6 Six

Elijah was waiting in the dance practice room, headphones shoved in his ears as he silently practiced their dance. Not long after the doors opened and a happy-looking Lucas skipped in. Elijah halted his movements.

"Took you long enough."

"It's called being fashionably late," Lucas scoffed, "By the way. I managed to get a peek on Max and Erin practicing earlier. Dude, we are so winning."

"Are you serious? Isn't that considered cheating?"

"Not really. I just so happened to be there when they were practicing." Lucas shrugged, "They're doing some hipster trap bullshit song. I'm telling you man, two weeks from now, we're gonna be leaving the building with a trophy and quite possibly some ladies around our arms. Guaranteed." Lucas grinned.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say."

"Hey Noah... You're gonna come to the showcase, right?" Elijah inquired as they walked toward the bubble tea shop. It was Saturday and Noah suggested they'd hang out somewhere. Elijah was more than happy to comply since he hated staying home during the weekends anyway.

"Hm... When was it gonna be, again?"

"Next Friday."

"If you want me to then sure, I'll come." Noah smiled.

"I do," The blonde slightly blushed, "I'm really happy with our routine and I want you to come see it. Besides, if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have done any of this at all."

"Well I'm glad. You do look a lot happier these days."

Elijah stared ahead and the ends of his lips curled up ever so slightly in a genuine smile, "It's like I remembered just how much I love dancing." But the smile quickly faded from his lips, "And now I don't know if I can ever let it go."

Noah stopped walking and placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder, "I'm sure your parents will understand someday."

Elijah shook his head sadly, "They won't." He looked up to meet Noah's eyes. Noah had always been so caring, always a good friend. Always giving him good advice and always cheering him on. It made him feel like there might have been someone standing by his side anyway. Someone whom he could go to when he had a problem or when he was frustrated. And it's been so long since he felt that way.

Elijah had been doing a lot of thinking over the past few weeks and concluded that he may or may not have developed some... not-so-platonic feelings towards the elder. It may have felt a little weird since they were both guys but he came to accept the fact anyway. Somehow the thought of being with Noah in a romantic relationship didn't bother him at all. In fact, it made him feel quite giddy. After a long time there was someone who actually made him feel like he deserved happiness.

But like Noah always helped him out with his problems and supported him, he also wanted to do the same. He wanted to remove that sad gaze hidden behind his almost constantly smiling eyes. Elijah also wanted to be someone who could cheer him up. But Noah hardly ever talked about himself.

From the look in his eyes, Elijah could tell that he was someone who'd been through a lot of pain.

"Don't think about it now. You still have the greater part of senior year left," Noah said. Elijah turned his gaze away from him.

"Come on, the bubble tea shop is not too far from here."

"Well you sure look happy," Sam pointed out.

"Of course I am. I'm so excited for the showcase," Lucas said happily, "I've never felt this good about a routine before, guys. And there's gonna be representatives from some of the top performing arts universities in the country. I might just impress them enough!"

"Aha. And what about Elijah?"

Lucas shrugged, "He said he's going to medical school or something so I don't think that would matter to him."

Chris narrowed his eyes, "You do realize this guy is going out of his way to help out for this showcase."

Lucas didn't actually think of that before, "Well he did agree to it..."

"But it doesn't make much sense that he'd waste most of his time practicing with you instead of planting his face in text books. The requirements for medicine are usually really high." Sam said.

"I don't know... but he seems to enjoy dancing a lot."

"Well you did mention that his mom is a surgeon and his father is this really huge businessman. I wouldn't be surprised if they were forcing him into medical school or something." Miles said, sighing, "Poor kid."

Lucas tried to put himself in Elijah's shoes. He couldn't imagine his own mother forcing him into doing something that he didn't want to do. She always told him he could be whatever he wanted to be (except a hooker, of course). And Elijah was really talented in dance, too. Lucas hated to admit it, but some of his ideas were really mind-blowing. It was sad to think about all that talent going to waste.

"Well that's none of our business." He finally said, shrugging.

"Where to now?" Elijah asked after they left the bubble tea shop.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Suggest something. I'm sure you have a 'special place' too."

Noah placed a finger under his chin as if in deep thought, "Hmm... I don't, but we could go over to my place if you'd like."

Elijah was slightly shocked but excited as well. He'd never been to Noah's house before and was glad he was finally being invited to his private space.

"Sure."

"It's not as big as your mansion though. Not anywhere near actually, but it's good enough for the essentials," Noah chuckled.

Elijah rolled his eyes, "Hey, I don't really care about that stuff."

