~Post TNS~ ignore the bad photo
Noah doesn't know what to expect as Henry leads him towards James' apartment. All he knows is that there's supposed to be a birthday "surprise" party. Not the party alone being the surprise rather the arrangement of it.
Henry's been quiet on their way there, giving Noah the chance to talk and joke as much as he desired. But as they enter the building at the address he finally breaks his silence.
"Before we go in I want you to know it was all James' idea and most of us were against it, but he made us do it anyway. You have now 3 seconds to decide whether you want or not to know what this surprise is."
Noah doesn't need to think twice, if it's a James concept it's better to be prepared for it, so he nods prompting Henry to continue.
"James thinks you're still not over Jacquie and that you need a new girl to forget about all this crap."
"But that's ridiculous. We broke up over six months ago."
"I know this. But James is convinced there's something holding you back from getting into a new relationship."
Noah involuntarily pictures wavy long blonde hair, a challenging look given by the prettiest eyes on earth, a smirk and a dance bag over her shoulder. It's the strangest thing to think there's something holding him back.
"James made everyone bring a girl who could hypothetically become your girlfriend."
Even though Noah's a bit revolted by this idea he feels warmth spreading in his chest, knowing James cares so much.
"Everyone? You?" Henry nods. "Piper? Michelle?"
"Yup. Michelle's the only one who loves this idea. Piper agreed. And Eldon got into a dangerous competition with James about finding you the perfect girl."
"Richelle too?" The sudden nervousness that overflows him is rather unwelcome and Noah's thankful he didn't stutter.
Henry hesitates for a moment, giving him a weird look.
"Yeah, but she asked me to bring around two girls in case she didn't find the time to get someone. She's apparently very busy."
Noah smiles sadly. It's very like Richelle not to want to participate in such a silly activity. In fact, he also doubts the ethical issues concerning such event but decides to ignore his moral concerns and try enjoying his party. But he can't fight the feeling of disappointment or hurt even, knowing Richelle's so neutral when it comes to the matters of his heart.
"But she was very opposed to James' idea." Noah gets a feeling Henry is trying to tell him something with the way his gaze softens, but he doesn't completely get the hidden meaning behind his words. "She said that if you wanted a girlfriend you'd have one."
"Well, Richelle does know me." Noah grins widely, Henry's words cheering him up a bit.
And it is true except for the tiny little issue of him not being able to find the guts to ask out his best friend for months now.
"Ready for this mess of a party?" Henry asks, putting his hand on the door handle leading into James' and Riley's apartment looking expectantly at his friend.
"Bring it on."
~~~
Two hours after Noah's arrival he had already gulped down enough beer to participate in this childish "courtship-game" James has prepared for him and talk to both of Henry's friends. One of them was Katie, who turned out to be just as weird as Henry, if not more. She was scary and crept Noah out. The second girl's name was Stella and let's just say they did not hit it off.
Now being even more sceptical of James' idea than before, he squeezes through the tiny crowd that has formed since the party took off to get to Richelle and Michelle, who stand by the window talking boisterously about something.
"Mich won't tell me who her mysterious girl is." Richelle pouts and crosses her arms over her chest, as she gives Noah her complaint about her sister, the moment he joins them.
"I've told you Richie, this is the real surprise at this party. It's gonna be the cherry on top, you'll see."
Michelle's eyes are sparkling with mirth and her cheeks are red from the excitement but Richelle definitely doesn't appreciate the mischievous glint in her eye.
"Truth be told I'm more afraid about what Eldon and James have prepared for me."
At the beginning of his birthday party Richelle has spilled to him about the preparations for this event. Apparently, out of nowhere Eldon and James got into an argument as to who is a better matchmaker, James claiming he has the best track record and understands the secret of love when Eldon was declaring over and over again that "I've had the most girlfriends!", which was supposed to convince everybody of his skills in this field.
To top it off, neither of them had arrived at the party yet. And it's held at James' apartment for God's sake! It's only natural for Noah to be worried of what's to come.
"Blinded by their own rivalry, they won't even expect it when it hits them who the real Queen of matchmaking is!" Michelle's scheming voice brings Noah out of his reverie.
"Steady on. It's not guaranteed that I'm gonna leave this party with a girl. Maybe I'm just not interested."
"Oh, but you will. And with the girl I have for you!"
