tree up, but they left early the next morning without so much as a goodbye. They had told Griffin that they wouldn't be home for Christmas, and I wasn't surprised.

"Griffin! Are you almost ready to go? We're supposed to be at Addi's in ten minutes!" I yelled up the stairs to him.
He called back down immediately. "I'm coming! Don't rush me!"
I grabbed Addison and Noah's gifts from under the tree and stood impatiently at the door. He was worried about seeing Dixie for the first time since they broke u, and I understood it, but he was being a little bit dramatic.

He finally came downstairs, and he looked no different than he normally did. "What could have possibly taken you so long, Griff? You look the same as you did when you went up there."
"Ouch. I don't look any better?"
"You look fine. Can we go, please?"

We drove to Addison's, and by the time we got there, everyone was sitting and waiting for us. "Finally!" Bryce yelled, standing up to hug us in greeting.
"I was starting to think that you guys weren't coming," Addison joked as I sat down next to her.
Griffin looked at his watch. "We are literally five minutes late. Don't be ridiculous."
Sheri set plates of appetizers on the table, greeting Griffin and me. "Alright, you know how this goes, kids. Alphabetical order. You're up first, Nessa."

As Sheri headed back into the kitchen, Nessa stood up, crossing the room and handing her gift to Jaden. "I hope you love it." Jaden opened up a new set of guitar picks, and he stood to hug Nessa.
"Thank you, Ness. These are great."
"So is it my turn then?" Noah asked. Addison nodded, and he passed his gift over Blake to Amelie. "I hope you like it. I really struggled."
She unwrapped the box, pulling out a new camera. "Noah! This is amazing! Thank you so much!"

Dixie didn't wait for the gratitude to stop. "Blake, this one's all you." He opened the small box to see a new chain. His old one had broken during basketball practice, and he had been devastated. He thanked her, and Addison passed her gift along the couch to Anthony.
"It's the jacket that you said that you liked when we went shopping the other day. I had to get it for you," she said as he opened the box. As he hugged her, Blake handed Nessa a gift bag.
"Your piercings should be ready to change soon, right?" he asked as she pulled an assortment of new jewelry out of the bag.
She nodded. "Thank you, Blake. I love them."

Avani told Josh to check behind the tree for his gift. She had taken the obvious route of a new hockey stick, and he was the most excited that I had ever seen him.
Quinton handed Dixie an envelope with tickets to a BMX race at our county fair the next summer.
Bryce had somehow scored the new palette that Avani had been eyeing since it was announced.

Jaden was sitting on the opposite side of me, and I felt him nudge me with his elbow. "I got you, Grace."
I pulled the bow off of the book that he handed me and began flipping through it. The scrapbook was filled with pictures of our entire friend group. It was like a little time capsule of our years in high school. "Thank you, Jaden. This is the sweetest thing that I think I've ever gotten," I said, wiping a tear from my eye and hugging him. I pulled away and looked over at Noah, handing him the box.

He opened them, and the look of surprise on his face made my heart skip a beat. "Thank you so much, Grace! I got on to order these last week, and they were completely sold out of my size!" He hugged me and pulled away when he realized what he had just done. "Sorry," he mumbled as he sat back down.
Griffin, sensing the tension, passed Addison her gift. "I'm gonna be honest with you, Addi. Grace picked it out."
She opened the purse and squealed in excitement. "You didn't! I love it! Thanks, Griff."

Mads wheeled Quinton's new longboard out from underneath the couch, and Cynthia handed Bryce monogram shot glasses. "This is a classy way of telling me that I'm an alcoholic, Cynthia," he joked, hugging her.
Anthony gave Mads a handbag and a Christmas sweater for her dog. Josh gave Cynthia a jewelry organizer that she had mentioned needing at lunch a few weeks prior. Amelie finished it up, giving Griffin a new bat bag in ISU's colors.

Sheri and Monty had rejoined us in the living room, and I headed into the kitchen to grab a drink. As I opened the fridge, someone cleared their throat behind me.
"Can we talk for a second, Grace?"
"Um, yeah, sure. What's up?" I replied, turning to face Noah.
He cleared his throat again, and I could tell that he was on edge. "I want to apologize. I overreacted at homecoming. I miss being friends with you."
Ouch. 'Friends.' "I miss being friends with you, too, Noah. I should've told you about Ryland. That was on me."

He crossed the kitchen to stand next to me. "You didn't owe me an explanation then, and you don't owe me one now." I looked down, and he tilted my chin so that I was looking at him. Neither one of us spoke as he leaned in. I knew that I should pull away, but it was like nothing had changed, and I just couldn't bring myself to stop what I had missed for so long.
When I finally snapped back to reality, I pulled away. "What about Dixie?"