Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Trust me, we'll arrive first."

Alejandro whispered as his steps became gradually faster, trying to make Noah's ones take more speed too.

"I think I'll take my own way, Owen and Tyler are probably lost and we need to arrive all."

Noah hissed in faint voice, stopping suddenly while he noticed Alejandro steps go slower.

"C'mon Noah, they will find their way to arrive later. I want to reach the finish line with you, my brilliant teammate."

The latino smiled using all his charms, approaching to his companion with his hands on his waist, touching the black leather of his belt with his thumbs.

"Nice compliment, teacher's pet. But I'm going to search them."

Noah's eyes closed a little while he slightly smiled, his cheeks taking a little bit of a maroon color, he has hoping Alejandro couldn't notice how uncomfortable he was feeling.

"I'm just saying the facts, mi amigo, but I'll respect your decision. See you at the line then!"

Alejandro looked down, winking rapidly at him and turning around to began running through the tight path leading to the meeting point with Chris.

Noah blinked a couple times, strongly holding the sleeve of his white t-shirt.

"See you there then."

Noah hissed, his subconscious was killing him and making feel in a terrible way about Alejandro and his latest attitudes. Completly gone, his steps leaded him to the road he had seen Owen and Tyler run in. He wandered slowly thought the dark path, arriving to a saloon with a rack that resembled a medieval torture machine. Owen was tying up Tyler's wrists to the artifact, smiling widely as he saw Noah standing at the other side of the room. He waved and asked him to tie up Tyler's ankles, and while he did it, through his mind crossed all those questions about Alejandro.

"Where's Al lil' buddy?"

Owen asked as he approached to him, getting ready to pull the lever and star stretching the poor Tyler who's face expressed pure fear.

"He went directly to the meeting point, he'll be waiting for us there, he asked me to go with him."

Noah talked without thinking, way more concerned about all the tiny details about Alejandro's attitude that he hadn't noticed. He had been... Way to nice to him lately, a pattern that he noticed on the latino when he wanted to eliminate someone.

"That's very smart! Why didn't you go with him?"

Tyler asked while Owen moved the lever in the slightlest way, causing the brunette to scream dramatically as Noah closed his eyes on a mix of weird emotions for him.

"I don't know! I just... I just not trust him."

Noah yelled, while violently moving the lever.

"OKAY OKAY BUT STOP IT-"

"Oh! I'm sorry Tyler."

The rack stopped while Owen unleashed the leather bracelets of Tyler wrists, they had already gotten the clue needed.

"How could you not trust Al Noah? I mean, we've come this far thanks to him."

Owen giggled as the brunette moved his arms, sighing much more relaxed as he was finally out of that torture.

"He's just like Heather, his only flex is having social abilities. That's why we're here."

Noah frowned, crossing his arms over as the confused eyes of his teammates glared at him.

"I thought you guys were like super close friends or something like that."

Tyler whispered more to Owen that for Noah, while getting on his foot and moving side to side in the search of eliminating his new back pain.

"Yeah lil' buddy, Al is all to be trusted!"

"No he's not! I know he want one of us to get eliminated!"

Now the saloon was in complete silence, the air was thick and he probably seem as a total deranged.

"He's like an eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil. All slippery. I just know he's evil."

There were no more words, complete silence until they arrived at the meeting point. And as Noah feared, they arrived as last. The environment was uncomfortable, he felt like throwing up and Alejandro's gaze was all over him, like he could read his mind and knew everything that he had said about him. The team reunited, awkward silence reigning until the latino's voice resounded all over the room.

"So, we did not arrive first but we did an excellent job, team."

The other three men smiled, even though Noah faked it.

"You know, as I arrived first, I could actually see all that you guys were saying and doing on the way here, you were actually very centered on the challenge!"

Noah swallowed thick, feeling the cold sweat starting to run down his forehead.

"...And it was a reassurance too to hear some complains."

The green gazes meted, and as Alejandro frowned, Noah could feel his heartbeat accelerate, he was actually incredibly nervous.

"You were watching everything?"

Noah asked, clearly ashamed as Owen and Tyler faces contracted in an uncomfortable expression.

"Well, that's awkward."

He rubbed his nape, drifting his view away on a try of escaping of that situation.

"Like an eel dipped in grease."

Alejandro repeated, closing his eyes in an expression of, apparent, disappointment.

"Um, from where I came from that's actually a... Compliment!"

Noah spited with nervousness for the fist time in a long time, making Owen laugh while he was being dragged to the exit by Tyler who could actually feel the thick atmosphere that was forming between Alejandro and Noah. He definitely did not want to be part of that, and he was sure that Owen did not want it either.

"Um, Owen and I forgot to close the faucet of our showers... We'll be back soon!"

And the door of the saloon slammed shut behind them. Noah wished the earth swallowed him whole on that second. His gaze noticed how Alejandro's face relaxed, turning into a side smile while he approached to him, putting his arm around his shaking shoulders.

"Um... I'm sorry for what I said dude. I just..."

"You know Noah... I deeply believe you're a really smart person, you know yourself perfectly and that allows you to know your limits, not something that everyone has..."

Not just for being interrupted, he was starting to finally hate Alejandro. Deep inside he was more than conscious that all of that compliments were filthy lies, it was the same procedure with all of his friends who had been already eliminated by him.

"...But you're emotionally weak, it makes me wanna laugh how you worry about an asshole like Owen..."

Noah pushed him back, squeezing his firsts as he frowned, fixing his eyes on Alejandro's ones.

"Don't you dare to talk shit about my friends, you traitor. I know what you're doing, and your stupid charms don't work on me."

Alejandro smiled falsely, approaching to the little swarthy in front of him with the intention of scaring him, failing miserably.

"Hahaha, you're way to smart, mi amigo. That's why you'll have to go."

Noah's eyes opened wide, he could not believe what his supposed "amigo" was telling him. Probably he had already convinced everyone to vote for him, there was nothing he could do but to accept his fate.

"I can't believe that I considered you as a real friend, I was never wrong at saying that you're a filthy eel."

And he left the room.

As expected, the voting started and his entire team ended up voting for him. The latino smiled mischievously, his gaze following Noah's steps as he walked in front of his former group, approaching to the open exit of the plane. Chris handed him the suitcase with the parachute, and as Noah put it on, he flicked his eyes to the space that Alejandro was occupying, directly into his view. Suddenly, that phrase of the "real friend" hitter him in the right place, bringing back a bunch of good memories that they shared at one point of the show.

His eyes widened in surprise, he knew he couldn't take his gaze away from him and his plan to look revengeful on Noah just went into the abyss. The mouth of the one he was looking at contracted into an exceedingly small smile while his eyes remained fixed on him, and just before jumping, his lips uttered something, an advice.

"Beware of eels."

The last time Alejandro saw Noah, his dark hair was blowing in the wind hitting his relaxed face, his various layers of clothing were wrinkled, and his right shoe was untied. At no moment did he stop seeing him directly, and the second they lost their gazes after the jump, Alejandro felt that he had lost something particularly important.

And he wanted it back, even though Noah would never give it to him.

Could he ever have it again?

Chapter Text

Almost 5 years had passed since the broadcast and end of the first and last season of that program directed by Chris McClean in which the group of teenagers who had agreed to participate, with the illusion of a million dollars, had suffered so much. Kinda funny since the winner fell into a volcano with the money included. Obviously, after such an accident, the show was cancelled. Chris and his assistant, known as Cheff, went to prison and all of them were sent home immediately. After tremendous humiliation, each contestant had tried their best to continue with their life as normal, something that proved difficult since every once in a while, society seemed to remember the show, and their contestants. Most days were ordinary for the now, young adults, once stars of national television. However, from time to time, they had to deal with cameras and paparazzi above them, people wanted to know what the life of the protagonists of Total Drama was! And for Noah, those were the worst days.

He opened his eyes slowly, stunned, by the uncontrolled vibrating of his phone, which received notification after notification, something out of the ordinary on his life. Sitting up heavily, he took the device that would not stop vibrating to silence it, and once and for all, check what was causing the commotion. To his number, hundreds of messages arrived in a group that had the title of "Total Meeting" along with a particular choice of emojis. Noah frowned, highlighting even more the wrinkle on his forehead that he'd had since he was fifteen, consequence from his always sarcastic expression. What the fuck was going on? He slowly began to read the most recent messages that his phone allowed him to see, the chat was so saturated that the temperature of his device began to rise.

+1 ********* ~ Tyler Wilson 🥊 [6:13am]
so in the Italian restaurant?

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [6:13 am]
we can't decide anything yet, there are many more to answer!

+351 ********* ~Courtney Oliveira. [6:15 a.m.]
How stupid, if they don't answer it is obviously because they don't want to come. We are not going to beg them for one to come to a simple dinner.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [6:18 am]
Okay okay, let's wait 35 minutes. if they don't answer, we'll meet at the Italian restaurant tomorrow night, without them.

owen [6:22 am]
@Noah Tremblay.
@Eva M.
@Duncan 🤟
@Alejandro Burromuerto
We need your answer guys!!!

Noah frowned further, tossing his phone into the middle of his wide bed as he desperately rubbed the bridge of his nose. A dinner? With his, sometime, co-stars? In an Italian restaurant!? The idea became worse with each thought, everything was destined to go wrong. If he accepted and went, he would have to figure out how to avoid being eaten alive by the paparazzi, since it was obvious that everyone would find out about the "Total Meeting" and the news would have it on the front page. He would have to take out, wash and iron the only formal suit he had, since "famous" tales would not go to any restaurant. Worse still, he will have to see the face of all of them. Hear about Courteney's successful career? No thanks. Listen to Harold complain about the new Markiplier videos? Less. Put up with the awkward flirtations between Bridgette and Geoff? Definitely not.

Noah chuckled sarcastically, stretching out his arms lazily in preparation for his witty reply. He took his phone with both hands, inhaling heavily as he touched the three dots inside the chat, opening the options screen and pressing, with a smile on his face, the option of "leave group". He left his phone on his pillow, letting himself fall on the, still warm, sheets while he closed his eyes once more, it was Friday and his work started until 9 am, the incessant messages had woken him up at 6 am and the night before he hadn't precisely a restful sleep. The silence, once again, reigning in his room, gave him back the peaceful environment that he so longed for and that calmed him down, something that was not quite common for his. He allowed his face to relax, eliminating for a few seconds his sarcastic expression and wrinkles, revealing the baby face he had always had.

Sleep seized him once more, the atmosphere in his room was so warm and quiet that he couldn't help but fall into Morpheus's arms once again. Already dozing, he heard a slight vibration almost in the background of his subconscious, perhaps one of those stupid notifications to drink water. However, the sound repeated once, and once more, and once more. Noah's eyes widened open on the sixth vibrate, furious. He got up quickly, desperately taking the phone to silence it once more. His face twisted in pure anger to see that his phone was already silenced, the vibration returned because he had been added to that stupid group once again and was being mentioned over and over and over again by basically all the participants. What a fucking stress, he thought. He didn't wanted to respond to anything within the group, having left should say enough about his thoughts. Swallowing his anger and in an attempt to calm down to ward off the headaches that tormented him from time to time, he once again left the group. And to his bad luck, in front of his eyes, Bridgette once more added him.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [6:34 am]
@Noah Tremblay. won't you come? :(

+1 ********* ~Tyler Wilson 🥊 [6:34am]
@Noah Tremblay. yeah dude, you can't miss it!

+351 ********* ~Courtney Oliviero. [6:35 a.m.]
@Noah Tremblay. Please Noah, stop being so reserved once.

+61 ********* ~ Geoff 🤠 [6:36 am]
@Noah Tremblay. DUDEEE, don't even think about missing it

Noah's astonished eyes read message after message, it seemed that... They wanted him at dinner? He blinked repeatedly out of his confused trance. Since when did they want him for their meetings? What he meaned is that, since he was young, he has always been reserved and classified as a "spoilsport", for which he could not process that they want him to be present at dinner after all. Noah leaned against the padded headboard of his bed, still reading messages as wires connected through his mind to create the slight sensation of lengthening.

owen [6:36 a.m.]
@Noah Tremblay. Little Buddy!! I know you don't like to go out but this is once in a lifetime!!

owen [6:37 a.m.]
@Noah Tremblay. We are all in Canada for once, that will not happen again!!! You should come!!

owen [6:38 a.m.]
@Noah Tremblay. We're also going to an Italian restaurant!! 😋🍝🍝

To his own surprise, Noah found himself laughing genuinely at the messages from Owen, the only person that he had been in contact with after the show. He never quite understood how they became such close friends, they were completely different people but somehow compatible as friends. Together, they had a lot of good times and memories, and for it, Noah considered him as a very dear friend. The lengthening gained strength and turned into nostalgia, the sensitive side was coming out of him and the temptation to accept began to appear in his mind.

+1 ********* ~ LaBomba 💋 [6:40 am]
@Noah Tremblay. Yeah sugar, who will cheer us up with their sarcastic comments if you don't come? ;)

+41 ********* ~Heather Inoue. [6:42 a.m.]
@Noah Tremblay. Totally, the Cast isn't complete without the sarcastic dude.

+49 ********* ~Trent ♻️ [6:44 am]
@Noah Tremblay. yes bro! Gwen and I would be sooo happy to see you again!

Noah shook his head, a smile already on his face. The compliments were too many, and his softer side had already beaten him. He sighed between giggles, typing something that seemed to cheer up everyone in the chat room.

Myself. [6:48 a.m.]
hello everyone. thanks for... the insistence ? easy to see how busy your lives are. anyway, can someone give me the address of the restaurant ?

And as he had anticipated, as soon as he sent the message, his phone exploded again with a thousand more messages. Trying to hide how happy he felt, Noah stood up with a little more energy, stretching his arms and legs correctly while he yawned widely, already more relaxed and with, surprisingly, good morning energy. His phone, still on his bed, muffling the vibration in the thick feather bedspread, stayed there as Noah jumped into the bathroom for a quick shower. His multi-layered pajamas were scattered all over the greenish-hued bathroom floor, while the steam from the hot shower the homeowner was taking fogged up the mirror. Noah put his face under the shower, drenching his hair that already hung just below his shoulder blades, maybe it was time for a trim.

He sighed in absolute relaxation, the warm water was capable of taking all his worries away in a matter of seconds. After a couple more minutes, he came out of the shower with a towel around his waist, stopping in front of his large closet looking for clothes for that day. Once dressed under several layers of clothing, he organized his room a bit and headed to the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast. It was barely 7:30, he had plenty of time to prepare something he'd like and leave calmly, he had a job that paid very well and was classified as for "intelligent" people, and yet, it was one of the laziest jobs ever. He was qualified as an "expert", and all that he had to do was explain and give his opinion on the subject in which he was an "expert" on, nothing more. He had studied aeronautics at the university, graduated with perfect grades and with a thousand open doors ahead.

More than one teacher had recommended his profile, and he received on more than one occasion the opportunity to work in the Army as an aeronautical technician, a job that promised a lot. However, he had to meet certain requirements, such as a good physical condition and high mathematical levels, and he did not have any. He had been a short, skinny man all his life, and he didn't have the best relationship with numbers. Likewise, he loved his work. He was easy going about it and enthusiastic about the things he talked about, since he loved aeronautics as a little kid too. Plus, he had a very flexible schedule and quiet working space, all that he needed. As he thought about what to prepare, he remembered as if by chance that he had prepared oatmeal the night before, and with even higher spirits, he hurried to get the glass jar out of his refrigerator.

And although he knew that from the distance, he seemed like a dietician obsessed for the type of things he ate, the reality is that he enjoyed the most normal foods on the planet produced by what he ate when he was younger. Growing up in a family of nine meant not having access to many foods that, for his situation, were considered expensive. And yet, he had gotten used to eating the simplest things, he had grown fond of them and they were what he most enjoyed eating. Like oats. And of course, from time to time he felt like buying something else, because money was definitely not lacking on his life. But for him it was more than enough to start the morning with a good old oatmeal. He cut a few pieces of banana to sprinkle more cinnamon on them, sitting at the kitchen counter to eat quietly. As he scooped a spoonful into his mouth, he opened the "Total Meeting" chat to check the messages that were still coming in.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [7:48 am]
@Noah Tremblay. excellent!!! I'm so glad you're joining us!! 🥳

+1 ********* ~ CodeMaister 😎 [7:52 am]
@Noah Tremblay. heyyy good to know ur coming man, Sierra says that she is excited to see if you still wear the same grandpa clothes lol

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [7:53 am]
@CodyMaster 😎 Sierra is coming too? 🙃

+1 ********* ~ CodeMaister 😎 [7:53 am]
@Bridgette 🌊 yep

+1 ********* ~ Eva M. [7:57 am]
@Bridgette 🌊 Sorry for answering until now, but I think I'll be able to go.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:01 am]
@Eva M. EVAAA!! Don't worry, what a joy to know you're coming 🤍

Noah smirked, scraping the edges of the glass bowl in which he ate breakfast with his spoon. He could eat oatmeal with cinnamon for the rest of his days, he had a soft spot for that spice and they could make him eat anything as long as it had cinnamon.

+61 ********* ~ Eva M. [8:02 am]
@Bridgette 🌊 ;)

+351 ********* ~Courtney Oliviero. [8:05 a.m.]
It's good to know you're coming, Noah, Eva! What a thrill to finally see you all once again. 🤍

+49 ********* ~Gwen 🕸️ [8:07am]
Thanks for going ;)

And Noah wouldn't admit it, but he was kind of looking forward to seeing Gwen and Eva again. They had also been quite close during the show, and they were persons he also greatly admired.

+1 ********* ~ Lindsey 💝 [8:09 am]
Tyler says he's sooo happy, I'm writing it here since he can't find his charger ;b

+1 ********* ~ ElizaBeth P.
Yeyyy

+41 ********* ~Heather Inoue. [8:12 a.m.]
Good to know that both of you are coming. :)

Noah's relaxed eyes read the messages that came and went, however, they opened in slight surprise for him, which he imagine to be absolute for certain people.

+1 ********* ~ Duncan 🤟 [8:21 am]
@Bridgette 🌊 When would dinner be?

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:23 am]
tomorrow at 8 pm 🙃

+61 ********* ~ Geoff 🤠 [8:23 am]
@Duncan 🤟 DUDE YOU HAVE TO COME

+44 ********* ~ DJ 🐢 [8:24 am]
@Geoff 🤠 @Duncan 🤟 YEAH 🔥

Noah rolled his eyes, that trio wasn't his favorite and only because of Duncan, since he had a lot of esteem for Geoff and DJ.

+1 ********* ~ Duncan 🤟 [8:26 am]
I think if I can go ;)

+1 ********* ~ Harold 👾 [8:28 am]
fantastic ;D

Good news for some, bad news for others. To Noah, completely irrelevant.

+55 ********* ~izzz 🐍 [8:29 am]
@Eva M. UR COMINGGG 🧨

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:31 am]
YES, what a joy 🤍🤍🤍
so do we are complete? :)

Why wouldn't answer? Could be fun.

Myself. [8:34 am]
i guess so.

+34 ********* ~ Alejandro Burromuerto. [8:34 am]
I will also go. Thanks for the invitation.

And Noah was shocked. He had completely forgotten Alejandro's existence and the reality shock hitter him in the exact spot. Now he wanted to cancel suddenly, he didn't wanted to see that snake again, much less have to put up with his mocking faces. However, he wanted to see his other co-stars too, and he wouldn't let Alejandro ruin his night.

owen [8:37 am]
Oh.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:38 am]
@Alejandro Burromuerto. fantastic! so all set. I will send you the list with all the information. 🤍

And while Bridgette sent the list, Noah went to wash the dishes, trying to relax on the subject of Alejandro. He hated that guy and wished he never had to see him again, but having a good time with the people he once considered friends had to come with a price, as everything in life. And better, the positive side, if he had humiliated that guy when he was younger, he could do it now too.

