The childhood friend

Laila couldn't believe the man in front of her was Noah. Noah, who didn't understand Laila's look of surprise, asked her, "What has you staring like you have never seen me without a shirt before." But Laila was far from finding her words and continued staring at the man in front of her in silence and utter surprise. She hadn't seen Noah in so long and now he was suddenly standing in front of her. In her room, smiling at her and wearing just a towel as if it was the most natural thing to do in front of her. Discovering all this, she was at a complete loss of words, which gave Noah a good reason to tease her.

He got closer to the bed and when he was just an inch away from her face he whispered, "If you keep staring at me like that, I'll start to think you want more. If you want, I can show you what is underneath the towel and you know that I'm more than willing to give you a demonstration before I head out to work as well." He ended his words with a wink and a stroke of Laila's cheek.

This was apparently the push Laila needed to find her voice again. Though she assumed she was married to Noah in this timeline, for her, he was her long lost friend and the man she had met again after almost ten years. There was no way she could switch so quickly and go along with this new role he had in her life. Especially considering that only yesterday, she had been married to another person. She quickly held up her hands and said with a panicky laugh, "Don't be silly. Get dressed, before you are late." This caused Noah to chuckle. He pressed a kiss against her lips, before he walked away to return to what he was doing. Getting dressed. While Laila stared at Noah's broad back her thoughts went to her past with Noah.

- Over 20 years ago. Noah's story -

Noah had been by Laila's side for as long as he could remember and had been in love with her for about the same amount of time. And what was not to love. She was someone who could laugh about everything and make him smile about anything. Their parents had been long time friends and their mothers had gotten pregnant just a month after each other. Despite this small difference, it wasn't enough for the two of them and they ended up being born just one day apart. Of course it was Laila who had been too anxious to get out to wait for her due date to arrive and he had been too much of a wait-and-see kind of child to rush on the day he was due.

This not only meant that they celebrated their birthdays together, it also meant that they went through each step of life together and at the same time. They helped each other take their first steps, which translated to Laila holding Noah's hands as he struggled to stay upright. They helped each other to clear their plates, meaning that he was tasked with eating whatever Laila did not like and they were regular guests at each other's homes. Even sleeping in the same bed whenever one of them had a nightmare, felt cold or simply wanted to have someone to hold.

No matter where you looked, where you found one, you found the other. Ever since they were little, it was clear to everyone that he was a bit more quiet and the one who was the brains in their relationship and Laila, Laila was definitely the looks. She had an outgoing and cheerful personality that managed to draw in everyone around her. So, while she was one of the few friends he had, he was one of the many she had. This however never bothered him because she always made sure to include him and he indeed never felt left out or forgotten. She would always shut the bullies, who didn't like him sticking so close to the girl they liked, up and would hold his hand as she pulled him along in whatever game she was playing.

As they grew older, their bond grew stronger and they had become even more inseparable. His eyes were still drawn to her at all times and she was still the lovely radiant creature that made his heart race and feel at ease all at the same time. The only thing that had changed over the years, was the role of the protective one in their relationship, which had shifted from Laila to him. Where in the beginning it was Laila making sure that he was included, it had now become him protecting her from the shadows when someone was picking on her, as this was the way boys tried to show they liked a girl at that age. His protectiveness of Laila didn't stop there and stretched to all people who were trying to harm her in any way or he considered to be a threat to her.

It wasn't until they hit puberty that things began to change drastically. Where Laila had always been a popular girl, she had never shown any interest in guys back. Now that she was starting to gain a different kind of attention from boys, a more serious type of attention, and now that the number of suitors had increased, danger was upon them. While he was taking his time to find the right moment to tell Laila he liked her in a boy-girl kind of way as well, someone else managed to catch her eye. And as he was thinking and hoping that he still had plenty of time, as Laila had never showed any interest in anyone before, someone else had jumped the gun before he could.