All I Need - Roah
Reed The cold air hit Reed's face immediately as she began walking from her apartment towards Noah's, with little white dog in tow. She was becoming used to the cold weather of Easton, after being so used to the sunshine of Los Angeles. Immediately noticing the buildings of Tribeca from a distance, grinning at the beautiful structure of the complex. Entering in to the building, getting buzzed into the building almost instantly and walking her way quickly to Noah's place. Her newly manicured hand lifted up to softly knock on the door as she stood there, the small dog sitting beside her feet, his tail wagging out of excitement.
Noah He wasn't sure why he reached out to the brunette. But he did know that he missed her. He missed the simple things, like curling up at night and catching up on shows they had seen a billion times, while fingers played with her hair, the dogs cuddled together on their beds. His conversation with her earlier was just a reminder of what he didn't have anymore. Noah was in the kitchen when he heard the buzz of the apartment, immediately allowing her up. Jet was bounding at the door already, and when the knock came, the bigger dog began sniffing intently at the bottom crack. Shaking his head with a laugh, he moved to pull open the door, revealing the brunette and the smaller dog, "Hey you," he greeted to Reed, a smile stretching to his lips.
Reed The conversation that she had with Noah earlier really brought back some memories, only good ones though. Ever since then, all she could think about was talking to him again or seeing him again, and the moment that he reached out to her that same night to ask her to come over, immediately caused her to smile. Maybe this was good, they were talking again, they weren't arguing like they were when they first reunited, but they were just talking, like they used to do. She could hear the faint sounds of tiny nails scraping along the floor on the inside and heard a sound of sniffing coming from the other side, immediately causing Reed's dog to do the same and begin sniffing around the bottom crack of the door. Grinning softly as she saw Noah standing in the doorway. "Hey, I come bearing gifts." Smiling as she lifted up the small box of cheesecake.
Noah The dark haired man was nothing less than happy to see Reed, thought, he couldn't help but wonder how the evening would turn out. All he knew was that he didn't want it to end in a fight. It took more effort to argue with her then anything else in the world, and his body and emotions were simply tired of it. "You're an angel," Noah breathed out, opening the door to let her and the dog inside. The latter who had run past him and scattered around the apartment with his already. Shutting the door behind them, he headed to the kitchen in hopes that she would follow, "Want anything to drink?" he started heading towards the fridge, "I've got whipped cream too, in case they forgot it for the cheesecake, in which case I'd suggest you never go back to that awful place again."
Reed Reed simply bit down on her bottom lip as she stepped inside, letting her dog off his leash to let him run around Noah's apartment along with Jet. "Wow, you're place is nice. A lot nicer than mine. I guess this is what money can get you?" She said not even thinking about her words, her dark eyes scanning around the open space, thinking about her apartment now and the old place they used to share together back in LA. Both very different from one another, a lot of things were very different now that Reed was in Easton and living alone. Shrugging her shoulders, following Noah in to the kitchen, "I'm good for now thanks." Shaking her head, placing the cheesecake on the counter, opening the box. "Do you really think I'd buy a cheesecake without making sure they gave me whipped cream for it? Do you know me at all?" Reed asked, furrowing her brows, soon letting out a small laugh, dipping her finger in the dollop of whipped cream on one of the pieces and licking it off, a small laugh escaping from her lips.
Noah There was a guilty pit rising in his stomach at her words. "I guess," he brushed off, for fear that the subject would start some type of bitter argument between the two. He found himself grabbing out a water, shrugging off her denial for something to drink, and he grabbed out the whipped cream just in case. Laughing, he shook his head, mimicking her movements, "I know you best actually," he began dropping the cream into his mouth, "I was just worried you were in such a rush to see my face that you didn't check to see if they had given it to you," he continued, an eye winking out at her. Opening a drawer, he pulled out two forks, handing open to her as he kept the other, "Is it still awful outside? This is the one time I miss LA."
