Noah Poe (mrintensity) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-10-01 00:02:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 04-11-2017, avery, avery and noah, noah |
Urgent Boy/Girl Questions
Who: Noah and Avery
When: Late afternoon
Where: Outside school
Noah woke up late beside Darcy. He liked that a lot and only got up and got dressed when it was finally absolutely necessary. They parted ways, he reluctantly, and he set out again on his quest to find Sylvia. First though, he needed to stop by the school. It was the end of the school day and he needed to placate teachers about the fact he hadn't been in that day or yesterday and wouldn't be in for the foreseeable future. He made up a story and got the work he'd missed and a few things to work on ahead of time. Not that he was going to stop at any point to do them. Not until Sylvia was found, at least.
He was just leaving the building, much to the irritation of the school secretary who was hollering about truancy not being acceptable, when he caught sight of Avery O'Reilly. He wandered over to her with a lame little wave. "Any chance I could con you into taking notes for me for a couple classes this week? I'm not going to be in class much," he asked.
Avery had considered skipping school herself, but had ultimately gone. She was distracted for most of the day, which was a bit counter productive to learning, but she didn't think anyone would blame her if they knew what was going on. It probably didn't help that she had snuck into the pub after talking to Patrick and filled her blue water bottle with some of the beer from the tap. It was stupid of her, and a bit silly, but Avery was learning that just a glass tended to help ease some of the frayed edges of anxiety she had been feeling for the past few days. Between Lochlan, and Finn and Darcy, things just felt a little overwhelming and uncertain and frustrating. And it wasn't like she chugged it all and was wasted for the day. School was just a lot easier to tolerate, in spite of the mental distraction.
By the end of the day, her head was a bit throbby, but it wasn't too bad. She had pulled her water bottle from her bag and took a sip, sending off a text to her brother. Gazebo. Hugs. Definitely had to do that. Just in case he exploded into fur and guts later. A short, nervous laugh escaped her lips at that particular thought, even though it wasn't at all funny. The voice behind her jolted her out of her thoughts, and Avery whirled around, clutching her water bottle tightly, as if whoever was there would know what she had done and was going to tell on her. But then she saw it was Noah and Avery relaxed some, squinting a bit at him. "What makes you think I'll be in school?" Avery asked, lifting a blonde brow curiously. She probably would be. Maybe. It was just the idea that he saw her as a goody good somehow, like Darcy did, that made her want to rail against the impression. "And are you sure you'd want my notes? It'd be like… The Battle of Bunker Hill. People Died. Big fat bummer for all involved."
Noah's brows shot up in mild amusement at her reaction to him standing behind her. "You alright there?" he asked because he'd heard her laugh too and now she was looking a little jumpy. Though, he supposed, he might feel the same way if his brother was a werewolf waiting to happen … and if Noah was a girl. Her shoes, he wouldn't want to be in them. His were already frustrating and wild enough as it was. Though, being with Darcy took the edge off of all of it.
He shrugged and said, "You're usually in school whenever I am so I was hoping you'd do me the favor." He laughed at her idea of notes. "Big fat bummer. For sure. Is that really how you take notes?" No wonder when they'd done homework together she'd tried to get him to do the lion's share, if not all of it. He thought she'd been being cute at the time, helpless female help me please and all that. But if she was genuinely taking terrible notes well… maybe he had asked the wrong person for help.
"I'm fine," Avery said, because that kind of answer seemed pretty automatic lately. She reached up to adjust the strap of her bag over her shoulder before studying Noah. Then she sighed and shook her head. "No, that's not how I take my notes. But... I guess when I am in school, I'll make sure to make a copy of my stuff for you. But you have to tell me why you won't be there." Because Avery was feeling nosy and bold enough to show it. She eyed him closely. "And no lying." Because boys were really good at that, and Avery decided Noah needed a good reason for her to do extra school work just to help him out.
