A/N: Hey guys, I hope you like this chapter - I've been wondering where to slot this little plotline for awhile, some of you may have seen the signs... let me know what you think!


"Do you have… like a favourite song?" Adam asked as they sat side-by-side playing Minecraft mindlessly.

"Mmmm," Noah thought about it, "I like a lot of old songs that my Mom likes," he shrugged, "a guy my Mom used to be engaged to liked a song that was my favourite for years— and I guess I considered that my favourite song, but… he was a piece of shit so I guess I should find a new favourite song," Noah replied. "What about you?"

Adam shrugged before answering, "I don't really remember but my brother told me when my Dad passed away they played this song called Let It Be… it's by the Beatles…"

"Oh, I know that song, my Uncle Sonny loves The Beatles," he told Adam with a smile, "that's kind of sad…"

"I know, but it makes me feel close to my Dad."

"I'm sorry your Dad passed, that must suck. Your poor Mom… does your little sister have a different Dad?"

"Yeah, but he left us years ago…" Adam shrugged.

"That's what happened with my Mom's fiancé. He just made up some bullshit lie and left and didn't bother telling Mom, he literally left the country…. But it's worked out for the best, he was such an asshole. He tried to hide it but he hated me so much."

Adam scoffed at the thought. "Yeah, he does sound like a douche," he agreed.

They played quietly for a few more minutes. "So are you still gonna ask Katie to be official?," he wondered curiously, lifting his eyes from his screen to study his best friend's face. He couldn't help but to smile at him as his eyes lingered for a moment.

Adam glanced at him and smiled back, "I don't know, I don't think so… she's being so weird right now and I can't spend all my energy on that. I hate drama."

"Me too…"

"What about you and Kaci, you were gonna ask her to be your girlfriend before everything happened. Is that still gonna happen?"

"I don't know, I just love being close with her and she's so sweet and cute and I think she just needs me to be her friend right now and I'm okay with that. I'm not ready for anything crazy."

"I get it… but don't you ever just… think about what it would be like to… you know," he let his voice trail.

Noah thought for a second. "I mean, sometimes yeah, but it doesn't mean I should get a girlfriend just because I'm curious. There's no way I'm ready for that responsibility and I know definitely Kaci isn't either. She still sleeps with her plushies…"

Adam laughed. "She is cute, I'll give you that."

"Yeah… but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever like…" he paused, "I don't know, maybe I'm too young to feel those romantic feelings, but I like kissing her but its still not—" he shrugged, "I don't know how to explain it."

Adam put his game down, "you don't like her?"

"Of course I do, I love her like… like my bestfriend, and she is so pretty and sweet and I can't resist her but its not the feeling I thought it would be. My Mom told me that when I was with the right girl, I'd know… and I don't know, so maybe its not right?"

Adam thought for a moment, "I guess I understand…" he replied, "I know for a fact Katie is too much work and we kiss and stuff but I think its because she's so pushy but right now I don't have the time or energy for her, she's being a brat and I think she's trying to wrangle her way back in to Celeste's good books…"

Noah rolled his eyes. "Whatever…" he liked that Adam understood. Adam always understood and his company was always fun and funny. He tried not to stare at his friend, but sometimes it was hard— it was no secret that Adam was good looking, all the girls thought so, he was very popular and often he spied girls doodling his name on their books as they spaced out in class— and he was well-liked on the team and … his compassion that he showed was amazing, he was always so kind and nice regardless of what he had going on…"

He smiled faintly and picked up his game again. "Don't tell anyone what I said about Kaci, okay? I dont know how she feels but I never ever want to hurt her feelings."

"Of course not," Adam replied. "Your secret is safe."

"Don't you think its kinda cool how our Mom's have become friends?" Noah asked, changing the subject. "I love that for my Mom, she doesn't have a lot of friends outside of work."

"Neither does my Mom, she loves your Mom, she keeps saying, ohhh I need to invite Olivia to dinner or invite her out when she's not so busy."

"She should ask her to have dinner or something, Dad and I would look after Lexi, we don't mind. I think Mom would love that."

"Mom has an inferiority complex, she thinks that your Mom wouldn't want to hang out with her because she's just a nurse."

"That's crazy, my aunt is a nurse and my Mom always talks about what an amazing person it takes to do that job… she'd love it."

They continued playing their game aimlessly for awhile until Noah head a knock on his bedroom door. "Come innnnnn," he called out.

Trevor pushed the door open and stuck his head in, "Hey guys, Mom and I are gonna go for a walk down the street and grab some dinner, do you want some Pizza or would you prefer shake shack or five guys?"

"Mmmm Ryan is supposed to be here in about 10 minutes, I dunno what he'll eat, maybe we just get pizza, is that okay Adam?"

"Yeah pizza is a good idea," Adam replied, "Thanks Mr- I mean-"

"Trevor," Trevor corrected him, "its okay…" he smiled at Noah's friend, "why don't we wait for another ten or so minutes for Ryan to arrive and you can figure it out and let us know, k?"

"Okay, thanks Dad…"

Trevor smiled and closed the door, leaving Noah and Adam to their game. "Does it feel weird to call him Dad? Like… I'm not judging," Adam spoke softly, "but… did he ask you to do that? Or did your Mom?"

"Nope," Noah shrugged, "I've never had a Dad, but when I was younger Mom was with that guy I mentioned before and they talked about having a baby and he had a bunch of kids who used to hang out with me and play with me and I thought it was the best thing ever, but he was a shit father even if I didn't realise it then, but I wanted him to be my Dad so much…" Noah shrugged off the feeling of annoyance that washed over him whenever he thought of Elliot. "But he just … never really liked me… and when he left I thought it was because of me… its taken a long time to realise I had nothing to do with it… he was just a dick. Trevor helped me realise that and Trevor has helped me with so much stuff that I didn't even realise was going on inside me… and then with my Mom he's just… so good to her and he wanted us to be part of his family and they're all so kind and nice," Noah explained.

He shrugged again, "I dunno, it just felt weird when Lexi came along that she was calling him Dad and Trevor has been doing all this Dad stuff for me for so long now and I really wanted to feel like I wasn't the outcast… I dunno if that sounds dumb, but he and Mom have Lexi together and Lexi calls them Dad and Mama and then there's me on the outside… I brought it up with him and he thought it was the most wonderful thing that's ever happened, that I wanted to see a father in him…"

Adam was smiling, "that's really nice Noah… I'm glad he's a really good guy. He's always been a good guy, even when he taught my brother. I remember when my brother was on the football team, Mom said he couldn't train because he couldn't get home on time to watch me and my sister so Trevor changed training to start 15 minutes earlier and then he used to sometimes drop him off to make sure he had plenty of time to grab my sister and I…"

Noah smiled, "See? He cares so much about all of his students, I know I was just a student too, but we made a connection over something private that he told me about when I was struggling with some things… I remember feeling so mad at him for being so nice to me… but he encouraged me to talk to my Mom more and it made things better between her and I… and anyway, it's just nice, everything feels nice between us all and …" he paused, "I don't know if I'm allowed to say but… I can tell you because I told Kaci… Mom and Trevor are having another baby."

Adam grinned, "I know."

"How do you know that?"

