Noah waited for his sister outside of her dorm hall. They had a big night ahead of themselves, so he wanted to get her and go. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, so he began walking up to her. He noticed she had just a small duffel bag with her, as she would only be home for a few days. She wore jeans and a long-sleeve shirt and held a poofy blue jacket in her hand. Nicole looked so relieved to be going home for fall break. Noah was really happy to see her, but he tried to act nonchalant.
"You're still alive," Nicole said teasingly, smiling as she gave him a hug.
"Yeah." He said, breathing a sigh. "Somehow I made it." She put her duffel down on the ground as Noah started digging into his pockets.
"So I've got a surprise. Tonight," He took out what was in his pockets, and revealed two ticket stubs. "We're going out." She took a look at the tickets. They read, Drama Brothers Comeback Tour, November 7, 2015 - General Admission.
She looked over to him and began to smile and gasp. She would deny it if anyone other than her brothers asked, but she loved the Drama Brothers. Never in a million years did she ever think Noah would take her to a concert, as that meant he had to see his former castmates.
"Did you get these tickets from them?" She asked. He knew who she was talking about - if he had asked Drama Brothers for free tickets. He probably could have, Cody had even told him they had this stop and could put him on the list, but he ignored that text just like he did all the others.
"I mean I could have, but I just wanted to support their music." Noah scrunched his face. He couldn't fib to his sister, and though she knew he was fibbing, Nicole gave him a look, deciding not to press it for now. They had a long drive ahead of them and had to get ready for the concert, so the two began walking towards the car to make the two-hour drive.
As Nicole got home, she heard Van Doggo run to see her. She went down on her knees to the floor as Van Doggo licked her face, excited to see her.
"Hi! Hi!" She said to him. She looked over to Noah as she held his face. "See? I told you he wouldn't forget me."
Van Doggo, or Van for short, was named after Noah's favorite artist when he was a kid, Vincent Van Gogh. Van Doggo was 9 years old, but he still had the energy of a puppy. He was the only thing he had left of his parents, so he took meticulous care of him. When they died, Van Doggo spent weeks figuring out when they would come home, and it broke Noah more than ever when Van Doggo stopped looking for them, realizing they were never coming back.
As Nicole got up from petting the dog, she saw her niece and nephew running out of their rooms to say hi, with their hugs tackling her to the ground as they screamed her name and held onto her legs.
"It's so good to see you guys." She said, smiling as she kneeled down to their level.
"Look, Aunt Nicole, I lost another tooth!" Hannah said, smiling and showing off the gaping hole where her two front teeth used to be. Nicole smiled and pretended like she wasn't grossed out. She wasn't much of a children person, but she had a soft spot for Hannah and Spencer. They were her niece and nephew, after all. As Nicole was about to say something, Spencer stepped in front of Hannah and raised his hands in the air.
"Aunt Nicole! I have to show you what I did with my room-" As he pulled on her arms and the two talked over each other, fighting for who gets the first one-on-one time with their aunt Nicole, Joshua and Bethany walked in from their bedroom, looking down at Spencer as the two of them exhausting Nicole. They couldn't tell, but it was visible to Bethany and Joshua.
"Spencer, don't you think Aunt Nicole wants to settle in first?" Bethany said as she stroked Spencer's hair. He looked up to Bethany and pouted, knowing she was right. The kids walked away from Nicole and walked closer to their parents. She began to come up from the floor as Joshua asked Noah a question.
"So Noah, did you tell her?" He was being discreet about the concert, as he didn't want Spencer and Hannah to get upset they're not going out with them.
"Yep." Noah looked down at his watch, then over at Nicole. "We should probably leave in about an hour if we want good parking". Spencer looked over to Joshua.
"Where are they going, dad?" He asked him.
"They have to… pay some bills." He said, nuzzling his hair as he looked down at the kids. "Let's give Aunt Nicole some space to go unpack. She's here all week, so you'll get to hang out with her, don't worry. Why don't you go work on your homework?"