"Well... okay. Come, it's not too far from here. We can walk if you're not tired."

"Walking is okay."

The walk to Noah's house was mostly silent, if it weren't for one of them commenting about something or the other every once in a while. Nonetheless, Elijah liked spending time with Noah a lot and wondered if the elder felt the same.

"Well, here it is," Noah gestured to the large apartment complex that stood in front of them. "Follow me."

The two stepped into an elevator once they were in the building and Noah pressed the button for the 15th floor, which was the topmost floor. Once the elevator stopped at their destination, Noah led the other through the hallway before stopping in front of one door and unlocking it.

"Welcome to my humble establishment," He said with a soft laugh. Elijah took a moment to study the place. It was an open living room with a simple white sofa set around a coffee table and a flat screen television. Framed family photos adorned the clear white walls. There was a dining table next to the open kitchen where a bowl of fruits sat. The place was really tidy and felt a lot like... Noah. Simply Noah. Even the simple decor seemed to match him perfectly.

"It's... cozy," Elijah smiled. He always dreamed of having a house like this. Simple, modest, small. He didn't like living at the mansion. "I like it."

"Thanks," Noah closed the door behind them and took off his shoes. Elijah soon copied the elder.

"Make yourself at home," The elder said, taking a seat on the couch.

"Do you live alone?" Elijah asked curiously as he took a seat next to Noah.

"Yeah I do. I moved out of my parents' house when I turned eighteen." He smiled, "I just like having my own space."

"And where are your parents now?"

"They don't leave too far from here. But they're always in and out of the country for work anyway."

"Oh..." Elijah guessed he could relate to that. His father was always traveling and his mother was either at work or in her office at home. There was hardly anyone that talked to anyone most of the time.

"Do... you want something to drink?" Noah asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"We just had bubble tea." Elijah laughed.

"Right. I forgot." Noah scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure," Elijah smiled.

"Alright," Noah starting looking through his DVD collection, "What genre do you like?"

"Hm... horror."

Noah visibly froze.

"What? You okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Noah blinked a few times, "Did you just say horror?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded slowly, "Why, is there a problem?"

"No! None at all."

"Oh my God." Elijah tried his best to hold back a smile, "Hey, are you scared of horror movies?"

"No I'm not! See, let's watch this one! 'The Conjuring'."

Elijah covered his mouth, trying to muffle his giggles. The obviously scared look on Noah's face said it all. "Okay. Let's watch it."

"Pff... Scared of horror movies he said." Noah grumbled under his breath, shoving the disk into the DVD player.

Elijah tried his best to hold in his laughter as Noah let out a very unmanly shriek. Elijah had to admit- the movie was pretty scary but the guy sitting next to him was a lot more amusing. Elijah found himself hardly watching the movie and focusing on his adorable friend instead. Noah always looked so quiet and composed but this was a whole new side of him that seemed to only come out when there was horror movie being played.

"I can't watch this anymore." Noah covered his eyes.

Elijah looked over at Noah who was cowering at the end of the couch with his face buried in his knees. The smile was quickly wiped off his face when he noticed that the guy was visibly shaking. Elijah immediately paused the movie.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked in concern, placing a comforting hand on his shaking shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay," Noah cut him off, finally lifting his flushed face and taking a few deep breaths, "I'm okay."

"You sure? So can we complete the movie?"

"NO!"

"Alright. Alright." Elijah chuckled. "Come, maybe you'll feel better if you get some fresh air."

"Yeah... okay." Noah stood up and led the younger male towards his balcony.

"This place is nice." Elijah complimented, staring up at the starry sky. It was already night time and he hadn't even noticed. Time seemed to fly when he was with Noah.

"Yeah. I guess you could say this is my special place." Noah said sheepishly, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

"I like it." Elijah sat down next to Noah, "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah."

"So you really are scared of horror movies," Elijah said teasingly, making Noah immediately blush before laughing softly.

"Yeah, I guess I am..."

"Don't worry, man. If we ever get hunted by a ghost, I'll protect us." Elijah said while laughing.

"Hey stop making fun of me!"

"I can't help it. But hey," Elijah smiled, "I'm glad I know you can at least count on me for one thing now since I can count on you for a lot of things."

Noah lifted an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Hm... Like giving me good advice. You have a certain way of looking at things and I like that. I feel like you'd always tell me to do what's best."

"I don't know Elijah..." Noah sighed, "We knew each other for hardly a month. How do you trust me so much?"

Elijah paused, looking up at the sky once and then back to his friend. He couldn't help but compare his sparkly eyes to the stars. "I just do."

