Author's notes: this takes place at the loser's resort during TDA.
...
Noah came down from his room into the main eating area of the resort. His plan was to eat his food and return to his room for another day of reading. He got his food and spotted someone he did not recognize: a girl with tan skin and short dark hair wearing a white top and glasses. She was sitting down at a table by herself with some food while reading a book.
Noah had no idea who this person was or what she was doing at the section of the resort that was reserved for the former contestants. He wasn't particularly interested in the answers to these questions, but he did think it would be worth his while to introduce himself to a fellow lover of literature who happened to be atheistically appealing.
"Hello," Noah said as he sat down with his food.
"Hey Noah," The girl said with a voice that seemed familiar to Noah but he wasn't quite sure why. It took him a moment, but he finally understood why she sounded familiar.
"Katie?" Noah asked with a tint of disbelief in his voice. He was wandering for a second if he had woken up into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
"Yeah, it's me," Katie said, sensing his confusion. "I bet I caught you off guard with this new look," Katie said and Noah nodded his head 'yes' in response. "I'd tell you what's up with that, but there's a bit of a story there."
"I like stories," Noah said, partly telling the truth. He did enjoy stories, but he also wanted to satiate his own curiosity.
"Well, both Sadie and I have been making moves towards Trent ever since Gwen took out his heart and stomped on it. We hadn't come across any problems with the two of us going after the same guy until...," Katie paused as she worked up what she was going to say next. "Sadie told me to back off with Trent or she would sit on me," she finished and looked very sad.
"That's terrible," Noah said in shock. "I mean, you two seemed so close. I can't belevie she'd threaten you like that over a guy."
"That was a real shock to me too," Katie said, still a little sad. Then she took a deep breath and got better. "Anyway, you're probably wondering what this has to do with the new clothes. I told her that I'm okay with her and Trent and whatever happens between them, but I'm also teaching Sadie a lesson: if she thinks she can push me around like that for a guy and we'll still be BFFFLs, she's got another thing coming."
"Okay, but don't you think the glasses are a bit much?" Noah asked. "I know you want to get back at Sadie by alienating yourself from her, but isn't putting on fake glasses a bit much?"
"These aren't fake. I really need them. I just usually wear contacts. I almost forgot how comfortable it is to not have curved glass in your eyes all day. I might keep wearing them regularly when Sadie and I patch things up."
"Can you really be sure of that? What if you alienate Sadie to the point where she doesn't want to come back to you?"
"If that happens," Katie began, "I'll be ready to take the first step in making things right. Until then, I will be eagerly waiting for when she crashes and burns with Trent. She'll be begging for me to take her back and I will. After I lay down a few ground rules."
A small grin appeared on Noah's face. "What's so funny?" Katie asked.
"Nothing's funny," Noah said, but Katie countered with a look that seemed to say 'I'm not buying that for a second'.
"Yeah right," Katie said. "Noah the constant sour puss cracks what's dangerously close to a smile and I'm supposed to think that there's no meaning behind it. So I'll ask again: what's so funny?"
Noah gave a sigh of exasperation. Then he said, "If you must know, I was thinking about how your vindictiveness and decision to use passive aggressive mind games implies that there's more to you than I thought." When he was done, Noah blinked in surprise. "That sounded less weird in my head," he said and Katie chuckled slightly. Noah was not as amused. "Changing the subject now, what are you reading?"
"Starship Troopers," Katie said.
"Really," Noah said. "The book is very different than the movie."
"I can see that," Katie said. "It's still very good though." Katie thought about how 'different but good' might apply to more than books and the movies based on them. Maybe it could also apply to hunky guys and not so hunky guys. She considered the interest that Noah had just shown in her and decided that he was an option worth exploring.
She placed her hand on Noah's looked into his eyes.
