Chapter Text
Since Noah, Cody and the rest of the contestants had a long sleep, they were all able to spend the rest of the day relaxing. Gwen, Duncan and a couple of the other finalists of the challenge retreated back to their cabins, demanding privacy and to be left alone. Completely understandable; this just left the rest of the campers spending the day swimming, playing games and just hanging around outside in the fresh hair, plenty of things Noah disliked.
Meanwhile, a thrilling game of frisbee began at the campground and Cody excitedly joined in. The majority of the campers ended up playing but Noah declined joining in despite Cody begging and pleading for him to play, unfortunately Cody’s bright blue eyes didn’t work on Noah. He really didn’t want to join any activity that included anything physical.
Noah had a small list of his very favourite things, which were sitting, sleeping and lying down so that’s exactly what he chose to do for the morning. He was bored but at least he wouldn’t have to humiliate himself by completely failing and tripping over himself in front of everyone. He was so accustomed to not participating in any sort of physical activity, so even if he tried, Noah would either be out of breath in a couple seconds or falling flat on his face immediately.
Noah sat on a small patch of grass, yawning and occasionally dozing off as he watched the campers play. Tyler, one of the contestants from the opposite team, had fallen down over 20 times by now but he was still going, putting all his effort into the game as if his life depended on it.
Noah didn’t really get people like that; it was just a silly game, why waste all your energy into something not important? Noah was lazy, but he tried to convince himself that he wasn’t; he was just saving his energy for more important things that could come along, something that challenged his brain and he kind of believed it. You never, ever know when something would occur and he’d have to use his quick thinking and smarts to solve the situation.
Yep, that’s exactly why he was just saving himself and not willing to partake in anything he considered beneath him, like sports.
Noah, struggling to stay awake, decided to keep his eyes on Cody. For some reason it kept him awake, just watching his every move.
Cody wasn’t a very good thrower but he leapt, jumped and was quick on his feet. Noah never noticed that Cody was pretty speedy, running fast in attempts to catch the frisbee and every time he caught a fast one, his team would cheer and he couldn’t stop smiling.
‘Oh, yeah! The Codemeister always delivers!’ Cody confidently spoke, after catching one of the throws. The rest of the contestants, while congratulating him, still laughed at his comment. They were lowkey making fun of him but Cody didn’t notice, doing a little dance and celebrating himself for an achievement in sports, something Cody didn’t have a lot of overall talent for either.
It was interesting to Noah that the boy was so confident.
Sometimes, he wished he had that energy.
After a while, the game slowed down, with only Tyler, Cody, Izzy and Geoff slowly throwing the frisbee to one another. Katie and Sadie, two girls from the either team who we're paired at the hip, moved away at one point to the docks so they could go swimming, Lindsay went to hang out with Beth who was also sitting out and a few of the others spent some time to themselves.
Even though the game was coming to a conclusion and the rest were all just lazily throwing it to each other, Noah still couldn’t keep his eyes off Cody. He was in a trance, smiling to himself whenever Cody smiled.
Whenever Cody caught the frisbee swiftly he would occasionally give himself a fist bump and Noah would chuckle to himself for some reason. He just had his eyes completely locked on the boy, but he didn’t want to seem too obvious so he’d occasionally look away and pretend to pick at grass or watch the clouds, before immediately focusing on Cody again.
When the game ended, Cody strutted over to where Noah was sitting.
‘Noah, you should’ve of played!’ Cody said with a smile, standing in front of him.
‘Mmhmm. Yep, I sure love myself some sports,’ Noah replied sarcastically. ‘Cody, you know it’s not my thing,’
‘Whatever, dude, it was fun,’ Cody said. ‘Anyways, anything you wanna do? They have crafts on soon,’
‘No, thank you. Chef organises those pathetic activities, I do not want to be around him ruining my day,’
‘Hm, ok, what about fishing?’
‘Pass,’ Noah responde deadpanned, wrinkling his nose as he already imagined the smell.
‘Ok, ok, uh… wanna go for a walk with me? We could check out the forest?’
‘Walk?’
‘Yes, walk! Come on lazy bones, you don’t wanna sit down forever,’ Cody convinced Noah, grabbing onto his arms.
‘Ugh, fine, but only because my body is sore sitting in the same spot,’
Noah stood up, cracking his bones and straightening himself out, only ending up hunching over again, which was his usual posture. Cody gave him a warm smile, happy that he was finally getting up to do something.
