Nora sat down expectantly, waiting for the game to begin, bracing herself for 90 minutes of screaming at the refs as she had always done. She remembered too fondly what it was like once when she had been permitted at the side of the field, she was sure her fact was red by the end of the game and she almost needed to nail her feet to the ground not to rush to Elena’s aid every time someone tumbled her to the ground. Elena used to laugh at her for her soccer antics when they got back home, it had never been a cause of embarrassment and Nora was glad that she had only embarrassed herself back then. Now it was trickier to be a constant presence, with work and with not knowing exactly how to navigate when she was around Forrest. It killed her to go when he was there and having to be seated all the way on the back where no one would notice her, to have to hold back her instincts, not being able to open her arms and have Elena rushing into them all sweaty and gross the way she had done for eight years, completely ruining some silk blouses she had.
It was hard to not sit there and not get caught up in her head, she had been experiencing that a lot lately.
Which was maybe the reason why she completely missed Forrest until he spoke to her. Blue eyes raked up until they found his face, she swept a finger under her bangs to keep them out of the way (her breakup bangs) and sucked in a breath. Even four years later he still had the same effect on her and she could freaking hear her heart drumming inside of her ears, feel it banging against her rib cage and her palms suddenly turning sweaty. Her voice always got caught in her throat. Forrest’s presence was always filled with heartache and what if’s. She remembered all too well how it was like for her during her first day post-breakup, she had never been able to shake it off his chosen words. She never wanted to beg for someone to stay before him, she never wanted to drop on her knees and ask them not to go away— she still didn’t when it came to him, but she wanted to, and all the words she never said made all the other ones get caught at the sight of him.
Eventually she cleared her throat and scooted to the side a bit, giving more space between. “No— you can have it if you want to,” she offered him a gentle smile, trying to appear as cool and collected as she thought she sounded. She would seriously need to have words with Elena later about this. Was she trying to parent trap them or something? She had said a million times she didn’t understand why they couldn’t handle being with one another in the same space, but Nora never thought she would go the lengths to… no, it didn’t sound like something Elena would do at all, and she sighed. Hyper aware of Forrest’s presence when he took the seat next to her.
It was like every cell of her body reacted to it. Almost pulling her closer. When they were together, Nora’s body always found a way to be close to him. Be it crawling into his arms and resting her head on his shoulder, or a simple hand on his knee when they were in public, but she was always touching him somehow. It had been in the beginning whenever they saw one another, avoiding hugging him, kissing him, reminding herself that there was no more them. Even now when her body pulled her closer and she had on concentrate on something, anything else to keep in her seat. Her right knee bounced, a clear sign that she was feeling overly stressed and nervous and for once she was grateful that she had the game to put the blame on, as the girls ran on the field and shoot some goals before the game actually started, she checked her watch and noticed they still had a few minutes before they needed to pay attention to the game.
“H-How are you? Good?” Nora glanced at Forrest, but quickly directed her attention elsewhere, hand directly in her popcorn and popcorn in her mouth, as if she needed to give him more indicators she was nervous, she stopped mid stress-chewing and attempted to chew like a normal person. “Did you— uhm, did you go any day to the docks? You know… to help with the missing people?”
Unlike most of the relationships in his life, she’d snuck up on him. The attraction had been there, initially, but she’d been younger, more reserved, different than his usual type. They’d actually been friends first, something he hadn’t experience before--all of his relationships in high school practically starting as such. But Nora...it was like she’d come out of nowhere. Like one day he’d opened his eyes and there she was, standing in front of him, as if she’d been there all along. From there, things hadn’t quite fallen together so easily, the two of them dancing around one another as they attempted to figure out what exactly it was that they were feeling, but once they’d been together, it become more than clear that she was it for Forrest. Smart, and funny, and kind--not to mention beautiful, and good with Elena. He’d been most nervous about the latter, his daughter’s reaction to the new woman in their lives, but also that new woman’s reaction to his daughter. Having been in college when they’d met, Forrest knew he couldn’t have expected Nora to want to jump right into being a mother, especially for a kid who was not her own. That was a lot of pressure for anybody--Elena’s own mother, included--and ultimately, had been the demise of their relationship, even if still unknown to Nora.
He’d gotten cold feet. There’d been countless conversations in their eight years together about her role in Elena’s life--one that she was happy to serve in. Not as a mother, but simply someone who was there. Loved her as much as Forrest did. But there had always been a small voice in the back of Forrest’s head wondering if that was, not enough, but still too much. If one day, Nora would wake up and realize that this--that they--weren’t what she wanted at all and leave, the very same way that Jenna had. If the responsibility of it all had been too much for her, how could Forrest expect it from Nora? How could he live with knowing that he’d been the reason behind another person in Elena’s life leaving her?
If he thought about it for too long, however, something that’d fortunately lessened in the years since their breakup, another voice in the back of his mind would inform him that it wasn’t just Elena he was worried about being left behind again.
It’d been awhile, since they’d last seen each other. Having been in Elena’s life for more than half of it, keeping them apart from one another hadn’t been an option he’d even entertained. In fact, it brought relief to him, that Nora seemed to miss Elena the way Elena missed her, even if, with that relief, came the guilt of knowing he’d been the one who’d torn their makeshift family apart. It was the same guilt that he faced then, standing above her, asking for the chance to sit next to her, like he had any right to do so. And yet, he took the seat anyway, having offered a tight smile back. If you want to, she’d said, peering up at him underneath those bangs of hers. There were a lot of things he wanted.
“Thank you.” Taking the seat next to her, silence fell between the two, Forrest unsure of where to look. The field, his lap, her eyes. What to say. A general how are you? was harmless, working up the courage to ask her, when she beat him to it. As he glanced up, their eyes met, and for the moment, he found himself forgetting just what it was she’d asked. The further questions about the docks sobered him up, bringing the man back down to reality as his head nodded. “I’m, uh, I’m good. Was down there the night the, uh...news broke.” Four people, gone just like that. His teeth dug into the inside of his cheek. “How...how are you?” His eyebrows rose, curiously.
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