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it’s only a moment before you’re gone // noah and caleb

.lmfaonoah :

Unsuccessfully, Noah tried to fight off a smile as Caleb gave his hand a squeeze, it wasn’t much, but God it was more than he usually got. He was used to getting butterflies in the pit of his stomach whenever he happened to be with Caleb in public, if they happened to bump into each other outside the apartment, or if Caleb ‘accidentally’ walked into his work. Those were butterflies born of anxiety and that stupid way he felt like he had to dance around the brunette, unsure of where the constantly shifting boundaries stood. Now though, it was like butterflies had settled beneath the surface of his skin, a sensation that was uncomfortable insofar as it was unusual.

“Yeah I do,” he couldn’t help but blurt out, with a dumb smile he was pretty sure had never made an appearance on his face before. Noah let Caleb take the trolley from him, and march his way into the supermarket, his ill-concealed pride in what he’d just done a feeling that echoed in Noah’s own chest. It was probably not something that should be such a big deal, but anyone that knew Caleb like he did, would know that it was a very big deal indeed. Thought that left him wondering whether there was another person on earth that knew what he did, Noah certainly would not argue that he knew the man best, and it was a sad thought that think that the two of them might be alone in knowing that Caleb liked men.

They moved up and down the supermarket aisles at top speed, presumably because they didn’t want to keep Rosy and the rest of the apartment waiting, but Noah kind of wished that they could take their time more, because as soon as they re-entered that room filled his closest friends, there was no way they could act like this anymore. He also realised that the trolley was way too big for just a few bags of popcorn, and it was probably making the impulsive Caleb pile more and more crap into it. Though actually it didn’t seem to matter much as Caleb had broken into a packet of sweets before they’d even moved away from the till, something which had made Noah shoot the cashier an apologetic look, like Caleb was his liability. He had a feeling that was how most people probably felt around him.

“Slow down, you’ll eat everything before we get back at this rate,” he said with a degree of alarm as Caleb shoved at least five pieces of liquorice into his mouth in one go. His mouth was so full that it took Noah a moment or so to realise what he’d said.

“Get in the trolley?” he repeated with a small laugh at the chipmunk-like shape Caleb’s face had now taken on, which should not have looked as adorable as it did. It was probably this that made Noah clamber into the trolley with only the smallest sense of apprehension, a feeling that dawned on him as he drew his knees up to his chest.

“Wait, why am I doing this?” he asked, turning to look at Caleb who was still holding onto the handlebar, with a look on his face that Noah didn’t like the look of. He might have loved Caleb, but he sure as hell didn’t trust him.

In all honesty, Caleb was surprised that Noah had climbed into the cart so willingly, sitting on the bed of it before looking up at him as if he’d just realised where he was. Caleb swallowed the Red Vines in his mouth in one quick gulp, eyes watering at the suddenness of the action, but he figured Noah wouldn’t appreciate him talking with his mouth full. Caleb had some manners that were mostly drilled into him by both his sister and Adam.

“Dude, you actually did it!” he exclaimed, eyebrows flying upwards. Before Noah could change his mind and clamber back out, he gripped the handlebar and slowly began pushing the cart forward.

“Trust me,” was all he said, a wicked grin on his face. The carrier bags in the trolley began rustling against the wind as Caleb began to jog lightly across the nearly empty car park. There were only a few cars left and it reminded him of the summers where he and Adam would hang out late at night, pretending they were in the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall in Hill Valley. Each of them took turns sitting in the bed of a shopping cart, which was the closest thing they could get to a DeLorean when they were fifteen and fighting off acne and people telling them time travel wasn’t actually possible. They swapped between the roles of Doc Brown and Marty McFly, with the Hannigans’ ageing family dog taking up the role of Einstein. Grinning at the memory, he wondered if Noah had ever seen Back to the Future, and couldn’t help but think that there would be a slight strain on their relationship if he hadn’t.

