Prior to this event, Noah has attempted to get Cody alone, but to no avail. Each attempt resulted in pathetic failure. Now Noah is determined to corner Cody and finally ask him out. Emma and Noah are on good terms and are better friends than ever. She and Trent have found interest in each other, but have kept their feelings private from their friends except Kitty and The Drama Brothers.
Noah's POV
'I'm making a fool of myself. But I just can't stand it anymore. I know Cody spends his time chasing after girls who don't want him, but he should stop and go after boys who do. Smart-alecky Indian Canadian boys who kiss him on the ear and wake up and scream while fleeing the scene, ' I thought to myself. I was determined to prevent anymore failed attempts. I was going to ask out Cody no matter what.
Cody was so different from anyone I ever met. It bothered me that I let myself get caught up in love again. And it bothered me more that I fell in love with a twink in a garage band that consisted of Mega Dork, Guitar Hero, and Pecs For Brains. Surely that would be enough for me to keep it in my pants, right? Obviously not.
See, the straight male brain is very, very simple. Girls? Hot. Sports? Life. Boys? No homo, bro. But my brain is far more advanced than that of those Neanderthals. Girls? Yes. They are pretty and gentle companions. Sports? Gross. Only imbeciles would get worked up watching people move a ball across a field. Boys? Full fucking homo. But Cody specifically? Cutie who deserves the world... but do I deserve him?
"I don't want to do this alone, Lunchbox," I said to Owen, who was walking with me.
"You can do it, buddy! It's gonna be awesome and I'll be right over here," he reassured.
I took a deep breath and confronted Cody at his locker. It was after school, and nobody was around. No distractions to lure Cody away from me this time.
"Hey, Noah. You wanna come over and watch the Brothers practice?" He inquired.
I inhaled sharply and momentarily pondered why I was asking him out in the first place. "Hard pass," I replied.
"Ah, okay, okay. Did you need something, dude? Something I can do for you?" He smiled genuinely.
'Great,' I thought. 'I love it when you make my life more difficult when you're just being you... I love it when you're just being you...'
"Yeah, actually..." I twitched my lip nervously.
"Haha, wow! That's a first. Noah Sterecra needs something from the Codemeister." He chuckled to himself and looked back at me delightedly.
I rolled my eyes and then cleared my throat. Why was asking him out so different from wooing Emma?
(As the intellectual between you and I, I can tell you that it was because Emma and Cody are polar opposites. Cody's rejection would hurt far worse than Emma's. Why? Because Emma would just say, "No, we can't be together," whereas Cody would actually try to let me down so lightly that I wouldn't even notice that I fell. That's always the worst because feeding someone a sugarcoated razor blade is still feeding someone a razor blade. It's better! Until you realize it's not. At all.)
"Cody... I always assumed you would never make it on my list of people I find attractive," I began. He raised his eyebrow offendedly. "But, nonetheless, even I can be wrong. There are so many things about you that strike me in a way that no surfer hunk or supermodel can. I really adore your tooth gap. Your voice— whether you're singing or not— is absolutely wonderful. And you're really loyal despite who you live with and despite all past rejections. I hate that I find myself constantly thinking about you even though I loathe the idea of dating another person. I still find myself here now, though, and I have to ask you... Cody Emmet Jameson Anderson," I took a shaky breath, "Will you go out with me?"
Cody, during my very emotional speech, had flushed red. His mouth hung open slightly. Even though he responded immediately, it felt like I waited a whole eternity. A whole ass eternity just to hear:
"N-No thank you. Not today, no-o," he sputtered, voice cracking. We stared at each other for a brief moment before he slammed his locker shut and ran off in the direction of Trent's house. I wanted to run after him, but I was held back by the total resent towards running and intense sadness that had been instilled in my being. My feelings for Cody and disgust for running were equally matched foes, but the latter had despair and crushing rejection on its side.
Owen walked over slowly and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, Noah. Maybe he didn't mean it," he whispered. "Let's go play Borderlands 2. That'll cheer you up, won't it, little buddy?"
