𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟏𝟐𝟔

"𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝙼𝚊𝚍"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪
𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺

"BE CAREFUL at school," Emily says as she puts the car in park. "I can pick you up after."

"Okay," Noah says with a confused expression. "Did you need me to send you my itinerary for the day?"

"Please don't be sarcastic right now," Emily sighs as she looks over at the teen, who seems to be upset.

"You look like you haven't slept in days," Noah mentions. "Is everything okay? Are you sure you're telling me everything about this CPS stuff?"

"I'm telling you everything," Emily assures her. "No keeping each other in the dark."

"You always say that and then I learn something new," Noah snaps and Emily rolls her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the mother asks. "You're mad that I'm looking out for you, so you're bringing up solved arguments?"

"I'm just saying," Noah says. "I want you to mean it."

"You know everything I do," Emily says and looks into her daughter's eyes. Noah takes in every inch of her mother's face. She watches as she takes a deep breath.

That's it. That's the tell. She's lying.

"I'll see you after school," Noah says as she rolls her eyes and opens her car door, grabbing her bag and slamming the door shut. She walks towards the school building and turns around, seeing that her mother is watching her walk into the school.

Noah walks down the hallways until she finds Liv standing by her locker. "My favorite redhead."

"Uh oh," Liv chuckles. "What do you want?"

"A day off," Noah says as Liv closes her locker. "Are you in?"

Liv laughs and thinks about it for a moment. "Yeah, why the hell not."

"C'mon!" Noah exclaims and pulls Liv's arm through the hallways. They sneak out through the side entrance and walk to the street next to the school. They go down the sidewalk, making their way to the opposite side of the city from the BAU.

—
𝕒 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣

Noah laughs so hard that it makes her stomach sore. She throws her head back as she holds her stomach. Across the table from her, Liv is also laughing. Noah calms down and looks around the diner.

"I can't believe they wouldn't come with us," Liv says as her laughter quiets down.

"C'mon, you know how they are," Noah says. "Jess would never, Parker has turned a weird new leaf, Tate's mom would kill him, and the only reason Ronan didn't come is because he has a test."

Liv giggles. "That must be why me and him get along so well."

"I'm really happy for you, red," Noah chimes as she leans her back on the wall and stretches her legs out on the booth.

"You too," Liv replies as she mirrors Noah on the other side of the booth. "I'm glad that you stuck around."

"What do you mean?"

"We were the first people you met," Liv says. "Usually, the first friends you make don't stick. I thought you'd find someone else more fun."

"No," Noah says with a smile. "I was lucky to meet you guys."

"Hey, what about that Hailey girl? She's nice. Do you think she'll stick around with the group?"

"Did you guys like her?"