I have no lid upon my head,

But if I did, you could look inside

And see what's on my mind.

It's you.

Dave Matthews Band, "Let You Down"

One

Relax. Things are going to be fine. Everything already is fine. Just breathe and try to enjoy yourself. Noah followed his advice and took a steadying breath to settle his nerves.

It was the night before he was setting out to college which ostensibly meant this was the last night he would have with his best friend until the Winter break and he wanted to make the most of it; and to do that he needed Rex in a good mood. And he knew the best way to do that was to put Rex in charge of what they did.

He was more than pleasantly surprised when Rex said he wanted to stay in and watch movies and just hang out at his house. A part of him was suspicious by the seemingly normal plan while at the same time he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth in case it decided to bite him for staring and for the moment Noah was keeping his thoughts to himself.

And it was slowly driving him crazy.

Knowing the types of activities Rex considered entertaining (things like bike racing and taking a nice scroll through The Zoo in Providence HQ) and how most of them usually ended up with a trip to Doctor Holiday's office to patch them up, Noah couldn't stop his initial freak out at the idea of what Rex would suggest they do. Which is why the unexpected movie night was making him feel cagey; it was something Noah would suggest they do, not Rex. Noah couldn't figure it out.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go sky diving or street race some bikers?"

Rex laughed at the ideas. "Nah, there's no thrill in racing when I already know I'd win. Plus, I've been wanting to see this," he explained pulling out a DVD of the recent 3:10 to Yuma remake.

And so they did.

Rex seemed to be enjoying the movie because Noah spent most of it watching Rex, memorizing what it felt like to hang out with him. He made a mental note to rent it again one day so he could fill in the blanks.

Noah needed this night to be about them. In the morning he would be leaving to start his college life in Boston. It would be months before he would get a chance to hang out with his best friend again. While the challenge of higher education and living on his own excited him, he was having some difficultly with leaving everything and everyone he grew up with behind; mainly the EVO sitting beside him.

He was going to miss Rex and planned to make these last hours together memorable, especially since the last time they hung out it had ended badly. It had been so bad Rex had stormed off angry at him and Noah was completely clueless as to why. He called and texted Rex and when he received no reply he headed to Providence only to have Bobo tell him "The chief's busy." Disappointed and angry in his own right Noah returned home and finished the day by stuffing his belongings into cardboard boxes.

Noah still didn't understand what had happened that day. He planned to ask Rex at some point but when he appeared at the door all apologetic smiles and eyes bright with mischief Noah forgave him and refrained from asking for an explanation, fearing it would spoil the good vibe they had going. But that didn't mean he wasn't curious about why Rex had been so upset with him. Perhaps he could bring it up randomly one day. Hey Rex, thanks for showing up at my graduation! By the way, do you remember that time six years ago when you so mad at me? What was up with that?

Imagining Rex's confused response to the question made him smile, chasing way his bitter thoughts that something would ruin this night. Things were going far too well. He couldn't help but worry it was only a matter of time before things turned sour.

He knew he could be putting too much pressure on himself but he felt there was a tension between the two of them. After all, he and Rex hadn't resolved anything from their earlier fight.

Something about him still bothered Rex. Noah was sure of it. He just didn't know what it was. And not knowing was putting him on edge. Despite the fun they were having now Noah didn't think it meant Rex was completely over what made him stalk off in the first place. It was obvious what he needed to get Rex to tell him why he was upset with Noah, but he feared the automatic dampener that would put on the mood.

"How great was that? That was a good movie," Rex declared standing up to stretch.

Noah blinked out of his thoughts and focused on the TV. The credits were scrolling up the screen. Noah smirked.

"Yeah," he agreed unconvincingly.

"Do you think there'll be a sequel?" Rex joked.

"I highly doubt that, but you never know with Hollywood."

Rex chuckled and reached down to grab a handful of red licorice from the tall plastic jug on the coffee table. Wordlessly he handed Noah his share before he happily stuffing his mouth with candy.

Watching Rex eat told Noah it was time for something more substantial than red licorice and popcorn. He pulled out his phone and did want most teenage boys did when they were hungry; make someone else cook for them.

Dialing their favorite pizzeria, Noah ordered two supreme pizzas, one for each of them, and then suggested they go into the garage and play a few rounds of table tennis as they waited for the pizza to arrive.

Rex was in the garage before Noah had laced up his shoes.

Unsurprisingly, Rex won most of the games. Noah didn't mind though, he could tell his skills were a bit rusty, but that doesn't really mean anything in table tennis. He still managed to win two games and that counted as a small victory when playing against Rex, he had beaten his personal best against the strong hitting EVO.

They continued playing when the pizza arrived, much to the chagrin of Steven, the delivery guy. Rex tried to test his ability with multiple partners by convincing Steven into a two on one match against him with Noah. It didn't work out. Noah made sure he tipped Steven well for handling Rex's persistence well.

At Noah's suggestion they ate on the garage roof. He knew full well it was one of Rex's favorite places in the house and that Rex wouldn't say no.

Wrapping an arm around Noah's shoulders Rex jumped up into the garage roof where they lounged on the low slope and ate their pizza in relative silence.

Noah stared up into the night trying to remember which constellations he was looking at, but nope, none of the astronomy lessons had stuck. Besides here in the city it was more likely those twinkling lights were actually satellites winking back earth's light.

He opened his mouth to share his thoughts with Rex when his vision was filled with the EVO's silhouette looming over him. He turned his head to fully face him. "What?"

Rex stared at him for a moment, searching for the words. "I'm glad I came over," he finally managed, nodding once and then moving back to his place next to Noah. "Also, I ate the last slice," he grinned and hopped off the roof before Noah could retaliate.

I want to thank Emilinia-sama for the beta work.