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Noah swears he had other plans tonight. He would never subject his grown self to something like this. Something so childish; immature. Trick or treating was for children. Noah was 18 years old. But his friends had literally begged him. He didn't want to, but he knew they'd never let it go. It'd be on him until next year. So here Noah was, in his best friend's bathroom putting on wolf ears and legwarmers made of fur because Owen wanted them to be werewolves together. Noah almost threw up in his mouth as he attached the tail to the back beltloop on his shorts.
With the full costume (wolf ears, tail, legwarmers, furry sleeves, white button down with a furry sweater vest and beige khaki shorts with brown hiking boots) on, he exits the bathroom with a pained look on his face. He sees Owen in the same exact outfit, waiting for him, applying face paint. He turned at the sound of Noah closing the door, excited. He gasped.
"Little buddy!!!! You look so awesome!!!"
"I hate this. I don't wanna do this. I look stupid. Let me out."
Noah had been locked inside of Owen's house for the past few hours.
"No, dude! It's great! Now we're werewolf buddies! We look scary!"
"We look 13."
"Who cares!? It's all good fun! Who says it's a crime to have joy?"
"This isn't joy. It's torture."
"Aw! You're just saying that cus you're embarrassed!"
"I am embarrassed. Embarrassed to be seen like this!"
"Trust me dude, it's gonna be a great night! Now come put on your face paint."
"I'm not doing the face paint."
"Yes! You! Are!"
Owen drags him over by the arm, and Noah is viciously and violently attacked by weapons of mass destruction by somebody he thought he could learn to trust, and let into his heart; but he'd been betrayed. Once Noah was done, Owen pushed him out into the living room where the rest of their friends await. Cody, dressed as the nesquik rabbit. Harold, dressed as Hatsune Miku. Tyler, dressed as Ken (with his girlfriend Lindsay as Barbie in tow). Trent, as a classic zombie. And finally Justin, as a siren, as in a creature of the water luring sailors with it's beauty.
They all look so stupid.
Noah growls, and Owen smiles.
"Look at you! Getting in character! You know you're having fun!"
"Wh- no! I'm angry! I'm upset! I don't wanna do this!"
Their friends draw their attention to the two who had entered the room.
"Why not, man? We're just goofing around."
Cody introjects, leaning up against the couch in between Harold and Trent. Noah just rolls his eyes at the seemingly obvious answer hanging in the air.
"Because this is childish. We're grown adults, mostly, so why are we participating in a tradition made for children?"
"Because we can. It's not illegal, dude."
Trent laughs, plucking at guitar strings with his fingers. It was to the rhythm of "monster mash".
"Plus, I look amazing in this costume. It's my only excuse to go for a mystical, non-human look in my makeup."
Justin adds, crossing his legs on the stool he sat on with his hand pointing to the false scales lining the side of his face. He did look very nice as usual, but Justin can do his makeup any day of the week.
"Yeah! Playing dress up is fun, Noah! Don't be a downer!"
Lindsay added from her seat on the floor, where she gently stroked Tyler's hair as he lay on her lap. Noah guaranteed that Lindsay had picked her and Tyler's costumes. He doubts Tyler had any arguments. Noah groaned, and slammed his head against the wall. Owen pulled him back by the collar, and handed him a pillow case.
"We gotta get going before all the candy is gone!"
Everyone hops out of their seats, and Noah is dragged into the car by Owen. Harold takes the driver seat, Cody takes the passenger. Justin, Trent, and Tyler take the three backseats as Lindsay squeezes into the same seat as Tyler. Owen and Noah take the trunk that was thankfully not closed off from the rest of the seats. Noah could not be having a worse time right now. They drove around for around 15 minutes, and stopped when they reached what Harold had declared as a "rich neighborhood". Where all the "good candy" is. Noah prayed he wouldn't stumble upon anybody he knew in real adult life. This would be the most embarrassing, shameful thing to ever happen if he had to play himself to somebody who doesn't know about his primary friend group.
