"So Jessica told Mike that prom was a no-go if he wore the kilt, right?" Noah was following his sister's story intently, between mouthfuls of broccoli. They were eating on the couch, half-heartedly watching Law & Order and relishing control of the television— Charlie was at Billy's for the night.
Bella chewed for a moment, smirking. "That's the drama! She's so desperate, she said yes."
Gasping dramatically, Noah clutched his heart. "No!" He speared the last floret, before gesturing to take Bella's empty plate. "That's atrocious. Even she can do better."
Reclining back on the couch, she glanced at her brother upside-down as washed dishes in the sink. Noah's hair had grown longer in the months since they'd moved here; Phil's strictly-enforced crew cut, now fell in Noah's eyes. Decked in a sweater and jeans to match the weather, he looked like an entirely different person from the t-shirt dweller in Phoenix. The layers, Bella decided, hid the bony expanse of his torso, well.
But she knew him too well— saw the dullness in his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking, the seemingly perpetual downturn at the corners of his mouth. The move to Washington was supposed to... well, fix things. Fix the things that were troubling him, at least. But here they were, making small talk in their father's wood-paneled den, and he still looked... troubled.
"Are you okay?"
Noah turned off the sink. From the kitchen, Bella could hear the ceramic clinking of clean plates being re-stacked in the cabinet. Then, the soft suctioning of the freezer door being opened. "Rocky road?"
"You didn't answer my question. But yes, obviously."
"I'm fine, Bells." There was more clinking.
"What about this weekend. Do you have plans? Anything to look forward to?"
"I'm gonna mow the lawn, probably. Go to the library, finally sign up for a card." Noah re-appeared beside the couch and handed his sister a full bowl. "I dunno, it's not like I have friends."
"You have plenty of friends!" Bella gestured an accusatory spoon at him. "Well, you have me. And the Cullens. Angela loves you! She said you helped her out in gym yesterday, during badminton, so she didn't have to be partners with Eric."
"Those are you friends. And your boyfriend's family."
"Ok, so make some friends. Go be social. Join an Art club or something!"
Around a mouthful of chocolate and marshmallow, Noah grimaced. It was clear he wouldn't entertain this conversation with her for much longer.
"We're Swans, you know how we do it." He avoided her eyes, glancing back at the television. "Another episode?"
Bella appraised her brother. The year had aged him, for sure; the edge of sixteen weighed much heavier on him than fifteen ever had. There were hollow points in his cheeks now, a more prominent Adam's apple, signs that he was maturing normally. But there were also permanent shadows beneath his eyes— and behind them.
"Edward's coming over in a little bit, actually. I should probably shower, and stuff."
"Oh, right, yeah. Sorry."
Half-full bowl in hand, Bella ignored the subtle ache in her chest as she stood from the couch. "Nothing to be sorry for, No. Let's do something fun on Sunday, okay?"
"Like what?"
His spiritless look nearly suffocated her. "I'll make veggie fajitas for dinner. Still your favorite?" She smiled at Noah's nod. "And maybe we can go to La Push after? I'll take you to the part of the beach that Mike showed me. You can take cool sunset beach pics on your camera."
"That sounds really, really nice." Noah flopped on his back, offering his sister a small smile. "I need to figure out where to develop, though. Haven't been able to shoot much since we got her, it's kinda sad."
Bella hummed in sympathy. "I'm sure you'll find a place. You should ask Esme, I bet she'd know."
Before Noah could respond, a soft thumping from upstairs indicated Edward's arrival.
"That's my cue." Bella dropped her bowl in the sink. "La Push, Sunday. No excuses."
"No excuses."
— — —
Up on the rooftop, Noah's breath puffed hot into the cold air, as he kept watch over St. Helens street. His sketch pad rested open atop his thighs, though the exposed page was blank. It was pitch black outside; Forks was not generous in its distribution of street lamps, leaving the road outside Charlie's house cloaked in darkness after twilight.
Fuck life , he thought. Reaching behind, Noah's palm slid along the sill beneath the open window, before he came across the loose cigarette and lighter. The familiar scratch of the lighter's striker, thrummed under the pad of his thumb. He was grounded by the feeling, planted firmly on the roof shingling, rather than spiraling away with his thoughts.
That's what all of this is, anyways. Isn't it? More often than not, Noah wasn't even sure if he knew how to properly smoke. The toxins barely made it to his lungs. He merely lit and puffed and inhaled, for the motion of it all. Something to do, to feel like he was doing something.
A year ago, he'd been fourteen, living under "Phil's roof" (which was, legally, very much still Renee's). On Noah's fifteenth birthday, Phil had given him a pack of Hanes plain-tees and a hat from his shitty, minor-league baseball team. He was one month out of the closet, and still one month shy of Phil getting physical, although he didn't know if yet.
Noah took another puff.
Fuck it all .
— — —
Noah was halfway done with his Cheerios by the time the Cullens showed up. Unannounced, of course, but anticipated— Alice picked them up occasionally, insisting on spending quality time with Bella (and Noah, transitively) before school. At 7 o'clock in the damn morning.
"I made a mistake!"
