it’s hard to say if she’s ever been this weak in the knees, this easy to submit. even with her own boyfriend talks back. acts difficult, bratty and– yes, he’s good, he’s always good, but the way noah puts his hands on her, the way he looks at her– well, at the moment it’s a bit better.
it almost makes her feel drunk, fingers curling into his t-shirt and eyes fluttering shut.
( ... )
Feeling the efficacy of the weed already, Noah became increasingly lustful by the softness of her skin beneath his fingers as they skimmed over more supple areas. His dick throbbed against the unforgivable tightness of his jeans, watching her bite her lower lip to keep herself in check and not wanting to give in that easily. Having a quick fuck wasn’t an option for them, this much he knew;—so, he didn’t want Elodie to give in and want to take his time to break her emitting attitude.
His desire to do so became internally prominent once she mentioned her boyfriend. Had she mentioned this before? Noah believed not, and he looked at her with slight amazement that she would be doing something this unruly under the contexts of so-called faithfulness. He was in no position to judge neither because he had been in the same position a few years ago and was most likely having sex with someone else’s girlfriend, or boyfriend, at a chaotic party. Yet, this disobedience was nothing short of lewdness and if this sultry woman wanted to be rowdy as per her spoken challenge, he was prepared to give it to her.
Noah encased Elodie’s throat with his hand—gently, but dominantly—while giving her ass a tiny, teasing squeeze. “Your boyfriend?” He emphasized, using his thumb at the crook of her jaw to make her look up at him again. “Fuck, you’re a naughty little thing, aren’t you?”
Forcing her backward with onward steps, he kept his hand at her throat and rose his other hand to entwine in her hair, disorderly guiding them back to his bed. “So, you came to me to get your cunt fucked because your man is too busy?” Noah asked, jerking her head back a bit by tugging at her hair. He kissed her again, open and thoughtless, because all he cared about right now was his corybantic mind and make Elodie orgasm into his mouth.
He freed her lips from their kiss and removed his hands from her hair and throat to push her down onto the bed, gauging just what kind of minx she truly was. “You want to be treated like a fucking whore?” Noah disclosed, pulling his shirt off and over his head. His tattoos came to life while he tossed the shirt aside, dropping onto his knees in front of her. “I’m going to make a loose woman out of you and you’ll be wishing your fucking boyfriend could make you cum as I can.”
Noah took a moment to glide his hands over her thighs, occasionally massaging tender flesh between his fingers, and sighed heavenly, ignoring the hearty throbbing within his jeans. He smacked her thighs impishly, the sound resounding in his room. “Open your legs for me, baby.” He directed, encouraging them apart with his hands.
Nestling himself between her legs, Noah hitched more of her skirt up and out of the way, admiring the panties that he assumed she had put on with him in mind, just like her entire outfit. He perched her legs over his shoulders, caressing them to and fro, and turned his head to press kisses on each inner thigh. The graceful moistness presented on her diaphanous underwear did not go unnoticed, the evidence causing him to nibble at her thighs before moving her legs again to spread them wantonly.
“Look at you,” Noah whispered, grazing his knuckles over the wet spot on her panties. “You’re fucking pretty with your legs spread and your pussy already crying for me.” He gave her nether regions a forbearing tap, hooking his fingers on the side of her panties to move them away in order to get a pleasant view.
He flicked hair from his face, testing the waters, per se, by rubbing his thumb over her clit and brought himself closer. Noah looked up at Elodie as he kissed her clit before running his tongue between her velvety folds, emitting a vibrative moan while his tongue worked in a constant movement, his lips operating in a sloppy kiss-like fashion. He briefly pulled away—licking his lips as he moved her underwear more to the side and placed two fingers in his mouth to wet them.
“Taste as sweet as I expected. I could eat your cute pussy out all day and I’m fucking going to,” Noah murmured, rubbing his wetted fingers against her clit while he spoke. “But first, I want to see if you can squirt for me.” He inserted his fingers and skillfully curved them to knead at that certain sweet spot. “Do you think you can do that for me? Does your boyfriend know how to make you squirt, huh?”
she’s so quick to chase after him, step into his personal space again with a frown. “well, you should have offered that first.” she holds the joint up, gives him an expectant look, like she can’t believe that he wouldn’t have offered that in the first place.
“kills two birds with one stone, yeah?” she hums, head tilting up at him, looking him over and lingering on his lips. “show me how.”
