Honestly thank you so much for your kind reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. This is a bit of a change in perspective and some more plot development. So begins the end of Toha *evil cackle* so please do forgive the affection and stuff in this chapter. I want to honour Canon!Tessa's feelings for Noah and hopefully it'll make Teriah that much more epic.

Tessa had to pull up on the side of the road, her eyes were so blurry she couldn't see. She rummaged through wrappers and paper bags from takeaways she'd thrown in the back of her car until she found a napkin to wipe her tears and blow her nose. She looked herself in her mirror. God, she looked a mess. She checked her watch and saw that she had five minutes to get to the Newman residence for the guitar lesson, so she took a deep breath and started the car again. The quiet music of Mt Wolf filled the car and made her feel calmer.

XxXx

Playing music helped. It always did. Whenever she'd been afraid, angry or uncertain growing up, she'd played. When she'd been happy, she'd played. It was the backdrop to her life, the thing that gave her hope

Her parent's had been largely indifferent to her aspirations. She'd had an old toy guitar from when she was a toddler and on that she'd amused herself for hours making up melodies. She kept asking for a real guitar and some lessons but that cost money that they'd rather spent on alcohol or drugs, except for that one time when her father had come home, a birthday gift under his arms and it was a guitar. It had dings and scratches, terrible acoustics and strings that were so hard to hold down, they sliced into her fingertips but she'd loved it. With the help of the internet, she'd taught herself the basics. With the help of Ms. Butterworth in high school, she'd learnt how to be a musician. This had been her lifeline.

By the time Reed's lesson was over, the tempestuous waves rolling through her had calmed to a rocky sea. She picked up some Chinese and drove to Noah's.

His place was nothing like Sharon's. It was industrial, sleek, monochrom. She could see the Newman influence in the décor, high end black granite counter top against white cabinets, full length windows along one wall with electronic shades and high ceilings. He had a black leather sectional couch and a glossy white coffee table on a plush white rug facing a 120 inch smart TV and Bluetooth speakers. The surfaces were devoid of any clutter with everything tidied away in floor to ceiling closets that weren't immediately distinguishable from the walls. A sparse number of decorations supported the austere theme. It was, without a doubt, a penthouse bachelor pad.

Noah was still at the Underground and was due back in the next half hour, so she popped the dinner to warm in the oven and headed for the shower as if that would somehow cleanse her of the afternoon she'd had.

Stepping under the hot spray, she welcomed the warm water on her chest, easing the ache in her heart. She'd never meant for things to get so complicated. It had all gotten away from her somehow. She flashed to Mariah's hand in hers, pulling her along the narrow dirt path towards the car, her choked goodbye, her eyes wide and tear washed as she said it. Normally they were hazel but at that moment they were almost green as if the sadness in them had changed their colour.

"Go." Mariah had said with decisiveness. Tessa had complied and driven away, her mind so full she didn't know what feeling, though or sensation to focus on, they were so jumbled up.

She pulled on her PJ's and Noah's dressing gown emerging from the bedroom as she heard him enter.

"Hey." she said and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss. She pulled back to study his face. "I hope you're not still mad at me."

The previous night's argument still hung in the air between them, his accusatory voice still ringing in her ear, his anger still broiling in the pit of her stomach.

"Just next time tell me. Okay? I want you to share what's going on with you" He said and his impassive face softened. Tessa felt a wave of relief.

"I will."

"Good." He said, stepping away to remove his jacket and shoes. "Is that Chinese I smell?"

"Sweet and sour pork and mixed vegetables. Sound good?"

They ate at the dinner table, side by side on the bench and Tessa asked about his day at work. A view of the city spread out before them, the lights from buildings, street lamps and the traffic below. It wasn't the stars that could be seen from Sharon's but it held its own beauty. As she looked out she was struck with how insignificant she was in the largeness of Genoa City with it's millions of inhabitants, how detached and freewheeling she felt, like she was missing any tether to this cold and strange city all the way up here on the 30th floor. It felt terribly lonely.

"Hey, you okay?" Noah asked, "You kinda went quiet."

Tessa looked to him and smiled.

"Sorry, a possible song concept just jumped into my head."

"Oh yeah, what about?"

Tessa slid closer to Noah until their thighs touched, wanting some kind of human contact.

"About what home is."

She laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Sounds appropriate given you've just moved in."

