Work Text:
The sky looks like its covered in cotton candy, the pink and blue hues mixing together before the sun begins to dip past the orange horizon.
They’re lying side by side in a grassy meadow, sucking carelessly on lollies with a bottle of Jack Daniels between them. Noora doesn’t drink, but Eva likes drinking and Noora likes seeing Eva smile.
Her hazel eyes shine and twinkle, lighting her face up like that American holiday with all the fireworks. Except Eva’s delight is more magical than any fireworks and Noora is oh so heavenly under her spell.
Their hands are clasped together on top of Noora’s favorite fuzzy blanket, ignoring the beep beep beep of their silver iPhones behind their heads. Eva sticks out her pink-coated tongue giddily.
“Your tongue is pink.” Noora informs her, trying to not to smile too fondly. Someone might think she was in love, or something.
“Your tongue is in your mouth when it should be in mine.”
Noora can’t help the burst of laughter that erupts from her. “That was so bad!”
Eva shrugs it off and scoots her body closer to Noora, tipsiness clouding her pretty, pretty eyes. “You are so, so beautiful.”
A violent blush certainly does not cover Noora’s pale cheeks. “You are.”
“Noora, can I tell you something?”
“Anything, Eva.”
“I love you.”
Noora’s jaw slightly drops, enough for a wicked grin to cross over Eva’s face before she meshes their lips together.
And as Eva’s body rolls on top of hers, she’s thinking over and over I love you I love you I love you I love you I lo-
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
Startled, Noora jolts awake, her heart pounding furiously. She’s panting as if she’s just run a couple kilometers and her throat is curiously dry.
Her iPhone on the nightstand next to her, the culprit for ruining her lovely dream, reveals that it’s 6:00 a.m and she’s supposed to be getting ready for school.
The door to her former bedroom - where Isak, and occasionally his dreamy Even, reside - is closed and if she times it right, she just might be able to take a five minute shower before blowdrying her hair.
She scurries off of the couch-bed they’ve set up for her in the living room to collect her clothes and make-up. She tip-toes, rushing past her old room, when she hears the unmistakable sounds of domestic love coming from behind the door.
It’s the sound of light, airy, sleepy laughs - Even, no doubt, poking fun at Isak’s grumpy morning state. It’s the sound of soft kisses being exchanged in order for Isak to consider getting out of bed. It’s the sound of Noora’s heart thumping violently, her evil mind cruelly reminding her she had that once.
She chose to give it up.
“I can’t do this anymore!” She tiredly told him, running her fingers through her hair. She couldn’t meet his eyes and he refused to meet hers.
“So what are you saying, Noora?” The frustration was evident in his voice. “What do you want me to do?”
She didn’t know, she was only 17. She should be with her friends back in Oslo, getting ready for the pregame on Friday nights. Staying up until the crack of dawn to gossip with her friends, studying late at night with her friends and throwing popcorn kernels and tomato slices at her friends.
She should be with her friends.
She should be with a certain friend. The one who had cut her hair over the summer, so her brown locks just passed her thin shoulders. The one who made her smile more than cry. The one who always FaceTimed her before she went to bed, making sure London was everything she dreamed of and more.
She finally made herself look William in the eyes. “I want to go home.”
She ducks quickly into the bathroom and turns on the shower as fast as she can, to drown out the sound of her heart crying.
“Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with” - Candace Bushnell
The first thing she heard about when she returned back from London was Eva’s ongoing fling with Penetrator Chris.
At every pregame, at every party, they were surgically attached by the lips. It always started with two cans of beer that became two more cans of beer until it became Eva and Penetrator Chris sharing a can of beer and then the two of them sharing saliva back and forth.
Noora liked to stay away from alcohol and weed, so she was forced to watch every flirtatious encounter between them without any influence clouding and purifying her mind.
It’s just another Tuesday morning when Noora strolls into the school courtyard. Her girls are standing around, huddled close together to preserve warmth near the front entrance.
Eva is the first to see her.
“Noora!” She calls out, like a song and Noora’s presence is the melody. Her arm is stretched out, waiting for Noora to come up and hug her back.
