𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟑𝟔

"𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚑𝚘𝚕"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥
𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦

"WHERE YOU BEEN?" Liv asks as she finds Noah in the kitchen of the house.

"Uh..." Noah trails off, "Drinking!" She giggles as she holds up a seltzer can.

"What happened with Jess?"

"I don't know, I never found her." Noah lies. She is not even sure why she lies. Maybe it is because she cannot understand nor explain Jess' anger.

"I just did..." Liv pauses as she nods over Noah's shoulder.

Noah turns and looks towards the front door. She watches as Hannah opens the door for Jess. Noah watches as they leave and walk up the street together.

"Guess she found her own ride home." Noah sighs and leans her elbows on the counter. Her head falls into her hands as she takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think it's time for you to be cut off." Liv chuckles as she pushes the bottle away from Noah's reach.

"Oh, someone's not lookin' too hot." Ronan jokes as he pats Noah's shoulder.

"I'm ready to go home," Noah whines as she looks up at all the boys.

"Let me drive you home, Seattle." Parker insists.

"Okay," Noah wastes no time to answer.

"We're gonna stay," Ronan says, "Me and Tate wanna join the pool party." He chuckles and the two walk off.

"Yeah, I'll hitch a ride with them." Liv says, "I'll see you guys later." She beams and hugs Noah.

"Alright, c'mon," Parker says and puts an arm around Noah. The teen places her arm around Parker's waist, using him for a bit of support.

The two walk outside and head down the street to Parker's car. Parker helps Noah into the passenger seat and jogs to the driver's side.

"You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah,"

"Hey, take this," Parker says as he opens his glovebox. He gives Noah some ibuprofen and hands her his water bottle from the game.

"Thanks," Noah mumbles as she takes the pills.

"And you'll need this too." He adds and gives her a piece of gum.

"You just have all of this? You're a guy, you're not supposed to be organized." Noah cracks a joke as she leans back in the chair.

"My Dad would kill me if I came home with alcohol on my breath."

"Yeah, I need to sober up before I get home."

"There's a granola bar and a Gatorade in my bag — take them.  And just tell your Mom that you're tired." Parker says and watches Noah get the snacks.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Noah asks as she looks out at the street.

"Yeah, I remember from last time," Parker says with a smile.  He peers over at Noah and sees her chugging the Gatorade.

"Yo, chill, you're gonna vomit or something." He laughs.

"Sorry, I just cannot be drunk right now," Noah states, knowing that Emily would kill her if she came home plastered.

"I'm sure your Mom won't notice." Parker tries to make the teen feel better.

"You'd be surprised how good she is at reading people," Noah mentions with a smile.