Hey guys!

Sorry for the delay. These past two weeks have been hellish. Unfortunately, I was hospitalized and had to undergo surgery. I'm mostly okay now. ^^

I hope you all are doing well. Stay safe and stay healthy. =)

Strangely enough, school's become less of a drag. Noah's chatty banter dilutes the dull monotony of every day. Plus, he is quite smart. When we team up, even the teachers are surprised when I pull off decent grades. The only downside...

Ugh... It's not like I was waiting for something else. Maybe I was hoping Noah would become invisible for Tanner, but no. Or maybe I'm the one making it happen, always having Noah at my side.

Tanner struts into class like he owns the place, as usual. Passing by Noah's desk, he 'accidentally' knocks his stuff over.

"Oops, my bad," he smirks. Noah just brushes it off and picks up his things. But my skin prickles unpleasantly.

As Tanner takes his seat, he catches my eye, nodding "What's up?"

When the bell rings, as Tanner saunters out of class, he pulls the same stunt, dumping Noah's things on the floor with a half-assed apology. Noah gives him a long look, but just says, "No big deal," and picks up his stuff again. I'm grinding my teeth watching Tanner and Rory leave. No idea why I'm sitting here feeling like shit. Only when Noah heads out to his next class do I finally move.

At lunch, I head to the cafeteria. Tanner, Rory, and Liam are already at our usual table. Noah's in line. Today, I've got cash, so I grab some food. As Noah's heading toward the table, not Tanner's, thankfully, but where Audrey and the track team sit, Tanner pulls a bullshit move, cutting him off and making him spill his food. Such a stupid and lousy trick, but it worked to Tanner's delight.

Noah's clothes are a mess, and the other students are giggling. Tanner's got this shit-eating grin, "Sorry, Starboy, mind's on other things."

It stings. I don't get it, but it stings deep. I lose my appetite, drop my tray, and walk over to Tanner, who's back at the table with Tricia on his lap. My tongue itches but my brain doesn't form proper words to spell.

What the fuck am I going to say? "Leave him alone?"

And why the fuck do I even want to say something? Noah didn't look too upset or scared or whatever. He handled it cool, leaving like he didn't give a shit about the giggles. Why am I so worked up over it? I've seen Tanner pull this crap a million times.

I wanna follow Noah to... to... do what?

It doesn't make sense, but my legs move on their own. Like my body's got its own damn agenda.

"Hey, Scarface!" Tanner's voice yanks me back. "Lost, or what? Come, sit."

After a beat, I head back to the table and sit down.

"Broke again?" Tanner snarks.

"Not hungry," I say flatly, avoiding eye contact.

"We're ditching the rest of the day," Tanner announces. "Dad left the car, so let's cruise, bitches!"

Tricia looks pissed. "I said I couldn't come today! Why would you go without me?"

"We'll go next time, babe," Tanner grins. "Don't worry, I'll give you a ride you'll never forget."

"Oh, shut up already!" Liam snaps, clearly annoyed. Tricia gives a sly smile, then leaves after another round of make-out session with Tanner to Liam's disgust.

"Let's hit the road," Tanner pushes, getting up. I scan the cafeteria, but Noah's nowhere to be seen. That shitty feeling's still clinging to me, even when we pile into Tanner's dad's beat-up Ford truck.

"Let's roll!" Tanner revs the engine, grinning. "Why the sour face, Scarface?" He shoots me a look.

"That's just my face," I shoot back.

"Come on, lighten up!" Tanner eggs on, making me even more irritated. What am I doing here?
"Miss your Starboy, do you?" Tanner taunts, and my heart kicks up a notch. "Wanna bring him along? Oh wait, he'd mess up my truck," he smirks. My tongue itches again, but words won't come.

"What the hell are you saying?" I finally spit out.

"Am I wrong? You are glued together. Like mating dogs," Tanner cackles, and Rory's joining in.

"I didn't know you cared," I retort, trying to sound casual. "He's just... He's fine."

"And...?" Tanner nudges, giving me that creepy knowing look.

"And nothing," I say, keeping my cool. "He's fine, and all this crap you're pulling is stupid."

"What crap?" Tanner feigns innocence.

"You know damn well."

"No clue."

"Cut the act."

"What act? Spit it out."

"I did! All I'm saying is he's okay. Lay off. He's not loaded, not a threat, so knock off the bullshit."

"What bullshit?"

"You know!"

"I don't!"

"You're fucking pissing me off," I grit out. "Leave him alone."

"Looks like Leighton's got himself a new buddy!" Tanner sneers to Rory and Liam, who join in.

"You're so full of shit," I exhale. "Where the hell are we even going?" I try to switch the topic.