Noah had rolled his eyes and shrugged along with Elodie once she commented that the weed was merely alright—to each their own, he guesses. It’s when she strides into his personal space in return that made him have a fleeting thought that maybe suggesting they should indulge in ecstasy would be more of their style. Losing themselves in stimulation, delightfully sharing amplified pleasure from touches… His mind blanks for a moment when he takes the joint from her hold, imagining how luscious she would be shaking like a leaf beneath his touches.
Actually, hold that thought.
Noah could’ve offered the shotgunning method from the start but you can’t exactly blame him to see how much Elodie could take and handle on her own. With her lips hovering on his, he could’ve kissed her then and there, but he doesn’t. Instead, he simply hummed, using his thumb and forefinger to clasp at her chin, holding her head in place. “Kill two birds with one stone,” Noah echoed, gently. “Open that pretty mouth of yours for me and try to suck in as much as possible.”
He tilted his head safely away, bringing the joint to his lips, and inhaled deeply enough for two. He sucked in a sharp breath for good measure, reaching his thumb upwards to press against her bottom lip ever-so-slightly, and tilted his head forward to join their mouths together. It’s needless to say that Noah has kissed a fair share of people but there was always something exhilarating about kissing someone new. And, when he felt Elodie’s lips against his for the first time, it was invigorating, to say the least.
His kiss was nothing short of amatory, deep and tender, allowing him to skilfully exhale the hemp vapors into her mouth when their lips were not briefly locked. It was a sweet osculation, nothing too over the top yet and somewhat controlled by his persisting grip on the dainty chin to keep her in place. Elodie had her turn in teasing him—ever since she used her charms in the library to earn his attention, ever since she purposefully bent forward to display her gossamer panties—and he wasn’t going to allow her to completely direct this so-called game.
Noah expires the last of the smoke into her mouth and groans softly, moving his hand from the chin to grasp the back of her neck and concluded the kiss with a cushiony, audible pop while guiding her backward escorted by his grip at her nape. A few strands of hair had fallen over his eyes as he looked down at her, taking another leisurely drag from the joint and settled it in an ashtray on his desk without looking, memorizing where it was.
“How was that?” Noah whispered, his now-free hand settling on her chest and trailed steadily downwards over her breasts, over her abdomen, and stopped at the top hem of her skirt. “Was it still just alright?” His hand continued down more, snaking underneath the skirt to brush against the trimming of her panties.
“I hope not because I don’t want to waste our time counting our tattoos,” Noah cooed. “Plus, I’m really close to just wanting to eat you out but I’m trying to be slightly polite.”
he lets go of the bedsheet he’d been fumbling with to rub at his face and he clears his throat. “i, uh— i h-had the dream again,” milo chokes out eventually, doing his best to ignore just how shaken up he knew he sounded. he pushes his fingers into his hair and squeezes his eyes shut as he tugs at the strands desperately. “please,” he sighs, voice going quiet.
“i need you.”
Noah sat on the edge of his bed, shirtless, and with his face cradled in the palms of his hands. It was late in the night but probably still early to him since he had seemingly lost track of time ever since Halloween. Professors noted his—more than usual—lack of attention and absences, threatening to fail him on some days or stopped him in the hallways to express their concern. Yet, ever since he had (officially) broken up with Milo, his head was in the gutters and eventually stopped caring about… well, basically anything.
He hated it. He hated himself, despised the situation, and loathed the words that escaped his mouth that night. Milo didn’t deserve any of it—but, furthermore, he didn’t deserve Noah either. At least that’s what Noah convinced himself during dark evenings of turmoil and the spiralling abyss. Tonight was no different, and he was ready to succumb further into the darkness because that’s all he was good at, that’s all that his existence meant to him.
Hands pushed back his hair once he stood up, trudging over to his desk and opened the drawer that kept his secret stash of weed—illegal stimulants, hallucinogens, and other substances that could send him back to the hospital or rehab. However, these uppers and downers were always there for him when he needs them most; when he needed to escape, needed to forget, to have silence.
Noah rummaged through pill bottles and colorful packets until he pulled out a needle and syringe, already prepared with liquidated hard, substance. He breathed out a quivered sigh, shaking his head to quiet down the rational voices that echoed in his head as he stumbled into the chair. Retrieving a tourniquet from the floor that was once discarded, he held it in his mouth while giving his inner arm five harsh smacks to heat the area, making it easier to see a vein against the red that appeared on his skin.
