"Ugh." I let myself fall back into the car seat when we got to a safe place. I took off the helmet Natalie let me borrow; the one that made her Athena.

Noah groaned, taking off his helmet and running his gloved hand through his sweaty hair.

We had been out all day, another protest turned violent by the cops. Recently, people were going out again, trying to be peaceful but to no avail.

Baby hairs stuck to my forehead, it was so hot under this armor, not to mention it was so heavy. I felt like badass though, nobody knew who me or Noah were, and that was so exciting. We could do whatever we want and not get caught.

"Here." Noah tossed me an iced water bottle, which I quickly drank and rubbed the cold bottle all over my forehead.

We sat there for a bit, collecting our breath in the car in the middle of a walmart parking lot.

"You were great. Seriously." Noah smiled down at me, making me blush and look away.

"Thanks." I said, leaning my face into the blasting a.c. It was cool, I felt the perspiration on my face start to fade away.

After a while, Noah began to drive, going the familiar road to my house. I furrowed my brows.

"Can we go to your apartment? It's so much better there!" I asked, grabbing his free hand and pulling off the glove and holding his hand.

"You sure? Tiffany isn't expecting us?" He chuckled, his fingers weaving into mine.

"She probably doesn't even know we're gone, she's with Natalie." I huffed, remembering last week, when I helped Tiffany pick an outfit on their first date.

I picked out a simple flower dress, it was so flowy and cute. I also did her makeup, nothing too extreme. Afterwards, she looked amazing.

They had a great time, and went on dates almost three times a week. I would say they're definitely in love.

Love. That word hang around in my head. What did love feel like? I guess I wouldn't really know. I looked up at Noah, feeling a giggle in my throat when he caught me and smirked down at me. Oh boy.

"Alright then, we'll go." He squeezed my hand, changing his route.

He didn't live too far from Tiffany and I, in fact, he lived in a very nice part of town. Probably why I absolutely loved his place.

We walked in, feeling the refreshing air immediately hit our faces. Noah's apartment was everything to me. It was so modern, but also so cozy and homey.

If his apartment were a flavor, it would be spearmint for sure.

The furniture was sleek and black, white accents giving it life. He didn't own many things, which made it clean and very open. I wondered how much an apartment like this cost. Probably a lot, but I knew what Noah's parents did, and it made sense.

He had told me before his father was a real estate agent, and soon Noah would work with him. Noah didn't really want to but he said he didn't have a choice. I had frowned when he told me this a long time ago.

It didn't bother him too much though, it was still long before he absolutely had to leave. Either way, he made his own money and really didn't need his father's. He wasn't complaining though; I certainly wasn't.

"Can I shower? I feel gross." I asked, taking my hair out of its ponytail.

"Yeah go ahead, everything you need is inside." He stood up and walked into his room, walking out with a black t shirt. He handed it to me.

"I don't really have anything for you to wear under." He rubbed the nape of his neck, looking down at me.

"No worries, this should cover me up just fine." I winked up at him, watching his mouth curve into a smile. I laughed and walked into the restroom, looking at the huge mirror as soon as I entered.

I looked around, my mouth in an 'o' shape. This was bigger than expected.

I went to turn on the water, the faucet was similar to mine, so it wasn't too hard to figure out. I started the water, staring at the strong water pressure.

I felt relief as soon as I stepped in the shower, feeling a the tension release from my shoulders.

I scrubbed my hair, admiring the smell of the shampoo.

I somewhat expected Noah to walk in at any moment, like in those cheesy movies. I looked behind my shoulder every 10 seconds, just making sure. I laughed, giving my body one last rinse and shutting the water off.

I walked out, wrapping my body in a towel. I looked at myself through the foggy mirror. I noticed there was a light scar on my stomach, from where I had been shot such a long time ago. Crazy that the memory was still vivid in my mind.

I smiled and began to change, debating if I should put my bra on. I decided not to, it was sweaty and made me feel gross.

I put the shirt on, looking at myself in the mirror. I looked pretty hot, I'm sure Noah would enjoy this.

I scrunched my hair in the towel, getting excess moisture out so it didn't drip onto the floor.

I took one last look in the mirror before walking out of the restroom.

The crisp air hit me as soon as I opened the door. I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly regretting not wearing the bra.

"Give me your clothes so I can wash them." He appeared behind me, making me jump.

His hair was wet, dripping off his forehead. He was wearing black sweatpants and a black shirt much like the one I was wearing.

"You don't have to do that, I'll take them and wash them myself when I get home." I said, holding the bunch of dirty clothes against my chest.

"Give me the clothes." He said, this time his voice low and stern. I guess he knew I would be stubborn about it.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes and handed it to him.

He walked away as I made my way to his couch, pulling out my phone to check any notifications. I scrolled until he came back, grabbing my hair and running his hands through it.

"Are you cold? You have goosebumps." He laughed at the skin on my thighs, grazing his hand over it.

"Kinda, but it's no big deal." I gulped, not knowing what his next move would be.

"Come on." He scooped me up without warning, making me yelp.

"Noah! Don't drop me." I clenched his shirt in my fist, staring at the wooden floor I could possibly fall on as he walked.

"Chill out, you're like 4 feet off the ground." He chuckled at my startled response.

He walked into his room and threw me on his bed, immediately climbing in after me.

He took a blanket and wrapped it around my body, making me sink into his arms.

I giggled as I buried my face into the warm blanket. Noah encased me in his arms, holding my head with his hand against him.

I felt safe, content, happy.

I felt my phone buzz in my hand, I looked down to check it.

.

"Tiff says she's home now." I looked up at Noah, showing him the texts.

"And?" He said, his expression unbothered. His arms squeezed me tighter.

"I just thought I'd let you know, since you keep looking at my phone." I said turning off the phone and tossing it on the bed.

"Do you wanna leave soon?" He asked, leaning back on his elbows. His hair was still damp and messy, stray hairs falling over his forehead.

I shifted my position so I was straddling his hips. I smiled, flipping my hair over my shoulder. His eyes moved up and down my body, giving me confidence.

"Of course not."

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