Chapter 26 - After the Moment
1440 Words
Neither of them spoke for what felt like forever.
The field had gone loud again around them, but Lily could barely hear anything over the pounding in her chest.
Jason was still standing across the grass looking pleased with himself.
Ryan looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
Emily, naturally, looked as if she had just witnessed history and intended to talk about it for the rest of her life.
Noah finally lowered his hands from his face.
Slowly.
Like he was still trying to recover from the fact that Lily had said it back.
Not wrong.
His gaze found hers again almost instantly.
And this time, Lily didn’t look away.
Her whole body felt too aware of him now.
Too aware of the way he was standing there in front of everyone, still a little stunned, still a little nervous, still looking at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.
That should have been terrifying.
And it was.
But in a different way now.
A worse way.
Or maybe a better one.
Lily honestly could not tell anymore.
Jason was the first one brave enough to break the silence.
“Well,” he said loudly, “I think we all need a moment.”
Noah closed his eyes briefly.
“I need you to stop talking.”
Jason pressed a hand to his chest in fake offense. “After what I just witnessed?”
“Yes.”
“No chance.”
Ryan rubbed his forehead. “I hate that we’re all here for this.”
Emily gasped. “You hate it, but you’re still watching.”
Ryan pointed at her without looking. “That is not the point.”
Lily barely heard them.
Because Noah had stepped a little closer again.
Not as close as before.
But enough.
Enough to make her stomach twist all over again.
He looked down at her for a second, then away, then back again like he was still deciding whether he was allowed to say something more.
When he finally did speak, his voice was low.
Careful.
Just for her.
“Are you okay?”
Lily blinked.
That was the first thing he asked after all of that?
Not are you embarrassed.
Not what did you just do.
Not did Jason ruin everything.
Just—
Are you okay?
Her chest tightened.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I think so.”
Noah’s mouth twitched slightly, like he was trying not to smile but failing.
“Good.”
That one word made her heart do something deeply inconvenient.
Jason immediately noticed, because of course he did.
“Oh no,” he whispered dramatically. “He said good in the soft voice again.”
Emily grabbed his sleeve before he could scream.
Ryan looked at Noah and Lily like he was watching a car crash in slow motion.
“This is getting out of hand.”
Noah finally turned his head toward their friends.
“Can you all leave?”
Jason gasped. “Wow. Rude.”
“Please.”
“That’s worse.”
Emily folded her arms. “No.”
Noah looked at her. “Emily.”
She looked back, completely unbothered. “Noah.”
It was strangely impressive how a twelve-year-old could stare him down like that.
Jason nodded solemnly. “She’s stronger than all of us.”
Ryan muttered, “That’s not hard.”
Emily ignored both of them and turned back toward Lily with an expression that was entirely too knowing.
“So…” she said slowly, “you like him too, right?”
Lily nearly combusted on the spot.
“No,” she said too fast.
The silence that followed was brutal.
Noah looked at her immediately.
Jason’s eyes lit up like Christmas had come early.
Ryan buried his face in one hand.
Emily looked delighted beyond reason.
Lily wanted the earth to open and swallow her whole.
“I mean—” she started weakly.
Noah’s expression had gone carefully unreadable again, but she could still feel his attention on her like a physical thing.
That somehow made it worse.
Lily cleared her throat.
“I’m not answering that in front of all of you.”
Jason clapped once like a maniac. “That’s an answer.”
“It is not.”
“It absolutely is.”
Noah let out one quiet breath that sounded dangerously close to a laugh.
And Lily noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Because somehow, even now, Noah looking amused made everything feel softer and scarier all at once.
Ryan, clearly suffering, checked his phone.
“We should probably go.”
Jason blinked. “Why?”
“Because if we stay, you’re all going to make this worse.”
Jason pointed at him. “Too late.”
Ryan looked at Lily and Noah. “Exactly.”
Emily, to her credit, actually seemed reluctant to leave.
But then Lily saw the tiny smile on her face and knew there was no stopping her from replaying this conversation at home anyway.
Emily backed up slowly.
“I’m not saying anything,” she lied.
Jason immediately groaned. “That means you’re going to say everything.”
“No.”
“Absolutely.”
Noah looked like he wanted to disappear into the grass.
Then Emily lifted a finger dramatically.
“But for the record? I knew it.”
Lily made a helpless sound.
Jason made one too.
Ryan looked up at the sky as if begging for patience from the universe.
Emily was already walking backward now, grinning at both of them.
“Don’t do anything weird,” she called.
Jason snorted. “That ship sailed ages ago.”
Noah looked like he was two seconds from carrying all of them off the field himself.
“Go away.”
Emily finally did, laughing with the others as they headed toward the parking lot.
And just like that—
It was only Lily and Noah again.
The space around them suddenly felt too open.
Too quiet.
Too real.
Lily looked at him, then away, then back again.
Her pulse had not recovered at all.
Noah shoved one hand into his hoodie pocket and glanced toward the field, like he was giving them both a second to breathe.
When he looked back at her, his expression had softened again.
Not teasing.
Not joking.
Just honest.
“Sorry about them,” he said quietly.
Lily let out a shaky little laugh.
“It’s fine.”
Noah looked unconvinced.
“It’s not fine.”
She smiled despite herself. “Maybe a little not fine.”
That earned her the smallest smile from him.
And oh no, that was bad.
That was really bad.
Because that smile felt so private now.
Like something only she was supposed to see.
Noah studied her for a second, then spoke carefully.
“I meant what I said.”
Lily’s breath caught.
About the field?
About the almost-confession?
About everything?
Noah’s eyes stayed on hers.
“I’m not pretending anymore.”
Her heart skipped hard.
The wind moved softly across the field, brushing past them and rustling the grass around their shoes.
Lily swallowed.
“I know.”
Noah nodded once, like that answer mattered more than she realized.
Then he exhaled slowly, a little tension leaving his shoulders.
“Good.”
She almost laughed at that, because he kept saying that word like it could fix anything.
But it made her chest feel too warm to be funny.
Lily glanced at him and found him already looking at her again.
And this time he didn’t look nervous.
Not exactly.
He looked careful.
Like he was trying to memorize this version of her.
The one who knew.
The one who didn’t run.
The one who stayed.
Lily’s voice came out smaller than she intended.
“So what happens now?”
Noah was quiet for a moment.
Then he gave a tiny, helpless shrug.
“I guess we stop pretending that something is not happening.”
Her heartbeat tripped over itself.
“That sounds terrifying.”
“It is.”
“But?” she asked softly.
Noah looked at her for a long second, then smiled just a little.
“But I think it’s worth it.”
Lily didn’t know what to say to that.
So she didn’t say anything.
She just stood there, looking at him, while the sun slowly lowered behind the trees and the whole world felt tilted around them.
And Noah Carter, who had spent weeks being impossible to read, impossible to ignore, and impossible not to fall for, was still looking at her like she had already changed everything.
- Writer
