For the next pass few days, not Noah nor Cody utter a word to each other. Not a glance, a breath, nothing. The tension between them was airlock tight. The silence treatment has never been this serious. Not only Cody was not speaking to Noah, he wouldn't acknowledge him. He didn't cook Noah his breakfasts, lunches, or dinners. Didn't wake him up in the middle of night. He didn't even make Noah his coffee.
Noah worked as best as he could, but he just couldn't. He and Cody had never been in a fight like this before. Usually, it was more of a mock argument, which leads to the bedroom around the end. But, he never had seen Cody so mad at him before. He knows he deserves it after what he said, but he didn't know this would last so long. He sighs, removing his glasses to rub his face. He stares at the computer screen with a blank stare. He glances at the time, around nine in the morning, and its Saturday. A growl from his stomach reminded Noah that he hadn't ate anything since perhaps yesterday.
Walking slowly to the kitchen, Noah grabbed some bread and butter to make himself some toast. The phone from the living room rang, and seeing that Cody was still sleeping, Noah went to go answer it. Too tired to answer the phone rudely, Noah picks it up slowly to his ear.
"Hello?" he drawls out, yawning a bit.
"Noah? Hey, it's Gwen!"
"Gwen? What?"
"I'm calling to tell you that me and Trent are coming over this afternoon. Remember, to discuss about your new book cover? Did you forget?"
Noah blinked, rubbing his face again. 'Shit, I did forget.' He thought.
"No, I didn't forget." He lied.
"Ok, cool. We'll be around, maybe one or so. See you then! Oh, and tell Cody I said hi!"
Noah heard the once goth-girl hang up and he did so himself. He sighed nervously. He should have told her this was a bad time to come visit, but the thought of saying that did not come to him. This lack of sleeping must be killing some of his brain cells. A sudden smell of something burning broke Noah's thought and he cursed as he rushed to the kitchen to try and save his burning toast.
On his plate was his breakfast. Burned to black toast with some butter and orange juice. Noah sighed as he stared at his sorry attempt to make himself something to eat. He heard the bedroom door opening and saw Cody walking out of it and into the bathroom. Noah rose from his seat and knocked on the bathroom door.
"Cody? I know you're not talking to me now, but just to let you know, Gwen and Trent are coming over later…"
He received no answer from Cody, so he walked back to seat and tried to bite into his toast.
Since it was a Saturday, Cody did not have work today, so Noah was stuck being with him. Although, Cody just remained in the bedroom for the rest of the morning, sometimes coming out of it to go to the bathroom or grab something from the kitchen. It was finally the afternoon and they both heard the doorbell ring. Noah stared at door, and then at himself. He looked like a mess, there was no way he was answering the door. To his surprise though, Cody went straight to the door, opening it.
Noah heard Gwen and Trent greet Cody, and to his surprise, Cody greeted them back. Exchanged hugs and smiles was sent to the others, and Noah sat there by his desk, watching all of this. Friends that they haven't seen in a while made Cody smile, and a pain shot through Noah. He shook his head, and faced the computer screen again.
Gwen and Trent walked in, looking around a bit. Cody hanged up their coats and offered them something to drink.
"A tea for me, Cody." Gwen asked, smiling.
"I'll have what she's having." Trent answered, smiling as well.
Cody smiled at the both of them and went to the kitchen. He walked right pass Noah, not saying a word to him. Noah felt that chilly air when Cody walked pass him, but he shrugged it off. Trent walked up to Noah, patting his shoulder.
"Hey, man! Don't you want to stop working so you can relax a bit? You look like hell."
Noah shot Trent a quick and peeved glare. Trent removed his hand, backing away from Noah slowly. Noah grabbed a cigarette from his ash tray and took a long drag on it, returning to typing. Trent sat back on the couch, next to Gwen.
"What's with him?" he whispered to Gwen.
"Writers tend to get stressed when a deadline is due. Leave him be for a while." Gwen whispered back.
"I don't know. Something doesn't seem right, Gwen…" Trent whispered back.
Cody returned to the living room with two cups of fresh, hot tea. Trent and Gwen thanked Cody as he sat down across from them with one of the chairs. Cody smiled at his old friends.
"So, anything new with you guys? How's your bike shop, Trent?" Cody asked.
Since years had pass, Gwen and Trent were also still together. Both lived together, but not married yet. Gwen is now an art teacher for a high school near by. But, not only that, she was also the artist for Noah's book covers. Now, the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." But, if you saw the beautiful book covers for Noah's novels, it would certainly catch your attention and make you think, "Now, what is this book about?" She agreed to do Noah's book covers when he first started out and needed someone he could trust. Cody suggested Gwen, and Noah called her. Gwen was happy to do it and Noah was glad she could do it for such a low pay.
Trent, on the other hand, had fulfilled his dream and opened up a motorcycle shop. Although his father was enraged that his son did not want to be an accountant, it took him a while to approve his son's choice of employment. Being with Gwen made Trent's life more interesting, to say the least. Since he and Cody are still close friends, he enjoyed visiting him and Noah. Even if Noah still acted like a stuck-up. That's what Trent always thought, anyway.
Trent grinned when Cody mentioned his bike shop. Placing his tea cup down, he answered.