"She told my Mom!" Adam laughed, "but Mom panicked after she told me in case you didnt know yet and she made me swear not to say anything, I'm so happy Noah, I know you wanted more siblings so its kinda like your dream come true."

"It is! And its a boy too, we'll be able to play ball with him."

Adam smiled, "you get to be a big brother, that's so cool, I'm excited for you. Lexi is so sweet but having a brother will be something else again."

"Yeah…" Noah smiled fondly at his friend, his stare lingering a little. He got a message on his phone. "Oh, Ryan is downstairs." He looked to Adam, "are you really cool with Ryan being here?"

"Yeah of course… I think if we can get Ryan further away from the douche bags at school, there wont be such a massive division in our team."

Noah smiled. "Cool…and I'll beat him up again if he causes any drama," he joked.

Adam laughed. They put down their games and got up to go and greet their new friend.

/

"That's the kid?" Olivia whispered to Trevor as Ryan arrived. He had a backpack over one shoulder and looked a little sheepish as he entered the apartment.

"The one and only," Trevor muttered, "don't be hard on him, Liv, the kids have let it go, you need to as well…"

She rose an eyebrow at him. She knew kids made stupid decisions, but she remembered what Ryan and Peter had caused her child, the feeling that it evoked in him and for robbing her of the opportunity to broach the subject of Noah's biology when she thought it was time.

However, she thought, maybe she would never have found the right time.

Noah brought his two friends in to the kitchen/dining area and introduced Ryan to his Mom and Trevor and Lexi who Trevor was trying to calm for bed. Because there were a lot of people in the apartment, she was having trouble getting calm.

Olivia played nice and the boy, who matched Adam in height was polite if a little worried how Olivia and Trevor may receive him. "Ryan, does your Mom know where you are and that you're eating with us tonight?"

Ryan looked at Noah and Adam quizzically as if he didn't know. "Yeah, Mom's at work until really late, she's okay as long as she knows where I am."

"Okay," Liv gave him a smile She knew that his Mom clearly wasn't mother of the year from the messages she had received when she had tried to organise a conversation about the boy's fight, but she still deserved to know where her son was at. "Well, Trevor and I are going to go and get some dinner so you boys decide what you want and send it to me in a text and we can pick it up."

"Thanks Mom," Noah smiled, grateful that his mother was always so welcoming and open to allowing his friends to hang out. "Can we sit at the table and play our games?"

"You can play your game at the table sure, but when dinner arrives, games go off to eat…"

The boys agreed and Noah showed Ryan to his room to put his things down. "What are the chances that kid is carrying some meth or alcohol in his backpack?" Liv muttered.

"Olivia," Trevor rolled his eyes reproachfully, "dont be silly, he was nothing if not polite…"

"Oh, I know," she sighed, holding her arms out for Lexi who was squirming around, whining a little. "Here, I'll take her and let your parents know we're going in a minute. Maybe we can take the stroller and she might go to s-l-e-e-p?" Olivia suggested.

"Nah, she had a giant melt down earlier when I tried to strap her in," Trevor admitted, "she really hates it… I can carry her, I think she just needs a cuddle, its been a huge day for her."

Olivia couldn't help but to smile at her daughter who began to cry as she let go of Trevor reluctantly. "You're Daddy's girl today, huh?"

Lexi pouted, her bottom lip trembling as her blue eyes filled with tears. "Oh, honey, you are so, so tired," she kissed her baby's warm forehead. "Come on baby, let's go see Bah-bah and his friends and see what they want to eat…"

Olivia let herself in to Noah's room without knocking— the door wasn't fully closed, she could hear them laughing about something on their game. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, do you know what you want to eat?"

"Oops, sorry Mom… can we have Shake shack? Is that okay?," he asked.

She loved her son's politeness. She bounced Lexi lightly and nodded with a smile. "Of course, I said you guys could have whatever you wanted, I just need to know what it is…"

"Thanks Mrs. Benson," Ryan murmured, "I have some money-"

Olivia summoned up a smile, "No, no, I don't need your money, Ryan, thank you though, and please, you can call me Olivia."

"Is Lex okay?" Noah asked, "I can cuddle her while you're gone?"

"No, Dad and I are gonna take her for a walk, I think she's just overtired. She's had such a huge day."

Noah got up from his floor and made his way over while his friends watched on a little awkwardly. He kissed his sister on the cheek and exchanged glances with his Mom. "Thanks Mom, for dinner…"

"You're welcome, kiddo." He kissed Olivia's cheek too.

"Come on, honey," she spoke to Lexi, "wave bye bye to your brother and his friends…"

Lexi half-heartedly waved as Olivia left them to it.

/

"I know, sweetie, you're tired, put your arms around Daddy," Trevor spoke softly and gently to his daughter, rubbing her back in circles, trying to calm her soft whimpering cries. He patted his shoulder, "rest your head here," he murmured, kissing her forehead, pausing to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Too tired to fight it any longer, Lexi did as he asked, and threw her arms around his neck with a shaky sigh. He smiled, feeling her warm cheek against his chest; her head tucked beneath his chin. He took Olivia's hand, threading his fingers through hers. He glanced at her and gave her a wink.

"You got this Dad stuff right down perfect," she told him, "you're a very good Dad, I hope you know that…"

"Am I?," he asked, genuinely surprised. The fact that it was news to him struck her as being a little funny. "Of course you are, do you really not know that you're a good Dad?"

"I mean… half the time I feel like I'm just… trying."

"Well, you're succeeding," she retorted. "You're really, really succeeding… look at her, she so loves her Daddy and you're so gentle with her, Noah too. You're a DILF."

Trevor chuckled, embarrassed. His cheeks turned a hue of rose. "Stop it, don't be silly."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "I will not. You're a DILF…" she said it again. They both laughed.

"So how do you feel about Noah being friends with Ryan now? You've clearly got some feelings about it…" he remarked.

She thought for a moment and shrugged, "Nah, I actually decided just before to let it go, that poor kid tried to offer me money for dinner, but I could see the panic on his face when he realised we were getting fast food for them, like he wasn't truly sure of the protocol and that just made me kind of remember what it was like when I was a kid at a friend's place. There was no way my Mom would have given me money for food… that embarrassment of not knowing what to do, like… am I expected to pay?"

"Oh yeah… I've had the feeling that Ryan's Mom struggles with money. She's always working. She's never been to a single football game."

"That's really sad, that makes me feel for him and I guess I understand where some of that anger and silliness comes from. He's probably hurting."

"All these kids are," Trevor told her sincerely as they walked toward Shake Shack two or so blocks away. "I mean, all those kids who give the other kids a hard time, it doesn't make it right, but there's always something that's going on with them… Peter, I know he did some awful things but… I'm assuming that his parents put a lot of pressure on him to perform on the field based on how aggressive they got when I suspended him from the team."

Olivia made a face, "that's kind of sad for him…but I don't know him and he showed no remorse for what he did to Noah, so…"

"Fair," Trevor agreed.

/

"Okay guys, I want games away," Olivia told the three boys. "I'm gonna get some plates or you can eat off your wrappers, its up to you, but no games or phones at the table, you can leave them on the counter here," she pointed to where her and Trevor's phones were.

She put the bag of fast food on the counter along with the tray of sodas and let them organise their own meal. Georgie and Patrick joined them at the table with some Thai food that she and Trevor had bought for themselves and his parents.

