C H A P T E R 1
U N D E R F I R E
Noah typed out the last of his email and quickly hit send. Thank god it’s the weekend. He leaned into the back of his office chair and stretched his arms above his head. His eyes turned to the clock on the wall. It read 10:27pm. He slapped his face lightly to try and wake himself up. He’s been here since 7am. He shut off his computer monitor and started to pack up his things with gusto.
He was the only one left in the office. He turned off all the lights and locked the door. He walked out the building only to be met with the chilling wind. The street was empty and quiet, and a car would rumble past in the distance. Only the sounds of his footsteps against the pavement and the wind passing through the trees could be heard. It was honestly pretty nerve wracking for Noah, but he really wanted to go home.
Buzzzt. Noah paused and looked for where his phone was. It’s not in my pockets, he thought, maybe it’s in my bag? He took the strap of his bag off his shoulder and placed it on the ground. He crouched down next to it and searched through the bag like a little gremlin. Buzzzt, buzzzt, buzzzt.
“Aha!” Noah pulled out the phone high above his head and quickly answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, are you off work yet?” It was Kent. He was one of his close friends – well, his only close friend.
“Yeah, I just left the office. Why?”
“Let’s go out drinking. I haven’t seen you in a bit.”
“It’s only been three days since we last saw each other.”
“Well, it feels like a week.” Noah chuckled a little.
“Alright, alright.” He shook his head, “Same place as usual?”
“Yeah, I’ll come pick you up.”
Kent slammed down another empty glass onto the table. Noah was slowly sipping at the alcohol in his cup. He didn’t want to get too drunk or else there’ll be no one to watch over Kent. He was pretty confident at holding his liquor, but Kent on the other hand is such a lightweight. Kent is definitely very drunk.
“C’mon, Noah! Drrink ssome more! It’ss all on me.” Kent slurred his words and clumsily hooked his arm around Noah’s shoulders. Noah lifted his arm off his shoulders and scooted away from him.
“I don’t want to have a hangover in the morning.” He already had a good buzz going on from the alcohol. Anymore and he may do something stupid.
“Pssh, you don’t even have work tomorrow.”
“I suppose,” Noah was almost swayed by his words. “But no one will be able to watch over you.”
“Whatever floats your boat.” Kent got up from his seat “I’m gonna order more drinks.” He clumsily walked away to the bartender. Noah carefully watched him walk over. Only when Kent got to the counter did Noah look away. He sunk more into his seat and closed his eyes. The fatigue was finally able to sink deep into his bones. I don’t want to move. Noah opened his eyes to check on Kent and saw him talking to the bartender. I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit.
Once Kent got back to the table he noticed that Noah fell asleep. His drunken stupor was immediately wiped away and it seemed like he was sober. Though his face gave him away as it was still slightly red from the alcohol he drank. He lightly set down the drinks he ordered and did his best not to wake him up. He opened his phone and went to call someone.
“Alan, can you come pick up my friend and I from the bar?” His words were clear and no longer slurred. His tone is colder than before.
“Yes, sir.” Kent put his phone back into his pocket and quickly chugged the drinks he ordered. He put Noah’s arm around his shoulder before putting his arm behind Noah’s knees and shoulders. Then he lifted him up into a princess carry. Noah stirred a little before going back into a blissful sleep. He made sure that Noah was comfortable in his arms before leaving. He walked out the bar, nodding his head at the bartender as a goodbye.
A sleek, black car pulled up in front of Kent. The driver got out of the car and went to open the back door for Kent. He carefully placed Noah into the seat and then sat himself down. The driver closed the door for him and went back behind the wheel.
“Where to, sir?” Kent looked at Alan through the rearview mirror. Alan’s eyes held no emotion and a professional air surrounded him.
“To my apartment.” Alan nodded his head and turned his eyes onto the road. He made sure to drive smoothly for Kent’s sleeping friend. Kent looked over to Noah. He looked so serene and relaxed. The moonlight fell onto his face, like a spotlight on a stage. Kent reached out to brush the hair out of Noah’s face, but his touch woke him up.
“Kent?” His voice was quiet and hoarse. He lifted his head up from the side of the door and rubbed his eyes, “Where are we?”
“We’re in a cab heading to my house.” The lie slipped easily from his mouth and was just as easily believed by Noah.
“Mm, okay.” Noah closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the car door again. The car went over a slight bump causing him to hit his head on the door lightly. Noah sighed and then went to lean against Kent and use him as a pillow.