The car stops at the beginning of the neighborhood, and Noah remembers just how much walking trick or treating is. This is gonna be a long night. Everyone stumbles out of the car, and grabs their pillowcases. They trek forth into the neighborhood, only to be surrounded by wandering children. They were all costumed, and cheering for their spoils they had gotten from the owners of the houses lining the streets. Noah's stomach churned at the idea of walking up to a stranger's door in a wolf costume asking for some candy. Everyone else was overjoyed, though. Tyler and Lindsay held eachother's hands and skipped down the sidewalk as a display for the rest of the group. Trent was singing a song along with Justin and Harold. Cody had been clapping their beat, and Owen had his arm slung around Noah, trying to get him to join in on their playful attitude.
"Come on, man. Don't you see how much fun everyone is having? Don't you wanna have fun?"
Noah looked on at the rest of their group having all joined in on the song, singing it together and laughing. Their smiles were brighter than any street lamp. Noah felt tempted to smile, but he knew he shouldn't. He's an adult, and adults don't waste their time on things for children. He had to wrangle his lips back to their curved frown as he onlooked the people closest to him enjoying themselves. He just looked to Owen with a sarcastic stare. Owen sighed.
"I'm not gonna stop trying until you're having fun too, y'know!"
"Well, you're gonna be there all night."
Owen simply sighed once again, and they walked in silence for a few seconds. Then, suddenly...
"WAH-! HEY! OWEN! QUIT IT! PUT ME DOWN!"
Owen had lifted Noah off of the sidewalk, and onto his shoulders. Noah clung for dear life in fear of falling. Owen was rather tall, after all. Owen just chuckled.
"Nope! Not letting my little buddy mope behind the crowd all night!"
Noah adjusted himself to where he wasn't shaking from fear of falling. His grip on Owen's shirt is tight, and his legs hang over Owen's shoulders with his feet lightly bouncing against his lower chest. Noah sighs with embarrassment as his face flushes red. He can feel eyes on him as everyone stares. But nobody is actually watching him. He just thinks so. This was humility, he can't believe it. He was just being splayed like a child. This was children's behavior. Noah was grown, he didn't need to ride on anybody's shoulders, or dress up and ask for candy. He didn't need to be carried like a toddler— his legs were weak, but not that weak. He was a grown man, for crying out loud. And he didn't need this. Owen catches up to the group, and joins in on the song as Noah's head begins to spin. At least he doesn't have to walk...
But he didn't need this.
The group approaches their first house after a few minutes, and they walk up the driveway. Noah's heart begins to race, and his palms begin to sweat. Everyone cheerfully walks up the steps, and Trent is the one to knock on the door. A few seconds later, an older woman with long, curly white hair dressed in a flowing red dress opens up the door. Her eyes had been directed slightly down to look at people who would've been shorter, but she was surprised to be met with... seven grown men, and a grown woman all holding out pillow cases for her to fill. Well, all except for Noah, who was sitting on top of Owen still. Then, everyone said it.
"Trick or treat!"
Everyone except for Noah.
After a few seconds of staring, she only smiles, and pulls out an orange bowl full of candy from next to the front door. She grabs two pieces, and puts the two pieces into the closest bag to her. She then repeats for everyone. And when she gets to Owen, she give him his pieces, and looks up at Noah.
"Ohhh, is that your little boy? Are you matching with your dad, young man?"
And the saddest part was how genuine and warm her smile was. As if she genuinely believed someone like Noah could be Owen's son. Noah didn't look young! And Owen didn't look old! There was no way Noah looked young enough to be a son! Noah wanted to tell her off, but Owen interrupted.
"No, not my son! Just my little friend. He's just... not too cheerful tonight..."
She only laughs.
"Oh, pardon me, mister! Here, i'm sorry to hear your night isn't going too great. Have some extra."
The old woman passes three pieces up to Noah instead of two. Looking down at her, Noah's heart felt heavy. He held back whatever he'd wanted to say to her before, and silently grabbed the three pieces, and stuffed them into his pocket. He averted his eyes shamefully, and nodded with a red face. He felt so embarrassed. She smiled, and wished the group well before shutting herself back inside of her house.
"Aw! That was sweet! Right, Noah?"
Lindsay said, while her leg lifting in the air.
"Yeah, she must've felt bad."
