13 Thirteen

"He's gonna be here in five minutes." Elijah stated as he ended the phone call.

"Alright guys everything's in place, right?" Lucas asked, looking around the decorated room. They had booked the event space at Noah's favorite coffee place to throw him his sendoff party. There was a large table in the center of the room where a large rectangular cake with Noah’s picture on it rested. The chairs were moved out to the sides and the two other small tables had a good amount of bottles on them, some alcoholic and some not, and rows upon rows of plastic cups and paper plates. The boys worked all day to decorate the room all by themselves with balloons, ribbons and garlands. As unprofessional and sloppy as the end result looked, it was at least characteristic to them. They knew the boy would appreciate the effort anyway. What stood out most was a huge banner that hung at the top of the room that read "GOODBYE NOAH BEAR T_T."

The boys took their places in the room as Elijah left to get Noah from outside. He smiled once he saw the elder walking up to the coffee shop, hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Hey." Elijah greeted as he threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Hi."

"Thanks for coming today." Elijah said as he led them through the coffee shop, "I know you must have been really busy since your flight's gonna be tomorrow."

"That's okay," The elder smiled, "I'm already done packing anyway. Eh, where are we going?" Noah frowned when he saw they were walking out the backdoor of the coffee shop.

"You'll see." Elijah smiled, stopping in front of the door where the party was going to be held. He turned the knob and within the split of a second, a loud shout of "SURPRISE!" rang out through the place. Noah blinked, taking in the sight of all his friends standing there, holding up posters and grinning widely at him, while Elijah just stood to the side with a smile on his face.

They were all there. Lucas, Alex, Sam, Miles, and Chris, and a dozen other students who were also his good friends and some members from the dance club. They all clapped, waiting for him to react but all he could do was stand there and gape unattractively.

Elijah extended his hand out for Noah, "Come on in."

Shakily, Noah placed the palm of his hand into Elijah's and the latter led him into the room where all his friends stood, still smiling at him. Elijah even bravely took the chance to intertwine their fingers, hoping the other was too busy to notice. Noah couldn't help the tear that slipped out of his eye at the sight of everyone. He was so overwhelmed with emotions at that moment, partly because he was leaving and was probably not going to see all them again, and partly because he never thought they all would be able to be united together under one roof again as friends, just like they did back before the fight with Lucas.

"You guys..."

Lucas smiled and stepped forward, engulfing the shorter boy into a warm hug. "We're gonna miss you." He murmured. Noah let go of Elijah's hand to hug the brunette back, tears slipping out of his eyes.

"Aw please don't cry, Noey." Sam wiped the boy’s tears with his thumbs, "It's your last day here! You're supposed to be having fun!"

"I know... I'm sorry." Noah pulled away from the hug to wipe at his tears and look at everyone else, "I seriously can't believe you guys did all this... Really, thank you guys." He tried his best to hold his tears back as he turned to Elijah, "And you too, Elijah. Thank you. I won’t forget this."

Elijah couldn't help the big smile that stretched across his face, "And I won’t forget you either."

"Okay before we all start crying like little bitches, let's get this party started!" Lucas exclaimed, clapping his hands to break the tension in the air.

"Ooh! Guess what we bought!" Miles grinned as he held up two bottles of booze. Everyone in the room began to cheer excitedly and Noah laughed softly along with them.

Once the crowd dispersed, Elijah grabbed Lucas's arm and glared at him, "You didn't tell me there would be alcohol here."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "That's because it's a fucking given, Elijah. It's a party. What are we, twelve?"

"It’s underage drinking! We’re in a public place, what if we get caught?" Elijah hissed.

"Relax. We’re pretty chummy with the owners, they’ll keep it a secret." Lucas shrugged, "Come on, it's not that big of a deal. And you don't have to drink if you don't want to."

Elijah wondered two hours later how he found himself in the midst of a bunch of drunk high school kids dancing inappropriately to absurdly loud music. He sat in the corner of the room, scrunching his face up whenever the music was a little too loud for him. Everyone else was having the time of their lives, including Noah who was bouncing along to the song that was playing and chatting with his friends. He didn't seem too drunk, though. A few girls who were there tried to invite Elijah up to dance with them but he politely refused. He didn't really mean to be some sort of party pooper but he genuinely didn't enjoy that kind of stuff. Sighing, he decided to leave the room for a bit since the loud music was starting to give him a headache.

He shoved his hands down his pockets as he stood in the small garden at the back of the coffee shop. He could still hear the blasting music but it wasn't anywhere near as loud. If anything, accompanied with the cold air, and the sound of the fountain in front of him, it was almost soothing.

"Hey." Noah appeared suddenly, walking up to the taller boy, "I saw you leave earlier."

"It's just a little too noisy in there for me." Elijah scratched the back of his neck, laughing softly, "Go enjoy the party."

"Frankly it's a little too noisy for me too. I'll go in a bit."

"Oh... Okay." Elijah closed his eyes and sighed as Noah stood next to him.