“This is for all the times I’ve had to take care of you when you got blackout drunk in college. Let me use you as a pillow.” Kent tilted his shoulder down so Noah would be more comfortable.
“Okay.” The two sat in the back in peaceful silence. Alan in the front looked back at them with a small frown, but he said nothing. Soon the car rolled up in front of a nice looking apartment complex. Kent lightly shook Noah awake.
"I'm tired. Carry me." Kent smiled and chuckled a little at Noah.
"At your command, sire." With a salute, Kent turned around and motioned for Noah to climb onto his back.
"It's Noah." he corrected as he climbed onto Kent's back. His mind was still muddled from the alcohol so he didn't understand that Kent was just joking.
"My apologies." Kent hoisted Noah up and walked over to his apartment. With a little difficulty he climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his apartment. The place was tidy and neat. Everything was organized and put where they should be. It was very minimalistic in style, but still felt cozy. There were many framed pictures around the place that captured Kent's past achievements. Like the one as a 14 year old getting first place in his school's chess tournament. There were also photos of his family and friends. Some plants occupied the corners of the rooms or placed on tables.
Noah hopped off Kent's back and navigated through his place with familiarity. He walked in Kent's room and opened the closet to grab comfy clothes to change into. He started to change without a care about Kent being there too. They're both guys. Nothing to be embarrassed about. He walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He's been over to Kent's place so often he has his own stuff here now. He grabbed his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth. His sleepiness subsided a bit afterwards, but he wasn't in the mood to converse. He jumped into Kent's bed and nestled under the blankets. Kent sat down on the other side.
"Going to sleep?" Noah nodded his head and closed his eyes.
"Okay. I'm not tired yet so I'll be reading this book. I'll dim the lights for you." The two were enveloped in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. The sound of the pages of the book being turned and Kent's breathing allowed for Noah to fall into a deep sleep. Kent continued to read for an hour before turning off the lights and going to sleep himself.
The sun burned his face, but Noah continued to sit where he was. It was Kent’s favorite booth to sit at. Noah made sure to come in early in order to reserve this specific booth just for him. It was peak time for the café so all of the tables were occupied. Muffled chatter and the occasional clinking of plates filled his ears. The people behind the counter were constantly moving trying to finish orders in a timely manner. Names were called and they were given what they ordered. Despite the business of the place, it was peaceful. A nice break from his stressful job. The steam of his coffee rose up to softly brush against his face as he picked up the cup to take a sip. He looked out the window and watched as people walked past. Other patrons would sneak glances towards him and whisper to their companions about how handsome he is. Noah checked his watch for the fifth time since he’s been here.
“What’s taking him so long?” he muttered under his breath. Ding. The sound of the bell above the door rang out from the loud ambience and immediately caught Noah’s attention. Noah smiled, there he is, he thought. In walked a tall, handsome man. He wore only a t-shirt and sweatpants with a jacket tied around his waist, but it didn’t hinder his looks at all. Instead it made him seem more approachable and down to earth. He looked around the store, his eyebrows furrowed until he spotted Noah. His face immediately lit up and he walked over to Noah with a spring in his step. Once he got close to the table, Kent opened his mouth to spit out an apology.
“Hey, sorry I’m so late. Something came up earlier. I hope you can forgive me.” He had a sheepish look on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Noah rolled his eyes. He felt happy to see him after so long. It's been two weeks since they last saw each other. Noah had to go on a work trip and Kent was called back to visit his family. He missed Kent's company. He felt pretty lonely during his trip. He motioned for him to sit down and then asked.
“Was it your mom again?” Kent quickly took a bite out of the slice of cheesecake sitting on the table before Noah could stop him. Noah glared at Kent and pulled the plate closer to him.
“Yeah, she wanted me to do something for her, but I couldn’t agree with going through with it.” Noah crossed his arms.
“Hm. Figured.”
“You know how she is.” Kent looked away from Noah and sighed. His once cheerful face was replaced with one filled with resignation and fatigue.
“Why don’t you re-evaluate that offer I gave you?” Kent looked back up at him. His face going back to the usual upbeat him that Noah knows so well.
“Moving in with you?”
“Yeah,” Noah’s eyes filled with concern, “you don’t like staying at home and your mom treats you like you’re one of her employees. You’re her son. She could at least give you some ounce of a mother’s warmth.”
“That’s just how it is in my family. She just wants to make sure I’ll be able to take over the company once I’m older.” Noah couldn’t help, but start to protest.
