Noah tapped enter on the keyboard, and the cursor jumped to the next line. It wasn't so much the fact that he had to write an eight page essay on the fundamentals of motorized machinery that bothered him, but more the allotted amount of time given for him to actually finish it.
He'd been typing relentlessly all night, only stopping for a three and a half hour nap before waking up at five o'clock in the morning to finish his paper. And now here he sat in a small coffee shop on campus with a four hour deadline.
Rifling a hand through his hair, Noah leaned back against the rubbery red material of the booth. "This is insane..." he murmured, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He needed a coffee. If only the dumb waiters would hurry up.
After his stretch, Noah settled back into the booth with his arms crossed indignantly. He loved college; in fact, it was the first place he ever felt truly accepted, but the heavy due date had him stressing.
And the fact he'd been waiting almost fifteen minutes for an espresso with a double shot of caramel and foam didn't help his attitude either.
Noah resumed typing the string of words when a waitress dressed in the diner uniform came up behind him and set a steaming paper cup down on the tabletop beside him.
"About time." He muttered distasteful without looking up from the LED screen.
"I'm so sorry about it, sir. It's getting kind of busy this morning."
Noah's hands froze over the keyboard. That voice...it couldn't be could it? He subtly glanced up to see his fellow Total Drama Veteran scribbling something down in a notepad, completely oblivious.
"Katie?" He couldn't control his intimate shock and the name tumbled out of his mouth before he could process what was going on.
Katie's head snapped up, her chestnut brown eyes darting in the direction of which her name was called. Much to her surprise, the young man she had just waited on was Noah. "Oh my gosh, Noah?"
For a moment, Noah just stared at her, soaking in every detail. Her black, pin-straight hair was obviously long, but it was hard for him to tell how long because it was styled in an attractive bun. Her brown eyes stood out against the light application of mascara and eyeliner she wore.
After an awkward pause, Noah forced a weak laugh. "I could barely recognize you without Sadie being glued to your hip. You look great, Katie." Even as he said it, Noah couldn't help but admire how well she could pull off the coffee shop uniform.
Katie laughed, gliding up to the side of the table again. "Yeah! We don't dress up the same anymore. It got old fast and we had to grow up anyway."
Noah had to channel every form of self control to keep his jaw from gaping open. "That was very...introvert of you to say."
Katie beamed, rubbing the back of her arm kind of self consciously. "Thanks, Noah."
Noah almost had to do a double take when he realized she understood what he meant by introvert. Once again, he refrained from jaw dropping. "Are you going to university?"
"Yeah, I actually have a class later tonight. I'm taking classes for becoming a specialist in natural beauty and health products. I'm also minoring in chemistry and biology." She smiled nervously, hoping she didn't have anything weird on her face.
Noah's eyebrows shot up, obviously impressed. "That's great Katie. Oh, uh, care to sit down?" He indicated the seat across from him in the booth and pushed his laptop out of the way so that they could see each other.
Katie glanced over at the counter where no one was paying any mind to her. "It wouldn't hurt to spare a few minutes to catch up, I suppose." She slid into the red rubber across from his with a giddy smile. "What are majoring in?"
"Computer engineering mostly, but anything that has to do with motors basically." He answered, taking a sip from his espresso.
Katie bobbed her head. "Nice. That sounds like a really cool thing to study."
Noah jerked his head toward the expanse of the diner. "How long have you been working here?"
Katie shrugged. "Maybe a year and a half."
"Really? How come I've never seen you? I come her all the time."
"I work only morning shifts on Sundays and all day Wednesday." She answered back, setting her notepad on the table.
"Ohhh." Noah nodded, running his index finger around the rim of his paper cup. "See, I sleep in too late to get coffee before my first class on Sundays and I'm usually doing reading homework or hanging with Cody on Wednesday."
Furrowing her eyes, Katie glanced at him from across the table. "Cody Sangar? From our Total Drama days?"
Noah snapped his fingers at her. "That's the one."
"I didn't know you guys were friends."
"We weren't." Noah admitted. He touched the tips of his fingers together, as if ready to lay out a business proposal. "We ended up becoming roommates when we both happened to enroll the same year at university."
Katie's eyebrows quirked up a tad while a smile crept onto her lips. "Welll that was quite the coincidence, huh?"
Noah grinned again, patting the tops of his jeans. Ugh, what was he going to do with his hands? "I know right. Even though the kid leaves his underwear around and plays alot of minecraft, Mario kart, and Call-of-Duty, he isn't that bad a roommate."
After a moment's silence, Noah shot Katie a quizzical stare. "What about Sadie? You two have a falling out or...?"
"Oh no!" Katie laughed quietly to herself, catching Noah off guard slightly. "We're still really good friends but just not as close. We had to grow up. She lives about three and a half hours from here. She was taking classes at a community college when she started dating this guy a few years ago. They got married last summer and are expecting twins this October."
"Good for her." Noah tried sounding enthusiastic, but in all honesty he wasn't overly eager to listen to Sadie's life story since leaving the show. "Is Sadie the only person you've kept in touch with?"
"Oh, of course not. It's kind of funny because I ran into Courtney at the mall on campus, she goes here to you know, and she's actually not that bad when she's off camera."
"Really?" It was hard to believe Courtney only got viscous on TV.
"So me, her, and Bridgette have been a trio lately. I also caught the new tv show Heather and Alejandro star together in, but I haven't spoken with them. How 'bout you? Kept in touch with anyone?" Katie set her face in her hands and leaned forward.
It was obvious that he had her undivided attention.
Noah cleared his throat uncomfortably, then shrugged. "Mainly Cody. I talk to Eva or Owen every once in awhile. And Izzy tags along with Owen sometimes. Otherwise, I try to forget what transpired during my stay on Total Drama."
"I totally understand." Katie agreed with a sigh. The two sat in silence again.
Just as he was about to speak, Noah was cut off but a lady with purple hair at the cash register. "Katherine! What do you think we're running here? This place is busy as ever and we need help! Hurry up!" The lady hissed.
"Coming Cynthia!" Katie called. She looked to Noah with an apologetic look before slipping out of the booth. "Sorry to cut the conversation short. It was fun catching up with you."
"Ditto, Katie." Noah smiled up at her from where he was sitting.
Color rushed to Katie's cheeks as she tapped a pen against her temple. "Anything else I can get you before we're swamped?"
"No, im fi-" he stopped mid-sentence, then stared up at the cute girl he wished he had gotten to know better during all the years they had spent together. "Actually, there is one thing."
"Yeah?"
"You let me take you out on a proper date next time."
Yay! My first Total Drama story! I'm so happy!
It's kinda funny because I thought for sure that my first TDI fix would involve Duncney and Gigette, but Notie is just as good.
I really love them together even though the pairing literally came out of nowhere and is entirely fanon. I hope you like it enough to review! (I'd appreciate it)
Next I'll probably do Cody/Sierra since I already have an idea