Cordial Favor

No wonder the shadow looked so odd on the ground. It was because Noah was on his stomach, peering down at her with a wisp of a smile on his lips. The wind was blowing through his hair, making it all swerve to one side.

Alice fell down from the bench in shock. She didn't even bother to scream since her mouth was full but ended up choking while Noah jumped down from the shed's rooftop, landing on the ground with a loud noise that could have alerted anyone nearby.

She keeled over to the side to cover her face since she was struggling to breathe and knew that her face was all red. He harshly grabbed her shoulder while she brushed it away. Her water bottle was shoved to her face, and Alice frantically snatched it from his hands.

The liquid got the sandwich down her throat, and Alice wiped her mouth on her shirt sleeve, her voice hoarse as she coughed once more. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Noah asked. "I was out taking a nap when you came out here."

Alice took another sip from her water bottle. "You're skipping class?"

"No, it's my free period," he answered while smirking down at her. "What are you doing up here?"

Alice turned away. "I'm eating lunch. Can't you see?"

His stomach growled at that exact moment, and he pressed a hand to his stomach. Alice covered her smirk with her hand with her shoulders silently quaking, and she could see the flush in his ears. Well, what do you know?

Noah Park could get embarrassed. Maybe it was good thing that he was self-aware. She lifted a hand up to him, silently asking him to pull her up to her feet. Noah grasped her hand and pulled her up a little too quickly, making her stumble before finding her balance, but she patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Alice said before showing him her lunch box. "Want to share?"

Noah didn't answer except move over to sit down on the bench with his legs spread out. He was taking up most of the space, so Alice had to squeeze onto the ledge that was left and knock her knee with his.

"Scoot over," she said.

He slid over a few inches, and Alice leaned her back against the shed as she flipped open the lunch box cover, sliding a look over at him. "Do you want a slice of a sandwich or meatballs?"

"Whatever is fine."

Alice dug into her lunchbox for the small foldable fork that she didn't tend to use but came with the lunch box as a set. It was pink with white stars, and she laughed lightly when she handed him the fork with a meatball on it.

"Bon Appetit," she sang.

He stared down at the fork for a second before eating it, and Alice tilted her head. "How is it?"

"It's good. Thank you."

Alice crossed her arms and nodded. "Yes. It's my mother's cooking."

"Be sure to thank her for me."

She nodded slowly as she chewed. In reality, if she did bring up Noah again to her mother, she would be highly suspicious and end up having the wrong idea. She moved her lunch box closer to share the rest of her meal with him and pulled out her phone again.

"What were you watching?" he asked.

"Oh, it's this romantic comedy," Alice said. "Do you normally come out here?"

"Not really. It's my first time."

"Hm, what a coincidence."

"Why are you eating lunch alone?"

She shrugged. "I could ask the same question for you."

"I didn't realize it was lunchtime already."

"Well then, I just thought to eat peacefully today."

Noah grimaced. "I get where you are coming from."

"Yes, it's quite unfortunate that Claudia's gone since food tastes better when eaten with someone," Alice said with a smile.

She took an apple slice and bit into it, as she transferred the lunch box onto Noah's lap while she held up her phone so that he could see it. It was surprising how comforting it was to have someone sit next to her while she ate.

They didn't speak much after that but continued to watch the show in silence. Surprisingly, Noah seemed engaged in the show, laughing when it got to a funny bit and cringing when an intimate moment came up.

The episode ended on a cliffhanger note, and Alice placed her phone down in her lap to stare out onto the campus grounds. Noah ate the rest of the lunch, but she didn't mind since she had more than enough to share.

She covered her mouth as she yawn, suddenly getting sleepy after eating a good meal and being comfortable where she was at.

Alice lifted her arm to check her watch to see that it was approaching time for them to head back soon if they didn't want to get caught. Alice stretched her arms above her head and stood up. Noah was out like a light, and she tapped his shoulder, only to make his head roll over to her hand.

"Noah," she softly called.

Even in his sleep, he seemed stressed, and Alice felt bad for him, but she felt like she was in no position to feel so. Then again, he also had his own life with his own troubles and worries. But what could he ever struggle with when he could get anything that he wanted?

There was no bad blood between them, at least, she hoped so. She would always try her best to avoid interacting with him since she found that she was always uncomfortable around him, and it still stayed that way even now.

It would be rude to dislike him for no apparent reason other than that considering that she was already a high achiever and getting sought by universities that she wanted, but there was something about the fact that he seemed to not work hard at all only to get amiable results. Life shouldn't be that easy.

It was that fact that always rubbed her in the wrong way. Alice shook her head and sighed. They needed to leave and shouldn't dally around any longer.

She patted his shoulder. "Wake up, Noah."

There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and Alice was surprised that she didn't notice earlier. No wonder he was so desperate for sleep. He must have fallen asleep when she watching the end of the episode and wasn't paying much attention to him.

Noah's eyes fluttered open, and Alice suddenly retracted her hand since she hadn't taken it back yet, clutching her hand to her chest. He gave her a tired smile.

"Ready?"

"For what?"

Noah shook his head when she was slow to the uptake. "To go?"

Alice smiled. "Oh, yes. Let's go. We're cutting it a little close to get back to the main building without being suspicious."

Noah nodded and lifted a hand to her. She looked down at his outstretched arm before grasping his warm hand with hers, and did the exact same favor as he did to her earlier---pulled him up a little too hard.