heatharlington:
Of course, it was him. Not the worst option of people they could have accidentally soaked and then offered a ride, but certainly not someone they would have chosen to spend any amount of time alone in a car with. It was too late now, though, no matter how hesitant Noah himself was. “Yeah, of course,” they said with a shrug, as if it was a no-brainer, and their entire being wasn’t thoroughly against it. Heath unlocked the door so that Noah could get in. The prospect of spending the next fifteen minutes or so in an enclosed space with someone who usually crossed the street when they were around, while he also dripped all over his leather upholstery, but they weren’t going to leave him out there now. It wasn’t even that they had anything against him. It was more that he seemed to have some weird feeling towards the band, probably because of his own musical inclinations, and Heath had never been very good at responding to weird vibes kindly.
“Get in, before you get any more soaked. I would offer you a towel or something, but I don’t really keep any in my car…It’s fucking freezing out there, though, you’re probably going to wake up with a cold tomorrow,” he said, turning to look back at the road, already ready to keep going and get this over with as quickly as possible. Maybe that wasn’t the thing to say, but they weren’t particularly bothered, because it was definitely true.
There was a small part of Noah that couldn’t help wondering if perhaps he’d actually been hit by the car that splashed him, and this was all some crazy coma dream. A far-fetched notion, sure, but not that much more implausible than what was actually happening. It wasn’t that Noah thought Heath was necessarily a bad person; he didn’t know them nearly well enough to make that kind of assessment. It was just that they were undeniably intimidating, and with Noah’s own musical ambitions coming awfully close to theirs, he’d always gone out of his way to avoid stepping on the others’ toes any further. Which meant he probably shouldn’t keep them waiting on top of all the other ways Noah was going to be inconveniencing Heath this evening. “Uh -- right, yeah,” Noah mumbled, moving forward and pulling the door open before he could change his mind.
The rain was pouring, pelting sideways into the interior of the car, and Noah got in as quickly as he could, clumsily situating his backpack and guitar in front of him before he was finally able the pull the door closed. The warmth hit him instantly, his body shivering as he adjusted to the welcome change in temperature. “Thanks.” It came out as an exhale, relief setting in despite the awkwardness the accompanied it, though it wasn’t long before the latter won out. Normally Noah would have complimented a car as nice as Heath’s, but that didn’t feel appropriate right now given the fact that he could already feel two separate puddles accumulating, one on his seat and one at his feet. He lifted a hand and brushed a chunk of wet hair off his forehead. “I...sorry about the um....the dripping. Uh -- I’m Noah, by the way.”