"Is Lexi okay?" Noah asked curiously, watching her slumped over Trevor's shoulder as he struggled to do much.

"She just wants Daddy," Olivia replied, "she's overtired, it's been a very big day."

"Take a seat, Trev," Liv told him gently, touching his arm, "I'll get you some dinner…"

"No-"

She cocked her head, "Trev, take. a. Seat," she gave him a gentle smile. The tension fell from his face and a smile crossed his lips. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks," he murmured, his arm burning from the position that his daughter was in.

"Ready for dinner, boys?" Trevor asked, taking a seat at the dining table.

"Thanks for dinner, Mr Langan," Ryan spoke politely.

"Yeah, Trev, thanks that was nice of you guys…"

"You're all welcome," he replied. He absently rubbed Lexi's back as she turned her head in to his neck, nuzzling him.

"Aww, Lexi, close your eyes cutie," Noah told her softly, reaching over to run his fingers through her hair. She grumbled at the feel of Noah's hands on her. He couldn't help but to laugh as he and Trevor shared amused looks.

"Don't bother Noah," Olivia laughed as Georgie and Patrick took a seat at the table, bringing the kids their food. "She won't even have a bar of me tonight. Dad's the favourite."

"No wonder she's so tired," Georgie smiled at her son and looked at the boys, "you all did such a lovely job of letting her play today, you were all so patient especially when she wasn't playing very fairly with the ball," she joked.

The boys laughed politely as they ate their burgers. "She's really sweet, I don't have any brothers or sisters so it was nice to play at the park this morning," Ryan spoke up.

"Yeah that was fun, she likes being chased with the football. Maybe we should buy her a small one," Noah suggested.

"Oooh, that is an idea I like very much," Trevor smirked, knowing Olivia would have other ideas.

"You both are not going to turn my daughter against ballet and fun girly stuff for football, I won't allow it," Olivia spoke up, bringing a plate over for Trevor.

"Thanks, sweetie," Trevor smiled, feeling her hand on his free shoulder. The food smelled good, he couldn't deny. He only hoped that Lexi wouldn't start getting upset. Olivia took her own plate and sat down between Trevor and Adam. The table was a little cramped but they'd grabbed two wicker chairs from the balcony.

"I actually think she's asleep," Olivia told him, "why don't you try to put her down so that you can eat?"

"Yeah… my arm has had enough," he cracked a smile. "Excuse me guys," he got up and took Lexi to her room. He very slowly, very gingerly laid her down in her bed. He breathed a sigh of relief when she stirred slightly but rolled over to face the wall as he brought her covers up around her. "Goodnight, princess, I love you," he whispered, kissing her warm forehead.

/

Trevor sat on the couch watching the boys set up their beds on the floor, connecting the play station to the TV for their Fortnite event.

"You guys remember the rules right?" Olivia double-checked with them. "I don't want to hear you down the hall while Lexi is asleep."

"Yeah, we remember, Mom, I promise we'll keep it down."

"Thank you," she replied. "I'm gonna head to bed…" she announced, "don't drink soda all night," she glanced at Trevor who was smiling at her as she let out a big yawn. "I actually don't care if you drink soda all night," she added with a little laugh, causing Noah and Adam to laugh too, "don't leave food out though, Ruby will think she's hit the jackpot."

"I'm gonna turn in too, goodnight guys… I'm sure little miss will wake up at some point for a scream."

"Goodnight…" Noah smiled at them both. Trevor got up and said goodnight to the boys.

"Goodluck with your game, kids, don't talk to strangers online," he told them as he and Liv went to bed.

/

"They're so excited about that stupid event," Olivia told Trevor with a chuckle after she finished brushing her teeth. He climbed in to bed beside her, smiling. "I guess we're too old to understand."

"What was going on with Lexi today? I hope she's not coming down with something…" Olivia murmured.

"Maybe a combination of not sleeping very well last night because we weren't here and genuinely just not wanting to nap in case she missed something," he suggested. Olivia yawned again. "I'm gonna try to sleep before she no doubt wakes up again."

"You just sleep, I'll get up with her, I don't mind."

"I know it's so stupid but the fact that she would barely let me hold her tonight makes me feel so insecure, like… did I do something to upset her?"

Trevor couldn't help but to laugh. "You realise that's how I feel every time she ignores me for you, right? Like… I'm the runner up parent."

"But its not the case, we both know that… its just child logic."

"Exactly," Trevor replied. "You don't need me to assure you of that the same way I don't."

He leaned over and let his lips linger upon hers for just a second. "I love you, have a wonderful sleep, thanks for such a lovely weekend."

"Its not over yet, but thank you, you really put on a great date, thank you."

"Mmm," he smiled, kissing her again. "Sweet dreams…"

She leaned over and turned the light out. "Sweet dreams, I love you." Olivia got comfortable on her pillow and felt Trevor's arms around her, drawing her in to him. She just started to relax and drift off to sleep when she heard the unmistakable sound of Lexi's loud cry.

Trevor released his embrace and flopped on to his back. He groaned with frustration.

"I'll get up…"

"No, its okay, you sleep, I'll get her," he insisted, pulling his sweatpants on and heading out of their bedroom, across the hall to tend to Lexi.

/

Lexi laid in her bed as her cries got louder and louder. He met Noah at the hall, "its okay, thanks kiddo, I've got her…" he pushed the bedroom door open that was slightly ajar and found his baby red-faced and distraught. "Its okay baby, Daddy's here…" he murmured, sitting on the edge of her bed. "You're okay," he stroked her hair, trying to avoid lifting her out of bed if he could, he hoped he might be able to get her to go back to sleep.

She held her arms up as she cried, "Daddy," she sobbed, "Daddy-"

He couldn't handle her tears, he couldn't not comfort her. He pulled the covers back and scooped her up. "Come on, sweetheart, its okay, I've got you…" he kissed her temple and stood up, cradling her in his arms. He smoothed away her tears with his forefingers. "Let's warm you some milk up…"

With a sigh, he took her out to the kitchen and called for Noah. "Sorry Sunshine," he interrupted him, "can you just give me a hand, I'm kind of trapped…"

"Its okay, I'll help…" he jumped back up and followed Trevor out to the kitchen. Trevor grabbed her bottle and assisted Noah as best as he could. "Its okay Dad," Noah told him, "I can do this, I can bring it in for you?"

"Thanks, Noah, you're the best, I owe you. Sorry to interrupt you with Adam."

"Its okay, the competition doesn't start til 11:30," he replied, "we still have awhile."

"Thanks," he smiled at him. Noah smiled back and continued with making up a warm-milk bottle for his little sister who wouldn't stop crying. Trevor took her back in to her room, turning the small night light on. He took a seat on the rocking chair in the corner of the room and soothed his daughter, letting her bury her head in to his shoulder. He closed his eyes and rubbed her back and didn't bother telling her to stop crying.

A few minutes later Noah reappeared, tip-toeing in with a warm bottle. Trevor thanked him and tried to organise Lexi in to a more comfortable position so she could hold on to it, but she wasn't having a bar of it.

He soothed her quietly by singing to her but each time it seemed as though she was calming, she would begin to cry again.

