Noah Davis liked to be noticed.
The idea of being out of the spotlight for even a second terrified him. His mind saw the world as an extensive darkness lit by only a single highlight of brightness. A sort of brightness that did not come from sunshine but very much shared the properties of a halo. Both in shape and vocation.
The halo of attention was something that Noah was constantly striving to obtain, not realizing that halos are not meant to be caught. They are not possessions. They are part of a soul. Each person's halo constructed of different elements and colours. Noah was simply blind to the fact that attention was never meant to be is halo and attention would never cause his halo to glow brighter, rather dull its gleam as people experienced Noah The Actor. Noah The Actor who lived only for the purpose of everyone else's expense. For their laughter. For their amusement. For their awe and 'isn't that the same Noah who...'.
The halo in question, of course, would always remain to hover above his head, waiting for him to realise its true purpose. But, until then, Noah would continue trying to catch something that could never be caught. Something that he already had, never coming to the recognition that, in trying to catch the object right above his nose, he only drove it further away.
One shining example of this abominable personality trait was the day that he got expelled from Cambridge University.
In a desperate attempt to gain attention from both the family he had abandoned and the friends that were in the process of abandoning him, he had set fire to his dorm room. Completely and utterly on purpose. Making no effort to hide the fact that, no, it had most certainly not been an accident.
So, after damaging the school's property, reputation and most honourable student's very much flammable gelled back hair, Noah found himself pulling into the driveway of his house. Not his home. He had lost the privilege to call it home a long time ago.
And, as his younger very very pissed of brother watched from his bedroom window, Noah most certainly received attention.
But not the good sort.