“Great Scot!” he whooped, now running full pelt across the parking lot. When he couldn’t run any faster, he pushed up on the handlebars, hooking his legs around the wheels of the trolley and letting the cart carry them both, whizzing across the asphalt. Hair blown off his face by the wind, Caleb laughed loudly and wore a carefree grin. He glanced down, eager to see if Noah was having as much fun as him and caught a heart-lurching glimpse of the other man’s curls being fashioned into the same windswept manner as his own.

Suddenly possessing more courage than he realised he was capable of, Caleb shakily raised one hand from the handlebar and reached out to gently muss up Noah’s hair even more. However, the action quickly unbalanced the trolley and it swerved dangerously underneath him. He let out a startled yelp, and desperately tried to regain control but it veered off course and the front wheels hit off the curb sending the two men and their groceries toppling onto the ground.

At once, Caleb was smacked in the face with a packet of marshmallows, letting out an ‘oof’ when his lanky frame collided with the concrete, pebbles and stones ripping up the side of his arm and tearing open the skin. And boy, did his butt hurt!

Stunned for a moment, Caleb waited to get his breath back and quickly decided he had no internal injuries before pushing the marshmallows from his face and sitting up with a groan. The cart was on its side, wheels still spinning in the air. The groceries were scattered around them, having spilled from their bags but Caleb was more preoccupied with seeking out Noah. Brown eyes soon found the man, looking disgruntled from his place on the ground, but otherwise unharmed.

Despite his aching limbs and scraped arm, Caleb was suddenly overwhelmed by a completely disarming sense of hysteria and collapsed into a fit of giggles at once. His laughter turned booming and raucous and he clutched at his stomach. Two customers who had just stepped out of the automatic doors of the supermarket stared at the pair of them with startled expressions, but it only made Caleb laugh louder.

Even braver than he was a moment before, the brunette cut off his own laughter by reaching forward and fisting a hand in the front of Noah’s shirt, tugging the other man towards him and pressing their lips together. Maybe the other inhabitants of the parking lot saw them and maybe they didn’t, but Caleb was too happy to care either way.

Pulling back, he nuzzled Noah’s nose with his own and grinned.

“That was awesome!”

Even he wasn’t sure if he meant the trolley ride or the kiss.

#thread: noah3 #noah

TEXT: BRET

Caleb: Happy birthday, dude!!!!!!

#text: bret #bret

overheardwellington

So are Caleb and Noah just not friends anymore?

(via overheardwellington)

We were never really friends to begin with, dude.

#overheard;

.ughollie :

Ollie heard the door go before he had the chance to look up, his nose still buried in a comic book. He was in the middle of stifling an annoyed sigh - something that never went over too well with customers - when he heard the particular way the door had been slammed, wrenched out of it’s frame and rattling as it settled back into it. Immediately, Ollie squared his jaw in annoyance, the pages of the comic crumpling underneath his touch. Ryan had always made fun of him, but Ollie had a few choice words to say whenever boys of a young age came hurtling into his shop, tripping over their laces and tracking in muddy footprints. More often than not, they slammed the door too. Ollie thrust the comic down on the counter, already opening his mouth to complain when his eyes settled on who had wandered inside.

Instead of the usual crowd, Caleb Hannigan stood, eyes tight shut, almost heaving with the effort of trying to slow his breathing. Ollie’s thoughts were cast uncomfortably to the conversation he’d had with Wren the day before as he took in the man that Kara still referred fondly to as ‘Uncle Caleb’. His knuckles were white with how he’d clung to the door, and after a moment or so, he blinked his eyes open, revealing the same brown eyes Ollie had grudgingly thought pretty back in the day. Not since they were teenagers had Caleb carried himself toward Ollie with such a rapid speed. And then it occurred to him, Caleb hadn’t been running to Ollie, he’d been running from something.