Noah gave her a look that said he wasn't so sure she was fine but he let it drop. He mentally shrugged at the terms of her deal. That was as good a bargain as he could hope for and he could explain without having to go into too many details or lying. Almost everybody already thought Sylvia was weird anyway. That she was now also a vampire would probably be a detail Avery wouldn't need if she thought Sylvia was weird too. "I'd appreciate that, thank you. You know Sylvia, right? Well, she ran away after a confrontation with another girl. And with," he paused, looked around, and lowered his voice, "werewolves around the dome, that's kind of a dangerous thing for her to do. So I'm going looking for her."
She shrugged lightly because she didn't know Sylvia, at least not personally. And Avery didn't know her enough to think of her as weird at all. She didn't really think anything of Sylvia, actually. Her lips twitched to the side at the mention of werewolves, and Avery nodded because her anxiety felt like it was spiking again. Werewolves. Who knew what other weird, creepy stuff was out there, roaming around at night. What if her brother or Patrick escaped the encampment? What if someone got torn up and eaten tonight? Would they know who did it? What would happen if it was Lochlan? Or her cousin? It was really at times like these that Avery wished Darcy wasn't such a bitch, because it would have been nice to have someone to talk to about it. Finn didn't really seem like much of the talking type at all, at least not with her. Avery lifted the water bottle, took another quick sip and then capped it. "Well… I mean, the dome isn't that big, is it? Shouldn't be too hard to track her down… but yeah, I'll take notes if I'm here. If I'm not, I'll find someone who help me out, and in turn… help you out. Come on, you can walk me home." Avery motioned down the street. "I promise not to be overly boring."
"Yeah, well, I've been at it already a whole day yesterday. Going on my second day today. The town isn't all that big but the forests are pretty sizable. If she's hiding somewhere in there it could take me a while." He glanced at her as they began to walk, kind of curious why she hadn't asked him why he cared enough to go looking for Sylvia. He liked that she hadn't even batted an eyelash. Points to her favor in his book and it was what made him willing to walk with her too. That and the possibility of seeing Darcy again. He wondered where she'd gone off to when she'd left his place. "Boring? From what I've heard, the O'Reillys don't really have stock in boring." Though it was almost as like she'd overheard his conversation with Darcy about how Avery was vanilla. Which wasn't the same as boring in his book.
It wasn't really Avery's business to question why Noah would want to find Sylvia. Obviously they were friends, or so Avery assumed, and if she had a friend missing, she would be out looking too. "Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about that. I'll keep an eye out for her for you. If I see her, I'll text you or something." Avery would just have to pay attention to things, and she wasn't always the most observant person. But it felt right to offer, and that was probably the beer she had been nursing all day. Which was kind of lukewarm and gross now, and she was craving a pretty big glass of water. Snorting loudly at Noah's description of her family, Avery shook her head. "Maybe you're right… most of my family members are interesting for different reasons. But me? Nope! I'm predictable and yawn inducing, believe me." Or so Darcy claimed. In so many words. Maybe that was true, because Darcy had been rolling around in boys since before the dome and Avery was still a virgin with her first boyfriend at seventeen. But whatever. Avery licked her lips and realized she was starting to go off on a tangent with a boy she wasn't really friends with. Pulling a face, Avery grinned a bit lopsided and glanced at Noah. "Sorry. And… sorry your friend is missing. It must have been a pretty bad fight if Sylvia ran off."
Noah eyed Avery sideways and shot her a half smile. "Thanks, appreciate it. If you ever need me to keep an eye out for someone for you, let me know." He snickered softly at her loud snort. Delicate little thing, wasn't she? He could sort of see why she and Darcy didn't get along. They were pretty different. "Predictable can be a good thing, you know," he answered, not sure why he felt the need to encourage her but there you had it. "There's something to be said for knowing exactly where you stand with someone and what they'll think or feel about things. Steadiness isn't always a strong suit with this lot in Delphi." He would have liked it if at least one of the two girls in his life right now were predictable. "Sylvia got hit, twice. She pretty much figures the other girl wants to kill her. Can I ask you a question? You're a teenaged girl. Do you guys generally wander around attempting to kill people you dislike?" Look who he was asking. The self-proclaimed yawn-inducer but still, he was curious what her answer would be to that. "No worries," he said, waving off her apology. "I'm sure I'll find her soon."