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:43 am]
Reservation at 8 pm on September 7 for twenty people, at the Italian restaurant "Storia D'amore" on Queen Street, Toronto, Canada.
Guest List:
- Bridgette Summers.
- Geoff Miller.
- LeShawna Robinson.
- Harold Caron.
- Heather Inoue.
- Courtney Oliviero.
- Izzy O'Connor.
- Owen Gagnon.
- Beth Pinto.
- Gwen Lefebvre.
- Trent Pelletier.
- Duncan Ouellet.
- Eva Martinez.
- Tyler Wilson.
- Lindsey Lavoie.
- Dj Cloutier.
- Sierra Dube.
- Cody Hamilton.
- Noah Trembley.
- Alejandro Burromuerto.
♥️19

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊[8:47 am]
Pls come with moderately formal clothes ;)
Thank you all for accepting, see you soon! 🤍
♥️19

The hearts began to reach the list and Bridgette's message, Noah left his and went to the his library to take his things to go to work. A lot had happened in a brief time, and he felt like an entire day had passed. However, the day was just beginning.

It was going to be a long wait until the next day.

Chapter Text

Noah finally left his house with his phone in his pocket, walking carefree toward his office that was a couple of blocks away from his apartment. The day passed faster than he would have liked, and between calls and explanations, it was already 6 pm, time to go home. He hurried to take his stuff to put it away, the building guard was not the kindest man and at 6:15 on the dot he closed the main entrance, and turning around to go out through the parking lot did not make Noah overly excited. He turned off the lights in his spacious office, racing down the stairs from the seventh floor. He was the laziest guy on earth and would have preferred to go down the elevator like he always did, but that machine was so slow that he could've wait until 8 o'clock just for it to go up. Exhausted and out of breath, he waved goodbye to the embittered guard as he left the building, leaning against a wall for oxygen.

The air was freezing and he could feel the chill seep in under the several layers of his clothing, all his life he'd been a sickly man that suffered from terrible colds, courtesy of anemia and low iron, that kind of stuff. He hastily pulled his husky jacket, it was light but warm enough to protect him from the Canadian wintry weather. He took his briefcase while he hurried home, he was tired and his face felt cold, he bet he must have had the tip of his nose red, a bad sign that always led to a cold. His hurried footsteps echoed through the mostly empty streets back home, Noah thought Toronto was very empty for a Friday night. He searched in his pockets for his rattling keys as the janitor on duty opened the front door for him with a smile, one that Noah didn't return. He hurried to climb the stairs to the fourth floor, pushing the key into the lock to finally enter his house.

The white wooden door slammed shut behind him as his shoes faced the doorway, Noah tossed his briefcase onto the sofa as he hurried to his room to change himself into his pajamas, even his loved jacket had failed him against the soon-to-be chilly weather of the Toronto winter. His clothes were once again scattered on the light wooden floor of his room as he took the myriad items that made up his pajamas. He lay down on the bed once ready, getting instantly under his always warm feather bedspread. He sighed more calmly, he was still shaking slightly but there was nothing like getting home and getting into bed, at least for him. He reached for his phone, taking it vaguely to check messages he hadn't been able to see during the day.

In the "Total Meeting" group they hadn't said much else, one or two jokes and some several specific questions from Courtney regarding the dress code, nothing special. He had a couple of messages from his office mates, and also an invitation to lunch from one of his coworkers. A girl named Emma, that even though Noah found quite charming, could never be anything more than a friend to him. He knew well that he had no interest in women, trivial details that he had noticed on the program that made him famous once. He felt bad for not having answered her, he hadn't really had time to see the message, and would actually enjoy having lunch with her. The least he could do at the time was answer her and try to settle for another day.

emma [12:55 a.m.]
Do you want to have lunch with me today? (:

Myself. [6:46 p.m.]
i'm sorry, I didn't have time to see your message today. wanna have lunch on monday ?

emma [6:47 pm]
Sure thing, see ya on Monday then!

More relaxed, he kept checking notifications. A thousand and one reminders to drink water, something he hadn't done all day. His main doctor had told him that he needed to be more hydrated, Noah always forgot and he was sure that the reminders would help him. Predictably, they had not been successful. He had a couple of emails too, about promotions from the stores he was affiliated with, usually supermarkets and the occasional clothing store. His favorite astrology channel had uploaded a new video, he already had a plan for the night and that slightly lifted his spirits. Finishing checking the latest notifications, he noticed a message on Instagram that he hadn't checked. He didn't really use that social network, so it seemed strange to him to have messages there.

He opened the app with a very slight curiosity tickling his chest, from the preview he didn't seem to know the account neither, strange. He also found a new follower whose name made him feel lighter, as if his soul were escaping from his body. He could swear he went pale, a strange feeling between anger and confusion taking over his head.

Alejandro B. started following you.

What the fuck? Alejandro was following him? He felt as if that jerk could read his thoughts, he had made it noticeably clear that he did not want to know more about him, and as if by magic, he kept appearing and appearing in his life, with his luck he would be sitting next to him all dinner. And as an external force of his took control of his hands, he finished looking over the latino's profile before reviewing the message he had sent him, having no idea what it could be and not being specially excited about it.

texas_reznikoff.23
Alejandro B. 532 followers 77 following

There were no posts, no featured stories, literally nothing. It looked like a normal account, pretty basic to Noah's eyes. He didn't quite understand how Alejandro had found his account, he didn't used his name and very few people followed it, someone must have told him. Probably Owen. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with slight stress, obviously Owen would do whatever Alejandro asked, after all, he had always admired him greatly. With anger rising to his head as a result of the memory of the last time he had seen the Latino, Noah opened the chat with him once and for all, willing to find out what was going on.

Alejandro B. [4:33 pm]
Good afternoon. I apologize in advance for the very direct question. But is this Noah Tremblay's account?

Noah chuckled, his brows clenched in his classic sarcastic expression, what a stupid way to start a conversation. The idea of sending him to hell, telling him that he had the wrong account and using humiliation once more crossed over his mind, it would be fun and he would have a wonderful time. However, he was going to see him the next day and he didn't hate himself enough to make the environment three times as uncomfortable for the future Noah. So he swallowed his hatred, clearly annoyed. He took a deep breath, leaning his back against the back of his bed. His fingers typed rapidly, Noah's eyes read, and the message was deleted. Once again, he typed and deleted after reading, the third try being the one that he send.

Myself. [6:58 pm]
being so to the point is somewhat disrespectful, but yes, this is my account. night.

Noah tossed his phone once more in the middle of his bed, getting up with the intention of making something for dinner. He picked up his clothes and folded them to leave them in the laundry basket. Saturday was laundry day and specifically the day to dust off the few formal clothes he had. And while preparing a sandwich, he hummed a melody that he listened when he was younger, on his way to school. As the fourth and only son among seven children, he was one of the oldest kids and the "man of the house". In the mornings, he helped his older sisters take all the other little girls to school, and when they passed a cafeteria, somewhat rustic in Noah's eyes, he could hear that soft melody made by a marimba, a curious instrument to say the least for a shop that sold coffee. The sound had become embedded in his head, and although he wasn't the biggest fan of music, that little song held an incredibly special place in his mostly cold heart. He sat at his kitchen table, if he had learned anything from his parents it was to always eat at the table, he knew that several of his acquaintances used to eat in their respective rooms, but for him a good dinner could only be at the table.

After finishing eating and tidying up his kitchen, he went to his room to check what moderately formal clothes he had. He wasn't precisely the most assertive when it came to dress codes, the informal was the type of clothing he wore daily, and the formal... Well, what he wasn't used to wear. He wore collared shirts daily, mostly because he liked how they looked under various layers. Waistcoats could also be considered formal, he normally used the ones made of wool, but he knew he had some in cloth somewhere in his enormous closet. Pants were a problem, he only had cargos and fisherman shorts, after all, he was the biggest fan of baggy pants with many pockets.

Rummaging among his folded clothes, he found a slightly loose-fitting black pant, it seemed at least a size larger than the one he wore so he assumed it had probably been one of those gifts he had never worn. His bad. He laid out on his bed the mix he had in mind, more T-shirts than a normal person would wear, huge pants and three coat options, maybe he'd take all three. The first layer would definitely be one of his thermal shirts, specifically the long-sleeved white one. Over that one, would go a light blue collared shirt, his favorite as far as speaking of clothing. Over it would be a button down vest in smooth black fabric, a garment Noah wasn't the biggest fan of as he felt it did the job of a corset and that wasn't exactly what he was looking for.

Below would be the big pants, high waisted in fact, to which he would have to pick up the part at the waist and the boot if he didn't want them to fall off at the first step. Black loafers over any pair of dark stockings, along with a light brown coat somewhat larger than what he was used to wearing, maybe he'd bring a scarf or gloves too, depending on the weather of the next night. He left the clothes on the desk in his library, turning off all the lights in his home, returning to his room while turning on his TV and getting back to bed, the clock was already showing 8:47, and he, like the old man who was trapped in the body of a young adult, was already being hitter by the sweet sensation of sleep.

He took the phone from him once more before putting it on charge, reading the new messages that had arrived while he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand, whoever saw him would think that he had a highly difficult job, poor tired little man. Not really, he was just too lazy. His attention was caught by some messages from Alejandro, who seemed to have misunderstood the message that Noah had wanted to give him, since he had started an extremely awkward conversation.

Alejandro B. [7:01 pm]
Oh.
I wasn't expecting a positive response.
And you're right, sorry for the direct tone.
How are you doing, Noah?

Alejandro B. [7:46 pm]
I hadn't noticed until now that you said goodbye at once, I guess you went to sleep.
It's way too early for that, Noah.

Alejandro B. [8:23 pm]
I'll go to sleep too, good night.

Noah didn't know whether to laugh, be angry, or feel sorry. If that had been absurdly uncomfortable for him, he didn't even want to imagine what it would have been like for the man that wrote it. He considered answering him, he was strongly curious as to why Alejandro suddenly seemed so excited to talk to him. Obviously he didn't share that sentiment, he was still resentful and probably would be for the rest of his life, Noah was a vengeful person who didn't forgive, much less forget. But curiosity might overcome those feelings though, and Noah was only slightly concerned about that.

Still, he turned off his phone after previewing the messages, plugging it into cable while he played the new video he'd been told about in the mail, "What NASA Discovered on Saturn?" on his TV. He arranged the various pillows he used while he hid his arms under the sheets, very slowly closing his eyes as he listened almost in the background of his mind to the voice of the narrator speaking about his favorite planet, and in a matter of minutes, he fell completely asleep.

And the next day passed faster than ever. He felt that he had done everything in a matter of seconds, he had opened his eyes at half past 8 in the morning and when he looked at the clock again it was already 6 in the evening. He spent most of the day washing his clothes, and he took just enough time to iron what he would wear that night, he also had a haircut once and for all, now his hair hung a little below the nape of his neck. He took a quick shower and put on the already washed and ironed clothes that he had chosen the night before, looking in the mirror while he thought about which scarf would match best. He applied cologne to his neck and collarbones before tying a silky crimson scarf around his neck, onto which he dabbed a bit more of the fragrance. A couple more splashes on his clothes and wrists were enough for him to be ready to go out.

He took his phone that he kept charging, put on his favorite rings and as he left his apartment, he called for a taxi to take him to the restaurant that was considerably far from his home. He looked at his wristwatch once outside his building, 7:36 pm, just in time to arrive at 8. The trip was quiet although Noah was dying of anxiety in the inside, he was beginning to regret, late as always, the decision that he had taken. The taxi dropped him off in front of the huge 3-flooer restaurant at 7:54 pm, for which he waited until 8 o'clock to enter. A man in very formal dresses asked him to what event he was coming to and his name, and after checking a short list, he led him to a private room on the second floor.

The swarthy swallowed thick as the doors opened, and like a bucket of freezing water falling on him, he almost fell back when he saw that there were only three people in the room. Bridgette and Geoff, the hosts, and Alejandro. He had never responded to the messages he had sent to him the night before, and reality just slapped him hard, very hard. He forced himself to return the hugs that the hosts gave him, looking quite happy to see him once more. The latino approached him, to which Noah immediately responded by looking into his eyes, frowning very slightly as the memory of those emerald eyes returned to him, green gazes meeting after a long time that had felt forever.

Alejandro smirked at him, he was wearing a pair of dark pants that matched his collared shirt, a deep indigo color that opened up to his chest, revealing the same necklace he wore when he was a teenager. Noah noticed his hair a little shorter, a couple of dark circles under his eyes and the same beard cut as before. From his ears still dangled the little silver earrings, and by the time he stretched out his hand in greeting, he could see that the metal bracelets still on his wrists and a simple silver ring on his index. Noah stretched out his hand too, forcing himself to smile as if a thousand memories didn't cross his mind at that moment, and at the second his hands touched, he was pulled forcefully into the latino's arms, greeting surprise.

"It's good to see you again, Noah."

Alejandro whispered while Noah felt the blood rise very slightly to his face, a bad sign. He returned the hug obliged, wanting to kick him in the balls and run away from there at that exact second, he hadn't even been there for 15 minutes and the environment already seemed extremely uncomfortable.

"I say the same."

He hissed through his teeth as he was slowly released, receiving a serene, ruddy-cheeked smile from the taller man, who took a seat in his chair once more. The swarthy asked Bridgette which was his seat, and as a joke, she pointed to the one that was right in front of Alejandro's. Noah forced himself to smile once more, and as he made his way to the chair he began to undo the buttons on his coat, holding it open without removing it. The red scarf was left hanging over his chair, and as he looked at his phone with apparent disinterest, he could notice a certain green gaze leering at him from time to time, when he would feel brave enough, he would dare to cross sights, felling a shock all along his spine. Kinda funny tho.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

"So... Noah, what's been of your life?"

Bridgette asked smiling as she rested her elbows on the table. She was wearing a knee-length flattering dress, of a turquoise color, which stood out for the apparent lightness of the fabric. She wore white heels along with a sleek updo, though Noah could swear her hair was much shorter now than before. Her green eyes bulged out quite a bit too, and though he didn't know much about makeup, he did notice the shimmery eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes. Golden jewelry that stood out very slightly on her noticeably more tanned skin, particularly highlighting a golden ring of greenish stones on the ring finger of her right hand. Noah thought she wore a style that suited her very well.

"Everything's been fine, thanks. What about you? And Geoff?"

The aforementioned sat next to the blonde, wrapping his arm around her bare shoulders with a huge smile on his face. They both looked at each other quickly, trying to hide their desire to laugh. The possibility of the announce a wedding crossed Noah's mind, he wouldn't be surprised and a dinner would be the perfect excuse for an omen of such magnitude. Geoff was wearing a white cloth suit, sporting the pastel pink of his tie. Brown loafers and short hair, much shorter than when they were teenagers. He had a bit of a beard, at Bridgette's probably insistence since he had never been the most enthusiastic about facial hair. Little jewelry, just a gold necklace hanging from his neck and a simple but shiny ring on his ring finger as well. They looked happy, and that was what Noah considered important.

"We are doing very well, it's been a wonderful few years."

Geoff smiled, hugging his partner before settling into his chair. Noah and Alejandro smiled too, it was nice to see their friends so happy.

"What about you? Noah, Alejandro? Have you guys stayed on touch?"

Silence took over the room for a few seconds, Alejandro was the one who dared to answer the question, placing one of his hands on his cheek, supporting the weight of his head while putting his elbow on the table.

"Not really, I personally didn't keep in touch with anyone after the competition."

He smiled charmingly, as always. Noah clenched his hands under the table, he was wishing the guy would shut his mouth and not talk anymore, hearing his voice was stressing him out and he had already had enough of him in less than half an hour.

"Yeah... I only talk to Owen from time to time, although I haven't seen him since."

The atmosphere changed abruptly, as three people entered through the door. Courtney, Heather, and Beth arrived together. Alejandro silently observed the three women, he would've thought they changed more. Courtney had the same hair length, it was obvious that a girl like she couldn't tolerate long hair. She wore cream-colored high waisted pants, tied a bow at her waist. Matching with a loose, white shirt that opened slightly on the sleeves. In her forearm, hanging, was a light blazer along with a black bag that matched her heels, shining with silver jewelry that refreshed the warm colors of her palette, she looked quite cute. The three women were greeted by Bridgette, who waved in delight as Alejandro's own eyes swiveled between Heather and Beth.

The shorter girl had changed for the better, she was wearing a wide striped, white sweater that seemed to be made of wool from Alejandro's view. Black bell-bottom pants, clinging to her thighs. Light brown boots, polished and shiny. She was still wearing her classic glasses, but her braces were gone and the brunette sported a beautiful smile. She had longer, slightly wavy, hair and her outlined eyes seemed larger. A slightly touch eyeshadow, golden, just like the hoops she wore, which matched a thin necklace from which dangled a small pink stone. Beth looked very cheerful, Bridgette was more than delighted to see her. The two women came up to greet him, and he, as every time, welcomed them with open arms, charming as always. Both women also greeted Noah, and between hugs and hugs he could see the swarthy slightly uncomfortable face, he knew that he wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact but he wasn't in the position of denying a hug.

His emerald gaze finally settled on some black hair, still short and straight. Heather wore a tight crimson skirt, a little bit over her knees, which matched a vest with a blazer under which a black button-down shirt was visible, slightly open on her neck. From there he noticed a black choker, paired with a longer silver necklace that stood out on her pale skin. Black heels, a small bag of the same color, held by her fingers in which he distinguished several rings. Small but detailed earrings, her eyes were raised in a slightly reddish shade of eyeshadow, she looked beautiful. After returning at Bridgette, Geoff, and Noah's greetings with authentic happiness, the asian woman approached him while she lowered her smile slightly, receiving his hug to continue walking towards her place next to Beth, without saying a single word. A bit uncomfortable for the latino.

Courtney sat next to Noah, who changed his slight annoyed expression at the second that the woman approached him to talk. Heather and Beth joined the conversation, being followed by Bridgette and Geoff. Everyone asking about everyone, curious of what the lives of each other had been about on those five years apart. Something was tickling in Alejandro's chest as he saw how Noah's smiled, so relax and, apparently, comfortable with boring conversation. He seemed much more animated than exchanging words with him. Olive eyes narrowed slightly when he smiled, causing his eyelashes to brush against his cheeks, Alejandro had almost forgotten how long the back-haired man eyelashes were, low blow. He wanted to jump into the conversation, maybe try to even have an secluded conversation with him, but he knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, Noah would close his and not speak again until he shut up. Shit, he really wanted to talk to him, Noah had something that he wanted, and the only way in he could get it, it would be little by little, starting with words that, apparently, Noah didn't wanted to give it back.

The minutes went by and more people arrived, first Cody and Sierra, both dressed in the same reddish color. The brunette looked different, slightly taller and sporting a short beard, surprising to everyone. He was wearing a red shirt that strongly highlighted the rest of his white clothing, paired with brown loafers. A silver chain, apparently shared with Sierra, dangled over the slight opening in the shirt. His hand was held tightly by Sierra's, who sported her natural hair color in a long braid, a deep brown that accentuated the tanned color of her skin. She wore a long dress, also reddish, that flattered her figure. A little eyeliner accompanied her eyes too, and as they greeted everyone, it was easy to see that, in fact, they were quite happy together.