Satisfied, Noah took a moment to run his fingertips over his past track marks before proceeding to tie the cord tightly around his arm. He was ready with the needle in position until he heard his phone ring from the bed. Who could be calling at this hour? It was in his nature to just ignore it, passing it up to be a prank call of sorts but there was a little inkling that only one person would dare to call him late at night.
So, he stood up without a second thought and tossed the syringe on the desk, making his way to the phone before it was too late. His fingers fumbled, almost dropping the phone at first, and tapped the answer button almost desperately. Noah didn’t even have a chance to mumble a ‘hello’ once he heard his name being said on the other end, the voice trembling and afraid.
He’s silent, conflicted on what to say and why he picked up in the first place. There’s awkwardness in the air as he just stands there, feeling rather idiotic, and swallows deeply. Noah knows why the other had called him for this had happened once or twice before—a nightmare far too real. He doesn’t say anything when Milo asks him to come over either, but he sits down on the bed again and undo the tourniquet around his arm. Noah looks around the room as what he feared is confirmed on the other line, pinching the bridge of his nose when he hears the vulnerability laced in the voice.
It’s when he hears the quiet plead of ‘please’ and ‘I need you’ that snaps him back into whatever senses he still had, shifting through disposed of shirts on his bed while supporting the phone between his cheek and shoulder. “I’ll be there as soon as possible, baby,” Noah vowed, the pet name rolling off his tongue naturally and obliviously. He found a random shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head, slipping on the first pair of shoes he could find because he didn’t care at this moment.
“Do you hear me? I’m going to be there for you.”
╰ ––––––– ✧ Noah is out of breath when he reaches Milo’s door, having to sprint from the western tower to the basement where Hwaseong dormitories were located. His throat is tight from worry and exhaustion, giving himself a minute to catch his breath before knocking on the door.
He cleared his throat. “Milo?” Noah whispered loud enough, pressing his palm and forehead against the door. “Babe, it’s me. Let me in. Let me see you. I’m here now.”
Everyone knew there was a particular seat in the library that was a godsend. The one, certain seat that was a sweet haven for both slackers and studiers alike. Where the sun shone at the right angle through the windows, illuminating words clearly in books—almost highlighting sentences—while people studied. Where, in colder seasons, heat from the school’s radiators was just warm enough to keep layabouts cozy as they drifted into slumber after an unforgiving day, battling with the frigid weather.
Noah knew the one. In fact, whenever he was in the library, he always made time to go and search for it, to see if it was occupied. It was only his misfortune that every time he did scope out the seat, hoping that it was available, the same girl he noticed each time would be sitting there; hogging up space and studying for hours. Maybe he was unlucky due to his schedule, coming in the library late and losing the seat due to time. Perhaps it was just some invisible force telling him to stop using the library to knock out and sleep in his perfectly, single dorm room without disturbances.
But, he just had to know what the hype was about.
Therefore, Noah made a plan. On the weekend, he would wake up early enough to be the first student in the library when it opened and make a beeline for the so-called heavenly spot. And, that’s what he did on one Saturday.
Jolting out of bed once he heard his alarm ring, he threw on some quick sweatpants and matching hoodie, slipped into comfortable sneakers, and headed straight to the library, bringing his backpack just in case to fool the faculty that he was there to study. Noah’s plan was working out so far since he was there, bright and early before the library’s doors were even open. He gave the staff member a thumbs up at their slightly shocked expression of seeing him at stupid o’clock and trotted past clean tables, neat aisles to reach his destination.
Finally, the seat was fucking vacant. Noah tossed his bag on the table, mouthing a thankful ‘fuck yeah’ and carefully sat in the seat. He basked in the sun’s rays and the snug warmth, leaning back in the chair to prop his feet on top of the table. To perfect this moment, he pulled out an edible brownie from his hoodie’s pocket and chewed its heavenly bliss in the seat that he could, at long last, see (feel) what the hype was about.
Now, he just prayed that no one would bother him or ask him to move after all his hard work.
they try taking another hit, focusing on just inhaling rather than getting too lost in actual thought, and then they listen to nosh as the exhale goes smoothly, better than the last. they hand back the joint at the gesture, and sigh at noah’s readings. “i just broke up with someone, so i hope that constitutes as enough change.”