I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you
She pushes her dream into the depths of her mind and leans into Eva’s hug, bumping their hips together. “Hi.”
Chris is furiously texting someone - presumably Kasper - and Sana is rolling her eyes at whatever Kosegruppa issue Vilde is adorably rambling on about now. Eva is giggling and her head has migrated to Noora’s shoulder.
Yeah. She’s glad she came home.
“In a world full of temporary things, you are a perpetual feeling.” - Sanober Khan
Eva is not very good at Spanish.
That’s how Noora became her unofficial tutor, always coming over to her house after school on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to “study”.
Because Noora could speak the language fluently, and Eva had no desire to really learn, Noora was the one who ended up doing their homework while Eva heated up frozen food her absentee mother left behind and played Top 40 music. Once Noora was done, and the pretense of getting homework done forgotten, they would dance around Eva’s empty kitchen and try to cook some sort of dinner.
There are cookbooks upon cookbooks at Eva’s house and Noora is determined to get through every single one. They have a cookbook back at the Kollektivet, but Even hasn’t given Noora a schedule for when he’ll randomly decide to serenade Isak in the kitchen, so it’s easier just to play around at Eva’s.
Eva sits on her kitchen counter, running the sink water over the vegetables Noora is cleaning. “Do you ever think about soulmates?”
Noora pulls out a sharp knife from the drawer immediately to the left of the sink and begins chopping tomatoes. “Hm?”
“Soulmates. Do you ever think about them?”
It’s a strange question, but Eva has a strange mind so Noora doesn’t question it. “Not really. Why?”
“Isak and Even seem like soulmates.” Eva says, absentmindedly kicking her feet against the cabinets.
“They seem like they’re in love.”
“Like they’re meant to be in love.”
“Put these in the salad.” Noora instructs, giving Eva a handful of chopped tomatoes. “How so?”
“I don’t know. Just seems like Even is the sunshine Isak has been waiting for his entire life. He’s so much more confident now and more happy. Have you noticed that?”
Noora’s heard that. In the middle of the night. Multiple times.
“And he tells me about it when we get kebab sometimes. How much better he feels now that Even’s in his life and how he finally feels like he’s really living.”
That, Noora did not know. “I’m happy for him.”
“Me too.” Eva adds as she hops off the counter and goes to find the croutons. “It’s like once he found that right person, his whole life changed. He became a completely different person.”
Noora isn’t quite sure why they’re having a lengthy discussion on Isak and Even’s love life, but she supposes it isn’t out of the ordinary. After all, last year they did spend endless hours secretly questioning his sexuality and fake relationship with Sara.
“He’s lucky, I guess. But I don’t know if I believe in soulmates.”
“Hm.” Eva hums, and quickly moves on from the topic, bringing up a funny hook-up story she heard about in the bathroom earlier that day.
After they’ve eaten and laughed their way through dinner - Noora notices that Eva chooses to sit next to her this time, instead of across the table - Noora begins to pack up her belongings.
“You could stay here sometimes.” Eva mentions, playing with some strands of short hair.
Noora raises an eyebrow as she slings her backpack over her shoulder. “What?”
“Overnight, if you wanted to, so you don’t have to sleep on that couch. I know how comfortable it is.” Eva smirks and Noora remembers that time she came back home from being out with William, to see Eva sprawled out on the couch next to a mystery guy.
“It’s luxurious.”
“I’m serious. You could stay here some nights and we could go to school together in the mornings. I don’t live that far.”
Eva has a point. Instead of waking up two hours before school is supposed to start, so she could shower before the rest of her roommates stole all the hot water, she could wake up a whole hour later and not having to battle with Eskild over hair products. She could make herself breakfast, lunch, and dinner without having to worry about her roommates taking her food that she bought.
A concern crosses her mind. “Would your mum be okay with it?”
Eva scoffs, gesturing to her very empty house. “It’s not like she’s here to care very much. I get lonely. Say you’ll stay?”
Eva’s drunkenly told her that Noora is her “bestest, closest, favoritest” girlfriend so it could be a win-win situation for everyone.
“Okay.” Noora smiles, a big smile full of teeth. “Okay, I’ll stay.”