Avery was anything but delicate and she rarely pretended otherwise. She just wasn't a dressy, coy, girly kind of girly. She liked her jeans and comfortable shirts and she liked to belch when she had too much to drink. Although she mostly did that with Lochlan, but it was what it was. She never did it around boys she liked because… well, who would want a girl like that? "Yeah… I'll keep you updated on that," she said with a soft chuckle. She was pretty sure she knew where everyone she cared about was. Except Darcy. But she doubted Darcy would tell her where she was if Avery texted and asked. "Predictable is boring," Avery murmured with a soft shake of her head. Freaking Darcy, getting under her skin and lighting all her insecurities on fire. Reaching up, Avery rubbed at her eye before refocusing on Noah. Then her blonde brows drew together in confusion before she released a short laugh. "Uh… no? Um… well, I would, if that person hurt someone I cared about. Sure. But, uh, otherwise… no. I mean, not sane teenage girls. Someone really hit Sylvia? That's kind of screwed up. What happened?"
Noah's lips curled up slightly on one said at her response to his offer. "You do that," he said evenly then shrugged as she reiterated her sentiment about predictable being boring. If she was so set on being boring, let her, he supposed and stopped trying to convince her otherwise. He lifted a brow as she seemed to sputter an answer to his question about teenage girls. "Ah, so if someone you cared about might be in danger, you could conceivably commit murder? Hm…" He worked that through his mind because he hadn't thought it very probable that girls thought like that, but maybe he hadn't taken into effect the fact that all the girls here had been through horrors that had probably toughened them in ways that were far from obvious to the outside observer. Shit. No wonder Sylvia was terrified. She had every right to be even if Darcy wanted nothing to do with a vampire but it had been entirely possible she would have felt differently. "Yeah, there was a misunderstanding or something. The other girl thought Sylvia had been hurting someone and when she confronted her about it, Sylvia did what Sylvia always does, she spoke factually and came across as unfeeling. The other girl hit her and I broke it up but Sylvia was scared so she ran off to hide." He sighed and pulled a leather band from his wrist to pull his hair off his neck. "But it's more dangerous for her to be out there by herself."
Avery rolled her eyes slightly. "Well, obviously not murder murder… unless it's a real life or death situation and it had to be done to save someone I loved. But if you're talking literal killing, then no, no sane teenage girl would think like that just because she dislikes someone. And if you know someone who would, I'd steer clear." Avery squinted against the sun a bit before looking over at Noah. "Don't know what to tell you really. If it was a misunderstanding, Punchy McHit needs to apologize to Sylvia and keep her hands to herself. And, I get that Sylvia was probably scared, but I don't know that it makes much sense to run away from the problem. If someone hit me? Fuck them... I mean…" She wrinkled her nose before shrugging. "I'd hit them back, which is probably counter productive to like, keeping the peace, or being the bigger person, but oh well. I wouldn't run away. But I don't know Sylvia that well, so I can't say what she should do, or shouldn't, I guess. And you're definitely right about it being more dangerous out there." Especially after night fall. "Sounds like you've got your fair share of drama."
The way he'd presented it, Avery's response made sense. But the reality of the matter was that Sylvia had definitely put Aidan in real danger whether she'd known she was doing it or not. And it had sounded like she had done a few things on purpose that would have most certainly incited Darcy into an aggressively protective mindset. He listened as Avery went on, another half smile on his face at her unknowing description of Darcy as "Punch McHit." "Sylvia's not exactly scrappy like that," he said but her vehement response brought a quiet laugh out of him. "I've sort of functioned as protector for a long time." Which was why it bothered him so much she just left, ran away from him when he could have protected her. Especially from Darcy. "People tend to bully Sylvia. Any time that happens it's more than enough drama but this is worse. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to live a drama free life, personally."
