Work Text:
“Meteor Shower
Quick, take cover
But the hues in our hair
complement one another
I’d sell my own bones
for sapphire stones
‘Cause blue’s your favorite color”
The mystery was over.
For real this time.
The four kids had somehow managed to solve it, and all was relatively well.
No more did they feel the need to fight, and life was finally back to normal…
Kinda.
I mean, obviously it wasn’t completely normal, all four of them had suffered their own personal hells and nothing could ever make them forget that.
But, they had each other now, and always would.
No matter what.
It was the summer following Sophomore year, and they could finally relax without worry. Night fell over the sleepy town of Hallowbranch as everyone rested in comfortable silence, no longer fearing the morning to come.
The humid yet cool summer breeze wafted through the treehouse, curling around the faded memory that was its wooden trunk.
Its ivory skin creaked and groaned in the wind with quiet agony.
It was old and rusted, but there it stood. Still standing tall and proud.
Crickets chirped and cicadas sprang to life as the sun set.
It was beyond peaceful, and filled the air with a lingering nostalgia for simpler times.
The four had spent the evening together, celebrating the end to the curse that plagued their town. They chatted about Lizzy, the forest, and most importantly, stapler malfunctions.
That last comment may have resulted in one of the members getting a slap to the back of the head, but who’s to say that actually happened? I’m just the messenger after all.
It’s weird to say they almost… reminisced on those days, bickering and what not.
It just reminded them of how far they had come, and how much closer they were now.
By then, the sky was full of stars, shimmering brightly behind the wispy clouds. It was beautiful, and the kids couldn’t help but gaze at it.
Unfortunately, it was soon time to say goodbye. Despite it being summer, Lylah had a strict curfew to be back by, and reluctantly made her way home. Charlotte followed, waving frantically behind her as she left the porch.
James vaguely remembered her talking about Lylah and her having a sleepover that night, but couldn’t recall if that was actually true. James wasn’t all too worried, though, because he had his own problems to worry about.
Noah was sleeping over.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, since they had sleepovers almost biweekly, but this time it was different.
Since trying to solve the mystery, James had formed a crush on Charlotte. This very crush had led to him almost doing something he still regrets to this day.
However, when that crush faded, he gained a new one. But this time, it was on his best friend.
Now, this wouldn’t have been a problem in other circumstances, but his best friend… his best friend was a boy. And on top of that, James was scared to fall for anyone else, knowing what might happen….
Again.
Needless to say, James was a nervous wreck. He was sweating, trembling, and looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
Noah, oblivious as he is, didn’t notice this whatsoever. He was just excited he was gonna have a sleepover with his best friend, just the two of them.
He practically radiated with energy, bouncing up and down as the door closed and silence filled the room once more.
Oh! Silly me, there’s something I forgot to mention!
They were home alone.
James’s mom traveled for work, and wouldn’t be home until the next evening. Just thought I should let you guys know. Anyways, I think I should let them take it from here. Enjoy, dear readers, and don’t blame me when you cry. Blame the author! They know what they did.
— — —
The floorboards squeak as Noah bounces up and down, and James can’t help but feel his worry melt away at seeing him so excited.
“It’s just Noah,” he thinks to himself, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
James starts to think about all of the possible scenarios.
Yeah. Things could most definitely go wrong.
No matter! This wasn’t the time to dwell on the rhetorical hypotheticals. He had a sleepover to commence, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited too.
James sighs, but before he can get a word out, starts to feel his arm get pulled to the bottom of the stairs. He yelps in surprise, and tries his best not to trip as he gets dragged to his room.
His bedroom was on the top floor in the attic, and overlooked the backyard. His stomach churned whenever he looked at the window for too long, and he hated that he felt that way.
So, he always kept the curtains closed.
James swallows the lump in his throat before walking over to his bed, sitting down on the plush mattress. Noah watches him do this, and is quick to meet him, leaping in the air before landing on the fibers with an audible thud.
James, due to the sudden impact, feels himself rise off of his bed for just a moment before falling back down. He curses under his breath as he readjusts his glasses, and resists the urge to roll his eyes.
Noah pays no mind to James’s glare.
He simply sits there next to him, glancing over at him from time to time, waiting for his next move.
This makes his stomach flutter, though he doesn’t know why.
James starts to absentmindedly fiddle with his jacket sleeve, rubbing the soft fabric against his fingers.
He clears his throat and speaks up.
“So…” he pauses. “Whatcha wanna do?…I- I’m down for whatever… but… you can decide… heh…”
He stutters. Bad.
Real smooth, James. Realllll smooth.
Noah hums in thought for a moment, pursing his lips and squinting his eyes as he does.