Reed Reed let out a nervous laugh, knowing that he probably did know her best, probably better than she knew herself, but wasn't really sure how to react to that. "I don't rush over to see your face anymore..." She drifted, taking hold of one of the forks, immediately digging into the creamy dessert that sat infront of them. Taking a bite of the cake, nodding her head towards him. "Yea, it's really bad out. I nearly slipped and fell three times on the way over. It's practically a sheet of ice out there." Shaking her head. Trying to figure out why Noah still had such power over Reed. If it were anyone else asking her to go over in that weather, she definitely would have denied it, as she really could have injured herself if she had fallen on the ice. It boggled her mind that he still had such an effect on her. "Yea, LA was nice, we didn't have to worry about slippery roads, or cold winds. It was always so nice!"
Noah Placing on his best puppy dog face, he glanced down, "Oh.." he trailed, not knowing whether or not he had crossed some line between them. He followed her suit again, catching a bit of the dessert on the edge of his fork and indulging, making sure to grab some whipped cream on the tip before doing so. "I warned you," he started, "You should have called me, I would have driven to get you instead," he continued on. His fingers trailed along the counter aimlessly as they spoke, his eyes not leaving her. Forking up another piece, he nodded as she spoke of their time out on the west coast, "I know, and the beach was right there, it felt like there wasn't really a time where you couldn't go to it." He shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip of water before leaning his body against the counter top, "I'm sorry if this is..uncomfortable, I just, I wanted to see you," he started, hand rubbing the back of his neck, "I miss you..you know."
Reed Nodding her head, shrugging her shoulders and thinking about the ice outside, and the journey she'd have to take back to her apartment. "It's fine, I like the fresh air anyways. But I might just get you to drive me home later then. Not too sure I want to risk it later on." Taking in another piece of the cheesecake, letting it dance over her taste buds, setting her fork down before lifting herself up to sit on the counter top, before resuming with digging her fork into the dessert. "Easton needs a beach, right on the campus or something, is that really too much to ask for?." Shaking her head, letting out a small laugh. Reed could feel the mood of the room change right when Noah spoke up again. Her dark eyes trailing to look over at his light ones that were staring back at her. "Uhm- it's not uncomfortable..." she replied, wanting to reassure him of that, even if it was a little uncomfortable to her. "Yea... I miss you too. A lot." she said, biting down on the corner of her lip, her eyes still gazing towards his.
Noah There was a thought plaguing on his mind, he knew the weather was bad, and her words made the thought more prominent. "That's fine," he began, fingers pausing on the counter for a moment, "If it gets too bad you're more then welcome to stay.." he trailed, immediately wondering if he had again crossed some sort of line as the words passed through his lips. Only filling his fork with whipped cream this time, he chuckled at her suggestion, his face peering up at her new higher level. "I mean, you'd need to relocate the entire campus to a place near the ocean, but for you Reed Brennan, I think the exception should be made." He teased with her. A brief silence fell through them, he couldn't even hear the dogs anymore as she spoke. He rounded his side of the counter moving to come face to face with her, arms falling on either side of her legs that rested on the counter, his head angling up at her, "There was a big part of me that thought you didn't.."
Reed Reed simply grinned as he had offered for her to stay over, she left it at that, with no response continuing to snack on the cake that sat on the counter. Letting out a small laugh, nodding her head with a wide grin, "I sure think so, move the entire school so that I can go to the beach. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it." Smiling with a profound nod, quickly biting on to her fork again, noticing the dessert quickly disappearing right in front of them. The moment of silence between them was a little eery, causing her heart to beat even faster than it already was. Biting on the inside of her lip, her eyes scanned down to look at her lap. "Why would you think that?" Reed asked softly, her stare lurking back up to look over at Noah's light eyes, the pair of eyes that she had fallen in love with so long ago. "Of course I miss you, Noah. It's impossible for me not to miss you, especially when every morning I wake up with an empty spot next to me in my bed and the same when I go to bed each night."
Noah He was glad the offer wasn't denied - though it wasn't agreed to either, it felt like some sort of step for them. One he wasn't sure they would have ever crossed through. He found his laughter mixing with hers, a memory of their past together again. "And the dean will just see everyone's grade point average plummet, and we'll lose the prestigious Easton name," he mocked out. Noah's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, just then becoming aware of how close he had moved to her. "I wasn't the greatest with it, you left months ago..I should have tried to come see you earlier.." he was beginning to ramble, his reasons not even clear to himself as to why he thought what he did. Her words rang true, and he often found himself still waiting for the brunette hair to lazily be tossed on the pillow beside him, but it never was. "I'm sorry," he found himself saying, "For all of this going wrong..for not putting you first."
