Hey :) heres another lil chapter. What do you think? How is it headed? Is it almost time for Olivia to meet this beautiful man who is looking out for her son? Should we hear a bit from Trevors POV?


"Benson," Noah heard his name being whispered loudly in the classroom. He looked around, not being able to figure out who it was coming from. He heard it again and glanced behind him, finding Peter Blasko staring at him. Noah said nothing, waiting for the jock to continue. "Want to hang out with us?"

"No," he replied simply and turned back to the front of the room. He knew it was a ruse, those guys didn't want to be his friends, he wanted to embarrass him and they didn't want him on their team. He knew it was a set-up.

He felt something being thrown at him but decided to ignore it. Again, something hit the back of his chair. "Mr Blasko, is there a reason why you are throwing things in my classroom?" Mr Shearer their Social Studies teacher asked.

"No…" Peter muttered.

"Good, get up off your chair and pick up all your little bits and pieces from the floor and put them in garbage and if you interrupt me again, you can go and find your way to see Mr Pearlman for detention instead of football practice."

Noah knew Peter was going to give him an extra hard time now that he'd gotten him in to trouble — even if it wasn't on purpose.

He tried to keep his head in his books. Despite how tense and emotional friday night had been, he and Olivia had managed to have a fun Saturday and Sunday together, neither acknowledging any of the weirdness that passed through them before the weekend had even began.

There were some things about her son that Olivia indulged that made him feel grateful. She knew that not a lot of mothers would have jumped on board his childish games, but Olivia was happy to take him to see his Pokémon movie. Afterwards, he showed her the Pokémon game that he liked to play if he didn't want to go straight home. It was based on using his phone's GPS to find Pokémon in the city.

Olivia was intrigued if only for his benefit and after lunch insisted that they look for some Pokémon and Noah downloaded the game to her phone too, together they indulged in what he knew all of his classmates would think was lame or childish.

And maybe it was childish but it had been his favourite thing to do as a kid: collect Pokémon cards and toys and anything related to it. And for Olivia, it was a way of connecting and having fun with her little boy who was growing up, but still sometimes enjoying the same things he did at twelve.

He'd even requested that she tuck him in. It filled her up with happiness that their day was unintentionally reconnecting them. She did as he asked, tucking him in and kissing his cheek. "I had the best day with you today, babe," she told him, "I hope we have more of these days…"

"I had the best day too," he murmured honestly, "even if I know doing the whole Pokémon thing is immature for me."

"It doesn't matter, you're not hurting anyone, we had fun with it. You don't have to advertise it to the world… I love you. Have a good sleep."

And he did, he had the best sleep and when he woke up his Mom had left fresh donuts out for him and a Starbucks card, she knew he loved the milk blend coffees that barely constituted as coffee.

He couldn't get Starbucks on the way to school though, he knew he would get made fun of. He would save it for after practice, maybe, or the weekend. He took a donut though and ate it as he collected some snacks from the kitchen and dropped it in his bag.

He heard the front door jiggle open and he froze to the spot. Despite being a few years older, he still felt panicked by uninvited visitors. "Who's there?," he called out, getting close to the door to look out the peep hole, his phone in-hand

"It's just me, it's Mom," Olivia called back as the door handle opened.

He took a step back and let her in. She was dressed for work in a pair of black pants, a plain pink top and a black blazer. He smiled at her, he knew his Mom was older than most of the other parents of his friend, but he knew that her looks defied her age by the amount of crushes his school mates had on her growing up.

It was sometimes embarrassing.

"What are you doing home?," he wondered.

She smiled at him, "I'm doing well, good morning to you too," she managed a laugh.

Noah, remembering himself, started again, also with a chuckle. "Sorry," he took the remaining donut from his mouth and spoke clearly. "Good morning, how come you're home?"

"Better," she replied, threading past him to put her handbag down in the dining table. "I'm home because I've had enough of my job and I told them I'm going home to bed and someone else can do the dirty work," she fibbed.

"You did not," Noah replied knowing his mother too well, "why are you being secretive?"

"I'm not. I'm just kidding around with you, kiddo, come on-" she paused roughing up his curls. He jumped out of her reach.

