Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2019 18:10:09 +0100 (CET)
From: chaosmode00@tutanota.com
Subject: Discovering Noah Part 7

Discovering Noah
Part 7
Chaosmode

Intro: Part 7 is the start of the close out of the story.  There are some
big changes that happen close to the end, some more defining moments as
well.  This is where the story pretty much reaches a climax, part 8 is the
falling action and the resolution to the story, its where I put all of the
pieces together and close things out.  It is also where I introduce 2
characters that are the catalyst for getting to the ending that I've
crafted.  I have gone with a realistic approach here (or as real as you can
be with fiction involving characters that couldn't possible exist in the
real world).

If you want to see how Noah, Nathan, and Sarah end up Part 8 will have a
flash forward at the end of it.

Thank you for reading as always I can be reached at:
chaosmode00@tutanota.com Donating helps us keep a place for these stories:
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html


Thirty



	The plane landed late Friday night and as she gathered her luggage
Sarah felt exhausted.  Her father, step-mother, and half-sisters really
were far too much to take in.  Karen had only come by for three days before
leaving when their dad had not so subtly hinted that he was disappointed in
her for bringing a girl with her to his house.  Sarah like Michelle a lot.
She had gotten to sit and talk with her for a long while on one of the days
and had found out that Michelle was a college freshman working on becoming
a teacher.  She had grown up in New York and Karen had saved her from a boy
trying to force her into something she hadn't had all the mental capacity
(being drunk) to stop.

	Walking through the airport with her mom who only asked about how
her time with Karen was Sarah pretty much focused on that.  Her mind had
often during the past week gone back to those two weeks in New York.  There
had rarely been a night where she and Noah didn't sleep in the same bed
over night during that entire time and she had sorely missed him when she
got her to dads.  Yet she knew that wasn't going to be a regular thing.
There was no way that Beth would ever approve of or allow sleepovers and
Sarah was fine with that, she knew it was for the best.

	As she got into the car with her mom a text hit her phone when she
realized that she hadn't taken it off of airplane mode since landing.  It
was of course from Noah.  She smiled seeing it, it was really effortless
now, pretty much every inch of her loved the boy and it was why she was so
afraid of what came after her senior year.  She had no idea how to even
think about that and what it would mean when she went away for college as
she knew that she would.  The text was a simple one: welcome home loser.

	It had been sent twenty minutes ago so somewhere right around when
she had been getting off of the plane.  She texted back: calling me a loser
that's really mature of you.

	It took a moment then Noah sent back: its not my fault that you're
a loser.

	Sarah studied it for a moment then said: just for that you shall be
punished when I see you tomorrow.

	A few more moments then: I'm not scared of you.  You talk a big
game but I know your weakness.

	Sarah laughed and her mom upfront said, "what's funny?"

	Sarah looked up from her phone, "oh nothing, Karen just reminding
me not to be too mad at dad for him being the way he is."  Her mom nodded
and she responded to the text: we shall see who knows whose weakness more
tomorrow.

	A few moments later he sent back: I missed you.

	Sarah swallowed a bit, she had missed him too.  So much more than
she had thought she would.  It would be a little easier if she was in
Nathan's shoes, able to distance herself a bit.  Not that she wanted to, it
was just that she loved Noah so much that she was afraid of what it meant
sometimes.  Yet she knew that he felt the same way.  He loved Nathan too
but it was different.  He didn't see it but she did, and Nathan did too.
He typed a question mark on the phone, then an emoji with its tongue
sticking out.

	Sarah laughed and typed back: got distracted, I missed you too
dummy.  They arrived back at the house and she carried her stuff upstairs
to her bedroom, played a bit with a very excited Molly and took a shower.
As she was getting out of the shower her phone buzzed for her to take an
incoming facetime call.  She answered it knowing who it was and not even
caring that she was naked. He'd seen it all more than a dozen times now.
"You're still awake."  It was past ten now.

	Noah on the other end said, "all I see is your ceiling and part of
I think one of your breasts."

	Sarah said, "Oh?"  She moved slightly more into frame.  "And now?"

	Noah on the other end said, "now I see all of your breast..."

	Sarah picked up the phone and said, "I just got out of the shower,
why are you bothering me."

	Noah smiled, "I missed you duh."

	Sarah smiled too, "I missed you as well."  She put the phone down
again as she pulled on her pajamas and said, "call me back in a bit I need
to brush my teeth."

	Noah said, "that's okay I'll wait."

	"Pervert."  She said as she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste
then hung up the phone.  She ignored his next facetime request when it came
in a moment later all the way until she was done brushing her teeth and in
her bedroom laying on her bed.  "What do you want?"  She answered trying to
sound her best at being annoyed.

	On the other end Noah said, "I didn't get to see you brush your
teeth!"

	Sarah sighed, "you do realize its impossible to stay annoyed with
you right?"

	Noah smiled, "cause I'm so charming."

	Sarah said, "no because I love you dummy."

	Noah said, "I love you too." Then he said, "how was it at your
dads?"

	Sarah sighed, "come on you texted me every day while I was there, I
told you how it was."

	"Yeah but you never did tell me if your little sisters thought I
was cute or not."

	Sarah groaned and said "goodbye Noah."  She hung up the call.  A
moment later her phone buzzed again and she sighed answering it, "what do
you want now?"

	Noah didn't go back to the sister thing, she figured that he had
gotten his fun with the joke as he said, "was it really bad for Karen?"

	Sarah had texted him about it but hadn't been able to talk as Karen
leaving had just happened late Thursday night.  "Yes, it really hurt her I
could tell.  I mean her and my dad haven't ever really gotten along, and
her bringing a girl home was just more fuel to the fire between the two of
them.  She didn't want to talk with me about it though.  If she keeps
seeing Michelle I don't think she'll be going back to my dad's in the
summer."

	They moved on talking about what Noah did while she was gone, and
around midnight she slipped under her covers and with him still on the
phone talked a bit more until they were both too tired to keep their eyes
open.  He actually feel asleep on the call and she smiled to herself before
hanging up the facetime and going to sleep herself.  It was at times like
this though when she was alone in bed trying to go to sleep that her mind
started to play with her about her and Noah. He was four years younger, and
while he was mature for his age, and capable of this relationship just as
she was there were problems in the near future that she tried hard not to
think about.  Yet at times like this her mind would start to depress her.

	She was she knew going to go away to college, she was going to meet
other people there, and she wasn't sure what that meant for her future with
Noah.  More than that though, he was going to meet people here.  Eventually
he would maybe find someone he wanted to date closer to him in age and she
was going to have to let him.  She still had two full school years before
she had to worry about that, for now she wanted to have fun, have the time
of her life.  Maybe something would happen before then, maybe they'd grow
tired of one another... but it had been six months and she had told Noah
every thing and he still talked with her for hours at a time and never got
bored and she realized that she didn't either.


*


	The whole week that Sarah had been gone to her dad's Noah had
mainly spent that time trying his best to keep himself entertained.  It
wasn't like he didn't have things to do when Sarah wasn't around it was
just that he preferred it when she was around.  He hung out with Daniel his
sort of kind of friend, even had a sleep over but it wasn't all that
interesting.  Noah couldn't figure out why he had such a hard time making
friends and sticking with them.  He hadn't talked to Hayley in a month, and
he did try calling her but she was busy said she was still seeing that guy
and then had to go.

	He talked to Nathan a few times but Nathan was busy with summer
school and that meant extra work as the time period for Summer school was
shorter than the one for regular and so he was swimming in homework and
other things.  He and Beth went and saw a few movies and did some other
stuff but while it was nice it wasn't like it was when he did stuff with
Nathan or Sarah.  Really though he didn't care if his only real friends
were Nathan, Sarah, and Karen, and maybe Michelle but he didn't know her
all that well yet.  He figured that he was one of those people that only
needed a small circle of friends to be happy.  Even if two of those friends
were his boyfriend and girlfriend.

	So he made it through the week and now it was Saturday morning.
Beth had gone to be with some of her friends and that meant that Noah was
in the house by himself.  He was making a bowl of cereal in just his
boxer-briefs figuring that Beth was gone and no one else was in the house
so why bother with his pajama pants. As he was pouring the milk over the
cereal the front doorbell chimed and Noah headed over to check and see who
it was.  There was no one at the front door, not even a package he noticed
as he looked out the side window.

	"Got you!"  He almost jumped ten feet in the air when someone
grabbed him and began to tickle him.  Noah squirmed trying to escape well
aware of the feeling of the hands on his sides from behind.  His heart had
almost leaped out of his chest when she had done that and now she was
tickling him.  He slipped out of her hands leaning back against the front
door studying Sarah.  She wore tight jeans that hugged to her long slender
legs, showing off every curve of them and were torn a bit in places. Her
shirt was tight and showed off her small breasts quite well, seeing her
excited Noah and he started to respond to that leaning against the door.

	Sarah of course saw it as he was only in his boxer-briefs.  Noah
said, "I thought you'd still be asleep its only nine in the morning."

	Sarah stepped closer, "maybe I missed torturing you too much and I
just had to get my fingers all over that skinny little body."

	Noah smiled, "oh? you'll have to catch me first."  He slipped
around her running towards the back of the house.  Sarah gave chase as he
knew she would. The two of them laughing and running towards his bedroom.
Sarah caught Noah right before the open door to his bedroom and began to
tickle him as he squirmed and twisted around trying to tickle her too as
they sort of fell onto the floor in his bedroom, wrestling around a bit.

	They twisted together until Noah was on his back and Sarah on top
of him pinning him down, her hands holding him by his wrists.  He was at
her mercy, it was something that Noah loved and Sarah knew it too.  She had
said to him about a month ago after the had wrestled like this and she had
pinned him, "we always end up like this... I'm beginning to think you like
it when I pin you.... I bet you like it when Nathan does it too..." Noah
hadn't denied it and Sarah had laughed and then preceded to make him feel
good.

	Now this afternoon as she straddled him holding him down she
clicked her tongue and let go of one of his hands grabbing a pair of his
underwear on the floor that was under his bed, "really? Not cleaning up
your room, Beth would kill you... look at that bed too.. not even made..."

	Noah shrugged and Sarah moved a bit, he could feel her pressing
down on his middle with her crotch and his penis was very stiff in his
underwear.  "I'll clean it before Beth gets home tonight."

	Sarah dropped the underwear and leaned over him her hand again
holding his other wrist when she saw that he had been trying to go for
tickling her.  "I seem to recall someone calling me a loser
yesterday... don't think that I won't punish you for that.  I did promise
to."

	Noah said, "you don't scare me Sarah... I told you I know your
weakness..."

	She smiled leaning in even closer, "oh do you?"

	Noah smiled a bit too, "yeah, I do."

	Her mouth was inches from his, "you know I could withhold sex very
easily... I'd not even miss it."

	Noah said, "that's bullshit."

	Sarah gasped, "such naughty words from such a naughty boy."  She
let go of one of his wrists again as he finger traced the length of his
chin, "do you know what I do with naughty boys?"  Noah didn't care anymore
what she did with naughty boys he was tired of the game, he'd miss her too
much.  He leaned up and kissed her as her face was still inches from
his. Using his now free hand to hold her head so that he could do it.  Her
lips tasted like peppermint, her breath smelled like it. Her one hand was
holding his cheek, her other one sliding up from his wrist along his arm.

	It was good to know she had missed him too.  He rolled them so that
he was on top on the bedroom floor. His hands went to her shirt as he sat
up a bit, pulling at it, dragging it off of her.  He slid his fingers over
her stomach, up over her breasts through the dark blue lace bra she wore.
He had seen these breasts dozens of times, but just like every time he saw
Nathan's naked body seeing Sarah's was like a gift he never wanted to stop
getting to open.  He undid the clasp on the front, his hands running over
her silky light milk caramel skin, feeling the rise of her small breasts,
just barely more than a handful in the boys hands.

	He leaned over and kissed one of her nipples, running his tongue
over it, he had done this so many times he had lost count yet still somehow
touching Sarah, making her feel good never got old. He hoped that she felt
the same way.  He was pretty sure that she did.  Just liked he knew that
Nathan never got tired of touching him. His hand slid down between them,
finding the button on her jeans, undoing it as his lips sucked on one of
her nipples. After starting to pull the zipper down his lips also began
moving down over her stomach, running kisses along it in the way that he
had discovered Sarah liked best.  He pulled her jeans off, her dark blue
lace panties as well, sliding them over her long slender legs, spreading
them open and taking in her naked body in full view.

	He was sitting up taking her in on the floor below him, Sarah sat
up slipping her legs under her all of her naked body before him as her
hands reached.  She ran her fingers over his sides slowly, feeling his
sleek slender lines, finding his boxer-briefs, pulling at them, dragging
them down and freeing his penis from them.  She stroked him once and then
stood, grabbing his arms pulling him up into a standng position. She kissed
his lips once before pushing Noah back onto his bed and climbed up as well
laying on her back.  Noah moved sliding on top of her, but not facing her,
She guided his erection down into her mouth as he went down between her
legs with his own.  The preteen boy ran his tongue into her inner folds,
tasting her juices, as her tongue found his penis and then she pulled him
into her mouth.  They let the passion of the moment consume them, the
feeling of their two bodies joined together.

	Noah slipped off of Sarah, moving so that he was between her legs,
he still worried about not using a condom but Sarah didn't stop him from
entering her. He trusted her, he trusted that she wouldn't let them make a
baby.  They joined together, their bodies as one, her hands on his back
holding him, their lips meeting, passion consuming them as they arrived
together and Noah collapsed on top of Sarah still buried inside of her as
she held him.  They made love a second time, slower, looking at one another
the entire time, kissing softly, slowly building, the kisses becoming more
frantic again as they reached towards joined climax a second time.

	After that they lay on the bed looking at one another, talking
about how they had missed each other.  He wasn't sure who said something
stupid first him or her, but after a bit they started playing a game of who
could make who laugh first before finally giving up and both getting in the
shower to get the smell of sex off of them and got dressed.

	As he was walking into the kitchen with Sarah to make lunch Noah
stopped before his bowl of cheerios. "NO! Look what you did to my cheerios
woman!"

	Sarah leaning over his shoulder looking down at the bowl of ruined
cheerios in milk said, "and how is that my fault?  Also woman?"

	Noah said, "Well you rang the doorbell right as I was making
them... they're all dead now.. ruined... its so sad...  and you are a
woman."

	Sarah laughed and tickled his side a bit, "you are the strangest
boy I have ever known Noah."

	He twisted so that his back was on the counter and he was facing
her as she was still standing behind him, "that's why you love me though,
cause I'm so strange."

	Sarah kissed his lips once, "you're not wrong on that one, mister."

	Noah said, "mister?"

	Sarah stepped back, "well you are of the male of the species.
There by you must be a mister."  Noah thought about arguing the point but
he just shrugged and Sarah said, "now lets get rid of those cheerios and
get some lunch."  Noah didn't argue.  After lunch they sat on the couch in
the living room and watched television for a bit, then they actually went
for a walk and talked some more mainly about Karen as Noah had known that
Sarah wanted to talk about her dad and how he treated her sister some more.
Then they went back to the house and Beth found them on the couch trying to
`decide' by wrestling who got to pick what they watched next.  Sarah stayed
for dinner then after that she gave him one last kiss on the front step
outside before heading home.

	The rest of summer was a lot like that, they went and did things
together, sometimes she did things with her friends from track or
volleyball and he did hang out with Daniel more than a few times, but most
of the summer they were on a mission together to see if they could get
tired of one another.  At times they did annoy each other and that was when
they decided to go do things with their friends instead of one another.

	Mostly though by the time school started back they had realized
that they liked being together more than apart.  The only thing missing in
both of their minds was Nathan.  It was strange one night while he was on
the phone with Sarah when she said that she missed it when Nathan had been
there too and he had agreed.  They had worked really well as a unit of
three, and not just sexually.  That though was something to explore for
another time.  Now it was time for eighth grade and eleventh grade
respectfully.  Nothing big would happen though until Christmas break.



Thirty-One



	As a little girl she had been too young to really understand what
was going on between her mom and dad, Karen being older had sort of
explained it to her when she asked but really six year old Sarah had just
known that her dad wasn't living with them after a bit and she had to go
somewhere else to visit him.  Now at seventeen seeing and understanding
what was happening with the age of years she could see the marriage between
her mom and step-dad Hank falling apart before her eyes.  She could see how
the fights, the step downs from them, the give ins, and the overall defeat
in Hank's eyes now when he and her mom fought.

	Sarah couldn't say she loved Hank.  He and her mom had only been
married for five years and those five years had been during the time of her
life when Sarah herself was rarely in the house.  Mainly because from
middle school on she had found activities and friends outside that kept her
out of the house as much as possible.  That Sarah now knew was because her
mom and Hank had begun the tradition of the fight almost immediately after
marriage.

	It wasn't that fighting in a marriage or even relationship was bad.
She had been dating Noah for a year now almost and they fought.  She knew
from talking to Karen that she and Michelle fought as well, and though they
were far and small Nathan and Noah did sometimes disagree with one another.
Fighting with someone else was something that was supposed to happen, if
you were close to someone especially for a long time the two of you would
sometimes disagree on things.  The difference Sarah was starting to learn
was how those disagreements were handled.

	She never worried about it when she and Noah did have a
disagreement, she knew that even if it felt horrible while it was happening
that they'd work through it.  Their last big fight had been over something
that really worried her, that Noah didn't have anyone else other than her
and Nathan, that he never went out and did stuff with a friend his own age.
That he needed that, and his argument back had been that he had all the
friends he needed.  It had been about a week before Noah's birthday too.
Hearing her mom and Hank fighting moments before and Hank storming out of
the house sent her back to that day for some reason.


*


	They had just been talking about things a moment before, about how
on Saturday she was going to go with the girls on her volleyball team after
the game to do something she hadn't done in a long while with friends for
the evening. Noah had said that he was fine with it and he'd have his own
thing to do and Sarah had said, "You should go out and make friends of your
own too you know?  It bothers me that you only have me here, that you're
basically just relying on me to do things with all the time. Then if I'm
not around you just sit around and sulk or something."  She hadn't meant it
the way that it had sounded.  She hadn't meant to be cruel, she just wanted
Noah to make some friends. He had that Daniel guy but that was just at
school and rarely any other times other than one or two random sleepovers.

	Noah had stood there for a moment looking at her then said, "I have
all the friends that I need and right now I might just need to have one
less than that." He hadn't walked away but she had seen the anger on his
face.

	"I didn't mean it that way Noah, you know I didn't mean it that way
I just..."

	She trailed off and Noah waited, when she didn't speak again he
said, "Just what Sarah?"

	She swallowed looking at him as she said, "I worry that if I'm ever
gone, that if something changes and we're not together that you'll not have
anyone anymore to talk to, that when you really need someone to talk to
because we broke up that you won't have any friends to turn to because your
only friend was your girlfriend.  My friends were how I... dealt with my
other break ups, talking with them..." She stopped not sure where to go.

	Noah said, "So you what want to break up with me because I don't
make friends easily?"