( ... )
Noah looked away after he reclaimed the joint from Sage, feeling slightly awkward at the other’s confession. He knew as much as the next person that breaking up with someone was certainly a struggle but ultimately a change whether it was good or bad. Most of the time, he considered break-ups to be a good thing, especially if he wasn’t compatible with the other person; bringing changes to his life that either opened up new experiences with someone else or make him revaluate what went wrong (which he seldom did, honestly). It was more of a reason why he was grateful that ending his relationship with Forsythia happened on good, mutual terms.
He inhaled the blunt and exhaled without much thought. “I guess it is a change,” Noah thought out loud. “Whether or not it’s a good change is up to you and the stars. I’m sorry to hear it though, man.” He could’ve easily gone on a tangent about his own break-ups, recent and old, but decides to hold his tongue—especially for one in a particular that still freshly pierced his heart.
So, he inhales again and holds it in longer than before; standing up, ready to let the weed make him forget about all about that bullshit. Once again, Noah turns on his heel and points to his face as he breathes out fumes. “How will I look nice without thinking?” He echoed his friend’s words, finding them rather silly. “You always look fucking nice! How many times do I have to say it until that pretty head of yours finally gets it?”
“Look at you. All you’re doing is sitting and you look radiant,” Noah expressed, wiggling his fingertips in the air as if confetti fell from them. “I know you have trouble relaxing, man, but for once, can you at least try switching off the serious button? Unless you want to have a serious fucking night, then I can get super fucking serious,” He said, leaving the joint hanging between his lips as he crossed his arms.
“We can sit and brood until the ass crack of dawn if that’s your definition of fun.”
well that was until the other man called out to him. He couldn’t exactly say no to helping someone right next to him, ( he had just read a book to winnie about always lending a happy hand ). “ yes sure, what textbook are you looking for?” elias questioned, giving the other a polite smile, “ did you forget your glasses or your contacts? i know how bad that could be.”
Oh, thank god.
Noah was relieved when the man offered to help because one, he really didn’t feel like walking all the way to the front desk and two, well—it was the same as the first reason; he was just lazy and feeling that the drug's effect wearing off, he was beginning to crash. All he wanted to do was retrieve this stupid book, toss it in some forgotten corner in his room and take a long nap.
He pulled out a crumpled post-it note from his pocket and unfolded it, squinting at the words even though he brought the piece of paper close to his eyes. “I’m looking for… A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages,” Noah stated in one breath and cleared his throat.
An eyebrow arched at the comment about him forgetting his glasses or contacts as he stuffed the note back in his pocket. Great. Was this guy going to give him a lecture about wearing glasses and protecting his eyesight? He had heard it all before. Get some glasses so you can stop bumping into people. Where are your contacts if you can’t see what’s written on the board? Go get your vision checked before you blow up the classroom, Mr. Reed. Noah was tired of it.
So, he merely shrugged. “I can’t be bothered with glasses or contacts,” Noah deadpanned. “I’m probably beyond helping at this point because of all the shit I keep injecting into my body.” He stopped his sentence there, not exactly comfortable sharing more of his habits, though he probably already said enough.
He changed the direction of the conversation. “With all the millennia magic has been around, isn’t there a spell to fix people’s eyesight? Wave a wand and everyone could have twenty-twenty vision or something.”
“you already know my safe word,” she bit back. “must i remind you?”
her smile showed the glint of her teeth - she was playing with him too, in the sense of a lion playing with its prey. it was too obvious that she was enjoying every second of this. the wind sweeping the green gave the countdown to their duel a more dramatic air, whipping her long skirt around her knees and sending her hair in wisps around her face like a crown of thorns. the elements tousled noah, too - forsythia found herself remembering a time when this visual of him, handsomely windswept and daring before her, would have left her in a complete wreckage.
“do your worst,” she demanded.
( ... )
Noah knew what he was doing when he teasingly called Forsythia ‘sweet mama’—a pet name that he personally liked but merited an earful when they were a couple. Even though he knew that she tolerated his pet names due to the soft, small smiles that occasionally crept on her lips, there was no denying that she was still heavily annoyed by them. And, that’s exactly what he wanted her to feel for this duel. Despite her agreeing to it quite easily, he knew that she would be a challenging opponent if he pushed her buttons exactly right.