"You and Lucas planned this, right?"

"Well it was mostly Lucas's idea." Elijah shrugged.

"Well I'm still grateful to you for being involved anyway." Noah laughed softly, "You know… I really feel at ease now. I never thought things would ever go back to normal, that I would ever be able to laugh and joke with them like I did before. It feels freaking amazing."

Elijah smiled, "I'm glad that you can leave with some nice memories."

"I'm glad too. Thank you for everything, Eli."

"Don't thank me. You were always there for me, too." Elijah turned his head to look at the elder, "Am I ever gonna see you again?"

Noah pressed his lips together, "I... don't know."

Elijah sighed sadly, scratching the back of his neck, "I'm gonna miss you a lot, Noah. We didn't know each other for that long but... I want you to know that you mean a lot to me."

Noah smiled sadly and placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder, "So do you, Eli. But it's not like this is the end. We can still chat and Skype call from time to time. Just promise me you never stop doing what you love."

Elijah nodded, "I promise."

The younger boy felt his heart rate picking up as he stared into Noah's big sparkly eyes, until his eyes unconsciously trailed down to his pink lips. All he could think about right now was kissing the elder. He had imagined it in his head before but it never felt so easy and so within reach as it did now. Mustering up the courage, he stepped closer so he was now completely facing him.

"E-Eli?" Noah whispered, a little taken aback as the taller boy cupped his cheek and leaned in closer.

"Hey, can I kiss you?" Elijah asked softly, gently caressing the elder's cheek. He thought, what was there to lose? Noah was leaving anyway. He wanted to at least know how it felt. The thought that he was giving his first kiss up to another guy sounded crazy to him but if it was Noah, he was more than willing to even throw it at him.

Noah's breath hitched at the close proximity but he placed a hand on Elijah's chest, gently pushing him back.

"Don't... You'll end up hurting me and yourself." Noah whispered. Elijah sighed and dug his face into the crook of the elder's neck, breathing him in.

"Noah... I really like you." He confessed, tightening his hands around the front of Noah's shirt.

"I like you too, Eli. B-But not in that way..."

The younger boy couldn't help but feel disappointed. But all he could do now was enjoy the closeness of his body, the heat that radiated off his skin, his scent. All he could do was savor that moment while it lasted.

"Eli..." Noah sighed as he put both his hands around the younger's face, pulling him away from his shoulder so he could look into his eyes, "I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't do this to yourself. You'll probably find someone else and they'll make you forget all about me."

"Then at least just let me hold you. Just for a bit..."

Noah gave the younger a small smile, "Okay."

Elijah placed both his hands on Noah's waist, almost timidly, and pulled him closer, resting his chin on his shoulder. They stood there like that for a while, neither was sure how long, but it was soothing for both of them. It was like a moment of peace, two people simply enjoying the company and the closeness of one another. Eli held him tightly, never wanting to let him go. I wish you could be mine, he found himself thinking miserably.

"Thank you for liking me, Eli... I... You’re the first. I'm so sorry I have to break your heart like this."

"It's not your fault. You can't choose who you can have feelings for, nor can you force feelings for someone. And there's no point now anyway..."

"You’re still one of my favorite people in this school though." Noah ruffled his hair affectionately as he pulled away from the embrace.

"Hey Noah... If you weren't leaving... If you were staying here... Would you ever like me back?"

Noah seemed to be deep in thought before smiling and tucking a few loose strands of hair off Elijah's face, "Yeah... Definitely."

Meanwhile, Lucas watched from a distance, hands tightening around the cup of bubble tea he bought for Elijah. He had seen the younger leave the room earlier and sensing that he might have been uncomfortable, he went into the cafe to buy him his favorite bubble tea. Only when he returned, he saw the two males standing a little too close for his liking in what looked like an intimate embrace. He didn't know why but the scene annoyed him to no end. He first assumed that maybe he was just not used to seeing two guys being so close but then realized no... that's not it. All he wanted is for them to not be standing so damn close to each other. Like, whatever happened to private space?

He wasn't sure why, but he was pissed off and didn't feel like talking or even looking at either of the two guys for the rest of the night. With that, he threw the cup of bubble tea into a nearby trashcan and got back to the party. He tried to distract himself by dancing with a few girls and alcohol and it worked well to some extent, but there was still that nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

He made sure not to drink too much since he still had to drive Elijah back home that night. After they wrapped up the party and everyone said their goodbyes, the two got into Lucas' car and left the place. Elijah noticed that the brunette was unusually silent but he decided not to prod, assuming he was probably just tired.

Elijah rested his arm against the door as he stared out the window while Lucas drove them back home. They had just dropped Noah off at the airport and said their goodbyes. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened, just a few close friends came to hug him goodbye for the last time. No tears were shed. Some looked like they wanted to but they held it in.

The atmosphere in the car was gloomy to say the least. Elijah was obviously saddened by Noah’s departure and so was Lucas. Neither spoke a word since they got into the car.