He froze uncomfortably behind the counter as Caleb took in his surroundings, beginning to realise where he was all at once. Ollie felt himself freeze in place as the other man’s gaze finally settled on him, unsure whether he was supposed to be the one to address Caleb first. The discomfort on his face could easily have been mistaken for annoyance, but in all honesty, it wasn’t a scenario he was sure how to navigate. Ollie couldn’t even remember the last time he and Caleb had been in a room alone together, without Adam to steer him away or Kara to diffuse the tension.

“Caleb.” he said, stiffly. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, eyeing the other man. Lowering his voice in an attempt at concern, he stated “You look terrible.”

Usually when Caleb spotted Ollie wandering the halls of Messina, his first instincts were to scowl at the other man. For someone who was forgetful and mostly clueless at the time and who had only ever really felt betrayed when Kylo Ren ran a lightsaber through the chest of his own father, it was hard for him to hold a grudge. With Ollie though, it was different. He hadn’t hurt Caleb; he had hurt Adam, and in Caleb’s eyes, that was the greatest crime of them all, which immediately put him at odds with the guy who had once been a close friend.

This time, however, his chest heaving in breathless pants and a nervous sweat having broken out at the back of his neck, Caleb didn’t have the energy to be hostile towards Ollie. In fact, he was almost relieved to see him. Ollie may have been an asshole in high school, but he was a familiar face and one that usually filled Caleb with a trivial sense of annoyance rather than fear. In that moment, with his heart hammering against his ribcage and every vital organ feeling like it was about to shut down, the brunette was relieved to see him.

Goosebumps trailed up his arm as he straightened his posture and took note of Ollie’s stance. He looked uncomfortable to see him, but his words gave way to his surprise. Actually, to people who didn’t know the curly haired man better, they would have given nothing away, but Caleb had known Ollie for long enough to have gotten used to his quirks and habits and severing the ties of their friendship didn’t mean he could just so easily forget these things. Recognising the questioning tone in Ollie’s voice, despite it not being obvious, nearly filled him with a sense of nostalgia: of nights sandwiched on the sofa between Ollie and Adam, the three of them sharing a blanket and marathoning Doctor Who, of summers in the Sparrows’ back yard, lying on their stomachs in the grass and reading comics and pouring ice down Caleb’s sister’s back when she came to drag him home, of all three of them bent over with laughter when they failed to discuss costume plans and ended up at a Halloween party dressed in identical Han Solo garb.

Caleb missed that, but other memories flashed at the front of Caleb’s mind, ones that left him not talking to Adam and Ollie for days at a time and ignoring their questioning glances when he wore scarves around his neck in summer or flinched when they tried to touch him. He was instantly brought back to the present.

“Good to see you too,” he bit back, although his voice shook with nerves and what was supposed to be a snappy, sarcastic remark turned feeble.

He forced his feet to walk further into the store; it wasn’t a difficult feat given that the opposite direction would lead him straight into the path of Gordon.

“Is Kara here?” he asked, hopefully. Whatever negative feelings existed between Caleb and Ollie didn’t extend to the other man’s daughter. Caleb adored that kid and she would also be a welcome distraction.

#moments: ollie1 #ollie

The first time he had come face to face with Gordon Connelly’s family, the man’s wife had surged forward and enveloped him in a warm hug, one that made his stomach bottom and a nauseous feeling spread through his gut. He had swallowed roughly and gave her a tight smile before sending a short, awkward wave towards the younger members of the Connelly clan, who were still living at home and looking at their father with adoration and severe case of hero worship in their eyes. He figured they thought he deserved it.

The meeting had left him itching to scratch and claw at his skin which had come alive and felt like it was crawling. Sharon Connelly had squeezed his hand in the personal gesture of a woman who had known you since you first toddled into pre-school and walked out at the end of the day with your arm slung around the shoulders of Adam Sparrow. Gordon had clapped him on the shoulder in the same fashion your old friend’s father would when they congratulated you on making the transition from gawky teen to a full grown man that now knew the ins and outs of whatever sport your own dad had been banging on about when you were younger. However, the way his hand had rested on Caleb’s shoulder, fingertips grazing the nape of his neck and softly tickling the skin there spoke of much darker memories.