As the kids walked away with their heads hanging low, Joshua grabbed Nicole's duffle and followed them into their shared room. He dropped her duffle on her bed, and Nicole smiled as Joshua went back to his home office. Her side was just the way Nicole left it before going to school. She had a tapestry behind her bedframe of her star sign, Pisces, and a few family photos hung up near her bed. When they first moved in, Bethany and Joshua had offered to combine Spencer and Hannah's room so the two of them could have their own space, but they insisted on being together. They've always been together, and especially after their parents' death, one couldn't be without the other at night.
"I'm gonna go shower and hang out in the living room. I'll see you." Nicole looked over at Noah as he grabbed his clothes, noticing that he took much more care in what he picked out.
"Getting all freshened up for your man?" She said, smirking. He stopped and turned around to look over at her. He was embarrassed but kept it cool.
"No, I just… haven't showered in a few days."
"Sure, sure." Noah turned back around and started walking to the bathroom. He thought about how he could disguise himself so Trent, Justin, Harold, and Cody couldn't recognize him, but then he thought, it wouldn't be too bad if they noticed him.
As the concert ended, Noah and Nicole were completely exhausted from being surrounded by all the screaming girls. They never liked big crowds and would be recovering from it throughout the next day, but in the end, they had fun having twin time. Noah hadn't had any eye contact with the Drama Brothers all night, so he hoped Cody hadn't noticed him. They had to admit, though, they put on a pretty great show. The band's tech crew was packing up and the crowd was dying down as a security guard came up to him.
"Are you Noah and Nicole?" They looked at each other, thinking of what they could have done for this security guard to approach them.
"Yeah." They said. The security guard looked over at them, then motioned for them to go up towards the stage and backstage. They shrugged and followed them, and then Noah realized what was going on - the Drama Brothers were inviting them backstage. They saw and recognized him. Noah took a step back, bringing Nicole with him as the security guard kept walking without missing a beat.
"What?" She asked.
"I don't want to go." Noah crossed his arms and pouted like a child.
"They miss you and want to see you. They're your castmates, not strangers." Noah looked at her and uncrossed his arms, huffing as he rolled his eyes while thinking.
"Fine. Five minutes. I'm not going in any pictures." Noah thought about the comments he had just read about people wanting him and Cody to be together, and he figured it was probably best to not be in any photos or let anyone know he was at the concert. Nicole smiled as they walked through the beaded entryway, seeing the Drama Brothers all waiting for him. Noah hadn't seen any of them since World Tour, and he felt himself tense up seeing them again. As Nicole dragged him closer to them, they all looked at him and smiled, Cody especially.
"Dude! I wish you would have told me that you were coming to the concert!" Cody said to him as he hugged Noah. As Cody hugged Noah, Noah just stood there and let him suffocate him. "I saw you when I peeked at the audience during the opening act and knew I had to get you back here!" Cody was wearing a button-down cream-colored shirt and blue skinny jeans, and he had a towel around his neck to pick up his sweat.
"Oh, yeah… it was a last-minute thing. Sorry we didn't tell you." Noah looked down on the ground, then pushed his sister in front of him. "This is my twin, Nicole."
Noah was nervous. The only family member he had ever talked about on the show was his dog - also his little cousins, who weren't so little anymore. The boys all shook her hand, and she smiled.
"You have a twin? Where have you been hiding her?" Justin said, ruffling his hair and getting uncomfortably close to Nicole. Nicole backed up just before he could put his hand on her hip. Justin had a full beard and was wearing a white shirt with a purple scarf and blue jeans. He looked like a real douche with the scarf and beard, and the Drama Brothers knew it, too, but they had been trying to stay civil with him. Trent came in between them and put his hand on Justin's chest, backing him up. Trent was wearing a white turtleneck and blue jeans, and he had a small goatee.
"Easy, tiger." He said to him. Nicole decided to ignore that situation and change the subject, as did Noah.
"I've always been a fan. Noah surprised me with the tickets." Nicole backed away from Justin and smiled over at Trent, going closer to him.