“Having perfected our disguise, we spend our lives searching for someone we don’t fool.” - Robert Brault
The next night, Noora comes to Eva’s armed with a change of clothes, pajamas, a toothbrush, conditioner, and her favorite tube of red lipstick.
Noora loves all of her girls with all of her heart, but her favorite days are the ones she gets to spend alone with Eva. The brunette’s quirky personality and crude humor lift her spirits on her bad days and elevate her happiness on her good days. Sana’s her girlfriend for advice, Chris is her go-to for ridiculous shenanigans, and Vilde’s her favorite to work out and mindlessly gossip with.
But Eva’s special because she’s her favorite friend for every situation.
When they get to Eva’s house, Eva immediately dumps her stuff in her bedroom and jumps onto her bed. “Did you hear that Ingrid and Sara hooked up last weekend?”
Noora heard whispers about it in the bathroom. She laughs and lies down next to Eva. “Crazy, right?”
“Remember when Isak had his tongue down her throat?”
“Oh my God. It feels like ages ago.”
“Everything about last year feels like ages ago.” Eva chuckles to herself. “Can you believe at one point we never knew each other?”
The dark ages, Noora thinks to herself. “You are so lucky you met me. Or else you’d still be failing Spanish.”
Eva rolls her eyes. “I am so lucky I met you, though.”
Noora’s not quite sure what to say to that and she has a feeling her cheeks are soon going to be as red as her lipstick. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah. You changed my life.” Eva says, rolling onto her side. Her hazel eyes lock with Noora’s bright blue. They’re close enough so that Noora can see the hidden freckles splashed across Eva’s face.
“I think you’re giving me too much credit.” Noora nearly whispers, refraining from pinching herself. This is not a dream This is not a dream This is not a dream This is not a dream This is not a dream This is not a dream This is not a -
“No, but seriously.” Eva continues, one of her hands slipping out from under her head. Noora’s eyes follow the moving hand that is now directly between their two faces. “Remember how much of a mess I was last year? Always following Jonas and Isak around? Never really having my own opinion. I literally had no friends of my own before you came around.”
It’s an unspoken agreement that they don’t speak of Eva’s past with Ingrid. Eva made her mistakes, made her peace with them, made her life continue on despite them.
“Girls who call other girls sluts are 90% more likely to get chlamydia.”
“Seriously?” Eva asked, a dangerous spark of hope in her pretty, pretty, eyes.
“Nei.” Noora couldn’t lie, but she’d still managed to make the nice, quiet girl from her Spanish class smile after she’d looked so close to crying. “But it would’ve been cool if it were true.”
In a different universe, Noora didn’t walk away. Instead she and Eva laughed and danced all night. Noora would have told her she looked pretty with her dark make-up and Eva would have told her more about her unique accent, while they sipped classy glasses of cherry wine.
But in this universe, Noora did walk away and Eva went into the bathroom to meet the force of nature that was Vilde.
“You are my BFF.” Noora says in English, her voice becoming more high-pitched as it always does when she speaks in English. Eva giggles.
In her subconscious, she realized Eva’s body had scooted a centimeter closer to her. In her subconscious, her body inched closer to Eva’s.
In a fantasy, Eva moved even closer. Close enough like they were in Noora’s dream yesterday morning. Close enough so that their lips had no choice but to touch. In a fantasy, Eva’s lips tasted like strawberry chapstick and hope.
In reality, as they are inching even closer to each other, Eva’s phone chimes loudly.
Eva frowns and seems to stifle a groan as she reaches for her phone. Noora’s eyes flutter to the culprit of the sound. It’s a text from Isak, but Eva’s hand covers the screen before Noora can fully eavesdrop on the conversation.
Isak V. ( 15:49 ): Hi, Eva. Even’s not coming over today so Skype me later if you still wanna talk about -
Noora is 90% sure that her name was on that message.
But Eva quickly rolls away from her, typing furiously, before Noora can make such a bold confirmation. Eva’s back is to her as she sends the message, then looks over her shoulder slyly. “Are you in the mood for pancakes?”
“We are what ballads are written of, what bards sing of. We are epic, you and I.” - Samantha Garman.