The two walked past the campgrounds and entered the forest, staying on the windy path. It seemed as if the path was never ending; looking ahead it just kept going but they stuck to it, just letting it take them wherever.
As they continued further past the trees, the cool air brushed around them, keeping the two in the shade of the tall branches. Both of them hadn’t said a word to one another yet, however there was something on Cody’s mind. He just felt awkward bringing it up and wasn’t sure if Noah would even be comfortable talking about it. It took Cody a few moments before found his voice and was able to talk.
‘So…. Noah, I’m curious,’ Cody started, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. ‘I-if this is a bit forward, it’s fine, you don’t have to answer but um… when did you realise you were gay?’
Noah laughed, while Cody blushed with embarrassment.
‘I’m sorry, that was kinda awkward, I shouldn’t of asked.. I get it’s personal-‘
‘No, no, Cody, it’s fine. It’s just funny seeing you so nervous asking me,’
‘Oh… whoops. You really don’t mind me asking?’
‘Cody, it’s ok,’ Noah acknowledged with a shrug. ‘But it’s not really exciting,’
‘That’s ok! I wanna hear,’
The two ventured further in the forest, but slowed down their pace. Noah thought for a moment, thinking back to when he was younger, tapping his chin.
‘Well, I don’t really know, I guess it just happened. At the time, I didn’t realise I was gay, but I gravitated towards guy characters in movies and TV shows,’ Noah explained. ‘I got butterflies and would blush, corny stuff, but it wasn’t until I was about 14 I realised that those feelings were me crushing hard on dudes,’
‘Ohh, ok, that makes sense,’ Cody responded, slowly nodding.
It was quiet once again as they continued to walk but Noah could feel some tension; he knew that Cody was still curious and wanted to ask something else. The sounds of birds chirping and the brushing of tree branches rustling against each other were heard in-between Noah’s low breathing; despite walking quite slow, just taking more than 10 steps took a toll on him.
Once again, anything even remotely physical was not his forte.
Cody was looking at the ground, biting his lip, wanting to say more but he didn’t want to be inappropriate. For some reason, Cody found Noah’s realisation really interesting. He didn’t really know anyone who was out openly as gay or bi at home and his whole life, he got crushes on girls and didn’t really get the whole ‘male crush’ experience.
Far as he knew, growing up his heart would beat fast around girls and only girls. He would fall head over heels in love over girls he barely knew; it was just normal for Cody. Something that came naturally, that’s just how he was, what he saw in the media and what his parents mentioned often, when they were around. His parents would constantly bring up Cody’s future, which always included a wife and kids. Despite this, it wasn’t really Cody’s ideal plans, but he just listened to them regardless and tuned them out.
And Cody was curious, for some reason. He wasn’t sure why… but something like this was just intriguing. He never got to talk to guys who also liked guys. Even though Cody didn’t want to be too weird, it was just fascinating and here he was, a guy he could talk to who had no interest in girls, so different from his friend group and home life!
‘Sorry again, but like.. did you ever have a crush on anyone or any celebrity or anything?’ Cody asked quickly, with some nervousness.
‘You won’t judge me, right?’
‘I would never! I promise!’ Cody assured him with a beaming smile, making a cross over his heart.
Noah rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile as he watched Cody literally seel this promise like it was the most serious thing in the world.
‘Ok, so… growing up, I was maybe around 11-12, one of my sister’s was obsessed with anything Joseph Gordon Levitt was in. So, I got to watch him a lot, too,’ Noah explained. ‘If I wanted to watch TV, it was whatever my older siblings decided on,’
‘That sucks,’ Cody commented.
‘Yeah, but don’t worry, I have them to thank for realising I was gay,’ Noah chuckled. ‘Anyways, whenever I saw him, I just couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He was kinda dorky, I liked his brown hair and when I was about 14, I realised that those feelings I experienced were because I had a crush on him,’
‘Ohh, that’s really cool!’
‘Uh, thanks? I guess? But, it’s nothing big,’ Noah shrugged, kicking a rock. ‘Looking back, I didn’t realise how obsessed I was with him. I didn’t openly show it. I used to rewatch Treasure Planet over and over again just to hear his voice though, even though that’s not the only reason to watch the movie,’
‘Oh, yeah, that film is great,’
‘Ah, see, that’s why I like you, Cody. You have good taste, most of the time,’ Noah teased. ‘Even if some of the games you play suck,’
‘Whatever, man,’ Cody laughed softly.
