Before i Go.

Chapter 3: new routine

Chapter 3

New Routine

The next few days passed quietly. Noah kept to himself, like always, but something had shifted.

Every morning in first period, he found himself slipping into the desk beside Tyler without thinking about it. No arguments. No tension. Just... space. Comfortable, quiet space.

Tyler always had something to say—some joke, some weird fact he probably read online at three in the morning. Noah never really knew how to respond, but Tyler didn't seem to care. He talked like they'd known each other for years, like silences weren't awkward, just pauses in a conversation that would always keep going.

At lunch, the same thing. Tyler would wave him over with that lazy smile like it was no big deal, and they'd sit. Sometimes it was just them. Sometimes a few other people joined. But Tyler always made sure there was room for Noah. And Noah always sat there, tray in hand, wondering how this all started from a desk by the window.

It wasn't like he suddenly became popular. People still didn't really notice him in the halls, and that was fine. That was what he wanted. But now, someone did notice. Tyler noticed.

And that was... strange.

Not bad, not good. Just new.

One day, halfway through a bite of pizza, Tyler looked at him and said, "You know, you're kinda hard to read."

Noah blinked. "What?"

"You don't say much. I can't tell if you hate me or if you just don't like people."

Noah shrugged. "I'm just not used to talking."

Tyler didn't ask why. He didn't press. He just nodded like that made perfect sense.

"Fair enough. I'll keep talking till you feel like jumping in."

Noah looked at him for a moment longer than usual. Tyler wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. People back home only talked to him to mess with him or ask for homework answers. But Tyler talked like he wanted to. Not because he needed something. Just because... he enjoyed the company.

It felt good.

Weird, but good.

That night, lying in bed, Noah stared at the ceiling and thought about how quiet things used to be. How lonely. And how now, there was this one person who didn't expect anything from him—who just let him be.

He didn't know what it meant. He didn't want to mess it up by overthinking. He wasn't catching feelings... he didn't think. He just finally had a friend.

And for the first time in a long time, that felt like enough.