"Curious much?" Tanner smirks. "It's a surprise. A secret!" He guns the engine. "So, I was talking to Ziggy..."

"Ziggy's banging Boyd," Rory interjects.

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Tanner gets sidetracked.

"Yeah, they've been banging for a while," Rory confirms.

"Who else knows?"

"Dunno," Rory shrugs. "It's not a big secret. Some folks know, but they ain't broadcasting it."

"Martha would lose her shit if she found out."

"Martha's the one who set 'em up," Liam points out. "Now she's all Mama Bear about 'em."

"Twisted," Tanner chuckles.

"Considering they've been screwing her over - pretty messed up," Liam agrees.

"Anyways," Tanner pushes on. "Ziggy told me the Miller boys are always out in Berthwest forest, near that old trailer park."

"So?" Rory's getting antsy.

"They wouldn't bother with some crappy forest unless there's something good there."

"What if they're just dumping trash or burying dead pets?" Liam yawns.

"Maybe. But that's the spot Fred mentioned. And maybe Fred is full of shit, but I trust Ziggy on this."

"What?" I sit up, turning to Tanner.

"What?" He feigns innocence, grinning like an idiot.

"We talked about this!"

"Yeah, and I said I wanna check it out."

"And I said it's a fucking death wish!" I shout. Tanner doesn't respond. Rory and Liam stay quiet too. "You forgetting who the Miller Brothers are? Even if it's true about this stash, you think they'd leave it after Fred snooped around?"

"Chill," Tanner tries to soothe, but I'm too pissed at him because of Noah I can't stop. "I just want to look around and check the place."

"Then why the hell you drag us into this?" I snap. Tanner frowns, and while Liam and Rory look tense, they don't argue.

For some time, Tanner drives down the highway and then he turns from the road to the gravel path. All this time, there is silence in the car. After a while, there's still no sign of anything around, only walls of trees flanking the narrow road from both sides.

It doesn't change the atmosphere much, but Rory and Liam definitely look less tense now.

"You know how to piss me off," Tanner grumbles as we hit the main road.

"It's not about that," I mumble back.

"What if Fred's just talking shit again?" Rory pipes up. Tanner grits his teeth.

"Come on, we wanted to chill. Let's just chill," Liam suggests, trying to lighten the mood. Tanner huffs, but eventually loses his grump.

We cruise around town, pick up a couple of girls, and the car fills with chatter and giggles. Tanner pulls into an deserted parking lot. The sun's out, giving a false sense of warmth. We spill out of the car, and Tanner hands out beers to everyone. Everyone but me.

"You will take us back," he tells me.

The hood of the car turns into a makeshift table, and everyone huddles around it. The chatter in which I cannot actively participate has tired me, and I hide from boredom and the growing cold in the car, listening to music and staring at Tanner and the others through the windshield, like in an aquarium. In the spot, the picture is about the same, but there I know more people, and I have a place by the window. And here I'm just bored.

I wonder what Noah is doing now?.. I glance over at the empty passenger seat, imagining him there, grinning his usual grin. It'd definitely be less boring with him around. He never runs out of stuff to chat about.

But instead of Noah, Tanner hops into the backseat with one of the girls. Rory, Liam, and the other girl walk away from the car. I shoot Tanner a look.

"They went to a party. I gotta return the car by seven. So, let's roll," he tells me. Then, to the girl, "We'll have our own party here."

I barely get the car started when the rearview mirror reflects Tanner and the girl going at it. My drive back is soundtracked by their gross smacking sounds. When I pull up to Tanner's place, he's still all over her, not even noticing me leave. I do not care. But I was glad that I was finally able to leave. Although no.

I was more relieved... because "glad" is what I feel when I see Noah. He's out front of my place, chatting with Kudo, just like the first time I met him. He even tries to give Kudo some treats, but the dog's not having it and barks.

"I'm still a stranger to him," Noah says, looking kinda down when he spots me. I give Kudo a pat, and he settles down.

"He'll get used to you," I reassure him.

"Always wanted a dog," Noah says, smiling a bit sadly.

I'm lost for words and just keep petting Kudo. I feel this urge to break the silence. Maybe we could do something together? Just hang out...

But I barely have time to open my mouth before Noah says, "I gotta go. Dinner time and all," he says, flashing an awkward smile. "Catch you tomorrow?"

"Yeah... sure," I reply, but it leaves this weird hollow feeling in my chest like I've been left out. Why now? Why am I feeling this... needy? It's pathetic. I've only known him for a week. I don't like this. I mean... I don't know...

I don't like this. I've always been pretty indifferent about stuff, and I'm not sure I want to change. I watch Noah walk away. What the hell is happening to me? Shouldn't I try and stop it?