He held his hands up defensively, feeling kittenish at her swift quips. Noah racked his brain for all the curses he had learned over the semester, visualizing real and fake incantations alike. There was confringo, a spell that he had warned was extremely dangerous if not handled responsibly and the last thing he wanted to do was blast this lovely woman into the fourth dimension.
Mucus ad Nauseam was one he particularly enjoyed, and he recalled the time he secretly cast it on a professor so he (his classmates included) could get out of lecture—but he cared about Forsythia’s well-being and appearance far too much to give her a nasty cold off the fly. Noah tapped his wand against the side of his temple in thought. There was a curse to make the other person belch up slugs—no, that would be pretty disgusting.
He envisioned one that could make a person’s legs either lock up or wobble and as his eyes skimmed over the long skirt that enveloped Forsythia’s legs, Noah mused over the amusing image of her trying to walk prim and proper when she couldn’t. Like when she tried to walk away from his bed after a fervent, intimate session that one night. He almost laughed aloud, his weed-influenced imagination tickling his fond memories.
But, what was the name of that fucking spell? Mimble Wibbly? No. Reducto Mortis? He felt like he was getting close. Expulso Imperio? He was just sounding plain stupid now.
Noah twirled the wand in his hand and—fuck it, he was just going to say the first thing that came to his mind that sounded moderately correct. He waved his wand in the air, directing the magical energy towards Forsythia (praying that she didn’t counter it), and shouted, “Petrificus Totalus!”
Instantaneously, the gears in his mind started working once the incantation was spoken, turning pages in his mental textbook and remembered… that was the wrong fucking spell. Noah heard his professor ghostly nagging in his ear when he fell asleep in the back of the class only to be awoken to a series of finger snaps to get his attention. Don’t mess around with Petrificus Totalus—snap, snap—It can fully bind a person’s body—snap—Are you paying attention, Mr. Reed?
And, Mr. Reed was pretty sure he went back to sleep during the introduction of how to undo the curse, as well.
Noah blinked dumbly and it was already too late. Forsythia did say that he could do his worst so maybe she could give him a pass for casting the wrong spell. However, how could she do anything if she was… paralyzed on the ground… most likely planning out how to kill him… regretting her choice of duelling with his dumbass, who didn’t even know how to unbind her? He dropped his wand and ran over to her with haste.
and it’s why she takes her time, finger tapping the top of the bottles, before picking one and straighting back up. her gaze is sharp as she watches him, focused on his lips, the joint between and says, “i haven’t, if you can believe it.” it wasn’t that she didn’t deal with drugs, she just hadn’t ever gotten to it, found the right moment, but now is better than never. elodie steps closer, eyes flicking up to his as she carefully takes the joint from his fingers and says, as coy and sweet as ever, “you might have to teach me– if you don’t mind, that is.”
( ... )
I’m not a classy boss. Yeah, Noah knew that alright. Whether it was the way Elodie presented herself to him or the small talk they shared (which may have had subtle undertones to some but spoke volumes to them)—he knew that she was far from being classy. It was refreshing, nonetheless, to be in the company of someone who wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty right off the bat without having to move through bushes of boring pleasantries and ‘buy me dinner first’ obstacles.
When he watched Elodie make her way to the mini-fridge, he doesn’t waste a second to admire the way her skirt rides up just enough to reveal her delicate panties as she bends over. Noah felt kind of dumb just standing there in her presence, the weed’s fumes circulating out of his nose carelessly as it intertwined with the smoke that emitted from his lips; his mouth hanging slightly open, distracted by the lovely sight. He doesn’t know what’s arousing him more: the fact that Elodie was a sight to behold or that she knew how to play this game perfectly.
Now, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Noah remained composed as Elodie closed the distance between them and removed the joint from his possession. He had smirked at her confession about not smoking weed before, smiled at the suggestion for him to show her how it’s done while he reached up to brush some of her hair behind a shoulder.
“It’s pretty easy,” Noah began, pushing himself from his desk to saunter behind Elodie. He settled one hand on her waist and used his other hand to enclose over her own that held the joint. Close enough to feel her press against him, Noah leaned down just a bit to peek over her shoulder as he continued, moving their hands together to bring the blunt to her lips.
“All you need to do is inhale as much as you can handle,” He instructed, nose gently brushing against the curve of her neck as he breathed in her perfume and pressed a kiss against the skin. “Try to draw it to your lungs and hold it in for a bit, then exhale steadily.” Another kiss was pressed to her skin.