‘Anyways, when I was teen, I didn’t really develop crushes on anyone in particular, like, no one at my school or anything. I just found boys attractive, and… yeah, that’s it,’ Noah continued. ‘Very riveting story, right?’
Cody skipped over a couple of tree roots that lay across the dirt path, then stepped down on some leaves.
‘Well, I think it’s exciting,’ Cody said. ‘I don’t know anyone else who likes boys,’
‘I’m sure you’ve met someone,’
‘Oh, yeah! Heh, I mean- I don’t know anyone personally who’s openly out?’ Cody explained. ‘I haven’t really had the chance to talk to someone about these things, I think it’s really cool, hearing from your perspective,’
Noah didn’t actually mind talking to Cody about these things.
Would he ever talk about mushy feelings with his family? Absolutely not. He knew if he ever did, they’d jokingly tease him and he’d get all embarrassed. His family was loving and caring but since he was the youngest, he would often refuse to talk about his own feelings in fear of being ‘babied’.
He didn’t really have a lot of friends either. Not that they were judgemental, but he felt like they really wouldn’t care. Noah thought it was sweet Cody was taking his time to get to know him more, always asking questions, not just limited to what gender he was attracted to.
Cody was a curious person and loved making friends. To make friends, he’d ask things about them. The more he knew, the closer he felt. For some strange reason, this topic in particular left Cody thinking about these things. There was something comforting and warm when Noah explained his perspective, it was pretty admiring. At least to Cody, it was and there we're plenty of things to admire about Noah.
‘Again, I didn’t.. make you uncomfortable asking these things?’ Cody asked.
‘Cody, if you did, I promise.. you’d know,’ Noah reassured him, placing his hand on his shoulder with a serious expression.
The two looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Both pretending to look serious, with Cody mimicking his expression.
Until they both broke and started laughing. As soon as Cody snorted and his face broke, Noah couldn’t help but start chuckling.
‘Ok, cool, just making sure!’ Cody sang, twirling his finger.
Staying on the path, they ventured further in the forest. It was actually nice exploring, especially since the temperature during the day was getting hotter and the shade kept them covered from the sun. Noah internally thanked the foliage of the forest when an occasional cool breeze hit them. Noah, even if walking wasn’t his thing, got used to it after a while.
‘Ever had a boyfriend?’
‘No. Where I live, we’re very low on pretty boys, like yourself,’
Cody felt his heart jump.
Wait, hang on a minute…
…
Did…
… did Noah just call him pretty?
‘I’m… a pretty boy?’ Cody gasped in awe.
‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ Noah joked. ‘My mom calls me pretty. But, you know, that’s what mom’s do, I’m not much to look at,’
Cody frowned and watched as Noah’s face dropped at the end of his sentence. It wasn’t much but Cody noticed a slight difference to his usual expression.
He looked less monotone, but his frown dipped when he said that. Noah avoided eye contact and started kicking a couple of sticks he found, which flew through the dirt after hitting his shoe.
‘Aw, Noah, don’t say that,’
‘Well, I mean, it’s true,’ Noah sighed. ‘It’s fine, Cody. I don’t really care,’
Cody looked directly at Noah, taking note of his features and really thinking about them for the first time.
Cody really loved his hairstyle; his hair looked soft and scruffy, especially the wisps of hair at the ends of his bangs. Noah’s eyes were sunken and there were visible dark circles underneath and while there were certainly people out there who didn’t find that appealing, Cody wasn’t one of them. He thought they looked cool and mysterious.
It left him wondering why Noah had those circles; it either came down to Noah spending many countless nights reading or playing video games, Cody wasn’t sure which but it had to be one of those, assuming correctly.
His smirk when he smiled made Cody feel good; he couldn’t explain it but Cody just felt joy whenever Noah grinned, especially when he made him laugh. His chuckle was low and kind of snarky but whenever he heard it, Cody couldn’t help but feel warm.
‘I don’t know if it means much coming from a straight guy,’ Cody spoke awkwardly, carefully treading his words. ‘But, I think you’re pretty good looking,’
‘Cody, your gay is showing,’ Noah teased, taking a step closer to Cody and looking right into his eyes.
‘Um! I-I just meant-‘ Cody flustered, panicking and darting his eyes away.
‘Cody, I’m just joking,’ Noah chuckled.
