39| Don't Run Away From The Truth
OW.
Jesus. My head hurt. There was an incessant stabbing pain in my temple that was driving me insane. I groaned as I slowly sat up from--
Not my bed.
Wait a minute. Where am I?
I looked around the unfamiliar room. It was a bedroom, but it wasn't mine. The bed was covered in a grey jersey-style comforter, and the room was unpainted, plain white. There was a large walk-in closet left open to my right filled with boys clothes. And my first thought was that I was still at Zane's house. I mean, he was a boy, and his house was super big and fancy, so this room could definitely belong to him.
But then I remembered the last night, very foggily, though.
Noah had taken me back to his place because I drank way too much. That's why my head hurt like a bitch.
I jolted up from the bed, suddenly in a panic. Yeah, I could remember that Noah brought me here, but I could barely remember what happened last night. I didn't remember most of what happened at the party, and I definitely didn't remember what Noah and I did when we got to his house.
"Hey." The familiar voice came from my right where the door to the bedroom was, and Noah was standing directly in the doorway, leaning against the wall. He held a water bottle in one hand and Advil in the other. "I'm assuming your head's hurting."
I could only nod. This was way too fucking weird. So Noah walked over and set the water bottle down on the bedside table and handed me 2 tabs of Advil. I hurried to take them, downing them in the water. I practically gulped down the entire water bottle, too. Apparently, I was also parched.
"I uh..." He paused, running a hand through his messy hair. "I know that the Advil isn't really gonna do the job. If you wanna shower, you can meet me downstairs. I'll make you a little something that should help." Noah sent me a quick smile before turning and leaving, although he stopped in the doorway to say one more thing. "Oh! And I had Gracie drop off a change of clothes for you. You know, so you don't have to smell like beer all day. They're sitting in the bathroom on the vanity." And then he left, shutting the door on his way out.
I laid my head back against the pillows. "Damn," I muttered. This was going to be awkward as all hell.
I slowly stood up from the bed (which, in case you were wondering, was incredibly comfortable and soft, I was kind of sad to leave it) and made my way into the bathroom. And the bathroom was on another level of fancy. The vanity was huge with bright lights surrounding it, marble countertops and tile on the ground, and the shower was a huge walk-in with more than 2 different shower heads. And one of them was the fancy rain-one, if you know what I mean. Damn, Noah really was rich.
I quickly showered and then changed into the clothes Gracie dropped off, which was a cropped striped sweater and some cotton shorts.
I can't believe Noah asked Gracie to drop off clothes. Why does he have to be such a good person?
I took a deep breath before I headed downstairs, trying to find the kitchen. It was a big house, but luckily, I stumbled into the kitchen pretty fast. Noah was in there cooking up a bunch of things. He turned to face me as I walked in and he smiled before turning his attention back towards the eggs he was making.
"Just sit down and take it easy," he said. "I'm almost done making breakfast."
I reluctantly sat down at the table, starting to fidget with my hands. I felt super awkward sitting here for multiple reasons.
1. Noah and I hadn't been speaking since Tuesday, AKA since he overheard what I said to my parents. So this was definitely weird.
2. I had no idea what happened last night after he brought me here. If I did or said anything super embarrassing or humiliating.
Minutes passed and Noah set a plate full of eggs, bacon, sausage, and mixed fruits in front of me. As well as a tall glass of water. He sat down across from me with a plate of his own.
"Eat up," Noah said. "It's good to have a big, healthy breakfast the morning after. It'll maintain your blood sugar levels, give you some good vitamins. And it should help with any nausea you might be feeling."
I took a bite and raised my eyebrow. "How do you know all of that?"
Noah shrugged. "I just do random research sometimes. It comes in handy when Chad gets drunk off his ass."
I shook my head. "I never thought I'd be as bad as Chad."
"You're not. You just had... quite a few drinks," Noah said. "Chad is a completely different demon."
Silence took over as we continued to eat, and all i could think about was how awful I felt. Because of the hangover and because of the fact that my memories from last night were completely gone. I barely wanted to ask Noah what happened, but I knew that I should anyway. So I did.
I set my fork down and looked at Noah. "Did I... say anything last night? Or do anything super embarrassing?"
Noah finished his bite. "Well you had a little drinking competition with Tanner. And then you did a little... dancing. With Zane, specifically."
"Right," I muttered. "How about when we got back here?"
"You got a little emotional, is all," Noah said, and I mentally groaned at myself. Of course I would have to get emotional in front of him when I was drunk. "Nothing embarrassing, though. You just needed a little comforting. And you did mention quite a few things about Edward."
"Edward?"
Noah chuckled. "From Twilight," he told me, and my eyes widened. "You said you wondered what was so special about him besides the fact that he sparkles."
I rolled my eyes at myself. "Of course I did."
"And awhile after you... cried for a bit, you just kind of fell asleep on the couch with me. I carried you up to the bed cause I knew you'd be hurting this morning. So I slept down here," he told me.
I sighed and ran a hand through my damp hair. "Shit. I'm sorry," I said, and instantly stood up. "I shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't have brought me back here, not after— well, you get it."
I shook my head and started to leave the kitchen, but Noah followed after me, grabbing my arm to spin me around. "Logan," he said, "it's okay. You were drunk and you needed to get out of there. It wasn't a problem."
"It is, though. You shouldn't have to deal with me, especially when I was drunk. It's not your job," I said. "And I shouldn't have been such a burden."