"I am taking some time away from work," she replied. "I got to work and realised I didn't really want to be there. I wanted to be at home and do Mom stuff while you're at school because I kinda miss it."

"What type of Mom stuff?," he wondered curiously, trying to figure out if her time off would be a good or bad thing.

"Like doing all that laundry that's been banking up because we haven't found a good enough cleaner. Washing all of our sheets and bedding so we can have a wonderful peaceful sleep — dropping you off at school if you'd like a ride…"

"Not necessary, I like to walk."

Olivia shrugged. "I'll even cook dinner-"

Noah made a face, "oh brother…"

She couldn't help but to laugh. "But really, will you be happy that I'm home?"

He shrugged, "only if you don't get upset that I don't want to spend every waking hour with you. I have my own routine now too, you know."

"I know," she smiled, "but it'll be nice I hope. I'm going to go grocery shopping later this afternoon so if you want anything, send me a text."

"Okay and Mom, thanks for the donuts and Starbucks card… I can't use the card on the way to school but I'll probably use it after."

She smiled at him, "you're welcome, sweetie. There should be enough on it for a couple of drinks. I know its not going to fix anything but in my experience, sometimes little nice things help… so if you can think of anything that you think might help, I want you to tell me."

Humbled by her leveling with him, his cheeks flushed. "Maybe a motorbike?" He asked dead-pan.

Olivia stared at him, "ha, you're hilarious."

Noah smiled to himself as he picked up his bag and his water bottle. "Thanks Mom. I love you."

"I love you too." She shedded her blazer and saw him to the door, pausing to hold her arms out. "Indulge me, I'm rarely home to see you off."

He played it cool, like he didn't want to be touched but he welcomed the hug. He felt his Moms arms firmly around him as he reciprocated her embrace. He had almost forgotten how good it felt to feel affection from the woman he used to believe could do no wrong.

He sighed with happiness before pulling away. She kissed his forehead and smiled. "You're almost too tall for that…" she laughed.

Noah looked down into his Moms eyes and grinned. "You're not," he replied, returning the kiss to her forehead. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you. Have a good day."

He felt good about his weekend and morning and there was no way he was going to let Peter Blasko ruin that with his stupidity.

"I'm handing back your essays at the end of the period and there are a few second chances," Mr Shearer informed them, "if you've been lucky to get a second chance, you are required to read the notes and write me an email in your own time about your essay argument. Do not start til you get my approval."

He put his whiteboard marker down and sat at his desk, "and with that in mind, I want you all to make a single file line as you leave my class to obtain your essay and you can take the last ten minutes between now and your next class to think about the subject of your third and final essay for the semester… I have attached a set of guidelines, word count and subjects and arguments to think about."

Noah tried not to feel frustrated; he hated essays. He wasn't good at them, not even when he tried. He always knew what he wanted to say but somehow, he managed to lose his way and ended up missing the entire point he was trying to make. He didn't have to be told, he knew his essay would need to be redone. He knew it was weak to begin with.

Everyone got their essays slowly and surely. He heard Mr Shearer doling out praise to a few students - the star ones that always did well, like he used to be. Finally it was his turn, he just wanted it over with.

"Noah Porter-Benson," Mr Shearer greeted him.

"It's just Benson, no Porter," Noah replied bluntly.

"Your essay left a lot to be desired. I'm requesting that you re-do it. Your argument choice was terrible, your layout was not what we worked on in class and you basically went on a rant, I've read better essays from my 6th graders."

"So encouraging, you should get awards for that," he muttered, "thanks."

"I want you to hand me a new one on Monday, so it's in your best interests to get on to this yesterday," the teacher added, ignoring his smart back-talk.

"If I had time travel available to me…" Noah shrugged, "I can only do what I can do and I can't say you've been approachable enough to help us where we are struggling."

The teacher looked up at him and rose an eyebrow, "and did you try to ask for help?," he challenged the fifteen year old, "no?"

"No," Noah replied, "because I didn't realise I was doing so bad. Whatever, I'll get it done," he replied, unsure if whether really would.

/

"Can I leave training early?" Noah asked Trevor hopefully. "I got my essay back and its not good… "

Trevor unloaded his training equipment silently from the trunk of his Mustang as Noah followed him back and forth with anticipation.