Lindsay and Tyler soon appeared, holding hands as the blonde waved enthusiastically. Tyler wore a black shirt, just like the rest of his clothes. As a teenager he wasn't the accessory lover type, much less now. Alejandro thought he looked strange without his classic bandana on his forehead, allowing his middle cut to wash all over his face. Lindsay wore a short, skintight hot pink dress, white high heels, plus a matching plain bandana taking away her blond hair from her decorated face, making her eyes look stunning by a couple of pearls accompanying her slightly pink make-up. In the brunette arms were both his jacket, also black, and the furry coat of his partner. The greetings were very enthusiastic, Lindsay's joy inevitably contagious. The appearance of Duncan and DJ was surprisingly, they were dressed in practically in the same suit, with the difference in color in the bow ties, DJ's being orange, while the one of, the now black-haired punk, was green. They hadn't changed much, the dusky had the same face and Duncan had removed a couple of his piercings, being much noticeable during the greetings, when he actually got closer.

Alejandro mentally laughed when he saw the awkward encounter between Duncan and Courteney, shutting up almost at the second when he remembered how his greeting with Noah and Heather went, he didn't have the right to laugh. The atmosphere got better and better, the other people's curiosity was contagious and the room began to fill with various conversations, just what Bridgette had in mind when she began to organize dinner. Little by little everyone else arrived, Gwen wearing a black dress, still in the subtle gothic style holding hands with Trent, who had grown his hair out. Harold and LeShawna were still together, she was still as charismatic as ever, the ginger, geek as always. One of the cutest couples at the saloon.

Izzy, Eva, and Owen arrived together, being the last ones. The two women were very close, wearing similar dresses that highlighted their respective qualities. Izzy's hair was much shorter, an even deeper orange that set off the lime green of her garment. Eva kept her black hair up in a purple bow, matching her dress. Owen looked like a newscaster, checkered shirt, and black pants, adorable. With 15 minutes to nine, the room was already full and all the chairs were occupied, the atmosphere was comfortable and Bridgette's plan was going well. The waiters came to pour wine into each guest's tall glass, and soon, the menu was placed in front of them. Everyone began to order, and baskets of complimentary bread were placed on the table as the plates arrived.

Sitting next to Noah was Courtney, who he had been talking to most of the night. She was dating a guy she had met in college while studying law, she seemed cheerful. On his left side was Trent, who was telling him about the popularity that his independent band was taking, being interrupted every so often by Gwen, who was delighted to see Noah again too. Surprisingly, he felt very comfortable in the environment that had been created, it had also felt surprisingly good to talk to people like Gwen and Eva again, they had managed to revive very good memories.

The food began to arrive and therefore a little silence, which little by little turned into a relaxed conversation among the 20 people. Alejandro's eyes twitched into a smile, his plate had finally arrived and it looked amazing. Tartufo e Funghi, fettuccini with black truffle and Parmigiano, how could he not order that delicacy? His emerald eyes squinted at Noah's plate, dark pasta with cherry tomatoes, it looked very curious, but kinda yummy too. The meal was mostly silent, starring Courtney who told what her law degree had been like, being interrupted from time to time by university anecdotes from the others, lots of laughter in between.

Noah took a sip of his red wine, rolling up the Capellini Sugo di Pesce pasta with squid ink and tomato sauce, a vegetable for which he also had a soft spot for, plus the ink thing had caught his attention. He stuck the fork into his mouth, chewing and feeling the mixture of flavors with a smile on his face, he had heard of the restaurant's excellent reputation, but he wasn't expecting it to be that good. As soon everyone finished eating, the happiest part of the night arrived. Shots and cocktails began to arrive at the table, no stop. Several open bottles of wine on the hosts account, the next day they would probably regret being so generous, Noah thought.

"I really want to know about aaaall your lives... Why don't you tell me what happened to you in order?"

Bridgette proposed, taking her glass as the rest of the table smiled at her, saying yes to her in unison.

"Then let's toast! To the Total Meeting!"

The glasses collided and the broken phone luck Bridgette had created started by Lindsey, who was smiling genuinely as she took Tyler's hand, who was already a little over drunk, after all, he had always had very low resistance to alcohol.

"Well, Tyler and I have been very happy. A couple of months ago he finished his graduate degree in data analytics, isn't that great?"

What a hit. Tyler finishing a graduate degree in a subject as complex as data analytics? Wow. Noah was so surprised that he was encouraged to take off his coat, he began to feel hot after the fourth glass of wine.

"I studied to be a professional makeup artist, in fact, next week I have to travel to Los Angeles, I'll be Taylor Swift's makeup artist for her concert!"

Okay that had to be a joke, Lindsey doing makeup on Taylor Swift? In Los Angeles!? Noah could swear the wine was making him have hearing auditions by that point.

"Wow Lindsey! That's wonderful, we're so happy for you!"

Bridgette crooned with a huge smile, followed by several rounds of applause and compliments from the table.

"Awww, thank you guys so much! It's really nice to be able to tell all these good news to such important people, isn't it Tyler?"

The blonde wrapped her arms around her dizzy boyfriend, who smirked.

"Completely..."

And so they all continued. Harold was a professional programmer, a great flexible career that fit nicely with LeShawna's fast-paced job in real estate. Cody was an architect that used to travel a lot, and Sierra made him the perfect company as an emergency vet. Duncan was chef, DJ a Marine biologist and Geoff was a lifeguard on the dangerous beaches of Australia, where Bridgette had a successful career as a surfer. Trent was a musician, quite a successful and a perfect match for a writer like Gwen, and everyone had heard enough about how Courtney...

Noah was stressing out. He asked for permission with a smile as he fished in his pockets for something, walking out of the restaurant as he leaned against the wall, pulling out a cigarette as he fished for the lighter. The bluish flame illuminated his face for a couple of seconds and the already empty sidewalk, he had not checked his watch in a long time but he assumed that it should not have passed 12 am. Once the cigarette was lit, he inhaled the smoke deeply, feeling the bitter taste sneak past his throat. He sighed, letting out a generous cloud of smoke as he closed his eyes. He felt embarrassed.

It seemed like everyone had successful careers, happiness and good social skills, not exactly his situation. He had a good job, yeah, but he would feel like a failure in front of all those powerful careers. And although he loved his vague work, he wasn't too excited to talk about it. He reached his left hand on his pocket while holding the cigarette with the right one, he was so frustrated that he hadn't felt the freezing outside air yet. He padded slightly the cigar, letting the ash fall as he brought it back to his lips. He inhaled, and his attention turned to footsteps that seemed to be approaching to him, perhaps a waiter.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was, Alejandro. The latino didn't say anything, he just leaned against the wall on the other side, looking at him out of the corner of his eye with a small smile. Noah's plans weren't for someone to find out that he smoked, so he immediately extinguished the cigarette butt against the wall, throwing what was left into the small can that was near him, complete silence on the street for what seemed like an eternity.

"I didn't know you smoked."

Alejandro whispered as he rolled up his shirt sleeves, he was hot and the frigid air seemed refreshing to him, he could hear Noah clear his throat.

"Very occasionally."

The dark-haired man replied, also putting his other hand in his pocket.

"You don't have to justify yourself."

The tanned man could have sworn seeing Noah frown, bringing out his forehead wrinkle.

"I'm not justifying anything , I just don't do it often."

Noah wanted to get out of there, but his legs seemed not to want to respond to his thoughts blinded by stress.

"You should never do it, it's bad for your health."

The greenish gazes met by accident, the olive eyes instantly averted while the emerald ones took a little longer, looking over the slightly fitting waistcoat that made stand out the sky blue collar shirt underneath Noah's layers.

"Very funny. I know what I'm doing, brainiac. I don't need you to remind me."

A cough escaped him, the weather was too cold for his low defenses. He had a cold face and wanted to enter back to the restaurant, but he didn't feel able to cut the conversation off so abruptly.

"You still have low defenses?"

The swarthy eyes widened, a mix between surprise and mild anger, leading to...

"I mean, you shouldn't be so exposed to the cold if that's the case, I wouldn't want you to get sick."

...Discomfort?

"Uh...Yeah. I think I'll go in."

Noah hurried inside, running to the bathroom to wash his hands to get rid of the cigarette smell. He sighed heavily in front of the mirror, Alejandro still remembered the things he had told him once and that made him feel... Uncomfortable? He really wasn't sure what it was.

He returned to the table, smiling as he took a seat and wrapped himself in his coat, trembling slightly but obvious enough for certain eyes to notice. He continued hearing about the careers of Heather, Beth, Eva, Izzy, and Owen, not noticing when it was his turn. He swallowed hard, taking a sip of the Cosmopolitan he'd ordered, trying to kill his nerves. All pairs of eyes on him, eager to know what he had been doing on those 5 years.

"Um... Well, I studied aeronautics, I did a postgraduate degree in aviation engineering and I work as an expert on the subject..."

Brief silence and a round of applause, more than one looked surprised.

"How impressive Noah! Sounds very interesting, I didn't think you were that fond of aviation!"

Courtney crooned, grinning broadly as she wrapped her arms around him, congratulating him as the others showered him with various compliments, it seemed like an admirable job and they all seemed pleased to know that he was doing something he was passionate about. Noah finally smiled, sighing much more relaxed as he returned the small hug to the brunette, letting out a laugh as Trend patted him on the back, that had turned out great.

"I'm glad to know you're working on something you like man, that's what really matters."

The black-haired man whispered to him, winking at him as he sat squarely in her chair once more, wrapping his arm around Gwen's shoulders as she dropped her head into the crook of his boyfriends neck, they were adorable. He gear his name being called by certain voice, Alejandro's one. He put his elbows over the table, looking at his eyes while le smiled, that arrogant expression on his face.

"Your job sounds so interesting, congratulations Noah."

The swarthy smiled slightly, taking aways his gaze as the emerald eyes closed into a bigger smile.

"Thank you, Alejandro."

Silence between the two of them, again.

"That's impressive Noah, congratulations!"

Bridgette smirked, followed by one more round of applause, of course. A couple more smiles from him wouldn't hurt either.

"And Alejandro, what about you?"

Noah took the glass from him, swallowing a long sip of his cocktail. His chest itched to see what the latino could said, the curiosity beating his conscious. The tanned men held his glass of white wine while he watched it, looking up with relaxed eyes. Ugh, using so many charms should be considered a crime.

"It really hasn't been much, I studied astrology."

He definitely had Noah's attention by now.

"I graduated with honors, and right now I'm teaching at a private university. It's been a few good years, very relaxed and I really enjoy it a lot."

The dark-haired man was now willing to have a long conversation with Alejandro, space obsessed him and if the latino could talk to him about it, he would be willing to genuinely smile at him. They all complimented him, clapping as the tan smoothed his hair back, teeth bared in a slightly shy smile, especially noting that Noah was clapping slowly, too. Conversations began to flow once more, and just as Noah anticipated, within minutes Geoff was tapping a glass with a fork, calling for silence to deliver, in his words, "an announcement of global importance."

"Well, Brid and I wanted to tell you that..."

Silence.

"...We're getting married! And all of you are invited!"

Surprise, everyone stood up to applaud loudly as they ran towards the engaged to hug them, it was a great decision and it was nice to know that they had them for such an event. Noah walked towards the couple, being embraced by both while he couldn't help but smile, it was a nostalgic moment remembering the first time that they meted, at that desert island.

"Congratulations lovebirds, I hope the wedding is not too boring."

The night continued and among so many drinks, more than one finished somewhat drunk. The vast majority had already left after paying, Noah was very slightly dizzy while going to the cash at pay, but nothing to worry about. He returned still at the table talking with Owen and Eva, completely immersed in the conversation. He had said goodbye with uncomfortable hugs from the majority, since receiving a drunk in his arms was not his favorite thing, precisely.

"Uh, I'm going now. My taxi has arrived, it's waiting downstairs."

Eva took her bag, checking that nothing was missing. She took her headphones in her hands, pulling on her jacket as Owen and Noah stood up to see her off. Owen received her first, and after a small smile, Noah hugged her tight.

"See ya, sheet of paper."

"See you soon, iron woman."

Both men took seats at the table, Owen adjusting the collar of his shirt while he took a sip of his glass of water. Noah had noticed that his friend had not had a drop of alcohol in all the night, something that had seemed curious to him, because when they were young Owen was a drinking machine.

"Hey big guy, don't you drink anymore?"

Owen nodded.

"I'm undergoing treatment and I can't, nothing to worry about, buddy."

Suddenly, the blond received a call. He nodded a few times, dropping a couple of "yes" and an "I love you" at the end of the conversation, putting his phone in the inside pocket of his jacket. Noah stood up, not wanting to say goodbye to his best friend, he didn't know when he would see him again and that made him feel nostalgic.

"You are leaving now?"

The swarthy asked, receiving a nod from his friend.

"Yep, Blaineley's here."

Owen spread his arms, inviting him in a goodbye hug.

"Tell her I said hi."

Noah returned the hug, closing his eyes as the nostalgia of the whole night came over him. Desire to cry? That was not the most appropriate place to.

"Only if we see each other soon, we should do something lil' buddy!"

Owen smiled at him as he walked away, moving towards the door where the hosts were saying goodbye to their guests.

"Sure thing big guy! See ya!"

And the room was empty, just for him. Or so he thought until he heard a hiccup come from further behind, turning cautiously to see who it was.

"Obviously it's Alejandro..."

Noah whispered to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, what were the chances? He tugged on his coat, tucking the scarf around his neck as he hailed a cab, preparing to leave. However, he was intercepted by Bridgette, who wrapped her arm around his shoulders as she gave him a slightly rueful smile.

"Sorry for asking this of you Noah, but..."

Shit.

"Could you order a taxi for Alejandro and make sure he gets in? Geoff and I have a couple of things to balance with the waiters and I don't want to leave a poor drunk hanging around..."

Noah clenched his fists, checking the time on his watch as he faked a confident smile. 2:34 a.m.

"Sure! No problem."

Chapter Text

"Ugh... Me duele la cabeza."

Alejandro stammered as he was being walked to the exit of the restaurant by Geoff and Noah, he felt that the world was spinning around him, at full speed. He sat down on the platform, and while he struggled not to fall face-first into the sidewalk, Noah walked over to the hosts, saying goodbye with a warm, adorable hug. The doors of the restaurant were closed, the lights were off, and the road was only illuminated by the pale lights of the streetlamps. Alejandro's vision was blurred, he saw everything around him as small colorful spots that moved energetically, he began to feel dizzy. Noah sat down next to him, leaving considerable space between them. Alejandro's eyes turned to him, staring as he blinked slowly, there was nothing Noah would hate more than drunks.

It was freezing outside, and it wasn't exactly good for Noah to be outdoors at 3 o'clock in the morning. He hid the lower half of his face in his scarf as he tucked his legs in, glancing at the screen of his phone to check the route of the approaching taxi. He would order two, the first one for Alejandro and the second for himself, he needed to send the drunk man home before him, and he trusted the service enough for Alejandro to get there safely. His brows were furrowed, he was cold and the taxi driver was still 10 minutes from the place, how exciting. The environment was silent except for the constant hiccups of the latino, who was holding his brown jacket in his hands.

"¿Qué horas son?"

Noah swallowed hard, drunk Alejandro seemed to only speak Spanish and he wasn't the most knowledgeable of the language.

"3:11 a.m."

The Latino nodded, rubbing his palms together as he smiled slightly, turning his eyes to the swarthy once more.

"Perdón por tenerte aquí esperando, no deberías estar afuera con este frío."

Okay, he wasn't understanding anything that Alejandro was saying anymore, but he did notice how he was getting closer in a very slightly way.

"In English please?"

He asked, and Alejandro's jacket was thrown over his shoulders, his cheeks flushed with maroon. Uncomfortable. The Latino smiled at him, genuinely, showing his teeth as his completely flushed face took on a little more color. Uncomfortable? Alejandro moved a little closer, smiling more relaxed as he looked straight into his eyes, using his stupid charms, even being drunk. Uncomfortable...?

"I don't want you to get a cold."

Noah was sure he had said much more, but he wasn't going to argue with a drunk, much less if it was Alejandro. With his cold hands he took the jacket over his back, sticking it a little closer to his body while they continued to look at each other. Maybe it was not thaaat awkward.

"I think you need this more than me, aren't you cold?"

The dark-haired man asked, waiting for an answer to see if he would take off the garment.

"I'm fine, you know I'm a walking oven."

Noah smiled very sideways, the atmosphere was beginning to become comfortable but the memory of a certain day made him mistrust once more. Brief minutes of silence while he kept looking at his phone, hoping that the taxi driver would appear once and for all. Focused on his screen, Alejandro's head fell onto his shoulder, sending a shiver down his spine. Unexpected.

"Estoy muy mareado Noah... Creo que me voy a ir de cara."

Once again Spanish, what part of him not understanding it was not clear? Well, it was also that he was talking to a drunk who probably didn't have the brains to continue speaking English.

"You'll be fine."

He had no idea what the latino had said but he was sure that phrase was worth it, at least at that moment. The weight of Alejandro's head on his shoulder was considerable, he wasn't the strongest and he was already feeling the cold sneak in him enough to cause a cold. He rubbed his nose, noticing how icy he was as he rolled his eyes slightly to Alejandro's face. He had bright red cheeks, closed eyes and a relaxed expression, something he found strange since he was used to his arrogant expression. His curled lashes stood out from his darkness against his tanned skin, and his shorter hair was slightly messy, hitting his brown coat. A strange feeling was going through his mind, his chest was heavy and Alejandro's slow breathing took his away. He had been so distracted by his features that he hadn't noticed when the cab pulled up, so when the driver honked, Noah's heart almost popped out.

"Alejandro, Alejandro..."

The aforementioned opened his eyes, disoriented. Noah gave him a very small smile and helped him to his feet, opening the door with his other hand as he held onto his back. Alejandro sat on the cushion of the car, putting on the seat belt with difficulty. The door closed and Noah leaned out the window, supporting one of his arms against the low glass as he fished in the pockets of his coat for his wallet.

"Where do you live?"

The dark-haired man asked, taking out a 20 bill while Alejandro looked at him distracted, as if he were a small child watching an adult do something he doesn't understand. The Latino laughed, turning his head as he smirked, closing his eyes in a smiley expression.

"If you wanted my address, you could have asked for it in another way."

Noah rolled his eyes in annoyance, that's why he hated drunks. Alejandro chuckled, closing his eyes as he sent his head back.

"Very funny, now tell me, I want you to get home safely."

Adorable, Alejandro thought as he smiled, almost asleep.

"In Midtown, near the Ontario Museum..."

Noah approached the driver's window, giving him the directions as he paid for the ride, asking the driver to make sure the latino got home save. He walked over to the window once more, leaning back as he smiled again.

"Go home to sleep, you talk a lot of shit when you're drunk."

"Whatever you say..."

Alejandro tried to hug him and it was very difficult to accept it with a door in between, however, the managed to did it. The swarthy turned around after saying goodbye, hearing the latino's voice once more, causing him to turn around slightly.

"Gracias Noah..."

The aforementioned smiled, keeping his hands in his pockets.

"Don't thank me for it. Good night, Alejandro."

And the car left. Noah watched it disappear off into the distance. He took his hands out of his pockets, looking at the screen of his phone but surprising himself as the latino's jacket fell of his shoulders. Fuck. He forgot to return it. That was actually awkward, now Alejandro would actually have a reason to text him and he would have to actually answer. Fuckkk. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as the taxi that would take him home approached. At 3:42 am he was already entering his apartment, he was exhausted and his head ached, not knowing if it was from alcohol or the cold that he had definitely caught. He put on his pajamas as soon as he entered his room, leaving the latino's jacket hanging in his closet. He brushed his teeth and without wasting any more time got into bed, turning al the lights off after taking a pill for the headache. His phone was charging over his nightstand, and while he arranged his pillows, the pill took his fatigue to another level, making him, in matter of seconds, falling into a deep slumber.

He slept great, even dreaming that he was on a beach drinking a margarita while tanning, feeling the salty air when...