	Sarah sighed, "no Noah, didn't you hear what I said?"

	Noah sat down on the couch next to her and was quiet for a long
while, "if we broke up I'd turn to Nathan or Beth."

	"But they're..."

	She had seen a couple of tears in his eyes and he said, softly,
"you can't tell me how to make friends Sarah.  Or that I should make
friends."

	Sarah swallowed a bit of her own pain for him and said, "I know I
can't but I can't help but feel sometimes that when I go out and do stuff
with friends that you're just.... I mean why don't you..."

	She stopped not sure how to continue, she wasn't by this point even
sure it was a fight anymore.  Noah finally said, "part of why I love you is
that you are this very outgoing easy to make friends kind of a person.  The
first time we met you were my friend by the end of that day because I had
never met someone who was so... well you.  I'm not like that Sarah. From
third grade up till early in sixth I had two friends, Hayley and Danny and
you know how those friendships turned out."

	They were both quite for a while, just sitting there on the couch
in Noah's living room. Sarah wasn't sure where to go with that.  She knew
that Noah was an introvert, that this was his way of saying that.  Still
she pressed a bit more not because she wanted to but because she knew
somehow that it was the right way to get to what she was seeking.  "That's
why you have to try and make friends Noah, because you're not good at
making them, and you're worth knowing."

	Noah after a moment said, "when you go out with your friends do you
know what I do?"

	Sarah shrugged, "I picture you sitting around the house sulking and
watching something on TV."

	Noah smiled a bit, she saw it before he said, "No," She gave him a
look and he said, "Okay sometimes I do, but usually I write or read.  I
don't even feel like you've left me alone or are leaving me behind or any
other thing that you think I feel."

	Sarah sighed and said, "it just makes me feel bad leaving you all
alone. Sometimes when I'm having fun with my friends I'm like Noah should
be doing this, its not right that he doesn't have some friends to go out
with on the weekend..."

	Noah sighed too and said, "that's not a reason for me to make
friends that I don't want to make."

	Sarah looked over at him, "what do you mean?"

	Noah shrugged and said, "I don't like the other kids in my class.
They're all the same kids other than Daniel that treated me like shit
before my dad died and then pretended after that they wanted to be my
friends.  Maybe not all of them are like that but the ones that I thought I
had things in common with until Danny turned them on me after what Hayley
and I did that he didn't like..." Noah shrugged and then before she could
speak continued, "I don't need them I already know that if tomorrow you
came in and broke up with me I'd be okay because Beth and Nathan would be
there for me.  They're not going anywhere.  You aren't either."

	Sarah smiled a little then, "oh I'm not going anywhere even with a
break up?"

	Noah said, "maybe after we first break up sure but eventually you'd
still be my friend I think."

	Sarah pulled him in closer to her, "I shouldn't worry about you not
having friends but I do."

	Noah rested his head on her shoulder, "I'm fine with the ones I
have."

	Sarah said, "we could do this all afternoon, go in this huge
circle..."

	Noah shrugged, "if you want to, I don't care."

	Sarah pulled back so that she could look at him and said, "you
don't care if we just have a never ending fight?"

	Noah smiled, "fighting with you can be fun."

	Sarah felt her jaw drop and she said, "wait a minute... you like
fighting with me?"

	Noah shrugged and said, "its... I don't know how to explain
it... its not that I like fighting with you its that fighting with you
never feels... bad.  Like I know that we're having an argument but I know
that no one's going to really win.  That eventually we'll figure it out
together."

	Sarah thought about her mom and Hank, "and what if eventually we
can't do that?  We end up becoming like my mom and Hank?"

	Noah said, "we won't, because you're not your mom and I'm not Hank.
I barely know either of them but I've witnessed a few of their fights.  If
you treated me that way we'd never have been together this long."

	Sarah thought about that and then said, "I don't treat you that way
because you don't let me..."

	Noah nodded, "exactly my point."  It was then looking at him as he
made that point that Sarah had realized that Noah was probably right he
didn't need anymore friends than the ones he had.  Before she had come into
his life he hadn't had many friends either and he'd been totally fine with
it.  She stood up then and grabbed Noah by the shirt, pulling him up and
dragged him by the shirt down the hall to his bedroom.

	In Noah's' bedroom they fell onto the bed already kissing as she
continued to hold his shirt with him on top of her.  Their tongues slowly
tangled as she let go of his shirt finally and started pulling it up over
his head.  It was second nature now, undressing one another, discarding
clothes slowly as they continued to kiss. The feeling of his hands now a
little bigger than the first time sliding over her breasts, of his lips
meeting her nipple, his fingers sliding down between her legs as she
finally pushed him back onto the bed so she could undress him too.

	Then with him on top, sliding into her, the feeling of him entering
her.  Of their bodies joined as one always sent those thrills of pleasure
through her.  Nearly a year in and Sarah had not grown tired of being with
Noah, of feeling him inside of her.  It was like welcoming an old friend, a
part external but that belonged to her.  The way that he would look at her
as he pushed in.  Of how his lips would find hers as her hands roamed over
his body if he was on top of her.

	Then they'd finish and he'd lay there on top of her, still buried
in her their heads by one another both breathing heavily.  He wouldn't
move, he'd let her wrap her legs around him and hold him inside.  It was so
amazing feeling Noah in her arms like this, and she knew when he was bigger
than her that it would still be the same just slightly different.
Sometimes it hurt her to know that this might end, that she'd never feel
him again, but that was for distant Sarah and Noah to worry about.  For now
like the times before it just having him there inside of her staying on top
of her, holding her kissing her, it was all she focused on.

	After as they had started to get dressed Sarah said, "you just like
fighting with me because it leads to that."

	Noah looked over at her and then moved until he was sitting beside
her, "well we're really good at that..."  Sarah laughed and he said, "did I
convince you to stop feeling guilty about leaving me home alone?"

	Sarah shrugged, "no, but you did make me feel like I can handle
feeling guilty about it better now.  I kind of get what you're feeling a
little bit better and I think we can make that work.  I know now that you
don't feel mad or sad about me leaving you alone when I go out with friends
so that helps. That was what worried me the most that you were all sulky
and depressed because I wasn't around."

	Noah said, "well I'm not, I like that you go out and do stuff with
friends. I like that we both have different lives.  I might not have a lot
of friends but I do have things that I do that you're not a big fan of and
I get to do those things when you're with your friends and not worry about
you not liking them."

	Sarah smiled and kissed his cheek, "you're a strange boy Noah."

	"is that your way of saying you love me?"

	Sarah laughed and said, "you know I do."


*


	Sarah sighed thinking back to that moment and downstairs she heard
the sounds of Hank and her mom still going at it.  She had come home from
hanging with the girls from her volleyball team to hearing that and it
still hadn't stopped now almost twenty minutes later.  Sarah sighed and
reached for her phone.  She texted: you up.  It wasn't a long wait as she
lay down on her bed in her night clothes and her phone rang.  She put on
her earbuds so that it was only his voice that she heard and not her mom
and step-dad fighting.  "Hey."

	Noah on the other end was not Noah, his camera was pointing at a
television screen and she saw that it was A Christmas Story that was
playing.  "hold on this is the best part."  It was at Noah's favorite
scene. A week ago or so they had both been watching it and she had learned
that Noah watched this one every year like she did.  So they had compared
notes on what their favorite scenes were.  His was the sled scene and that
was what was coming up right now.  At the end he laughed and his laughter
was sweet and wonderful.

	The fact that Noah had let her help decorate their house last week,
and that he let her put on all the Christmas movies she wanted too warmed
her heart really. The fact that he got how much she loved Christmas made it
even a little bit better for her this year than the years before it.  He
turned the phone so she could see his face and he said, "how was date
night?"

	Sarah sighed, "Date night?"

	Noah shrugged, "Friend date night?  I Don't know what to call it?
Hang out night?  Oh I know Volleyball girls go to the movies night."

	Sarah laughed and Noah smiled, "I wanted to ask you something that
I've never asked you before..."

	"Oh?"  He was interested.

	Sarah said, "you know the girls on my team, they all know you're my
friend sometimes I think they might think that you're more than that but
that's not what this is about.  Well not directly..."

	Noah said, "Okay?"

	She said, "So my question to you Noah is since I know you have a
thing for older girls and boys.  How many times have you checked out the
girls on my team?"

	Noah flushed just a bit, she could tell on the camera and then he
said, "never? that's the right answer so you don't get mad at me... right?"

	Sarah sighed, "I'm not the jealous type Noah. Come on..."

	He flushed again then said, "Okay, so Shelly, and Jennifer are both
really hot. I mean they're not as..."

	Sarah talked over him, "just don't say it Noah, I already know that
you think I'm the hottest girl in the world because you're in love with me
and I know that's what you're going to say... go on."

	He smiled and said, "Okay, well then uh Nicole right? She's the one
who kissed my cheek when you guys won that last game and called me the good
luck charm? She could steal me away from you if she wanted to..."

	Sarah groaned, "jokes.. really jokes?  So I tell you not to do one
and you just do the opposite?"

	Noah laughed, "well you know I'm not serious about that
either... only Nathan could steal me away from you.... And maybe William."

	Sarah stopped for a second, looking at him, "William?  You mean
Nicole's boyfriend?" His cheeks went really red and Sarah laughed, "Oh
fuck, you really do."

	Noah swallowed, "Do you have any idea how hot he is?"

	Sarah smiled, "yes, I am well aware of how hot he is. I'd dump you
in a second if he was interested in me."

	Noah said, "now who's making jokes."

	Sarah said, "oh I'm not joking Noah, like that," she snapped her
fingers, "you'd be dumped if he wanted to take me out."

	Noah said, "me too," he snapped his back, "just like that and you'd
be gone cause I'd be making out with William." They looked at one another
and both laughed before Noah said, "why did you ask me about that?"

	Sarah shrugged, "I was curious if you still looked at other people
besides me and Nathan. I mean I still do sometimes look at other boys."

	Noah said, "I do, and I know you don't get jealous, but I really do
like looking at you over any other girls or boys other than Nathan."

	Sarah groaned, "always with this Nathan guy."

	"Can't help that I love him too... Anyway we're a trio now."  Sarah
couldn't disagree with that.  They moved on from that, she put on the movie
as well and they sort of watched it together till the end which her
favorite part was the sappy speech that Clark gives to his boss that makes
every thing okay.  Noah knew it too and when he started to quote it she
told him to shut up or she'd never stop tickling him when she saw him
again.  Shortly after that they got off the phone and she was glad that her
mom and Hank were finally done fighting as she fell asleep wishing she was
already through with all the things that would test her and Noah's lives
and that they were just happy and married together...




Chapter Thirty-two



	The fact that she even had to go school today at all was a little
crazy but Sarah had gone in until eleven when the final bell rang even
though she had already finished her tests the day before.  She had looked
at it though more as passing time since she knew that Noah's middle school
didn't let out till twelve anyway. She headed over that way to his house to
wait for him.  Sarah could hardly believe that it was already Christmas
time again.  Somehow a whole year had passed since she had first met Noah
and now here she was again the Friday before Christmas week started and a
short few days past the day when Noah's father had passed.

	It was also a momentous day in the life of Noah, this was his
thirteenth birthday. Her own birthday had been two months earlier right
before Halloween and Noah had gotten her a necklace that was inner locking
chains and at the end a Christmas tree on it with real gems in it that went
with a pair of earrings that were Christmas themed as well.  He knew her
really well and knew that Christmas was coming up as well.  She had taken
him to bed that afternoon more than once.

	Noah thought that Nathan wasn't going to be home for his birthday
this year, as Nathan had told him as much. Noah had been sad and depressed
a little bit about it all week long and Sarah was the one who had to listen
to Noah complain.  Nathan of course had planned this all out to surprise
Noah and had told Sarah about it as well.  She had felt it was cruel and
told him as much to which Nathan had said, "no its not he'll love it."

	To which she had replied, "not to him to me... its cruel to me!"
Nathan had only laughed and hung up with her.  Sarah had not minded in the
least but messing with Nathan while also helping him mess with Noah was
just too much of a delight. So that afternoon she leaned on the back of her
car and watched as Noah got off of his bus and walked down the street to
his house.  Four months ago at the start of September if he saw her car
he'd come running down the sidewalk and hug her, now four months later he
just kept walking and doing whatever he was doing.  Probably either texting
with Nathan or Daniel.

	When her phone buzzed with a text though she pulled it out and
rolled her eyes: Sarah you have to hurry to my house there's a stranger in
front of it I think they're going to kidnap me.

	Sarah looked at him still walking down the street and typed back:
good you could use a good kidnapping.  He just sent back a frowny face.

	Then a second later he sent back: its okay she is hotter than you
anyway. Sarah groaned at that one. What was she supposed to say to that?
She was the person he was texting about.

	She sighed, he was almost to the house now.  She texted: just for
that I'm not giving you a birthday present.

	He stopped walking and started typing: What about a Christmas
present?

	She didn't text him back as she waited for him to get closer to the
house instead.  As he walked up she said, "If you keep up the smart ass
stuff you might not even get one of those either."

	Noah stopped before her, he was a bit taller, maybe five and two
inches now? She was still taller at five ten but he was gaining on her
quickly.  By the time he was a freshman next fall they might even be almost
the same height.  He looked at her, with her leaning on the car they were
about the same height, "you don't have to be so mean about it."

	Sarah sighed and grabbed his dark blue tee-shirt and pulled him to
her, "why do you make my life so complicated Noah?"

	Noah shrugged, "because I'm a boy and boys make girls lives
difficult?"

	Sarah said, "OH so you don't make Nathan's life difficult?"

	Noah smiled and then whispered, "no I just suck his dick..."

	Sarah let got of his shirt, "gah you disgusting boy!"  She got off
of her car and started towards his house, "Perverted disgusting boy!  Why
do I put up with you?"

	Noah walking behind her said, "hey Sarah... have I told you that
you have a really nice ass?"

	She stopped and felt a bit of heat rise in her cheeks, he was
really good at complimenting her.  She turned back and grabbed him as she
pulled him to her by the shirt again.  He was still smaller than her so she
held his shoulders as he looked up at her, "if I didn't have a surprise
waiting for you in this house I'd take you right to your bedroom for the
compliment."

	Noah smiled, "you could wait and give me the surprise after..."

	Sarah moved and said, "nope, I'll just have to jump your bones
after..."  She pushed him ahead of her this time and he opened the door.

	As he was opening the door Noah said, "well that's a shame because
I might not..."  He stopped mid-sentence and Sarah smiled as she took in
him seeing Nathan. Nathan had told Noah he wouldn't make it till Christmas
eve probably but there he was in the living room sitting on the edge of the
couch.  Noah upon seeing him ran over to him and Nathan pulled Noah into a
hug and seeing as his mom wasn't around let Noah kiss him hard on the lips.
Sarah smiled watching them together.  She was still shocked, almost a year
into their relationship and she still wasn't jealous of the one that Noah
had with Nathan.  If anything the fact that he had a relationship with
Nathan only spurred her more in her own with him.  She got the bigger
amount of the time with Noah but she knew that Nathan was still very
important to him as well.

	She watched as they kissed, Nathan's hands running through Noah's
hiar, almost like her own but not quite.  Noah was holding Nathans
shoulders, not his cheek like he did with her.  He really did kiss both of
them differently.  She stepped over to where they were as Noah broke his
kiss breathlessly with Nathan he looked at her and said, "so where's my
surprise."

	Nathan said, "uh I'm the supr-."

	Sarah talked over him, "shut up Noah Allen..." Then she grabbed his
shirt again as she loved to do and pulled him into her for a kiss.  Nathan
got it right then and there as well as Sarah started dragging Noah towards
the back of the house.

	Noah said, "You're going to stretch my shirt, Beth won't like
that."

	Sara just said, "you're an impossible boy."

	Noah looked back at Nathan who was following them, "did you have a
good flight down?"  Sarah groaned a bit.

	Nathan said, "sure, they didn't serve peanuts though, instead the
served those little sweet wafer crackers."

	Noah said, "oh yeah I had some of those on the flight back down,
the flight attendant gave me three of them I think because he saw I was
flying alone and didn't want me to feel scared."

	Sarah stopped walking as Nathan replied back, "that's pretty cool,
I'm just glad that I ddidn't...."

	She turned stepped between them as she said "boys we only have a
very short window before Beth gets home, so do you want to have a threesome
or do you want to stand in the hallway and talk about wafer crackers?"

	Noah looked at Nathan, who looked back at him and then together
they turned and looked at Sarah and said, "talk about wafer crackers."

	Sarah groaned then said, "No jury in the entire world would convict
me for killing either one of you, do you realize that?"

	Noah said, "so you're stance on wafer crackers is that they're not
better than sex?"

	Nathan said, "I don't know I mean the sweetness of a wafer cracker
can't be..."

	Sarah tossed her hands up in the air and interrupted him, "you are
both impossible."  She put a finger on Noah's chest, "you're an impossible
boyfriend, and you," she put another one on Nathan's, "are an impossible
best friend.  I cannot at the moment stand either one of you or your stupid
jokes about wafer crackers."

	Noah looked down at her finger and then smiled looking at her,
"what did a wafer cracker ever do to you Sarah?"  Sarah groaned again and
this time as she started to walk past him Noah grabbed her and pushed her
against his closed bedroom door.  She smiled down at him as he pulled her
head down to his and kissed her. She found the knob on the door and turned
it opening the door and almost falling into the bedroom but Nathan was
there, holding her hand stopping the two of them from tumbling backwards.

	It was now like it was back in New York, the three of them didn't
need words anymore to know what they were doing.  She stepped back into the
room now holding Noah again by his shirt as Nathan followed behind them.
Sarah felt Noah's hands on her shirt, pulling at it as she helped him get
it up and off of her.  Behind him Nathan was pulling at Noah's shirt,
dragging it up, they were in a bit of a hurry, not a lot of foreplay could
actually happen as they only had a short amount of time before Beth was due
home.

	Noah's fingers had already found the clasp on her bra, undoing it
as his lips and hers were tangled together, tongues gently sliding along
one another.  Nathan was on his knees undoing Noah's jeans from behind, his
fingers slipping inside of them and Sarah knew what he was finding and
stroking in there as she had felt it before many times herself.  Noah
wasn't really any longer than he had been at the beginning but he was a bit
thicker.

	The new teenage boy's hands were on her chest, stroking her
breasts, squeezing on them with just the right amount of pressure.  She
could see Nathan pulling at Noah's jeans, dragging them and his
boxer-briefs down to his ankles as the boy's lips were now on her
collarbone kissing the length of.  She figured that Noah must have really
loved her because even almost a year into their moments together he had
never abandoned making her feel good.


*


	Nathan could feel Noah under his fingers as he ran his hand along
the boys sleek lines.  Some of them had changed, he wasn't quite as skinny
as he was thin now, he had gotten some definition to is skin and bone frame
and he was clearly a few inches taller as well since the last time Nathan
had seen him nearly six months ago.  He ran his hands over Noah from
behind, his eyes roaming over Noah's' back side.  Six months of no sex with
Noah was sort of what was driving him now.  Nathan leaned over on his knees
kissing Noah's' back side, running his lips down over the boys slender
delicate back.