Noah retreated from her personal space and took hold of the beer of her choice from her other hand, opening it easily. “If you don’t want to do that, there is another way,” He added, placing the bottle on his desk. “It’s called shotgunning. I’ll inhale, we have a kiss and I blow the smoke into your mouth.”
“i feel nothing. but it is strange you told me. she has a boyfriend right now. it’d be best if you didn’t say offense facts.” he tries again, inhaling. deep, and then letting it go. he does cough again, but not nearly as bad. “i dont care about forsythia’s sex life. i only care about yours slightly more. which is to say, still none.”
( ... )
In the back of his mind, Noah expected Sage’s reply to be, well, just that—but, you can’t really blame him for being curious about it. Actually, you could and probably should. Maybe he had sex with someone’s aunt at a messy party, made out with a person’s uncle at a rave for all he knew; yet, it was kind of rare to be… whatever he was with Forsythia, is with Sage and remain on good terms. At least the question was out of the way and Noah guessed his curiosity was sated, so he playfully jabbed a finger in the air at his friend’s direction.
“Ahaa! You care a little about my sex life?” Noah exclaimed and clapped his hands once. “That’s enough for me and I’ll take it!” He sat back down, wondering if this was a slight opening in their friendship that could be more open with each other. Of course, he didn’t want to pry or stick his nose where it didn’t belong in Sage’s private life, but he at least wanted the other to know that he could lend an ear for any trouble. Offensive facts or not.
Noah draped his arm over the bench and scratched the bridge of his nose. “By the way, you looked ugly both times despite the coughing. A cute ugly, though,” he admitted, waving his hand dismissively. “I think you’re overthinking it. When you inhale, you should ride with the hit rather than relying on it to take you to cloud nine. So, just relax and cool down the seriousness, okay?” He looked up at the clear, night sky and watched the star dance in their dazzling brilliance.
“Y’know, I did some planetary readings today at the astronomy tower. For the club and all that,” Noah yawned, stretching out his legs. “Seems like all the planets alignments are going to bring some exhausting cosmic weather, but also a chance for change and figuring things out before the year is over,” He turned his head to Sage and extended his palm as a gesture to take the joint back.
“Maybe we should swim in their planetary currents and change for the better.”
“i could always… join you.” she suggests, casual, like she wasn’t basically offering herself to him. she leans forward, subtly innocent, but anything but. “if you don’t mind, that is.” something told her that he didn’t.
and elodie laughs a little. “i didn’t actually.” she admits. “but it’s nice to meet you, noah.” very nice.
“elodie. i’m elodie. but honestly, you can call me whatever you want.”
I’m sure that I can make the time. Noah sat back in his chair at the verification and declared it to be the first tick of being coaxed further into this teasing game. She knew what she was about, what she wanted, and he couldn’t deny that it was exciting to him. His sex life was pretty generous, despite all things considered, and he had his fair share of unique people to participate in that pleasure. She was no different—yet, different enough to titillate him in a way he hadn’t felt in a while.
He boldly mentioned the fact that he was about to smoke as a test if you will; to see what she thought of that when he wasn’t blind that most people agreed with the act. She could’ve quickly ended their conversation, admitting that it wasn’t her thing and probably seek out someone else who had a straighter edge. Yet, she didn’t and passed the test. Noah swallowed and replied softly, “I don’t mind at all.”
Eventually, she introduced herself properly and Noah smiled at her name. It had a nice ring to it. However, once he heard the suggestion that he could call her whatever he wanted, it was the final tick he needed to leave the library and at least take Elodie back to his room. He stood up, throwing his textbook into his bag, and draped it over his shoulder. Noah moved to be in front of her then and reached to take her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips and kissed it swiftly.
“Wanna ditch these losers and have some real fun with me, baby?” He asked coyly.
╰ ––––––– ✧ And, once they arrived at Noah’s room, his domain wasn’t messy but it wasn’t exactly perfect either. Sheets laid haphazardly on top of the bed since he was too lazy to fix it after waking up early to do laundry, and a few articles of clothing were thrown over a chair for when he planned to go out later in the evening. A sweet fragrance lingered in the air from the candles he lit up right before class to mask the scent of weed. Luckily, Noah remembered to throw away used needles and the like when he did laundry as well because that’s something he never knew how people would take.