"I can't believe you're asking me for a favour and rather than trying to earn yourself some good graces by helping me with this, you're just watching me and stalking me in hope that I'll let you off the hook."

Noah rolled his eyes and picked up a net that held balls and orange cones for the drills.

"The answer is no," Trevor replied finally, "no you can't flake out on me or your team because you chose to not care about something from another class."

"It's not that I don't care…" Noah's voice trailed off, "I just don't know what I'm doing and he's not helpful." He dropped the training equipment with quiet resignation. "I'm just so fucking sick of feeling like I'm struggling!" The teen snapped, feeling frustrated with everything. "Anytime something good happens, something bad comes along to take the feeling away and I'm exhausted. I don't want to be here in this stupid fucking football team."

Trevor stared at him, for the first time getting some emotion out of him. Anger was better than nothing, he knew that was for sure. "Okay Noah," he began, "here's what's gonna happen, you're not going to curse like that in front of me ever again. You're not bailing on training, but you're going to give it your best and tomorrow afternoon, I will meet with you after school in the library and I will help you with your essay structure, your argument and I will make myself available to help you whenever you need."

Overcome with his coach's kindness, he almost wanted to cry. It was the first time a teacher hadn't yelled at him for an explosion of anger. It was the first time he felt heard when he mentioned the word help. He wasn't dismissed or shrugged off, Coach Langan had a practical solution.

"I don't care anymore, I could fail and it wouldn't change anything."

"I'm not letting you fail, Noah, I know you're a smart kid who's going through a hard time. It might not feel like it matters right now, but it will in the future, I promise you."

Trevor glanced at the curly-haired teenager who looked dangerously close to breaking down. But, seeing the regular jocks of his team making their way to the field, he couldn't allow that, he couldn't allow Noah to become more of a target than he already was. "Okay, I can see your changed for training, so I want you to start warming up," he said, "back and forth give me ten laps and then I'm going to time your speed and see if you've increased your stamina."

Noah just nodded. He could hear his team mates and wanted to get going to get rid of some of his anger. From his spot, he began to run. Running helped him as much as walking did. It was the even thud of his steps to the way his breathing became a louder, steadier pattern and the drum of his heartbeat felt like the bass of a tune no one else could hear.

He knew he was fast and he knew that was about the only thing going for him on the team and for some reason, he found himself indebted to Coach Langan, wanting to please him and show him he was appreciative of his help.

/

"Why you gotta be a little bitch for?" Peter Blasko asked Noah as he passed him in the change rooms. He pushed him, sending him in to the exposed brick wall. "You got me in to trouble in class, I was just tryin' to be your friend."

Noah said nothing. He found it easier to mind his own business. "Is this kid special or something?" Peter turned his attention to his best friend, Ryan. Ryan was as big as Peter but wasn't as full of bravado or threatening behaviour. He did, however, go along with whatever his buffoon friend did as if he didn't have a mind of his own.

"Leave him alone, man… you heard coach today, you're about to be benched and we need you."

Blasko rolled his eyes and glared at Noah who tried to act like he didn't care, but his cheeks were red and he was quickly stuffing his belongings in to his bag, changing his shoes. Peter walked past him, picking up his one shoe of the pair of Air Force Nikes that Olivia had bought for his 15th birthday and threw it across the room. Noah put the remaining one on and put the his football boots in his bag.

Coach Langan had presented him with the boots on day one of training when Noah was faced with suspension for figuring out how to make one of the lab burner's flame's increase in size. Given that someone could have got burned, the school rang Olivia and asked to see her and Trevor asked the teacher to give him a chance at helping Noah turn everything around before the end of the school year.

Trevor also taught an 8th grade Economics teacher and Noah had been a student — he was surprised when he heard that Noah was acting out. He remembered him to be bright, thoughtful and exceptionally dedicated to good grades with a few good, like-minded friends.

He had heard teachers discussing Noah in the lounge and wondered if something had gone on to cause his change in behaviour. The teachers were surprised but a little frustrated with his change.

Trevor only knew too much how what seemed like nothing to others could trigger a change in someone and he wanted to get to the bottom of it because Noah had left an imprint on him as being incredibly clever and was always eager to please. The Noah that played on his team was a very different kid and he knew something had happened.