	Noah turned looking up at him as he was now pulling at Nathan's
shirt as he had Sarah's' before.  His hands running over Nathan's own flat
chest and stomach as Sarah sat on the bed and began stroking Noah from
behind.  Watching the younger boy get stroked by his girlfriend Nathan was
honestly surprised to realize how much it turned him on.  Noah was at his
slacks now undoing them, pulling them along with his boxers down.  There
was very little pretense going on here as all three of them knew their time
was limited.

	Noah stroked him as Sarah stroked Noah, her lips on his backside,
where moments before Nathan's own had been.  The boy turned back to Sarah,
reaching for her jeans.  Nathan watched as Noah pulled Sarah's clothes off
the rest of the way, revealing the teenage girl's naked body to both the
newly turned teenage boy and his gay boyfriend's eyes.  Nathan had no idea
what it meant that he was so turned on by watching Noah do things to Sarah
while he did things to Noah.  Honestly he was beyond caring.

	Sarah leaned back on the bed, her legs hanging off of the sides of
it as she spread open and Noah moved sliding inside of her from this
position leaning over the bed as well.  Nathan swallowed taking in the
sight and knew where he needed to go as well.  He moved in sliding behind
Noah, sliding into him even though he had to bend down a little to get to
the right position. He pushed into Noah as Noah pushed into Sarah.  The
feeling of the boy's tight ass surrounding and squeezing on him sending all
kinds of pleasure throughout Nathan's body.



*

	The feeling of being inside of Sarah as she lay underneath him, his
hands on either side of her as he pushed in while Nathan entered him from
behind made Noah groan.  This was a birthday gift that the new teenage boy
could get behind, or have someone behind him.  He almost laughed at that
thought but feeling Sarah surrounding him, her hands on his shoulders,
pulling him down to her while Nathan leaned over him and pushed in from
behind was too much of the focus for Noah to think of anything else.

	When Nathan came inside of him Noah pushed into Sarah one more time
feeling her squeeze on him as he pulled back out and her hands were there
between them holding him as he came on her stomach, actual spurts which was
something that had been getting thicker and more pronounced over the last
few months.  He fell onto the bed beside Sarah, from his bottom he could
feel some of Nathan's spend leaking out.

	Sarah rolled onto her side and kissed his cheek and then said,
"Happy Birthday."

	Just about then the front door opened and Sarah grabbed her clothes
putting them on in a hurry as she walked out into the living room.  From
the bedroom he could hear Beth saying to Sarah, "There you are, where's
Noah?"  Noah looked at Nathan who seemed shocked by this turn of
events. The two of them quickly started getting dressed not speaking while
looking at one another. They hadn't expected Beth so soon honestly and she
also had no idea that Nathan was home yet.

	Sarah said, "He's in the back with his special birthday present, I
think its a present for you too though."  Noah let Nathan walk out first
and he could hear Beth hugging her son and knew that he was probably
lifting her up as Noah walked out of the back of the house fully dressed he
felt a little bad for the fact that the three of them had just been having
sex in his bedroom and that he was the underage middle of that sandwich.

	Beth pulled Noah in for a hug too and then grabbed Sarah as she
hugged all of them and said, "now this is a nice present."

	Noah said, "its almost so good that I don't need other presents."
Sarah hit his shoulder but he just smiled at her and kissed her cheek
before Beth hugged each of them again and said that since Nathan was home
early he could join them for Noah's birthday dinner.  It turned out to be a
really good birthday dinner. That night long after Beth was asleep Noah
slipped into Nathan's bedroom.  It was close to midnight now, Sarah had
long gone home as well.

	He slipped into Nathans' bed and Nathan watching him climb into the
bed in just his underwear said, "what are you doing Noah?"

	Noah shrugged and sat an alarm on his phone.  "I thought we could
sleep together and get up before your mom does and go for a walk... but if
not....."

	Nathan smiled and pulled him into his arms, gently kissing his
lips, "its sounds nice Noah, just no sex stuff, we don't need my mom to
hear that."  Noah nodded and leaned into Nathan.

	As he held him Noah said, "I'm glad you were able to get home for
my birthday.  Today was easier because you and Sarah were both here.  I
don't know how I'll handle Christmas day..."

	Nathan kissed the top of his head, "however you need to just like
you did last year."  That was enough for Noah to fall asleep nestled in
Nathan's arms.  He just wished he knew if being in Nathan's arms or in
Sarah's with her in his arms was the way he wanted to spend his life...




Thirty-Three



	The morning of Christmas eve came before Noah wanted it to.
Between the time that he got to spend with Nathan, and the time that he got
to spend with Sarah, the days just kept going by until the calender was
turning to Christmas Eve and that meant it was getting ever close to
Christmas day and Noah wasn't sure if he could handle that right now.  His
birthday had been okay, having both Nathan and Sarah there during the day
after school had really helped him not even focus on his birthday, but his
birthday wasn't Christmas.

	There had been no real tradition between him and his dad for his
birthday other than a few presents and maybe they went to a movie or
something. It had always been an issue that his birthday was so close to
Christmas but he and his dad had always made it work.  Christmas though was
that one day where he and his dad had a set tradition on that morning.
Thinking about it as he lay in his bed the morning of Christmas Eve Noah
felt a sense of dread washing over him over the following morning.  He
didn't want to have a break down like he had experienced last Christmas
morning but he was afraid that he was going to have one.

	He was still laying there when his phone buzzed and he rolled over
looking for it on his night stand. There was a text from Sarah: Get off of
your lazy ass and come get some breakfast.

	Noah sighed looking at the text from Sarah.  He typed back: no
thanks not hungry.

	A moment later she typed back: bullshit.

	Noah smiled looking at his phone, he couldn't figure out quite how
Sarah was able to make him smile and feel better so easily.  He knew that
Nathan would just leave him alone, maybe come in and sit down and ask him
how he was doing, that Beth would do the same, but Sarah, she always
prodded him and she knew just how to prod right to get the response that he
was supposed to give. It wasn't always the response she wanted to hear
either, but she wanted him say what was on his mind. She was the only one
who would push him a little bit and make him respond back. Sometimes it was
annoying, not in a bad way, just annoying.

	He slipped off of his bed and pulled on the tee-shirt that went
with his pajama bottoms and headed out into the living room.  As he stepped
out he could smell bacon and eggs, he walked towards the kitchen.  Sarah
and Nathan were both on the stove cooking, his step-mom Beth was at the
kitchen table reading something.  As he stepped into the kitchen Nathan was
saying, "....no if you add to much cheese..."

	Sarah just poured more cheese in and said, "calm down you can never
go wrong with more cheese."  Nathan sighed a bit and Sarah said, "you're
the one who insisted on putting bananas in the pancakes so I get to put as
much cheese in the eggs as I want."

	As Noah walked into the kitchen Nathan said, "could you please tell
this girl that she's being unreasonable?"

	Noah shook is head, "telling Sarah she's being unreasonable is like
asking a hundred pound rock to please move out of your way."

	Sarah stuck her tongue out at him and Beth from the kitchen table
said, "talking that way about a girlfriend is a good way to find yourself
in a lot of trouble."

	Sarah agreed, "yeah!"

	Nathan said, "if you're going to put that much cheese in the eggs
could you at least add some more pepper to balance out the salt."

	Sarah ignored him as she said, "so now back to how exactly am I
like a rock Noah?"

	Noah sat down at the kitchen table across from Beth who smiled at
him and he said, "answering that would be like having a boulder coming at
me as I run down a hill..."

	Sarah as she started putting eggs on plates said, "Hey
Nathan... you up for some Christmas light seeing tonight, just us no Noah?"

	Nathan adding bacon said, "That sounds like a nice and pleasant
night actually."

	Noah groaned, "Not you too."

	Beth closed her book and said, "I think that would be a splendid
idea Sarah, if you and my son don't mind the company of course."

	Sarah smiled sitting down with a plate as Nathan carried two and
put one down in front of his mom and sat down with his own.  "I think that
would be wonderful Beth, we'll all make sure that Noah's in bed at nine and
then we'll go see the lights."

	Noah sighed, stood up and got his own plate of food that Sarah had
purposely abandoned on the kitchen counter though she had made it for him,
even made the bacon a smiley face with the eggs as two eyes.  He sat down
at the table and took a bite of the eggs, they were extra cheesy.  "Needs
more pepper."  He said eying Sarah.

	Nathan tried not to smile, he really tired hard not to smile or
laugh, Noah could tell but it escaped him and Sarah looked at Nathan then
after a second Beth said, "its okay dear we can just leave both of them
here and go see the lights by ourselves."

	Sarah glared at Nathan who just smiled and then she looked at Noah
who just smiled as he put a little bit more pepper on his eggs.  "You are
both impossible."

	Noah shrugged, "I think you're impossible."  Sarah stuck her tongue
out at him, he stuck his back out at her.  Beth just sighed and Nathan
looked confused.

	After a moment Beth said, "sometimes I think you're both young
adults despite the fact that one of you is and the other one isn't.  Other
times I think you're both children of six.  What I can't figure out is
which one it really is."

	Noah and Sarah looked at each other and Nathan was the one who
answered which surprised Noah, "they're in love, and somehow they've
figured out how much fun it is to push each other's buttons." He paused and
then said, "I remember how you and dad used to `bicker'," he put his hands
up in quotes as he said it, "how you'd always mess with one another I was
never afraid of it because I could feel the love that came with it."  He
gestured to both Noah and Sarah, "They're just messing with one another
because they're around each other too much, they've got short hand for
every little thing that they do.  It'd be kind of cute if it wasn't so
sickening."

	Sarah and Noah both looked at him, he smiled at them and then they
both stuck their tongues out together at him as Sarah said, "you're
sickening.  Way to ruin our fun!"

	Noah said, "yeah! we're just having fun!"

	Nathan said, "excuse me mother, there are two children in this
house that need to be punished."  Noah looked at Sarah who looked back at
Noah and she nodded, she was older, taller, not even all that much shorter
than Nathan but at the moment, Nathan, Noah, and Sarah were all ten year
olds again. As they slipped from the table trying to escape, Nathan giving
chase catching both the teenage girl and newly turned teenage boy running
from the kitchen.

	In the living room he caught them both tickling them as Sarah and
Noah tried to escape.  After a few seconds the three of them were a pile of
bodies being tickled, both Noah and Sarah trying to find spots on Nathan
that were ticklish as well.  Finally exhausted they all fell onto the floor
in the living room on their backs catching their breaths.

	Beth calmly walked through the living room heading towards her
bedroom, "I'm going to take a shower, I'm meeting Heather and Amanda for
lunch and some last minute shopping in a bit, I trust the three of you are
going to clean up the mess in the kitchen?"

	Nathan said, "Yes mom, we've got it."

	As the shower started they all got up heading towards the kitchen
to start cleaning up.  As they were finishing up on cleaning the kitchen
Nathan said, "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

	Sarah and Noah looked at one another and Noah said, "that sounds
like a nice idea."

	After a second Sarah said, "I bet I could smoke both of you if we
raced."

	Nathan and Noah looked at one another and said together, "deal."
The three of them got dressed in clothes and headed out the front door.  At
the end of the walkway that led down from the house to the sidewalk the
three of them lined up.

	Sara said, "when I say three we go, to the park, whoever gets there
first wins."  They both nodded and she counted down, "3,2,1 Go!" Then she
took off.  Noah looked like he was about to run, he stepped once and then
just started walking as Nathan walked beside him.  Sarah was almost halfway
down the street when she noticed that they weren't following and yelled
back, "losers!"

	Nathan said, "so, how you feeling?"

	Noah shrugged, "I'm good."  He paused thinking about what Nathan
had said earlier while they were eating, "is it a bad thing that you and I
don't have the same kind of relationship, way of talking with one another
that Sarah and I have?"

	Nathan put his arm around Noah's shoulders, "No, its not a bad
thing Noah, no relationship is like another relationship.  You and I
aren't..." he thought for a second about the words then said, "you and I
are intimate, we both like having sex with each other and being intimate
with each other, but we're not... what we have isn't what you and Sarah
have."

	Noah thought about that for a moment then said, "you're saying that
we're not in love the same way that Sarah and I are in love?"

	Nathan nodded, "Exactly.  What you and I Have Noah might never go
away totally. We're family just a lot closer than most other family members
get.  I don't think you and I are going to get married one day.  Its why
I'm going to if you're okay with it try dating again in the new year."

	Noah was silent for a bit as they got closer to the park, "I think
that's a good idea. You're right, there's someone out there for you that's
special and will be okay with you having a really close relationship with
your brother and his girlfriend."  They were silent again and Noah could
see Sarah sitting on the bench at the front of the park now.  "Do you think
that... well that Sarah and I are going to be together forever?"

	Nathan stopped walking and Noah stopped with him, "I can't answer
that one Noah.  I don't think either you or Sarah can either, you're both
young, and you're in love. I say just enjoy it."

	Noah nodded, "Yeah, that's what Sarah said too.  Sometimes though I
feel like we're coming to a point where we might have to leave each other
behind."

	They were walking again, "maybe so, but that doesn't mean that you
couldn't or wouldn't find each other again.  You and Sarah remind me of my
mom and dad in a way, they met in high school, broke up, then one summer my
dad's second year of college he ran into her at some restaurant where she
was a waitress during her senior year of high school.  Two years later they
were married, four years later I was born a miracle that wasn't supposed to
happen.  You are on your own path though.  You might find a boy or another
girl one day that you love more than Sarah, so don't worry about fate or
destiny or any of that Noah, lets just enjoy what we have right now huh?"

	Noah smiled and said, "yeah, you're right."  it was easy to put
those thoughts away as he and Nathan walked up to where Sarah was.

	As they approached Sarah got off of the bench and said, "you two
are so slow."

	Noah and Nathan both shrugged together and then Noah said, "well we
knew we couldn't win so figured just giving up was the better option."
Sarah walked between them and put her arms around both of them, one on
Nathan's back, the other on Noah's shoulders.

	Softly she said, "I wanted to talk with both of you, its about
tomorrow, I know how difficult last Christmas was for you Noah..."  He
looked over at her and she continued, "So I figured that I'd come over
early today help with breakfast and then give you guys my idea.  My idea is
that we bring Karen and Michelle over tonight and all of us, we all open
presents tonight, make Christmas eve our Christmas this year."  They both
looked at her and she said, "if its a stupid idea..."

	Noah said, "no its not, its actually..." he looked over and up at
her, "a really nice idea, I like it a lot."  With that the three of them
started back for the house to get it ready for a party that night....



*
	At about six Christmas Eve night Karen and Michelle arrived at the
house, bringing with them something that Michelle called Rum Spice Fruit
Cake which was apparently a family recipe. Nathan wasn't sure at all how he
felt about that, fruit cake was not one of those things that he enjoyed a
lot for the holidays.  He loved Michelle though.  Since the first time he
had met her after she and Karen had been seeing each other for three weeks
he had loved her.  She played off of Karen so well, she was two years
younger than Karen and going to school to be a teacher and had grown up in
New York.

	 Michelle was taller than Karen too, slender and long, about the
same height as Sarah, so around a couple of inches below six feet.  Dark
brown hair and light brown hair along with dark brown eyes that showed off
her Hispanic heritage.  Her grandparents had come from Puerto Rico when her
dad had been ten years old and he had married a woman from Peru and had
Michelle and her four siblings.  Her parents were supportive of her lesbian
nature.

	As she and Karen came into the house Michelle swept him up into a
hug and she smelled of peppermint for some reason and had clearly been
drinking which he pointed out to Karen, "have the two of you been
drinking?"

	Karen rolled her eyes, "just some peppermint schnapps eggnog relax
mom we're fine."

	Michelle smiled bit and said, "yeah we're doing just fine Karen
didn't just eat me out in the back seat of the car before coming over here
either..." She winked and went further in.  Nathan grabbed the fruitcake
before she could drop it as she saw Noah and smiled big, "NOAH! You're
taller!" Noah looked past her at Nathan who just shrugged as Michelle
brought him into a huge hug.

	Karen said, "Okay soooo Michelle might had had a lot more than
me...."

	Nathan chuckled, "You think?"  Karen hit his shoulder a bit as
Nathan carried the fruitcake into the kitchen where his mom had put a few
other snacks and things that she had gotten when he had told her about
Sarah's idea.  Sarah had somehow managed to find a ham somewhere as well to
which Nathan did not ask about.

	Michelle seeing Sarah hugged her too tightly saying, "ah Sarah! SO
much like your sister, so much not."

	Sarah said, "Um uh thanks?"  she looked over at Karen and Nathan
bewildered as Michelle moved past her.

	When Michelle saw Beth she said, "and you must be Nathan's mom?"
She nodded and Michelle said, "he's such a wonderful boy!" then she hugged
Beth, "you must be so proud!"

	Karen sighed and walked over to where they were gently pulling
Michelle away from his mom as she apologized to Beth. "Come on Michelle,
lets have some coffee huh?"

	Michelle walking with her towards the kitchen "did you," hiccup,
"bring any peppermint schnapps to add to it?"

	Karen chuckled, "NO, I don't think you need another drop tonight
dear."

	Michelle looked disappointed as Nathan walked over to where his mom
and Sarah were standing. Noah had actually gone into the kitchen to get a
drink so he was in there when they arrived Nathan was sure.  Beth said,
"that's Michelle?"

	Sarah said, "She's usually a lot less drunk."

	Nathan smiled, "a lot less.  Karen told me before that she can't
handle her alcohol, its how they met actually, Karen saved Michelle from
some guy that had gotten her drunk when he realized how easy she was to get
drunk."

	His mom sighed, "I'm glad I got two boys who respect women."

	Sarah said, "I secretly thank Noah's dad all the time, its clear
that he did a good job."

	Beth nodded and said, "He did, when I met Walter and learned that
he had been raising Noah by himself for five years nearly six I had for
certain thought that the boy would be a terror because when Nathan was
around Noah's age I left him and his father home alone for two weeks and
came back to a house that was an absolute disaster and a boy and his dad
who both had started just walking around in their underwear."

	Sarah smiled and almost laughed.  Nathan sighed, "dad said it was
what men did when the women were away.  To be fair you did come home two
days early."

	His mom smiled and patted his cheek, "yes dear I did because after
twelve days away I was afraid that you and your dad might have burned the
house down."

	Sarah did laugh then as Noah came into the room, Nathan decided
that Noah looked really good with a smile on his face, his dark green eyes
sparkled a bit and the Christmas shirt he wore was the same one that Sarah
had gotten a year ago.  A part of Nathan wanted to pull the boy into his
arms and kiss him, to once again make love to him.  His talk with Noah
though earlier had been the truth. He loved Noah, and he knew that he
always would but him and Noah weren't going to get married one day. It
wasn't that kind of love.

	Noah walking into the room said, "I think that Michelle might be
really drunk.  What's so funny?"