"Shit..."

Noah gasped when he felt his phone ring, several messages were coming as the silent mode went off quiet, and as soon as he opened his eyes and caught the light, his head had exploded. He felt terrible, his legs ached and he was sweating profusely, he'd managed to come down with a cold after all. He slowly got back up, helping himself with his arms while he covered his face, he hated being so sickly and every time he fell into the same abyss of illness, he got a tremendous rage. He rubbed at his face, accepting the cruel reality of him. He grabbed the phone, already annoyed as he curled back up between the sheet and his bedspread once again. He was surprised to see so many messages, the meeting had been a perfect excuse for several people to start chatting to him.

Notification Center:

+1 ********* ~ Eva M. [7:25 am]
Hello sheet of paper, it's Eva.
Did you get home okay last night?

owen [8:53 am]
Lil' buddy!!! Are you free next week? Blaineley would be delighted to invite you to dinner!!

+61 ********* ~ Bridgette 🌊 [8:47 am]
Hello Noah! Thanks for coming yesterday, it was amazing having you with us 🤍
Did you get home okay? ;)

+49 ********* ~Gwen 🕸️ [9:01am]
Noahhhh
Trent and I wanted to have lunch with you before we head back to Berlin, when are you available? ;D

"Shit."

What a stress, he could literally feel his head pounding, he had one of those bloody headaches that wouldn't go away for anything in the world, just a matter of time for his body to get used to the pain and for it to go away eventually. The worst part was that he was only the top part among his notifications, he had to check many messages more and that simply brought more stress, and therefore, more pain.

+351 ********* ~Courtney Oliviero. [9:45 a.m.]
Hello Noah, good morning.
I wanted to thank you for last night, it was a lot of fun and it's good to see you again. 🤍

+1 ********* ~ CodeMaister 😎
Hey man, we barely got to talk yesterday and Sierra is surprised that u don't just wear woolen waistcoats anymore. How u doing?

Reminder to drink water.

Take advantage of the great offers we have in our stores! 50% discount if you buy Elambe brand products from November 5 to December 15.

Transaction notifier from the savings account. $168 amount in debit on 11/8/23, 2:56 am.

Alejandro B. [9:42 a.m.]
At least you have to respond to my thanks.
So I'm thanking you back for last night, I owe you one.
By the way, did you take my jacket?

Alejandro B. [10:38 a.m.]
Noah that jacket is my favorite, Carlos gifted it to me when I graduated from college.
If you're not going to give it back to me, at least tell me that you have it.

Alejandro B. [11:01 a.m.]
Okay forget the jacket.
You're worrying me, did you get home okay last night?

Alejandro B. [11:13 a.m]
Noah please answer something.
☹️

"Shit!" Noah yelled into his pillow, he had a thousand things to answer, work to get done and on top of everything else he had that stupid jacket in his closet, if it was Alejandro's favorite, then he would probably ask him to meet to return it and Noah was not willing to such discomfort. The memories of the night before began to hit him, and as he continued to scream into the pillow, the memory of Alejandro's head resting on his shoulder passed through his mind, his face turned full maroon, that fucking night became so corny on a manner he couldn't explian. He stayed stretched out on his mattress, tangled between the sheets while he sighed exhausted, definitely going hadn't been the best idea. It was time to get up. The clock on his phone already showed 11:30 and the dark-haired man would get up to take a bath in order to get rid of the heat that was taking over him, probably courtesy of the fever.

He changed into lighter clothes after organizing his room a bit and preparing a lavender tea to relax his head. He made his bed once more, and after blowing his nose countless times, he took a couple of lozenges for his throat and headache. He climbed into his bed once more, the blinds down and his television set on a random playlist about the universe. It was past 12, normally at that time he had lunch but the flu made him feel listless, he would eat something at night. He got into bed, taken the phone from him and ready to answer the messages once and for all. His spirits lifted responding to most, he would be delighted to go to lunch with Gwen and Trent, doing something with Owen could also make him feel better and talking to Eva made him briefly forget his new discomfort.

He thanked Bridgette back, sending his regards to Geoff. Laughed a little responding to Cody, they had a very comfortable relationship in which they insulted each other a lot, in an affectionate way, obviously. He felt special knowing that Courtney had enjoyed his company, it wasn't something that everyone got and that made him, somehow, proud. Finally the moment he feared the most came, Alejandro. He opened Instagram once more, checking the stories of the celebrities he followed. On Owen's profile there was a picture from dinner, pretty cute. He opened the chat with the latino, once more reading the messages while he processed the information. He found Alejandro's concern funny, even tender, and he would have liked to let it there, un-responded. But he wasn't that evil, at least not at the moment.

Myself. [12:17 p.m.]
not even a good morning ? how cordial
i arrived well last night, although i caught a cold.
i have your jacket too, maybe if you pay me, i'll give it back to you. did you wake up with a hangover ?

Noah left his phone next to him while he took his cup of tea to take a sip, surely Alejandro would take a while to answer and he could-

Alejandro B. [12:18 pm]
Gracias a Dios! Carlos would've kill me if I lost that jacket.
I can't believe you got sick, I'm so sorry, I hope you get better soon.
I'm glad to know you arrived safely. 🙂

How had he responded so quickly?

Alejandro B. [12:19 pm]
I arrived well. I almost fell down the stairs, but I was able to get to my room. I thought I was going to die this morning when I woke up.

Well if I was going to play it that way...

Myself. [12:21 p.m.]
haha. i imagined it, last night you were very drunk. you talk way too much.

The three writing dots appeared immediately, that tickled Noah's brain and not exactly at the right spot.

Myself. [12:22 p.m.]
i wish you had fallen down the stairs, just the right karma for making me wait in the outside with you.

Alejandro B. [12:22 pm]
I don't think you're the quietest with a couple of drinks on you, Noah.
I hope I didn't say anything too weird, I barely remember anything from last night, just that you were shaking like a leaf when we were outside.
Replying to your message:
I said sorry! Joder, the last thing I wanted was for you to get sick.

Myself. [12:23 p.m.]
Replying to Alejandro B's. message:
very funny, you didn't look exactly good with hiccups in the middle of the street either, casanova. next time i'm going to leave you in the middle of the sidewalk.

Alejandro B. [12:24 pm]
Are you hinting that there will be a next time? ;)

Aaand the maroon was coming back to Noah's face, stupid.

Myself. [12:25 p.m.]
you woke up very funny today, are you dating a clown or something ? moron.

The conversation went on and on with trivial topics, mostly insults from the night before. The minutes kept passing and turned into hours, neither of them seemed to notice being so immersed in the conversation.

Alejandro B. [3:03 pm]
Noah

Myself. [3:03 p.m.]
?

Alejandro B. [3:03 pm]
Did you have lunch? It's already three.
😦

Myself. [3:04 pm]
fuck, no. i didn't realize the time. of wtf have we been talking about ?

Alejandro B. [3:05 pm]
Jajaja, I don't know. We had a lot to catch up on, I guess.
Go have lunch, I was on that.

Myself. [3:06 p.m.]
no, i am not hungry.

Alejandro B. [3:06 pm]
You have to eat something, you won't get better if you don't eat well. Yo sé lo que te estoy diciendo, confía en mí.

He didn't understood that last part, would it be too rude to ask? Meh, he didn't care.

Myself. [3:07 pm]
what does the last part say? my spanish is rusty.

Alejandro B. [3:07 pm]
Hahaha, I could help with that.

Ugh, charisma.

Alejandro B. [3:07 pm]
It says that I know what I'm telling you, trust me.

And Noah felt like he got a bucket of ice water on his head. Bad choice of words, a wave of bad memories that has just taken him into a sea of resentments. What was he doing talking so cordially with him? Alejandro was a snake, a traitor, an eel. All slippery, dipped in motor oil. He didn't wanted to talk to him anymore, the hateful gaze of certain emerald eyes seemed to be burning the back of his neck like the afternoon he was eliminated from the program, like when he hid his nerves while standing in front of the plane door, swallowing the fear of depending on a simple parachute that he didn't even know if it worked. Rage, back again.

Myself. [3:10 p.m.]
i have work to do.

Alejandro B. [3:10 pm]
Oh, okay.
I hope it gives up, take care. ;)

Noah was furious, once again he had fallen for his stupid charms and lies. He clicked off his cell phone, tossing it on the nightstand as he turned between his covers, exhausted. What was happening to him? He was smart, he knew how to recognize ulterior motives and yet he had fallen into Alejandro's clutches, again. It wasn't like he didn't have evidence as it was his method of operation was, he had already played with him, and had done it so well that he had managed to eliminate him at the time. He felt frustrated, Alejandro seemed to know him like the back of his hand and that drove him crazy, made him feel like he wasn't in control. He took the phone from him once more, sighing as he chatted to Eva.

Myself. [3:17 p.m.]
eva

eva [3:18 pm]
Tell me everything.

Myself. [3:18 p.m.]
i spoke to alejandro again.
and i don't know how to explain it.
i mean, i still hate him, i'm never going to forgive him.
but i was glad to talk to him again.
but i don't want to keep talking to him.
because i hate him.
do you understand ?
anything of what i said makes sense ?

eva [3:21 pm]
You're an idiot, how the fuck are you going to talk to him again? You literally said it, you're never going to forgive him.
The guy wants something from you, you know him better than me even though I'm the one saying this.
You should leave it, he doesn't give me a good feeling and you know it.

Myself. [3:23 p.m.]
yeah, you're right.
i'll see what to do, thanks. ;)

eva [3:24 pm]
;)

Eva was always right, Alejandro was such a traitor that was even able to eliminate the girl he was interested in at the time, Heather, in order to get even further in the competition. What could he want from someone as simple as him? He didn't wanted to find it out. He sighed tiredly, the effect of the pill was beginning to wear off but it was still too early to take another one. Noah rested his head on the pillows, closing his eyes once more while Morpheus received him in his arms, inducing sleep.

He wasn't looking forward to waking up again.

Chapter Text

"Noah! What are you doing standing there? We're late!"

His sister's voice resounded in the background of his mind, all his attention was solely and exclusively for that melody that came out of the rustic coffee shop that little Noah had always wanted to enter. His new sister had been born a couple of weeks ago, his house felt like a place in eternal noise and he was finally beginning to notice how difficult it was to have such a big family, now of 7. The marimba sounded in absolute harmony and that made tickle his little brain, just in the right place. One of the shoulder pads slipped down his shoulder, his footsteps having stopped dead in front of the cafeteria by the time the melody slipped into his ears. The morning was cold and the recent discovery of his anemia made him feel weird, different from other kids, constantly sick. The crimson school sweater itched him, he didn't liked to wear it but he had to if he didn't wanted to catch a cold, again. Maybe he could...

"Noah! We have to go!"

Lydia shook his shoulders, snapping him out of the little trance he'd entered, looking into his eyes and asking quietly if he was okay.

"That melody is beautiful, I like how the marimba sounds."

The little boy whispered as he slung his backpack over his shoulders once more, turning around as he followed his older sister towards the school. The days kept passing and each time the melody returned, at the same time and with the same harmony. Every day it came, and Noah made sure to stop by every morning so he could hear the sweet song. And it was like that until they moved, his seventh sister was arriving and his little house in northern Canada was getting way too small. Little Noah who kept dreaming of getting into that cafeteria moved to Toronto without fulfilling his dream, growing up in a teen who would end up in a stupid international program and then into a bitter adult for only being 22.

"What...?"

Noah touched his face as he woke up, confounded. Small tears trickled down his cheeks, he had a brief memory of dreaming about the marimba but most of his dream had already faded from his consciousness. He slowly got back up, wiping his cheeks with the sleeves of his light sweater while he made unsuccessful attempts to remember what had caused the tears in his dreams, he only had a flashback of his older sister and that made the situation much more strange for him. His head ached slightly, he felt light and the atmosphere in his room seemed strangely hot, he hated the heat and what he wanted most at that moment was to be cool. His phone had several new notifications, but he didn't have the head to check them at the moment, besides they would probably be banal things. It was already past 7, hunger was beginning to set in and although he was lazy, being in bed for so long made him feel particularly useless.

He walked slowly towards his kitchen, holding the already empty cup from which he had drank tea. When he turned on the light his eyes burned, he had been in total darkness all day and the light made him tear up. He set the cup down on the sink, opening the cupboard, looking for something quick to prepare. He didn't have much, but enough to prepare something to fill up everything he hadn't eaten all day. He returned to his room after taking out the ingredients that he would use, taking off his light cotton sweater to change it into a loose short-sleeved shirt, he was sweating profusely and cotton was not the most useful thing in that situation. He grabbed his phone, ignoring all the other notifications as he dialed a certain number he didn't called often. The line rang for a couple of times, and on the fifth, the speaker came on.

"Noah?"

"Hi Lydia, how are you?"

The aforementioned heard through the line how the knife hit the table while something was being cut.

"Good, good. It's been a hard week, the hospital has been packed but here we go."

"I'm glad to hear that, even though you sound exhausted."

The minced garlic was set aside while he opened the stick of butter.

"Hahaha, I am. What about you?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sick aren't you?"

Noah smirked, no one knew him as well as his older sister.

"Yes, I went out yesterday and the dawn caught me getting home, I feel terrible."

"Noah! You know you shouldn't be outside that late, it's not good for your health!"

"For no one really."

"Less for you, genius."

Laughter from both of them, even their laughs sounded similar. Noah turned on the tap, filling a pot with water to bring to a boil while he creamed the butter with the garlic and a dash of various spices.

"I know, I know, but I'll get better."

"I hope so. But hey, what about your life?"

"Everything went well, yesterday I reunited with the rest of the contestants of the show."

"Hey that's amazing! It must have been sooo emotional, did you cry?"

Noah rolled his eyes, salting the water.

"I did not, moron. In fact it was kind of average, even somewhat awkward."

"Why was that? Was Aleja-"

"Yeah, it was horrible having to see it again. But the rest was nice though. I talked to a lot of people again and it felt good to relive so many memories."

"Glad to hear that brother! I'm happy you had a good time."

Noah smiled genuinely, opening the packet of pasta as he mentally measured how much he should use.

"Yeah... By the way, I called to tell you something strange I dreamed."

"Yeah?"

"Well..."

And while the pasta was cooking, Noah was telling his sister about the vague memories of his dream, which more than anything, was starting to feel like Deja-vu. The conversation dragged on while Lydia told him what it had been like that first morning in which that melody had stolen the heart of little Noah, who was still thinking about the harmony of the marimba. Noah felt confused, it seemed that from time to time that memory came back and that made him feel strange, nostalgic, as if something was missing. During the conversation he remembered that the last time he had dreamed something similar was during the competition, that night in which he thought he was going to die because of the way the plane was rocking. Definitely weird. The pasta was ready, and while he was straining it, his sister abruptly cut him off from the conversation because her turn was starting soon. They both said goodbye affectionately, and while the dark-haired man dropped a cube of garlic butter into the still-warm pasta, the call ended. He sat at his kitchen table, wandering through his thoughts as he began to eat, he was confused and didn't even know why. His phone was in charge of getting him out of his own head, as it vibrated with the arrival of a new message. The olive eyes lowered towards the device screen, frowning as soon as they saw who it was. "Not him again..." Noah complained as he keep chewing the pasta.

Alejandro B. [8:02 pm]
Hello Noah.
Are you better?
I had a discussion with José.
Joder, he's so unbearable.

Noah rolled his eyes, he couldn't care less if Alejandro had fought with one of his stupid brothers, he didn't even remember if the bad guy was the oldest or the youngest, he really didn't care either. He finished eating, briefly forgetting why he had called his sister. And with his kitchen once more arranged, he headed for his room with a little more energy, eating had felt good and the migraine was beginning to go away without the need for a pill. He entered the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror as he raised an eyebrow, he looked terrible. His hair was messy, looking longer even after a cut. His classic dark circles stood out much more, giving an illusion of illness. His loose shirt slipped off his shoulder, revealing a chunk of his swart collarbones, though his skin looked much paler than usual. He looked more death than the usual. Noah washed his face while he sighed, he hated being sick and being it constantly made him furious.

He came out of his bathroom with his face still wet, sitting on his bed while he opened the top drawer of his nightstand, rummaging through all the boxes of pills he used for his headaches. He broke the foil, taking the small pill while he held the glass of water in his other hand, taking a sip to swallow it. He had not yet taken the iron supplement that he remembered taking for as long as he could think of past, he did not really feel the effects of the medication but he knew it was essential for his low defenses to be high enough to protect him from most viruses. He searched for the box of that medicine, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration when he realized that he had already run out of it. On a normal day it wouldn't have hurt him not to take it but being sick he definitely had to.

He lay back on his bed, feeling the migraine return with the stress to his head. He could order them, but the newly arrived discomfort seemed so much that he was even lazy to have to attend the domiciliary, what he needed was a formulated medicine and he would have to present the medical certificate that formulated it, and he really did not remember where that old formula was, since it just had a couple of years minus than him. Resigned, he took his phone to answer messages, maybe even Alejandro's, he had nothing to lose. His expression changed slightly when he noticed that the Latino had written something else to him, something that just reading caused confusion in him.

Alejandro B. [8:35 pm]
Why do you have your location on snapchat?

"What the fuck?" Noah whispered as he opened the chat, typing at full speed as he wondered why the hell he even had Snapchat installed in the first place.

Myself. [8:35 p.m.]
what are you talking about ?? how did you find my snapchat account ?

Alejandro B. [8:36 pm]
How hateful of you to respond only to that and not to my concern ;(
And by the way, Owen was the one who gave it to me.

Myself. [8:37pm]
ugh, get a life.
i'm fine, i feel better.
and how did owen give it to you? you are with him ??

Alejandro B. [8:38 pm]
I have a life! I will never worry about you again, ungrateful.
Replying to your message:
Uhhh someone sounds jealooous
I know you'll die to have Owen's place ;)

Myself. [8:39 p.m.]
do you know what ? forget it, i don't care.

Alejandro B. [8:40 pm]
Bueno, bueno! I'll stop, sorry.
What happened is that I met Owen in a market.
And we started talking, he was showing me photos of his last visit to Belgium to meet his girlfriend's parents or whatever.
And when he went on Snapchat, he took to looking at locations.
Aaand...

Myself. [8:42 p.m.]
and ?

Alejandro B. [8:43 pm]
Well, he saw that we were very close to your house.
And he's dragging me there.
For a surprise.
😥

Noah's eyes widened, his house was upside down and he looked like the living dead, he couldn't receive visitors, much less if they were Owen and Alejandro. Sweat returned, his breathing became rough and his frown became permanent, his fingers typing at full speed, trying to convince Alejandro to convince Owen not to go.

Myself. [8:45 p.m.]
he cannot come. didn't you tell him i'm sick ???

Alejandro B. [8:45 pm]
I did it!! But he is convinced, he bought a couple of things that according to him are going to "cheer you up".

Myself. [8:46 p.m.]
fuck, you can't let him get here.
i need you to use your charms now more than ever.
you can't fail me now, i'm not in a position to receive anyone.

Alejandro B. [8:47 pm]
Well thanks for calling me charming, but I don't know if I'm going to make it, seriously he's convinced to go.

Myself. [8:47pm]
alejandro !! i'm asking you a serious favor !

Alexander B. [8:47 pm]
Okay! Joder, I'll see what to do.
I'll keep you informed.

Noah smothered his head in his pillows, he was fed up and the new news had only made his migraine worse. He tossed in his sheets furiously, what the hell was the chance? He adored Owen, yes, but he hated how intense he was. He had never quite understood when he needed space, he was still a little overbearing and sometimes that drove him crazy. He was very fond of him anyway, although at that moment he was hating him. He was starting to feel cold once more, so he sat up as he rummaged in his closet for his favorite fleece sweater, the one he'd been wearing for the past week to sleep in. He folded his shirt once more, putting it away while he put on his slippers to go to the kitchen with his phone in hand, he had to be more aware of Alejandro than ever.