Reed Letting out a small laugh and shaking her head at the thought of it all. "The prestigious Easton name could probably use a little truth to it. The people here are far from prestigious." Shaking her head, biting down on the corner of her lip. Without realizing the space between them was becoming smaller and smaller, her dark eyes kept their stare on his, listening to the soft tone of his voice, her skin becoming warm, and her heart beating fast, sure that he would be able to hear it nearly beating out of her chest. "I know you are. There isn't much we can really do to change it now though. We could just keep having the same argument over and over again, we could just keep saying everything we've been saying, but it isn't going to get us anywhere. I know you're sorry, and I appreciate that." Nodding her head, licking her lips a dragging her teeth along her bottom lip as she did so, trying her best to not let the lump in the back of her throat take over.
Noah He new the truth behind her statement, he was pretty sure anyone who spent even a small amount of time at the high school knew that the town itself was far from prestigious - the drama was wild, the town members even worse some days. But it had a strange feeling of home to many people, and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to wrap his head around that bit. "Probably, but that's how we lure our newcomers in," he mused with a smile. There was a growing bit of nerves surfacing through him now, he wanted to kiss her, to just get that piece back even if it was just for the moment. Leaning forward at her words, he dropped his forehead against hers, refusing to let either of them walk away from it. "Tell me one thing," he began, his breath hitching with closeness, "Can I do anything to fix it?"
Reed As they were getting closer and closer to one another, Reed had to fight everything in her power not to plant her lips on his forcefully, wrap her arms around him and never let go. She wanted to feel that again, but she figured it would be the worst thing to do for her well being and for the possibility of a friendship after all they had been through together. They had been through hell and back as a couple and she figured they've been through too much to give up on any kind of relationship between them. Reed took a deep breath, feeling his forehead rest against hers, causing her to swallow hard, figuring it was easy to hear as the lump went down her throat. Her dark eyes fell shut softly, "I don't know, Noah." Reed's eyes fluttered open to look directly into his. "There probably is... But I don't know what..." Her voice drifted as her hand raised to rest against his face, her thumb rubbing along his jaw line.
Noah He never had a question in his mind that Reed was the one. It wasn't easy by any means, they had more rough patches then a bad snow storm, but even with everything, he still wanted her. It had taken some adjustment thinking about life without her, but he would be lying if he said he didn't think they would still end up together. Maybe that's why he had invited her, not only for some memories, but just to find out if he wasn't the only one. Their words were hushed now, spoken just between them. His heart fell at the beginning of her words, they sounded lost, and given up. He found himself instinctively leaning into her touch. One hand reached up to wrap a piece of her hair along itself, "I'd give it all up for you," he started, voice low, "I just don't think I can do this alone anymore.."
Reed It had always been a thought in Reed's head, ever since she left LA, that someday Noah and her would find each other eventually and maybe things would have changed. But she also didn't expect that they would meet up again so early after she left. Now it was different though, since he had returned to Easton, her vision was completely different and backwards. Biting on the inside of her mouth, and continuing to swallow back the lump growing in her throat. Something had sparked inside of Reed all of a sudden, Noah's words sank into her head, "You can't do it alone? You were practically doing it alone before, Noah. I didn't do anything but go to school, go to work and sleep. We never saw each other, you were doing it alone, whether you believe it or not." Reed spat out, her hand falling from his face, and her forehead moved from his.
Noah He was letting his guard down, the softness falling between them comforting him, pushing worries away that maybe the night wouldn't turn out well. The man clearly hadn't picked his words wisely in the last round, and she pulled from him, the words sickly through the air at him. He had no choice but to retreat as well, his body moving to rest against the counter behind him now, arms crossing over his chest. Noah hated to admit that there was a bubble growing in his throat. It wasn't nerves anymore, but anger and sadness threatening to escape, and he feared it would be the latter this time around. "I get it, I really do, trust me Reed, I believed it every single time I sat in some read through, or I was on some shoot, or sitting on a red eye for some shit or another," he breathed out bitterly, "But I didn't have a choice, I didn't think you would just leave."