	Sarah said, "Beth was just telling me about the time that Nathan
and his dad almost burned the house down."

	Nathan said, "we did not come close to doing that, we just didn't
do the dishes or the laundry or any of that for about ten days."

	Noah said, "uh that's kind of disgusting."

	Nathan sighed, "way to defend your fellow man there Noah!"

	Noah shrugged, "It is though.  I mean the laundry that's cool, but
the dishes?  You do realize that's where bad smells and bugs come from
right?"

	Nathan watched as him mom hugged Noah and said, "one day you're
going to make a wonderful husband to someone."

	Noah smiled and Nathan rolled his eyes, "thanks mom."

	His mom smiled and pulled him into an embrace too.  "You will also
Nathan, just a messy one."

	Nathan sighed again and Noah said, "he should just marry someone
whose anal about cleaning and that'll fix that problem."

	Nathan looked at Noah now, "thanks for that insight."

	Nathan smiled, "no problem glad I could help."  Sarah whispered
something to him and Noah said loudly, "I'm not worried about him."  Nathan
got the sense that she had told him that he could sneak into Noah's room
and get back at him for saying that.

	Nathan just grunted and said, "I'm going to go check on Michelle."
He walked out of the living room and headed back into the kitchen where
Michelle was sitting at the kitchen table.  As he approached he said to
Karen, "how's she doing?"

	Michelle groaned, "I am so fucking embarrassed, I bet your mom
thinks I'm some kind of crazy chick or an alcoholic or something.  I really
wanted to make a good impression too because I know how much Karen loves
Beth."

	Nathan sat down at the table and said, "its all good Michelle,
trust me, my mom doesn't think anything like that.  She knows that you're
not usually drunk."

	Michelle sighed and put her head in her hands, "at least tell me I
didn't say anything about you and Noah?"

	Nathan stood and patted her head, "You're good there sweetie. If
you're feeling better maybe we could all head into the living room and get
these games that Sarah's got planned started?"  Michelle groaned a bit but
got up and walked with him and Karen out into the living room.

	Sarah indeed did have a Christmas version of Pictionary for them to
play, and then some game she had made up called Guess the Christmas Movie
of which Noah was the clear winner.  As he stated after winning the game,
"It helps that I've been watching nothing but Christmas movies most every
day some keeps forcing me to watch them."

	Sarah sighed then and said, "minus ten points to Noah, Nathan
wins!" Everyone laughed and Noah crossed his arms and mumbled something.
Sarah leaned over to him, "what did you say none of us can hear you?"

	Nathan was curious too.  Noah cleared his throat and said, "you
can't take away points just because I pointed out the truth."

	Sarah put a finger on his forehead, "no one made you watch them."

	Noah smiled really big, "yeah they did, this crazy Christmas
obsessed girl kept coming over to my house and making me watch movies with
me."

	Nathan started to say something but his mom shook her head. Sarah
said, "well why the hell did you let her into the house!"

	Karen started to say something, again his mom shook her head as
Noah smiled even more, "cause she was cute and told me I could kiss her if
I let her watch Christmas movies."

	Sarah said, "oh so all it takes is a kiss and you'll do whatever a
cute girl or boy wants you to do?"

	Noah said, "well not any cute girl or boy, just this one in
particular because she was really cute."

	That was when Nathan's mom stood up and said, "they'll be at this
for hours, lets get some food."  She started for the kitchen and Nathan
stood up to follow her along with Karen and Michelle as his mom continued,
"I've literally seen them sit on the couch and banter like this back and
forth for an hour or more, its entraining until you start to realize that
they're just trying to up one another and no ones ever going to win."

	Nathan following his mom said, "all the time?"

	Karen said, "They literally push each others buttons like that?"

	His mom said, "oh all the time, if we weren't here I imagine that
they'd already be kissing I've walked in on that a few times even though I
told them I don't want to know."  She felt fine talking to Karen about it
Nathan had a feeling because of what Karen was going to school to be.

	Michelle said, "you're going to say its headed for disaster huh?"

	Karen shook her head, "no, that back there is healthy.  They know
exactly how far they can push one another, there wasn't a moment of real
anger back there at all, just underlining sexual tension, um sorry Beth.."

	His mom shrugged, "I don't know what's going on, and as long as I
don't get any surprises I am going to remain ignorant of it."

	The two of them joined the rest of them in the kitchen about then
and Nathan noticed a bit of lipstick on Noah's lips which he put his
fingers to his own and Noah flushed before wiping his lips and said, "the
cute girl showed up for a moment and thanked me for watching Christmas
movies with her."  Sarah punched his arm and everyone else laughed as they
got some food.

	About an hour or so later while Noah, Michelle, Sarah, and his mom
were playing a game of cards Nathan stood by Karen and said, "you're going
to ask Michelle to marry you aren't you?"

	Karen looked over at him briefly and then he saw her eyes go back
over to the other four, "Yes, not yet, but yes.  I didn't go into that room
looking for love. I just wanted to save a girl from a really bad situation.
But yes I am, I love her so much that it hurts sometimes the thought that I
might lose her.  I don't ever need another girl or boy again, as long as
she's there and I can make her laugh."

	Nathan nodded and said, "I want that, for a while there I thought
maybe I had found it with Noah, that we had sparked that way... but we
really didn't.  We're closer than brothers but not as close as someone I
want to marry or have a family with one day.  If five years or ten years
from now he still wants to sleep with me I'd be okay with that though, he's
a damn beautiful boy."

	Karen rested a hand on his arm, "you'll find what you're looking
for Nathan. I can't predict when or how but you'll find it.  He was part of
your journey to find it.  Noah opened you up to new possibilities, showed
you that not all guys think like the ones that you've dated before."

	Nathan laughed, "he's barely a teenager and he affected me this
much."

	Karen shrugged, "big deal, everyone matures at different levels and
Noah went through a lot over the last year.  You and he didn't get feelings
for each other because of your ages, but you already know that."

	Nathan nodded and watched as Noah won and Sarah declared that he
was cheating and somehow Sarah, his mom, and Michelle all started trying to
tickle Noah who was rolling on the floor laughing as they tickled him.
"What happens to him and Sarah when the big changes in their lives pull
them apart?  I Don't want him to get hurt. I love him too much."

	Karen squeezed his arm, "They'll both be fine.  They will too, be
torn apart.  When Sarah goes away to college it won't be here, she doesn't
talk about it but I know she thinks about it.  He does too, he's too smart
not to.  It doesn't mean that they don't end up back together at some
point.  What Sarah and Noah have is special, but what you and Noah have is
too.  Even if its not the same thing its still special.  Come on lets go
play cards and join in on the fun, no more thinking about the future
tonight."


*


	Shortly after the card game they finally got to the presents.
Michelle and Karen left shortly before presents, kissing and hugging
everyone and wishing them all a merry Christmas.  All in all Sarah was
pretty sure that she and the rest of them had all done a really good job of
helping Noah not focus on what was coming tomorrow.  She knew though that
the real test would be tomorrow morning, she knew it would be tough and
that was why she had asked if she could sleep on the couch and stay over.
Beth had said yes which had surprised her.  It was why she loved Beth, she
knew that what she and Noah had wasn't conventional, that kids their age
didn't have a relationship like their's usually.

	Presents wise Beth had gotten Noah about six presents and Nathan
the same amount.  Both of them had gotten more clothes than anything else.
Nathan had gotten Noah some game that Sarah knew he had been talking about
and Noah had gone in with Beth and gotten Nathan a Crown Alcohol set which
was all he drank like his dad had, though he rarely drank.  And a meal prep
plan thing that Beth had said Karen had told her to get for him since he
ate out too much. To which Nathan had groaned.

	It was after that as Nathan and Beth were cleaning up stuff that
Sarah went behind the tree and put something down in front of Noah.  "I
don't really care if Beth and Nathan see you open it but I also kind of
just wanted it to be you and me."

	Noah nodded and stood up, "stay here."  She started to move knowing
what he would do, "no... stay right there."  He put his hands on her
shoulders, "Don't move." She started to move, he pushed her shoulders back
down, she laughed, he smiled, "stay!"  He started going again and turned
back to look at her, she had moved a bit smiling, "stay! I command thee"
Then he left the living room and she smiled sitting back down.

	A moment later he returned with a wrapped gift.  Sarah took it as
she took his and she said, "You didn't..."

	Noah said, "sure I did. You did and you didn't either."  Sarah
nodded and smiled at him.  She watched as he opened the gift she had gotten
him.  She had thought long and hard about what Noah would like, something
that Beth and Nathan wouldn't have thought to get him, something that he
wouldn't even think to ask for. He picked the book out first, a book that
she had read taught writers about rules of fiction and how sometimes to
tell a good story you had to break them.  The second object was the prize
really she had thought he would love, a leather bound notebook that was
thick and full of nice paper that he could write on with his name engraved
in cursive on it.

	Noah stared at it for a long while, then he looked up at her,
"Y-you didn't have to.."

	Sarah said, "of course I had to! It's Christmas Noah."

	Noah said, "I don't know if what I got you is as good as..."

	Sarah put a finger to his lips, "if it came from your heart it will
be Noah." Noah nodded and let her open her gift.  Sarah stopped, looking at
it once the box was open.  It was a simple thing really, just a display and
real working version of the Time Turner from Harry Potter, the right size
as well, and next to it was a necklace that was a much smaller version of
the same thing.  Sarah looked up from it at Noah and then looked around the
room to make sure no one else was in there.

	Noah said, "you didn't..."  Sarah grabbed him by the shirt which
was quickly becoming her favorite way of getting him to shut up as she
pulled him to her and kissed him hard on the lips.  If she could have she
would have pushed him back onto the floor right there in the living room
and made love to him.  He tasted of ham and fruitcake.

	She pulled back a bit tempering her desires, "I love it dummy."

	Noah smiled, and said, "really?"

	Sarah smiled, "you know how much I love Harry Potter especially
that movie, of course I love it Noah."

	Noah said, "I did yes, but I still wasn't sure if you'd think it
was stupid because it wasn't something practical... or something..."

	Sarah touched his cheek, "if Beth wasn't here I'd fuck your brains
out right now."

	Noah flushed deeply red, "good thing she is, I'd hate to lose my
brains." Sarah laughed, she couldn't help it, when his wit shone it shone
beautifully.  Noah laughed too and then she undid the clasp on the smaller
necklace and put it on around her neck to join the Christmas one he had
gotten her back in October. Shortly after that Nathan and Beth came back
into the living room.

	Beth kissed each one of them on the forehead and said good night to
them before going to her room.  Nathan got her blankets for the couch and
Noah gave her one of his pillows as they all took turns in the bathroom
changing into pajama's. It was nearly midnight now and everyone was
exhausted.  Noah kissed her goodnight, and then Nathan too, before he went
to his bedroom.  Nathan kissed Sarah's cheek as well as he said, "sorry no
three way tonight."

	Sarah laughed, "yeah not a good idea."  Then she hunkered down on
the couch laying on her side playing a bit with the smaller time turner
necklace that Noah had gotten her.  The fact that he knew what she loved
and had known she would like this gift was amazing to her. The fact that he
wasn't bothered by her love of Christmas amazed her too honestly.  She fell
asleep at some point but it was restless.  The couch wasn't uncomfortable
but it wasn't her bed or Noah's bed.

	Around six in the morning after a pretty restless sleep Sarah got
up and went into the bathroom.  After using it she decided to go check on
Noah, she knew that he would probably be up soon as he had told her before
that on Christmas morning he used to wake up around six.  She gently opened
his bedroom door, he was laying on his side facing away from her but Sarah
could tell that he was awake.  She slipped into the bed behind him and when
she did he twisted turning to her and melting in her arms.

	She held him and felt a presence over the bed, reaching behind her
and taking Nathan's hand.  HE came around the bed and slipped in on Noah's
other side.  He put his arms around both her and Noah, resting his head on
top of hers as she softly kissed Noah's head through his hair.  He sobbed
quietly in both of their arms. Sarah wasn't worried about Beth finding
them, right now she just wanted Noah to be okay.


*


	He had fallen asleep, somehow after leaving Sarah on the couch and
Nathan at the door to his room Noah had felt certain as he lay down in his
bed to fall asleep that he wouldn't be able to.  He had put the leather
bound journal in his writing drawer on his desk and the book on grammar and
rules of writing in there as well. It had to be one of the top five gifts
that he had ever gotten.  He felt tired too. Sarah really had planned a lot
of stuff to wear him to the point of sleep. She was good at planning
parties like this he decided.

	So he had fallen asleep and it had been decent sleep until about
five in the morning.  At first he was fine when he woke up it hadn't even
occurred to him for a moment that it was Christmas morning as he had opened
his gifts last night and spent a whole Christmas eve with his family as
strange as it was, a girlfriend, a boyfriend who wasn't but was a
boyfriend, his girlfriends older sister and her girlfriend was still a
family.

	So at first he was okay, then it had hit him, not as hard as it had
a year ago, he had over the past year he felt dealt really well his dads
death.  Sometimes it hurt still, but he knew that his dad would be proud of
what he had done in the past year, of how he hadn't let his grief consume
him.  Of course Nathan and then Sarah had helped him with that. Beth too
had been amazing though different. Having them was the real key, people
that cared about him and that he could turn to when he needed to.  He had
grieved sometimes even in private but he hadn't needed to much.  He knew
that his dad wouldn't have wanted him to either.

	Still that morning close to six he tried to stop himself but he
couldn't.  He started thinking about his dad had never gotten to meet
Sarah, or Nathan all that much for that matter.  He would never know how
genuinely happy his son was even if he wasn't sure it was all going to last
forever.  Or get to see how Beth was doing or watch Noah open his presents.
It was enough to start him sobbing and he tired not to, just let some tears
run down his cheeks, but when he his bed move a bit and he turned to see
Sarah he didn't need to know or even ask what she was doing there.

	She held him, and then moments later somehow Nathan was there too
holding both of them.  He cried and he wasn't sure for how long but it felt
really good to let it out as they both held him.  After a bit as his tears
stopped they moved a bit on the bed so that he was laying between Sarah and
Nathan. Sarah's hand rested on his chest, Nathan's just a bit below it.
Softly Sarah said, "you okay?"

	Noah shrugged a bit, "Better, but I don't know if this day will
ever be easy..."

	Nathan said, "it will be, it'll always hurt a little bit but you'll
find a way to stop it from hurting as much as it does now."  Noah nodded
and put is hands on top of both of theirs.  They lay like that until there
was a distinct smell of bacon.  Nathan slipped from the bed, "sounds like
my mom is up."

	Sarah said, "You think she's going to kill me for not being out
there..."

	Nathan said, "no, come on lets go get breakfast. If you're up for
it Noah?"

	Noah slipped out of the bed too and Sarah followed though Noah
could tell that she wasn't certain as the three of them walked out of the
back of the house together.  Beth didn't mention anything as they ate
breakfast.  After Nathan went to go put on some clothes to go for a walk
and Sarah went to use the shower.  Noah helped Beth with the dishes as he
felt he should and said, "Sarah didn't sleep in my room last night..."

	Beth kissed the top of his head, she wouldn't be able to do that in
another year if he had to guess, she was only five and a half feet and he
was five and one inch now.  "I know she didn't sweetie, I saw her on the
couch around four when I went to go check on you.  I was worried but you
were sleeping peacefully."

	Noah nodded and said, "yeah, until I wasn't... Sarah was checking
on me around six..."

	Beth hugged him by putting her arm around his shoulders, "I know
sweetie, I'm not going to pretend with you for a few minutes okay?"

	"What do you mean?"

	Beth said, "I know that you and Sarah are very intimate with one
another when I'm not here, I did give permission remember?"  He nodded a
bit and she continued, "At first I thought it was for sure just little
things you two were doing, but its been a year sweetie, I'm not dumb I know
that you and Sarah have slept together.  I pretend like I don't know what's
going on and I will continue to as long as you and Sarah continue to uphold
your part of our deal. That's why I know that Sarah didn't go in there
until she heard you crying.  She and you both know the deal and you're
playing by the rules I set up and I appreciate it because I love both of
you very much."

	Noah smiled, "I love you too Beth and so does Sarah.  But what
about Nathan?" He saw Nathan coming back into the kitchen at that moment as
he said that.

	Beth smiled, "my good for nothing adult son?  Nah he's pretty much
on his own."

	Nathan said, "thanks mom appreciate it!"  He hugged her and said,
"well Noah want to come for a walk with me?"  He agreed that he did and
both of them headed out.  The rest of the Christmas day went pretty much
like that.  They watched A Christmas Story and had a late afternoon dinner
before Sarah went home finally satisfied that Noah was okay.  That night he
talked with Sarah on the phone till around midnight and fell asleep.  In
the morning again he went for a walk with Nathan and when they noticed that
Beth was gone for the day they gave into their desires and slept together
again.  All in all it ended up being a really good Christmas day, despite
that one hiccup in the morning.



*

	At the end of Winter break Nathan was sitting on the hood of his
car with Noah beside him.  They had gone out to that field, the same one
where Nathan had played as a kid and Noah and he had come out to a year ago
roughly for the first time of illicit touch that had developed into a full
fledged moment.  The sun was almost at its high noon as they sat on the car
looking out at the field.  Noah leaned against him as the young boy said,
"its not the same..."

	Nathan gently kissed the top of Noah's head, "what do you mean?"

	Noah shrugged a bit, "I still have feelings for you, I still love
you, but... we're not the same. And its going to be different this spring
and summer too, further apart."

	Nathan sighed a bit, "I was worried that you didn't feel it too..."

	Noah said, "I didn't want to say anything.  Its not like I thought
that we'd get married one day or something like that.  I don't mean our age
difference either as a factor in why we wouldn't.  I just figured that one
day things might be different."

	Nathan was still amazed by Noah's own strength in these kinds of
things.  Not a lot of boys his age would have gotten this moment.  "I still
want to be with you Noah.. its just when I see you with Sarah, you two have
your own language, your own way of being and I kind of feel like a third
wheel and not because its wrong or that I'm jealous or any of that.  Its
that I'm not around enough.  I don't get to see all the little things,
experience moments of disagreement with you or any of that.  We're kind of
static stuck in place if that makes sense."

	Noah said, "yes, but things will change with Sarah too when she
goes away for school.  I know they will.  She doesn't want to talk about
it, about what happens but I know she's going to go far away for school,
she applied for and should be getting a scholarship for her running for a
school in Los Angeles.  So then things will change too... I'm a little
scared, I don't know what it will be like when both of you are so far away
from me...."

	Nathan turned his head up to meet his own.  He gently stroked
Noah's' cheek, "neither of us is going to leave your life Noah.  I'm still
going to be here for you whenever you need me to be, and if you end up
wanting to see other people after Sarah's gone she'll feel the same way.
The three of us are connected by more than the sex, we're a family.  A
highly strange one but one none the less."

	Noah laughed at that, "yeah that's true.  Could I still come out
this summer again and see you?"

