Two Yards from Heartbreak

Chapter two

The party was still loud when we left.

Noah didn’t say much on the drive home. He just kept both hands on the wheel and stared at the road. I sat in the passenger seat and tried not to think about the way Jace had looked at me earlier.

It had only been a few seconds.

But it kept replaying in my head.

When Noah pulled up in front of my house, he finally spoke.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Thanks for making me go. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

He gave me a small smile. The real one. The one he’d had since we were kids.

“I’m glad you came.”

I hesitated with my hand on the door. “Noah… about Jace.”

His smile faded a little. “What about him?”

“He was just being nice. That’s all.”

Noah looked at me for a second longer than usual. Then he nodded.

“Yeah. Probably.”

I got out of the truck. He waited until I was inside and the hallway light was on before he drove away. That was typical Noah. Always making sure I was safe.

Upstairs I changed into an old T-shirt and sat on my bed. My phone stayed dark. No messages from anyone.

I told myself I was relieved.

The next morning felt almost normal again.

I was in the kitchen eating cereal when my dad walked in, already in his coaching clothes.

“You were out late,” he said.

“I went to Jake’s for a bit. With Noah.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything else. He just poured coffee and left for the field.

At school Noah was waiting by my locker like always. He’d been doing that since freshman year.

“Morning,” he said, holding out a coffee. “Two sugars. Just how you like it.”

I took it and smiled. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

We walked to class together. A few people said hi to him. He answered, but his attention stayed mostly on me. It felt easy. Safe. Like it always did.

At lunch we sat at our usual table. Jace dropped into the seat across from us a few minutes later, tray in hand.

“Sup,” he said, already opening his drink.

“Hey,” Noah answered. Completely normal. Like nothing had changed.

Jace looked at me for a second. Not long. Not intense. Just a quick glance.

“You survived the party,” he said.

“Barely,” I answered.

He gave a short laugh and turned back to Noah. They started talking about the next game, about a play that hadn’t worked, about who was slacking in practice. Best friends. Comfortable. The way they’d always been.

I sat there and listened, quietly relieved.

Maybe the look on the party had really been nothing.

Maybe I had imagined the weight of it.

Noah nudged my foot under the table.

“You free after school?” he asked quietly, while Jace was talking to someone else. “I was thinking we could study at my place. Or just… hang out.”

I looked at him. His ears were a little red.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’d like that.”

His smile came back, softer this time.

Across the table Jace laughed at something one of the other guys said. He didn’t look our way again.

And for the first time since the party, the knot in my chest loosened a little.

Maybe things could stay simple.

At least for a while.