Serendipitous

33.

Noah seemingly began to avoid me for a few days after Shane came back. But maybe he's just trying to give Shane and I some time to ourselves, but it wouldn't hurt to say hi to me in the hallway every now and then. The quiet chatter of breakfast fills the room as everyone makes small talk. Shane sits beside me as we talk about the first half of the day. My eyes look around the room but I don't see Noah anywhere.

"Is everything okay?" Shane asks, after taking a sip of his water.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just looking for Noah" I tell him honestly. "I think he's mad at me"

Shane stays quiet for a moment, he looks as if he's thinking deeply about something.

"Why would he be mad at you? You haven't done anything to make him upset" He says calmly, I nod slowly taking in his words.

"I know, it's just— I don't know"

"Look, there he is now" Shane gestures over to Noah who is just now walking in for breakfast, he looks tired.

His eyes have dark circles around them, I stand up from my seat and walk over to greet him. He stops walking and turns to face me, when our eyes meet I notice the green in his eyes isn't as bright as they usually seem.

"Hey, there you are" I give him a smile, he returns a weak smile but I can see that it's forced.

"Hey" He responds shortly.

"I feel like I haven't talked to you in days, how have you been?" I ask. Noah glances around the room for a moment before meeting my gaze.

"I'm fine, you look great— I mean, healthier— Happier" He stammers out, his eyes flicker from my eyes then down to the floor.

"I gotta go" He mumbles before turning around and walking out of the dinning hall.

I frown softly while turning to look at Shane who has a serious expression on his face, when our eyes meet his gaze seems to soften. When I take my seat with Shane again he's already finished eating but I'm already full.

"You okay?" He asks, I nod but not feeling completely sure that my friendship with Noah is fine.

"Yeah, I'm just not sure everything is okay between Noah and I" I tell him softly, Shane listens but remains quiet.

The two of us walk back to the field to do our daily chores around the cave, while Shane helps my dad harvest wheat I begin washing the vegetables at the stream. Why is Noah acting so weird around me lately, I don't understand it. Did I do something to offend him? When I look up to grab a carrot I look up to see Noah coming toward the stream, I perk up and decide to go sit by him.

"Hey!" I chirp, maybe that was a little too friendly considering how distant he's been from me the last few days. I hope I don't make him feel weird. Noah looks in my direction, his eyes seeming to sparkle like a candle in the darkest room before his eyes grow sad again.

"Hey, Molly" He greets, his tone a little more friendly this time.

"What are you up to?" I ask as if it isn't obvious, Noah smirks.

"Same as you, washing vegetables"

"Oh, right."

"How are you?" He asks.

"I'm having the worst time of my life, I'm stuck in a safe cave doing chores and the company is even worse..." I respond in a joking manner, he rolls his eyes and smiles genuinely. That's better.

"Amen to that" He adds, I lightly laugh.

"Do you think we'll ever be able leave this place and be safe?" I ponder his question. If we were to leave this place would we ever even be safe? Could we be safe?

"I don't know. I'm still hoping for a cure one day..." I answer him truthfully, he nods.

"Me too. I've always wanted to travel" Noah tells me as he continues washing vegetables.

"Well, technically you're exploring a large cave— Well, living in one somewhere in a desert" I smile which makes him smile as he looks down at the water for a second before meeting my eyes.

"Yeah, but Fiji sounds more appealing"

"Okay that does sound really nice..." I wonder what Fiji looks like now, I wonder what's become of the waters and the people. I shutter to think.

"Ever seen a walker in a bikini?" Noah responds jokingly, I let out a laugh at his obscure comment.

"Wow, that would be— horrid and yet somehow hilarious"

"We're awful. The world ended and we're joking about the dead that eat the living" Noah says teasingly, another laugh escapes my lips.

"The worst" I shake my head.

Noah turns to look at me his smile gently fading as our eyes stay locked, his hand slowly comes up to my face before the pads of his fingers gently brush a strand of hair from my cheek making my heart pound at this contact. He has never even done so much as give me a hug when I'm crying. He tucks the stray hair behind my ear as I quickly turn my head to face the water, Noah clears his throat.

"Sorry" He chokes out, "You just— I didn't want your hair to—" His voice trails off quietly, I don't want him to feel weird.

"Oh, it's okay" I smile, I don't want him to feel awkward. I am sure he didn't mean anything by it, he was just being nice. When we both finish washing vegetables we walk back to the dining hall to set our baskets of food down. "Do you want to try to go to the sand dunes later again?" Noah asks in a hopeful tone. I turn to face him and nod happily.
"Sure why not, we should seize moment while we can" I respond casually. My eyes spot Shane who is bringing harvested wheat to the large table for the others to prepare to cook.

"Hey" I give him a smile, Shane's eyes light up as he pulls me into a gentle kiss.

His arms wrap around my waist pulling me closer to him, I take in the taste of his lips before we both pull away. "You look delicious" He murmurs causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach, I smile before looking down at my shoes.

"What are you trying to do to me?" I ask rhetorically while my cheeks warm up, Shane smiles that perfect crooked smile that makes my heart jump every time while his eyes meet my own. "I could ask you the same question" He brings up hand under my chin before gently pecking my lips again.

"Well, I better get back to washing vegetables. But I guess we can find out what we want to do to each other tonight" I shrug casually knowing very well what we both plan on doing to one another tonight. Shane's laugh fills my ears making my heart skip.

"See you tonight then" He responds before letting go of my hand, I hadn't even realized we were holding hands. I guess it just comes naturally for us now.

"See you" I smile back at him before turning around expecting to see Noah, but he isn't there. He probably wanted to get the rest of his chores done, I know I do.