Harold added, with a good intention. Noah just looked at the door, thinking over the interaction with a sort of uneasiness in his chest.
"I guess..."
The group continued house after house. Some houses were surprised, others didn't even seem to care, but they were all incredibly kind. The group had been joking and laughing together the whole night, and after a while, Noah found himself joining into the conversation too. Yes, Noah was petty. Yes, Noah didn't wanna be here. But how could Noah force himself to stay pissed at Hatsune Miku and the nesquik rabbit rap battling, Barbie and Ken skipping down the street with pillowcases on their heads, and a zombie and a sea creature acting out a song from a musical? Noah could only look down from his place above everybody else, and wonder...
Is he really as grown as he thinks he is... or wants to be?
Did it all really change when he met his legal age? Does it even mean anything at all? Is he really still just... a child...?
He looked upon the rest of the group, then down at Owen, who had been happily carrying him on his shoulders the entire night. Noah looked up at the streets full of children, and then his eyes stumbled upon something that must've been a crazy coincidence.
Eight people around their age all doing the same as them. Five girls, and three boys. Noah couldn't make out their costumes exactly in the darkness, but they were definitely dressed. He stared as the time seemed to slow down just a bit as he analyzed the looks on their faces. It's as if they weren't even their age. As the time felt weighted, heavy and struggling to move forward, Noah's eyes switched between his group and the one across the street. All of his vision seemed to occur in flashes, like a memory of something that happened long ago. Like the night was long over, he wasn't even there. He felt a slight numbness tingling under his skin as his brain felt itself coming to a realization.
It would've been something so simple to anybody else, something so obvious and Insignificant it wouldn't stay harbored in somebody's brain for longer than a minute. Noah's eyes felt heavy, yet they were peeled open wide as his fingers gripped tightly onto Owen's hair. Looking out upon everything his friends were doing, and how the people around him didn't even care. Nobody cared about anything. Noah shouldn't care about anything.
Because he's completely fine.
He's completely normal.
He's ok.
Noah's heart thumped one last time in his ears, before everything resumed back to normal. The group across the street had passed them by, and everyone was moving at a normal speed once again. Noah's vision had lost all of it's fog, and he regained his balance once again, as he caught his breath from what had knocked the wind out of him. He knew it was dumb to anybody else but him, but once the oxygen finally started circulating through his blood again, he found himself wanting to get off of Owen's shoulders.
"Owen..."
He lightly tugged on his hair for attention.
"Put me down, I wanna walk."
Owen smiled, and excitedly reached his hands up, but stopped.
"Wait... you're not gonna try to run all the way back to the car, are you?"
That would've been a great idea to have when he was mad; then he wouldn't have had to learn anything about himself, and just sit there with the view change of a lifetime, and not be able to do anything about it. Here he was now.
"I don't run, Owen."
The large boy lifts his arms up, and picks Noah off of his shoulders. As Noah's shoes meet the pavement, his legs wobble slightly from numbness caused by his sitting position. He regains his balance, and begins to walk along side everyone else. He guesses that sometimes, grown ups need shoulders to ride on too, as it taught him a lesson he'll keep. No matter how old he gets, there's nothing wrong with being happy. Isn't that everybody's goal after all? To be happy? Noah thinks that's a goal he deserves to meet. He's worked far too hard not to meet a goal of that importance.
Noah slowly integrated himself into the conversation, starting with his sarcasm. After a while he was just talking to his friends like he would on any normal night, like it was nothing of importance and he didn't have to worry about anything. Everyone was glad to have him. Even though Noah was still shy at houses, he eased his way into the swing of copying the method his friends were using. And after a little while, he fit right into the group. As if he were never outcast in the beginning.
It was after leaving one particular house that the night took a turn for the worst.
The group walked down the sidewalk, exiting the cul-de-sac that they had just finished rounding. They looked on, seeing they'd have to walk through a small foliaged part to be able to get to the rest of the neighborhood. It didn't seem large, so they didn't think anything of it. Though, it was dark. Harold pulled out his magic-steve wilderness survival camp flashlight, and switched it on so the group can see. Everyone sort of filed behind him, since he was the one controlling the light. The group quickly realized it was much larger than they thought; it was quiet too.