"Has she even arrived yet, Mich?" Richelle's squinting her eyes at her sister and Noah notices she's wearing some make up. She looks beautiful tonight with her black dress and curled hair, he can't help but wonder if he'd cross some boundaries telling her so.
Michelle doesn't get to answer Richelle's question because suddenly a big noise at the door catches everyone's attention. A large group of people barge in through the door followed by Eldon and James shouting insults at each other.
"Wow" is all Richelle is able to choke out seeing the scene.
"Yeah wow." Michelle follows wearing a shocked look on her face.
"Do I need to do this? I really don't want to." Noah runs his hand down his face in an exasperated manner but then James gets to them, grabs him by his collar and pulls him harshly towards the group yelling something about them being flexible foxes and Noah being the one who'll put an end to "Eldon's nonsense".
~~~
Richelle never gets her answer as her sister follows Noah and James in long strides trying to keep up. A heavy sigh leaves Her mouth, watching her friends leaving. She needs a drink.
So she goes over to the table full of different alcohols and pours herself a solid portion of the nearest liquid to a plastic cup, not really caring who brought the bottle, proceeding to collapse onto the nearest barstool.
(There is a simple reason for Richelle's indignation. Richelle Nolet likes rivalry, yes. Everybody knows that. But it doesn't mean she likes competition. And the most frustrating thing was that it's a competition that nobody knows she's considering participating in. But she doesn't like the competition anyway.)
Deep in her thoughts, Richelle doesn't notice Piper, who comes up to her from behind, startling her.
"Why so blue?"
All Richelle does is grunt quietly in a very unladylike way.
From the corner of her eye she sees Piper looking in the direction Richelle's looking, which may or may not be towards Nob making polite conversation with one of James' girls. Piper snorts nasally, mocking her friend.
"Is this about Noah?"
Richelle groans, earning herself a defeated sigh from the other girl. Piper grabs the next stool along and sits down, blocking Richelle's view of Noah.
"Listen, Rich. You have to take this shot, he's not gonna be single forever."
Richelle only hopes Piper buys the false look of surprise she's trying to master on her face.
"I don't... I'm not..."
How naive of her.
"Cut the crap. It's obvious you want him. If you have feelings for Noah - do something about it, if not - don't give him false hope. Either way - just make an effort."
Piper's words make Richelle think. Think about the beginnings of her friendship with Noah, about the last few months she's spent pining for her Best Friend, their banter turning more and more flirty every day and the nervous shivers that crawl down her arms every time they touch (ugh, that greeting hug today was so awkward, Richelle winces internally at the slight memory of it). And she realizes she can't keep going on like this.
Piper is right. She needs to do something.
"Thanks, Pipes. I really needed that." She smiles sheepishly, earning a quick squeeze—Piper knows she isn't exactly a hugger—before the brunette gets ready to join the others.
"Anyway, I'm going to save Noah from this conversation, he doesn't seem to be interested anyway."
But Richelle isn't listening anymore, buried deep in her thoughts, trying to work out the best way to confess all of these complicated feelings to her Best Friend.
~~~
"Hey."
Noah turns around, surprised to hear Richelle's voice out here on the balcony that extended from the master bedroom.
"Hi." The smile pops up his face without him realizing it. "What are you doing up here?"
"Caught you sneaking out. Don't you enjoy this party full of strange people you've never met?" Richelle gasps, feigning surprise.
"Got a bit overwhelmed." He chuckles as she moves closer, hands wringing together, eventually standing right in front of him. Noah can feel the hem of her soft velvet dress tickling his leg in a light touch. He's sitting on a piece of ledge, so their eyes are on the same level. He gets lost in them just a little bit.
"Those people Eldon and James brought over are definitely something." This earns him an amused smile from the blonde and his stomach instantly flips. "But I don't think any of them are right for me. To be honest, I'm not a fan of this whole idea."
"Michelle is pretty certain of her choice. She wouldn't stop bragging about it the entire car drive here."
"Wait, you came here with Michelle?"
"Yeah, I found it weird at first when she showed up at home insisting I come with her, I could've sworn she was getting ready with Riley..."
Her eyes widen in shock as the realization hits her. Noah's grin widens even more, he'd realised the moment she revealed her travel arrangements.
"Oh. my. God. I'm the girl Mich brought."
Richelle starts to breathe rapidly, attempting to calm down her nerves (and perhaps delay the horde of butterflies currently having a party of their own in her stomach at the sight of Noah's soft gaze).
