Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Mark Salling wouldn't even know what a shirt was. Haha.
A/N: Yay! A sequel to a story that isn't even done yet. Reviews are love!
Somehow Claudia had convinced Rachel to eat breakfast with her. Claudia really amazed Rachel with her quirky ideas. They were each going to go to a restaurant that morning, Rachel in Lima and Claudia in Riverton, and text each other while they ate.
Claudia was extremely funny, even through her text messages. As Rachel sat alone in her tiny little booth, she couldn't have felt happier. Even though Noah completely ignored her, at least one friendship from her wonderful summer had stayed alive.
She laughed as she read the tiny screen in her hand, but it quickly died when she heard his voice.
"What's so funny, Berry?"
His figure loomed above hers. She swallowed nervously and set her phone on the table. "Nothing." She said quietly.
"No, really. Tell me." He said.
The sincere curiosity in Noah's eyes reminded her, momentarily, of blistering hot afternoons laying in the sun and chilly nights around campfires.
"I'm eating breakfast with a friend."
Confusion blurred his features. "You're all alone, Berry."
"We are texting back and forth, because Claudia is in Riverton while I am here in Lima." She replied, not thinking of the possible consequences of her words.
"You're still talking to Claudia?" He asked.
"Yes, Noah. She was my friend. She is my friend. We're friends." It amazed her sometimes the way that Noah could almost make her speechless, the way he made her grasp desperately for words.
Noah only creased his brow in frustration and walked away to the table where she noticed that Quinn was sitting as well. Rachel quickly surveyed the restaurant looking for anyone else who could possibly harass her as she ate. Seeing no one, she returned to her meal and her phone.
Later, when she told Claudia about her encounter, she would feel a strange stirring sensation in her chest and she would blush. Claudia would laugh, a laugh that was contagious even over the phone, and say "Don't worry about it. Noah doesn't really know who he is yet."
Rachel could only sigh in response, wish Claudia goodnight, and remember dozens of afternoons in Claudia's living room, playing board games, when it seemed as though Noah knew exactly who he was.