Hello everyone. Surkura's here... and I guess there's nothing much to really say. Now, on with the story!

"Are your friends going to be following us for the entire date?" Nora asked, annoyed when she looked at the three boys a few seats down in the café she and Cody went to after the movie. The trio waved at them and she scoffed. "Seriously. I know this was a dare and all, but couldn't they just have told you to take pictures or something. It would've lasted longer." She spat then looked at Cody spinning the straw in his milkshake around, his eyes looking out of the café window.

Nora adverted her eyes and fiddled with her fingers. She opened her mouth a couple of times, but stopped, closed it, and repeated the process. Finally, after a few minutes of awkward silences, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all! It's just that…" Cody sighed, glancing back towards the window. "I'm actually surprise that you know this spot. Noah and I use to come here all the time and sit here in this exact spot, too." He gave a small, weak smile. "We use to look outside the window, spot some people and-"

"-Try to guess their life stories like they did on that movie Date Night." Nora finished with a faded voice, her head hanging low and her finger grazing around the rim of her cup. Cody had to double take, preventing himself from reaching up and rubbing his eyes. For a split second, he thought he saw Noah in Nora's place in his usual three shirts and green cargo shorts. He looked up at him with deep brown eyes before Cody remembered that he was looking into Nora's sunglasses. "He told me about the things you two do, and that was one of them… guess that won't be happening anymore."

"Guess not." Cody stated. "But I guess it's okay. I mean, we don't do anything anymore anyway. Not even a phone call. Those guys made it clear to me that they don't want me talking to Noah after I join them. I don't even understand why I have to exactly, but as long as they stop hurting him."

"But… you know, you're hurting him." Nora mumbled, her hands gripping the milkshake cup tightly. "I guess you're not doing a good job at that, huh?"

"Excuse me!" Cody perked his head up. He did not mean to get angry towards her, but the aggression in his voice was already placed. "What do you mean, 'I'm not doing a good job'? What would you do if you had my situation, huh!"

Nora was not fazed by his anger. In fact, she acted as if she dealt with it before. However, her hidden eyes were scratching a hole deep inside Cody's skin, feeling it up with anger, depression, and sadness. There's only one person that Cody knows has powerful enough eyes to do that, and that was-

"Hold that thought." She said before getting up and walking towards the bathroom. Once the door was closed, the three boys got up and sat around Cody. "Dude, I'm seriously thinking that the rumors about you being gay is true." Duncan announced. "All you did this entire date was talked about 'Noah's this' and 'Noah's that' and 'Noah, Noah, Noah'."

"I'm sorry, but she's reminding me too much of him!" Cody snapped. "The orders, the movie skipping, the walk- everything! I swear, they're like twins or something. Maybe I'm dating a long lost twin; I wouldn't be surprise since he had eight older siblings- all twins, by the way!"

"Amigo, when you're on a date, you must talk about the lady you're with, and not your friend." Alejandro stated. "Because if you do, you'll give her the impression that you don't like her and that she reminds you of a man. And trust me, no women wants to be reminded of that."

"Except Eva." Duncan stated an inside joke, high-fiving Alejandro at the same time. Cody decided that it was best to stay on the outside. Eva was a friend of Noah's, and he never liked hearing horrible things about his friends, which is why he'd gotten so involved with the gay rumor about him going around. "Now I'm starving. I'm getting myself something to eat." Duncan announced.

"Right behind you." The Latino followed Duncan towards the line. The only one that was left was Geoff, who was unusually quiet enough to make Cody stare at him funny. "Aren't you going to eat with them?" He asked.

"I actually wanted to talk to you, bro. Just us two, so it can be the real me. Alejandro wouldn't like it if I did this in front of him." Geoff said. Cody raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean, he wouldn't like it? Isn't he your friend? The three of you run the school and most of the town."

"Alejandro was wide known before I joined in the picture, but I'm getting off topic." Geoff stated. "How's Noah?" Cody didn't expect that question. He slightly narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care?"

"Because he seems hurt." Geoff stated. "I might not know Noah, but you know you two were well known around the school. He doesn't seem like that type a guy to let friend issues cloud his mind, but… the both of you seemed off these past couple of weeks."

Cody knew he was obvious about that. Noah and him, even with different friends, were basically joint to the hip. Noah's friend Izzy even offered to try and duck taped their hips together. "H-He's… okay." He lied, he'd guessed. "A little peeved. But he'll get over it. It's for the best, right? You guys will leave him alone if I do, right?"

Geoff turned his gaze away from the teen, Cody's anger and fear boiling up. "Well? Will you or will you not!" He hissed. "Alejandro gave his word! He would leave Noah alone!"