Noah's eyes stared back at Elijah's and the latter couldn't help but feel his heart rate pick up whenever Noah looked at him like that.

"I hope you know how much it means to me that you listened to me that day. I haven't had anyone to talk to ever since Ricky-" He bit his tongue, "I... I'm really thankful to you. I couldn't possibly express how thankful I am. I know I haven't known you for long but I just know you'd never let me down."

"Eli I..." Noah's already wide eyes were even wider now, "Wow... That means a lot to me. Really."

"Noah?"

"Hm?"

Elijah hesitated but he was determined to ask him this time. He just had to know.

"What really happened between you and Lucas?"

Noah's shoulders instantly tensed up.

"I've noticed the way your face changes every time I mention him. I really don't want to seem nosy but I can clearly see that it bothers you and..." He bit his lip, "Like you always comfort me I also want to comfort you."

Noah turned his gaze to the floor and the expression on his face now was completely blank. Elijah sighed.

"It's okay if you don't feel comfortable talking about it. I didn't mean to pry or anything. I'm sorry I asked."

"No, don't be sorry, Eli." Noah breathed out before looking up to meet Elijah's eyes again, "A year ago... Lucas and I were friends. I used to be in the dance club and I met him there for the first time like three years ago. We were partnered together for a dance project and that was how it all started. We got pretty close and whenever there was a competition, we always chose to partner together. Everyone said we were the 'perfect pair'. We started becoming really close friends over the next two years. But then something happened that ruined everything..." Noah let out a huge puff of breath, "I... I started falling for him."

Elijah felt a slight tug at his heart but ignored it, nodding at Noah and motioning for him to go on.

"But I knew that Lucas was a homophobe so I kept it a secret. At that time the only person who knew I was gay was Alex. I was telling Alex about how I felt for Lucas but I didn't realize that Lucas had eavesdropped on us." Noah swallowed the lump in his throat, "He burst into the room and next thing I know he's punching me in the face, calling me a faggot over and over. Saying he thought we were friends. Alex tried to stop him but it was as if he was possessed. The next day, he told the entire school that I was gay and stopped being friends with me. People stayed away from me after that. My friends, Sam, Alex, Miles and Chris supported me anyway. They wanted to stay by my side but I told them not to. I didn't want people attacking them for being friends with someone like me because after the news got out... I kept getting bullied. I was being called a 'faggot' left and right and kept getting beat up all the time. I told them to stay by Lucas's side."

Elijah's fists were clenching. Why... Why would he do something like that? He thought to himself angrily.

"Things died down after a while, though. People didn't bother me anymore and the rest is history, I guess."

Elijah had only joined this school in junior year and he had been out of town for a couple of months too since a family member had passed away. He could only guess that all this stuff happened during that time. But even though, Elijah was never much for gossip anyway.

"Why did Lucas do that?" He could only mutter. He felt anger, indignance. What pissed him off even more was how nice Noah was about it. How could he still care for Lucas so much that he gave up his friends for him? How could he still say nice things about him after everything that he did? Elijah knew if it was him, he wouldn't be able to stand it.

"That... is not my story to tell." Noah said, "Listen Elijah. I didn't tell you this so that you could feel sorry for me. I'm telling you this because you deserve to know. I know it was hard for you to open up to me so I opened up to you. But I don't want this to change anything. And please, don't go talking to Lucas about it either. It's an old page and it's already been closed."

Elijah was about to open his mouth to complain because at that moment he wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of Lucas. But Noah trusted him enough to open up to him so he had no choice but to comply, "Okay. But the thing is... Why are you being so calm about it? Don't you resent him for what he did? Don't you feel even the slightest of anger towards him?"

"I was hurt. I stayed up many nights crying. But I never once blamed Lucas because he had a reason for what he did. It may not seem like it but Lucas has also been through a lot. We are all wounded... There are no 'normal' people out there with 'normal' lives... that's just something we make up so that we have an excuse to feel sorry for ourselves. Everyone has their story. Everyone has their scars."

"I just can't seem to think of a good enough reason for him to do that." Elijah whispered.

"You guys seem to be getting along well. Maybe one day he'll tell you." Noah smiled.

"Yeah, right." He scoffed, "Hey... do you mind if I ask you one last question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you... Do you still love him?"

Noah seemed a little taken aback with the question but smiled, bringing his knees up and hugging them to his chest, "No. Pretty sure that's a thing of the past now."

"Oh... okay." Elijah couldn't help but feel slightly relieved.

"Can we change this depressing topic now?" Noah chuckled, "I'll call for some pizza, how does that sound?"

"Yeah. That's sounds nice."