Eventually Olivia appeared. "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring her in to bed and I'll grab her a fresh diaper and maybe she will calm down sleeping between both of us," she suggested.

"Okay," he agreed, feeling a little frustrated and insecure about his abilities. He went back to their bedroom with the dimly lit room from the TV. Olivia followed with her bottle and a diaper. She checked first and was surprised to find Lexi was dry.

"Hey listen to Mommy, k?" Olivia looked at her seriously, "Lexi, its okay that you're upset," she told her firmly but kindly, "but I need you to listen to Mommy," ignoring her whimpers, Olivia continued, "Daddy is going to put you down to sleep beside us both and you can have some milk and a cuddle when you're finished, okay?"

Trevor gently laid her down in the space between them in the bed. She began to cry louder again but he leaned in toward her, rubbing her tummy. "Its okay sweetheart," he murmured. He glanced at Liv, "maybe she's not feeling well?"

"Mmm maybe."

"Lexi, is your tummy sore? Or your head?" She whimpered softly. "Show Daddy where it hurts?"

She stared at him for a moment and pointed to her upper stomach. "Oh," Liv murmured, "maybe she has reflux?"

"Maybe?" Trevor frowned. "That would be why she doesn't want to lay down and wants to be held. I think when I hold her, I always rub her back-"

"And I end up just running my fingers through her hair," Liv replied, her forehead creasing in concern. "She might just feel a bit off too," she shrugged, "what helps when you get reflux?," she asked Trevor, knowing sometimes he was prone to it.

"I can't lay flat, if I'm having a reflux moment, I generally won't want to let a single bit of food or drink pass my lips because it can make it worse," he thought, "I guess let's just elevate her head a little bit and maybe we can organise to take her to see the doctor on monday or urgent care if it doesn't get any better tomorrow."

"Good idea," Olivia replied.

She propped up Lexi with another pillow and got comfortable, allowing Trevor to continue rubbing her tummy, it seemed to sooth her a little. "Close your eyes, baby," he murmured, kissing her forehead.

"I hate that she's in pain. Is there nothing I can give her?"

"I don't think so," Trevor replied, "not if its reflux…it'll just be working out what position is the least painful for her."

"I know with babies its that superman hold," she explained, "but not sure if that will work for her."

"I'll try it next if she doesn't sleep soon."

Olivia turned on some relaxing video that she often put on in the background in the living room while Lexi played. "I'm so tired," Liv sighed, "staying up so late last night is something I fear that at our age we are ill-equipped for," she resigned herself with a laugh.

Trevor smiled, feeling himself begin to relax as Lexi did. "I know we've been trying so hard not to give in to her but should we give her the b-i-n-k-y tonight?," he asked referring to her pacifier that they had worked so hard at weening her off during the days, using it only as a last resort for comfort.

Olivia rubbed her face and sighed, "Yeah… give her five minutes if she doesn't fall asleep, we'll give it to her…"

He reached over and touched Olivia's arm. "Honey, if you're super tired and need to sleep, why don't you go and hop in to her bed and get some rest, I'll be okay, but I probably won't fit in her bed with her."

"No," she shook her head, "this is for us both to deal with, we're a team." Lexi's cries were soft whimpers that didn't seem to be subsiding. Olivia sighed, "Okay, fuck it, I'm getting the b-i-n-k-y. We both need some sleep, I'm supposed to take the boys back tomorrow to Adam's and Hannah wanted to meet baby…so…" she got up and made her way to Lexi's room and found the pacifier up high where she couldn't see or reach it. She took it back to her bedroom which she now shared with the man that she loved.

"Baby, would you like this tonight?," she asked Lexi holding it out to her. She nodded slowly, pouting.

"Okay, here," She opened her mouth and Olivia popped it in. She couldn't help but feel full of affection for her daughter who seemed instantly calmer. She held on to it with one of her tiny little hands as if she were afraid that it might pop out of her mouth. She and Trevor exchanged a smile. "Mommy loves you to the moon," she told her, kissing her forehead. "Have sweet dreams."

"K… lights out, close your eyes baby, Daddy will keep rubbing your tummy but its time to close your eyes… I love you."

As if she'd won a bargain, Lexi let her eyes fall shut, giving in to her fatigue. Olivia felt like her daughter looked, ready to give in.

Olivia glanced at Trevor, feeling somewhat better. "I'm glad you're making friends," he told her, "with Hannah and even Tara, I think it's so nice."

She smiled at him, "It's nice, I'm not gonna lie. Hannah is a nurse and Tara… I think she's still trying to find her freedom and is slowly getting used to living for herself again and I love that I can help her with that.."

Trevor smiled, "Look at you, such an amazing friend and role model for all women, I love the eff out of you."

She reached over their baby girl to smooth his cheek with her hand. She let out a very slow quiet sigh of relief. "Love you too. Goodnight my loves…"

"Goodnight babies," Trevor replied as Olivia turned off her bedside lamp.

/

"You, my girl are up to no good!" Olivia told Lexi who wagged her finger at her Mom, babbling away to herself, frowning as if she were telling her off. She hid a grin. "Okay, okay, you've had your breakfast now what are you going to wear today?," she asked, "come on, let's go to your room and find out."

It was the sweetest thing about being a Mom, being able to have a sweet little girl that liked to have a choice in what she wanted to wear. "It's going to be hot outside today, sweetie, would you like to wear this t-shirt? Or this one?" She held up a black Mickey Mouse T-shirt or a plain pink shirt.

"If you wear Mickey, Mommy can wear Mickey too."

Lexi pointed to the Mickey shirt and smiled happily when Olivia handed it to her. "And what about these pants, Mommy can wear pants just like these too."

Lexi nodded emphatically, happy to dress the same as her Mommy. Olivia helped dress her and then took her to her room while she got dressed in an almost identical outfit. "Would you like Mommy to do your hair with pretty bows?"

It had grown just a little since they'd had her with them, just long enough to make some adorable pig tail sprouts when she used a little gel and some tiny latex elastics.

"Pitty!" Lexi jumped in to her arms from the bed. Olivia laughed and carried her to the bathroom. "Pretty it is!"

She smoothed a little of Trevor's gel in her hands and worked it through her sweet, soft blond curls and used a fine-toothed comb to comb her hair in to a part while Lexi watched happily in the mirror. "You look beautiful," Olivia told her, "look how gorgeous you are with your lovely Mickey t-shirt and your blue jeans! Mommy has the same too!"

"Uh-huh!" Lexi smiled appraisingly. "The same!" Her pronunciation wasn't perfect, but Trevor, Liv and Noah had figured out her language as her speech began to improve over a short period of engaging her everyday.

Olivia chatted away with her while she put her hair up. She sat in front of her and pulled her own hair back in to a high pony-tail and put on a little bit of mascara and eyeliner and a sweep of natural coloured lipstick.

"Me, Mommy!" Lexi's eyes were caught on the lipstick, watching her Mom with complete attention.

Olivia rifled through her make up bag til she found a colourless lipgloss. "Here you go, let Mommy do it…" she told her, pushing her hand gently out of the way when Lexi tried to take it. She held her head up and closed her eyes, pushing her lips out in to a pout. Olivia grinned as she swiped the paw paw lip gloss stick over her gorgeous little girl's eyes giving them a clear sheen. "Oh wow, so pretty!" She remarked.