Alice entered the Swan household without knocking. Trailing behind her was Edward, merely keeping up appearances, as he'd left Bella's room only a half-hour earlier. He greeted Noah with a small wave and a smirk. Shovelling another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, Noah nodded in courtesy; mornings were not his thing.
"Good morning, Alice." Charlie, reading the paper at the kitchen table, seemed only slightly startled by the vampire's entrance. He was half-dressed for work, faded Mariners t-shirt hanging over his uniform pants and tool belt.
"A grave error!"
"Yeah, we got that." Bella, skidding down the stairs, grabbed toast off the counter as she went to kiss her boyfriend. Charlie and Noah both glanced at each other, before looking away.
Perching on the arm of the couch, Alice fondly rolled her eyes. Per usual, she was dressed to the nines (pearls and all), contrasting starkly to Bella's oversized hoodie and barely-brushed hair.
"Well technically, I was more right than Jasper. But, what else is new. Ready to go?"
Dumping his bowl in the sink, Noah grabbed his backpack from the base of the staircase, aiming to follow Edward and Bella out the door. Charlie, setting his paper aside, called out after his son:
"Coat, Noah. It's chilly." The boy looked down at his flannel-and-t-shirt combo, sighing. Phoenix could never . He shrugged on his denim jacket by the door, offering his dad a thumbs-up on the way out.
— — —
Alice relinquished her shotgun position to Bella, who climbed in beside her boyfriend in his Volvo. Instead, she began inspecting Noah's outfit from the back seat. Her lithe fingers tugged at a loose thread at the hem of his overshirt, pulling it back to examine the t-shirt underneath.
"What is City Bear ?" Alice gestured to his slightly threadbare corduroys. "Cuff those, at least. That way, at least the exposed ankle will look intentional. Gosh, you need new pants, Noah." He shot her a self-conscious grimace, begging himself not to blush in a car half-full of vampires.
Rather than pulling into the deserted lot for Forks High, Edward continued driving; there was still close to an hour until the first bell. Driving to the diner for some coffee to-go had become something of a weekly tradition. They'd grab drinks (none for the non-humans, of course) and take a short drive together through town. Mundanity at its finest.
"Aw, City Bear!" The diner looked surprisingly busy as they pulled in. As Edward cut the engine, Bella turned back to her brother. "I hadn't even noticed. Iced coffee?" He nodded. She pointed at Alice, who began exiting the car; girl time .
Now alone in the car with his sister's boyfriend, Noah stretched out across the back seat with a slight groan; his nocturnal escapades were starting to catch up with him. Exhaustion burned lightly against the back of his eyelids.
In the front seat, Edward fiddled with the radio, before settling on the local news. The signal wasn't half-bad; the announcer's voice crackled only slightly as he read the weather. Rain, clouds, more rain. Also, fog. Did we mention rain? As if on cue, a light patter started up against the windshield. Edward snorted.
The boys sat without speaking, as the announcer droned. Through the front window, Alice and Bella could be seen waiting for their drinks. Noah pressed his cheek against the leather seat, willing himself to stay awake. On Wednesdays, he had a full slate of classes— none of which, he felt even remotely prepared for today.
First, fifth, and seventh period, he shared classes with the Cullens; history with Alice, gym with Jasper and Alice, and a Spanish elective with Rosalie. Fourth, they all also shared lunch, which was a perk. The whole are-we-friends-or-nah with his sister's new chosen family, was a bit stressful. He wasn't sure whether he should steer clear in the halls, or deliberately seek them out. Luckily, at least Alice left little to guess, by way of their relationship.
"What's City Bear?" Edward, staring at him through the rear-view mirror, broke Noah from his thoughts.
The teen glanced down at his t-shirt, smoothing it self-consciously. "It's a, uh, an art studio. In Phoenix? My friends and I used to work there after school." Silk-screened on a green cotton-blend, a large bear holding an easel peeked out from beneath Noah's grey flannel.
Edward said nothing else, so Noah continued to ramble a bit. "We'd work some weekly hours in the loft there, cleaning up and doing supply-maintenance. Upkeep stuff. And they'd let us work there for free, in exchange? Like, a membership. It was nice." A nervous blush crept up Noah's neck. All he did was ask you a fucking question, you dweeb. Stop being nervous, cut it out. Keep it together.
"That sounds really nice. I can imagine it would be a peaceful place to work." Through the window, Alice and Bella were waving goodbye to the waitress in the diner, coffee in hand. "Do you miss it?"
"More than any other place we left, I think. It was homey."
"But not your actual home?"
Noah's hackles rose, instinctually. He gritted his teeth. Unexpectedly, the side door of the Volvo swing open; from his position across her seat, Noah glanced sheepishly up at Alice.
"Move, or I'll sit on your face." She handed him his iced coffee, sliding in beside him as he re-buckled his seat belt.
Bella, slightly flushed from the cold, kissed her boyfriend on the cheek as she also strapped in. "You'd thin half the fucking school was in there. My god. Mike Newton is apparently too weak to drink coffee, though, which was a pleasant discovery."
Noah laughed, despite himself. He sipped at his coffee, catching Edward's eye in the rear-view again. The older vampire offered him a slight smile.
Today will be fine?