fifteen ; l.h.

her

noelle spent days, maybe weeks, with luke feeling - for once - one hundred percent happy.

her parents were still angry and extremely bitter with her, but they didn't once bug her about anything related to what they'd argued about in fear that she'd explode and cause a 'scene'.

in truth, that didn't bother noelle. she loved her parents, that much was true. however, she needed her space. she was finally free to be a teenager and luke was glad to help her do just that.

"run away with me," luke said one day as they walked in the park.

"what?" she laughed incredulously. "are you serious?"

"it won't be forever," he corrected himself. "just for a while. we can go to brooklyn and you can meet everyone and then we can go wherever you want. just us two. alone together."

"i don't know, luke..." she bit her lip uncertainly.

this was a big risk. she was leaving so many people behind who would have a panic attack if she left without any warning.

"i don't mean to pressure you or anything," he reassured her. "that's the last thing i ever want to do, but i think that you need to get out of this town. we can come back before your classes start, if that makes you feel any better and-"

noelle cut him off by pressing her lips to his gently, pulling away slightly only to give him his answer.

"when do we leave?"

"really?"

"yeah. let's run."

-

mom dad & kaiden,

i'm sorry. i'll be back as soon as i can.

don't look for me, don't worry. luke will take care of me. he swears it on his life.

noelle

the note was placed on the kitchen counter in order to be sure that this was the first thing they saw before freaking out about her disappearance.

she stood with her hand lingering beside the paper, eyes narrowed in worry and hesitation. so much could go wrong and she was beginning to wonder if she was that desperate for freedom.

arms snaked around her waist and a chin rested on her shoulder, making her body relax as his warm scent surrounded her. somehow, when he was around, the questions in her mind seemed to dissipate.

"noelle," he kissed her neck softly, sending electric shocks down her spine and through her every limb. "i'm not going to make you leave. just say the word, and we'll stay."

noelle shifted her head slightly to look at him, noses brushing at the close proximity. his blue eyes seemed to burn through the dim light of her kitchen and they held no trace of disappointment or sadness.

luke seemed completely supportive of whatever decision she made and - god - she wondered why.

"we'll be back," she assured herself more than anything. "won't we?"

"of course, love," he chuckled quietly.

without another word, she hiked her bag up her shoulder and walked hand-in-hand with him out of her apartment. it felt like the world was moving in a blur and all of a sudden, they were on their way to brooklyn, not looking or turning back.

-

"i know you're worried," luke glanced at her, breaking their long silence. his hands were clutching the steering wheel the exact same way they had been for the past hour or so.

"but i want you to know that i will be right by your side through everything. i'm not leaving you again."

noelle's lips quirked up into a smile as she leaned back against her seat. "you know? i really like you, hemmings."

"you just like me?" he teased. "well, in that case, i like you too, devereaux. more than i've ever liked anyone before."

and like he always seemed to be doing to her, she became putty in his hands. with just a few words, she was weak at the knees and her heart was left pounding at rates so alarming that she thought her chest would combust on the spot.

young love was weird. everyone assumed that people their age had no idea what love even was. they were too naive to. even adults never understood it.

while that may have been true, noelle found herself wanting to call every dictionary and every website just to tell them that she possibly could have just found the true definition of what it was to be in love.

love was that moment she was in. one in a car with the boy she admired and his extremely old green day album playing through his car speakers. 

-

"there is no way that ashton is awake at 7 in the morning," noelle pursed her lips as they walked up to the irwin's front door.

"eh," luke shrugged. "he'll wake up for me. i think."

"that's reassuring," the smaller girl mumbled under her breath while luke pulled out his phone and dialed his friend's number.

"hey ash, there's a surprise for you outside," luke teased, sending a cheeky wink in noelle's direction. "yes, at 7 in the morning. just trust me....please?"

"-i still don't get how..." ashton's voice quieted as he opened the door. once he saw his 'surprise' on the other side, he practically screamed, "luke!"

the two boys pulled each other into a hug, patting each other's backs and chuckling like mad. noelle didn't mind staying behind and watching. seeing luke laugh and smile so widely made a smile of her own creep onto her lips.

then ashton's eyes met hers and the grin on his face only grew as he released the tall blonde, instead hefting the girl into his arms tightly. she released a tiny squeak as the air was squeezed out of her, but returned the hug nonetheless.

"is this noelle?" he squealed like a girl, making said girl snort quietly.

"yes," luke laughed. "please don't crush my girlfriend."

face reddening at the use of the word 'girlfriend', noelle released herself from ashton's embrace and beamed up at him sheepishly. the curly haired lad simply smirked, eyebrow raised in mock question.

"thank you so much for everything you've done for him," he said after a moment, smug expression leaving his face.

"don't thank me," came her simple reply. "he means a lot to me, and obviously to you."

"you got that right," ash announced proudly, slinging an arm around her shoulders as they approached luke. "i love her already!"

noelle's stomach flipped as luke kept his eyes locked on her as he spoke, voice tender and genuine.

"yeah. so do i."

+

SORRY THIS CHAPTER SUCKED AND IVE BEEN gONe for SO LONG BUt SCHOOL AND SIGH IM SO SORRY

but noelle met ashton and that's pretty cool lol i plan on giving them the cuTEST FRIENDSHIP EVER IM SO EXCITED

THANK YOU FOR 10K READS!!! IM SO HAPPY AND IM PEEING JK NO BUT RLY IN MY MIND I AM SO TY AGAIN! LEAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STORY IN THE COMMENT BOX :-)

Sad news: this story is going to end very soon *crying* maybe 3-4 more chapters and it'll be over! So question! Do you guys want a sequel? And if so, what do you want to see in it if I do write one?

(ACTUAL) QUESTION OF THE DAY: favorite TV show as a child?

I ask this bc I MET FUCKING DRAKE BELL TODAY AND DRAKE AND JOSH WAS MY FAVORITE TV SHOW AND IM FREAKING THE CRAP OUT HE WAS SO NICE HE HUGGED ME AND TOOK A PICTURE WITH ME AND SHIIT