She nodded briefly, focusing on the street ahead of them again. "Then I can see why you'd be worried and wanting to find her. I'm sure she'll turn up." Some people would just rather run away than face a problem… and maybe Avery did that from time to time, too. Chewing on her lip for a second, Avery glanced at Noah. "Drama free would be nice. Unfortunately, with my family, I think it's near impossible. Did you at least talk to… uh, whoever hit Sylvia in the first place? Who was it anyway?" Because it was likely Avery knew her, even if it was only in passing.
Noah glanced sideways at her again. There was a lot more than vanilla under the surface of Avery O'Reilly. He wouldn't have predicted that she'd be as emphatic about having a fierce response to someone who hit her. He thought someone ought to tell her she really wasn't boring but it wasn't going to be him. Last thing he needed was for that to get back to Darcy somehow. Maybe her lumberjack told her. He held her gaze a moment when she looked over and then nodded and looked back at the road. "You said it. Drama free would be very nice. Ah yes, the O'Reillys do seem to have their fair share of drama."
He shrugged to her question of who it had been. "Doesn't matter," he said evenly because it really didn't matter that it was Darcy. "That it happened at all, you know?" And that he hadn't been able to make Sylvia feel safe enough to stay where it was safe - that was what mattered to Noah. "And yeah, I talked to her. She has no desire to kill Sylvia but, to make the drama worse, apparently my talking to the girl to be sure she didn't want to hurt my friend signaled to Sylvia that I was choosing the other girl over her. Girls!"
She guessed it didn't really matter, and it didn't bother Avery that Noah didn't want to tell her. She understood what he was saying, so Avery nodded and tapped her fingernail gently against her water bottle. She was still thinking about that glass of water when she focused in on what Noah was saying, and both of Avery's brows rose as she gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously? Uh, okay. I don't…" Avery shook her head, because that part she didn't really understand. "Why would she think you're choosing Punchy McHit over her? Are you…" Avery trailed off thoughtfully as her brain tried to put pieces together. "Is the girl who attacked Sylvia your girlfriend? Or just another friend who clashed with Sylvia?" Avery had been under the assumption that Punchy girl had been some random chick who got pissed at Sylvia. And blah, she was confused now.
"No, she's not my girlfriend." At least, he didn't think she was. And at the time he got between them, Sylvia hadn't even known he was friends with Darcy, let alone playing a game of naughty hide and seek. "Which is why I was confused about how Sylvia's mind jumped to me choosing the other girl over her. She even tried to forgive me for it or something and I really had just wanted to make sure the other girl didn't go after Sylvia before I went to find her." He grumbled inwardly about girls being so overly dramatic sometimes. Why did it have to be complicated like this? Why did girls seem to think you had to be exclusively their friend or whatever or you were obviously taking someone else's side? "So it wasn't just me being a guy and not getting girls, then? You're confused too?" he asked, feeling as though he had found a very good source to ask general questions about teenage girls considering she was objective to the situation, not knowing the particulars. He appreciated she was taking the time to field this shit from him when they hardly knew one another.
Avery was still confused, because if Noah was just trying to make sure Punchy McGee… or was it Punchy McHit?... no matter… if he was just trying to keep Punchy from bullying Sylvia, why on earth would Sylvia consider that to be Noah choosing Punchy over her? And why on earth forgive someone who obviously had no idea what they'd done wrong. And from Avery's point of view, Noah had done the right thing. If anyone messed with her friends, she would be doing the same thing. "Uh…" Avery pulled a slightly confused, almost apologetic face and then giggled a little, unable to hold it back. "I think maybe it's a mixture of both? Punchy shouldn't have hit anyone. And Sylvia shouldn't be jumping to the assumption that you talking to Punchy means you've made some choice to drop her as a friend. That's a bit overdramatic, if you ask me. So yeah, maybe I'm a little confused. But you know the situation better than I do, and really, I'm only getting your side of the story so for all I know, there's more to it." She looked at him with teasing suspicion. "There's always two sides, right? Or… three in this case. But yeah, I'm confused too." And so thankful that she wasn't a part of this particular drama. Because geez.