"Trent, I've always wanted to tell you, it was devastating you didn't get to be on World Tour — I mean, you were-" As she began to say her statement, he said the same thing with her. "The only one out of all of them who's a real musician." She blushed, not believing that just happened. Trent took a moment before acknowledging her and threw his hands up in the air. Noah, however, was just surprised that Nicole was making an effort to talk to them and not sit in the corner.
"Thank you! That's what I thought, too! But, whatever. I wouldn't have wanted to be there, anyway. The whole Duncan and Gwen arc would have made me antsy. I couldn't even watch it let alone be on the season with them together." The two of them smiled in agreement, nodding and understanding.
"How have you been doing since then?" Nicole asked. Trent looked surprised, as not many people really cared about what he had to say.
"I've been good. Really good. Focusing on the music, haven't really talked to any of them since. Really, really good." Trent smiled at Nicole, both of them running out of things to say. As they waited for the awkward pause to end, Justin looked over to Noah and smiled.
"Well, Noah man, it was good seeing you again." Justin said to him, putting his hand on his shoulder and pointing towards the exit with his other hand. "We've gotta finish packing up, but maybe we'll catch you again?" Noah nodded as Justin let go of him and held his hand out. Noah went for a handshake, but it turned out to be a high-five and fist bump. He made a mental note that nobody under thirty gave handshakes anymore in social situations.
"Totally fresh to meet you, Nicole." Harold said to her, who had been watching all this while leaning on the wall. Harold was wearing a gold chain around his neck and transition lenses that made his glasses look like orange-tinted sunglasses, and had on an orange jacket and white shirt with black jeans.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Nicole. Hope to see you again." Trent said as he waved.
"You too." All the guys left except for Cody, who was waiting to say something to them.
"They're leaving without you." Noah pointed out, hoping it would get him to go away.
"They're fine without me. I'm not that much help, anyhow. I can barely lift my keyboard over my head." He said to them. He gave a small chuckle as he looked down before breaking the silence and looking back up at them. "So, did you like the show? I wish I knew sooner you were coming!" Noah wanted to say something but didn't know what, so he gave a signal to Nicole, hoping she would pick up on it and they'd leave, but instead she took over their conversation.
"Neither of us ever go to concerts, so it was a lot of fun. And I'm sure Noah loved seeing you guys again, right?" She nudged his shoulder, his heart racing. He jumped up.
"Yeah. It was fun seeing you. It's been awhile." He said nonchalantly. The three of them stood there, not knowing what to say. Cody decided to break their silence.
"Do you guys know what's open this late?" Cody asked. "I'm starving." Nicole looked over to Noah, who had nothing.
"There's this diner about a block away. Noah can show you. I'm exhausted and should probably go home." Noah looked red in the face as she nudged his arm and gestured towards him.
"I drove you here," Noah reminded her, his teeth clenched as he looked angry-like towards her, but Cody didn't notice. She looked over to her phone, then back at him.
"I can just order a Lyft home. I started using it at school." Nicole looked over at the two of them.
"Yeah, why don't you join me?" Cody asked. Noah looked over at Nicole, who had already ordered her ride, then back at Cody. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd given himself a mental note to talk to Nicole tomorrow.
"Sure. Why not." Nicole looked back over at Cody as a ding popped up on her phone.
"Well, that was quick. That's my ride. It was really nice meeting you, Cody." She smiled as she gave him a friendly hug. Noah watched her as she walked into the car, then got a notification from her app that she had left, and it would text him when she got home. As he dug his phone into his pocket, he looked over at Cody.
"Well, lead the way!" Cody said, excited.
As their food came, Noah looked over to Cody, who was still wide awake. He thought, how in the world could he have this much energy after a show - but then remembered from Cody's gaming streams that he was up until 4am on the regular, so this must be nothing. Or he thought, maybe he's just on drugs.
"So, what have you been up to since Total Drama? I never hear from you anymore." Cody asked.
"Just… working. Nothing much." Noah said. "How's Sierra?" At this point, he was just trying to avoid any conversation pertaining to himself. Cody looked up at him, embarrassed by the unexpected question.