"Me!" Lexi blew kisses in to the mirror, causing Olivia to laugh as Trevor came in, catching them both giggling. He felt consumed with love for both of them instantly. "Aww my two beautiful princesses!," he exclaimed, "lovely!" He remarked, when Lexi pointed at her lips. "You're wearing Mommy's beautiful lipstick," he added. "You both look wonderful!"

He grinned at Olivia— her clothes matching with the toddler's. "Someone's back to being a total Mommy's girl," he kissed her lips, ignoring the lipstick.

Olivia smiled, "I'm glad she's feeling better today but I think I'll still take her to the doctor on monday just to see if she is struggling a little with reflux issues or something."

"Yeah, can't hurt. The boys are just about ready to leave. I'm gonna take Mom and Dad over to my apartment and then to lunch, don't rush back if you don't want to, take your time and enjoy yourself."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a minute," she told him.

"Want me to take her?" Trevor asked, holding his hands out for Lexi.

"Sure, I'm just going to finish my make up."

"Okay," he lifted Lexi up, "but you look beautiful as you are."

Olivia gave him a smile and watched him take their daughter out to the rest of the family. She wasn't going to bother with eyeshadow, but she felt like she looked a little unwell. Thankfully the anti-nausea meds were working better some days than others. Waking up wanting to be sick every morning wasn't enjoyable despite how much she wanted to enjoy pregnancy.

/

"I feel like you never come over to my place, it'll be cool to show you around my apartment," Adam told Noah, slinging his overnight bag on his shoulder. "Alice will be happy to see you, she freakin loves you."

Noah grinned, "all kids love me because I'm nice to them, you're awful to her."

"Am not," Adam grinned back. Noah couldn't peel his eyes away from his friend when he smiled - Adam was very popular with the girls but given his well-kept dark hair, dreamy green eyes and dazzling smile, most girls were too shy or embarrassed to try to talk to him and Adam himself wasn't great with knowing how to approach anyone he may have had a crush on.

"You are, but its okay, I'm sure Lexi will annoy me at some point and maybe I'll be mean without trying to be."

"Nah, I don't think I've ever seen you be mean to anyone, you've only ever reacted to someone else's behaviour, that's a pretty rare trait, Noah, you're a really nice guy."

Noah felt his cheeks getting a little pink. "Aww, stop it."

There it was, he thought, the feeling that his Mom talked about — the fluttery feeling in his stomach, followed quickly by a nauseating lurch as he tried to bat the feeling away; pushing it all the way down, the way he had been since around the time Elliot had talked him out of dancing, of quashing his freedom of expressing who he truly felt like he was on the inside and filled him with shame.

Cutting through the feeling was his Mom's voice, "come on boys, ready to go?," she asked.

Adam followed Noah out to the kitchen from his bedroom. "Yeah, we're ready Mom."

/

"Hiiiii!" Olivia greeted Adam's Mom, holding on to Lexi.

"Hi Olivia, hi baby!," she greeted the toddler who turned her head in to Olivia's neck shyly. Olivia rolled her eyes, "sorry, she takes a minute to warm up."

The woman with long dark spiralled curls waved her inside. Olivia glanced behind her, the boys were trailing behind discussing their Fortnite strategies after a massive and swift loss at their event. "The boys are just taking their time dawdling," she informed her.

Hannah rolled her eyes and laughed, "They'll do that, no doubt talking about that darn video game I haven't heard the end of."

Olivia laughed, "Yeah, I just honestly tune out after awhile. Trevor is much better at tapping in to their conversations than I am."

"Oh, I'm with you on that one. Hold on, Alice was so excited about you coming over but I bet she's going to get all shy too," Hannah told her as Olivia followed her inside. She wondered how the busy Mom of three managed to keep her apartment so neat and tidy - it looked pristine when compared to her own.

"Alice? Sweetie? Olivia is here and she brought her daughter with her."

The boys bustled through the door passing the football back and forth. "Enough with the football in the apartment, come on Adam…" Hannah sighed, pausing to kiss his cheek. "Hi Noah! How are you kiddo?"

"Good thanks, Hannah, how are you?"

She grinned at Olivia's son, "I'm good thanks sweetheart, glad to see your Mom and your sister and your sweet face!"

Noah smiled happily back at her. Hannah turned to Liv, "I hope my son is this polite when he comes to your place."

"Adam's always polite and sweet, probably one of the nicest friend's Noah's had," she remarked smiling at him.

"Thanks Liv," Adam chuckled. Hannah sighed and called out to Alice again.

"Noah and I are gonna go to my room," Adam announced.

"Stick your head in your sister's room and tell her to come out and see me, please." Hannah replied as the two boys walked through toward the hall to Adam's bedroom.

Hannah finally sighed, "Sorry, take a seat wherever you like or you can go and put Lexi down on the couch if you like," Olivia glanced at her and saw that she was asleep.

"Oh my gosh, thank goodness," she breathed a sigh of relief. "That would be great, she's been a little out of sorts, Trev and I have had to carry her for almost two days straight," Olivia admitted, "we're both exhausted."

Hannah showed her in to the living room where she was able to place Lexi down for a rest. Alice appeared quietly in the doorway, peeking in shyly just as Olivia was turning around. The 7 year old gave her just a tiny smile. "Oh, hello Alice! It's so nice to meet you again."

"Hello," Alice replied.

"My baby girl is here, would you like to come see her?"

Alice nodded. She was wearing a unicorn T-Shirt and a pastel rainbow tulle skirt and slowly walked toward the toddler sleeping on the couch. "Be very quiet and don't wake her, sweetie," Hannah warned her daughter.

Alice smiled sweetly at the toddler and looked to her Mom and then to Olivia. "Will she sleep for a long time?," she asked.

"Probably not," Olivia replied, "maybe when she wakes up, you might like to play with her…"

"Oh, you love babies don't you, honey?" Hannah asked, running her fingers through Alice's hair. Alice nodded. "Alice helps with my sister's daughter, Ashley, don't you? You love playing with Ashley too. I think Ashley and Lexi are almost the same age."

"Oh, Lexi will be so happy that you love to play," Olivia smiled at her.

"Okay baby, Mom's gonna make some lunch in a minute, why don't you go back to playing your game and we'll let you know when Lexi wakes up or when your lunch is ready."

"Okay Mommy," Alice replied, skipping off back to her bedroom.

The two women took a seat at the kitchen counter. "So, I was really excited about you coming over today, it's so nice to have some female company if I'm really honest…I don't know how much of a drinker you are, but I bought a bottle of wine if you'd like a glass."

"Awwww," Liv smiled and groaned with annoyance. "Well… I do love a glass of wine very, very much but…" she paused and gave Hannah a little smile, "actually, I can't drink right now."

"Oh, no that's fine-"

Liv held up her hand, "ordinarily, I'd jump at it or probably would have bought a bottle, but… well, I'll just come out with it," she gave a laugh and stood up from her chair and smoothed her t-shirt down against her belly so that her new friend could see the growing bump. She was only a few days off being 15 weeks. "I'm pretty pregnant."