They looked around cautiously, incredibly nervous that something might jump out at them. They all shivered, and huddled close together. Safety in numbers, right? They all tiptoed, secretly worried that they might have gotten themselves lost. Noah was the farthest to the right in the group.
A branch snaps.
Everyone stops. Some gasp, but they're all silent. They slowly turn as their hearts race in fear. The flashlight slowly glides to the complete right, and it reflects off of something. It couldn't have been dewdrops on leaves, as it stood in the middle of the trees with a frightening stance. A growl erupted from whatever that thing had as a gut. The entire group prepared themselves to run in the opposite direction, before it leaped towards them. Noah had finally accepted the concept of ageless enjoyment and he's attacked by a green, 5'6, beady-eyed monster of the forest.
It leaped, and that sent them running.
Noah doesn't run.
It easily catches him, slamming him to the ground and clawing into his clothes and skin. On the one day that Noah doesn't wear three shirts, he's attacked by a forest creature.
"AH! OH MY GOD!"
Noah screams as the creature claws into his chest repetitively. Everyone only stands, panicking. Tyler is about to jump in to try and push the creature off of him, but he's beat to the punch by... a strange man in a vampire costume. A tall, olive-eyed man with long and flowing dark brown hair had managed to jump out of the bushes just like the monster, and catch him in an arm lock. His forearms fastened underneath the monster's armpits, and yanked him off of the struggling Noah. Noah squirmed to get off of his back, and the strange vampire strained on his knees, trying to keep a hold over the monster. As Harold shined his light, and they could all look upon what it really was, all they saw was some sort of human looking to be incredibly sick.
The vampire swung him to the left, and tackled him onto the grassy floor. Straddling over the creature, he whipped the belt off of his pants and tied it around the arms and legs of the violent thing. "Hog-tie", Noah believes it was called. Once the beast was properly restrained, the man let himself rest. He panted. Now that everyone was slightly calmed, and they could get a good look at a man under the light, one thing was made very clear.
THIS VAMPIRE COULD SUCK THEIR BLOOD ANYTIME.
A gross thought, yes, a collective thought, definitely. Tyler and Lindsay wouldn't even be upset with eachother if they knew what the other was thinking. Justin was of course slightly jealous, and putting a silent shield around his ego. Noah stared at the man with awe. He wore a pair of fitted black slacks, with low platform boots. He used to have a belt. It matched with his black undershirt and only half buttoned short sleeve red button up. It revealed his chest, that was only slightly covered around his arms by his black and red cape. He had nice arms, too. He was a fairly muscular guy, and he had a considerably dark complexion in contrast to his green eyes. He had sharp teeth, and a strong jaw with slight facial hair. His eyes were piercing, and the way his long, dark hair hung over his face was simply majestic. It went surprisingly well with the rugged vampire look he was assumingly going for tonight. An even closer look at this guy made Noah realize something.
It's him...
One of the boys from the group I saw on the street...
Noah's eyes widened as his face reddened along with everybody else. The man wiped the hopefully fake blood away from his face with the back of his hand, it only smeared in a way that only happens in movies. Though, through his regaining of strength, he still pushed himself to help the group of terrified teens.
"You, you are bleeding! You need help right away!"
He had a thick hispanic accent. He pointed directly at Noah's bleeding chest, that he hadn't even realized was bleeding yet, with the whole area being numbed by the burning sting. Noah sat there, frozen in his position of scooting backwards on his behind. He looked down at his chest, confused until he saw the bright red soaking through his white shirt and furry vest in what he could grasp of the light from Harold's flashlight. He nearly screamed, but was too shocked for anything to come out. The vampire quickly leapt up from his spot on the creature, and kneeled himself up close to Noah with Harold's light following his every move. He pulled a switch blade out of his pocket, causing Cody to screech before he realized that the man began to saw strips of cloth off of the bottom of his cape. The sight of Noah's shirt was gruesome to any onlooker, especially his friends. The vampire winced.
"Do you mind if I take this off...?"