That he was continuing to mask Darcy's involvement while exposing more of Sylvia's confusing behavior might constitute him choosing a side wasn't occurring to Noah. Because all he really wanted to do was understand Sylvia's motivations. He wasn't siding with Darcy against her but he also wasn't shedding a very positive light on Sylvia for Avery. But he was like a dog with a bone, he had an insatiable need to make all of this make sense to him. Why Sylvia would make up her mind so completely that he would choose Darcy over her and not let go of it even when he explained made no sense to him. His brows furrowed slightly as Avery giggled, momentarily thinking she was laughing at him but it was simply the confusing situation. "Well, for my part in it, you have just about all the facts. I'm pretty sure, considering her response to it, Sylvia has a different take on the matter. Not sure what to say for the third point of view other than I think she might have been justifiably scared and angry but violence is never a good option."
"I don't envy you," Avery murmured. The extent of her drama involved Darcy, and occasionally Eily. Avery tried to avoid it as much as she could, although she wasn't always successful. And she knew she wasn't always the innocent one, in any kind of argument. But that didn't mean she thrived on causing problems, or being involved in them. Sylvia must have some other point of view, because if Noah was telling the truth, Sylvia sounded overdramatic and irrational. And Avery couldn't say much about the third party, because she know who it was, beyond someone who was scared by something Sylvia did. "Yeah, you're right though. It doesn't sound like Sylvia was doing anything that would have justified getting hit. And it sucks that she tried to make you feel like you were choosing someone else over her. That doesn't seem very fair. Maybe some girls are just more of a mystery than others."
Noah was glad again that Avery didn't push for details. She was sizing up to be a pretty good confidant and sounding board. It was taking him by surprise considering all Darcy had said about her. He figured she was mostly just a brainless, spineless bunny. Darcy underestimated her cousin. "And some girls are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," he said with a faint smile at how ridiculous it all was. Did he really belong going after Sylvia at this point? "If you were in my shoes, would you go looking for Sylvia?" Was he crazy to force her to accept his help when she so clearly didn't want it and had decided he apparently couldn't be trusted to protect her from one tiny little redhead with a temper, not a killing streak? He hadn't looked hard enough for her the first time but she hadn't made a huge effort to come to him either. Maybe it was supposed to be clear that Sylvia had dropped him as a friend. Who even knew if Aidan was telling the truth that he didn't know where Sylvia was? They might very well be holed up somewhere enjoying themselves together. His mind was whirling and he didn't like that one bit. It shouldn't be this complicated, he thought again.
It was possible that living with Darcy had taught Avery that asking for details was futile. That, and she didn't know Noah all that well, and he could easily tell her to mind her own business, or fuck off, if she did push. Boys seemed to talk whenever they wanted, rather than when she wanted, and Avery was learning to accept that. For now. Avery took her time answering his next question, trying to put herself in his shoes. After a moment, Avery pushed her hair back behind her ear. "I think I would. I mean, it depends on how close you guys are. Maybe she just had a drama queen moment, and feels embarrassed by it now. If I were you, I would try to find her, at least today, because like you said, it's dangerous out there, you know? If you do find her, and she blows you off, then I think maybe you'll know where she stands with your friendship. Honestly, if someone was bullying me, or hit me, and you went to that person to try and protect me from it happening again… I can't imagine being angry with you, or thinking on any level that you were dumping me as a friend. I'd probably annoy you with clingy, BFF hugs." She grinned and nudged him with her elbow, wanting to lighten the mood and make him feel better. "You did the right thing. In my opinion."