Reed Reed was now aware of where this was going, words were being bit out and voices were slowly raising and her skin was getting warm out of anger and frustration. She thought she should've known better than to think they wouldn't end up arguing about something. But the petite brunette was annoyed by it all, wanting for it to just end, the bitter arguing was pointless and wouldn't get them anywhere. "Look, I get it, you didn't have a choice. And I felt like I didn't have a choice but to leaveI don't know if it was the right thing to do, but it felt right at the time." Reed shrugged her shoulders, running a hand through her dark locks. Not knowing what else to say, Reed simply let her eyes fall over on to Noah. "I can't keep doing this, I can't keep arguing with you. It doesn't get us anywhere."
Noah Noah's eyes had fallen from her, deciding to take interest in his kitchen floor. It seemed hopeless for them to have a conversation that didn't include them lashing at each others throats. Blame tossing to and from each other and sticking to whoever was most vulnerable at the moment. He couldn't take it anymore - the never ending blame game. He was afraid that it would rip them so far apart that not only would the good memories they had in the past fade away with anger, but that there would be no hope from either side on a future. Her words peered through, and he lifted his eyes, still trying to contain the growing bubble in his throat. "I agree," he breathed out. "We made our choices, and I guess this is us paying for them" he continued on, "But you're right, arguing gets us nowhere, and I'm afraid it's just going to end even worse then it already is." It was like waving a white flag, and the man ran a hand through his hair, "You asked me earlier how I decided I wanted to marry you," he started, taking the steps over to return to his previous position, "I meant what I said when I told you that I couldn't picture my life waking up next to anyone else, and now might not be the best time to say it, but that still stands."
Reed Reed was starting to feel at ease. Noah's tone of voice was softening and it sent a sense of calm through her veins and all over her skin. The warmth that was created by frustration was soon cooling off and Reed crossed her arms across her chest loosely. She was thinking about his words very carefully, noticing how they were agreeing finally, they were agreeing that the bickering wasn't going to get them anywhere except further apart from each other. Once Noah mentioned Reed's previous question, he brought up and mentioned why he in fact wanted to marry her. Their reasons were exactly the same, Reed had said yes because she couldn't picture spending her life with anyone else, waking up next to anyone else. The lump that had previously been growing in the back of her throat was appearing again "Me either. I could never see myself with anyone else, could never see myself spending my days with anyone else... I still can't." Shaking her head, looking down at her lap, her eyes looking back up into his eyes.
Noah He wondered if this was the end of it. The end of whatever argument would unfold for the evening. His mind was beginning to ease again, though he still wasn't sure whether or not it would spark up. He hoped not, he wanted to have the evening just with her, not with any arguments. Noah didn't expect her words. For some reason he had spent the past few weeks convincing himself that she wanted to move on, that she didn't want to be with him, but now guilt was filling him for even thinking about it. He let out a small sigh, a hand coming to cup her chin, bringing her eye level with him, "Try again with me?" he found himself pleading, "We can play by all your rules, I"ll watch six episodes of Friends if you ask me too."
Reed Reed bit down on my bottom lip, thinking about everything that had happened lately with them. Although that day they seemed to have turned some sort of corner. They had constantly been arguing and that night seemed to be a turning point. They bickered but quickly they had stopped and were exchanging soft words with one another. Reed wanted to try again, all she wanted to do was be with Noah again, she wanted to immediately say yes, she wanted to jump up and yell it out. But her mind was stopping her, her mind kept going back to the times in LA. "Noah... How do I know it's not just gonna be the same? What if your career really takes off, and you have to leave here at the drop of a hat. I really can't live like that again..." She said, her voice drifting as well as her eyes, trying not to keep eye contact, not wanting to see his eyes as she spoke.