Noah's first response is 'yeah, I do mind, please don't undress me, stranger'. But he remembers his current predicament, and hesitates, before letting it slide in this one scenario. He nods gently, before the vampire's hands lightly glide over to the vest, slipping it over Noah's head and tossing it into the grass. Then he moves to the top buttons of Noah's shirt. He stops at the fourth button, and reaches into his cape, before pulling out a water bottle from his pocket. He frantically twists the cap off, and puts a rough calloused hand on Noah's shoulder to hold him in place. Noah is taken aback by the motion, but quickly tries to regain composure underneath the man's grip.
"This might sting a bit, sorry."
He leans down slightly, bringing the water bottle up to Noah's wounds. He gently pours small amounts of water at a time to clean up the wounds. It does sting, which hurts, but Noah is thankful, because that means his immune system is fighting off the germs. The cool water slides down his abdomen, soaking his shirt in an embarrassing way. It drips down his sides and chest like a waterfall, and the excess blood goes down with it. He hopes that creature didn't have anything on it's nails. After a minute or two, the man stops washing out the wounds, and closes the water bottle before placing it on the ground. He picks up the strips of cloth he'd placed on his knee, and begins to tie them around Noah's chest one by one. Until Noah's chest is fully bandaged.
"Alright... I think you are safe now..."
He removes his strong hand off of Noah's shoulder, and stands up off the ground. He extends a hand out to Noah, and he slowly lifts one off of the ground to latch onto it. The vampire lifts him off of the ground, and helps him get his bearings.
"I got your clothes all wet... you must be freezing out here..."
He chuckles, before he takes off his cape and drapes it around Noah. It's been neglected to mention that the entire group is just slack-jawed with shock and fear the entire time. Completely frozen. Noah's heart beats out of his chest as the velvet caresses his shoulders. It's so soft. Noah finds himself having to get an up close look, as he tilts his head to see who had just saved him, and completely taken his breath away. He's even more beautiful up close, and his eyes stay piercing. Noah hopes he doesn't have some stupid look on his face as he remains astonished by the man. (But, he definitely does have a stupid face. His eyes are wide and shining along with his lips barely curving into a close-mouthed smile.) He tries to brush it off as nothing, but his heart is totally ricocheting off of his ribs right now.
"I-... I-..."
Fuck. He can feel the blush all over his face. His palms are sweaty, and the man is right. He is cold and wet. All Noah can work out of his system is...
"Uh... you... th-thank you..."
WHAT WAS THAT!? Noah doesn't stutter, and he certainly doesn't form incomplete, incomprehensible sentences. He looks like a total idiot.
"I-I mean, thank you... very... very much... uh... what's... what's your n-name?"
Real smooth, Noah. Awesome job.
"My name is Alejandro Burromuerto, the first of my kind... but you may call me Alejandro..."
He has a smirk spread across his face that could either be read as cocky or humorist. Noah wasn't able to tell which one.
"What is your name, wounded werewolf stranger~?"
Noah's eyes darted to his clothes, he'd forgotten what he was wearing. God, even more embarrassing. Why did Owen have to choose werewolf? His eyes flow back up to Alejandro, and his voice shakes.
"M-My name is Noah Mudaliar, also the first of my kind... but... you can call me... Noah..."
Noah fidgeted nervously with his fingers. He was slightly intimidated by the man, but he feels like he shouldn't be, since his life had just been saved and all.
"What are you all doing out here? As you can see, it's very dangerous..."
The group snaps from their collective trance. They all look confused for a bit, before Harold speaks up.
"Erm, hi, i'm Harold McGrady, the fifth of my kind, and I can report that we're trying to get to the other side of the neighborhood for Halloween, and we might have gotten... lost... I had pneumonia when magic steve released his orienteering camp..."
Alejandro has no knowledge of "magic steve", but he pretty much understands what Harold means.
"I see... if you all see fit, I can guide you to the other side of the neighborhood! It's no trouble for me!"
He has a wide, toothy smile. But something is weighing on Noah's mind.
"What about your friends?"
Alejandro looks slightly surprised.
"Pardon?"
"Your friends. I saw you walking down the street with a group of people earlier, what happened to them? And why are you out here all by yourself with... that thing?"
