Noah kept telling himself to shut his mouth; it'd fallen open in surprise at Rose's sudden admission, and he'd kept trying to get himself to say something, but he was just...processing. "Wow. Um. Scorpius, huh? Huh." Blinking far too many times than was, Noah cleared his throat, pausing again slightly and tapping his fingers on his thighs. "I've been in love with Taylor since...um, I met her? I carry her books and walk her to class, and Helga knows the only reason I'm still in Astronomy is because of her, the stars are great and really pretty but not exactly my thing, and I threw her a birthday party and she still doesn't get it!"
Wincing at the aftershock of fully admitting it, Noah glanced around to make sure no one else was in earshot before doing a full-on deflating act, slouching over, running a hand through his hair and finally pressing his fingertips into his eyes. "She knows someone fancies her, too, just not that it's me. I don't know what to do! I should tell her, but how?"
Noah suddenly peeked at Rose through his fingers, his tone changing to slightly more accusatory. "Scorpius, huh? He's a decent bloke, but let's be clear: I will rip his head off if he's mean to you. I don't think your family will get too mental, though, if he makes you happy. And you do well in your classes because you're smart. I keep telling you not to stress yourself out, you'll drive yourself mad."