She watched with amusement as Hannah's eyes widened, "oh my goodness! Congratulations, Olivia! That's so exciting…"

"I know, right?" She couldn't help but smile, "we've got babies coming out of the wazoo…" she joked. "This is … a huge change to my life, I'm still trying to get my head around it all."

"I'll bet… is it okay, if I—" she motioned to feel her belly.

"Of course, aww that's nice, you're the first person besides Noah and Trevor who has touched my belly," she chuckled, "I guess I never thought it would ever happen for me, so it's new and exciting but also terrifying."

Hannah smiled and drew her hand from Olivia's stomach, "you realise that I'm a paediatric nurse right? I am baby crazy. Oh, and I wanted to say before, I'm not a doctor, but if you need someone to ever run anything by with Lexi, or even Noah… please please never hesitate to call me."

"Oh, thank you so much," Olivia smiled as they both sat back down, "I actually might pick your brain about something later on but … now you know why I can't have alcohol and believe me I am absolutely missing it."

"Poor thing, I'll put it away and out of your sight."

"You can go ahead and have a glass, I'm not worried," Olivia replied.

"Nah, it's a nice bottle, we'll save it for when you can drink again," Hannah shrugged, "but I've made a vegetarian Malay noodles for lunch, is that okay?"

"Ooooft, yes that sounds amazing, I don't think I've had that before," she replied.

"Family recipe," Hannah shrugged, "my Dad is Malaysian, he's an amazing cook, puts me to shame, but he indulges my need to want to pass it on the cuisine to my kids."

"That's really nice, I bet your cooking is amazing. Mine is average at best but Noah loves to cook, he's always been interested in cooking. His grandmother is very, very Italian and has taught him some stuff…"

"Oh, thats so nice, tell him to come around here, I'll teach him some stuff since none of my kids could give a shit," she laughed.

"With pleasure, as long as I'm gonna benefit from his cooking lessons, I'm all for it," she laughed as Hannah offered her a drink. "I'm gonna dish up some food for the kids first, Noah will eat noodles, won't he?"

"He'll eat whatever you give him, he's too polite not to, trust me I've served him up some horror meals in his time."

Both women laughed. "What about your eldest son, Kyle, is he still at home?"

"He is, sort of… he and a friend want to live-in for a semester and see if they like it, who knew how expensive all of that would be!"

"I know, I really am dreading how much college is going to break me," she chuckled.

"Kyle's a good kid though, he wanted so much to be a football star but I think he's finally realising how big of a dream that is. He just got a partial scholarship so that's allowed me to be able to help him halfway with his accomodation and I know my son hustles hard to make money because he is so desperate to not burden me financially…"

"What a sweet boy… when they're like that, you just want to do more for them," Liv remarked.

"I do, but I still have the other two to think about and he knows that… he's very good with Adam and he adores his baby sister so I'm very lucky. "He's decided to go in to nursing this year, he wants to follow his Mommy," she beamed proudly.

"That's exciting for him," Olivia said, "oh to be young and dream for free again," she said with a little whimsy.

Hannah smiled as she dished up a plate for the boys and Alice, calling out to them. "I don't usually let them eat in their rooms but I tell you what, Liv, it has been so long since I've had some time to spend talking to another adult… I just shoved Alice's Nintendo thing at her and told her to go for the gusto."

They laughed. "Well, I'm glad that you chose to spend that time with me over just resting, that's really nice. I don't have any friends that aren't in my job, honestly and that can be … difficult sometimes because we always end up talking about our cases."

Hannah shook her head, "it's the same being friends with other nurses, its like a pissing contest of who's had the more stupid or annoying patient or the most medically shocking presentation…"

They laughed as the boys and Alice came out to get their food. "It smells amazing, doesn't it Noah?" Olivia asked her son, prompting his politeness. She wasn't sure if he would enjoy it, but he wasn't overly fussy.

"Oh wow, yeah… Thanks Hannah," he smiled as she pushed a bowl toward him and one toward Adam.

"You're welcome, you boys can go eat in your room if you want Adam…" He thanked his Mom and they disappeared.

Alice came out of her room and eyed off lunch. "Mommy, I don't want it…" she murmured softly.

"I don't care, I want you to eat, you didn't want breakfast either, remember? I want you to go sit at the table please and I want to see you eat some vegetables and noodles…"

Alice pulled a face and dragged her feet and sat down with a sigh. Olivia hid a smile as she and Hannah locked eyes for a moment. "Mommy can I have a drink?"

"You can have a drink after your food… This isn't a negotiation today, sweetheart, you can't go without eating. The faster you eat, the faster you can have a drink and go back to your game."

"Why does Aaaadam and Noah get to play video games while they eat?," she asked, frowning.

"Because I know that they will both eat all of their lunch and that's not anything for you to worry about. You worry about the food that's in front of you, please."

"I hope you like this, Liv, but let me know if you don't, I have other stuff in the fridge."

"No, no, I'm totally excited…" They migrated to the table. Olivia observed Alice nibbling begrudgingly at her noodles. "Can I sit here beside you, honey?"

Alice nodded.

"Thanks, we can enjoy our lunch together…"

Hannah smiled at her new friend, getting them both a drink. She really liked Olivia, she was warm and friendly and she trusted her with her son and Alice too.

/

"Don't tell Kaci that I ever admitted this, but all her Taylor Swift brainwashing has kind of rubbed off on me," Noah laughed as a Taylor Swift song came up on his playlist. "This playlist is a result of me letting her choose the music when we share headphones sometimes at lunch."

Adam laughed, "my brother loves Taylor Swift…"

"Kyle? Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, absolutely loves her, has a big fat crush on her and they used to tease him on the team but he did not care."

"That's pretty rad," Noah replied, "I love that your brother is totally his own person, he doesn't care at all about what anyone else thinks of him, I wish I could be like that."

"You are, I think that's why we get along so well, cos you are always so nice regardless of how mean someone is and nothing embarrasses you — I wish I could be more like the both of you."

"Nah…" Noah shook his head, turning a little serious, "trust me, there's things I wish I didn't care about that would make life a lot easier, but…" he shrugged, "I have enough going on."

Adam thought for a moment. "You know, if you want to tell me anything you can, I won't judge you ever…"

Noah smiled at him, feeling warmed by his friend's comments. He couldn't help but let the feelings that he'd been batting away for so long just overwhelm him, indulging himself in that all-consuming feeling-" instantly, he averted his eyes, becoming suddenly self-aware with a slap of reality. He knew people would judge him and he couldn't imagine how his truth would turn him in to a social pariah at school.

Maybe Elliot had hated him, but he certainly wasn't wrong about the way his Mom had pampered him and babied him — maybe if she had forced him in to football or not indulged his every whim so early, he would be feeling for Kaci what he was suddenly feeling for Adam — something that he had been pushing down so consistently since Adam had shown interest in being his friend.

"I can't…" Noah replied quietly. "But its okay…"

He had so much to lose but it was getting harder and harder and more painful to hide it. It always felt as though there was something holding him back — like an itch he couldn't scratch — that feeling of an internal conflict - one with a character he played that pathologically pleased everyone around him versus who he truly was, the person that he felt deep shame for. He could almost pin-point the exact day and moment he realised he needed to pack away a part of himself or else the ones most important in his life would love him less.

"Noah?" Adam pushed gently.