"Yeah." she said after a beat.

They finished eating and moved to the couch. Noah was sensitive to her mood. She could feel him looking at her and when she looked back, he had a look on his face, like maybe he knew who she was thinking of. She did her best to be cheerful and present cuddling up to him, enjoying the solid warmth of a body next to hers and the protective way she was held. These simple things meant the world to her because she'd never thought she'd ever have them, not like this. It felt nice. This was how it was supposed to be, right?

But still she found she wasn't really watching Stranger Things. Her mind was still so full that it didn't have space to process all it contained and it kept short circuiting on Mariah telling her they couldn't be friends.

She hadn't really meant that, had she?

She checked her phone but there were no messages.

"Hey," Noah asked when Tessa had looked at her phone half a dozen times. "you expecting a call or something?"

"Oh, no, sorry, bad habit."

"I thought you loved this show. I've been waiting for you to watch it."

"Oh I do, I guess I'm just tired tonight. I haven't been sleeping so well."

"Okay." he said and switched the TV off. He looked seriously at the screen gone blank and then at her. "Too tired for this?" He asked as he pulled Tessa into his lap and kissed her deeply. She didn't particularly feel in the mood but she responded anyway, letting him guide her to the bedroom. They were lying on the bed, Noah's hands felt possessive on her body. He pulled back his dark eyes searching hers before crashing their mouths together again. There was an edge to him, it felt a little desperate, like he wanted to consume her.

"Noah..." she said, squirming a little.

"Forget her" he mumbled.

Tessa pushed him away.

"What was that?!"

He seemed to realise what he'd said and his mouth worked to come up with something.

"Why would you say something like that?"

"I'm sorry, Tessa..."

Tessa shimmied out from under him, looking at him with incredulity before climbing under the covers and turning to face away.

"Tessa! I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"I get that you're upset about what happened, Noah. But really?"

"I'm sorry!"

He placed a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.

"Tessa, it was an accident, I didn't mean to..." he tried again, but she remained silent. "Please talk to me."

Her jaw was clenched, her back stiff as his words hummed in her brain. When it became clear he wasn't getting any further response from her, she felt him shift, hearing the sound of the zipper of his jeans as he took them off before he slipped under the covers and switched the lights off. They lay in the dark for a moment as Tessa's eyes adjusted to the dark.

"I guess the issue for me is that you didn't say anything to me."

"I didn't know what to say without making things awkward, Noah. It's your sister. What was I supposed to do?"

"And you're my girlfriend, right? I would assume that you'd tell me but instead it feels like this was some kind of, of …dirty secret. And so I can't help feeling like it meant something to you because why else wouldn't you tell me?"

"I told you, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you and Mariah to have any issues! Why can't you see what an awkward place that was for me?"

"Why can't you see that it's again a matter of you sharing something with her and not with me. You tell her your secrets but not me! Why is that, Tessa? And then you don't tell me that she has feelings for you and that she kissed you!? Don't you see what that might look like?"

Tessa turned over. She could just make him out, on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Like I told you yesterday, she's my best friend, Noah. I've never had a best friend like her before and she hasn't either. I just think that she's gotten confused about our relationship and it'll die down."

"Do you feel the same way? Are you attracted to her?"

"Why are you even asking me this!?"

"I'm just trying to figure out what is going on between you and Mariah."

Tessa huffed and turned back over.

"Nothing. Is. Going. On." she said tightly, "besides you don't need to worry about her feelings for me or my feelings for her because she told me today she can't be friends any more."

"She said what?"

"She told me she doesn't want to be friends anymore."

"You saw her?"

"Noah! I just told you that my best friend told me we can't be friends anymore and you're worried about if I saw her or not? I thought you'd be happy about that!"

"Tessa," he said with a frustrated sigh, "I'm just trying to understand this whole thing."

"Okay then. Yes, I saw her today, to ask her why she told you because I hate that this is driving a wedge between us. She said that she wants to do the right thing and that we can't be friends anymore. Neither of us are trying to hurt you, Noah, we're doing the exact opposite. And I'm just trying to figure out what the hell happened. I'm sorry if I didn't say anything but I've also just lost the best friend I've ever had, okay?" Tessa hoped that he didn't catch the tremble in her voice "I'm with you, Noah."

There was a long silence in the charged atmosphere of the bedroom before Noah finally said. "Okay."