	Nathan smiled, "of course Noah, you're welcome no matter what
changes happen over the next six months.  I just wish we had the same
spring break this year, but maybe we'll still do something then too
somehow."  It didn't feel like the end, but the beginning of something new
and different for both of them.




Chapter Thirty-Four



	It was different, a few days before his freshman year of high
school Noah went with Beth up to the school to meet the teachers, something
that only high school freshmen did, not the other grades.  He had done it
before with his dad and then with Beth last year, but this year it all felt
different.  Ridge High was so much bigger than his middle school.  His
middle school had bee one of the older first ones built when the school
district had been smaller.  So while it was a two story building it was
more of set of two kind of short rectangles that housed all of the class
rooms.  The high school though was so much bigger.  It had three wings of
two stories, and there was a gym but it was separated on its own part of
land along with a football field and tennis courts out behind it.

	He had been here before but only to the gym part for some of
Sarah's volleyball games though most of those were played at the school
districts larger sports complex that was in another area of the district.
Just like Sarah's track meets.  So the school felt new as he walked into it
that first day of his freshman year.  The bus dropped him off but Sarah in
the future said that she'd like to take him to school along with also
taking him home.  Today though Noah wanted to experience it for himself.

	Back before his dad had died they had a tradition and while his dad
was gone Noah felt like he could have his own thing.  So he got up early
that morning, made his own breakfast as Nathan had taught him how to do
that first year and then he waited for the bus.  There were other kids at
this bus stop, older kids, some of them were probably even in Sarah's grade
though Noah wasn't sure about that and he didn't want to ask if any of them
knew Sarah.

	At the school he did feel overwhelmed as he walked inside of it and
he was heading for his first period when someone said, "I'd know that mop
of hair anywhere.  Hey Noah!"  Noah turned looking to see Natalie, she was
on Sarah's track team and volleyball team too.  Natalie was really good
looking Noah knew, dark brown hair that went past her shoulders, light fair
skin, small button nose, full breasts, full hips and strong looking calves
and thighs.  She was holding the hand of some guy he couldn't remember the
guys name.

	Noah smiled, "Hey Nat."

	She studied him and said, "remember when you were a short freshman
Jason?" Yeah his name was Jason and he was in a grade lower than Natalie,
now Noah remembered.

	Jason just shrugged and Natalie said, "you'll be coming to all of
our volleyball games this year right? No excuse now that you're a
freshman?"

	Noah nodded, "Sure, Sarah's bound to let me out of the attic for
those." Natalie laughed, it had started as a joke at the end of his eighth
grade year, he wasn't even sure how it had started just that either Natalie
or Shelly had made a joke about Sarah keeping Noah in her attic as she had
conjured him as a good luck charm or something like that.  Somehow the joke
had stuck and Noah liked teasing Sarah about it especially when the other
volleyball team members were there in on the joke as well.  Sarah usually
made him pay for it later but it was fun the payment was fun too.

	He split from Natalie and Jason going into his first period class.
After that things started to go as usual, going from class to class.  His
third period class was science and you had to sit at a table with someone
else, and no one sat at the table with him until the last minute when this
much taller kid almost as wide as the door came into the classroom almost
late and sat down beside.  The teacher Mr. Snupper was saying some stuff
about the class and how this was going to be their assigned partner for the
year and he wanted each of them to write down five things that they learned
about their partner.

	As everyone started to write the larger wide boy who could play
football Noah decided said, "hey, um I'm Jack by the way."

	Noah looked over at him, there were two boys in this classroom that
Noah was attracted to, Jack wasn't one of them.  He was just too.... He
gave off something that Noah couldn't quite put his hand on.  He just knew
somehow that liking Jack even if he liked big burly muscle guys wasn't
going to get him anywhere like it would with say Nathan.  Or at least one
of the two boys he had noticed that were in his tastes for boys.  He was
discovering what he liked both boy and girl wise, not just from being with
Sarah and Nathan but that had helped him figure it out. "Noah."

	Jack nodded and said, "cool, so you any good at science?"

	Noah was about to groan as he thought that Jack was going to want
him to do all the assignments as he was probably a jock.  "Um I'm not bad
at it but its my least good subject I guess."

	Jack said, "Cool, personally its my favorite thing, other than
weight lifting or football.  Guess you're not that into those things though
huh?"  Noah felt like Jack was trying to get things out of him for the
paper but Noah wasn't good at getting to know other people.

	He said, "uh yeah.. not really."

	Jack nodded a bit as he said, "cool," again then he said, "come on
man we've got to write down five things about each other so you gotta give
me something..."

	Noah looked down at his own paper and wrote down the three things
Jack had told him and said, "Sorry I just don't talk a lot about myself. Um
I like writing."

	Jack wrote that down as he said, "cool, what do you write like
fantasy or science fiction?"

	Noah shrugged, "a little bit of both.  I like star wars."

	Jack smiled, "yeah but who doesn't?"  Noah shrugged, "go on
though."

	"Um I like reading."  He wasn't sure what else to say.

	Jack nodded writing down that.  Noah noticed that he had very nice
handwriting, almost as nice as Noah's own really.  "Hmm okay so we each
have three, I got one for you, I Just moved here from Atlanta."

	"In Georgia? that's cool, that makes me think of one more too, I
want to travel and see the world."

	Jack smiled, "Cool, last one, any siblings?  I have three sisters
all of them are already in college."

	Noah shook his head, "no siblings I do have a step-brother but we
only became that way after he was already in college, he's going to school
to be a doctor." He didn't want to share anymore about that one for sure.
Jack wrote that down and then they both had a complete five total things
about each other.  The worst part of it was each one of them having to get
up and present the list to the teacher about the student sitting next to
them.  Noah hated public speaking but he got through it somehow and by the
time they moved on from him and Jack he felt better.

	Jack softly said, "if you want if we have to do any group
presentations I'll talk, my sister Vickie says its the worst thing about
me, that I never shut up."

	Noah smiled and said, "that sounds like a good idea."

	After that the bell rang and Jack said, "you going to lunch?  If
not its cool..."

	Noah said, "I was going to go sit with some people but if you want
to join us you could, its all girls though."

	Jack shrugged, "Cool."  It seemed to be a thing Jack said a
lot. Noah was surprised to realize that he liked Jack. He didn't make
friends easily.  He was usually very selective it was why his last two new
friend had been his boyfriend and girlfriend after the other two had kind
of burned him one moving away and the other one just being a genuine ass
about him kissing Hayley when he hadn't even agreed to date Danny yet.

	The cafeteria was huge and he was worried about finding Sarah as he
stepped into it with Jack when from the side as they walked through the
doors said, "How's your first day going?"

	Noah looked over at Sarah, she just knew how to make him look at
her.  She had pulled her strands of tight curly red hair back so that her
ears showed with little heart earrings in them, her beautiful small pixie
face was framed wonderfully by the way the way her hair hung.  She wore a
shirt that was kind of like a blouse, but different and it clung a bit to
the curves of her small breasts, over her flat stomach as well.  The jeans
she wore weren't fully tight but they did a good job of showing off her
very slender and long legs.  Sarah was just at five foot ten now in height
while Noah had actually grown up to almost five and a half feet.  He was
still despite eight more months of growth and changes a skinny reed of a
boy.

	He noticed Jack looking, others were free to look at Sarah, she
wasn't there's though.  He said, "its going good, this is Jack, he's my lab
partner, Jack this is Sarah the single most annoying person in the world."

	Sarah put a finger on his chest as with her other hand she shook
Jack's and said, "nice to meet you Jack, and I'm sorry that you got this
little runt as your lab partner. Mainly because if you have to write any
papers he's going to make it twice as long as it has to be."

	She started walking ahead of the and Noah knew that she wanted him
to follow her.  The jeans she wore were tight enough to show off her very
nice bottom, a bottom that Noah had seen naked more times than he had
fingers, but which still fascinated him.  Jack said, "I thought you said
you only had a step-brother?"

	Noah smiled, "hey Sarah, Jack here thinks you're my sister." Sarah
stopped turning back to look at both of them then she just sighed and
continued walking to a table.  The other girls on her volleyball team were
all sitting there.

	As they were almost at the table Jack said, "if you're not brother
and sister what are you and Sarah?"

	Noah shrugged, "hard to define? Up to her. Depends on what she does
right now actually."  Jack looked confused as they walked up to the table
and Noah could only feel sorry for the guy, he had just maybe made a new
friend and that new friend had a really complicated relationship with a
girl who he loved very deeply....


*


	Two days earlier Sarah sat on the hood of her car looking out at
the setting sun with Noah laying back on it.  He wanted to continue the
conversation that they had started and she had stopped by getting out of
the car.  "we're going to be in the same school Sarah, wouldn't it be nice
just for one school year if we could walk the halls or sit with your
friends at the lunch table especially since we're sharing the same lunch?"

	Sarah sighed looking over at him laying on the car hood.  They had
been fighting about it a moment ago her telling him that it wasn't a good
idea.  "of course but Noah, that would mean that they would know.  Come on
they wouldn't not know if we did that.  They'd all know that I have been
dating you since you were twelve."

	Noah said, "they all know me Sarah, and some of them already
suspect anyway. I think its why they try pushing your buttons with the
jokes and such like me living in your attic."

	Sarah sighed laying back on the car next to him, it wasn't very
comfortable at all.  "Okay so if we tell them and they all call me
disgusting or something worse happens what then?"

	Noah shrugged, "You're going to college next year, probably won't
even see any of them again..." he didn't let it go beyond that. Neither of
them tried to think about the implications of this being her senior year.
It was like a bomb with a timer on it waiting to go off. They both knew
that come the following Summer that she'd be looking to go to college, that
she wouldn't be staying here as the school here didn't have a good track
team and UCLA wanted her anyway.

	Sarah had taken his hand then and said, "okay, you're right, we
should just do it.  Fuck what they think right?"  Noah had nodded then and
Sarah realized that she had felt better, it felt right, they would be going
to the same school for that one last year, it was like a chance for them to
fully explore what it was like to be out in public dating.  To really be
able to be with each other publicly.  IT was the one thing that Noah had
wanted and she had wanted as well.

	Now two days later Sarah walked ahead of Noah feeling nervous.  The
added wrinkle of new guy had thrown her for a moment but as she approached
the table and saw Shelly, Natalie, Paula, and Danielle who were the four
girls on the team that had the same lunch period she felt a little less
nervous.  She sat down at the table and as Noah sat down by her and the new
boy Jack sat down on his other side Paula said, "who's the broad guy?"

	Sarah looked over and Noah said, "oh this is Jack.  He's in my
science class."  Sarah saw the look in Paula's eyes.  Paula was the only
girl at the table that wasn't a senior, she was a junior.

	Sarah ignored Jack and the look that Paula gave him and then said,
"Okay so I'm hoping none of you make a big deal out of it but Noah and I
are dating and I want to get that out of the way so that we can enjoy being
at the same school together."

	Paula said, "SO Jack, do you play football?"

	Sarah shook her head a bit not sure what was going on.  Noah's hand
was still in hers she realized under the table.  Jack said, "no, um but I'm
trying out for the team.  I do a lot of weightlifting my mom isn't much
into me playing football..."

	Paula smiled a bit, and Sarah could see where that was going, it
was almost painfully obvious.  Sarah said, "did any of you..."

	Natalie who had been eating a pear said, "we heard you Sarah," she
shrugged, "we've known for at least a year that you've been seeing Noah,
we're not dumb." She smiled at Noah and Danielle said, "yeah and if you
ever want to do better Noah come see me."

	Sarah groaned as Noah flushed and she said, "And none of you have a
problem with it?"

	Natalie said, "why would we?  He's Noah, if I had realized it back
in like the first spring when he first stated coming around I might have
thought it was strange, but I know Noah now, he's the only person I've met
who can match you wit for wit." Sarah sighed and Noah squeezed her hand a
bit, it was then that everything seemed okay.  The world was giving her and
Noah the okay to be public at school and after school too for this one
glorious year.

	After lunch as she was walking Noah to his next class, since she
had a free period holding his hand in the hall it felt liberating.  If
anyone that wasn't in her circle friends noticed or said something she
didn't care.  This one year she was going to let her and Noah be a real
public thing.  To see if the thing that they had kept secret for so long
could survive public scrutiny.  Jack came up beside them, "hey uh so that
girl Paula, should I just..."

	Sarah said, "go for it Jack, Paula likes big muscular guys."  He
sort of nodded and said he'd see Noah later as he headed off to his own
class.  "I think you made a friend."

	Noah shrugged, "yeah, I think I made a new friend for Paula too."
Sarah laughed and pulled him by the front of his shirt into one of the
school stairwells, the only one she knew of that didn't have a camera in
it.  She still held him there as he said, "Beth says you're stretching out
all my shirts..."

	Sarah said, "Shut up."  Then she kissed him hard and quick. "You're
mine in public now you realize that right?"

	Noah smiled a bit and said, "yes and now I shall end it all, it has
been a nice..."

	"shut up," she kissed him again and he did shut up.  At the door to
his next class she squeezed his hand and almost didn't let go of his
fingers.  After school she was leaning against her car waiting for him.  As
he got closer she smiled, he stepped up to where she was and she said, "how
was the rest of the day?"

	Noah shrugged, "boring."  Sarah smiled and kissed his cheek before
he said, "got a way to make it more interesting?"  She laughed and she
could tell that he had the same thing in mind that she did.  They got into
the car and neither of them spoke on the drive back to his house.  They
barely made it past the closing front door before Noah was pressed to her,
their lips joined, their bodies pressed together. She felt his hands on her
breasts through her shirt, the way that they almost greedily squeezed on
them as she pressed her own hand between them finding his crotch, stroking
his erection.  She pulled him towards the back to where his bedroom was.
Over the second summer together they had gone and seen Nathan again and the
threesome had somehow stayed alive even though Nathan and Noah weren't
quite a couple anymore.  The enticement of the three way was still there
and had been just as incredible as the summer before it.  Noah and Nathan's
love for one another was still obvious, it had just changed somehow.

	Meanwhile if anything after those two weeks Sarah had realized that
she wanted Noah even more.  Her love for him hadn't lessoned but the fear
of what the following summer would bring weighed on her that summer.  Now
though after going public all she wanted was Noah again in this moment.
She needed him again inside of her.  In Noah's bedroom she pushed him onto
the bed, leaning over him, they were almost the same height now, just about
five inches separated them but Noah still wanted her to dominate like this.

	She held him, her hands on his wrists, as her mouth devoured his
own, their tongues tangled she move down sliding her lips over his neck,
kissing him there, her hand sliding down his arms, pulling at his shirt,
dragging it up and off of him as her hands stroked over his skinny chest
and stomach. HE could be a bean pole for the rest of his life and she'd
still desire his body.  He was pulling at her shirt now as well, taking it
off as he pushed her down onto her back.  Now his hands were on her,
undoing her bra, his lips sliding down over one of her nipples, kissing on
it sucking on it next.

	She could feel him undoing her jeans, his fingers sliding in under
them, sliding over her and into her between her legs.  His mouth was moving
down, kisses and gently licks over her body as he tasted her.  Sarah pulled
him up from her lower stomach, as she sat up too and brought his mouth to
hers again kissing him, her hands on his jeans undoing them.  They were
naked in a matter of minutes, their bodies joined together in this moment.
He was bigger now, thicker, though not was thick as Nathan.  She had felt
him grow and change in the past year and a half plus a little more now she
had felt and watched him grow and change.

	She slipped the condom on him, both of them were sort of aware of
her cycles now and days like this they didn't take risks.  He pushed in,
their bodies joining together, their connection one and the same as always.
It wasn't slow neither of them wanted it to be this afternoon.  They made
love fiercely and a bit roughly as she held his head tightly while kissing
him and his hands used her small breasts as leverage for him to push
further and deeper into her.

	After they lay on the bed a mess of tangled limbs and heavy
breaths.  Noah was stroking her stomach later as she lay on her back an he
on his side.  Softly she said, "I guess the romance is dead now that its
not a secret anymore."

	Noah smiled, "Yeah I'd never want to be with you ever again after
this."

	Sarah sighed, "its such a shame, but its a good thing you're
horrible at this that makes it easier."

	Noah almost tickled her stomach but instead just said, "you're a
really bad liar."  Sarah smiled and pulled him over for a kiss again.
After a bit they dressed and she left before Beth got home as it was a
school week and she knew her mom wanted her home.  The weeks turned into
months after that, a lot of them holding hands in the halls, joking at the
lunch table, meeting up after her track meets or volleyball games and
actually kissing in front of others.

	Jack and Noah became friends, something that Sarah had seen
happening.  The two freshmen actually had a lot in common and were good
partners in their science class.  Also Jack was dating Paula by then and
Sarah had no idea what that must have been like.  Noah said that Jack and
Paula were a lot alike and Sarah could see it as well.  It was nice that
Noah meeting Jack had led to Jack meeting Paula honestly.

	That Christmas they upheld the same sort of tradition that they had
started the year before and in the new year a fourteen year old Noah and
eighteen year old Sarah entered Spring still together but the future was
encroaching faster than either of them wished. Because of how good life was
going for them, and how close they were things moved faster and Sarah knew
that.  When it got close to prom time which was two weeks before school let
out Sarah felt a little uncertain and apprehensiveness about school ending,
and she knew that Noah did as well.  They didn't talk about it though,
instead Noah asked her to her prom which she already had tickets to.  It
would be their first school dance together and maybe their last?  How would
things change when Summer came?  She had already gotten into UCLA and the
track team coach wanted her there in July.  A dorm room had already been
assigned and life was changing heading towards a future Sarah knew she had
to face, Noah did as well she knew.



Thirty-Four



	His second Christmas with Sarah as his girlfriend and his third
with him and Nathan in some kind of undefined relationship that was closer
than brothers, but not as close as boyfriends passed, faster than Noah had
thought it would.  It was the third Christmas since his dad had died and
the second where he really reckoned with it it meant that his dad was no
longer alive.  This year though he didn't wake up that morning and cry.  He
did feel the loss of his dad, sometimes even more than other times.  That
day still held a place in his heart and memories of how he and his dad
spent the day but he found with Sarah, Nathan, and Beth all there he was
able to work through it and the sadness wasn't as present as it had been
the first and second years.

	Christmas passed and things changed, Noah wasn't with Sarah all the
time anymore, they were still a couple but as Sarah had told him so many
times before that he needed to make a friend he did.  Some weekends he hung
out with Jack.  He found Jack to be interesting and really good friend, he
was the first person besides Sarah and Nathan of course that he told hew as
bisexual to.  Jack was smart too when it came to science, he really did
love it.  You'd never think that big muscle bound Jack was a little
sweetheart but seeing him with Molly (Sarah's dog) or his own little dog
would show you right away what kind of guy Jack was.

	So on days when Sarah had practice or other such activities for her
senior year of high school Noah would hang with Jack, and on some weekends
they hung together too.  After Christmas this trend continued as did Jack
dating Paula. That first fateful encounter had seemed to lead to Jack
getting his first serious relationship and Paula as well.  The year rolled
on for Noah and Sarah.  They continued to want to be with one another and
mess with one another, though underneath there was the ever present closer
and closer summer.

