||NOAH||

Last night...

Everyone noticed as the few final rays of sunlight had vanished. It is now nine at night and everyone began standing up from their spots and packing up. I tried to help but Brad had me in his grasp tightly as though he had turned to stone. He let out a few grumbles, telling me that he wanted to stay like this. I looked at everyone for help which they didn't take seriously at first as they thought it was cute and or funny. Zack placed his hand over at Brad's shoulder and told him that they should be heading back home now to which Brad stubbornly shook his head and kept his eyes shut. It was impossible to convince him to untangle me, so we compromised that Ethan and Annabel would just have to cram in Zack's car, which might be difficult but they said they'll manage.

As we said our goodbyes, I was left alone mangled with Brad. "Mowery!" I called out with the hopes that he could at least hear me from a distance. Thankfully, I heard footsteps approaching and saw Mowery looking at me with an amused look. "don't mind... This," I said referring to the attached drunk clinging to me for his dear life. "... Could you help clean up the remaining rubbish, please?" I said. Seeing that I clearly can't escape, he nods and starts picking up the pieces of trash.

A few minutes later, quiet snores were heard from Brad. I turned to look at him looking asleep. I smiled at him and gave a poke to his cheek to make sure he had completely fallen into slumber. As cautiously as I could, I lifted his bulky arms off of me and slipped away from him. Mowery, who was passing by paused and looked at me. "Mowery, can you please bring him to my room? I'm sorry if I'm giving you too many orders," I said.

"It's okay Noah. I'll do it," he said as he walked towards Brad's limp form, raised him up, placed his arm over his shoulder for support, and made his way to the stairs. With a breath of relief, I stretched my body and felt my muscles relax better. Heading to the pantry with all the cleaning supplies, I returned to the living room with a small portable vacuum cleaner and began cleansing the carpet from all the bits and fragments of chips and such

-

Soon after I was finished, my parents returned home with a tired look, "hi mom, hi dad," I welcomed them, tiredly slouched on the sofa.

"Hello honey," mother said as she came to me and gave a peck on my cheeks. I smiled at her as I have her one on her's in return.

"How did your anthem go?" my father said, sitting down beside me.

"It went okay, but it was nerve-racking as well," I admitted.

Coming down from the stairs, our eyes watched Mowery descending. "man, your friend was on the brink of sleeping and started freaking out when he realized I wasn't you," he said lightheartedly as he greeted my parents afterward who seemed confused for a moment.

"oh, a friend got dru- I mean, drowsy from our barrage of games from the party. He was so tired that I let him sleep on my bed, please excuse him," I said, observing both of my parents' eyes. I guess they found it a bit unusual. I'm not usually the type of person to let someone sleepover (unless it's Annabel) or attend a sleepover. With an unsure tone, my father responded, "sure, as long as you make sure that he's fine. Ask us or Mowery if you need help okay?" He said to which I nodded.

"Thank you," I said, appreciated. I made my way upstairs and into the hall towards my bedroom. As I slowly opened the door with a slight creak, there he laid, ungracefully but peaceful on my bed placed sideways. I stood in front of him and watched. His chest expands widely with each breath making him look bigger. His mouth slowly ajar, saliva dripping on the corner of his mouth and I let out a chuckle as I tried to wipe it away while trying to contain my laugh. From up close, I felt myself feeling flustered. The more I looked at him, the more attractive he looks. I just couldn't believe how someone so handsome could ever like me unless... for other reasons... I frowned and tried to not contemplate any further and just calmed down. "Noah..." he lowly murmured which startled me a little bit, "please be my boyfriend... I love you..." he said, his eyebrows furrowed sadly, It was amusing and it made me feel weak on my entire body with a warm face. I gave him a tap to check if he was talking in his sleep; after a few, he began snoring, signifying that he isn't awake. I stood up on my feet and walked towards the door. With a single glance to look back at him, I smiled, "I like you too..." I said and closed the door.