Alejandro B. [8:56 pm]
Noah

Myself. [8:56 pm]
??

Alejandro B. [8:57 pm]
I think I made it.
Well, rather I managed to convinced him.
Her girlfriend called him and I convinced him to go be with her.

Myself. [8:57 pm]
oh my god.
you convinced owen, wow.
thank you.

Noah sighed more relaxed, turning on his electric stove while the water in the kettle was still trembling from his recent arrival into the pot.

Alejandro B. [8:59 pm]
I have not finished.
Owen left me all the things he bought you.
In the bag are some tissues, mint ice cream with chocolate and a lemon soda with peppermint.
photo.
I think there are also painkillers.
I can't believe you like mint ice cream, it's literally the most disgusting flavor.
I'm not keeping these things either, so...
Can I come to your house to drop them off? 🙂

Myself. [9:02 pm]
no, you cannot.
i told you that i am not here to receive anyone.
besides, there are no marshmallows in there, i don't want it then.
Replying to Alejandro B's. message:

and by the way, don't even think about talking about mint ice cream again, surely you are one of those weirdos that ask for a mangonada flavor or something like that.

Alejandro B. [9:04 pm]
Noah! I can't keep these things, they're not useful to me and I hate mint ice cream!
I'll just drop things and go, no visits, no chats.

Myself. [9:05 p.m.]
no.

Alejandro B. [9:05 pm]
I'll buy you marshmallows! I want to go home without carrying a bag of ice cream, and I also don't like sodas with peppermint.
Replying to your message:
DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THE MANGONADA.

A fleeting idea crossed Noah's mind, if Alejandro was willing to buy a few more things for him, he could ask for the pills he needed. He would only have to look for the photo of the formula that he had saved somewhere in his gallery, that would be enough and he could go to sleep more calmly, besides having a jar of ice cream of his favorite flavor.

Myself. [9:07 pm]
okay, don't think i'm a freeloader, but if you're willing to buy me some marshmallows, i need you to bring me something else.

Alejandro B. [9:08 pm]
I can't believe I'm playing your grocer, and domiciliary.
But go ahead, tell me what you need.
On a second thought, it's not so bad taking care of you ;)

Myself. [9:08 pm]
i need you to bring me the medicine that he says in this formula, a box. it is expensive. i'll pay you when you arrive.
photo.
and don't get any ideas, you're not taking care of me. you're just doing me a favor, moron.

Alejandro B. [9:09 pm]
Alejandro B. took a screenshot!
Sorry, I wouldn't remember that name. May I ask what is it for?

Myself. [9:10 p.m.]
for the iron, i ran out and i can't afford not to take them when i'm sick. show the formula.

Alejandro B. [9:11 pm]
Oh, okay.
I'll take care of everything.
I'll text you when I'm around ;)

Myself. [9:11 p.m.]
fine, thanks.
♥️ by Alejandro B .

The tea was ready. The scent of lavender always made him feel better, more relaxed. He took a sip from his greenish cup, trying to relax while he processed that Alejandro was coming to his house, to see him and to deliver various things to him. He felt like the girl in distress, like the sick girlfriend that needed nursing. He could take care of himself, but how could he not accept being thrown out a mint sundae when it was his favorite? He hurried to finish his slightly sweetened tea, getting up to the bathroom to try to smooth his hair a bit and look a little more presentable. He arranged his bed and picked up the various shoes that were at the entrance to his apartment, the minutes kept passing and Alejandro still hadn't written, anxiety slowly taking over him.

Noah leaned back on the couch, sighing as he turned on his phone's screen, no notifications. The minutes felt like forever, and as he scrolled down and down on Instagram, a notification came through.

Alejandro B. [9:33 pm]
In which apartment do you live?

Myself. [9:33pm]
404.

A call from the guard came to the intercom in his kitchen, the man asked if he was okay that a certain "Alejandro Burromuerto" would come to his apartment, he answered yes. The call was cut off as Noah's chest itched, his luck had to be very bad to have to see Alejandro again so often. He sat on his couch once more, playing with his hands as he tried to think of something else. He stood up when he remembered about his medicine, going to his room to take his wallet and look for a 50 bill and a 20 bill, he had to pay Alejandro. Suddenly, a couple of rhythmic knocks sounded on his door and he hurried to the doorway, opening it slowly as he peeked. He only saw half of his face.

Alejandro smiled sympathetically at him as he held the bag between his fingers, reaching out his arm to hand it over. He wore a slightly tight crimson shirt that matched his black bell-bottom pants, under which his Texan boots stood out. He had his hair tied up in a small ponytail, and his beard looked recently shaved. Noah reached back, receiving the bag from him as he reached into the pocket of his pajama pants with his other hand, taking the money to pay for his medicine.

"How much did the pills cost you?"

The dark-haired man asked in a low voice, receiving a small smile as the Latino turned around before Noah's surprised eyes.

"Don't worry about it, you'll pay me back when you invite me to dinner. Good night Noah, get well."

And Alejandro was lost as soon as he began to go down the stairs of his apartment complex. Noah blinked in astonishment, dinner? He wasn't going to invite him to dinner, he'd rather pay him off than see him again. He frowned after closing the door behind him, opening the bag as he searched for the receipt, with no luck. He left the plastic bag on his kitchen counter, returning to his room to put his money away once more, noticing the brown jacket still hanging in his closet. The flu had melted his brain and Alejandro was taking advantage of it, he was furious. He strode back to the kitchen, putting the soda back in the fridge while he grabbed a spoon and headed to his room with everything else that came in the bag.

He flung himself onto his bed, opening the ice cream and putting a scoop into his mouth, feeling the refreshing taste of mint go down his throat. He also took the iron pill, leaving the handkerchiefs on his night table. His house was in total darkness, and as he crawled under the covers with the ice cream jar still in hand, he turned on his television to continue his morning playlist. Time kept passing and suddenly his phone rang, Noah noticed that time had passed and that he had already eaten almost half of the jar, and that he still hadn't touched the marshmallows. He took his cell phone, previewing Alejandro's intended message.

Alejandro B. [10:27 on]
Did the ice cream cheered you up?

Myself. [10:28 p.m.]
yes, but i would have been happier if you had let me pay you. or if you had given me time to return your jacket.

Alejandro B. [10:28 pm]
That benefits us both, so we can see each other again!

Okay that had sounded very direct, Noah thought as he scooped another scoop of ice cream into his mouth despite saying several times ago that it would be the last.

Myself. [10:31 p.m.]
i never accepted that.
did you get home ?

Alejandro B. [10:31 pm]
Awww, Noah cares about me!
And yes, I arrived well.
I would love to keep talking but tomorrow I have an appointment and I have to get up early.
Rest well, I hope you continue to get better ;)

Myself. [10:32 p.m.]
ugh, i'm so never doing this again.
good night then, thank you.

That had been confusing, it had been a very unusual day for Noah, not exactly of his liking.

Chapter Text

The night continued and when Noah's eyes finally succumbed to sleep, the already empty ice cream jar was resting on his nightstand. The early morning was icy, but he had a particularly heavy sleep and scrambled between the covers he couldn't feel the cold air that filtered through his half-open window. His room was upside down, he looked terrible and hadn't made any progress on the investigation he'd started last week. So when his alarm blared through his entire house, Noah woke up agitated as he stared at the screen of his phone, realizing that it was late, VERY late. He jumped out of bed, running to the bathroom as he flung his pajamas in all directions and as the water began to heat up in the shower. He took a very fast bath, running to his closet with the towel half wrapped around his waist, taking out various clothes that he immediately began to put on. He didn't make his bed, he didn't pick up his pajamas either, he just took his phone and briefcase from him, grabbing an apple as he hurried out of his house. He arrived a couple of minutes late after a little run, perhaps a sign of fate that told him that he should exercise from time to time.

The morning was horrible, he felt fatigued and he didn't know if it was because of his cold or because of the sudden physical activity he had done, his anemia made him tire very quickly and he wasn't used to moving that much, he never ran and always he had always plenty of time. It seemed that the ordinary life of his that he had never appreciated was going down the drain, and he was really beginning to miss it. He advanced the most basic of his recently started investigation into the disappearance of flights, with a thesis on the importance of the black box of aircraft. By the time he realized it was already noon, he had less than 1000 words written on his document and that made him feel very useless, he didn't like that Noah he was being. His phone vibrated next to him, and as he read the notification reality hitter him again.

emma [12:38 pm]
So where are we going to have lunch? (;

Fuck, he had completely forgotten about lunch with Emma. He was too late to leave work, he wasn't really hungry and he was embarrassed that a tidy coworker like Emma should see how terribly sick he was. He stood up, looking out the window of his illuminated office as he thought about what to make of it, he couldn't stand her up one more time, he wasn't that kind of guy. He sighed exhausted, pressing save on his document as he headed to the bathroom with cell phone in hand.

Myself. [12:41 p.m.]
let's meet in front of the building, there we can decide.

Noah typed as he walked down the hall to the bathroom, pocketing his phone when he saw the tick on his message. He stopped in front of the mirror, quickly fixing his hair. He adjusted the collar of his already wrinkled shirt, splashing water in his face to wake himself up a bit more. He checked that he had his wallet handy, and once done he started down the stairs once more, the elevator was about to explode and he hadn´t plenty of time at the moment. He arrived at the hotel lobby out of breath, his gaze searching for the straight hair of his partner.

"Hello Noah."

Emma came up behind him, surprising him as she smiled calmly and charismatically, she was lovely and she knew it well.

"Uh... Hi Emma, sorry I kept you waiting."

He responded, receiving a "don’t worries" from the woman, what a shame. Noah kept his cold hands in his pockets as they began to walk next to each other in a small silence that, at least he, perceived as uncomfortable, the start of their conversations were always like that.

"How have you been today? Looks like you've had a busy few days."

The Asian asked quietly, tucking her long dark hair behind her ear as Noah smirked, what a cute way of saying he looked like a walking corpse.

"It's been a strange day, I feel like it hasn't given up on me. Plus I got sick and disconnected, it really hasn't been a good day."

He had to be honest, he used to tell her everything he was upset about, they were quite close friends and Noah fully trusted her, she was one of the few people he really considered close friends of him. Emma offered him a couple of pieces of advice, walking with him through the streets surrounding the huge building where they worked in. The conversation dragged on, and by the time they least realized it, they had advanced several blocks, it would soon be one o'clock.

"I thought we were going to have lunch."

Noah teased, receiving an honest laugh from her companion, who quickly took his wrist from as she fixed her almond-shaped eyes on him, causing the blood to rise slightly to his cheeks.

"I know a very good place, but we have to get there fast."

And his footsteps quickened along with the woman's, who was clutching the sleeve of his striped collared shirt. Noah felt his face grow hotter, not really knowing the exact reason. His wrist ached a little, Emma was moving fast and holding him tight, would it be weird to lower her hand a little bit and take hers? Probably yes. And while he wandered in his thoughts, his steps stopped almost automatically when his companion's ones also slowed, they were now in front of a restaurant with great vitalities through which a generous amount of light entered, it was mostly decorated in white and it seemed to sell... Asian food? All of Noah's favorites in one place, not bad.

"I heard it's very good, but after one o'clock it's very crowded. Did we make it on time?"

Emma asked, knowing that Noah always wore his watch on his wrist, bad day not to have brought it. He swallowed heavily, searching in his pocket with his left hand for his cell phone, the woman still hadn't let go of his arm and he didn't feel able to push it away, uncomfortable. He glanced at the time from the corner of his eye, 12:59 pm.

"Just in time, train us already."

He sighed, slightly tired from the accelerated pace of the one they just stopped.

"Good!"

She started walking and...

"Uh...Emma..."

"Yes Noah?"

"You still won't let me go..."

The Asian girl's face was colored in a pinkish color, so slight that if it weren't for Noah's keen eyesight, he wouldn't have noticed it. He felt her hand move away from his wrist, slower than he anticipated. Uncomfortable? No more words, they just entered the still empty restaurant and took a seat at a small table. A waiter immediately came over and handed them the menu, recommending the day's choices. Still silence. Emma thought about breaking it, but to her surprise, Noah beat her to it.

"So... what are you going to order?"

The swarthy asked, dropping the menu as he crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair with a small smile, not the most common expression on his face.

"Tai rice doesn't sound bad at all."

Emma replied as she put the letter down as well, smoothing her hair once more, a curious thing for Noah.

"How about you?"

She asked now, smiling at him. Uncomfortable...?

"Sushi, definitely. It's one of my favorite foods."

"Good choice, you should try the Philadelphia roll, it's the most-"

"The Philadelphia is my favorite!"

Emma laughed, covering her mouth. Nice view.

"Uh, sorry, I interrupted you."

"Don't worry, it's all for a good Philadelphia vibe."

Laughter, and lunch continued. It was fun, interesting, and most importantly, comfortable for Noah. Emma's company was pleasant, he felt understood and she was charming, astute, the best match for someone with his kind of attitude. He knew few people who fulfilled that small but important detail for him, and the only other similar person was Alejandro, and if that was the case, he definitely preferred Emma. They returned together after finishing their lunch, and after much insistence Noah was allowed to pay, the least he could do for such a good time, much better than the stupid, and uncomfortable, dinner with Alejandro. They went up together, and while Noah stayed on the seventh floor, Emma went up to the tenth. They said goodbye with a warm hug, he could feel how her arms were resting on his shoulder blades, with much less force than when Alejandro had done it. He stepped out of the elevator and waved his hand in farewell, and as he heard a low "thank you," the doors closed in front of him.

"Shit!" Noah gasped aloud, ruffling his hair as he stomped toward his office. He had been thinking about stupid Alejandro all afternoon when the only thing he wanted was to have a good time with his friend. And yes, everything he had thought of Alejandro was negative, but in the end, it was about him. He hated that with fervor. He entered his office, slamming the door behind him as he sat behind his desk, pulling his phone out of one of the 7 pockets of his baggy pants. He unlocked the device, entering Instagram with the intention of blocking the latino's account, he was not going to endure that impotence one second more. He went to the chat, and being about to delete everything, his eyes deceived him by reading the recent messages that, apparently, Alejandro had sent a little over an hour ago.

Alejandro B. [1:22 pm]
You didn't tell me you were dating someone.

Myself. [2:36 p.m.]
of wtf are you talking about?

Alejandro B. [2:37 pm]
I saw you a while ago, you were holding hands with a girl.

Myself. [2:37 pm]
you saw me? how the fuck are you always after me?

Alejandro B. [2:38 pm]
I wasn't following you. I was just passing by to pick up a book I need for my classes and I saw you in the distance.

Noah blinked in astonishment, a book? He should have gone to the library near his office, it made sense, as it was a store specializing in mostly scientific books. Alejandro kept responding just as fast as always, something that he found strange since his tone seemed different, almost as he was upset. He had no reason to be, but it was Alejandro at the end of the day, he didn't really get him.

Myself. [2:40 p.m.]
well, you don't need to justify yourself.
i'm not dating anyone, she's just a coworker, we went out to lunch together.

Alejandro B. [2:41 pm]
I didn't know coworkers held hands. You don't have to deny anything.

Myself. [2:42 pm]
i told you we're not dating, she was holding my wrist. we had to hurry, that's all.

Alejandro B. [2:43 pm]
Sure.

Myself. [2:43 pm]
what is the matter with you?
you are unbearable rn, did you fight with José or something like that?
i'm telling you what it is, i'm not dating anyone and she's just a friend.

Alejandro B. [2:45 pm]
In fact! I was arguing with stupid José.
You seem to know me well Noah ;)

Myself. [2:46 pm]
ugh
kys

Noah left his phone face down on the desk, turning on the monitor while he settled into his swivel chair, it was time to continue working. Lunch had done him good, he felt more energetic and less exhausted, after all salmon was a good source of iron. He opened the document in which he had everything written, reading it once while he thought of what else to add to the "basic information" part. His phone kept vibrating, he tried to concentrate on the pieces that made up the black box of the planes, but it was a bit difficult with the seemingly unstoppable influx of messages from Alejandro. He managed to stay focused for a long time, almost an hour, but the moment his phone vibrated once more, he completely lost the battle.

Notification Center:
12 new messages from Alejandro B.

Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose, 12 fucking messages. They seemed long too, he didn't really have the head to read everything Alejandro had written to him, but he had to. He went through the document one more time, 2156 words, he had made quite a bit of progress. It was past four, he still had time to continue working and he could take a little break to check notifications, just fair. He opened Instagram, ignoring the story Owen had posted as he went to chat with the latino directly.

Alejandro B. [2:47 pm]
You would miss me too much.
😘

Alejandro B. [2:59 pm]
Assuming that you want to know why I fought with José, I'm telling you everything.

Alejandro B. [3:09 pm]
You’ll see, my dad's birthday is next week. He, José, and Carlos are currently in Texas, so they are going to have a meeting there. I can't go, I spent a lot of money coming to Toronto and I really can't afford another travel. So I wrote to my dad that I would try to go it next month, and he was pretty cool about it. But oh, of course, estúpido engreído y envidioso de José called me to tell me that I was a terrible son for not attending when I made it very clear that I couldn't, but according to him, it’s not because of that, SINO PORQUE NO QUIERO Y PORQUE SOY UN HIJO DE MIERDA CUANDO ÉL BIEN SABE QUE ESE ES ÉL.

Alejandro B. [3:09 pm]
I fucking hate him, he’s such a bad person.
Ignore all the crap in Spanish, it's something I can't help when I'm upset.

Alejandro B. [3:23 pm]
Should I feel offended by the fact that you don't read what happens to me when I'm always looking out for you?
Probably.

Alejandro B. [3:45 pm]
I assume you went to make out with your girlfriend, thanks for leaving me talking to myself >:(

Alejandro B. [3:58 pm]
Out of all jokes, I'm glad to hear you're single because I had a compliment for you, and I'm not the type to jump into a relationship.
You look good with messy hair.
Like, really good.

He felt his whole collection of emotions while reading the messages, starting with disinterest, he wouldn't miss Alejandro in a million years. Then he felt something between grief and confusion, he knew that Alejandro didn't have the best relationship with his older brother and being the younger one didn't really advertise him well. However, he didn't know if he was a bit too exaggerated, the little Spanish he had understood was mostly insults. Later he felt guilty, Alejandro was always attentive to how he was and he didn't really appreciate it, looow blooow. Then rage, go on and on with the same shit about the girlfriend, he didn't have to feel bad for him, Alejandro was only good at being annoying. The last emotion caught him off guard, so much so that the blood went up to his face suddenly, in a much more amount than the usual.

"A compliment...?" Flattery, that horrible feeling of feeling special, the secret weapon and the best in Alejandro's arsenal of manipulation. Normally Noah would have noticed immediately, he was an expert at that sort of thing specially if it was about the latino. But by jeez, he was sick, brain melted and he himself admitted that he looked terrible, and that Alejandro told him that he looked “really good” was definitely going to hit the right spot, lottery. Noah's fingers tapped as the blood refused to drain from his cheeks, so much to respond to in such a short time, Alejandro was a sprinter when it came to responding to him and that was kind of at problem with such amount of messages. He thought a couple of seconds, and after typing something at full speed, the “send” button was pressed.

Myself. [4:07 pm]
tldr

Alejandro B. [4:08 pm]
I BROUGHT YOU MINT ICE CREAM TO YOUR HOUSE AND THIS IS HOW YOU PAY ME? ERES UN MALAGRADECIDO

Myself. [4:08 pm]
omg calm down romeo, it's a joke.
but you wrote way too much stuff, it was a nightmare to read all that.