Noah nodded. "Right, you're right. It bears finding her at least once and making sure it wasn't that she's just embarrassed. Girls really stay away because they're embarrassed?" He clearly had a lot to learn about girls, but he'd known that already. Spending the years he would have been pursuing girls fighting zombies instead had him at a disadvantage. "Clingy, BFF hugs," he said, his words stilted slightly to add to lightening the mood. "Well, if anyone bullies you, Avery O'Reilly, you can be sure that if I know about it, it won't happen again. Not that you'd need my protection what with your 'fuck them' attitude and ferocious family." He breathed a laugh then and glanced over at her, nudging her back with his elbow. He couldn't stand anyone being bullied and he felt he owed her at this point. She was tolerating quite a bit here and he was grateful. It was nice to hear someone say he did the right thing. He didn't believe Darcy thought he had and Sylvia obviously didn't.
She was unable to resist the are you kidding? look she shot him. "Yeah, girls can stay away because they're embarrassed. If you do something you shouldn't have, or maybe overreacted, or… just something like that, of course it's natural to like, want to hide for a bit, right? Maybe it's just me. But I doubt it." It was kind of funny that he kept asking her girl related questions. Avery was being honest with her answers, but she also knew all girls were different. All she could do was tell him what she thought. Waving her hand, Avery grinned and shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not too worried. My brother's a bad ass, he'd take care of them for me. If I didn't do it first. People don't know it, but I've got some impressive ninja movies." She moved her hands quickly in a chopping motion to illustrate her point. "But thanks. And, this also means if I have boy questions, you're my go to boy to ask, okay?"
"That sounds counterproductive really. How's a guy supposed to know what's going on if you just stay away?" He caught her look and rolled his eyes at her. "Besides, facing your problems head on means they get taken care of more quickly and they don't get drawn out unnecessarily." Because who wanted to have a problem prolonged when it could just be done and over with it you just faced it? "Your brother, huh? Which O'Reilly is he?" He hoped she didn't say Aidan. That would worry him all over again about what might happen if the guy ever found out what he was doing with Darcy. Then to add talking to Avery on top of it. Could be very bad. He laughed a little at her "ninja moves" because she was cute doing that. Tiny little blonde thing doing "ninja moves." "You're welcome and thank you. Oh, ask away. If I can repay you in kind for your insight, so much the better."
"Well, listen to you all logical and wise," Avery said, waving her hand at him dismissively. "It's cute that you think girls are always that rational. Riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, remember? You gotta stop thinking that girls should think the way you do, because it's never, ever gonna happen. Ever." Avery could see her house up ahead and she hoped that Darcy wasn't home. Blah. Talk about happy buzzkiller. "Lochlan O'Reilly is my brother. He bartends at the pub mostly. He's pretty laid back about most things." Unless the werewolf thing changed something inside of him, but Avery hoped not. "I'm sure if I come up with any boy-related wonderings, I'll let you know. Though, what'd you call a boy doesn't seem to want to talk much, but is totally fine with making out?"
"Believe me, I don't think they're rational. I think they should be but they really aren't. I need an instruction manual some days. Which I guess is you at the moment." Lochlan the bartender was her brother. Well that solved some problems. For one, he wasn't likely to run into the guy since he had no intentions of ever going into the pub again. The only reason he'd gone in the first time was to find Aidan and ask him if he knew where Sylvia was. He nodded, not feeling the need to comment on Lochlan or the pub. He glanced at her, knowing they were nearing her house and that might end the conversation but couldn't help smiling slightly at her question. "A very happy guy," he answered with a bit of a laugh. "That is, if you do make out with him and he doesn't have to come up with conversation."