“And I was like baby, baby, baby, ohhh,” Noora sings at the top of her lungs, using her spatula as her microphone. She is performing a sold-out concert in the kitchen, only lit by candles they’ve set up around the stove. “Baby” is playing from Eva’s small sound system, that she uses for special occasions and showers, and Noora decided she was going to put on a show.
Put on a show, she did.
She made Eva sit at the table, her chair facing Noora so that Eva could have the “real” concert experience. As she mixes the pancake batter and flips them in the pan, she becomes an international pop sensation, shimmying all over the kitchen.
Eva is laughing hard enough for her eyes to water, so it looks like they’re sparkling in the dim light. “Thought you’d always be mine!”
“Oh for you, I would have done whatever. And I just can’t believe we ain’t together,” Those lyrics hit a little close to home for Noora, but Eva doesn’t notice her slight change in demeanor. Her eyes are shut and she’s leaning her head back, swaying to the music and to Noora’s voice. She’s truly living the “real” concert experience.
She wants to remember Eva just like this, with bliss written all over her face. She allows herself a long moment of staring, a heavenly action when she doesn’t have to worry about who might see her, before she stops the music and flips the last pancake.
Eva opens one eye and raises her eyebrow. “Why’d you stop?”
“Because dinner is ready. It’s also a school night and you haven’t finished your homework.”
Eva sighs dramatically, loud enough for her neighbors across the street to hear. “How about we watch Gossip Girl instead?”
“Eva, you know I hate that show.”
Eva pouts out her bottom, baby pink lip and widens her intoxicating emerald eyes.
Noora holds her ground as she puts the pancakes onto two separate plates and lathers them with butter. She hums as she pours them two glasses of water. She doesn’t pay Eva any attention as she sets the plates down on the table, ignoring the fact that the room was still only lit up by candles.
Yeah pour a little cherry wine, yeah
Life is good, life is good, yeah
Eva sighs again, drawing out the sound and slumping down in her chair. Noora ignores how her shirt rides down her chest a little more than usual, revealing the slight swell of her cleavage. Eva’s still pouting and oh God, she’s leaning over the table now to put her hands in a prayer gesture -
Noora only lasts five seconds. “Fine.”
And the smile that illuminates Eva’s face brightens the entire room and Noora’s entire heart.
Eva makes Noora “suffer” through two episodes of Gossip Girl before Noora makes Eva “suffer” through two assignments that are due the next day. They’re done before 23:00; a major accomplishment considering how many times Eva had to pause and rewind Gossip Girl to explain the plot to Noora. And considering how much Eva tried to divert Noora’s attention from their homework.
“You can use the shower first.” Eva offers as they go upstairs.
Noora gives her a suspicious look as she pulls her conditioner and pajamas out of her bag. “Is that because you’re going to try to watch another episode of Gossip Girl?”
“Ha, ha. You know you loved it, xoxo Gossip Girl.” Eva winks while Noora makes an obvious effort not to roll her eyes too hard. “Nei, Chris tried to call me earlier. I’ll call him back while you shower.”
Oh.
Right.
Penetrator Chris was still a thing.
Noora nods and walks barefoot down the hall to Eva’s shower. She remembered to bring Eva’s sound system upstairs with her, so she can drown out the sounds of anything other than her favorite songs.
Especially the sounds of the conversation happening in Eva’s bedroom.
“I’m serious about this.”
“Where is this coming from, Eva? I thought this was what you wanted - something serious.”
Eva twirls a strand of short hair. “I thought that was what I wanted.”
Chris is silent. “What are you saying?”
“I think we should hook-up with other people.”
“If we’d never met, I think I would have known my life wasn’t complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn't know who I was looking for.” - Nicholas Sparks.
“How was your sleepover?” Sana asks her during their free period the next day.
Noora has just finished her tenth yawn of the hour, rubbing at her make-up free eyes. “It was nice. It was a relief to get to wake up an hour later than normal.”
Sana raises her perfectly shaped eyebrow and says bluntly, “You look exhausted.”
Noora yawns for an eleventh time. “We ended up talking all night. Didn’t go to sleep until after two.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Also Eva tosses and turns all night.”