Tears stinging his eyes, Noah blinked a few times until the feeling disappeared, "Yeah? Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked you if you like my Mom's noodles…"

Noah was sitting on a beanbag, fork twisting the noodles around lost in his thoughts. "Yeah," he smiled, "they're really good."

"Yeah, my Mom is a great cook," Adam replied. He could see something had been bothering Noah all morning and he wasn't being himself. Noah had made it clear he didn't want to talk about it so he let it go.

/

Trevor waited for his parents to finish getting ready and was tidying up the living room when his phone began to ring. He saw it was Raia, smiling, he picked up. "Hey hey!"

"Hey… how's the full house going?," she wondered curiously.

"Yeah, pretty good - how are you doing?," he asked curiously, taking a seat on the couch.

"I'm tired, I'm on days off but Gav's had to work this weekend so I've not had much time to sleep yet…" her voice trailed off.

"Oh, that sucks, I'm sorry… what are the girls up to now?," he wondered.

"Chloe is asleep finally and I'm just watching Sadie using the bubble machine out back," she replied. "What are you guys all up to? Sounds pretty quiet."

"Oh, Noah had a friend stay over last night and Liv's kind of become friends with the boy's Mom, so she invited Liv and Lexi over for lunch, well — I was invited too, but I thought it might be nice to take Mom and Dad to see my apartment now since I made all the changes and then I'm taking them to my favourite bistro for lunch."

"Nice," Raia remarked but her tone was a little unmoved and Trevor couldn't place it, but there was some underlying annoyance to her tone. "I thought Liv was super sick with nausea."

"She's taking it one day at a time, she has some anti-nausea meds that she's using and its anyone's guess whether its going to work from one day to the next."

"Cool, seems promising then if she's able to get out and about, maybe I can get my babysitters back."

Trevor laughed, "ha! Say goodbye, its my turn now," he joked.

"Olivia has you and Noah and her work friends and the family that you told me she had to make — and access to a nanny… I don't have that luxury."

"Wait, are you shitting me?" Trevor laughed out of disbelief, "you're mad at me for having Mom and Dad visit for what? Half a week and the weekend? Mom and Dad don't exist to be your personal nanny… I'm sure its nice for them to see their other grandkids too."

Raia took a deep breath, "I'm sorry," she murmured, "that was really shitty of me to say, I'm sorry. Of course they should be there," she begrudgingly apologised.

Trevor felt irate. "You know, Raia, Mom and Dad shouldn't be always jumping through hoops to babysit for you and Gavin, maybe they want to do their own thing sometimes, you shouldn't always put that pressure on them. I never once asked Mom to come here she asked me if she could come because she wanted to spend some time with Noah and Lexi and Dad had that thing on with his tool shed group or else he would have-"

"Alright, I'm sorry, you're right, I'm wrong. I'm just tired and irritable. I'm gonna go, attempt to have a rest with Sadie and I guess I'll call you later."

"Ok bye." He didn't wait for another word, he hung up the phone, frustrated by her rudeness and lack of regard for his family.

He got back up and went back to his tidying, grabbing the stick vacuum to run over the living room carpet, noticing some crumbs of chips that he was shocked Ruby hadn't vacuumed up herself already. She saw him pulling the vacuum out and bolted for cover, hating it so much.

Annoyed still, after putting the vacuum away he texted Olivia. "Nothing serious, but I just had a weird argument with my sister, I'm really frustrated. I know she's tired, but she picked a fight with me because Mom and Dad are here and aren't readily available to help her… I'm really pissed off, its like she thinks that they exist only to serve her. If she hadn't quickly apologised and told me she needed to go sleep, I would have told her to go take a fucking nap because she was acting like a child."

/

"So what did you want to pick my brain about?" Hannah asked as they finished off their lunch.

"Oh… so, Trevor and I had an idea that maybe Lexi has a reflux issue— her background was that she would have experienced times of not having any food and then getting food would have been… almost choking it down…" she realised that she was explaining her daughter's background like a normal thing; she often forgot that in her job it was nothing to come by harrowing stories that it became just a topic of conversation with no emotional attachment. The guilt of not being mortified by her own daughter's pain hit her. — but just as with Noah, she knew if she thought too much about it, it would have eaten at her. "Sorry," she apologised, "habit of my job, I just told you something awful like I was explaining a trip to the grocery store."

The horror from her new friend's face seemed to dissipate with understanding.

"Its okay, we do what we have to do, I understand," Hannah replied. "Do you mind me asking - what the situation was?"

"I can tell you, I think we both work in this … sometimes awful role where tragedy can turn to strength or hope can spring something wonderful, like in my case but…" she glanced at Alice, "maybe we'll wait."

"Oh yes, good thinking," Hannah replied. She glanced at Alice, "honey have you had enough?"

"Uhuh," she nodded.

"Can you eat two more green vegetables for me? If you eat two more green vegetables, you can go back to your room and I will call you when we have our special dessert that we made or if Lexi wakes up."

Olivia smiled at the little girl. "The broccoli is soooo good with the noodles, Alice," she told her, giving her a playful nudge and a little wink. "I loved it! Your Mommy is such an amazing cook, did you know that?"

Alice smiled and nodded. She stabbed a little broccoli with her fork and ate it without a word and then went for the second one and a few more noodles.

"Such a good girl, thank you Alice, you can put your plate up on the counter and Mommy will call you when dessert is ready," Hannah winked at her. "Are you going to play your game?"

Alice nodded, "I'm playing Cooking Mama."

Hannah beamed, "maybe you can play actual cooking with Mama another day."

Alice giggled and scampered off back to her bedroom. "Honestly," Hannah rolled her eyes, "she has zero interest in helping me cook but plays a cooking simulator game on her Nintendo for hours if I would let her…"

They both laughed at the stupidity of it.

"So… Lexi is an orphan, I went to a job where three minors had been kidnapped and the eldest one was 17, she was Lexi's Mom and the piece of shit who kidnapped them murdered her and the two youngest did their best to care for Lexi but she was malnourished and … honestly the rest of the details I've kind of let blur because I feel like it's too awful to know, but I do understand that those kids went days without eating sometimes depending on their kidnappers mood. When they did eat, I would suggest they absolutely scarfed that food down…" she explained.

"Those poor kids," Hannah murmured. "Are the other two okay?"

Olivia nodded, "Yeah, we located their parents and they're okay but Lexi's father, the kidnapper, he won't see the light of day and we recovered the body of her mother… I petitioned to foster— Noah was so hard at me about it, he saw the story on the news and kept asking me about her and felt a kinship with her because of how I found him — similar circumstances."

"Wait…" Hannah shook her head in shock, "Noah is adopted?!," she asked, lowering her voice, "I thought Trevor-" she stopped, "wait-"

Olivia began to laugh, "Trevor and I have been together for … not even one year, Hannah, we met through Noah — through school."

"Oh shit! Are you kidding!?," she started to laugh, "I'm so sorry, I just heard Noah pick up his phone and refer to Trevor a few times as his Dad… wow."

"Well… yeah that's kind of new for him, its all a long story but Noah and Trevor had a connection for a bunch of reasons, actually—" Olivia began to explain the situation.

A short while later she received a message from Trevor. "Shit…" she sighed and laughed, "this guy, I love him, but he and his sister still fight like kids — is that normal?," she asked Hannah, "I've never had a sibling so I don't know, do you still fight with your sister?"