Avery grinned at that. She was sure there were girls out there more rational than she was. Maybe older women who had experienced life and new better. Or maybe not. How was she to know? "I'm an instruction manual. That's… oddly flattering, I guess. I'll try not to let it go to my head!" Her smile didn't fade when he answered her question, because she figured that's what he would say. "Yeah, I guess happy is the right word for it. Why don't guys want to talk? I mean, has it been so horrible for you and me over the last ten minutes, or whatever? I mean, I try to talk, but it's hard when I don't get a lot back, you know? I feel like I'm boring, or I'm saying the wrong thing, or he's just not that interested beyond the physical stuff."
"In a manner of speaking," he said with a nod and eyed her head. "Maybe you should let it go there, Ms. 'I'm Boring McYawnypants.'" He smirked, teasing her a little. She really should know she wasn't boring and at this point he felt like he could be the one to say so. "Hm, no, nothing about the past ten minutes has been horrible. But look at you. You're very pretty," he said matter-of-factly. "I could see how a guy might be preoccupied by the physical stuff. Doesn't mean he doesn't want to talk but it might be that's how he talks. If you get what I'm saying. Maybe he doesn't have the words so he shows you instead." He'd been guilty of that a number of times and it was so true that he was much better at the physical stuff than he was at the talking part with Darcy. And it wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her. "Besides. Girls are really complicated. Some of you seem to have distortion filters in your brain that hear the exact worst possible things in the tiniest bits we say."
"Boring McYawnypants, the Human Guide to the Female Mind! I think I may have found the title for my new and bestselling book!" And the conversation was a shy on the side of ridiculous, but she certainly didn't mind it. It was kind of nice to have a talk with someone who wasn't looking to start drama, or who didn't appear to overly distracted by other things. She smiled a bit at him when he called her pretty, because that was always nice to hear, even by a boy she barely knew. "I get it… Finn really doesn't talk much. At least not to me. I really don't mind the physical stuff. It's actually pretty nice. I just… don't want it to only be that." And somewhere Darcy was rolling her eyes. "And you're right, girls are super complicated. Boys had distortion filters too, you know. Girls hear things in the worst possible way, if it suits their mood. Boys hear blah, blah, blah, we should make out! blah, blah!." She was kidding of course, and it was apparent in her tone.
"You write that book and I'll buy the first ten copies for my friends," he said, his tone indicating that he was fairly serious considering his lack of knowledge about girls. "I'd recommend using your real name though." Noah listened to her talk about Finn and nodded a bit. He didn't want to be the one to tell her that sometimes that was all guys wanted. He had no way of knowing if that was the case with Finn because he didn't know the guy and couldn't speak for him. Instead he asked, "So have you told him that?" The snarky thought that guys weren't mind readers filtered down but he brushed it away. He almost laughed at her last statement. He squinted, his brows going up a little, and looked at her. "'Blah blah blah we should make out?' Yeah, I haven't heard that once in this entire conversation. Until you just said it obviously. I have however heard 'Blah blah blah why yes, I am interesting blah blah blah. '" He elbowed her, smirking.
"Yeah, I like my real name better too," Avery said with a grin. "But no, I haven't told him that. We just started dating, so I guess we're still getting to know each other. It's not serious or anything." At least, she didn't think it was. Avery couldn't always tell with Finn. She laughed and batted his elbow when he nudged her. "Okay, yeah… I'm super awesome. I've just been keeping it a secret. Don't tell anyone, okay?" She was joking around, obviously, but it was kind of nice that they seemed to be having a decent conversation. No drama - at least not between the two of them - and no bickering. No bossiness or irritation. No doubts. Yeah, it was nice. Probably because they weren't blood related. Or dating. And there were no obligations or expectations of each other. Noah was definitely the kind of friend she could use.