He motions to the monster, before regaining eye contact. Alejandro nods.
"Those are my friends... but... I lost them in my efforts to chase down the creature. I'll most likely see them later, though. We all rode here together, I doubt they'd leave without me."
Noah nods, but his eyes can't help falling on the creature again. It aggressively struggles in it's bearings.
"What even is that thing?.And why is it loose in the streets? It probably killed a baby or something."
"Noah, don't say stuff like that or you'll jinx it!"
Trent called from behind, he was always the superstitious one of the group. Noah rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, I guess. But that thing is still a fucking monster! Do you... know anything about it?"
He motions to the vampire, who just shakes his head solemnly.
"Aye, no. I know nothing about the beast. It attacked one of my friends, so I went to chase it down and... now I am here. I don't even know what to do with the thing. I don't even know what it is. It looks so... human..."
Noah's gaze locks onto it, and... yeah... it looks human... strangely human.... it's even... wearing human clothes...
"It has a hoodie on, and some jeans... and is that a hat...?"
Justin steps forward, confident enough in the hog tie to nip at the fabric of the clothes with his fingers. He's safe, thankfully.
"Why does he kinda look like voldemort...?"
Cody chuckles from the crowd.
"You're right! Maybe more like a little gollum, though..."
Tyler adds.
"I think he has nice shoes! They look very vintage!"
Lindsay calls out. Noah just scoffs. How did he even become friends with these guys? He rolls his eyes before crossing his arms once again. But he quickly retracts it, as the abrasive notion stings his chest. Alejandro finds himself giggling.
"You all seem to be a good crowd. Don't worry, I will get you to the other side... and maybe turn this thing in to animal services..."
He puts his hands on his hips, feeling accomplished. Owen whoops.
"Awesome! Thanks man!"
"Let's just hope this thing isn't a species."
"Noah! I said quit it!"
Trent hollered once again, still a firm believer of 'jinxing it'. Harold trusted Alejandro enough to hand over the flash light, as he leads their way out of the wilderness. Owen had been kind enough to volunteer to hold the cargo of the monster the entire way there. As they walked, the group felt much safer with Alejandro around after seeing what he'd done for Noah. Harold had made his statement that his ninja powers didn't have enough time to kick in, and that's why he didn't save Noah. Everyone just went along with it. Their usual playfulness returned rather quickly, under the belief that the danger was at bay. But Noah just... couldn't take his mind off of this stranger...
"Where are you from?"
He questioned, as they walked. The strapping young man had a quick pace, and Noah had to speed walk to keep up. Alejandro took notice to that, since it was obvious, and.began to walk slower. He wouldn't mind humoring the injured boy with a conversation... there was something about him that made him somewhat curious...
"I'm from Mexico, but I've moved here in recent years, and now I live in a college dorm with my friend."
Noah was starting college this January.
"What college do you go to?"
"UCW, university canada west..."
Noah was going to UCW.
"What are you studying?"
"You sure have a lot of questions!"
He laughed, and swiped some hair from out of his face. Noah wanted to touch his hair. Noah noticed he had earrings on. They were ruby studs.
"Oh, blame me for being curious, stranger of the woods who saved me from a monster he was chasing!"
Noah said sarcastically, with no real malice behind it. It was all in good fun, he smirked. Alejandro copied.
"I major in mechanics, engineering and the sort... what about you? Where are you from?"
"I'm a few blocks down the road... I'm actually... going to attend UCW this January... I'll double major in nursing, and english..."
Noah suddenly felt embarrassed again... he wasn't sure why, nursing and english was something he was excited about... His hands grew shaky, but he concealed it considerably well. Though, nothing gets past Alejandro.
"I see... maybe we should keep in touch, then? In case you ever need... a tour of the campus? Or a... friend?"
Yes. Definitely. Noah definitely needed that. A friend. He resisted letting his eyes shift to their impressed and sparkly state from earlier, as his face flushed red.
"Yeah... that would be... acceptable..."
Noah thought for a moment in their silence— a silence easily overpowered by the banter of Noah's friends, so thankfully it wasn't awkward.
"Is there... like... a way for me to..."