He held the door open for Elodie to enter and tossed his bag onto the floor afterward. “Make yourself at home, babe,” Noah welcomed, shrugging off his cardigan to reveal a plain, black short-sleeved shirt, and more of his tattoos were displayed. “There’s water and beer in the mini-fridge if you want some. Pretty sure there’s wine as well if you’re feeling classy.”
Noah sauntered over to his desk, digging through the top drawer, and pulled out a small glass container already stocked with pre-rolled joints. “Have you smoked before?” He asked, plucking one out. He turned back around with an amused, raised eyebrow; the blunt already snuggled between his lips as he lit and inhaled. His hand extended forward, offering Elodie to take a hit.
regardless, she was not passing up on this chance. bold despite her shaky limbs and racing pulse, she moved, shifted until she had actually crawled up his back and clung to him piggyback-style. thankfully her tifa outfit made it easy to move in. “you’re going to escort me out of here. safely. this is your mission, noah.” she said decisively, voice leaving little to no room for possible arguments. not that he had any option but to oblige; with the way her arms secured their spot around his neck.
Although Noah wanted his time in the haunted house to be a solo experience, he would be lying if he didn’t say that seeing a familiar face was a relief. However, he didn’t exactly have time to process it once he saw her silhouette move in the darkness, soon climbing onto his back. He barely had time, for that matter, to instinctively bring his arms up to cradle her legs comfortably in his hands to secure her place.
“Uh…” Noah breathed out, his mind reeling and trying to play catch-up. Miyoung wanted him to do… what? How could he possibly escort her out of this wretched place when he couldn’t even figure out where the exit was? Yet, he couldn’t just leave her here even if there was an inkling of him wanting to do so. It wouldn’t be fair, and based on her fearful actions, it wouldn’t be funny either.
“Okay, okay,” he acquiesced. Moving his neck to relieve some pressure from her grasp, Noah looked over his shoulder to scout the area out. “Just ease up a little, will you? If you choke me to death before I get us out of here, that would be really fucking lame.” He mumbled and proceeded to walk straight ahead.
Noah removed a hand from the underside of Miyoung’s leg and hugged the wall again, trying to get a feel of their surroundings and if there was another corner he should take. He heard the eerie waves of laughter and moans from the ghosts that were toying with them, groaning himself in discontent. A spirit peaked its head out from the wall without warning and Noah almost had the nerve of punching the wall, possibly injuring his hand like a dumbass, but instead skidded by the ghost by putting hops to his steps.
“What are you doing here anyway?” He asked once he turned a corner. “Aren’t you afraid of ghosts? Though if you’re facing your fears, I guess that is pretty sexy.”
At this point in the school year, Noah practically made the library his second room. Not in the sense of using the annex to study hours on end like most well-educated students, but to take a goddamn moment to rest his eyes. Apart from the comfort of his dorm room, he found the library to be cozy all in the same. More often than not, however, the reasons why he stumbled into the library was because he was crashing down from a high or trying to avoid certain responsibilities.
Noah considered making his own ‘space’ within the library a few times—in a hardly used area where no-one frequently visited, where dust collected on shelves and worn corners caught the sunlight at a perfect angle. Yet, recently, he would repeatedly stumble to one particular table every other day. Perhaps it was because he was too lazy, too tired, to find another table. Maybe it was because he was drawn, per se, to this one student who he swears actually lived in the library.
Seriously, every time Noah was there either to nap or to borrow a book, he would see her and the schooling fumes that emitted from her head. Did she ever take a break? Did she ever eat? Studying wasn’t that important, he believed—and that was probably why he was merely an average student, just trying to get by. Noah found out that her name was Hana by having a rather… awkward conversation after he apologized for snoring so loud that it even woke him up. Subsequently, whenever they did have small talks here and there, their chats flowed more easily but still kind of tricky.
Today was no different.
Noah had fallen asleep again at the table, sitting adjacent to Hana. He was trying to brush up on some astrology, really, to bring back to the club when they had their next meeting. But all those words, all of those charts, started to blend together as he felt his eyelid grow heavy. With his nose buried deep in the book, he woke up after having an eerie dream and when he realized that he was still in the library, he wished the dream carried out for a bit longer.
And, there Hana was, still studying madly away.
“Hana,” Noah croaked tiredly. He glanced up at a wall clock and sighed, resting his chin on the book. “It’s been almost two hours and I can see your brain pulsating from here. Take a break, yeah? Let’s get something to eat.”