“I remember.” Sana says, flashing back to the first night they all spent together. Eva had accidentally kicked Sana in the gut so hard, the poor girl yelped as she fell off of the crowded bed, waking four out of five of them up.
Noora laughs lightly at the memory. “Well, she kicked me plenty of times last night. Tonight, I’ll get her back for you.”
“Tonight?” Sana raises her other perfect eyebrow. Noora makes a mental reminder to ask her about beauty tips.
“Oh, yeah. She said I can come over again, because I think Even’s spending the night over our place. And when he’s there, it’s really hard to get any sleep.”
Sana grimaces at the implication. “Oh, I see.”
Maybe it’s because she’s so exhausted that she begins to overshare. “It’s not like I’m not happy for them. Isak is so much less grumpy than he used to be.”
“Definitely.”
“But it’s almost like their relationship is being shoved down our throats.” Noora drops her voice down to a whisper, emphasizing the action with her hands. “Because every part of our place has some sort of significance to Evak.”
“Evak?”
“The kitchen is where Even first kissed Isak in front of all of us,” Noora continues as if she hadn’t heard her. “The living room is where Even made Isak watch Pretty Woman - and apparently Isak cried, but don’t tell him I told you, or else Eskild won’t tell me things anymore. The bathroom is where they did it in the shower for - “
“Noora,” Sana cuts her off, holding her hands up. “What is your point?”
…..what is her point?
“Yeah, yeah, let’s pour some cherry wine,” Nas’s low voice raps into her headphones. “Everything’s good, everything’s fine.”
She first heard the song when Even was over a week ago, helping her clean up the kitchen. Linn and Isak were in his bedroom, playing a vicious game of Fifa that Even opted out of.
Since then, she’s been playing it all the time. She’s not even a fan of rap music.
“Don’t you ever wish that you could have that for yourself?” Noora asks, her voice still quiet as she taps her pencil against her lip.
Sana muses over her question. “Yeah. Eventually, when it’s the right time. I’d rather it be the perfect happy ever after, instead of a happy right now. Isn’t that how soulmates work, anyways? The perfect person at the perfect time?”
Was William her soulmate? Was he her perfect happy ever after but they just met at the imperfect time?
“But Noora,” Sana adds, continuing to be her favorite source of wisdom. “If you have to question it, I don’t think it’s the perfect happy ever after you’re looking for.”
“I’m convinced my heart knew who it belonged to, long before I met her.” - Karla Campos.
“Do you want more ice cream?” Eva asks later that night as they’re sitting on the couch. The fifth episode of Gossip Girl has just concluded and Noora’s too busy convincing herself that this nonsense and this superficial waste of time is something that genuinely makes Eva happy so she should at least tolerate it.
“Noora?”
“Hm?”
“More ice cream?” Eva asks again, holding up her empty bowl.
Except Noora’s attention is still diverted. Right at the corner of Eva’s mouth is a piece of chocolate from their mint chocolate chip ice cream. It would be so easy for Noora to reach over and scoop the piece off her lip, before seductively running her thumb down her bottom lip.
She could even kiss it off of her.
She could even just fucking tell her that she has a chocolate chip cornered on her mouth instead of just staring at her like an idiot.
“Alright, no more ice cream for you.” Eva laughs, turning off the TV. “You need to sleep tonight. Big day tomorrow!”
Oh.
Right.
There’s a Kosegruppa pregame.
At her place.
Noora groans and finally mobilizes herself. “Fun.”
“It will be.”
“True love is finding your soulmate in your best friend.” - Faye Hall.
Noora goes back to the Kollektivet on Friday, to prepare for the pregame that night and to get a fresh pair of clothes for the sleepover at Eva’s afterwards.
Eskild’s home from work early and he’s sprawled out on the couch. His face and entire demeanor brighten the moment Noora unlocks the door. “Noora!”
Noora smiles kindly. “Hei, Eskild.”
“I haven’t seen you in forever, I miss you.” He whines, pausing his show and patting the seat next to him.
She spares a moment to sit down. “I’ve only been at Eva’s for two days, you drama queen.”
