Spark | B1| #wattys2019 |✓

chapter four

I almost felt irritation leak from me. I managed to contain it, partly because my ex-friends were sitting on the bed of a truck and were paying attention to the more social juniors than us.

"Yeah, go ahead."

I unlocked my car again, and he went around the front before he opened the passenger door and got in. He sat his backpack down on the floorboard and shifted so that he was looking directly at me. I turned off the car and turned so that I was looking at him too.

"I...I heard that you stopped b-being friends with them," Noah managed to say, earning a sigh from me as I fought against the urge to turn and see if Haiden and Kendall had looked through the windshield so that they could see me. My windshield and the rest of my windows weren't that tinted, they were legal of course, but not as bad as my ex-friends' cars.

"You heard correctly," I softly responded to him, the last thing that I needed was for him to bawl in my car because I didn't approach this in a nice manner. I was physically and mentally drained for today, but the least I could do at the end of the day was be there for Noah.

"I know this is silly..." Noah drifted off as though he was expecting me to tell him to get out of my car. When he saw that I wasn't growing angry, or irritated he sighed and continued, "Did you stop being friends with them for me?"

I knew that I was a sight to see, with my already large eyes widening even further. Noah was precious, I had to admit, as I peered at him and seeing how innocent he was. It was rare to see such an innocent teenager.

He was so nervous!

Yet he was hopeful in a way, and I knew I couldn't just destroy what little hope and happiness he had. It would be wrong of me to do so.

"No. It wasn't your fault, Noah. I mean....Haiden was being mean to you. Haiden is mean to everyone. He being mean to you was the breaking point for me. I stopped being friends with him and Kendall because I knew it would be better in the long run."

I didn't know how he would take this, it was just difficult to put it into words so that he wouldn't think that I had just upped and left my friends so that I could confess to Noah that I had stopped being their friends because I fell in love with him. He would think that he would have even more of a reason to confess that he was in love with me.

He slumped a moment later, and I flinched internally at the knowledge that he thought that he was special enough that he would have me stop being friends with Haiden and Kendall for him. He must have thought that I would confess that I had fallen in love with him and I would choose him over them.

"Oh...so...you don't..." Noah weakly spoke, before he bent down so that he could pick up his backpack. "I feel so stupid now," he muttered, tears were beginning to fall down his tear ducts in embarrassment.

"No! No, don't feel stupid," I pleaded as I reached forward and wrapped his arms around me. He held onto me with as much strength as he could, as though he could see if I was actually here.

I wished that I had someone for me like I was for Noah right now, an older gay boy that could hold me and tell me that everything was all right. I wished that he could tell me that I would go through many pains and heartaches but I would pull through in the end because I was strong.

I kept my arms as tight as I could against Noah without suffocating him completely. I rocked him to and fro, knowing that he needed this. He sobbed his heart out in my arms, letting everything out.

I didn't know how long I sat there with him in my arms but eventually Noah pulled away from me only to lunge forward and throw his arms around my neck to pull me towards him. His lips met mine and I sat there awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to the fact that Noah had just stolen my first kiss.