Suddenly, he lights up, and turns to James with a stupid smile on his face.
A stupid, silly smile that makes James’ fingers twitch.
“We should like, totally have a dance party or something!”
Noah launches himself off the bed and does a little jig, getting a small giggle from James.
“And… why should we have a dance party?…”
He says, smiling.
Noah scoffs playfully and crosses his arms.
“Don’t you remember the dance, dude? I was like- the star of the freaking show! Everyone loved me!- though- that part… wasn’t all that important…”
He blushes slightly, words faltering for a second, before perking right back up.
“But yeah! It was great! We should totally do it again!”
James winces a bit as he remembers that fateful night.
“Noah… Charlotte had a mental breakdown and literally seized up at the dance… I wouldn’t necessarily call that quote on quote ‘great’…”
Noah stiffens at his words, struggling to find his voice.
“W-well obviously not that part!!! What kind of person do you think I am??”
He slowly grows less defensive, and becomes more apologetic.
“I-I’m not that big of a dick…”
He blinks.
“…am I?”
Noah looks at him like a kicked puppy, and God is it adorable.
James rubs his neck and turns his head away, trying to hide the blush that started to creep up his face.
“N-no. Of course you aren’t, Noah… I was just… being dramatic, I guess…”
Noah relaxes a bit at this and regains his previous energy, breaking the uncomfortable tension between the two.
“So, do you wanna dance?”
James’ eyes perk up, now realizing that he was serious with his offer.
Noah sees his friend’s face and backtracks, afraid he said something wrong.
“I-I mean- you don’t have to, if you really don’t wanna- I’m not- ya’know, trying to force you to do anything- b-but I-“
He gets cut off as James slowly rises from the bed, fidgeting with his jacket sleeve once more.
“I want to.”
Noah exhales the breath he didn’t know he was holding and smiles.
“Hell yeah!!!”
He grabs James’s arm and leads him to the center of his room, waiting for him to loosen up.
James looks around his room for a moment, before clearing his throat and speaking up.
“Uh… are we just gonna… dance with no music?…”
Noah realizes that he’s right, and slugs him in the arm playfully.
“I almost forgot! Thanks for reminding me!”
James rubs the spot where he got hit, knowing Noah didn’t mean to hit him that hard.
“Yeah.. no problem, man…”
Noah immediately dashes to his phone and pulls up his streaming app, but has a hard time picking a playlist.
Without turning around, he asks.
“Yo, James! Pick a number 1-5!”
James, though confused, obliges.
“Uhhhhhh… 1?…”
“Thanks!”
Noah goes to see which playlist he picked, and freezes when he sees what it was.
Great.
It’s his stupid love song playlist. Of course it is. It’s his most recent and he’s ashamed to say why.
And before you start making fun of him, just know that I know you have one too. Let the poor guy yearn in peace, okay?
Anyways, he could have easily just… picked another one, but we all know Noah.
He’s dumb as a brick.
So, he plays it.
“Meteor Shower by Cavetown is now currently playing,” according to the app.
Noah walks back over, and tries his hardest to hide his embarrassment.
James, however, immediately recognizes the song, and starts to sing along to the lyrics, dancing a bit as he does so.
“I’ve got miles of regrets and confusing friends…”
Noah immediately perks up when he starts to hear James sing.
He wasn’t all that surprised that James knew this song, he’s seen his music taste.
What really shocked him was just how good his singing voice was.
Noah had always been tone deaf but he liked to sing anyways. It made people laugh.
But James… James was amazing at singing- each note he sang was smooth and beautiful, which in turn made Noah flush bright red.
He was suddenly snapped out of his trance, though, when James grabbed Noah’s hands and started dancing with him.
“J-James- what are you?-“
He laughs
“Dancing! Isn’t that what you wanted?”
James smirks a bit when he states this, quirking an eyebrow cockily.
Noah stumbles over both his feet and his words when he looks at him.
He gulps.
“Y-yeah but-“
James rolls his eyes and spins Noah around.
“Can you get out of your own world for once? And dance!”
He laughs
“Come on, Noah! I know you can!”
Noah tries to argue, but eventually gives in.
“Okay! Okay! I’ll- I’ll try!”
James smiles.
“That’s more like it!!!”
Noah tries his hardest to follow along in James’s steps, but trips over his own feet.
James laughs, but helps him up anyways.
Noah looks at him, frustrated.
“Where the hell did you even learn how to dance like this, dude?”
James chuckles
“My mom made me take dance classes when I was younger…”
He winces a bit, turning his head away.
“But, you know, it wasn’t all that bad! I still kinda like dancing when I’m alone, honestly…”
James turns his gaze back, and stares Noah in the eyes.