“But still-”
“It’s okay, Noah. Don’t worry so much about me. I know how to take care of myself.” Kent smiled to try and reassure Noah, “Just this time it was something important to my mother so she really wanted me to do it, but I just,” he paused. “I just couldn’t.” He had a very troubled look in his eyes. It was Noah’s first encounter with such a look coming from Kent. It startled him greatly.
“What was it that she wanted you to do?” Kent’s eyes held a sorry look. “Oh, right, you can’t say.” Noah huffed in frustration. It’s always been like this, he thought, ever since we became friends he’s heavily guarded his personal life. It took many years to get to this point where Kent could talk to him about his life at home. Even then everything was spoken with vague words and general statements. Noah didn’t know how to feel about being held at such a distance.
Before Noah could say his remark, the bell of the door rang again, catching the attention of the two. The man at the door turned to look at them with a hard, cold stare. A passerby accidently bumped into him and immediately apologized.
“Oh, sorry.” the man turned to him and quickly pulled something from the inside of his coat. Bang. Screams erupted and chaos ensued. Kent immediately grabbed Noah and went to hide behind a table. The guy stood at the only entrance and exit out of the store.
“Shit.” Noah took a peak and saw the guy with the gun try to come over to them through the escaping crowd. They were clearly his target. He raised his arm again and stepped over the body of the guy he just shot. Bang, bang. Noah ducked his head. When he turned back to Kent he watched with wide eyes as he saw him load a pistol with bullets
“Where the hell did you get that?” Kent ignored the question and got up.
“Stay here.” Noah reached out to try and stop him, but Kent avoided him.
“Kent-” bang, bang, bang. The guy jumped over the counter to avoid getting hit. Kent took cover as the guy returned fire. Noah’s heart was pounding heavily in his chest. What should I do? His breath started to quicken as gunshots resounded in the background. Noah frantically looked around to see if he can use anything as a weapon or maybe even use it as a distraction. His eyes locked on the big slice of cake on top of the table in front of him. It’s owner cowering under the table while texting on their phone with tears in their eyes. With shaky limbs he crawled over and grabbed the plate. He took a big breath to gather his courage and turned. The guy was too occupied with Kent to notice Noah hurling the cake at him. It hit him square on the side of the face. Enough of a distraction for Kent to shoot the man down.
Noah looked at Kent and was shocked to see no remorse in his eyes as he stared at the dead man lying in a pool of his own blood. Cake smeared on the guy’s face. What is this feeling? Noah thought. Every fiber of his being was shaking and his breaths were ragged and quick. His heart beat so strongly in his ears that he couldn’t hear Kent’s words. I’m scared. He never thought he’d ever become scared of Kent. He was like the embodiment of a golden retriever. He always helped people with a smile. Even if someone angered him he’d never resort to violence. Noah began to start doubting everything he knew about Kent. Is that even his real name? Kent took a step towards Noah, worry evident in his eyes. He’s been calling out to Noah multiple times already.
“Noah? Noah, are you okay? Answer me.” Noah took a step back and watched Kent with wary eyes.
“Who the hell are you?” Kent looked at him in hesitant silence. He tried to move closer to Noah, but he would take a step back to keep the distance between them,
“Can we talk about this later? It’s not safe here.” Kent's eyes kept darting around with caution. The gun still in his hands ready to fire at enemies.
“Who. Are. You?” Silence enveloped the store. Patrons who were hiding in fear quickly left with tears of relief in their eyes. Soon it was just the two of them in the middle of the bullet ridden café. Tables and chairs overturned and many items destroyed. Shards of ceramic and glass littered the floor along with spilt drinks and food. A complete 180 from the neat café from before. Noah was scared, but he stood his ground. His eyes moving back and forth between Kent’s face and the gun in his hand.
“Noah, please. It’s really not safe to stay here. We need to go.”
“No!” Kent sucked in a deep breath and a bunch of emotions were present in his eyes. Noah still stood there shaking. It’s really not safe to be here, Noah thought logically. But I don’t know if I should trust him. Another voice in his mind countered his thought, But he did save you. Kent opened his mouth to try and convince him to follow him, but was cut off by Noah's words.
“Fine. I’ll go with you,” Noah paused and took a breath, “but you better explain yourself later.” Kent nodded his head.
“Promise.” Kent walked over to Noah in big strides and grabbed his wrist. Noah flinched at the touch, but Kent rushed over to the door before Noah could pull his arm away.
Author's note: Although the two are pretty intimate with each other and stuff they are not together. They're just good friends who are comfortable with one another and are okay with physical affection (that's completely platonic!). Friendships like that exists I swear.
This is my first time using Scribble Hub to write something. I hope you guys enjoy the story!