	By the time spring rolled around and then they reached May prom had
arrived. The night before prom Noah found himself thinking about the
future, he had been doing that a lot lately.  Not just because he was
fourteen and in high school now, he had known since sixth grade that he
wanted to be a writer.  No it was the thing that he and Sarah wouldn't talk
about. The thing that they didn't want to talk about. After two and nearly
a half years together they were almost one unit, disagreements still
happened, but Noah could read Sarah's emotions and feelings and he knew
that she could his as well.

	He touched one number on his phone and waited for it to ring and
then Nathan's familiar voice came over the phone, "Noah?"

	He could tell that Nathan had probably been asleep or something as
it was nearly midnight in New York.  "Sorry if I woke you up."  In the past
year Noah's biggest change had been his height, he was just an inch above
five and a half feet, but despite that and his clear entrance into puberty
his voice had not gotten all that much deeper, not like Nathan's deeper
mature sound.  He still had a boyish look to his frame and face and figured
he'd probably not grow out of that even into adulthood.  He had seen
pictures of his mom's father and he looked very similar to the man.

	The sound of Nathan moving and perhaps walking was what Noah heard
next as Nathan said, "No its fine whats up?"

	Noah sighed a bit, "I needed someone to talk to and it couldn't be
Sarah."

	Nathan said, "Why not?  I thought you two talked about everything."

	Noah rolled onto his side and his eyes rested on the leather bound
journal that Sarah had gotten him for the Christmas before the one that had
just passed. "because its about Sarah."

	Nathan on the other end sighed a bit, "what did she do?"

	Noah shook his head, "no she hasn't done anything, its just, okay
so you're up there right? I mean you're in college and that first month
after my dad passed, when you came down here and stayed with your mom and
me and we got all those feelings for one another the same feelings we kind
of but kind of don't have anymore right?"

	Nathan said, "yes, I think I remember those days."

	Noah smiled a bit, "if you hadn't been going to college up in New
York, lets just say for a moment that you went to school here and lived
with me and Beth."

	"okay."  Nathan on the other end sounded like he was laying down
somewhere.

	Noah paused, "did I... were you busy?"

	Nathan laughed, "no, I was sleeping Noah, with someone else in bed
with me yes but its not important, go on."

	Noah flushed on his end, he knew that Nathan was trying dating
again that for his own sanity he needed to.  "If you had, what do you think
would have happened to us, I mean between us?"

	Nathan thought about it for a long while, Noah let him sit and
think, "I don't know Noah.  I think that we would have still been really
close to each other and our relationship might be very different than it is
now."

	Noah said, "we might still be dating or even something more?"

	Nathan was quiet a moment more, "no, dating maybe but something
more... no Noah I love you.  You and I we're always going to be
this... whatever it is that we have. We're more than brothers, more than
friends, but we're not in love with each other."

	Noah swallowed and said, "but I do love you."

	Nathan smiled, Noah could hear it in his voice, "of course you do
Noah, I love you too.  That doesn't mean that we're in love, and by that I
mean that we don't picture ourselves settling down together and being
together and having a family together or any of that do we?"

	Noah thought about that for a moment then he had to admit the
truth, "no, I just like being close to you and sometimes doing intimate
things with you.  I guess Sarah was right I am a man slut."

	Nathan laughed and said, "you're not. You don't go around trying to
sleep with or be with every man or boy or girl or woman you see.  You're
specific to who you invite into your bed.  So no Noah if I lived down there
with you we would not be together like how you and Sarah are.  We'd be
together still like we are now.  If you came up here tomorrow and wanted to
be with me in bed I'd take you but I'd know that your heart is back there
with Sarah."

	Noah thought about that then said, "only its not.  I mean it won't
be pretty soon."

	Nathan said, "so now we get to the crux of the call?"

	Noah sighed a bit rolling onto his back on his bed.  "I know its
still roughly a month away but Sarah's going to her dads and then from
there straight to UCLA for some advanced training to get ready for the fall
races for her scholarship.  I love her more than anyone else, you, Beth, I
think even if it makes me a horrible person that I love her more than even
I did my dad."

	Nathan sighed now too.  "You've been thinking about this for a long
while I take it."

	Noah said, "I have, so has Sarah.  We won't admit it to each other
but we're both thinking about what happens when she goes away to school.
For these two and almost half of another year we've been together.  For a
year and a half we were hiding our entire relationship from everyone but
you and Beth.  That challenge was part of the fun of the relationship..."

	Nathan said, "so now its fizzled?"

	Noah shook his head even though Nathan couldn't see it, "NO, if
anything its become even better since everyone found out.  But its also
become more complicated. Sarah wants to go away, she should too, and I
should find my own way also.  I've been thinking about it for awhile now,
we're too... entangled in each other.  If she goes and I don't fully let
her go she might come to hate me and if I don't try and see what else is
out there for me too while I'm still in high school then I might grow to
hate her too."

	Nathan was quiet for a while again and Noah waited for him, "maybe
her going to school is a good thing for both of you.  I think I told you
about how my mom and dad reunited a few years later after they dated once
before.  Maybe that's you and Sarah's path as well.  Or maybe she'll go
away to school in July and at Christmas when you two see each other again
if you do you'll both realize that you're not ready to be apart from one
another.  You're a smart kid Noah and clearly you've thought about this for
awhile now.  A part of you must want to see what else is out there, you're
young and curious.  I'd talk to Sarah about it though, really talk with
her, I think both of you need to."  Noah agreed and got off of the phone
with Nathan about thirty minutes after that.

	He slept that night but it wasn't restful.  If anything it was a
little difficult.  He woke the morning of prom and spent the day going with
Beth to get his hair cut a bit and then she got him sized for a new suit
since he was growing so fast before they headed back to their house for him
to get ready for prom.  The suit that he had picked out was dark black with
light red stripes down down the jacket and a light white shirt along with a
dark red tie.  Beth had helped him pick it out and when he asked why the
red she had just smiled and said he'd get it.

	Beth studied him after she helped with the tie and she combed his
hair as well.  Besides using gel if his hair had any kind of length it got
messy easily and Sarah didn't lie gel in his hair so Noah didn't use it.
She liked running her hands through his hair and messing it up.  So did
Nathan so it just felt wrong to take away something that the people who he
slept with liked.  Beth studied him as he studied himself in the bathroom
mirror.

	He was taller than he had been two years ago, sometimes though he
didn't feel like he was taller, looking at himself or standing with Sarah
or even Nathan he could tell that he was taller but on the inside he still
felt like that same twelve year old boy that had lost his father, he still
saw himself physically as that kid even though he had physically changed.
Beth rested her hands on his shoulders and squeezed them.  They were about
the same height now, in another few month's he'd probably be taller than
his step-mom.

	She patted the sides of his shoulders and said, "if your dad could
see you..." She smiled.

	Noah smiled too and said, "do you think my dad would have liked
Sarah?"

	Beth still studying him in the mirror said, "yes, sweetie your dad
would have adored Sarah." He nodded and just then the front doorbell rang.
Noah and Beth walked into the living room and she let Noah answer the door.
Sarah, Natalie, and Shelly along with the other two girls senior boyfriends
had gotten a limo that waited outside for them.  Beth though wanted to get
photos.

	Noah opening the door stood speechless.  There was really no way to
describe what he felt.  He knew that Sarah was beautiful.  He had known the
first time he saw her on his twelfth birthday that she had been very pretty
even beautiful by most standards.  It wasn't just her mostly flawless mixed
heritage milky caramel skin, or the small tilt of her nose, her light green
eyes that were sometimes brown, or her lips that were almost like a small
full heart.  There was more than that.

	Sarah was tall and willowy, she had just the barest definition of
hips even now at eighteen, her breasts were small and gentle slopes, a
handful perhaps but not more than that.  Noah knew every inch of her body,
he had licked, kissed, touched every part of her in the past two and a half
years.  He knew that if you kissed the inner part of the back of her knee
that she'd giggle so much more loudly than if you tickled her ribs.  He
knew all of that and more having seen her and touched her in so many ways.
Yet despite that tonight she caught his breath.

	He understood right away why Beth had picked out the red suit, she
had clearly had a hand in helping Sarah with her dress, or Sarah had told
her about it. The dress was a dark red, and it clung to each curve of her
body as if it had almost been painted on.  The top was bare on her
shoulders, no straps holding it up, just its tightness from the sides and
the back.  Her bare shoulders looked soft and smooth.  The top of the dress
hugged what small curves her breasts were, the tops of them barely exposed
but present along with just a slight amount of cleavage.

	It flowed over her body, hugging her flat well toned stomach from
her years of running track and playing volleyball.  Her hips were slight
but the dress assented them adding to the shape of her slender frame.  She
wore stockings underneath the dress that were a dark black that went well
with the dress and these hugged the curves of her thighs.  She wore heels
that put her at about six feet in height so again Noah was about half a
foot shorter than Sarah.  The dress just accented every curve that he had
seen hundreds of times before but he never tired of seeing.  Her reddish
blonde curls spilled down over her shoulders lightly playing on them.  She
wore a necklace that was gold plated and at the center of it hung a small
version of the time turner from Harry Potter.  Noah knew the necklace he
had given it to her that first Christmas that they spent together.

	Beth said, "come in I want to get pictures of both of you."

	Sarah stepped in and as she walked past Noah she stopped for a
second and put a finger on his chin, closing his mouth, "trying to catch
flies?"

	Noah swallowed realizing that his mouth was dry.  He had always
known that Sarah was stunning, but she rarely dressed up, she preferred
jeans and a tee-shirt, she was a simple girl and that as one of the things
that he really did love about her.  She was usually ready to go anywhere
pretty quickly and he knew that was just part of who she was.  Still seeing
that she could dress up when she wanted to sort of stunned him.

	He walked with her into the living room and Beth had them both
stand in front of the mantel place.  Noah put his arm around Sarah's back
and felt hers slide around his shoulders.  She took off her heels as well
so that they were just barely different in height at the moment.  She
smelled wonderful too, she didn't wear a lot of heavy perfume just a very
light bit and it didn't over power at all as Sarah knew that Noah had a
sensitive nose and didn't like heavy perfumes which she didn't either.

	As Beth finished Sarah turned looking at Noah, she touched his tie,
straightening it a bit and touched his shoulders.  Her eyes were taking him
in almost drinking him as she touched a bit of his hair that had fallen
above his eyes pushing it back again.  Softly she whispered, "the things
I'm going to do to you tonight."

	Noah swallowed but smiled a bit as well as he went over to the
table where he had left the corsage and Sarah held her hand out for him as
he put it on her small wrist.  Beth hugged both of them as Sarah slipped
her heels back on and Beth said, "I expect the two of you to stay safe.  I
trust you." She didn't look at Sarah because she was older or Noah because
he was her step-son she looked at both of them as she said it then she
continued, "go have the night of your life."

	As they were walking towards the car Noah held Sarah's hands loving
the feeling of her delicate fingers entwined with his own.  As they headed
for the car he said, "You look stunning."

	Sarah smiled squeezing his fingers with her own, "if I Let you
right now would you rip this dress off of me?"

	Noah swallowed, "of course, but you'd look silly on the dance floor
naked."  Sarah laughed a bit too and the two of them continued to the car.
Jason and Shelly's boyfriend that Noah couldn't recall the name of were
both sitting in between the two girls.  Both looked nice in their dresses
as well and Noah clearly looked like the youngest person there.  The drive
to the reception hall where the prom was being held wasn't a long one.

	As they drove Sarah leaned over and whispered in his ear, "you do
realize that you're the only boy in this car that's not a virgin right?"

	Noah swallowed and said, "Jason and Natalie haven't slept
together?"

	Sarah whispered back, "she's done some stuff but not the whole
act."  Noah had new respect for Natalie, she wasn't as hot as Sarah, not in
his eyes but she was a really good looking girl and she had been seeing
Jason for nearly two years. He sort of respected Jason for that as well he
realized.  Sarah softly said, "and Jason's a good guy so he hasn't pressed
the issue. Not like some guys I know."

	Noah pretended to be offended, "I never!"

	Sarah socked his shoulder just lightly, "I know you never did
sweetie."  They were quiet the rest of the way to the prom.  He could see
it now, the nervousness on both Jason and the other boy, how they were
anticipating this night in a totally different way that Noah was.  For Noah
this was special because it was him and Sarah actually going to a school
dance together as a couple.  More than though it was them playing with the
last dance scenario as much as the other four in the limo were as well.
All of them were about to go off into their own lives, their own things.



Thirty-Six



	Sarah had known the reaction that she would get from Noah when he
saw her, when she had seen the dress the first time on her she had known
that it was the right one.  She didn't dress up at all, and not just
because she and Noah didn't go out on fancy dates as they were both
teenagers who didn't have jobs.  It just wasn't her, she wasn't the kind of
girl that liked dressing up.  She liked her jeans and shirts of various
types.  She liked her sneakers and her hair pulled back in a ponytail not
dolled up and constrained.  Yet she would do it for Prom and she would do
it for Noah.

	Seeing how he had drank her in as she stood there before him she
had been turned on immediately.  Seeing him though had turned her on even
more.  She knew that Noah was good looking, the sandy brown hair despite
its often natural wind blown look was soft and thick to the touch, his face
was firm and slightly rounded but while youthful looking had a mature
nature to it as well.  He wasn't tall but he clearly was going to be one
day, already he was significantly taller than he had been when she had
first met him.  His dark green eyes shone, somehow the very thin red
stripes in the jacket along with the red tie brought out his eyes more.

	She had wanted to take him right then and there, just push him down
onto the couch in his living room and devour every inch of the boy.
Knowing that he could dress up this well made her wet and weak in the knees
as well.  It was why she had said what she said before walking with him to
the limo, if she could have she would have taken him right then and there
and never made it to prom at all.  On the ride over to the reception hall
where the school was holding its prom Sarah held Noah's hand in her own,
their fingers threaded together.

	The Prom was held in a large reception hall, tables had been put up
all around the sides and there was of course food and drink and chaperone's
to make sure that no one did something they shouldn't.  There was a live
band and it was a chance to hang out with friends from school but also to
be with that special date she supposed.  She saw Calvin at some point and
made it a point as she always did to ignore him.

	The first slow song she pulled Noah out onto the dance floor and he
said, "um I'm not sure..."

	Sarah just said, "don't step on my feet and you'll be fine."  She
took one of his hands and put it on her waist and then held the other one
with hers slowly stepping with him.  The two of them moving out onto the
floor.  At first Noah wasn't sure what to do but after a few minutes it got
easier with him and her holding each other in their arms as they moved on
the dance floor.  With her heels on Noah's face was about even with her
breasts which were a little bigger than usual in the tight dress she wore
that pressed them together forming far more cleavage than she usually had.
"Up here."  She said softly.

	Noah flushed and looked up at her, "your dress is a little
distracting."

	Sarah laughed softly, "you've seen them more times than you can
count Noah."

	He shrugged, "I can't explain it, seeing you regardless of this or
just in your pajama pants and an old tee-shirt I like looking."

	Sarah let go of his hand and stroked his cheek, "Me too."  They
danced some more and eventually after a few hours Sarah took a seat in one
of the chairs as Noah went and got them something to drink and maybe
something to eat.  She was not surprised at all when he came back with a
cup of fruit punch for her and a full plate of some different kinds of
food.  Sarah sitting down and taken her heels off as they were killing her
feet since she rarely wore them.  Noah was eating food on the plate and
Sarah said, "going to save me anything?"

	Noah nodded and let her take stuff off of the plate.  After a bit
the two of them got up again and danced some more then Nicole said that the
limo would take them all to the hotel that was a few miles down from the
reception hall.  The ride to the hotel wasn't a long one and somehow Noah
had managed to get a plate of food to take with him and he and Jason were
sharing the food on it.  Sarah just rolled her eyes when he offered her a
cheese and sausage stick.

	The hotel was a tall eight story building, it was a nice Marriott
hotel and recently new as well.  They pulled up and all of them checked in
one after the other.  She had checked her and Noah in but he had gone to
the bathroom as he wasn't old enough to get a hotel and really had to go.
So had Jason apparently. She had the small bag with changes of clothes for
both of them in it for tomorrow morning as well. Natalie standing next to
her said, "I've always been curious."

	Sarah while waiting for Noah to show back up said, "About what?"

	Natalie shrugged, "you and Noah, I mean, how big was he... or is
he?"

	Sarah laughed just a bit, "big enough, but you mean the first time
back when we first started?"

	Natalie nodded a bit and said, "Sorry, I mean its just, he was
twelve, I have a brother that age right now and I just can't imagine I mean
you would have been the bigger spoon for years..."

	Sarah shrugged, "i can't explain it.  I didn't mean for it to
happen but its always been...good and right.  Our ages don't matter.  We
fit right together."

	Natalie nodded, "I can get that.  Its like Jason, he's wanted more,
so much more but I didn't want to give in and he never made me.  Seeing you
with Noah actually opened me up to the possibility of Jason, I mean he's
two years younger than me and when he asked me out in our art class I
thought about saying no, but he was.... Sweet and I had never dated a guy
that was like that."

	Jason came from the bathroom then and Sarah felt her heart skip a
beat seeing Noah, he always made her feel that way.  "That's good Natalie,
I mean we can't know where the right person for us might come from."
Natalie agreed and went over to Jason, the two of them taking the elevator
up as Sarah waited for Noah.  She wished that things would stay easy, maybe
she should just stay here for college, but no school in Houston had offered
her a free ride scholarship like UCLA had that would also enable to her to
study physiology and minor in becoming an athletic trainer as well.

	She had to go to UCLA and that meant leaving Noah behind.  He still
had three more years of high school left and then he would have to seek his
own way as well on his path to being a writer.  They had gotten this time
together but she didn't know if they would get much longer.  Those thoughts
disappeared though as Noah came out of the bathroom.  He looked at her a
little guilty as he had clearly been trying to tuck his shirt back in and
hadn't gotten it in the back.  He smiled though walking up to her and she
pushed the button on the elevator.

	They road up the to the third floor in silence and down the hall
her holding his hand the entire way.  In the bedroom Sarah grabbed Noah by
the tie as she kicked off her heels so that they were almost the same
height and holding him by the tie she pulled him to her and her lips met
his, as she ran a hand through his hair and still used the other one to
hold him by the tie.  "Make love to me Noah," She whispered, breaking their
kiss.

	She started undoing the tie that he wore, as his lips met hers
again and his tongue pushed into her mouth.  She could feel his hands on
her, sliding over her breasts through the dress she wore, as she finished
pulling the tie he wore off of him, tossing it behind her onto the bed as
her fingers started undoing the buttons on his shirt.  His lips were on her
neck now, gently stroking it as she pulled his suit jacket off of him her
hands holding his shirt on either side as it was open now.  She pulled Noah
onto the bed falling back onto it on her back with him on top of her.