Hearing Noah laugh like that again helped Cody calm down and his panic disappeared immediately, joining in on Noah’s laughter.
‘But… thanks,’ Noah replied. ‘I… actually don’t really know how to respond to what you said, but I appreciate it,’
‘It’s cool,’
The two continued to walk a bit further in the forest, chatting a bit more about things. The topic of video games came up again and they talked for a while, with the two getting excitement for upcoming releases. Luckily for Cody, he was prepared to buy a bunch of new games with his parents cash on opening day while Noah had to wait a while or rent them.
It really made Cody think about himself and the way he was allowed to spend money easily without any worries. He couldn’t imagine having to wait years later for a game he wanted to play, especially since by the time Noah would be able to play it would be one people had moved onto other new releases.
It was eye opening for Cody; for the first time in his life he was able to talk to someone that wasn’t in his immediate rich social circle.
It did make him feel bad for Noah. When talking about a new game, Cody promised that if they were to somehow hang out after the show is over, they could play it together. Noah said he’d like that, which only made Cody grin non stop for the rest of the walk.
While Cody was just offering as a nice gesture, it would be cool to see him after the show is over. They only lived an hour away from each other after all, they could potentially catch up and hang out.
But when the show was over, would Noah even want to hang out with him? Noah didn’t think too much of himself, besides when he bragged about his intelligence but to Cody, Noah was just so cool.
Cody thought he was cool, kind of? Maybe? Ok, so he was discovering that maybe he wasn’t as cool as he thought but Noah was on a whole different level; the guy was funny, smart and had great taste in video games which was the highest level of awesomeness he knew. Cody admired his intelligence and how Noah was able to interject conversations with knowledge of any topic; literally anything. He was full of facts and contributed to discussions with things he just somehow knew in his big brain.
It really amazed Cody.
The two continued to slowly walk through the forest, until they heard a loud rustle nearby.
‘…. What was that?’ Noah asked, standing completely still.
‘Didn’t Chris mention there were bears out here in the forest?’
‘Cody, don’t say that, that’s going to freak me out more,’
The two stood still in complete silence, with Cody at the front with his arms outstretched, almost as if he was protecting Noah who stood meekly behind him with a worried expression, darting around.
They both couldn’t see anything; only a few birds flying past in the sky.
‘Maybe it was just the wind,’ Cody responded with a whisper, looking back at the other teen with a shrug.
‘Yeah, because that totally sounded like the wind. Cody, when have you heard wind like that?’
‘Well, actually, when I was younger, my family and I went on vacation overseas to New Zealand and it was super windy-‘
‘Cody, shh,’
‘Hey, c’mon, Noah, don’t shh me! I know I talk a lot-‘
‘Cody, shh! I hear something!’ Noah hissed.
Cody immediately shut his mouth, looking around again while Noah slowly began to panic. He swore he heard another noise again.
To their left, there was a landing of trees and bushes which began to move.
There was definitely something there.
‘Shit- run!’ Noah shouted, grabbing onto Cody’s arm. The two immediately got a rush of adrenaline, with Noah already breathing heavily as his heart pounded against his chest and Cody, behind him, being pulled by Noah, quickly checking back in case whatever was making that noise was following them.
The adrenaline didn’t last long, however, as Cody hit his foot against a long trunk that stuck out through the dirt.
Cody yelped as he fell to the ground, with Noah feeling a tug as he let go.
‘Cody, quick! Take my hand!’ Noah leaned over, reaching out in front of him.
Cody arched himself forward, straining and gripping onto Noah’s hand, wrapping his fingers around tight.
A scattering noise behind Cody only got closer; snapping his neck, he looked behind him and gasped, waiting for whatever was following them to attack.
Could it be a bear?
Oh god.
Cody did not want to run into a bear… they we're absolutely terrifying.
And here he was, lying on the ground in the most vulnerable way, praying and hoping that the creature making the noises would at least give him a quick, painless death.
Cody was already thinking of the worst of possibilities; this is how he was going to die.
Noah, trying to pull up Cody, opened his eyes. He stood motionless, standing still until he saw what had followed them…
… It was a raccoon.
The raccoon ran past the two, jumping into some bushes nearby.
Both Noah and Cody stared at each other for a moment; it was just a raccoon? It was like they both read each other’s minds, as they continued to exchange glances, watching each other as they both began to snicker which erupted in loud laughter.