Noah finished with his shoes and got up to go pick up the one that Blasko had pegged across the room with frustration. He picked up his bag and felt started toward it as Coach entered the change rooms. Noah looked up, and before he knew it, he had tripped and lost his footing, landing flat on the slate surface of the floor with a pain coursing through his nose.

He was quickly pulled to his feet by the 6'5" coach. He felt a weird sensation of a thick, warm substance running from his nostrils, hitting his lips. He tasted blood.

"Right, Peter! Ryan, get out, get out of my sight. Everyone else? If you're not getting changed get your things and go."

Noah heard a little commotion as someone guided him to sit - he was dizzy and was trying hard not to let the prickles behind his eyes turn to tears. He realised that Peter had purposely tripped him over. His face throbbed. Someone handed Coach some toilet paper. "Here, kiddo, tip your head back and hold this against your nose…"

"Wow, you're gonna have a shiner in the morning," Trevor remarked wincing as he inspected Noah's face. "I have to file a report before we get you home, so hold tight," he added. "I'll be right back."

Another kid in the team had lingered back. Noah avoided his eyes, feeling weak and stupid. "Hey, you didn't deserve that, Peter can be such a fucking jerk," Adam Greystein murmured. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay," Noah sniffed, "not your fault."

"He's just a bully, he used to bully me in middle school until I shot up and stood up to him."

"Lucky you, you're not a little wimp like me," Noah replied, trying hard not to cry. He was done, he was done trying to be happy, trying to put a good spin on things, trying to trick himself in to believing that life was going to be kind and full of possibilities for him.

"You're not a wimp, Noah. I saw you out there running when I got to training and you're faster than most of us, we need someone with speed on the team, the rest of us just have to cover you and defend you, you're gonna be great — and after this trick, coach will be on top of Peter to make sure he doesn't touch you again."

Noah said nothing.

"Do you need a ride home? My brother is gonna pick me up in about 10 minutes…"

"Its okay, I can walk," he replied, finally. "Thanks…"

Trevor walked back in with a clipboard and some paperwork. "Wait, Adam, I need your version of events since everyone else raced out; did you see Peter cause Noah's fall?"

"Yep," Adam replied. "He walked in after practice and pushed Noah in to the wall and tossed his shoe across the change room." The kid held up a stray shoe before putting it down next to Noah, "as soon as Noah got up, he put his foot out, I think he'd planned it because Ryan told him to cut it out and to give Noah a break or else he'd be benched."

"Oh, he's definitely getting benched and then if you guys lose, you'll know who you can thank."

Trevor wrote notes furiously and once finished, he held it up to Adam. "Give that a read and sign it if you agree."

A few minutes later Adam signed it and handed it back to his coach. He looked at Noah, "you sure you don't want a ride home?"

"I'm sure. Thanks," Noah replied.

He put his shoe on and stood up, a little shaky on his feet from the little bump on his head. Trevor knew there was no way in his own good conscience that he could let him walk home after hitting his head.

Adam waved goodbye and Noah asked if he could go.

"Wait a second," Trevor replied, finishing his report, signing, dating and making sure he had everything.

He grabbed his own things and guided Noah out, turning off the lights and locking up. "I'm going to drive you to your apartment."

"I can walk," Noah responded.

"Actually, you've just hit your head and you're about to get a helluva headache, so I either drive you home or I'll call your Mom to get you."

"Don't call Mom," he replied quickly. A little too quickly. "I'll be okay to walk, I feel fine. It's not even that far."

"Noah," Trevor sighed, "what's going on? Is there something I should know about that's going on at home? Is your Mom going to be there?"

"Nothing is going on, I just don't need her to worry about me, I've already caused enough trouble with that whole science class thing," he ranted, "she's already upset and I don't want to make it worse."

"I'm sorry, but those are your choices, I can drop you off or I'll call her, but you're not walking home. You have to trust that I'm the adult and I know better," he insisted, staring down the teen who couldn't hold his own when it came to the super tall football coach.

"Why? Why do you even give a shit?" Noah asked, becoming frustrated, "I just want everyone to keep out of my business!"