	Her hands still holding him by the shirt as his lips ran over her
neck, kissing her, sucking on her neck a bit. He sat up, slipping down
sliding his hands along her legs as he slipped off of her.  Noah went on
his knees as she lay on the bed, sliding his hands over her feet, stroking
them gently through the stockings she wore.  His hands felt wonderful
running over her feet.  Running up the length of them over her stockings up
under her dress.  When she felt his hands sliding the stockings down and
off Sarah smiled laying back on the bed trusting him to figure out how to
undress her.


*

	Throughout Prom Noah had only been able to focus on him and Sarah
and this night together. Dancing with her, just holding her hand all of it
had been amazing. Now in the hotel room it was just him and Sarah.  Feeling
her hands on him, undoing his tie, pulling his jacket off as he ran his
hands over her body and kissed her was amazing.  Now she lay on the bed as
he ran his hands up over her legs, stroking her feet running his hands
slowly up over her legs, sliding under the dress she wore.  It was tight
but not so tight that he couldn't get his hands up under it.

	Noah had done this many times before but Sarah's body, feeling it,
touching every inch of her he never grew tired of it.  Running his hands
over her legs, up over her thighs underneath the tight dress, finding the
top of the stockings and pulling, dragging them down her legs, from where
he was Noah could just see her panties now as well as the dress had ridden
up enough to show the dark red panties that matched the dress.

	As he pulled the stockings off her feet Sarah sat up and grabbed
him again pulling the shirt he wore off of his shoulders and let it fall to
the ground as she pulled him down onto the bed and leaned over him this
time.  Her lips were on his chest, running a tongue over one of his
nipples, her fingers sliding down over his stomach, down to his pants and
undoing the belt on them pulling it out and tossing it to the ground as she
scooted a bit so that her fingers could undo to the slacks and she could
pull them down his legs and off of him so he was only in his socks and
underwear now.

	Noah sat up as Sarah turned around on the bed.  He pulled at the
zipper on her dress as she turned back around and leaned over him, the two
of them kissing again.  Noah pulled at the dress, finding out how to get it
to slide down a bit as her breasts came out.  He felt Sarah's hands on his
middle, sliding into his boxer-briefs, sliding over the shape of him
dragging him out of his underwear as she stroked him.


*


	Sarah sat up over Noah, looking down at him as his hands pulled at
her dress some more, getting it down to her waist.  She slipped off of the
bed for a moment and pulled at the dress dragging it down and off so she
was only in her bra and panties.  Noah's eyes roamed over her as she
climbed back up onto the bed on top of him.  She leaned over him kissing
him hard on the lips almost grinding her mouth to his.  She felt his hands
on her bra, finding the clasp on the back of it and undoing it as she sat
up and he sat up as well pulling it off. Noah pushed her down onto the bed
now, on top of her, sliding down between her small breasts with his face.

	He ran kisses along the middle of her chest, down over her stomach,
not rushing just patiently loving on her.  She could feel it as his fingers
ran over her panties, sliding along the length of her vagina, she felt it
as his fingers stroked her through her panties.  His lips slid over her
stomach as his hands pulled at her panties, dragging them down and off of
her legs.  They were on her thighs now stroking and rubbing on them as his
mouth slipped between her legs.  His tongue pushed into her folds finding
her, as Sarah buried a hand in his hair.

	She pulled Noah up from between her legs, pulling him on top of her
as his lips met her.  She felt him still in his underwear pressed to her
lower stomach, his flat chest pressed to her breasts, pushing them down as
his mouth and hers pressed hard to one another.  She twisted them until he
was on the bottom and she sat up, running her hands along his skinny frame,
down to his boxer-briefs pulling at them, dragging them down his legs and
off of him.  He was bigger than he had been two years ago, his length was
about th same but his thickness was more.  Not as thick as Nathan but still
clearly thick.  She ran her fingers along his length, stroking him as she
did Noah reached up putting his hands on her shoulders, pulling her down on
top of him, kissing her hard again.



*


	Sarah was on top of him, both of them now naked pressed to him, her
tongue sliding into his mouth as he twisted with her in his arms so that he
was on top now.  Noah spread her legs open, sliding between them as he
entered her.  The feeling of her surrounding him, her tightness taking him
in drawing him deeper into her drove Noah as he leaned over Sarah, their
bodies joined as one.  He felt her legs on either side of his waist,
warping around him as he began to move faster inside of her.  They began
moving more, their bodies joined as one as many times before.

	Sarah pulled his head to hers, their mouths meeting, her hands were
on his back, and also in his hair holding his head to hers, sliding down
over his back her legs wrapped around him as Noah drove into her over and
over again. Noah could feel every moment as they explored one another. The
two of them were joined now, as Sarah gasped and groaned under him, the
warmth and tightness of her surrounding him squeezing on him as he pushed
into her again finished Noah.  He came inside of Sarah and as he did she
came as well holding tighter onto him.

	He stayed inside, still on top of her, his weight pressed fully to
hers, his penis still hard and waiting for more as she still milked him
just far less.  His lips found hers, their tongues meeting, he sucked her
tongue into his mouth as he did Sarah twisted them.  She sat up on him as
she slowly began to ride him.  Noah ran his hands over her body, sliding
them up over her long slender frame, up over her breasts, stroking them,
tightly squeezing them as she leaned over him resting her hands on his
shoulders.

	The feeling of her slowly moving on top of him, sliding along his
penis, almost letting him slip out before he was pulled back into her as
she pulsated around him was enough to continue to drive Noah.  They began
moving faster together again Noah tightly squeezing on Sarah's breasts, her
hands holding his shoulders tightly as she rode him faster.  The intense
feeling of her riding him, her warm slick tunnel squeezing on him was
enough again to send Noah cumming.  As he did Sarah groaned and came as
well still riding him through his entire cum as he unloaded inside of her.

	This time Sarah fell on top of him, both of them breathing heavily,
both of them exhausted nothing but limbs and bodies covered in sweat.  He
stayed inside as she lay on top of him, her breasts pressed to his chest,
her face inches from his. Noah wasn't sure how long they stayed like that,
joined together until finally she slipped off of him laying beside him on
the bed.  Noah twisted onto his side and rested a hand on her stomach
softly rubbing her there as his head rested next to hers on the pillow.
Noah watched the rise and fall of her chest with each breath as she slowly
recovered and he did as well.

	After a bit Sarah twisted as well to face him, the two of them
laying on the bed facing one another on their sides. Noah touched her
cheek, the softness and warmth of her skin on his fingers. There was still
a slickness from sweat that glistened on all of her skin.  Noah kissed her
lips tasting her as she rested a hand on his chest pushing him back until
he was on his back and she rested her head on his chest.

	Noah stroked a hand through her hair as they lay there on the bed
in the hotel room.  Softly Sarah said, "how am I going to make it in LA in
two months..."

	Noah stopped stroking her hair, they had avoided, ignored,
pretended that they didn't need to or want to talk about it.  "By being
you."

	Sarah's one hand was stroking his stomach just below where her head
rested on his chest, "you know all I wanted to do was make a cute boy smile
because he looked so sad."

	Noah softly said, "you did, made him smile a whole and then did a
whole lot more.  You and Nathan both, without you..."  He trailed off not
sure he wanted to continue.

	Sarah turned her head up to look at him, moving so that her face
was even with his. He saw an unshed tear in one of her eyes.  "do we just
pretend that nothings going to change?"

	Noah touched her cheek a bit and she touched his too.  "do we have
to talk about this tonight?"

	Sarah turned laying on her back next to him, her hand sliding down
between them finding his by instinct, holding it, "yes.  We're here alone,
just the two of us, there's no threat of someone coming in here, no need to
rush or anything else."

	Noah said, "You mean we could really just have it all out, big drag
out fight to end all fights?"

	Sarah said, "I don't have the energy, you wore me out."

	Noah laughed, just a bit but continued differently, "I've thought
about this a lot. I've argued with myself, told myself that I'm having
thoughts way to adult for me to have, making decisions that a fourteen year
old shouldn't have to make. It'd be easier if we didn't work."

	They were both quiet for awhile before Sarah said, "what do you
mean by that?"

	Noah said, "like how your mom and Hank were, always at opposite
ends of things, never trying to find a way to work through it.  Or Shelly
and that guy she was dating, Roland? Ronald?"

	"Donald."

	"Yeah him, like how they were always arguing about things."

	Again they stopped and Sarah said, "So you don't want us to work so
that we can just go our own ways when I go away to school?"

	Noah shook his head, "no, that's not what I'm saying."

	Sarah squeezed his fingers, "I know, we do argue though."

	Again quiet, sounds of loud music was coming from another room,
probably other prom couples.  Noah said, "So do Jack and Paula but that
doesn't break them up just like our fights don't get us close to breaking
up, I don't know what the difference is though.  WE fight, so do Donald and
Shelly but when I see them fight I can see how it will all just
spectacularly come crashing down around them.  When I see Jack and Paula
fight... I can see how a few minutes later they'll be off somewhere making
out or something..."

	Sarah said, "its not the fights that destroy relationships Noah,
its the inability to compromise with one another."  She moved to her side
again so that she was facing him and he looked over at her, "look at my mom
and Hank, he always backed down, even to the point where he'd just leave if
she wouldn't stop pushing her point.  He never once told her that she was
wrong or that she was being unreasonable.  My mom wanted her to be his
world, for him to never have a moment for himself or friends or anything to
just let him breath.  Donald does the same thing to Shelly, he feels like
she belongs to him, that she can't belong to others... we have our own
identities.  You want me to go out with friends, you encourage it."

	Noah shrugged, "you don't belong to me, you're not my property.
Its how I always saw things, with Nathan too.  My dad always told me that I
should treat others how I wanted to be treated.  I guess I listened to
him."

	Sarah laughed then said, "we're supposed to be fighting to make
this easier remember?"

	Noah touched her cheek as he turned on his side to lay facing her
now as well, "Maybe it shouldn't be easy."  Sarah nodded and moved her own
hand to touch his now too.  "You should do what you think you need to do.
We'll both feel pain from it, but I think we'll be okay.  Its not like
you're gone forever and if we both find someone else and we need to be with
that person...."  He shrugged and stopped again.

	Sarah leaned over and kissed his lips, this time they went slowly,
the urgency of before was gone, only the desire to stop the painful
thoughts remained. This had been easier with Nathan, distance and knowing
that it wasn't really over just changing had made it easier.  He touched
Sarah, running his fingers along her body, slowly feeling every inch of her
flesh as their lips met, their tongues played. His fingers brushed over her
breasts as he pushed her back onto the bed, sliding over one then the other
one, sliding down over her flat stomach, down between her legs.

	He pushed his fingers into her wetness as her lips hungrily pressed
to his. The feeling of her around his fingers, pulsating, squeezing,
drawing him in further into that opening.  Her eyes met his, her face
painted with the same desire that he felt as well.  Noah slipped his
fingers out, moving on top of Sarah, sliding in slowly.  They moved
together, bodies joined, the gentle slow movement of each push into her as
she drew him in.  Their eyes never left one another, their mouths became
one as they slowly devoured each other.  Noah filled Sarah, sliding in and
back out again with each one they reached ever close to their final moment,
to that final need.

	He filled her again, as he slid fully inside she embraced him
squeezing him tightly both inside of her tunnel and also with her arms and
her legs.  She held him as he unloaded in her, both of them coming to that
final moment together once more.  The feeling of her under him, of her
wrapped around him comforted Noah, this was where he belonged, at least it
was part of the puzzle he felt.  He didn't want to lose it, just as he
hadn't wanted to lose the other part of it either.



*

	Sarah held tightly onto Noah as he came inside of her again.  This
wouldn't be their last time but this would be their most important time.
She held him as he stayed inside of her.  She could feel it when he drifted
off into sleep and she still held him, not wanting to let go.  Knowing that
their time together was almost over hurt her, to know that in just four
short weeks she might never see him again or when she did everything might
be different between them.  It was possible she met someone else, possible
that he did too.  She had to give this boy his freedom.  He had said it
earlier, he didn't belong to her, he wasn't her property and she wasn't
his.

	It wasn't a long time, it wasn't like they couldn't talk on the
phone every day or something like that, but it wouldn't be the same.  He
would be back here, she would be there.  If she didn't let him be free then
he might only come to hate her.  In the end then it wouldn't be anger or
incompatibility or even fear that ended their relationship, it would the
simple fact that both of them needed to grow, to become who they couldn't
be by staying with one another.

	Sarah knew she had to let Noah go, that it was time for her and him
to both experience what it was like without the other.  IT was selfish for
her to be hundreds of miles away and tell him that he couldn't go out and
meet people.  He might never meet anyone he wanted or liked.  She might not
either, but she knew if she didn't try to experience college she'd regret
it for the rest of her life.  If she didn't let Noah experience what else
was out there as well that he'd come to resent her for treating him like he
belonged to her.

	They were both young, they'd spent two plus years together but that
wasn't a lifetime, it was barely a drop in a life.  She could see herself
happy with Noah but not right now, there were years left of her out there
away from him and Noah was going to let her go like he had Nathan as well.
SO she was going to have to let him go too.  She held him that night though
as if it was never going to end and he held her back as well.

	The next morning they didn't talk about it anymore, they had made
up their minds that if they didn't try they wouldn't know.  They didn't
separate the last four weeks of high school if anything they held hands
tighter, they touched one another more fiercely, they made love with more
urgency.  They never wanted to let go, to always be just one.  Yet
decisions made, realizations spoken out loud, they knew come June that they
would go their own ways, forge paths apart from one another.

	Maybe only for a few years, maybe forever, but Sarah knew it was
the only way forward, if she wanted a shot of a future she had to let go of
the present no matter how much it hurt.  Noah knew it too, and that was why
he was letting her go as much as she was letting him go, as much as he had
let Nathan go and Nathan him.  Maybe they'd find their way back together,
stronger together... the future was unspoken.




Thirty-Seven


	The feeling of the sun on his face, of the morning air as he went
for his walk was nice as Nathan walked the streets close to his apartment.
He had decided after much debate with himself to take the summer off from
schooling. He was in medical school now and only needed two more years of
that before he started his residency and he felt he had earned a little bit
of a break.  It was the first week of June and it felt wonderful being out
here under the sun walking through the streets.  As he was walking back up
towards the apartment his phone rang which surprised him as it was seven in
the morning here.  He saw the name and answered, "hey you okay?"

	Sarah on the other end said, "I just wanted to call you, I'm about
to get on a plane, I don't even know if I should have called you or not,
but I think that it would be a good thing for Noah if you can't convince
him to go up there to you or that you come back down here for him."

	Nathan sat down on the steps before his apartment and said, "you're
leaving? Not coming back?"

	Sarah sniffled just a bit, "I have to. It's what we both need, what
has to happen at least for a little bit.  Maybe forever, who knows by the
end of this school year maybe Noah or I will have met someone else that we
can't imagine not knowing, or maybe I'll be home for Christmas and things
will just be complicated."

	Nathan didn't know what to say.  He knew that Sarah had talked with
Karen about this big moment just as he and Noah had talked about it before
Noah had taken Sarah to prom.  "I should just go and make his summer the
best possible, help him forget a girl?"

	Sarah chuckled a bit, "I don't know, I just think that he could use
someone...."

	Nathan said, "so could you."

	Sarah said, "I could use Noah, but if I saw him again I'd just stay
and I can't stay I need to go, I have to know if I can do this."

	Nathan swallowed, he wasn't sure if he was in Sarah's shoes if he
could do what she was doing, but he had never been that in love.  "I
understand you do what you need to do Sarah, I'm sure Noah understands
too."  Sarah only agreed and said she needed to go for her flight.  Nathan
hung up and sat back on the steps looking out at the rising sun.  He was
still sitting there about forty minutes later when someone sat down next to
him.  "Hey."

	Karen said, "morning, what are you doing sitting out here?"

	Nathan shrugged, "contemplating on if I should run to Noah and
comfort him or if its better for me to just stay out of it."

	Karen nodded, "neither is the wrong answer, but what does your
heart want you to do?"

	Nathan sighed, "for me to go to Noah of course.  I thought I could
maybe get him to come out here again but he didn't want to.  I think he's
just going to hole himself up in that bedroom all summer long and be a
depressed teenage boy whose lost his first serious girlfriend."  He stood
up and said, "but is the right answer for me to go and be there for him?  I
mean what if it just ends up hurting him all the more when I leave after
summer is over?"

	Karen stood as well, walking with him up the steps to their
apartment, "I can't tell you if it will or it won't.  Its impossible to
know how Noah reacts to you coming down there when the two of you already
have changed the nature of your relationship.  I know though that Noah
doesn't want a lover right now, what he wants is what you are, a really
good friend who will listen to him, and comfort him.  Sarah's going to get
a big sister that's going to try her best to calm her down and remind her
that both she and Noah know she needs to do this."

	Nathan said, "so you think I should go to him?"

	Karen said, "yes, drag him out of his bedroom, take him on walks,
talk with him.  The worst kind of break up is the one where neither party
really wanted it to end but both felt that if they didn't that it would end
in ruin and regret one day.  Noah knows that Sarah is doing this because
she needs to know what her future holds for her and find out.  She's not
totally sure she knows what her life is without Noah, and it scares her
that she let that define her and I'm willing to bet that Noah feels the
same way deep inside.  They need space to find out who they are without the
other."

	Nathan sighed, "and maybe I'm part of the key in Noah finding out
what he wants or needs?"

	Karen smiled, "yes.  Plus you really could use a vacation away from
here anyway.  I know that you want to be in residency before you're
twenty-five but you really should stop trying to kill yourself with school
work."

	Nathan smiled to, "yes mom, of course mom, you're always right
mom."

	Karen socked his shoulder, "so you're going?"

	Nathan was pulling out his phone, "yes, I'm going."  As he started
to look for a flight Nathan said, "what are the odds that they find their
way back to each other you think?"

	Karen smiled, "about the same as the odds of you marrying someone
younger than you..."

	Nathan paused thinking about that, "so what are those odds?"

	Karen heading for her bedroom said, "very likely."  Nathan sighed,
once again Karen was making a joke about how he only liked younger teenage
boys now since Noah.  In his bedroom Nathan packed a small suitcase and
called his mom telling her that he would be coming down for at least part
of the summer which she was happy for.



*


	Noah kept the curtains on his windows closed tightly so not a speck
of the sun could get through them as he lay on his bed staring at nothing
really.  The reality of their talk four weeks earlier had sunk into Noah
today more than any other.  Before getting on her plane Sarah had texted
him with just a few little things about how it was too hard to call and
that she hoped he had a good summer and that she'd always care about him
and love him.  He hadn't texted back not for hours and when he had it had
just been a simple I love you and that was it.

	Noah didn't know how to process it, all of it still felt kind of
unreal. That night of prom they had talked about it and inside Noah knew
that this was what had to happen, that both of them needed to see who they
were without the other but that didn't stop it from hurting.  He knew that
Sarah was hurting too but that didn't make him feel any better.  He wasn't
even sure what would have happened if they had both been the same age.
They still might have chosen or gone into different colleges.