"… You know, I was just like you few months ago." Geoff spoke so softly; it was almost unnatural for someone like him. "I had it all. You know DJ and Bridgette? They were my best friend and girlfriend. God, they were my life. But, DJ got injured and couldn't play football anymore, which was about the only 'manly' thing he could do. See, he and Bridgette are hard-core activists and environmentalists. They're both vegetarians and usually want to hug around a tree singing. And although I like meat, and they can somewhat respect that, I usually go to them with these things and they're actually not the bad; pretty fun, actually, like a low down party. But I hated the fact that I was Mr. Party Go-er and everyone else would tease them behind my back. DJ got teased for not being manly enough and Bridgette for not being like other girls.

"One day, the two of them were planning on doing a little activist rally about the school not spending enough money on nutrition lunch food and more on sports equipment. Word got out and people were planning on ruining it. I wanted, and tried to stop it, but I couldn't do it, and the event was closing down. Alejandro and Duncan sensed my dilemma and offered to help, but for a price. They got the rest of their gang to protect the rally, but I couldn't see it; I watched from the sideline their fake happy faces as their eyes glance around for me. But I thought it would just be the event, and I could just explain to them later. But even after that, but bullying continued, and I hated to see the two of them suffer! Especially when they smile at me as I'm fixing up their beatings and cuts. I couldn't take it anymore! I went back to Alejandro and Duncan- I wanted them to protect them.

"Their protection came with me doing things I would never though I would do; drugs, robbery, the list goes on. Eventually, I lost them. And when I tried to rekindle everything, against Alejandro's wishes, they were together, all happy and lively. But the moment they saw me, and that look in their eyes…" Geoff gulped, biting his lips and shaking his head in shame. "I can still hear Bridgette yelling that she thought I was better than that. Do you know what it felt when I realized that those smiles they gave me when I helped them wasn't to cover up the mask that they hated the fact that they were getting bullied, and they hated looking weak in front of me?"

Cody gulped, turning his head away. "W-Why are you telling me this, Geoff?"

"Because, bra', I can tell that you love Noah, and don't tell me that you don't; the evidence is there. And I can tell that you want to protect him, too. But I wonder sometimes… If I had not made the deal with Alejandro and Duncan… maybe the three of us could've gotten closer. Maybe we could've made something bigger and better and eventually, the school could've accepted them. It would be just the three of us, like it should be." Geoff smirked, then frown and patted Cody's shoulders. "I rumors are going to die down once we alter the story a bit, though I'm sure a few will still think that you're gay. But I will tell you this. Alejandro had his eyes on Noah for a while, man." Cody's eyes widen in shock, a nail being hammered into his chest. "W-What?"

Geoff sighed and pulled the tip of his hat down. "Yeah, dude. Alejandro was going to make a move the moment you become a part of the group. It's not easy to get out of, either. And if you do happen to talk to Noah, Alejandro won't think twice about hurting him to hurt you. In fact, I wouldn't be surprise if he does something to make Noah agree."

"...I'm not… protecting him?" Cody gasped. "All this time…I thought that I was sacrificing our friendship for his safety. But, Alejandro promise me that he would-."

"He promised that he was going to stop bullying him. Dating is something totally different." Geoff responded. Cody held his head down. "…I'm not protecting him…I was never protecting him…"

"Not really, bro." Geoff said, a little upset that he had to break the news to him. "I know you're looking out for him, but looking out for what's best and doing what's best are two totally different things. I just hope you realize it before it's too late. I would hate for something as strong as your love for him to end like this. Believe it or not, Cody, It's not to late."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not his pawn yet. You can still save this relationship of yours." The party go-er grabbed his shoulders and smiled. "You can still get him. And trust me, I know that Noah is waiting for you." Geoff gave a friendly wink before walking up to the line, placing a fake mask for the two thugs.

Cody shook his head, anger rolling in his groans.

He wasn't protecting Noah like he was promised the teen. He knew the consequences of joining a gang would ruin him mentally, but he didn't care as long as the person he loved was safe. But now… what to do?

"To answer your question, Cody, and sorry for taking so long." Nora caught his attention as she sat back down, putting away some make-up in her purse. "I wouldn't do what you're doing. I would want my friend or whomever I cared about to be safe, but…just to know that when they need me, that I'm there for them… and if I'm not there to help them, no matter how many bodyguards they have, they will always be in pain and unprotected. The best way for me to make sure they are safe is if I do it myself, even if death is at the end of the road."

Silences filled the air between them, however, it was serene. Cody gave a small smile. "Nice speech there, Nora." He stated. Nora blushed and giggled nervously, biting her lips, and he could tell that she was casting her eyes to the side underneath the sunglasses. "Um… you're thank you. But i was just telling the truth." She said, pulling a strand of her hair back.

The thumb, pointer, and middle finger were out, and the ring and pinky finger was hooked around the strand of hair, pulling it back.

He saw Noah once again.