"Sometimes," Hannah replied with a smile, "My sister is a bit younger than me and she can be a bit of an ass sometimes…"

"I think Trevor and his sister have had a complicated relationship since his wife passed… but anyway, sorry, I'm just going to quickly respond to him so he doesn't have a melt down and say something he'll regret."

"Go ahead, I'll take your plate…"

"Oh, no… could you let me wash the dishes? Its the least I can do!"

"No, no… don't be silly, I have a dish washer. You just text Trevor back."

"Hi my love, please don't worry about it, its okay that she's frustrated. She probably just is tired, trust me, Ive said some shitty things when I've been exhausted, I love you, forget about it and have a nice afternoon with your Mom and Dad. I won't be super late. Lexi of course has been asleep for over an hour and probably wont want to sleep tonight… Miss you xx"

Within a few moments Trevor responded. "You're right, baby. Thanks for the message, I just needed to hear it from you. I hope you're having a wonderful afternoon with the kids and I hope your new friendship with Hannah will be successful and everything you need it to be. Mom, Dad and I are going to get some lunch now and then we'll head over to my apartment. Love you so much."

Olivia smiled replied with heart eyes and a pink heart and put her phone down, content.

/

Noah was half expecting his Mom to announce that they were headed home, but she seemed to be happy enough with Hannah and Adam's little sister was having a great time entertaining Lexi. He and Adam went to take their dessert plates out and stack them in the dishwasher.

"What are you boys up to?" Liv asked.

"We're just reading stuff about Fortnite on Reddit to help us for the next competition," Adam supplied.

Olivia looked at her son, "Remember the rules, kiddo, I don't want you to have an account on that website, I don't even like you on it."

"I know, but its just about Fortnite and a google search took us there, we don't have an account."

"No, Reedit is for morons and incels," Adam remarked making a face, "but it just so happens that incels have a lot of time for video games and have the best techniques."

"Whats an Incel?" Noah asked innocently, looking from his Mom to his friend.

"No-" Hannah told her son as it was about to come out of his mouth, "have some tact, Adam, come on…"

"Its a chronically single man who blame their inability to get a girlfriend on women rather than looking at their own shortcomings and they love to congregate on social media…"

"Oh," Noah replied. He shrugged. "Well yeah, they probably have a lot of time for playing video games."

"Honey, we're gonna have to go soon, Dad wants to do grocery shopping so Granda can cook dinner for us again and I need to go and see what we need, so… start to wrap it up, okay?"

"Okay," he replied as they went back to Adam's room. Olivia checked in on Lexi who was giggling and shrieking happily as Alice played with dolls with her and some of the toys that Olivia had packed in her stroller.

/

"Oh this is actually a nice song," Noah blurted out.

Adam laughed, "Okay, you're turning in to a Swiftie," he joked.

My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea
you touch me once and its really something
You find Im better than you imagined I would be
I'm on guard for the rest of the world
But with you, its no good
And I could wait patiently, but I really wish you would…
drop everything now
meet me in the pouring rain
kiss me on the sidewalk
take away the pain
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile…

They were sitting so close that Noah found it hard to breathe. "You know when… earlier you said I could tell you anything?" Noah began, his palms beginning to sweat and his body beginning to feel like led with nervousness.

"Yeah?"

Noah turned to him and stared at him for a moment. Adam's green eyes made contact with his own. Noah tried; he tried hard to tell his friend with a look, willing Adam to catch on, willing him to say something but instead he became transfixed by the smoothness of his friend's skin, his broad build and his very sweet smile.

"What is it?" Adam asked gently.

Noah's eyes lingered over Adam's lips. He tried hard to take his own words away but the urge to kiss him took over, rendering him useless for much else; he had long lost his ability to speak and the blowback of what might happen if Adam decided to say something seemed to be forgotten.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against his best friends. He lingered for just a fraction of a second— Adam didn't flinch, he was frozen and for the briefest second Noah began to relax; that Adam was going to kiss him back, that maybe the whole time he'd felt the same.

Then it came— Adam almost leapt out of his own skin, jumping away, "Noah!" He exclaimed, "what the fuck are you doing!?" Adam clocked the look of horror on his friends face.

"I-I'm sorry," Noah said quickly, panicked, "I didn't mean-"

"Its okay," Adam replied.

Noah was scrambling to his feet as his eyes filled with tears and his face was burning red with embarrassment, "I'm sorry," he repeated. He had to get out of there before he burst in to tears, angrier with his own stupidity than Adam's soul destroying rejection.

He fled past his Mom and Hannah and straight out the front door and down the stairs of the walk up all the way until he threw the apartment doors open, gasping for air as he got to the street.

"What the heck…" Olivia murmured. She knew her son, she'd seen his red face, the tears streaking down his cheeks. "Uh… I might have to go," she said, standing up.

"Adam?" Hannah called out as Adam came out, looking slightly panicked too, "where did Noah go?," he asked.

"He just ran out the door, what happened?" Hannah demanded to know, "what did you do?!"

"Nothing!" Adam exclaimed, "we just had …" he flicked his eyes up to meet Liv, "a difference of opinion and I think I upset him, I'm sorry." He replied.

"Its okay honey," Liv replied, "I'll collect Lexi and I'll go and get to the bottom of it." She flashed Hannah a smile.

/

Noah closed his bedroom door and laid on his bed and buried his face in to his pillow, sobbing. He knew he only had a short period of time before his Mom or Dad arrived home and he needed to get it out of his system.

He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been — how he had genuinely expected that there was a chance that Adam might feel the same way, that his friendship was anything more than it was. Hit with a wave of guilt toward Kaci, he was scared Adam would tell her what happened — or worse tell Katie, by the end of the weekend the whole school would know.

How could Adam keep it to himself? He knew he couldn't. He knew Adam would turn on him and tell everyone and poor Kaci— her feelings would be so hurt.

He was scared — Trevor would hear the rumours and then he would begin to hate him just the way Elliot had. He couldn't believe he'd let his guard down despite how every part of his internal dialogue had talked him out of it; how he hadn't just trusted the gut instinct his mother always talked about.

It all felt so fucking stupid.

He lay on his bed for almost thirty minutes before Olivia got home. Noah wiped his face and tried to compose himself. He took some deep breaths. He heard her footsteps outside of his bedroom door. "Honey? Are you in there? I'm coming in."

She pushed open the door and saw him on his bed, his face red from crying. "Oh, honey, what's wrong? Did you and Adam fight?"

Noah shook his head, "No," he replied softly, "Mom, I don't want to talk about it…"

"Something happened, if Adam hurt you, you'd tell me right?"

"Adam didn't hurt me." He said firmly, "he'd never hurt me, he's my friend." He wasn't so sure about the last part anymore. She watched fresh tears spill again. "Please leave me alone," he said softly.

"I want you to talk to me-"

"Mom, please leave me alone!," he rose his voice, "I can't talk to you about this, just— leave it."

She decided to give him space, hoping that maybe he'd open up to Trevor or calm down a little bit and then talk to her.

"K… come talk to me if you need to."

With concern filling her, Olivia took Lexi with her to the living room so she could play while Liv watched TV.