"I told you not to curse in front of me." Trevor told him calmly. "Secondly, I care about all of my students and my team members. You guys can't see your future past what's directly in front of you, but by virtue of being an adult, I have the foresight to see when your actions are going to mark your future and you don't deserve to flush everything down the toilet because you're so… mad."

There was some silence that fell between them as Noah unwittingly followed him to his car. He opened up the passenger door and turned back to him. "So are you getting in or am I calling your Mom?"

Begrudgingly, Noah hopped in the car.

/

It was almost 6 and dark outside and Olivia was getting nervous. Her son wasn't replying to any of her messages. She hadn't heard from him. She put her coat on and grabbed her keys and headed downstairs to walk his route to see if perhaps he had stopped somewhere.

She could feel her legs trembling and assured herself that he was probably testing the boundaries, wanting some time to himself, but still he knew better, he still remembered the time he was kidnapped by his grandma, he remembered all the times where she'd had to have detail on him, he should have known better.

Just as she was getting ahead of herself a car pulled up and her son got out and so did a man. She stood, her body feeling heavy, all of the weight leaking out of her fingers, allowing her to breathe again. But who was the man? Who was that man with her son?

"I'm fine!" Noah snapped at him, "you've done your good deed, you can go, I'm home."

"I think I should talk to your Mo-"

"No," Noah said shook his head, "absolutely not, I'm not gonna worry her, she's probably already worried why I'm not home," he replied. "Thank you for the ride, I'll see you later."

Olivia made a beeline to the black mustang as it began to drive away not quite clocking his mother, "I'm already worried, are you kidding me?," she raised her voice. She saw the bruising around his nose, the stain of blood and the panic seemed to reset itself, "what happened?," she asked him, "are you okay?"

Liv was about to reach up to take her son's chin in her hand to inspect his face when Noah jumped stepped back, avoiding her touch.

"I'm fine, jeez, I wish everyone would stop making a big deal out of this! FUCK!" He shouted in to the air and knew the second that it came out he would regret it.

"Go inside," Olivia replied, feeling hurt and disappointed in her son's behaviour.

"With pleasure," he muttered, storming off.

Olivia stared after the Mustang until it disappeared from sight, taking her phone out of her pocket and putting the plates in to her phone in case she needed them later.

/

Olivia couldn't seem to stop the tears from running down her face. She stood at the kitchen sink with the tray of Noah's favourite roast potatoes that she wanted to surprise him with. She wasn't a great cook, but potatoes to perfect she could do. It was her son's comfort food, the food he never got often, but when he did, it made him grin and could instantly turn his mood around.

He had locked himself in his room and refused to speak with her. She placed the tray on the kitchen counter and wiped her eyes. She reached for her phone and picked it up. I think I need your help… are you free?

She took the cheese from the fridge and sprinkled it over the potatoes before putting them back in the oven. I'm free Cap, what's up?

She wiped her eyes and tried her best to keep her composure. I need someone to come and talk to my son, I don't know what to do, he won't tell me anything but something is happening. He came home with a blood nose and won't let me near him. Someone around my age dropped him off and I can't help but think the worst…

She heard his bedroom door open and the bathroom door follow. The shower began to run.

Of course… I could come now? I can bring dinner and make it look casual?

Olivia wiped her nose. I've cooked and I doubt Noah is going to want to eat, so you're welcome to eat. I know Amanda isn't interested in me outside of work anymore, but please extend an invitation to her too.

/

Surprising Olivia was Amanda coming through the door behind Sonny. She quickly wiped her tears, not wanting to show her weakness.

She was holding little Levi: a sweet face that Olivia hadn't seen in awhile.

"Hey boss…" Sonny greeted Liv, ignoring the fact that she was clearly upset and distressed. He opened his arms. She did everything she could not to collapse in to them with a sob. "It's okay," he consoled her, "we will work it out…" she nodded and pulled away.

Sonny had a way about him that always seemed to soothe Noah when he was tiny. He always knew how to make things fun, how to say the right things and get the right responses. He was charismatic and charming and perhaps that's what made him so good at his job.

She turned to Amanda. Both of them stood and stared at each other for a second before Amanda made the first move. "Oh Liv, get over here…" she held out an arm — the one that wasn't busy with her three and a half year old son.