Alejandro B. [4:09 pm]
If I am Romeo, are you Juliet?

Myself. [4:09 pm]
okay one more and i block you, your choice.

Alejandro B. [4:10 pm]
Whatever you say.
x)

Myself. [4:11 p.m.]
ugh
how do you prefer me to answer you? multiple messages or just one?

Alejandro B. [4:11 pm]
Definitely a single message, I've never seen you write more than five words in a row.

Myself. [4:12 p.m.]
Why don't you do me a favor and kill yourself?

Alejandro B. [4:13 pm]
Who's going to bring you mint ice cream then? ;)

Myself. [4:14 p.m.]
just shut up and let me answer the rest please.

Alexander B. [4:15 pm]
Bueno bueno! Lo que tú digas!

Noah took a breath, focusing on writing the long message that was waiting for him. One, two, three, several minutes kept passing, and Noah's fingers kept touching and touching the screen. On the other side of it, Alejandro watched with a curious smile as the three points of "writing" continued, second after second. He was sitting on a bench on the vast campus of his university, briefcase in hand and his jacket over his lap, he wouldn't tell Noah, but he was really missing his jacket. It had great emotional value and was the most versatile thing he had in his closet, brown looked good on him.

the schemer [4:24 pm]
message no. 1 and 2: i wouldn't miss you in a million years, but nice try. 🫶
message no. 3: you assumed right, although i would have preferred a memory refresh before... the paragraph, you sent.
message no. 4 and 5: wow. i didn't know that things with josé were still that bad, and with all due respect, but your brother is truly an idiot. but the important thing is that your dad is calm about you going later, focus on him, who is the birthday boy. let josé wallow in his own dirt.
message no. 6: i think i understood more words than when you speak, most of them were insults?
message no. 7 and 8: my god you are unbearable, i have other things to do, but ofc i appreciate that you care about me and i do it for you too, needy.
message 9: kys!! please and thank you!
message 10, 11 and 12: let's be honest, you're just the type to get into a relationship, you could use a memory refresher too. Regarding the rest, i am more offended that you say that my hair was messy, although the compliment is kind of cute, so thank you.

the schemer [4:24 pm]
Damn, i think that's the longest message i've ever written. enough words for you? or do you need more?

Myself. [4:25 p.m.]
More than enough, give me a second to read all of that.

Alejandro tucked his hair behind his ear while he began to read, he knew that Noah was quick-sighted, but he, on the other hand, took a little more time reading and understanding. He laughed most of the time, Noah's eternal sarcasm seemed like a magical quality to him, so strange that only someone like Noah could have it. He was happy to see that the swarth’s attitude changed, he was a little less cold and seemed more interested in their conversations, that made him smile awkwardly. He was glad to read too that Noah also thought his brother was a jerk, having his approval of it only made him think he was even more right. Noah had accepted the compliment from him, yes, he had also called him a relationship breaker, but he hadn't told him to fuck off like he normally would.

However, his cheeks began to color when he realized one of the messages that he had sent him, saying that he appreciated that he cared about him... And that he did it for him too! That was nice, he knew Noah was looking out for him too even though he won't show it, but the confirmation sent the feeling of satisfaction through Alejandro’s entire body. He chuckled, looking at the time on the screen of his phone, already 4:30. He had to teach class at 6, until 10. Still smiling, he began to write his answer.

Myself. [4:37 pm]
I'm not a homewrecker! Not anymore, never really.
I'm surprised you accept my compliments, I thought you'd send me to hell or something, that’s cute!
By the way, it's lovely to know that you care about me too, lindo😉

the schemer [4:38 pm]
i'm about to block you everywhere.
you do not have anything to do? i actually do.
you need to clear your head to see if you stop bothering so much.
let's talk later.

Myself. [4:39 p.m.]
You love to be annoyed by me, you knooow iiit.
But I comply with your request!
I'll write you later ;)

Alejandro turned off his phone after seeing Noah's nod, getting up as he slung his jacket over his shoulders. He started talking to Noah without any hope, he was sure that he would never want to hear from him again after... That. But it seemed that Noah had forgiven him, perhaps forgotten, and that was enough for Alejandro. He began to walk through the corridors of his building, the book that he had picked up was in fact about an advanced topic of quantum mechanics in which he had gotten to investigate together with several fellow students, they had advanced a lot and it seemed that the book could be of help. He left his things in the staff room, going to the bathroom to straighten the hair that was falling into his face. He tied his hair into a small ponytail, looking sideways at himself in the mirror. The memory of Noah's smiling face holding hands with that girl flashed through his mind, his stomach churning as soon as his eyes caught the image. But Noah had told him they were just friends, and he believed him, he would always believe him.
It would be a long wait until I write to him again.

Chapter Text

"And that's why string theory resolves the differences between general relativity and quantum mechanics... Any questions?"

Alejandro leaned against his desk, it had been a particular afternoon explaining string theory and his students seemed distracted, but he couldn't really judge them. He knew they had been busy with other subjects and he had been through that too, so he okay with it, after all, he strove to be a sympathetic teacher. His green eyes darted from one corner to the other, fixing on each of his 12 students. They all wrote what was on the board, they seemed more focused on copying than listening to him, but if he had to go back and explain everything, he would, it was his job after all. One of them raised his hand, causing a small smile on the latino's face, who got back up as he gave him the floor.

"How many dimensions are there supposed to be?"

"26 in conventional theory, 10 in superstring theory."

The young man nodded, lowering his head once more to continue writing. Alejandro sighed, he felt tired and the passage of time was particularly slow that day. He sat behind his desk, taking his phone to check the time, 9:33 pm. 27 minutes to go home, maybe he would give that time free to his students if there were no more questions, more than one was already nodding off and he really couldn't agree more. He asked once more for doubts, and since no one asked anything else, he slumped back in the chair as he crossed his arms.

"Okay, so you have these last 25 minutes free. Do what you want, but please don't be loud."

His students smiled at him, thanking him while some moved their chairs to another bench, some took their phones and the others sent their heads to the bench, taking the opportunity to rest a bit. Alejandro laughed slightly, seeing teenagers so tired brought back memories of himself, of when he was at the university and stayed up more than ever, he always spent the dawn studying. He turned on his phone once more, looking at the messages he had.

Notification Center:
2 missed calls from José 🖕 [1:01 pm]

Geoff [2:47 pm]
HAHAHAHAHA man I didn't remember all of that, what a laugh
And do you remember when Chris made us sing? man that was so awfulll

Spotify offers you three months free to listen to your "Amante de la Salsa #1" playlist without interruptions.

Outlook; Markus Lynour
RE: Meeting.
Good afternoon, dear teachers. I am writing this email to inform you of the date of the next monthly meeting to review student performance. Attendance will be mandatory and if you do not attend...

Reminder: time to start classes (6-10 pm)

Pa [5:24 pm]
Ale I spoke with Carlos and he is going to try to speak with José, it seemed that today you were very stressed with his attitude.
Don't listen to him, I know you'll come as soon as you can, I love you.

Carlos [7:11 p.m.]
Hey enano, estás mejor?
Hablé con José, más le vale comenzar a madurar porque no pienso dejar que arruiné la celebración de papá.
Por cierto, creo que tal vez podríamos vernos si vienes el próximo mes, me quedaré un poco más por acá ;)

Tyler [7:43 p.m.]
I swear it would never have crossed my mind, I thought you guys were enemies or something.
and do you have a plan?
by the way, I don't know what I'm going to make up not to tell Lindsay, you know she loves to gossip.

Jose 🖕 [8:26 pm]
How low of you to go complain to Carlos, eres un niño mimado Al.

Alejandro rolled his eyes, José had managed to put in a two-line message all the things that bothered him the most. He had called him a kid, spoiled and "Al" in just one message, José had that innate talent to screw him over in every possible way, and he would respond with silence, as he always did. He took a breath, that was not the time or the place to complain at ease, that was with Noah, and he had promised to write to him after finishing his classes. He began to respond messages, Geoff and he had spent the entire previous afternoon remembering when they were still part of the program, there were so many good things to remember that they had already been doing the same thing for several hours, although he was not very excited about remembering those strange songs that Chris make them sing. He continued with his father, he was happy to know that he was on his side and that he did not support José's behavior either, like Carlos, who acted as the voice of conscience in the Burromuerto family. He finally went to chat with Tyler, he didn't know how, but he had ended up confessing to him something that had been tormenting him lately, as if Tyler had good advice to offer him.

Myself. [9:46 p.m.]
I never felt that we were enemies, I would say that we even became close once.
And don't even think about saying a word to Lindsay, if she finds out everyone will, and I can't let that happen.

Tyler [9:47 p.m.]
yeah man! don't worry, I'm a grave.

Myself. [9:48pm]
I don't really have a plan, I don't even know what's going through my head when I think of it!
By the way, sorry for the responding so late, I've had a busy day.

Tyler [9:50 p.m.]
don't worry, I imagine that being a teacher must be exhausting.
you should figure out what to do man, there's no point in jumping in if you don't know how the feelings on the other side are.

The conversation continued and when he least realized it, the bell rang and his students began to pack their things to leave, exhausted. He reminded them of the exam they would have in two weeks, finally saying goodbye while he waited for the room to be empty. The teen left and suddenly everything was quiet, relaxing. Alejandro began to put his things in his briefcase, putting on his jacket while his phone still over the desk. He was ready to go, but just before getting to his feet, he allowed himself to smile as he wrote a little thing.

Myself. [10:04 p.m.]
Your favorite person is baaack
How are you doing with the cold?

And his footsteps finally led him to the classroom exit, which he closed while he put the phone in his pocket. He wasn't sure Noah would answer him, he remembered that when they were younger, at 8 Noah he was sleepy, and at 9 he was already asleep, not really what he would consider a night owl. But lately they'd been talking at night, later than he'd ever seen Noah awake. But that could be due to the flu, he didn't really know what the situation was. The university was mostly empty, so he hurried out, usually taking the subway home. That day he seemed strangely cold to him, and if even if it was like that for his high body temperatures, he didn't even want to imagine how it would be to Noah. He kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket, winter was still a little away, but the atmosphere was already freezing and Alejandro was beginning to regret only wearing his light jacket on a Toronto night.

The subway was always his best ally when it came time to return home, the university where he worked was almost on the other side of the city, and nothing was faster than the subway for that situation. He hurried to get to the station, fatigue was beginning to take its toll and the only thing he was wanting at that moment was to rest. He took the first wagon that passed, having arrived just in time to catch the line that would take him home. As it was already past 10, most of it was empty, so he allowed himself to take a chair by the window, at least looking at the speed the machine was taking should make him less sleepy. As he nodded with the briefcase in his hands, his phone in his pants pocket vibrated, waking him up as if it were an alarm. He put the briefcase down on the chair next to him while he pulled out the phone, already turning it on to the lowest brightness to see what it was. His eyes closed very slightly, a small smile showing on his face. The briefcase returned to stay on his lap while he rested his back on the chair, he smiled and his fingers began to type.

the schemer [10:22 pm]
your notification woke me up, just because of that you are no longer my favorite person
i was dreaming that i was the guitarist in a band, and actually, that was really nice
so thanks

Replying to your message:
i'm better, just a little hoarse
are you at home? i really don't know what you do

Myself. [10:24 p.m.]
I'm sorry! The last thing I wanted was to wake you up
I thought about not writing to you because of that, it seems that after all you still have the biological clock of an old man

the schemer [10:25 pm]
how sweet
unlike you, i take advantage of the years of sleep that i have left before insomnia

Myself. [10:25 p.m.]
By the way
Since when do you dream of being a guitarist?
I thought you only dreamed weird things when you were really tired or something like that

the schemer [10:26 pm]
huh, you took the memory refresh very literally
but yeah, i don't really dream that much
i think being sick influences too

Myself. [10:26 p.m.]
How can I forget all you told me? Our late-night talks were the best of the day back then

Responding to the schemer's message:
I'm glad to know you're better! It must be funny to hear you hoarse, you sure sound funny
And by the way! It offends me that you don't know what I do, I listened carefully to you at Bridgette's dinner, I thought you had done the same!
I'm a teacher, I'm giving classes in the morning and at night, now I'm taking the subway back home.

Alejandro sighed exhausted, Noah was responding way to fast and he didn't have the greatest speed when it came to writing. His phone stopped vibrating for a couple of minutes, Noah was probably reading and writing, it would be exciting to read everything. The subway stopped at his stop, and Alejandro hurried out, he was a little distracted. He left the underground station, smelling the wet earth, it had drizzled. He began to walk back home, the streets bathed and the leaves on the ground, autumn was approaching. He soon came to his neighborhood, and from there, to his house. Well, actually, it was his mother's house. She and his father had separated couple of years ago, he had moved back to Texas and she stayed in Toronto. Currently her mother was on a business trip in Portugal, she would return in a little over a month and she had lent him her house, in the end, he would only stay a couple more months before returning to Spain.
He took the keys from the inside pocket of his jacket, pushing open the door as he sighed, hogar dulce hogar. He left his shoes in front of the entrance, he wasn't really used to that but he would respect the rules in his mother's house. It was big, mostly woody. It had 4 rooms, after all, it had once been the home of the Burromuerto family as well.

Carlos and José's rooms were mostly empty, the beds remained but none of the belongs of them were there. Carlos had moved to Argentina, he came from time to time to visit both of his parents, he was the model son that Alejandro aspired to be. José also lived in Texas, he had always been the cowboy type of guy. He spoke little with his mother, since he was always on his father's side, even if it meant speaking only English, his father had never developed Spanish well, something complicated if you were married to a Peruvian woman.
His room in the house still had a lot of his style, it definitely wasn't like before, most of his things were now in Spain, because he lived there now. His parents' room now belonged only to his mother, fair enough, since it was the largest and most comfortable room in the entire house. The place was spacious, and since her mother had been diagnosed with arthritis, she had had a small, heated pool built in the backyard to help with her pain, Alejandro loved it after a long day of work. His tired and slow steps stopped in front of his room, his bed was made but the rest of the room was messy, he had had a very heavy couple of weeks and he really didn't have the head to think in order. He didn't do anything, he just walked next to his bed and he fell on his face, he was exhausted. His phone vibrated again, he had forgotten Noah's messages. He rolled over, back against the mattress as he took the phone once again.

the schemer [10:43 pm]
haha
can we not talk about the competition?
it does not bring me back good memories
to be precise

the schemer [10:55 pm]
um
replying to your message:
i really don't know
i would have liked to learn to play guitar

the schemer [11:06 pm]
audio 35s
it would make me sleepy to be in a classroom until 10 o'clock

the schemer [11:18 pm]
alejandro
i was going to sleep
and
a
GIANT
moth got in
to my room
photo
moths terrify me

Alejandro scratched his eyelid with his hand, Noah seemed much more comfortable with their conversations, he wrote more, told him about himself, made jokes, sent audios, and more importantly, he no longer used points, positive signs. But he felt there was something wrong, the mention of the competition had taken him by surprise. He knew that Noah hadn't exactly been the happiest during the show, but there they had met and shared the best memories after all, it seemed strange to him that Noah wanted to avoid it. He was convinced that it wasn't because of... The last thing, that had happened between them. If so, Noah wouldn't have even spoken to him again, or at least that's what he thought. Alejandro yawned, and as he began to write, various memories crossed his mind.

Myself. [11:23 p.m.]
I just got home, I'm exhausted
I don't believe you sent an audio, is that you?
Responding to the schemer's message:
Sure! I'm not really a fan of talking about that competition either, although we had very good moments back then.

Myself. [11:25 p.m.]
Responding to the schemer's message:
It's not too late to try it yet, with how well you play the violin you shouldn't have a problem with the guitar.

Alejandro inhaled deeply, getting up slightly while he lowered the volume on his phone, he had a knack for listening to the audios at low volume with the phone to his ear, the speaker right next to it. The play button was hit, and the moment Noah's hoarse voice entered his eardrum, a chill ran through him from head to toe. Maybe "funny" wasn't what Noah sounded like when he was hoarse.

"I don't sound funny being hoarse, I sound horrible. And excuse me, Mr. attention, not all of us can pay it with several Cosmopolitans on us. I remember that you studied astronomy, but the teacher part not, it must be horrible, besides so late. Did you get home?"

Alejandro chuckled slightly as he dropped the phone next to him, burying his face in the pillow as goosebumps broke out on his skin. Noah definitely cared about him, that made his day. He wasn't particularly keen on being a teacher either, but it was a good way to share his knowledge and have a little fun, even hard work like that seemed fun to him sometimes. His fingers tapped a little, and when the message was sent, Alejandro couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

Myself. [11:26 p.m.]
You can’t imagine how happy it makes me to know that you care about me, your voice sounds incredibly good like that
I don't love being a teacher either, but sometimes it's fun
And I can talk hours and hours about my favorite things

That was a very direct comment, he had literally just told Noah that his heart beat a thousand an hour every time he cared for him, in addition to telling him that his hoarse voice sounded 1000 times better, but Noah probably wouldn't tell him anything after all, he was always ignored his complim-

the schemer [11:27 pm]
Replying to your message:
did you just flirt with me?

Alejandro stopped writing, his cheeks flushed red. Technically yes, but he wasn't expecting such a response. He smirked, resting his head on the pillow as his fingers went back to writing.

I. [11:28 p.m.]
Maybe
Yes
Definitely yes
Good time to notice
A little bravery from time to time never hurt anyone.

Alejandro B. [11:29 pm]
Responding to your message:
THAT THING IS HUGE
Tell me that you managed to get it out
I know you have a phobia of bugs
Do you want me to come over and help you? ;)

Noah blinked several times as he looked at the screen, cell phone in hand, sitting on the floor with a plastic bowl next to him, inside in which the moth he had managed to catch still fluttering. His hair was messy, his shirt collar wrinkled, and his face was burning maroon, catching that bug had been a nightmare. He left the phone face down on the floor, picking up his knees while all the compliments that Alejandro had given him recently went through his mind, apparently all the time they had been flirtations and not jokes, he really was bad with those things. But what could he do? It would never have crossed her mind that the latino flirted with him, he was Alejandro Burromuerto, for whom all women died. And he was Noah Tremblay, no one relevant that the only thing he knew how to do well was to be sarcastic. Surely it was a joke, what were the odds?

If Alejandro was flirting with him, why was he? A joke? An experiment? Proof? Curiosity? He didn't know, he didn't know anything. Maybe he was making fun of him? Was it some kind of revenge? He wasn't a fan of that sort of things, and he thought Alejandro knew it. Did he like him? He didn't like Alejandro, of course not, never, ever. But what would he do if that was the case on the other side? What are you supposed to say to the Casanova? How do you reject that? What do you respond to a compliment?

Okay, he was dissociating, the anxiety that he had been diagnosed with a couple of years ago was coming to the fore, a bad sign. Noah stretched out his legs once more, taking a deep breath. He needed to fill his lungs with air, he felt his windpipe closing little by little, he needed to stay calm. He inhaled sharply, the air finally passing past his bronchial tubes. His breathing regulated with the passing of the seconds, and as soon as his body allowed him to sigh, he slid down the wall, lying on his pale wooden floor. The moth kept fluttering in the bowl next to him, like the apparent butterflies that moved uncontrollably in his stomach, Noah tried to convince himself that it was just hunger. He kept breathing controlled for a couple more minutes, he was very confused.

His phone vibrated from next to him again, his heart racing once more, uncomfortably. He reached out to take it, looking at the preview of what the situation was about. Where had such courage come from?