"Oh, the honeymoon phase," he said as though he had any idea what he was talking about. He was just comparing it to he and Darcy. Whatever they were, they were mostly physical with some talking thrown in. But the talking was often heated discussion on the edge of becoming a fight. He'd rather just make out. "I think you should tell more people. I shouldn't have to bear the burden of this secret," he said matter-of-factly. He'd kind of wanted to ask Darcy what she'd been on about where Avery was concerned but he knew that the inner workings of inter-girl relationships were probably a sacred ground not ever to be tread upon by male feet. And as mysterious as the day is long. "But seriously, be honest with the guy. What if he's not sure you want more than making out? He might figure you're just using him for his lips. It could happen."
The honeymoon phase. That was kind of a funny description for she and Finn, but Avery supposed it was something akin to that. Avery felt herself relax a little, regarding the whole boyfriend thing. They had just started dating and she had to remind herself that it might take awhile for the two of them to really get to know one another. Hopefully they would still like one another when that actually happened. "Nah, I like that you're the only one who knows," Avery teased lightly. "That makes you special. If everyone knows, then that takes away this mysterious vibe I've got working for me." She was amused at how silly this conversation had turned, but silly was nice, so she wasn't going to question it too much. Pausing outside of her house, Avery turned to Noah. "You're probably right. I don't know. I guess I'll talk to him about it." Eventually. She lifted a blonde brow curiously. "And you're going to try to find Sylvia, right?"
Noah's brows bounced a bit and he breathed a laugh. "Oh man. Not sure if I'm the best at being special but I'll give it a whirl. For you." He added the last bit as though it were just common sense that he'd pledge allegiance to Avery. He knew they were at her house, he'd been inside a few days ago, but he regretted having to say goodbye so soon. Still he did need to find Sylvia. That should take precedence. There'd be plenty of time to talk to Avery again. "I am. I'm not giving up until I know she's okay. Are you good?" he asked, his tone a little teasing as though he wasn't sure he could leave her if she had any unanswered boy questions.
It was always a sincere smile when her dimples deepened, and Avery nodded, feeling better than she had in awhile. It was amazing what a decent conversation could do for her mood. "Yeah, I'm good. And you can text me if you need anymore female related instructions, okay? And, actually… I know she's not my friend, but just let me know if you find Sylvia, or if you need help looking. I'll keep an eye out for her too." Avery glanced behind her at the house, and hoped Darcy wasn't home. She was in too good a mood to let her cousin rip it apart so soon. Her eyes found Noah's again. "Thanks for walking me home."
"I'll keep you posted about Sylvia," Noah said with a different kind of smile. He was grateful Avery would take an interest in Sylvia's wellbeing. It was good not to feel alone in caring whether she was okay or not. He gave Avery his number for good measure. "I might be out and about but if you have any urgent boy questions, feel free. I don't mind." He was also in a more upbeat mood than he'd been before their conversation. He liked Avery. He wondered what Darcy would think of that and he almost didn't care. "You're welcome. Any time. Really," he said and he meant that. He'd definitely walk her home or anywhere she liked if it included good talks.
Avery repeated his number, just so she would remember to put it in her phone. She was lazy sometimes, but she was good at memorizing things. That was probably why she was doing well in school, despite not really having a lot of ambition in terms of education. "Urgent boy questions, got it. Always good to know I've got an emergency contact." She nodded solemnly, though her eyes shimmered with amusement. "See you later, then." Avery smiled at him again and then reluctantly turned to head up the stairs to the porch, and into her house. Maybe he would be up for walking her home more often, if he was actually in school. It was kind of awesome to have someone she could be silly around. And if Darcy wasn't home, she would consider it to be a pretty good afternoon, all in all.
Noah chuckled at her serious expression and nodded back. "Or whatever, you know." He waved as he watched her go. "Later, Boring McYawnypants!" He waited a few minutes after she was inside, sort of hoping maybe Darcy was there and would peek out but she apparently wasn't or at least she didn't look outside. Just as well. He needed to get moving to find Sylvia. One last look at the house and he took off to get some supplies in town.