"So..." Lucas started, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," The blonde replied monotonously, still staring out the window.

"Honestly, I'm still finding it hard to process all this. I feel even more like shit now. I didn't even get enough time to properly compensate for the past year and a half."

"I'm sure Noah already forgave you. There's no point beating yourself up over it anymore." Elijah sighed, "But yeah, it does feel a little weird. It's like it all ended just as suddenly as it started."

Lucas nodded in agreement. The two fell into silence again but surprisingly enough, this time Elijah was the one to break it.

"Did you know that Noah was the reason I even accepted your offer in the first place?"

"Really?" Lucas tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah. He was the one that encouraged me to go for it."

Lucas spared Elijah a short glance, "Do you regret it though?"

"No... I don't. There's been ups and downs but I don't regret anything at all." Lucas thought he saw a smile on the younger's face.

"That's great. I'm glad you got to know him. Not because it benefited me but you as well." Lucas smiled, "Hey... I want you to know that even though Noah left, you're not alone. I'm still here."

"I feel very assured," Elijah said with a sigh.

The brunette rolled his eyes, already used to the younger's mean sarcasm. But it was simply one of the things that made Elijah... Elijah. Pressing his lips together, he remembered what he saw last night. Elijah's hands on Noah's waist, holding him so tight as if he was scared of letting go. Every time the picture flashed in his mind, he would feel that surge of uneasiness in his stomach, and he still wasn't sure why. Whatever reason it was, he felt a little guilty for having given the two boys the cold shoulder the previous night for some stupid feeling he couldn't even put his finger on. But now, he really felt like asking Elijah about it. And Lucas was about as good at shutting his damn mouth as Dora the Explorer.

"So I was on my way to take a leak when I stumbled upon a rather interesting scene yesterday." He started, lying about the first bit because he obviously didn't want Elijah knowing about the fact that he bought him bubble tea but ended up throwing it away in a fit of God-knows-what.

Elijah looked at Lucas with his usual bored eyes, and the latter already knew by now that meant he was listening.

"I saw you getting a little touchy-feely with a certain someone."

Elijah's eyebrows rose up in amusement, "Oh?"

"Mind giving me the details?" Lucas wiggled his eyebrows at the blonde, "I'm almost offended you didn't come report to immediately. I thought I was your matchmaker."

Elijah scrunched his face up, "Since when?"

"Since you confessed to me about your little crush. Well, what are you waiting for? Spill, hoe."

"Go fuck yourself." Elijah went back to pretending there was something very interesting outside his window.

"Well at least tell me this. Did you guys kiss?" Lucas wasn't sure why he was asking Elijah this but he just needed to know.

"And what if we did?" Elijah lifted a brow challengingly.

Lucas froze. What if they did? He wasn't sure either. But the thought of it being true made his stomach twist unpleasantly.

"I don't know. I'm just curious. I mean if you did then, cool for you, bro! That's great! How was it?" Lucas was still asking. At this point he wanted to shoot himself. The topic was obviously uncomfortable for both of them but he was still probing like the idiot he was.

Elijah sighed, "We didn't. We were just hugging."

"O...Oh. That's uh, unfortunate. " For some reason Lucas was relieved to hear that. "Hey... Would you like me to treat you to some bubble tea? Just to cheer you up." The brunette found the need to compensate for that poor cup of bubble tea he threw away the previous night.

"Nah... I'm good."

Lucas gasped, "Elijah Quinn just rejected bubble tea?!" He clutched at his chest dramatically, "That's when you know shit's real."

"I just don't feel like it right now."

"No no no. Bubble tea is exactly what you need right now."

Elijah rolled his eyes, "Some alone-time and sleep is all I need right now."

"Should have figured." Lucas snickered, "We're gonna go to your favorite bubble tea place and you're gonna stop being a moody bitch. End of discussion."

"Ugh, fine." Elijah sighed in frustration, "The only reason I'm agreeing so easily is because I'm just really not in the mood to argue with you right now."

It annoyed Lucas how so many things didn't seem to phase Elijah in the slightest, yet now he was so affected since Noah left. Elijah was always moody, no doubt about that, but there was something different about him now. There was sadness in his eyes, it was difficult to make out, but it was definitely there. Sure, Lucas was sad too; after all, Noah and him did come a long way. But the sadness in Elijah's eyes was that of a person who had lost someone they absolutely adored.

What is it that's so special about Noah?

It was a stupid question, really. Noah was everything Lucas wasn't. He had a big heart, he was kind, friendly and always willing to throw everything behind him to help a friend. He remembered that precisely about Noah- he was a pure soul, almost like an angel. But now he couldn't help but feel envious of him.

Maybe it was because he knew about everything Elijah had been through, or maybe he wanted to prove that he could bring a smile to his face just like Noah did, simply because of his tendency to want to be better than everyone else, or maybe he just wanted to keep the promise he made his mother. But whatever the reason was, he desperately wanted to remove that sadness from Elijah's eyes and replace it with a smile.