It was this meeting alone that had curbed Caleb’s desire for a second encounter – not that there had been a previous desire anyway. As soon as he finished his shift at the arcade and had begun walking home, his limbs had immediately locked into place with fear striking at his very core and rendering him immobile as soon as he caught sight of the familiar family on the other side of the street. They were craning their necks and peering into a shop window, the Connellys’ youngest son letting out an exclamation when he spotted something that caught his eye. He immediately began tugging on his father’s sleeve, pointing excitedly.

In his haste to suddenly disappear, Caleb forced his joints to unlock and he quickly tripped over his dirty Star Wars Vans and tumbled into the nearest shop, the bell above that usually tinkled, clanging with a crash as he hastily shut the door behind him. He slumped against the wood and let out a shaky exhale, squeezing his brown eyes tightly shut and willing the dizziness to subside.

When he was sure that he wasn’t in danger of toppling over, and the burning sensation that spread through his whole body and stretched as far as his fingertips and toes eventually vanished, he blinked open his eyes, only for that same sense of dread to return, only not nearly in the same violent manner.

His stricken expression remained intact when he took note of the comic books lining the walls, organised in such a pretentious way that Caleb was confident could only be mastered by one person. It took every ounce of willpower to actually turn his head around and look, but there he was, standing behind the counter and staring at the taller brunette with that same look of disdain he’d worn ever since the Falling Out – an event completely worthy of capitalisation.

“Ollie,” Caleb managed to say, willing his facial features to relax so he could seem more nonchalant. He belatedly realised that the way he was holding onto the door for support probably didn’t aid him in that venture though.

#moments: ollie1 #ollie

akacaleb-blog

it’s only a moment before you’re gone // noah and caleb

akacaleb-blog

.lmfaonoah :

Noah tried really hard to look like Caleb and his choice of music was annoying him, which wasn’t too hard, he was well practiced in being annoyed by the brunette that said beside him, so the frown wasn’t difficult to replicate. But truth be told, as much as he cringed a little at his music taste and the tuneless singing that went along with it, Noah was too pleased to be alone with him to be properly irritated. And when Caleb wasn’t busy hurriedly explaining how he wasn’t gay, and that he didn’t like Noah like that, bruising him in the process, he was finding that he actually sort of liked him. The way that he stumbled around, his limbs too long for his body should have been incredibly dorky, and it was, but it also endeared him. The thought was too sentimental for the curly haired barista who made a face at himself, and shook the thought from his mind, leaving only a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach.

Noah scoffed at his comment about owing Bret’s younger sister (whose name he could never remember, something he didn’t think she’d appreciate very much) copious amounts of sweets, and how that had nothing to with Caleb or his best friend. If the extremely guilty, and poorly hidden, looks on their faces had been anything to go by he was willing to bet that if Rosy was to check the bin in Caleb’s room she would find out exactly where her food had gone. Glancing over at Caleb, who was exiting the car, he briefly wondered how he wasn’t fat yet, if he’d eaten his share of ‘five year’s worth of popcorn’. But he averted his gaze hastily when Caleb looked over at him.

“Yeah sure,” he said, sharing his disbelief, and looking back up at the man who stood on the other side of the car just in time to watch him walk smack into a stop sign, unable to shout a warning in time. For the second time that evening he fought to keep himself from laughing at Caleb’s clumsiness, though the melodramatic pout on his face made it a lot harder to keep from smiling this time, even with his hand in front of his mouth. The ringing of the metal from where Caleb had hit it, and the fact that the sign was still swaying slightly, made him feel a little guilty as he wondered just how hard he had hit it.