“It’s been so lonely here without you.” He continues whining, draping an arm over her shoulder. “Linn doesn’t want to watch TV with me or talk about boys. Isak’s too preoccupied with his gorgeous piece of meat.”
“Are you referring to me as as meat again, Eskild?” Noora hears Even ask from the kitchen, his usual playfulness in his voice.
Eskild clutches his hand over his heart and actually swoons. “I think I’m in love.”
Noora rolls her eyes and laughs. “I’m going back over to Eva’s tonight for a sleepover with the girls after the pregame. Speaking of which, Vilde wanted me to make sure you got beer.”
“Yes, I got her 37 texts asking me to get beer.” Eskild groans, rolling his eyes. “It’s in the kitchen with Evak. You guys could just start asking Even. He is, after all, 19.”
Noora muses over that point. “Hm. You’re right.”
“I’m always right. I am the Guru.”
And that is Noora’s cue to get up and escape, before Eskild tries to convince her to get Tinder again. “Bye, Eskild.”
She has to pass by the kitchen to get her belongings that Linn kindly lets her keep in her room. Linn’s room has a big closet and she doesn’t overwhelm it with clothes, which leaves space for Noora’s favorite dresses and pretty shirts.
Normally when she walks by any space Isak and Even are inhabiting, she tries to tune them out. There are certain conversations she can live the rest of her life without knowing.
But she walks towards the kitchen too quickly to remember they’re in there and she overhears Even asking about Eva.
“How’s Eva doing?”
She quickly removes herself from their line of sight, but lingers by the doorway. “Eh, she’s kind of nervous. Who wouldn’t be?”
Nervous about what?
“So she’s really just going to go for it?”
Go for what?
“I hope so. Who knows. She might chicken out.”
Chicken out of what?
“That’s not a nice thing for you to say.”
“I’m just saying she might not go through with it.”
Go through with WHAT?
“Be supportive.”
“I am supportive! I am the master of being supportive. Faen, no one could be more supportive than me - I practically invented being supportive.”
Noora pictures Even fondly looking at the younger boy, as if he singlehandedly put the moon in the sky and surrounded it with beautiful silver stars. He’s probably leaning his head closer to Isak over the counter, to the point where their foreheads are brushing each other.
“Of course, baby. You’re the most supportive.”
“Takk, Evi.” Isak barely whispers before the only sounds in the room are of lips pressing against each other. That’s her second cue to leave.
“You are my beautiful forever…a connection so deep that even an eternity doesn’t seem long enough to spend with you.” - Steve Maraboli
If Vilde had her way, it would’ve been another neon-themed party.
But Sana and Eva reminded her that they already had a neon-themed party and Chris, strangely enough, petitioned to have an Ancient Greek party.
So there they are, everyone donned in white togas and gold sandals. There’s grumpy Isak in the corner with his boyfriend and his friends, wearing a golden crown atop his golden locks. There’s Ingrid with her arm around Sara, in a sexy white dress and pale pink lipstick. Over by the radio, are Iben and her new boyfriend chatting over beer in matching white sheets tied around their bodies.
Noticeably absent from the party is Eva’s arm (and mouth) candy - Penetrator Chris.
Vilde is the first to notice. “Eva, where is Chris? I thought he said he was coming.”
Eva shrugs. “I don’t know. We’re not really…uh, talking anymore.”
That’s a surprise to Noora. “Really?”
Eva looks at her and nods, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.
And while that makes some of the tension flow out of Noora’s shoulders, Vilde is not as pleased. “But he was supposed to bring the Penetrator boys! When they’re here, people think our parties are cool and want to join Kosegruppa. We get so many more likes on Instagram! Eva, call him please.”
“I think our party is cool enough already.” Sana shrugs.
“Me too.” Chris chimes in, nodding vigorously. Kasper’s there as usual, his arm around her shoulder and a beer in another hand.
“Det går bra,” Eva tells her with a wide, wide smile. “Tonight’s going to be a great night!”
Eva’s suspiciously in a good mood.
Noora’s been by her side pretty much since the moment she walked through the door and Eva’s lips haven’t touched a beer can. She is perfectly sober and she is perfectly happy.
Noora’s not the only one looking at her oddly. Vilde’s raising her eyebrow and has her head cocked to the side while Chris, without her trademark plastic spoon, is looking Eva up and down.