Noah Noah wasn't entirely sure how he could make such a promise. He knew very well that in a few days he'd be leaving to see the opening ceremony at the Olympics, supporting Spencer. He had a ticket to the ice skating event, but he wasn't sure his schedule allotted him time to do all of that. And in a little under a month he'd be back in LA, filming a few episodes for work. It would be just like old times, nothing changing on his end, in fact he'd even be doing far worse. He swallowed back, head gently falling back, eyes to the ceiling, "It's a conditional role.." he began, "The one for this show..I can back out whenever I want before shooting starts.." he let his eyes fall back, "If that's what I need to do to get this to work again," he paused, mind screaming at him, heart thumping out of his chest, "I'll do it."
Reed It was so hard for Reed to not just say yes to everything. To going back to everything they were, thinking about all the good times they had together, trying to push away the bad times. The late nights that she spent alone, the mornings where she woke up only to have Noah walk out the door to get to work. Shaking her head at all the thoughts that were swarming around in her mind, trying to shake them out. "You are not doing that, Noah. If you were to do that, you know how bad I'd feel for letting you give this up. I wouldn't be able to live with myself, knowing I'm the reason why you gave that up. You can't do that." Letting out a sigh, resting her hands on the counter on either side of her hips. "I don't know how this will work... but I think that it's supposed to. Me and you, we're supposed to work, I know we are, but I just don't know how." Reed bit out of frustration, wanting to work everything out, but also not wanting to get hurt again.
Noah It was nothing but a difficult situation, no matter what angle it was looked at. Together they had been a couple that he was sure could handle everything, but week by week it was always something new. He knew that Reed wouldn't let him not take the role, she had always been his number one supporter, and he had taken advantage of it all. Noah could tell that she was at her ends with the situation too. His own sigh slipped out too, a headache beginning to form in his temples, "I don't know either," he admitted softly, "But that doesn't make me want you any less," he continued. Leaning forehead he brushed his lips against her forehead, unsure of how she would respond, but not stopping the action anyway. "Maybe we're just thinking too much into it, maybe we just have to let them be, start again how we were when I first came here," he suggested.
Reed There was so much back and forth with the decision that had to be made. But she knew she had to way out her options, she had to really think about what would happen if she got back together with Noah, and also what would happen if she didn't. The latter Reed did not like thinking about. In her heart getting back with him was the obvious choice, but she also had to listen to her head, and all the points that she was thinking of. Immediately letting a smile crawl on to her lips when the soft feeling of his lips against her forehead sent chills all over her body. Nodding as she heard his words, "I think that's a good idea..." Reed drifted thinking back to the times when they had first met, when Noah did first arrive to Easton, when they first started dating, it seemed to be so perfect. "I want this, I really do. I want to be with you. But I don't want to only see you on my TV screen..."
Noah She hadn't pushed him away and he guessed that was a good sign, though, the brief kiss against her forehead didn't substitute the fact that he still wanted to kiss her. He wasn't sure she would agree with him, there was still a chance that it wouldn't work out, that things wouldn't be the same as they were before. He feared it too, there was more to him now, more to her. "I do too, more then anything," he admitted. "I know, I don't want that either, it's not fair to you," he began. "I'll handle it though, I promise, don't worry."
Reed Letting the small smile crawl onto her lips, Noah's words causing a warmth to drape over her. A feeling of ease and she had become calm in a matter of moments. "Okay, I trust you." Her teeth dug in to her bottom lip with a grin, her legs stretching out to wrap around Noah's waist, pulling herself in closer to him, sitting on the edge of the counter. "If we're going back to how we were when you first came here... does this mean we get to go back to Cancun?" Reed let out a small laugh, along with the smile that stayed on her lips thinking back to the spring break trip that they shared together. "I actually think we were found in this same position in Cancun. Remember? We were baking or something..." She spoke, reminiscing of one of their first memories shared together.
Noah Reed's words were like some sort of bandaid. A smile rose to his lips, and he thought about questioning her, but decided against it. Her next movements surprised, him though a laugh from his lips erupted. His hands falling to either side of her. "Do you want to go to Cancun?" he posed out, "Because we could totally go, you'd have to come to Russia with me first so I can wish Spencer luck, but after that.." he trailed openly. The memory brought back was one he kept rather close to him. "We were," he continued, his light eyes falling to her dark ones, "But I remember it a little more like this," he breathed, his lips moving to catch hers.