While relieved, they both felt embarrassed. They had feared the worst and it turned out to be something so harmless. Well, harmless to humans.
Cody’s heartbeat slowed down, returning to normal as he shakily breathed through his laughter while Noah put his free hand to his forehead, still holding onto Cody with his other hand.
Noah’s grip was tight, but while they giggled together, it was almost as if Noah didn’t want to let go.
They were safe but holding onto Cody’s hands felt as if he was protecting him. Cody still was lying down in the middle of the forest and Noah still held him in his hands, focusing on how soft and warm they were. They were skinny, with chipped and bitten nails that Noah had never noticed until this moment.
Wait a minute; was he so focused on this?
That was weird.
Noah, trying to return back to earth, quickly let go of Cody’s hand when he realised how long he was holding onto it for.
‘Well… that was embarrassing,’ Noah snickered, placing his hands on his hips.
‘Man, I thought I was gonna die- I really thought a bear or something was following us!’ Cody spoke, standing up and wiping the dirt off his shirt.
‘Remind me to never get stuck with you in a zombie apocalypse. You’ll probably trip and I’m not gonna save you then, you’re on your own,’ Noah joked.
‘I did not see that trunk sticking out of the ground! If it weren’t for that, I’d be zooming way ahead of you,’ Cody defended himself with a smile. ‘I’m fast, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep up,’
‘Hmm, I admit, I’m a slow runner. Maybe we’d both be screwed in a zombie apocalypse,’ Noah chuckled. ‘With your clumsiness and inability to last more than ten seconds sprinting, we would not make a good team,’
‘Well, anyways, thanks for helping me instead of leaving me to death,’
‘Ah, yes, death by raccoon,’
‘We both had no idea what it was and dude, you were the one who freaked out first! You looked so panicked and you whisked me away,’ Cody explained. ‘Speaking of; aw, you really do care,’
Noah felt his face warm up, with a tinge of light blush spreading over his cheeks.
When Cody said that, for some reason, it made Noah feel something weird inside. It wasn’t pain, or anything bad… it felt familiar and it bugged Noah for a moment as he couldn’t precisely work out what it possibly was, even if it was obvious. In Noah’s mind, he just could figure it out. Whatever, he wasn’t going to spend time focusing on at that at the moment.
‘Yeah, well..’ Noah looked away, feeling awkward. ‘Anyways, wanna head back? I’ve had enough walking and forest beasts for one day,’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Cody laughed. ‘Let’s head back. It’s lunch time, right?’
‘Oh joy. Let’s see what delicious “food” Chef has prepared us for today,’
They both started following the path back towards camp.
They both continued to chat with small talk, though neither wanted to have a deep conversation because truthfully, they were both lost in their own thoughts.
Noah was feeling… weird. He couldn’t help but continually think about that feeling he had when he was holding onto Cody’s hand.
Meanwhile, Cody was feeling overstimulated; not only did the rush of thinking that a bear was chasing them down remained, but for some reason, he kept glancing down at his hand; the hand that held on to Noah. Even after discovering it was just a raccoon, Noah kept holding it; to Cody, it felt… nice.
Was that strange?
Cody was a person that craved touch. Once Gwen brushed past him and their shoulders touched; he couldn’t stop thinking about it for hours.
But that was Gwen; he thought Gwen was hot.
A hand touch from Noah; he just couldn’t stop thinking about it and how long he held it for. Whenever he was with his few friends from the Einstein fanclub, if one of them accidentally touched each other’s hands, they’d all laugh in disgust and joke about it.
Boys touching hands? Outrageous.
Cody honestly never thought it was bad or unusual; he always wanted a friendship group where they would hug and not find it strange to hold hands but that’s not how his friends were, so he went along with it and pretended to be grossed out.
Noah’s hand felt comfortable in his own, it just felt right. Something about it just made sense to Cody.
Maybe he was overthinking things.
Maybe he just craved a slight touch?
But, why was he so hyped over a hand touch from Noah of all people?
It was confusing Cody.
All of it was.
Huh… being around Noah was definitely letting him learn many, many things; things he never knew. They had only known each other for less than two weeks and Cody was just learning to explore; feel things he hadn’t felt before.
He stared down at his hand, feeling it almost buzz and tingle, as if the feeling of Noah’s touch was still there.
He couldn’t help but smile goofily.
Luckily, Noah didn’t notice, he was busy with his own similar thoughts after all.