"Oh, uh… we broke up. Awhile ago. Not that I really willingly entered that relationship. Just a bunch of Stockholm Syndrome, I guess." Noah realized that was probably the wrong definition of Stockholm Syndrome, but he wasn't going to press it. "And uh… I think I'm gay. Or bisexual maybe? I don't know." Noah looked up, nearly spitting out his food. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Cody noticed his reactin and hoped he didn't make a mistake when mentioning his sexuality. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just surprising… cool, but surprising. You were always so into Gwen." Cody nodded in agreeance. Noah's heart was racing at a million miles a minute, he could hardly hear anything Cody was saying. Why did he feel this way?
"Yeah, that's what I said to myself, too. But, I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it out. Maybe I'm still into girls, but definitely not Sierra. Maybe she ruined the image of girls for me. I don't know. Like I said, I'm still figuring it out." Noah nodded in agreeance as he took another bite of his food.
"Does anyone else know?" Cody swallowed the bite of his food and took a pause.
"No. I sort of keep this stuff all bottled up. I don't really want to make a big fuss about it." He said to him. Cody quickly changed the subject. "I'm sorry again about Emma. You two seemed like you made a great couple." Noah looked down at his food, poking the last of his green beans with his fork. Lying was more like clockwork to him now, but for some reason, he felt a deeper pit in his stomach knowing he was lying to Cody.
"We still keep in contact, but she just got so busy. It was getting to be too much."
"I can understand that." Cody chuckled. The waitress brought over their check, and before Noah could get his card out, Cody threw his card on the bill before Noah could.
"Nah man, it's on me. Thanks for coming out tonight. It was cool seeing a familiar face in the usual swarm of screaming fangirls." Noah blushed, but tried to hide it. The waitress came back and ran his card, then came back with the card as Cody signed. "Hey, would you mind bringing me back to my hotel? It's just a few blocks from here."
"Yeah, sure." Noah perked up as they put their coats on and walked out of the booth. Noah took out his car keys and clicked the unlock button, and the two of them climbed into the car. Noah had a nice car, but he desperately wanted and needed a new one. This had been Joshua's old car, a 2013 white Toyota Corolla. He knew Toyotas lasted forever and tried to keep it in good shape, but right now Nicole's stuff was in the back, like her guitar, which she didn't bring to school.
"Oh, dude. You play guitar?" Cody asked as he got into the car. Noah looked over at it as he started the ignition.
"Oh, that's Nicole's." Cody remembered that moment in Total Drama Island when he caught Noah humming off-camera. He was so excited to hear that there was another performer among them, but Noah yelled at him to keep his mouth shut. That night Noah cried in private about how he yelled at Cody - it was different when he did it to the other castmates since most of them deserved it, but he didn't feel like Cody deserved it. He never deserved anything terrible that happened to him.
Noah put his seatbelt on and relaxed as Cody started getting the address for him, and Noah started the car. After a few minutes, they were at the entrance of his hotel. Noah had always seen this hotel on the drive home from work. It was 10 stories high and had a fountain in front of it, but it was turned off during the winter.
"It really was just a few blocks from here. Nice place." Noah said. It was already decorated for Christmas, despite it being November. They also could have just been string lights, Noah didn't really know the difference.
"We never get to be in nice places like this, but our tour's been doing really well, so we splurged." Cody smiled over at Noah. "Well hey, thanks again for the ride! See you around."
"Thanks for dinner." Noah nodded as Cody opened the door, and he watched as he walked into the hotel. He looked down at the floor and picked up the program that was given to them at the beginning of the concert and took a hard look at Cody's portrait. Cody had really matured nicely. Meanwhile, Noah has looked the same since the start of Total Drama. After a few moments of this, he looked down at his phone, a text from Cody. He must have been really deep into that program, or his hotel room was close to the lobby.
Cody
Made it in the room! Justin has already taken up the last bed, lol. Floor it is. Thanks again!
He felt a tightness in his chest - was he having a panic attack? No, this was different from anxiety. This felt like - a crush.
A/N: (LATE NIGHT) DOUBLE FEATURE (PICTURE SHOW)!