"Oh, it's going great! I sold two bikes yesterday!"
Cody smiled, and congratulated Trent on his sales. He asked Gwen how her job was and she went on about a certain student in one of her classes that was giving her trouble. Cody laughed at the way Gwen descried this student's actions. Noah was biting his lower. He was now annoyed with Cody. This silent treatment he was getting was now getting childish. He never knew it would hurt this bad, but it did. He hasn't heard Cody laugh in a while, and a stupid story about some stupid kid did? Noah was biting his lips so hard, it started bleeding a bit. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and continued typing.
"Hey, Noah! Why not join us? You could use a break." Trent called out to him.
"Yeah, come sit with us and I can show you the different art designs I brought with me for your book cover." Gwen said.
Noah turned around slightly, a cigarette in his fingers and his glasses on the tip of nose. He brought the cigarette up to his lips for another drag and got up from his chair. He moved to the couch and sat between Trent and Gwen. He stared at Cody, who stared back. The smile and happy expression was gone on Cody's face. Now, there was a tight frown, and an angry look in his eyes. There was silence in the apartment, only the tick-tocking from the kitchen clock. Noah slowly blew out smoke and removed his glasses from his face. Cody continued frowning at Noah, not saying a word.
Trent let out an uncomfortable cough as Gwen shifted around a little in her seat. Someone needed to end this threatening silence. A minute had pass, and Gwen decided to be the brave one and launch something.
"So! Noah, I have those art designs in my folder here…" she said, rummaging into her purse.
"Oh, hey! Show him the one with the ogre fighting. You know, the one you showed me last night, Gwen?" Trent said, also trying end this scary silence.
"Oh, right! You'll like this one, Noah. Perfect for your book!" Gwen said, going through her folder.
Noah didn't answer Gwen. He didn't give her a nod or anything. He just kept staring at Cody, smoking slowly as he did. Cody stared back, still frowning and not saying a word. Both stared at each other, waiting for one of them to say something. There was that feeling again. The air feeling tighter and tighter. Noah felt he should say something. Anything to make Cody smile or even laugh. He licked his lips, feeling that cut he made with his teeth earlier. He tried saying something, but something was holding him back.
The staring contest was interrupted when Gwen held up one of her art designs in front of Noah's face. Noah moved back a bit and grabbed the picture. He stared at it for a while and gave it back to Gwen.
"Well? Do you like it?" Gwen asked.
"I'm not really sure. Why not ask Cody, Gwen? Maybe he'll know." Noah said, his tone sounding bitter.
Cody's frown got tighter, and he glared at Noah. He suddenly got up and walked away to the bedroom. A loud slam was heard and another moment silence. Noah sighed, taking another long drag from his cigarette. Both Trent and Gwen were confused, a bit worried about Cody. Before they could ask, Noah spoke.
"You guys should go. Sorry about all this, but having people over isn't what we really need now."
Gwen frowned, but nodded. She gathers her things and went to fetch her coat. Trent, however, stared at Noah, frowning.
"What's wrong with Cody?" he asked, although he sounded like he was demanding to know.
Noah glared at Trent, tapping his cigarette butt.
"It's none of your business." He stated.
Trent glared back Noah. He felt Gwen tapping his shoulder, handing him his coat. Trent turned around, grabbing his coat and putting it on. He walked out the apartment, not bidding Noah a good bye. Gwen slipped on her coat and went to the door, but before she existed, she looked back at Noah.
"I'm going to call Cody later, ok?"
Noah shrugged at her, taking another drag. Gwen frowned at him.
"Those things are going to kill you. Didn't Cody tell you that?"
She than left, closing the door behind her. Noah sighed, shaking his head. He stared at the bedroom door. Than, he looked back at his computer. Noah sighed again, rubbing his face. He felt so tired, but for some reason, angry as well. He glared at the bedroom door and sat back to the computer. He took a huge drag from his cigarette, and coughed a bit since it choked him a little. The anger was still in him, so he put out the cigarette and pulled out a new one. He reached to his pocket and pulled out his little box of matches, but when he opened it, he founded it empty. Noah closed his eyes, then threw the box with frustration and yelled out a cursed word.
"FUCK!"
He turned around and slammed his head to his hands, his elbows on the desk. He rocked back and forth a bit. What was with sudden anger? Who was he mad at? Cody or himself? Why were they fighting anyway? Because someone was dying? Someone that hated Noah and he hated him right back? Noah had his eyes closed tight, trying to calm down. These questions were stupid and idiotic. He raised his head up, rubbing his eyes. He stared at the computer, and his letters, words, paragraphs that he typed. He glared at them, hating the things that used to give him joy. Noah got up and walked to the kitchen. Grabbing the tea kettle, he made himself some tea instead of coffee. He stared at nothing while he drank his tea. His tired, brown eyes felt like they were fading. Like, the colours were going away. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. He needed to fix this, somehow. The pain he kept feeling within was fear. He was scared that if he didn't fix this, he was going to loose Cody.
Author's Notes: D: Uh-oh. Why do I enjoy torturing Noah? If he doesn't fix up his act, he's gonna loose Cody! OR WILL HE?! Tune in next time for A Lack Of Colour! Small note; I won't update tomorrow because I'm going to the New York Comic Con! X3