Noah takes a hopefully silent deep breath, and swipes the sweat off of his hands onto his pants before speaking.
"I don't know... pay you back...? You kinda... saved my life... and I don't wanna be in debt, or anything... plus... it's kinda... not... fair..."
He wasn't sure as to why he couldn't just spit it out, and every word needed a pause. He knew what he wanted to say, but his mouth was still thinking. Like he was on anesthesia. Noah was never the kind to care about "fairness" either, but... that was his life in Alejandro's hands. And despite being a stranger, he handled it with care. He might deserve a little sosomething. Alejandro nodded at the sentiment.
"I see... let me ponder on that... but in the meanwhile, so we can keep in touch..."
Alejandro pulls his phone from his pocket with the hand not holding the flashlight. He swipes it open, and inputs a password that Noah glances away from out of respect. Alejandro opens up his contacts, and presses 'new' before passing the phone over to Noah. Noah just stares for a second, before taking it in his hands.
"Put your number in... I'll give you a call, yeah?"
Noah takes a second to process what he just heard, before frantically nodding and typing in his information.
noah (from the forest)
***-***-****
Noah specified, in fear that Alejandro knew another Noah and would confuse the two. Or, he would forget Noah's name. He passes the phone back to Alejandro, who chuckles as he presses the save button. He slips his phone back into his pocket, and then just holds his hand out for a few seconds. Noah doesn't understand. Alejandro waves his fingers towards himself, and says:
"Your turn..."
Noah makes an 'oh' noise under his breath, before scrambling for his phone while trying to look as cool as possible. He pulls it out of one of his twelve pockets, and opens the contact form before passing it to Alejandro. Alejandro types one handed, with a smirk on his face. He then passes it back, and Noah can't help reading what he input before discarding it.
alejandro♡
***-***-****
Noah's heart felt like it was beating double as he looked. It was something so Insignificant, yet it sent him spiraling. He did his best to laugh it off as he put his phone back. The rest of the walk was fairly normal. The group continued their shenanigans, and Noah and Alejandro kept a conversation about old 2000s rock bands. When they finally exited the clearing, the group all cheered. They serenaded like it was the end of the war. Noah just sighed.
"Uhm... thanks, for tonight..."
Alejandro looks down at the shorter brunet. He chuckles with his small smile.
"The pleasure is all mine, it was lovely to meet you. I'm glad I was there on time, to be able to... save you..."
Noah had never been 'saved', or needed to be. He'd always been grown enough to save himself, but tonight of all nights was different. He supposed tonight was a night for change. The good kind, not the kind that ruins your day and pisses you off the rest of the week. Noah did feel some sort of shame, though.
"I'm... glad you were there too... thanks for the coat, and the bandages, and the water... and for getting us out of the woods..."
Noah didn't even thank his friends this many times in an entire month. It just fell out of his mouth for Alejandro. It was strange. The rest of the group gave a quick 'thank you', and was about to make their way to enjoy the rest of their night, but... Noah couldn't let him just walk away, even if they had eachother's numbers.
"Uh-! Wait, here's your... cape back... you want it back, right? It looks expensive..."
He began to peel it from off of his shoulders, before he was stopped by two firm grasps around his wrists. He froze underneath the touch with a slight gasp.
"No, please. I insist you keep it. You'll freeze to death in your wet clothes without it, then I'll have saved you for no reason, right?"
As Alejandro gently controlled Noah's wrists like joycons to move the cape back over his shoulders, Noah could only force out a simple nod.
"Y-Y... Yeah..."
Alejandro's eyes softened, and he gave Noah a kind smile.
"Now, go catch up with your friends. Enjoy your night. I'll be on my way, and... I'll see you in January..."
Noah's heart pounds at the thought. He gulps down the sudden dryness in his throat, and does his best to smile.
"Yeah... see you in January..."
Noah gives a small wave, and the street lights give Alejandro some sort of halo as he turns around to take his own path, and hopefully find his own friends. He obviously makes the small stop to take the monster out of Owen's hands, before he disappeared into the darkness. Noah's hand keeps waving, as if on autopilot; until he manually stops it with his other hand, and drags it to rest over his beating heart.
January couldn't come sooner.