Sana’s just smirking.
“Let’s dance.” Eva declares, grabbing Noora’s hand and pulling her into the mass of drunk teenagers. It’s just the two of them now, alone together in a crowded room.
Noora smiles, with her cherry-colored lips, at the giggling mess that is Eva Kviig Mohn. “Why are you so happy?”
“Because everything’s good, everything’s fine, no?”
Yeah, pour a little cherry wine, yeah
Maybe it’s just Noora but the world seems to have flipped upside down and her stomach is now in her chest, while her heart is thumping against the constraints of her throat. Mamma used to say she was dramatic. “Uh. Yeah. I think.”
They’re swaying their hips and nodding their heads to some new Top 40 song that Vilde keeps playing over and over. People are dancing around them - girls are seductively shimmying and boys are awkwardly side-stepping - but no one is dancing with them.
Eva’s hazel eyes shine and twinkle, lighting her face up like that American holiday with fireworks. Except Eva’s delight is more magical than any fireworks and Noora is oh so heavenly under her spell.
Eventually, they’re no longer the only two in the room. Their friends find their way back to their sides, and they’re all singing loudly to Vilde’s mediocre playlist. They’re five girls having fun with girls and enjoying the company of other girls. Sana’s right - their party is cool enough without the problematic Penetrators.
Chris and Kasper start hooking up in the corner of the room, causing a chain reaction. Not to be outdone, Iben and her new boyfriend passionately attach their lips together while her arms are wrapped around his neck and his fingers are tapping beats against the small of her back. A couple, whose names Noora isn’t quite familiar with, press each other against the wall and make-out like there’s not tomorrow.
Isak Valtersen isn’t quite comfortable with PDA, even though the entire world knows Even has a claim on his cold, soft heart. They’re noticeably absent from the Bro Squad, where Jonas and Mahdi are flirting with pretty blonde first years.
Magnus and Vilde are flirting around each other, daring the other to make the first move. Sana is chatting with Ingrid, Sara, and the rest of the Pepsi-Max girls, while they continue shaking their hips to the beat of the song.
She and Eva are alone together in a crowded room again.
“Noora, can I tell you something?”
Noora’s heart physically stops beating. Blood is rushing furiously in her ears and the world is spinning, spinning, spinning. The world is shining, shining, shining in such vivid colors; Noora can see every hue of Eva’s moon-colored skin, every dark fleck and every spark of hope in her hazel eyes.
“Anything, Eva.”
There’s that smile again, the one full of teeth and dimples that sprouts a blush on Noora’s cheeks the color of her lipstick. She needs to be more careful - someone might think she was in love or something.
“I think,” Eva begins to say, her voice close to a whisper. They’re in the middle of a party, but they’re the only two people in an endless universe. “I think you’re beautiful. So, so beautiful.”
Noora’s neck certainly does not turn bright pink, like a flamingo. “You are.”
“And I think,” Eva continues, her eyes on the floor as she lessens the space between them. “I think you should consider something.”
One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other to get to the angel. “Anything, Eva.”
“You should consider,” Eva continues to stall. “Like, you should consider, maybe, being more than my best friend. Like, being my romantic best friend. My best friend who I do romantic things with.”
Noora stares at the girl in front of her, before her laugh fills the space between them. “That was so bad!”
Eva grins so wide, Noora’s nervous her mouth is going to fall off of her face. “The first message I literally sent you was ‘H’. Do I seem like a poet to you? You should date me. How about that?”
Noora’s jaw slightly drops, enough for a wicked grin to cross over Eva’s face before she proceeds to close the distance between their lips.
Eva tastes like cotton candy and strawberry chapstick. Noora pulls her closer, sliding one hand around her neck and one hand through her chestnut hair, drowning in this dream come to life. They’re in the middle of the freaking room - surely people are watching - but Noora can’t bring herself to care.
Not when Eva tastes like a perfect happy ever after.
“when you meet that person. a person. one of your soulmates. let the connection. relationship be what it is. it may be five mins. five hours. five days. five months. five years. a lifetime.” - Nayyirah Waheed.