Alejandro B. [11:32 pm]
I'm going to assume you're taking out the moth
Or that it took you out
If you don't have a place to sleep you can come hereee

Alejandro B. [11:38 pm]
Forget the jokes
Are you okay? You can't give up for a moth 😭

Alejandro B. [11:43 pm]
Noah
I want to see you
But in a way out
No more seeing you at your doorstep handing you mint ice cream
Do you want to go eat ice cream?

A date, Noah could swear he had tachycardia. Well, it wasn't a date, it was a friendly outing between two fully mature adults, who had enough judgment to discuss their… Sentimental situation? Noah felt that he no longer knew anything, being cunning was slipping through his hands. The floor was cold, which dampened the heat on his face a bit, something he couldn't explain. He didn't like Alejandro, not at all, never, ever. But how not to react like that if someone writes you so many compliments? Eventually one has to hit the nail on the head, and Alejandro already knew which one it was. The swarthy took a breath, opening the chat while he swallowed heavily, it was time to face things like the adult he was.

Myself. [11:50 p.m.]
I caught the moth
photo
I'm fine, although it was a nightmare

The checkmark popped up, Noah's lips pursed.

Myself. [11:50 p.m.]
seeing me?
seeing you?
depends on where and when
and of what flavors are we talking about?

Alejandro B. [11:51 pm]
Yeah! Seeing you!
It could be this saturday, one of the few days I have free.
The flavor you want! Even mint 😖

Myself. [11:51 p.m.]
ok that doesn't sound bad
saturday?

Alejandro [11:52 p.m.]
Yeah! Yeah!
I can go pick you up, we don't have to have something planned
The spontaneous is always better

Myself. [11:52 p.m.]
hm, okay
so...
see you on saturday?
♥️ by Alejandro B.
that sounds strange

Alejandro B. [11:53 pm]
SIII!!
I am very happy, thank you for accepting
I promise not to laugh at mint ice cream
By the way

Replying to your message:
How brave are you to catch that monster, where did such a big moth came from?

Myself. [11:54 p.m.]
i have no idea, but it was disgusting.
i'm going to take it out and go to sleep
rest, good night

Alejandro B. [11:55 pm]
Good idea, I'm falling asleep.
Rest up, Noah

Good night <3
Noah thought for a couple of seconds, just a couple, and left a heart on the last message, he definitely needed to sleep. He put a piece of cardboard under the bowl, taking the moth out of the window to close it immediately, because it was time to sleep. He tried not to think anymore, he just put his phone on charge after putting on his pajamas and brushing his teeth, getting into bed with all the lights off, he really needed to sleep and forget about everything, to kill the embarrassment. And as always, his body didn't fail him, allowing him to fall fast asleep within a few minutes.

Myself. [11:55 p.m.]
Good idea, I'm falling asleep.
Rest up, Noah
Good night <3
♥️ by the schemer

Alejandro turned between his bed, Noah was definitely used to their conversations once more, pure joy. He wasted no more time, put on his pajamas, and brushed his teeth, tying his hair into a little ponytail to sleep, if he didn't, his hair would be very tangled at the morning. He got into his bed after leaving his clothes in the basket, connecting his phone while still smiling from ear to ear, things were turning out better than he ever imagined, he was happier than ever, he would have to tell Tyler everything. He turned over, resting his cheek against the pillow, breathing easily as sleep closed in on him, taking him into Morpheus's arms in a couple of minutes.
It would be a weekend, to say the least, interesting.

Chapter Text

The night was quiet, Noah was improving by leaps and bounds and beginning to feel more comfortable with everything that was going on in his life. He had had a couple of bad days, courtesy of the cold, and a lot of things he considered out of the ordinary had happened in such a short period of time, like the dinner, the reunions, Alejandro and more, but he was finally starting to get used to it, and still more importantly, to accept it. His alarm went off and unlike the day before he got up on time, he didn't had to run and he left home at the usual time, relaxed.

His appearance had improved considerably, he no longer looked so sick and the only thing that gave him away was the dark circles under his eyes. The only thing the cold had left in his body was being hoarse, something that really didn't seem like a big deal to him and with which he could live for a couple more days. He entered his building, he had arrived several minutes early and had finally been able to take the elevator. He entered the lobby, touching the button for the seventh floor as he took his phone out of his pocket, he hadn't checked his messages yet and anxiety was itching in his chest, with each passing hour the wednesday was closer, and therefore, his meeting with Alejandro.

Notification Center:

courtney [6:44 am]
Good morning, are you feeling better?
You have to have a clear head to... A meeting, of that type.
By the way, sorry for not replying last night, I fell asleep.

eva [6:57 a.m.]
THAT DID YOU ACCEPT WHAT
YOU ARE FUCKING JOKING
NOAH IT CAN'T BE
I'm going to kill you the next time I see you.

owen [8:03 am]
So we are waiting for you this saturday!
Blaineley is very excited!!!
I can't wait to know what you have to tell me, won't you give me a hiiint?

gwen [8:11 am]
Can you on Friday night? It's not a lunch, but on Monday morning we're getting back ;(

Reminder to drink water

emma [8:34 a.m.]
Hahaha, I wasn't a big fan of dodgeball either.
Although they wouldn't have let me sit through the game.

Alejandro B. [8:46 a.m.]
Good morning vida mía
How did you sleep? Excited for tomorrow?
I am
And a lot
😁

Noah rubbed his head, how had he ended up telling Eva about the meeting with Alejandro? She hated him, she kept reminding him of everything Alejandro had done to him and she definitely wouldn't be thrilled to know that they would go out together, for ice cream! Although, however, what surprised him the most was having told Courtney, he didn't even know how, but they had continued talking those days and she seemed to play a more important role than his own conscience, something like a Jiminy Crick-

"Hey dude."

Noah looked up, the elevator door was open on the third floor, it had stopped a couple of seconds ago and certain steps just stopped next to his, on the way to the 11th floor.

"Hi, Jude. I didn't see you come in."

The swarthy whispered as he put the phone in his pocket, turning his eyes to the blonde next to him. Jude Williams was an American who worked there too, he was CEO of the advertising department of the small rental company that worked in the building too, practically every floor belonged to a different company. He was a young man who had just turned 20, a blond boy with light blue eyes, very white skin but eternally tanned, because for him, summer never ended. He was a very relaxed guy, who emanated good vibes and who encouraged the atmosphere wherever he went, a dude that no one could not like. That day he was dressed relatively formal, a white collared shirt along with a tie that was poorly placed around his neck, which matched his indigo pants. His blond hair fell to his shoulders, he seemed to sport a layered cut that gave his long hair more volume, although it was strange to Noah to see him without his classic beanie. Jude smiled at him, putting his hands in his pockets as well.

"No worries, but let me tell you that you seem stressed about something."

The doors closed, it would be a long drive to the seventh floor, Noah sighed.

"A little, a lot has happened."

He was opening up a lot with people he didn't trust...

"Oh? I don't want to sound like a nosy freak, but maybe I can offer you some…advice?"

...But could he really be judged?

"Anything to not get carried away by your emotions?"

Jude smiled, showing his teeth, he really was a lovely young man. Noah sighed in embarrassment, that could be a bit too direct of his situation.

"Personally, I don't tend to hide what I feel, but if I had to, I would try to focus on what I'm passionate about."

Noah raised an eyebrow, he hadn't understood anything and Jude had noticed it.

"I mean, I would try to think about how a relationship would get in the way of what I'm passionate about.”

The swarth’s cheeks colored, a relationship? He wasn't talking about that!

"I never mentioned a relationship."

"I think that's what it's about, your face is red."

Jude laughed, the elevator was about to reach the seventh floor, Noah had to get off.

"But it's not about-"

"Shhh, you get out here."

The elevator doors opened, lately Noah was quite distracted, easy to note for everyone apparently.

"Have lunch with me today, so we can see what you're really talking about."

Noah frowned as he noted burlesque tone in the blonde's last words, who pushed him out of the elevator with a relaxed smile on his face.

"See you in the lobby, at 1. Relax a bit for me!"

And the doors closed, Noah was in shock. Second lunch in the week, he really wasn't used to that, was he becoming more sociable? Strange, definitely strange for him. He pushed his hair back from his face, his frontal haircut wasn’t settling that day. He headed to his office with briefcase in hand, it would be a long day and it was somewhat strange to have lunch with Jude, they spoked very once in a while. The morning progressed more slowly than ever, he met several colleagues and Emma stopped by to greet him, a thing that definitely made his day a little better. His phone vibrated from time to time, probably Alejandro, but he was really concentrating on his investigation that morning and his goal was to finish it that week.

The clock finally struck 1, and when Noah hit the save button on his 8450-word document, a feeling of satisfaction ran through him, maybe even by midweek he would have the entire document ready. He put his wallet in his pocket, his jacket rested on the back of his swivel chair and he didn't plan to take it, it was a sunny afternoon. He went downstairs, he felt good and he didn't arrive as tired as the previous days. He stopped near the entrance to the lobby, looking around for Jude, who apparently came out of nowhere.

"Hey dude."

Noah jumped in his place, that actually scared him.

"Where did you came from?"

"I have my tricks, shall we?"

Noah nodded, still getting goosebumps. Jude didn't ask anything, he just guided him while talking to him to a restaurant that Noah used to see on his way home, but he never dared to enter. A small and typical Indian food restaurant. His mom was born in Delhi, she too had grown up in a big family, and was a woman who really loved her culture. Marrying a Canadian man hadn't helped her much in that, and even though he had visited India only three times in his whole life, he really did find himself in a safe place there.

His grandparents were really affectionate, more than his paternal ones, and he remembered from childhood eating typical dishes that his mother prepared on the most special days, like on his birthday. His eyes widened in confusion, either Jude was some kind of psychic or he was spying on him and knew everything about him, probably the first idea. The blond smiled at him, crossing his arms in front of the entrance, 1:15 in the afternoon on the dot.

"How did you know that..."

"I know how to read people very well. Besides, any Canadian doesn't have a last name like Yadav."

"Are you psychic? Or something like that?"

Jude laughed as he nodded for him to come inside.

"Maybe, I don't know. What I do know is that I'm starving, you'll have to recommend something good."

"You like spicy food?"

"Quite a bit, but I've heard that Indian food is soooo spicy."

"Depends on the dish, we'll see what's up."

"Hm, you're much nicer when you talk more."

Noah smiled slightly, following Jude as he walked over to a small table by the windows, the afternoon was beautiful and the sky was clear, which was strange for a Toronto fall. Noah took the time to appreciate the menu, it was very typically decorated and the variety of food was amazing, there was a huge number of dishes. He gave the blond a short summary about almost all the dishes, and he only had positive things to say about each one, how did he do it? Jude always had something nice to say, his energy was so relaxed that Noah couldn't imagine him saying something mean, definitely something he couldn't do. Jude was encouraged to order a Kati Roll, a lamb kebab that had a slightly spicy touch, according to Noah, although he felt his tongue burn at the first bite, gradually getting used to the spiciness. On his side, Noah ordered the safety pin for him, Chole Bhature. It sounded pretty simple, fried bread with chole, a pretty spicy chickpea paste. It used to be his favorite food when he was little, he waited all year for his birthday for his mom to prepare it, he had grown accustomed to the strong spice that the dish brought, so he really had a high tolerance for it.

The waiters were very kind, it felt like a pleasant memory to see how they immediately noticed that he knew the culture because of his good pronunciation of the dishes, it was really comfortable for him in those kinds of environments. The food was not long in coming, and between chitter and chatter, Noah completely forgot why he'd been out to lunch with Jude in the first place. The blonde took a bite of his kebab while Noah laughed covering his mouth, they were talking about the time that trembled and no one noticed it, everyone freaking out the moment the alarm went on throughout the city. Jude watched the swarthy as he smiled, swallowing before opening his mouth and asking the question that had started it all.

"So, it's not a relationship?"

Noah's face changed abruptly, maroon returning to his cheeks. He had definitely forgotten.

"I don't think so, I…I don't feel it that way."

"Then how do you feel?"

"I don't know, this hasn't happened before, not with… him."

Jude's eyes widened a fraction, he seemed surprised for a split second. He smirked, taking one more bite as he covered his mouth to continue speaking.

"Man this thing is real spicy..."

Noah chuckled, Jude's gaze relaxed completely once more.

"But back on topic, do you like him?"

Noah's face colored all over, he just lost his appetite.

"No, I'm pretty sure not."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I feel uncomfortable, I don't know how to handle things with him."

Jude narrowed his eyes as he swallowed, crossing his fingers to rest his forearms on the table. He looked directly into his eyes, light blue against olive, Noah would never imagine it. Jude leaned back in his chair, it was the question time Noah had been waiting for all along.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to ask this question, I swear I don't want to sound like a nosy freak, but… who are we talking about? Do I know him?"

"Did you watch the show I was on when I was younger?"

"The one with the million dollars?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah dude, is it someone from there?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, good. I know who."

Noah's eyes widened, Jude was definitely a psychic with an already noble heart who had yet to offer his services for thousands of dollars, he could be a millionaire if he wanted to.

"How is it pos-"

"Alejandro, isn't it?"

The swarthy scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. Jude smiled, lottery. He took the little that was left of his lunch, stuffing it into his mouth to finish once and for all, it was time for the real talk.

"Eat, I brought you to lunch Noah."

The aforementioned sighed in a small laugh, taking the bread with both hands.

"Let's talk then, you'll see that there is a solution for that."

Noah swallowed the last bite of his lunch, he had been talking to Jude about the subject for more than 30 minutes, and while he was dying for anxiety, the blond was playing with the saltshaker on the table while giving him advice worthy of the Buddha himself, he really couldn't understand how that blonde wasn't swimming in millions at that moment. Jude offered him several solutions for wednesday and encouraged him to attend whatever they were doing, he seemed enthusiastic that they would reconnect, something to which everyone else in his close group seemed to disagree. Jude invited him to lunch, paid for his dish, and took him back to the building, where the two of them bumped into Emma in the lobby. The Asian greeted both men enthusiastically, she wasn't particularly close to the blond either but they used to greet each other in the hallways, Noah smiled genuinely when he felt the black-haired woman's arms around his back, Emma felt like a safe place too. The woman continued on her way, and when Noah got on the elevator, the blond held the door for a couple of minutes.

"Emma doesn't know you like guys, does she?"

"What?"

"Dude take a hint. Haven't you seen how she looks at you?"

Noah's cheeks turned maroon once more, this time from utter embarrassment.

"No..."

"She really likes you, it's about time you tell her."

Damn, that was awkward.

"Relax, she will still be there for you no matter what, don't let a friendship like hers slip away."

"Well, thanks...for everything, Jude. I'm sure your advice will be very useful."

"Don't thank me man, let's go out more often! It's really nice to spend time with you when you get up to talking."

Jude reached into his pocket, pulling out a small blue card with his name and number written on it, handing it over to him.

"We should keep in touch, I thought I had your number but no. Text me anytime!"

"Thanks dude, really."

The blond got into the elevator, being received by Noah's arms in a sincere hug, a way of expressing the most real thanks that he had given in life. Jude hugged back, he really liked Noah as a friend and it felt great to help him, a little advice for someone that independent never hurt anyone.

"You never dude, dude. See you around! Relax a bit for me!"

And the elevator doors closed, it began to go up to the seventh floor. Noah smiled, looking at the small, laminated card with white letters, he would definitely write to him on the big day of the meeting. He hadn't responded to messages yet, so as soon as he got to his office, he took care of it. He had a busy week, dinner with Owen on saturday, with Gwen and Trent on Friday and, obviously, on wednesday with Alejandro. Wow, he's never had so many outings in such a short time. Courtney seemed busy that day as well, so she asked him to talk on the night, something that benefited him as well. Eva seemed so furious that she didn't even answer him, and he knew that Emma was probably busier than he was, besides the Jude's revelation didn't make him want to talk to her particularly, for which he only responded with a laughter. He sighed on his chair, turning it towards the window as he opened the chat with Alejandro, who had written a few more things.

Alejandro B. [9:02 pm]
Why don't you ever answer in the morning?
I mean, it's a real curiosity.
Do you have a lot to do?

Alejandro B. [10:26 pm]
Noah I want to talk to you 😭
Please appear

Alejandro B. [11:12 pm]
NOAAAAH
Vida mía, que carajo te ponen a hacer en el trabajo?

Alejandro B. [12:54 pm]
Carlos asked for you!!!
I can't believe he remembers you, he was your biggest fan when the show was still on

Alejandro B. [1:48 pm]
Noah 😭
Are you mad at me?

Noah felt the blood spread from his nose to his cheeks, that “vida mía” thing was hitting the nail on the head. Obviously platonically, he didn't like Alejandro, never, ever.

Myself. [2:02 pm]
hello, sorry for replying until now
it's been a hard day, i've been busy
how are you?

Alejandro B. [2:03 pm]
NOAH! VIDA MÍA!
I thought you were never coming back
I'm wonderful since you showed up
Don't worry your little head, we all have days of days.

Myself. [2:03 pm]
do not call me like that
maybe i’ll get mad at you

Alejandro B. [2:04 pm]
Awww why?
That nickname fits you like a glove
Does it make you blush?

Noah frowned, he’d give anything to actually be mad at him.

Myself. [2:05 p.m.]
why don't you shut up, intense
btw, I wanted to ask you something.

Alejandro B. [2:06 pm]
Yes, vida mía?

Myself. [2:06 pm]
ugh
can we talk on whatsapp?
I don't really use instagram

Alejandro B. [2:07 pm]
Oh! Sure!
I'll write you there then ;)

Noah smiled ever so slightly, resting his left forearm on the table as he pulled Jude's card out of his pocket, he'd save his number too for once. He had a profile photo of him on a beach, from behind, looking at the camera while it focused on the blue in the background, with his classic beany on his head. His phone vibrated again in his hands, and as his eyes drifted to the notification, he noticed something he hadn't seen before.

+34 ********* ~ Alejandro B. [2:09 pm]
Better?
😘

The +34 wasn’t from Spain? That would mean that Alejandro was actually living in- Well whatever, now the question of the century, how was I going to save Alejandro’s number? “Alejandro Burromuerto” was too formal, he didn't really have a nickname for him and only “Alejandro” sounded strange, the idea of having his contact information saved tickled him inside and that wasn't exactly a good thing. He went to her profile, zooming in a little on his profile picture. He was sitting on the edge of what looked like a mountain, from the landscape it was clear to see that it was some Latin American country, from what little he knew of the area it looked like Peru, where the latino really came from. In the photo he was definitely younger, maybe only a couple of months older than when the competition ended, it was easy to tell by the length of his hair and the lack of expression lines and dark circles on his face, being that tired really made them look so much older. Noah sighed, pressing "save contact" as he typed something, everything was set.

Myself. [2:11 p.m.]
yeah
thank you
;)

alejandro 🐙 [2:12 pm]
I love when you send happy faces
I am so happy 😭

Noah would have preferred an eel, but whatsapp was not yet good enough to have a similar emoji, the octopus could do the same job.

Myself. [2:13 p.m.]
my god
no more happy faces then
can we talk later? i have a lot to do

alejandro 🐙 [2:14 pm]
Sure!
Write me whenever you want
😘

Noah rolled his eyes and the afternoon continued, he continued writing and writing for his investigation, having his phone not vibrating constantly was definitely a favor to gain concentration, so much so that he reached 11875 words by 5:40 in the afternoon, the time at which he began to gather his things to go home. He stood up, stretching as he yawned, feeling quite tired. He packed up his things, making sure to save the document as he headed out, finally back home. He closed the door of his spacious office, going down the elevator as he stared at the screen of his phone, it felt strange not having messages from Alejandro. He said goodbye to the guard and made his way to his house, the warm atmosphere of the afternoon still in the air, really strange for Toronto. He got home earlier than he expected, tuesday was already over and that meant just a couple hours for wednesday. Noah left his shoes at the entrance along with his briefcase, putting on his pajamas immediately as he went from one side to the other with his phone in hand, the idea of calling Alejandro had crossed his mind, he wouldn't have to keep answering and answering messages but would actually be able to talk to him, he really couldn't get over it and he wasn't sure what to do. He sat at his kitchen table, inhaling the frigid air of his kitchen hard, touching the phone symbol within the chat room. Once, twice, three times with no answer, Alejandro probably wouldn't answer, he was in class, kind of late to remember that little detail.