“Are you alright?” he asked, lowering his hand as Caleb tried to wave him off. The taller man looked a little peeved and embarrassed so Noah wandered off the get a trolley, fishing a coin out his back pocket so he could pull one out, and when he returned to the car, Caleb was still rubbing his head, now looking a little unsteady on his feet.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, leaving the trolley so he could step closer to Caleb and get a closer look. He moved to place a hand on the arm that was raised, the hand pressed to his forehead, but stopped himself, his hand ended up hovering somewhere in between their faces. He caught himself just in time remembering where they were, the only place he felt like he could have done that would be in the safe confines of his room, not in a public car park. He didn’t want to imagine what Caleb would have said if his hand had made it to his. Dropping it quickly he started to doubt whether Caleb had even noticed, he looked a little dizzy, and his eyes seemed unfocused.

“You’re such an idiot,” he muttered, no real malice in his words, his frown one of concern rather than annoyance.

“You’re laughing at me!” Caleb shot out accusingly, the pout on his face becoming more pronounced when he caught sight of the way Noah’s shoulders were silently shaking. He knew that was the clear sign of someone trying hard not to laugh, had clapped his own hand over his mouth many a time at the arcade when kids tripped over their too big sneakers and ended up face first in their own nacho cheese. He felt kind of bad for laughing at those poor suckers now, especially since he was on the receiving end of Noah’s amusement.

He rubbed at his head, simply nodding when Noah went off to grab them a shopping trolley. Despite his prominent headache, he found himself craning his neck, brown eyes following the other man as he went to get what they needed it, as if to ascertain that he wasn’t going to disappear. A twinge of guilt stabbed at Caleb’s gut when he was reminded that he rarely had to be worried about Noah disappearing. He was the one that always executed a well-timed vanishing act whenever he woke up in bed next to the other man. He wasn’t sure if it was the two near concussions tonight that had given him this semblance of clarity, but he was beginning to realise that maybe he didn’t need to run away from Noah anymore.

If it hadn’t been for those instances when he was a teenager, then perhaps he’d be able to walk into the supermarket with his hand wrapped around Noah’s, and maybe Adam would tease them in the same way Caleb teased his best friend about him and Wren. The thought brought a smile to his face, a rather dopey one that he had to fight to wipe away when Noah returned. He was making progress with the barista though, and baby steps were better than nothing.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” he muttered, hand still rubbing his forehead, although the action was kind of unnecessary now, the pain in his head fading away to a subtle ache that he could deal with. He only hoped that he wouldn’t bruise.

He didn’t miss the way that Noah raised his hand, as if to reach out and touch him – Caleb didn’t know where – but then ultimately decided against it and dropped his hand by his side again. Caleb pressed his lips together as if fighting back disappointed words. He half wanted to urge him to reach out again, but the comment wouldn’t formulate and so he dropped his own arm instead and used his elbow to nudge Noah’s side playfully.

He giggled at Noah’s comment, forcing himself to not do a quick sweep of the area around them, even if he was sure it was just an empty parking lot. Bravely, he reached out and gave the other man’s hand a brief, quick squeeze.

“Yeah, but you like me,” he pointed out when his own hand was safely by his side.

Smugly, he grabbed the handlebar of the trolley and began pushing it across the car park, chest puffed out with pride after what he saw as being a rather risky move on his part. Maybe he was going from baby steps to like, toddler steps now.

The harsh lighting of the supermarket made him wince, squinting against the glare of the fluorescent bulbs and he and Noah quickly hurried around the place, chucking miscellaneous confectionaries into the trolley in a bid to get back home to the movie, or in Caleb’s case it was so he could maybe steal a kiss from Noah in his car.

By the time they exited the supermarket, Caleb had already demolished half a packet of Red Vines that he’d ripped open as soon as they’d paid, earning himself a dirty look from the cashier.

“Hey! I have an idea,” he announced around a mouthful of liquorice. He turned to Noah. “Dude, get in the trolley.”

#thread: noah3 #noah

TEXT: NOAH

Caleb: [unsent text] i really miss you.

Caleb: [unsent text] i want to tell you what's going on really badly but i can't and i'm sorry for treating you like shit.

Caleb: [unsent text] you might think differently about me if you knew anyway.

#text: noah #noah #ooc: IDK WHAT THIS IS TBH