Noah looks her deeply, trying to work out what's going on in her mind right now and whether she's freaking just as much as he is.
It's been way too long for them to acknowledge their true feelings, always making excuses with that, 'we're friends and we're afraid to lose it' trope. But Noah is tired of it, so he decides to actually push her on the topic for once.
"So... do you maybe think Michelle was right to be so cocky about this whole thing?" He drops his gaze to his fingers which fiddle nervously in his lap, afraid he's just seconds away from being rejected by his soulmate.
"She seemed pretty sure about it." His head shoots up as she speaks only to see her getting closer, so close she stands now between his legs. Her scent overflows his nostrils, his insides jump up and down in anticipation, this was it. He may be imagining things, but all he can see in Richelle's eyes is determination. "I guess there's one way to find out."
He can't help the smile that's tugging at the corner of his lips as she snakes her hands around his neck, pulling herself into his lap in a bold move he never expected from her. Not that he needed any more of an invitation.
At first the touch is light, it's unusual, you know, kissing your Best Friend. But then Noah moves his lips, not being able to hold back any longer. Richelle's fingers grip his hair at the base of his neck and he feels his own palms being drawn to her waist, pulling her even closer.
They've been dancing around their feelings for way too long for this to be an innocent kiss.
He sighs at the slightest touch of her tongue on his upper lip and she takes that as an invitation for her to explore further. With Richelle's body pressed to his, her soft lips moving against his own, Noah thinks he's the happiest man on earth right now.
He has no idea how long have they been melting into each other as they finally part to take a few deep breaths. The sight of Richelle being out of breath because of him, with pink cheeks because of him and swollen lips because of him only makes his decision to lean into her once again to give her a chaste kiss easier, pulling away so their foreheads touch intimately.
At first she's startled but sinks into it, reciprocating the action as he places a palm over her cheek, his thumb repeatedly moving up and down.
"So, looks like Michelle was right after all." He manages to gasp out, surprised how hoarse his own voice sounds.
She giggles, no longer flustered, more giddy and he joins in with her laughter. The happiness bubbling in his chest is unstoppable and he's not about to fight it. It's only natural for him to feel this way after waiting so long to kiss her. His dream girl.
"Yeah."
He pulls her into a hug, placing her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in her scent.
This beats any other birthday he's ever had.
Eventually he pulls away, a mischievous grin taking over his face.
"Wanna mess up with their heads a little?"
He doesn't need an answer, the mirroring of his expression tells him all he needs to know.
~~~
"Noah, where have you been? I've been looking for you all over the place!"
The moment Noah steps back into James' apartment, he hears Michelle's troubled voice. He came down alone, agreeing he and Richelle would come back in separately in order for their prank to work.
"Never mind, the important thing is you're here. James, Eldon, Piper come here so I can finally introduce Noah to girl he's gonna walk out of this door with tonight!"
Michelle starts to turn his head around in panic, as if looking for something (or someone rather) and Noah waits just the right amount of time for the rest of his friends to approach to drop the bomb.
"Oh, it's okay Mich. I've already found the right girl for me."
This may not be the best idea to play with his friend's feelings like that, Noah muses, seeing the color fading out of Michelle's face.
"What?..." It barely comes out of Michelle's mouth, as she puts a hand on his chest and tries to even her breathing. "But that's not how it was supposed-"
"Hey, what's going on here?" Richelle interrupts, sneaking on Noah from behind, but he doesn't mind, turning to her already with a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Just me giving your sister a heart attack." He says, leaning in to give Richelle a casual peck on the lips.
It wasn't much, but the simple gesture makes waves, Noah hears whistles from a far corner of the room (clearly Henry), a loud gasp coming from James and Eldon, a snickering sound from Piper and then a thump on the shoulder form Michelle.
"Hey! I got with your girl, isn't this what you wanted...sis?" Noah snickered.
"Yeah, okay don't call me that, it's just weird." Nevertheless, it's clear she's happy seeing Noah shooting her sister a dopey smile, as he sneaks an arm around her waist and she stands on her toes to give him a kiss. Her sister finally realised her feelings.
Noah is so deep in his haze, having his dream girl in his arms, he almost doesn't pay attention to James claiming he won against Eldon, explaining to him the credit goes to himself, as he was the one to throw Noah this party.
Well, it's an unarguable fact now.
Best. Birthday. Ever.
~~~
Cute sisterly scheming