"You're not a burden," Noah denied. "Hey, you didn't ask me to bring you here. You didn't ask me to take care of you. I just— I just wanted to."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "But why?" I asked. "I've been a bitch to you."
Noah sighed. "Maybe you have been, but that doesn't change anything. What happened on Tuesday sucked for me, I won't deny that. I thought I couldn't be around you anymore. And I really thought you didn't like me, and maybe you don't. But that still doesn't change how I feel about you."
"Noah, I didn't mean what I said," I mumbled. "It was a fucking awful thing to say. But I didn't say it because it was true. It was just me being a dumbass. I don't like to disappoint my parents, I don't like to fight them. Not after..." I couldn't finish my sentence.
"I know. Not after Billie," he said and I nodded. "I get it. And we don't have to talk about your parents, not now. Not here. But we should talk about something else."
"And what's that?"
"How do you feel about me?" He asked.
I sighed and then thought about it. But it wasn't hard for me to come to the conclusion. "I really like you," I admitted. "A lot. A crazy amount that I don't really know how to explain." Noah smiled. "How about you?"
Noah's smile didn't fade and he reached to grab both of my hands. "Logan... let me tell you about something I realized," he started to say, smirking a bit. "How I feel about you... it was more than a crush. More than a like-like. More than a love."
My mouth opened wide and I shook my head at him, but Noah was just smiling like an idiot. "You are not doing this right now."
"Baby, I wanna make you mine. And I'm not giving up," Noah said. "Don't run away—"
"You're making me want to."
"Don't run away from the truth!" He continued. "Cause I'm not giving up on you..."
I rolled my eyes again. "You had to quote Let it Shine?" I asked, shaking my head at him.
Noah pulled me closer into his chest and leaned down to whisper to me. "Don't run away, Pierce." He pulled away and chuckled.
"I hate you," I muttered.
He just laughed. "For real, though. Away from the lyrics of the best Disney original movie song ever... I really, really, really like being around you. I just like you, Logan. I like every part of you, even the bitchy parts."
"Well I really, really, really like being around you, too," I said. "So you know what?"
"What?"
"I won't run away," I said, and he grinned.
"Perfect, then..." And Noah pulled me in even closer to him, lightly grabbing my chin to lift my head up to his, our lips meeting. And finally everything felt right, like it was falling into place. With Noah's lips moving in sync with mine, I knew just how much I needed him, how much I craved him.
When he pulled away, that smile was still plastered on his face. "Let's not keep it a secret," he practically whispered. "If we're not gonna run away from the truth, then we've gotta be real with everyone."
I laughed. "I think Don't Run Away is gonna be our song," I said.
Noah shrugged. "It's a good song. I wouldn't mind." I rolled my eyes. "So let's tell people. So that I can do this," his lips hit mine once again, "in public."
I smiled up at him, grabbing the back of his head to kiss him again. I whispered on his lips, "Deal."
✯ ✯ ✯
The good news was that Logan and I were good again, and we were together. And we were going to be public about it, which meant telling our friends and being able to be with each other in public places instead of hiding away. And honestly, I was incredibly excited about it.
Although, I didn't necessarily tell her that I loved her. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not then. Not after our fight on Tuesday, then after her being drunk and hungover in my kitchen. It just wasn't right.
And yeah, maybe I pussied out a bit, too.
Regardless, I was pretty damn happy. And I needed to thank the one person who had counseled me. The one person who was probably the last person I'd expected to give me sensible advice on mine and Logan's relationship.
So I drove to the store. I picked up the best possible gift I could imagine for said person. And holding the gift in my hand, I couldn't help but grin from ear-to-ear. It was the best damn gift this person could ever ask for. Then I drove to the person's house.
I knocked on the door.
The person opened the door.
And the loudest gasp ever was let out. "FOR ME?!" Porkchop exclaimed.
"For you," I said, handing him the family-sized bag of Puffy Cheetos and a DVD copy of 10 Things I Hate About You (since he'd told me that was what him and Logan watched, and I knew it was one of his favorite rom-coms from the many times we'd watched it together).
"You know I love the puffy Cheetos! They're just thicker versions of regular Cheetos, but with an even more satisfying crunching sound!" He yelled. "Noah Locke. Why have I been blessed today?"
"It's a thank you," I said. "You gave me advice on what to do about Logan, and it really helped."
Porkchop's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Did you fix things with her?" He asked, clapping his hands together. "Did you tell her you loved her? I love when they admit that in the movies."
"We fixed things. I may have left out the L-word," I admitted.
"Why?!"
"Because it didn't feel right," I told him. "Don't you worry about it, Porkchop. I will tell her. Because I do love her, it's just—"
"You're waiting for that moment," Porkchop interrupted. "That moment that happens in all of the movies! I get it."
I smiled and shook my head. "Well, anyway. I just wanted to give you that. I thought you'd like it."
"I love it," Porkchop said. "But you aren't leaving. We— are going to watch 10 Things I Hate About You while scarfing down these Cheetos."
I laughed. "Deal."
✯ ✯ ✯
If you haven't seen Let It Shine, then I am utterly disappointed. And they also took it off of Netflix! How ridiculous is that? Smh. Makes me so mad. It's so good, man.
Anyways, I love them. I love Noah and Logan. Have I ever mentioned that before? Probably.
Okay, so hopefully now you don't hate me because they're all good and back together! No more fights for awhile, and that is a GUARANTEE! I literally promise. I'm so excited for the coming chapters, some of them are so cute. And there still is LOTS of drama to come. Stay tuned.