"Aló?"

Chills ran through Noah's body from head to toe.

"Hello Alejandro..."

"Noah! Do you listen to me?"

The aforementioned laughed slightly, feeling the laugh returned from the latino on the other end of the line.

"Yes, yes I listen to you.”

"I can't believe you called me!"

"...Uh, I thought maybe we could talk better, like this. But you are to be in class, right? We can talk later, I don't want to interrupt you."

Alejandro's honest laugh made him smile ever so slightly as he played with his fingers on the table.

"You remember the things I told you, that's… Adorable."

Maroon, completely maroon.

"Actually my class just started, so you can call me later, okay?"

"Yes, sorry to interrupt you. We'll talk later."

"You don't interrupt anything, vida mía. Call me!"

“Vida mía” thing was genuinely driving him crazy. Noah hung up, he would have to wait until 10 if he was going to call back, definitely not. Fake! He found himself calling him once more, at almost 10:30. He thought they would talk for just a little bit, maybe a couple of minutes about each other's day, but no. To his surprise, when he looked at the clock again, it was already 2 in the morning, he never knew how they ended up talking about so many things and how they lost track of time, he wouldn't be surprised if they would end up talking until dawn on Saturday between conversations, it seemed that the topics on which to catch up would never end.

The dream began to torment him, for which it was Noah who cut the conversation, to which Alejandro wished him a good night. His phone was charging at almost 3 in the morning, and as soon as Noah got into his sheets, he fell fast asleep. On his side, Alejandro left tossing and turning between his bed, so many things were going through his mind that his subconscious would not allow him to sleep, not with so many questions, with so many things to say. And he could say all of them that very same day! He buried his face in the pillow, he needed it to be the afternoon at that moment to process everything, to analyze how his heart would beat when he saw him once more.

It would definitely be more easy than ever to wake up at morning.

Chapter Text

Light snuck in through the blinds, allowing a mischievous beam of light to fall upon his face. Alejandro opened his eyes with difficulty. It was still very early; the sun had only recently risen, but his luck was bad enough that he had already woken up. He tossed and turned in his sheets, complaining softly, hoping to fall asleep once more, but to no avail. He buried his face in the pillow, his brown hair ruffling the fabric. He'd stayed up late last night and hadn't really taken the time to get ready for bed. His face still tucked into his feather pillows, he stretched out his arm with difficulty as he searched with his fingertips for the cold screen of his cell phone, finding it in seconds. He turned on the device while covering his eyes with the back of his hand. He couldn't remember if he'd left it on low, and his eyes were particularly sensitive to light when he first woke up. The screen lit up with the brightness set to minimum. Alejandro smiled slightly. He took it with both hands, staring at the time displayed on the screen: 6:33 a.m.

He sighed exhaustedly. He'd succumbed to sleep at almost 2 a.m. His body would have to sustain itself on only four and a half hours of sleep for a full day of teaching. Alejandro stretched his arms, still holding his cell phone. He felt tired; that poor sleep was taking everything away from him. However, a smile crept across his face as he remembered the reason for his previous late night, Noah. They had spent more than two hours talking, telling each other about things, complaining about things that were happening to them, sharing, as they usually did. Alejandro turned his head as Noah's laughter echoed in his mind. He felt like it had been a lifetime since he'd heard him laugh genuinely. He couldn't wait to hear it in person. That conversation had reminded him of a time he used to constantly regret, when frustration was his only companion. When he was a single young man, a boy, who felt suffocated at home for being the youngest, someone who just wanted the chance to show off all he could do. And someone who had found that place.

He fully accepted that he had been a piece of shit during the competition, had taken advantage of his looks and charisma to eliminate many, including Noah. That had weighed on his conscience for the remaining hours of that awkward day, the following weeks and months, and maybe a year or two. Maybe it still weighed on him a little, but very little. He had truly changed; he knew what he was good at and was striving to be a better person; the past should stay in the past. Things in his family were improving, and while the problems with José seemed endless, the rest of them were on the upswing. During the two-hour-and-17-minute call, all Alejandro could think about was Noah's olive-colored eyes, the same ones he used to stare at at night while they talked. The dark-haired man was truly the type to maintain eye contact during conversations, and he loved that. For those few minutes, he felt like a teenager again, and that was worth getting just over four hours of sleep.

It was still too early to text Noah; his classes started at 9:00, and mornings would be even more productive than at night. He normally left at 8:30 to get there just in time; today would be no exception. He stretched out on his unmade blankets while yawning. He felt sleepy, but he knew his body wouldn't let him go back to sleep. It wasn't worth trying again only to fail again. He tossed and turned, pressing his chest to the mattress as he unlocked his phone. He wanted to read last night's conversation. He began to review each word with his emerald gaze, feeling a smile slowly form on his face as he noticed how Noah was getting closer and closer to him, almost like they were before; he was definitely close to recovering what he'd been searching for. He left his phone on his pillows, standing up with a sudden burst of energy; he was happy. His bare feet continued to the kitchen; he was just learning how to use his mother's Italian coffee maker, and although he didn't really know the magic behind it, he admitted the coffee was incredible.

He poured a cup, and with the liquid still warm, he drank most of it in a single sip. He felt the taste of the coffee pass through his throat, and the energy reached his body almost instantly; there was no better way to start the day. He left the cup on the sink as his footsteps headed back to his room. It stressed him out to walk in and see his unmade bed. He hurried to organize his room, taking advantage of the energy boost the coffee had given him. He knew that in less than a moment he would be tired again. Once order was established, he headed to the kitchen once more, still barefoot, to prepare something for breakfast. The morning passed faster than he would have liked, and before he knew it, he was leaving the house for college. The morning had seemed especially cold, so he'd opted to wear a slightly fitted grayish turtleneck jacket, paired with black pants that opened at the ankle, revealing his beloved cowboy boots. He tied his hair in a small ponytail, and as he walked to the station, his phone vibrated in his pants pocket; the morning was still bright. He hurried to the subway, and once inside, he managed to find a chair, taking out his phone to check his notifications once and for all.

Notification Center:

Tyler [7:07 am]
good morning dude
did you sleep well?
Replying to your message:
ohhh, I like that idea!
dude I feel like he's going to love it!!
everything is so calculated...
and you know those are the things he likes!

Poste [7:22 am]
ALEJANDROOOO
PAPÁ ESTÁ EMPEZANDO A HABLAR MÁS ESPAÑOL
HOY DIJO MÁS DE 10 PALABRAS
This is so exciting

Geoff [7:57 am]
dudeeee the beach is horrible today
literally I've never seen it with so much seaweed
photo

Mike [8:22 am]
Hi Alejandro, good morning.
Are you coming to the meeting today?
Zoey asked me for a list; it seems Scarlet is pretty serious about attendance.

Ma [8:34 am]
Hola mi niño
Cómo vas allá en casa?

Alejandro started answering the messages without much interest; really, the only thing he was looking forward to was his daily conversation with Noah. Concentrating on typing, he almost missed his stop, so he hurried to get off the train; his head was truly in the clouds. He hurried out of the station, and between his quick steps, almost running, he didn't feel his phone vibrate a couple of times in his pocket. Who could the message be from? He made a short run to the teachers' lounge, where he threw his briefcase into his small locker while grabbing the things he would need with his other hand. He ran through the hallways to the room he used in the morning, stopping dead in front of the closed door. He looked at the hall clock: 8:59 a.m. He took a deep breath in an attempt to regulate his breathing, and while he brushed back his bangs with one hand, the other opened the classroom door. The eyes of his 14 students immediately turned to him; the bell rang just as his steps stopped in front of the desk, always on time.

"Good morning, students."

The students nodded back as they began to take out their books. Alejandro rummaged in his pocket for the whiteboard marker he had borrowed from the staff room.

"I hope everyone brought the book I asked for; we're going to use it a lot today."

The man began writing the assignment instructions on the board, underlining the "work will be checked" section a couple of times. He could feel his students' confused looks on his neck; he never wrote down instructions; his classes were interactive, and his students weren't used to that.

"I won't be in class today."

The students' complaints were immediate; Alejandro felt loved, just a little.

"I have a meeting; a substitute will be here. I hope everyone does their work. If you have any questions, write them down for next class."

The class nodded, and once he was sure everyone had the aforementioned book, he said goodbye as the teacher on duty entered the classroom. His steps followed to a secluded room on the top floor of the building, normally used for meetings. He checked his reflection in a mirror, adjusting his unkempt eyebrows before entering. The door creaked, and all eyes turned to him. He wasn't late, but he was the last to arrive. Scarlet, the vice-rector, stood up as she began to speak, at which point the Latino's neurons shut down. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, feigning interest as he watched the redhead move from one side to the other, occasionally writing something on the whiteboard. The minutes seemed endless, and they did so until his vibrating phone brought him back to reality. He looked away from the tall woman as he slowly pulled out the device, turning on the screen still on low brightness. His eyes searched for the notification, and his heart pounded in his chest.

Noah 🦞 [8:46 am]
good morning
um
i thought i'd text you a little earlier
i'm having a rough day today
so i don't think we'll be able to talk much

Alejandro's eyes reread those words over and over again, his cheeks warm and his mind focused on Noah's eyes, completely lost. A goofy smile crept across his face, and took his mind to another place. Positive points for Alejandro! It was the first time that Noah started the conversation, and that make him extremely excited. Those three hours felt like an eternity, but his mind was really elsewhere. The approaching weekend excited him; every hour that passed meant one less until Saturday, to see who would start stealing his breath. Caught up in that cloud, he didn't even notice when the meeting ended, so when Brick's hand landed on his shoulder, he was scared for a few seconds.

"Are you okay, bro?"

Alejandro blinked several times as his feet returned to the ground; his head was completely in the clouds.

"Yeah, yeah. I was thinking about a couple of questions for next week's exam."

Brick laughed genuinely as he patted him on the back a few times in a friendly way.

"The best thing about being the sports coach is that I don't have to think about exams. See you for lunch?"

The Latino nodded and gestured goodbye to the dark-haired man. He quickly pulled his phone out of his front pocket, automatically accessing Noah's chat to reply while it was still early. He saw Brick walking down the hall with Scott, the elusive art teacher. He prepared to leave the faculty lounge after organizing his hair and rereading his messages several times before sending them.

myself [11:38 am]
I trust your day won't be as difficult as you think
Don't stress yourself out, lindo. You need to finish recovering calmly
Anyway, if you need a break from the world,
I'm here for you ;)
I have two hours free after lunch
We can talk, even for five minutes
Or not say anything
Just be…
like last night :))

Alejandro closed his eyes as he sent the message, his stomach sinking to the floor like a roller coaster. Anxiety, his enemy with cold fingers and a heavy voice, crept into his chest every time he texted Noah something that felt more vulnerable than usual. He tried not to overthink it, even though he knew he'd spend the rest of the day checking for the response he longed for. He put her phone away carefully, as if it were made of glass and the conversation something sacred. He felt ridiculous and important at the same time. He edged ahead among the other teachers, approaching the group Brick was walking with and Scott, on their way to the lunchroom. Alejandro pretended to follow what he was saying about sculptures made of rusty gears in a new exhibit in the arts hallway, but his mind was already wandering again, returning to the previous night: the laughter, the comfortable pauses, the silences that didn't bother him. It had all been so natural that he struggled to remember why they'd stopped talking like that in the first place. How stupid pride had been. How unnecessary the distance. He helped himself to something to eat more out of duty than hunger: a salad with more leaves than enthusiasm, and a coffee as black as the morning's that made him feel almost as alive as Noah's laughter. When he sat down opposite Brick, the boy was already devouring his third garlic bread with the energy of an Olympic athlete, his cheeks puffed with toasted crumbs.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He murmured through his mouth half-full as he reached for Dawn's plate, where she had pushed aside her garlic bread with vegetarian delicacy.

"You look like a romantic sitcom protagonist. Are you in love or something?"

Alejandro raised his eyebrows dramatically as his fork wobbled in his hand. He chewed quickly and let out a laugh so weak Brick thought he imagined it.

"I don't know, maybe I am."

Brick's eyes widened before he began to cough violently. He swallowed quickly, cleared his throat as if he'd heard a blasphemy, and fixed his dark eyes on her green ones.

"WHAT?! ALEJANDRO IS IN LOVE!!"

The young man shook his blonde companion's shoulders, who smiled discreetly as she speared a piece of tomato with the tip of her fork, without looking up. Alejandro tried to hide it, but the treacherous smile escaped him anyway. He lowered his gaze to his coffee, as if he could hide his expression there. The steam mingled with the blush on his cheeks.

"Shhh. Don't make a scene. I don't want everyone to know."

"Dude, you don't have to say anything; you have the face of someone who's up to their neck in this. And if you ask me, it suits you."

Alejandro shrugged, with that resigned smile of someone who knows there's nothing he can do to hide what he feels. It's not that he didn't want to hide it: it's that he simply couldn't. His expression betrayed him. His posture. Even the way he stirred his coffee as if he were thinking about something else. As if instead of stirring sugar, he was stirring memories. Late-night conversations. Messages with double meanings. What once was and what, perhaps, was becoming again. They spent lunch joking around and talking about work, but even the most trivial conversations felt distant.

His mind kept returning, like a stubborn pendulum, to the possibility of a message from Noah. Outside, the day had cleared. The morning chill had subsided, and the shy spring sun filtered its light through the dining room windows. Alejandro squinted at the reflection as Brick excitedly recounted the latest adventures of the university rugby club. He nodded, smiled, and commented conspiratorially. He was participating, yes. But a part of him still checked his pocket every time he felt a phone vibrate, even if it wasn't his own.

"You're really in love," Brick whispered, tapping him friendly with his forearm.

"I wish you could see the face you're making."

Alejandro just laughed, neither denying nor confirming. The truth was, even his playlist seemed to have changed since Noah came back into his life. Songs that had once seemed sad now felt necessary. They didn't hurt. They accompanied him. The afternoon passed over him like a warm gust. His last class of the day was a tangle of historical concepts, questions that almost no one answered, and a group of students who seemed more asleep than he was. But even so, Alejandro gave his best. Despite the sleepiness, the tiredness, the body that begged to stop, there was something in the routine that anchored him. That kept him going. That reminded him that he was in a place he had reached through his own merit. That he had survived things harder than a day without answers. He finished class, left some papers on his desk, and crossed the campus at a slow pace, as if that would make the day longer. The sun had already completely set, and the buildings were softly illuminated by the moonlight and the small, cold white lights on campus. The breeze smelled of dry leaves, of turned earth, of the promise of rain.

And Alejandro was beginning to feel very lonely.

Not a heavy or cruel loneliness. More like the kind of faint emptiness that settles in spaces shared with oneself. He put on some music as he hurried to the nearest station; he could hear the faint trembling of the ground. The subway was crowded, but he managed to snag a spot near the window. On an impulse, Alejandro checked his briefcase for her phone. The moment he turned on the screen, the light in his eyes faded as much as the brightness of the device itself, which lit up as brightly as it was in a dark corner. No new messages from Noah. A small pang of disappointment tightened his chest, but he accompanied it with a resigned exhalation. He didn't blame him; he knew bad days didn't ask for permission. And he knew it because he'd experienced them too. Once home, he took off his boots and left them by the door, as if they were a declaration of peace with the day. He changed into his favorite pajamas with a book he'd had on his mind for months, and plopped down on the couch. He reread the conversation. He smiled. He closed his eyes. He imagined him there. By his side. With that deep voice he used when he was relaxing, and the half-closed eyes that always seemed to be deciphering the world.

His mind was beginning to cruelly deceive him; maybe he'd said too much. Or too little. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything in the first place. He thought about writing something else, but decided against it. Not out of pride, but because he knew that feeling. That of having a difficult day and not having the strength to even come up with an answer. He understood it. He respected it. It could wait.

Right?

He shook his head as if that would flush the intensive thoughts out of his mind like water after a dive. He decided to make something simple for dinner: toast with avocado and a fried egg. And he washed it down with another cup of coffee, even though he knew he'd regret it. By now, insomnia was guaranteed. With or without caffeine. With or without Noah. He turned on his laptop, tried to continue reading, review notes for his next class, even made progress on a presentation he had pending. But it all felt forced. As if he were fulfilling a ritual rather than a real need.

At 11:41 p.m he checked it again.
Still nothing.
He dropped the phone on the bed, sighing for the umpteenth time as he hid his warm face in his hands.

Across town, the dark-haired man's apartment was dark, except for the rectangular white light emanating from his laptop. Noah was sitting in front of it, but he wasn't typing. He just watched the cursor blink. Beside him, his cell phone lay face down on a stack of notes. He hadn't responded yet. It wasn't that he didn't want to. It was that he didn't know how to put into words how that message had touched him. The day had been longer than expected. Everything seemed out of place: a thousand calls from the air force about engine details, forty interruptions counted during the day of each person in that building, a difficulty in finding the exact information for his thesis and a mountain of workload that seemed to multiply. His mind felt crowded, his shoulders heavy, and a constant lump in his throat that he'd been carrying around for weeks. Maybe months.

But Alejandro's message had slowed his pace. It had given him a pause. A calm.

He'd read it many times during the day, secretly, between tasks. And every time he did, he felt something settle inside him. It wasn't just what he said. It was how he said it. It was the idea that someone was waiting to simply "be there."

That disarmed him.

It scared him, too. Because after so much time keeping his distance, giving himself over again felt like jumping without a safety net. But at the same time... when was the last time someone had waited for him without demanding anything? He sighed. He grabbed his phone. Unlocked it. He started typing. He read it a couple of times, and deleted it. It went blank for a moment, and pressing his lips together, he left any fear behind.

He wrote again.

Noah 🦞 [11:53 p.m.]
sorry for not answering sooner
i read your message several times
thanks for that
today was an awful day
but thinking about you made it a little less awful
i'll write to you tomorrow, i'm very sleepy
if you want, tell me about your day
it would be nice to hear from you
i like you a little
at least i think so
good night :)

The phone vibrated once in the silence. Alejandro, who was already lying with his back pressed against the mattress, didn't move. He just stretched out his arm like an automaton and unlocked the device, his gaze still clouded with fatigue. Noah's message appeared immediately. His curled eyelashes collided directly with his disheveled eyebrows, and, feeling his heart play a melody he used to sing when he was little, his eyes moved from side to side, reading what Noah's eyes were whispering.

He read it once.
Twice.
Three.

His lips curved very slowly. He felt a pressure in his chest. Not from anguish. It was something else. A warm sensation. Strangely serene. As if all the effort of the last few days of waiting, the doubts, the insomnia had been worth it with those simple words. He didn't reply. Not yet. He wanted to hold onto that message a little longer. Feel it in his body. Chew on it. Store it.

He turned off the light. And, as expected, he couldn't sleep. Not just because of his problem. Also because of Noah. Because of that little sentence at the end.

"I like you a little. At least I think so."

Alejandro smiled in the darkness as he sat up slowly and heavily. He heard Brick's voice in his head, the tone Tyler used to text him, that audio recording of Carlos that morning when he had half-spoken about his anguish. He laughed softly as he clutched his face, running his hand through his hair while tousling his newly made ponytail.

And he knew it, with absolute certainty.

“I'm so screwed.”