He smiles.
This was, no doubt, the happiest he had ever seen his friend.
And he loved it.
His good mood was quickly ruined, though, when he fell again.
He grumbles, stands up, and hesitantly puts his hands on James’s shoulders.
He flinches and freezes in place.
“I don’t… really know how to dance like you do, James…o-or at all, really… I just- wanted to seem like I was cool, or something… but…”
He looks to the ground, struggling to find his words.
“You- you know the uh… the dance that… that the people do when slower songs start playing? I-in those movies and stuff?…”
James nods, slowly.
“Can we uh… maybe do that kind of dance instead?… I actually kinda know how to do that one I guess… b-but you don’t have to, obviously- I just thought it would be ya’know, kinda fun, c-cause it always looks silly- a-and uh.. I- uh…”
He quickly closes his mouth, swallows, and mumbles.
James stares at him, dumbfounded and heart pounding.
Noah was asking him to dance the same way James wanted to dance with Charlotte that night.
This was no longer them dancing for fun, this was…something. something…different…
Noah wanted to freaking ballroom dance with him, which meant they had to get close and hold each other.
James almost passed out at the thought, but before his brain could filter him, he blurts out his response.
“Y-yeah!”
He clears his throat and lowers his voice.
“Yeah… yeah I- I don’t mind…”
Noah’s eyes widen.
Holy shit.
He said yes.
Noah nods, then walks back over to his phone.
“I’ll uh… put some slower music on… I guess…”
James gives a weary smile, and watches as Noah turns around.
He is not putting new music on.
He opens his messages and starts to frantically type.
“LYLAH,” he somehow screams in text,
“CODE RED CODE RED!!!”
The three dots appear suddenly, and Lylah responds.
“Jesus, Noah. What is it this time? Whatever, just make it quick. Charlotte is going to paint my nails.”
James speaks up before Noah can respond.
“Uh… Noah?… you good over there?…”
He almost throws his phone at the wall.
“YEAH! JUST- JUST LOOKING FOR A GOOD SONG!!!”
Good Lord, Noah. That was beyond loud.
“O-ok…”
James whispers under his breath, yet again playing with his sleeve.
He responds.
“JAMES WNATS TO FRAEKING SLOW DANSCE WITH ME. WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?!??”
Noah can almost feel Lylah rolling her eyes through the screen.
“Just be you, Noah. If he likes you, he likes you for you are. Not for who you try to be. Now leave me alone, I too, am busy.”
Of course.
Noah breathes in and out, and shakily finds slower music to play.
Which apparently, is Mitski.
One of James’s favorite singers.
Genuinely how fucking stupid can this guy get.
James’s breath hitches hearing the music start, and can’t help the lump in his throat as it starts to form.
Noah walks back over to James, averting his eyes, and stands before him.
He lets out a small cough, before opening his mouth to speak.
“So… do… do you want to lead? O-or me?…”
James is actually gonna jump out of his window again.
“Y-you lead…”
Noah nods, and gingerly reaches to hold James’s waist, other hand awaiting to be held.
…
Do I even need to say it?
James, in return, gasps inwards, and slowly, shakily, painstakingly puts his hand on Noah’s shoulder, and places his other onto Noah’s open palm.
They both look at their feet, and start to dance.
It was painfully slow at first, and Noah still somehow managed to trip, but they gradually sped up, and actually began to relax as they moved.
Slowly but surely, they looked up, gazing into each others’ eyes.
They both started blushing profusely, but neither seemed to mention it.
James smiled at him.
Noah smiled back.
And then it happened.
James pulled away his hand from Noah’s and rested both of his arms on his friend’s shoulders, prompting Noah to use both hands to hold his hips.
Both of their hearts were beating insanely quick, especially since they seemed to know what was soon to come.
James started to hum along to the music softly, closing his eyes as he did so, ignoring the pounding in his chest.
This felt…
Amazing.
Beyond amazing, actually.
This felt perfect.
Suddenly, they stopped dancing.
James looked at Noah, and Noah looked back, darting his vision from his eyes to his lips.
Noah practically stops breathing as he speaks.
“Can I…?“
James shivers slightly as he feels the cool night air slip though the attic walls and hit the back of his neck.
He nods.
“Y-yeah…”
Noah leans in closer, his breath tickling James’s skin.
He closes his eyes, and connects their lips together in a soft, tender kiss.
Oh. My. God.
James had never felt something like this before.
He couldn’t even begin to describe it, either.
Noah seemed to feel the same, as he pulled James in a tad bit closer.
James’s breath hitched in the back of this throat, and he tried his hardest to stay upright despite his knees feeling like Jello.
