The Middle - Volume Three ✔️

Chapter 39 (Noah)

“Yeah, he’s been a bit hot and cold with me lately.” The lilac haired girl says with a forced laugh.

“So you’re single?” Stefan asks, real smooth.

“Yes, she is!” Her friend says, nudging her with her elbow.

“Well, do you girls wanna grab a coffee or something?” Stefan asks. “Noah and I were about to go for a run, but that can wait.”

I roll my eyes, resigned to the fact that we probably will not be going for a run. The lilac haired girl is clearly hung up on Patrick, but her friend is looking me up and down like I’m a piece of meat.

“Sure! I’m Fiona by the way, and this is Amanda.” Names to faces, great.

“Awesome, let’s go.” Stefan says, and with that I find myself walking over to Symposium with Stefan and these two random girls I will probably never talk to again.

“Youre paying.” I tell him.

***

The four of us are sitting at a table in Symposium with our coffees, and Fiona is starting to piss me off. She already knows I’m dating Jamie, yet she keeps flirting with me. I don’t wanna be a dick, but I am being frosty towards her. Hopefully she’ll get the message by the time we finish our drinks. Stefan is shamelessly flirting with Amanda, even though she can’t stop talking about Patrick. It’s so obvious she isn’t interested in Stefan, but he’s nothing if not persistent when it comes to girls.

“I mean, he was definitely coming onto me at Shaun Campbell’s party this week, but he ended up leaving with Jamie. And now he’s not replying to my texts. I don’t wanna act like a psycho stalker, but I know he likes me. What do you guys think I should do?” She asks us, her eyes full of hope.

“I think you should back off from him.” Stefan offers unsurprisingly.

“What do you think, Noah? You know Patrick pretty well.” She waits for my answer with bated breath.

I don’t really know Patrick, though. I’ve been in his company plenty of times, sure, but I’ve never really gotten friendly vibes from him. Besides when he told me to get Jamie a blueberry snow cone instead of strawberry. He’s like the judgemental older brother, same as Jay and Joel. He sees me as the boyfriend that needs watching. Well, hopefully I will be soon.

“I don’t know him that well, I only know what Jamie’s told me really.” Fiona frowns at the mention of Jamie’s name. Good. “He doesn’t date though.”

He’s the same as me, really. So I suppose he took Amanda to the Winter Fayre because he likes her, just like I couldn’t keep myself from Jamie because I really like her. Maybe the same thing is going on for Patrick right now.

“I think the fact that he took you to the Winter Fayre is a good sign, he doesn’t do stuff like that, ever. So, I would say you do mean something to him. He’s probably just confused and unsure how to act.” Wow, when did I get so insightful?

“You really think so?” She beams at me, hope filling her eyes.

“I don’t know, but it’s possible.” I finish the last of my coffee. “Stefan, can we run now please?”

“Yes, you boys go enjoy your run. Thanks for the coffee, Stefan, and thank you so much for this, Noah.” Amanda jumps up to her feet and hugs me against my will. I don’t hug her back, but she’s excited about this Patrick thing so I let her off.

“Um, okay?” Stefan says, clearly put out that Amanda has no interest in him.

“See you guys around.” Fiona says, pushing her chair back. But before she gets up she says, “Well, this could get interesting.”

I turn around to see what she’s looking at. Jay and Patrick just walked in.

“Ohmigod, why does he have to look so hot all the time?!” Amanda says, sounding stressed. She’s sat down again in attempt not to attract attention to herself.

I turn around and look at the boys again. They both look the same way they usually do. Patrick has one of those head bands on though, and a pair of drumsticks are poking out of the back pocket of his jeans. I guess they’ve just been playing and they’re taking a coffee break.

“He’s not all that, is he?” Stefan says.

“Oh please, look at him.” Fiona says. “Is it any wonder he’s such a player?”

“Shut up, Fiona.” Amanda hisses at her friend.

“Sorry, but it’s true.” Fiona says, shrugging her shoulders. “You knew that the first time you talked to him.”

“Yeah, and he took me out on a date. Like Noah says, that’s a good sign.” Amanda reminds her.

“Well, let’s see how much he likes you.” Fiona says, before yelling Patrick! across the shop.

“Shit, what did you do that for?!” Amanda sounds panicked.

I turn around again and see Jay saying something to Patrick. He’s encouraging him to come over here and talk to us. Patrick doesn’t look too happy about it though, but Jay's walking towards us now and Patrick rolls his eyes before following Jay over to our table.

“Hey, Noah. Dude, girls.” Jay says, nodding his head at each of us.

“Hey, guys. Have you been playing?” I ask, wondering what Jamie’s up to right now.

“No, we're just about to. Coffee first.” Jay tells me. Patrick’s just standing with his hands in his pockets looking miserable. Maybe he really does have it bad for Amanda.

“Hi, Patrick.” Amanda says quietly. I feel a little sorry for her, this is so awkward.

“How’s it going?” He asks her, pulling his drumsticks out of his back pocket and twirling them around his fingers, he’s visibly nervous.

“She'd be a lot better if you would reply to her texts.” Fiona says, earning herself an unsubtle kick under the table from Amanda.

Jay raises an amused eyebrow at Patrick. He’s loving this.

“Right, um, I’ve been busy. Sorry.” He mutters, almost dropping one of the drumsticks. He shoves them back into his pocket and shoves his hands back into his front pockets before looking down at his feet.

“What my friend here meant to say was, he’s an idiot and he’s sorry and he would love to take you out tonight if you're free.” Jay says to Amanda with a smile.

“Jay, what the fuck?” Patrick hisses at his friend.

“What? You said you liked her, you clearly need some help with this stuff, dude.” Jay says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Text me if you want to, Patrick.” Amanda says with a small smile, clearly encouraged by what Jay just said.

“Right.” Patrick replies while studying the ceiling. “Coffees ready. Bye.” And with that, he walks back over to the counter.

“I think you’ve broken him.” Jay says to Amanda with a laugh, before following Patrick to the counter.

“Well, I am definitely ready for that run now.” Stefan says, getting to his feet.

“Me too.” I say. “I'm gonna swing by Jamie’s place after too.”

Seeing Jay and Patrick has made me wanna see her. I miss her. I know she wants space, but maybe seeing me will help her make her mind up.

As we leave, I notice Jay and Patrick have ordered four coffees, so she must be at home with Joel. Stefan and I say bye to the girls and run down the street towards the beach, my new favourite place to run in North Bridge.