"I'm so sorry," Olivia apologised to the woman she once considered her bestfriend.

"It's okay, we've both been stubborn mules and I miss my friend."

"Me too," Olivia murmured, trying to keep composed. She enjoyed the hug — it was a long time coming, two years of awkwardness… two years of Amanda expressing hurt feelings that Olivia had been far too quick to dismiss.

"Hi baby," she greeted Levi, "each time I see you, you're so much bigger… do you have a cuddle for Auntie Olivia?"

Levi smiled, his big blue eyes replicated his father's. He was gorgeous and she regretted missing out on more than she would have if only she hadn't been such a bad friend. She took Levi from Amanda and gave him a hug and kiss.

"Ok, where's this kid?" Sonny asked.

"In his room," she told them after they were ushered in to the living room. She lowered her voice, "he got out of some guy's car with a blood nose and argued with him and when he realised I saw him, I saw him panic and he lost his temper and he has refused to speak to me…"

"Uncle Sonny on the case," Sonny promised her with a reassuring smile. "I might need to borrow my boy though, Noah can't resist him."

Olivia knew that was true. She passed over Levi to his father and let them have a try.

"Can I get you something?" Olivia asked Amanda a little awkwardly, standing with her in the kitchen.

"How about you take a seat, Liv, I'll get us something to drink," she told her friend, worried for her. She hadn't seen her this upset since Elliot left and by that time, she found it hard to show any empathy for all the warning signs and red flags the man had given off that Olivia had ignored from her. Not only that, but also at times choosing him over their friendship, keeping secrets from her and making her feel stupid.

She prepared a vodka and soda for Liv the way she remembered that she liked it and poured herself a Jameson for a conversation that was long overdue. "Let's take a seat," she guided Liv to the living room and together they took a seat on the couch.

"I think I need to say I'm so sorry," Liv blurted out, taking the drink from her, "I think I owe sorry to a lot of people, Noah included."

"I don't think you need to be sorry, I think you just need to understand that my feelings of getting hurt were valid. I never blamed you for giving Elliot a chance, that wasn't really my issue. My issue was that you did it behind my back and I really just wanted you to be happy."

"Well… if it helps you were right. He left a mess in his wake and I don't think Noah or I have recovered both individually or together."

"It doesn't help," Amanda replied, "I'm sorry for staying away I just… you know what? We're alike, when we get hurt we close up again and maybe I did that — but I have hated not having my friend and I never want you to think I won't be here for you and Noah. I'm here and I want my friend back."

Olivia took a long sip of her drink and waited for it to hit. "You still remembered how I like my drink, I think I miss you even more."

They both smiled. She closed her eyes and sighed. She heard raised voices from Noah's room. "Don't worry, Sonny's got this." Amanda assured her.

"I hope so, because I don't know what to do. I don't know how to even talk to him anymore." She felt the tears prickling her eyes again. "I feel like the biggest failure, Amanda, I don't know what to do…" she blurted out that was coupled with a sob just as Noah appeared in the doorway with Sonny behind him, catching his Mom's admission.

He stared, feeling his eyes stinging, hating that his mother was feeling so upset and at a loss. He went and took a seat beside her on the other side of the couch. He slipped his arms around her. "You're not a failure," he said simply. "I'm just being a jerk, I'm sorry."

She reciprocated his embrace and sobbed. Noah couldn't have felt worse - between the swollen face, the black eyes and the frustration of Sonny seeing him full of emotion.

"I think I'm gonna order pizza, smells like food is burning," he told Amanda. She got up, leaving Liv and Noah to have their own moment. She opened the oven door and quickly turned it off. Nothing but burned potatoes. "Good idea about the pizza," she told him.

Sonny was pleased with himself, it took him less than 5 minutes to get Noah to open up a little.

"Noah, go grab something warm on, we're gonna go and get some pizza and bring it back for your Mom and aunt Amanda."

"Okay," Noah replied. Olivia pulled away from him. "Are you gonna be okay?," he asked her.

"Of course babe, thanks…"

"I love you…" he let his voice trail off as Olivia repeated him. She was happy for him to have some time alone with Sony, the only man that Noah would fully be himself with — or at least it used to be that way.