Neither of them knew what they were doing (like the chuds they are), but one thing was certainly clear-
They were each other’s first kiss.
And that revelation alone sent both of their brains haywire.
Still, they let it linger for a moment, before pulling away- out of breath and in shock.
They stare at each other in silence, the only sound present being the music around them.
They kissed.
Holy shit.
They just fucking kissed.
…
This was not supposed to happen.
Anxiety quickly bubbles up in James’s chest as he pushes Noah away, stunning him slightly as he almost falls backwards.
Noah regains his footing, and with a confused and broken voice, speaks.
“James?… wh-why did you-“
James balls his fists and starts shaking, holding back tears.
“You need to leave. Now.”
His voice is a harsh, commanding whisper.
Noah’s face falls, shattering into a million pieces.
“W-what?…”
James starts to cry.
“LEAVE. NOW!…”
Tears start to congregate around Noah’s eyelids, and he dashes out of the door, completely forgetting his phone as the music still plays.
“I Want You, by Mitski.”
James stands there motionless, before falling to the floor and sobbing, balling himself up and bringing his knees to his face as his back faces the window.
It happened again-
He did it again.
But this time he wasn’t rejected.
He was the one who did it, and it somehow hurt more than a thousand stab wounds to the chest.
Why did he do that? Noah initiated it- Noah wanted to kiss him, and he pushed him away like the coward he is.
Noah likes him.
James knows he feels the same, so why did he send him running?- why did he throw away his one chance at something actually good in his life?- Why is he-
James hears the song change, and realizes that Noah’s phone was still here.
He-
He could fix this-
He could-
…
James knew what he had to do.
He wiped the snot from his face and bolted upright, grabbing Noah’s phone and running down the stairs, almost slipping and breaking his ankle more than once.
Please don’t be gone-
Please don’t be gone-
Please don’t be gone-
He swings open the front door, and to his surprise, there he stood.
Noah jumps and turns around, coming face-to-face with him, eyes red and cheeks stained with tears.
James freezes, but comes back to reality shortly after when his knees start to shake and his ears start to ring.
James practically chokes on his own guilt and breaks out into sobs, running over to Noah and grabbing him in a tight embrace.
Noah, shocked and dazed, doesn’t move.
James grips Noah’s tank top so hard his knuckles turn white, and he shakily apologizes, fighting the sobs pouring out of his mouth.
“I- I’m so sorry, Noah!- I never… I never meant to- p-push you away! I was just- so scared- a-and I couldn’t… I didn’t- God DAMNIT!!!”
He screams, pulling back and grabbing Noah’s face as he cries.
“I LIKE YOU, NOAH!!! I LIKE YOU- S-SO MUCH!!! I JUST… I’m scared… I’m so scared to like you, Noah… I’m s-scared…”
Noah’s breath hitches as he begins to cry with him.
“Y-you mean it?…”
James nods vigorously.
“YES!!! I mean it! I mean it with my whole heart!!! I never wanted any of this to happen!- I’m so sorry, Noah, I’m so sorry… I messed everything up… I always do… I’m so so so so so so so so so SO sorry- I-“
Noah doesn’t let him finish, though, as he pulls James into another breathtaking kiss, making Noah’s phone drop out of his hand at the sheer intensity of it.
This time around, the kiss is sudden and painfully loving and full of broken hearts being mended once more.
Noah pulls away for air, and lets this moment sink in until it’s interrupted by James’s shaky laugh.
“Y-you don’t… hate me?…”
Noah tenses up.
“Of course I don’t…”
James starts to cry again.
“B-but-“
Noah shuts him up quickly with another small peck, smiling as he pulls away.
“You could never make me hate you.”
He grabs his hands in his own, and musters up the courage to say what he’s been wanting to say for almost 2 years.
“I love you, James Reed. More than you could ever know.”
James’s heart stops. All self pity and dread that had made its way into his brain vanished in an instant at those words.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
He could practically drown in Noah’s voice, and he would if he was able.
James sniffled, and pressed his forehead against Noah’s, huffing a small laugh.
“I love you too, idiot..”
Noah tugs on his jacket sleeve, the one James had been messing with the entire day, and intertwines their fingers together.
James smiles, and Noah does the same.
“Come on,” he says, “Let’s go back inside.”
James nods, and inside they went.
— — —
Now, you may be wondering, and trust me, I know you are, is this how it ends? Is this the resolution? Is this finally the comfort in this comfort/hurt fic?
And I’m happy to tell you that yes. It very much is.
Hope you’re not too disappointed, dear reader! But need I remind you once more,
I am just the story teller, blame the author for any complaints you may have, and please, keep my emails empty.
Well! It was nice seeing you, and I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time, and of course, goodbye.