Bittersweet // Complete

11.

Chapter 11

The hour long trash collection was exhausting, and everyone was in dire need of a treat. Daniel and Miguel volunteered to run across the street and get popsicles for everyone, but Noah interrupted them, "I'll get it, it's on me."

Well, no one was missing out on free popsicles, so no one bothered to argue.

Eleanor, whose pile of trash was barely more than a fist was huffing as if she had been running a marathon, and Sophie's subtle flirting had moved on to subtle touches and giggling, which Nicole seemed to be responding to very well.

"You okay there?" Daniel slid in to sit next to me, shoulders pressing.

"No, you and I need to have a chat." I narrowed my eyes at him.

Daniel's eyes widened for a moment before a mask of sincerity came over him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did you not think it would be a poor decision to give any random guy my address?"

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" Daniel shrugged before taking his words back, "No a lot of bad stuff can happen. Especially when the only relatively strong person in your house is River, and she's as strong as a twig."

I punched his arm, making him wince, "Bro!"

"See? You do say 'bro' unironically." I laughed, making him blush.

"Well, how was it then?" Daniel asked.

"How was what?" Eleanor walked in, moving my hands away from my lap, dropping her butt in place.

"Uh.." Fuck, "This new show I was watching last night," I stuttered.

"Oh. By the way, there's news to share." She wiggled in place, a prominent poup on her pink lips, "Word on the street is that Noah didn't go to Alex's party yesterday because he was busy fucking someone new."

Daniel and I exchanged looks.

"Who is she?" I asked, trying to look moderately curious.

"Well I don't know much about her, but I was told that she has solid chances of becoming the next Jennifer Paxton," Her face dropped into a pout, "So maybe Noah is finally looking to settle into a relationship."

"What he had with Jennifer barely constitutes a relationship," Daniel argued, "They were literally at each other's throats all the time."

"You can't deny they were the only long term relationship Noah's ever had here," El pointed out and Daniel shrugged. 

"Why keep her around if he didn't want her?" Miguel was impossibly intrigued in this conversation for someone who had been pretending to sleep all this while.

"Jen and Noah go way back," was all the explanation Daniel gave before Noah came back and Sophie all but attacked him for 'being the best'. She grabbed the paper bag from him before proceeding to distribute them among all fourteen volunteers who had shown up. I grabbed the raspberry flavored one before anyone else could, peeling the wrapper away and staking my claim on the icy goodness. The overhead sun was catching up on us, and I almost wished I had worn something less practical and more summery than the denim overalls.

Enjoying the heaven of cold on my tongue, I looked across the group to finally land on Noah, who was sipping from a tetra pack of some fruit juice instead of the pop. His eyes were intensely focused on his phone screen, rapidly typing something with one hand only. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked the contents of the pack, intensifying the godly crafted cheekbones and jawline. As if my stare was tactile, he looked up, half a smile gracing his face.