	Still the morning three days into summer he lay there in his bed
not wanting to get up and do anything. He hadn't even gotten out of his
pajamas the past two days and Beth hadn't fought him on it.  She had just
told him that he could be as sad as he wanted to be for as long as he
wanted to be.  It was easier to just lay in his room and try not to think
about Sarah so that he'd just sit there and think about her.  Most things
in his room reminded him of her, she was everywhere in it and not just
gifts.  They had been together in this room so many times alone that it was
their place.

	He was thinking about that when there was a knock on his bedroom
door, "come in."  He figured that Beth was probably going somewhere and
wanted to check on him before she left.  The feeling of a hand much larger
than Beth's on his shoulder made Noah turn and look, to see Nathan.  He
looked good, Nathan always looked good. Softly Noah said, "s-she left."

	Nathan squeezed his shoulder, "I know."  Noah buried his head in
Nathan's lap and Nathan instead pulled him into his arms and held him as he
cried.  The tears weren't long, Noah didn't feel a need to sob or break
down like how he had when his dad had died.  This wasn't like that, it
wasn't that kind of sadness.  He just felt pain and he wanted to get it out
at least a little bit before he stopped. After a moment he lay there with
Nathan both of them on the bed that he had shared with both Nathan and
Sarah looking up at his ceiling fan that was currently off. "Better?"

	Noah dryly chuckled, "no, not in the least.  You'd think that
knowing she's feeling the same things right now probably would make it
easier but it just makes it harder."

	"You're urge to take care of her when she's in pain is as strong as
hers is to take care of you."

	Noah thought about that for a moment then said, "Sarah told you to
come."

	Nathan sat up as he said, "come on, you need some sunlight, staying
in this room moping is about the worst thing that you can do for
yourself. Trust me I've been there before."

	Noah sat up as well, "you have?"  He hadn't heard about this
before, he had thought he knew all the ins and outs of Nathan's previous
relationships.

	Nathan stood as he said, "yes, remember I told you about Jordan?"

	Noah moved to find clothes to put on so he could go for a walk with
Nathan as that was clearly what they were going to do, "He was the one who
you went on a date with and you two ended up talking about how your dad had
passed right? I thought that was just a friendship."

	Nathan, Noah noticed was looking at some of his funko pops just
playing with one, "It was on his end. We were together for about six months
before he moved away, so not as long as you and Sarah but still long enough
for me to realize I loved him."  As Noah was pulling on some shorts now
Nathan turned back looking at him as he leaned against the dresser, "I
wanted to be with him, it was why I spent so much time with him, it wasn't
just a way to kind of help me process my grief over my dad it had by the
end of the first month become much more.  For Jordan though it was just a
friendship, he didn't want to get closer than that to me."

	Noah paused in tying his shoes looking over at Nathan again, "why
wouldn't he want to be more than friends with you?"

	Nathan smiled, Noah thought it was a bit of a sad smile, "because
he knew he was leaving.  I was a sophomore, he was a senior.  It was just
the way that it was supposed to be.  Still even so if on his end all we
were was friends on my end it was more and it hurt a lot when he left and
then stopped talking to me as well."

	Noah said, "why do you think he stopped talking to you?"

	Nathan sat down now on the bed by him and put his arm around Noah's
shoulders, "why do you think Sarah's stopped talking to you?"

	Noah thought about that for a minute or so, thought about his own
reasons for not trying to reach for Sarah when she was the one person he
wanted to talk about his pain with the most, "because he loved you too?"
Nathan squeezed his shoulder once and then stood up as he did Noah said,
"why not reach out to him now?  Or when you reached college too?"

	Nathan said, "I did, not right away, but my first year in college I
found him online and found out that he's married, has a kid, married some
guy named James. Now come on, time to get out of this bleak dark hole
you've put yourself in."  He grabbed Noah's hand pulling him up and
dragging him out of the bedroom.  The sun was bright as they walked into
the living room.

	Beth upon seeing him dressed in a tee-shirt, shorts, and sneakers
smiled and said, "He lives!"  Noah smiled too and hugged her as she softly
whispered, "its going to be okay sweetie."

	Noah squeezed her a bit tightly and said, "I know."

	Nathan said, "come on, lets see if your legs still know how to work
too. We'll be back later mom, guy talk." Beth laughed but didn't argue.  As
they started walking towards the park Nathan said, "so give me one thing
you want to do this summer and we'll try and make it happen, and it cannot
be go see Sarah."

	Noah smiled at that small joke, "I don't know, I'd like to see
something I guess.  I mean go somewhere.  Go anywhere, get in a car drive
see something, see more somethings, just sitting here being in that room I
know I'll just think about Sarah."

	Nathan walking beside him said, "Okay, I'll talk with my mom and
we'll see about us taking a little road trip, just you and me, for two
weeks lets say."

	Noah said, "you'll probably be sick of me within a week."

	Nathan smiled over at him, "I doubt that Noah, next to my mom
you're the most important person to me, even more so than Karen."

	Noah laughed, "She'd kill you if she heard you say that."  Nathan
laughed too and Noah realized just getting out and talking to someone
really did make things feel a little bit better.  He wasn't over it by any
stretch but somehow it felt better.



Thirty-Eight



	As the plane landed in Florida and she walked with her dad towards
the exit one of her little half-sisters chatting incessantly about
something beside her all Sarah could think of was how much she hated
herself.  Not only for what she was doing to herself and Noah but also
because she had actually let talked herself into spending the first month
of summer at her dads with her most annoying and bratty sisters both of
whom were under twelve years old.  The youngest of them had come with her
dad and was talking during the entire ride to his house.  She rarely if
ever was quiet it had been that way last year as well.

	That first night she lay there in her bed in the guest bedroom of
her dads house and looked at her phone.  Noah's last words for her had been
I love you sent sometime a few hours after she had sent her own text before
she got on the plane. She wanted to reach out to him, to actually call him
and talk with him.  Hearing his voice would make everything easier she
reasoned, but in reality she knew it would just make everything more
difficult.  She was going to college at the end of august but before that
she had the track program that had gotten her the scholarship that she had
to participate in.  It was better that she cleanly break this before she
couldn't pull herself away.

	Still she lay there in her bed the following morning scrolling
through pictures of Noah, she had taken, or gotten so many over the past
two years.  She almost deleted some of the stupider ones like one that was
just of his eye up close or some other one that was just of his arm that he
had sent on accident.  Instead after a bit she just loaded them all up onto
her cloud storage and deleted them from her phone itself but kept them on
her Google photo account to look at one day when she wouldn't be so
emotional about them.

	She was contemplating getting dressed when her phone buzzed and a
text came in: get off of your lazy butt and meet me outside.  Sarah laughed
and got up slipping on some jeans and a tee-shirt, running a comb through
her hair and headed outside.  Karen was leaning against the side of a car
that had its top down as Sarah stepped outside.  "Come on we're going to
blow this shithole."

	Sarah looked back at her dads large two story house and said, "I
don't think its all that shitty Karen."

	Karen put a middle finger up to the house and said, "well dad lives
in it so it can't be all that great."  Karen still hadn't forgiven their
dad for the way that he treated Michelle and her relationship with
Michelle.

	"What are you doing here?"  Sarah asked, as she was pretty sure
that Karen wasn't staying here.

	Karen opened the passenger door indicating it for Sarah to get in,
"Well dear sister, Michelle is with her family back in Peru for the summer,
Nathan is off consoling some poor teenage boy over a broken heart, and I'm
here to make sure that the other half of that issue gets the same
treatment."

	Sarah slipping into the car said, "so Noah gets his fuck-buddy to
help him and I get my sister? Is this the start of a lesbian incestuous
road trip?"

	Karen starting the car said, "fuck no, and do you really think that
Nathan is Noah's fuck buddy?"

	Sarah sighed, "no, I'm just trying to make myself feel better about
my decision.  Our decision."

	Karen pulling out of the driveway said, "you can feel however you
want about it and we can talk about it all you want to as well and I won't
charge you a dime."

	Sarah laughed, "You'll just add it to my total in the future."

	Karen sighed, "Oh my dear sister knows me so well."

	Sarah looking out at the road ahead of them said, "so where exactly
are we going?"

	Karen said, "why the happiest place on earth."

	Sarah rolled her eyes, "Disney World really?"

	Karen looked over at her and said, "come on, trust me this is what
you need." Sarah sighed but stopped arguing with her sister. If Karen was
paying for it then she figured that she must have had a reason to do it.
"I'm just glad you're not a sobbing mess."

	Sarah looking out at the city as they drove through it said, "I
was, pretty much all night the night before I got on the plane, then last
night too, but I don't think I can be that anymore.  I still feel broken
inside, and I miss him so much it hurts, but I don't want to cry about it
anymore, it doesn't fix things.  I need to do this, its something I have to
know.  I have to know where I am, what I am, who I am without him and me."

	Karen found her hand and squeezed it, "I know you do, and he does
too.  He might not know it but he needs it as well."

	Sarah said, "He knows it, we talked about it, doesn't mean that it
doesn't hurt."

	Karen said, "well Mickey Mouse is the cure for that."  Sarah just
chuckled and gave up on figuring out if her sister was right or not.  What
she knew for sure that she didn't need was to talk about Noah, that would
just drive her into an even more serious depression.  She needed a
distraction from thinking about him.  So maybe Karen was right, maybe this
would be a good distraction.  It was at least worth a try to see how thing
went.


*


	Somehow after that the first month of summer went a lot faster than
Sarah could have anticipated.  Before she knew it with Karen's help she had
found out exactly what she needed. Not to be a hundred percent better,
getting over something like what she and Noah had been for each other was
not an easy thing to get over. She still daily wanted to reach for her
phone and text him, or call him, but she feared that if she heard his
voice, or saw his texts that she'd crumble and go after him instead of
getting on a plane to Los Angeles she'd be on one back to Houston and
Noah's arms.

	This was her decision, one that she had made after a lot of thought
and introspection.  She needed to know who she was without Noah before she
knew if she could spend her life with Noah.  As she landed in LA she
thought that maybe that wasn't her destiny anyway.  Knowing Noah having
been with him for these years would be things that she could always look
back on, but maybe it was time for her to find who Sarah was away from
Noah.  Maybe that would lead to her meeting someone else, someone not Noah.
That was too difficult to contemplate.

	At the college she was set up with a dorm room and then for the
months of July and August she spent all of that time training and doing the
first few track meets of the late summer.  Time went on as it was a lot of
training and improving, there was very little time for her to even think
about Noah.  She did though talk with Nathan at one point, one late August
evening she was laying on her bed thinking about Noah and realized that she
wanted to know how he was doing, but she didn't want to talk to him as it
had been too long now to suddenly just make contact.

	Nathan answered on the second ring, "Hey Sarah."

	The sounds of traffic greeted her, "where are you?"

	"Walking back to my apartment, school starts tomorrow but I needed
to get out for the night."

	Sarah said, "yeah, I can understand that."

	After a moment of traffic sounds Nathan said, "what's going on
Sarah?"

	She sighed, "I just wanted to know how he's doing."

	Nathan was quiet for a moment more, "he's okay, I think he still
hurts even with all the sex he had with his fuck buddy this summer."

	Sarah laughed and groaned, "of course she told you I said that."

	Nathan laughed too, "Karen tells me everything Sarah, she's the
sister I never asked for."

	"What am I?"

	Nathan said, "you're the sister I wanted."

	Sarah smiled on her end and said, "thanks for that even if its not
the truth. How is he really?"

	Nathan sighed, "he misses you, but he's okay.  He'll get through
it.  Just like you will right?"

	Sarah said, "I suppose so. I just wanted to hear how he was doing,
to know that he wasn't sitting in his room all day sullen and alone."

	"He's not, we spent the first few weeks driving around Texas,
staying in hotels, doing things that are best left to the imagination."

	Sarah laughed, "so you were a couple of fuck buddies."

	Nathan just said, "a man never kisses and tells Sarah my dear."  He
laughed too a bit before changing tactics, "How are you doing?"

	Sarah sighed, "I'm okay.  Karen took me to the happiest place on
earth and it helped me a little bit. I mean meeting Goofy made me feel like
a little girl again."

	Nathan said, "Goofy?"

	Sarah laughed, "he was always my favorite as a kid, anyway I'm in a
better place now.  I still miss him but I still know I need to do this."

	Nathan after another moment of silence said, "He knows you need to
do it too. If you want my opinion, I think after spending a lot of the
summer with Noah that both of you need this.  He doesn't know who he is
without you either.  He went from loosing his father to finding me and you
and while he loves both of us he's never since his dad passed not had a
moment where it was just him by himself. He'll be fine this fall,and maybe
by Christmas you'll be ready to see him again, but Sarah if not that's okay
too."

	She smiled a bit, "thanks Nathan, I'm going to let you get some
sleep now."  They hung up a moment late after goodbyes and she lay on her
bed rolling onto her side. She pulled up her text message thread with Noah.
Most of it was nonsense, just them being silly with one another.  Some of
it made her laugh a bit, some of it made her a little sad and miss him all
over again.  She stopped at the bottom again, his last text, sent the
second day of summer.  Below it she typed: I hope you have a wonderful
school year Noah.  With a heart at the end, she couldn't type the words,
they hurt too much to type.  She sent it.



Thirty-Nine


	The last week of August was also the firs week of school for Noah.
Walking through the halls of Ridge High knowing that he wouldn't see Sarah
there really hurt.  He had spent all summer in and out of thinking about
her.  Most of it he had spent with Nathan who had taken it all in stride.
They had even had sex more than once.  They had stayed in hotels all across
Texas as they had gone from one city to the other trying to see as many
sights as they could, things that were just random on the map that you
could go see.  Trying food at strange places and just laughing and having a
good time.  A lot of the time he didn't think about Sarah and that made
things easier but other times he couldn't get her off of his mind and those
days were harder.

	Eventually though Nathan had needed to go back to New York and Noah
had needed to find his own way to deal with things again.  He thought about
holing up in his bedroom again but then Jack was calling him and wanting to
do stuff, they went to the beach and the movies, even did a thing that Noah
hadn't done since middle school, had a sleep over.  Jack was the only
person other than Sarah that knew about his bisexual nature and understood
that Noah wasn't attracted to him. Honestly that had been his biggest fear
that when he told Jack that Jack would think that he was attracted to him
or something.

	So the last few weeks of summer were good.  The first day back to
school was good as well, really Sarah's text message he found helped him.
He had looked at it for a long time the night before his first day of
school.  Debated with himself for a long time rather or not to reply to it.
In the end he had decided to reply with his own: knock them dead and don't
take no for an answer.  With a heart after it as well.  It was a simple
message but Noah had felt it was the right one to send.

	September was easy, and Noah felt really good about things by the
end of the month.  Still learning early in October that Sarah was seeing
someone that she had met in LA though Nathan, who had learned about it
through Karen hurt a little bit. He had just wanted to know how she was
doing, and had not expected to find out that she was seeing someone
already, but Noah knew that Sarah was a beautiful young now nineteen year
old girl.  It would make sense that boys would find her interesting and
want to ask her out.  She wasn't his property or his person anymore.  She
was free to see others and he realized that cool October afternoon that he
was as well.

	Maybe that's why it was that same day that he met someone by
accident that would set his course of life in a direction that he could not
have anticipated a direction that would lead him in the end somehow back to
where he belonged...

*


	It had become tradition going home for Christmas, ever since Noah's
dad had passed Nathan had returned home every Christmas and this one was no
different than the ones before it.  He wanted to go back and see his mom
and Noah.  The previous summer had been amazing, the first two weeks he had
driven with Noah around most of Texas, the two of them just seeing the
sights, enjoying the small things that they could find across the cities
and towns that they visited.  In the hotel rooms at first they just slept
and he let Noah decompress over the loss of his relationship to Sarah.

	Then slowly they had found their way back to making love.  Back to
him entering Noah, back to them holding one another, loving on one another.
It wasn't the same as it had been before, there wasn't a deeper
relationship here just a friendship that was more complex than just being
friends.  He gave what Noah needed and he received Noah's love back in
return, but it wasn't the kind of love that either of them could build on.
They were closer than brothers, closer than friends, but they didn't feel
the kind of love for one another that went on past that.

	Still after they returned back to the house and then after that
both of them back to school they stayed closer than before.  Nathan knew
that he was the one that Noah wanted to talk with about stuff and he let
Noah vent about his fears and his wishes that Sarah was still there.  Then
in the fall close to the middle of October Noah changed, all he told Nathan
was that he had met someone named Addison and that he felt better about his
choices, about everything.

	So Nathan came home that Christmas, his mom said that he needed to
meet Addison to understand him.  TO learn that Addison was a boy surprised
Nathan, he thought for sure that Noah would pick a girl to get over Sarah,
but instead he had found a boy.  That afternoon after his plane landed he
took an uber to the house and was laying on his bed in his bedroom thinking
about how he had spectacularly failed at dating in the past year, besides
sleeping with Noah over the summer he'd only dated one guy named Chris and
it had fizzled after three dates.  School just kept him too busy and he
didn't see himself finding a way to change that any time soon.  Or even a
reason to.

	The sound of the front door closing made Nathan slip off of his bed
and head into the living room.  He was going to surprise Noah and instead
he got a surprise of his own. Noah was standing in the foyer, and a smaller
boy in his arms as Noah was sort of guiding him towards the couch, his
hands on the smaller boy's shoulders, his lips buried to the boy.  The boy
wasn't even five feet tall, he had light blonde hair, his eyes were open
and they were a dark blue.  He had very fair skin, almost too pale in
color.  He was simply one of the prettiest young boys that Nathan had ever
seen.  He was better looking than Noah, better looking than Nathan himself,
better looking than Timothy and that guy had landed both him and Karen.

	Nathan couldn't believe how much Noah and the boy were going at it,
this was clearly Addison.  One of Noah's hands was on the boys face,
stroking his cheek while they kissed, the other one was sliding between the
two of them and Nathan could tell where it was going.  He cleared his
throat and the younger boy pulled back from Noah touching his
shoulder. Noah turned as well looking at Nathan and smiled.  He came over
to hug Nathan and as Nathan looked at the younger boy unaware that a train
was on a track heading right for him.  His future was standing before his
eyes and he had no idea that he was by coming home this Christmas setting
not only his path, but Noah's, this new boy Addison's and even Sarah's
towards that final destination....


End Part 7

Note: First sorry for the length, I Didn't know that I would want to add so
much more material.  I thought about splitting it but I don't really want
to as all of this really fits well together as the close out leading into
the finale.  As a heads up: Part 8 is about the same size as this part, and
a lot of it deals with getting to know a new character.  I will apologize
for that but not really, as it is crucial that I bring in another character
to close out the story.

Thank you for reading, any thoughts comments or anything else up to this
point are always appreciated.  I hope that some of it wasn't too hard to
read, and some of you might see where this is all going but I hope you
enjoy the ending when I get it out sometime I hope before the new year.

As always I can be reached at: chaosmode00@tutanota.com
Donations to Nifty if you can: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html