my best friend's friend // cody ko - noel miller

chapter one

august nineteenth two-thousand and nineteen. that marked the day of my best friend, noel's birthday. he was turning thirty, a pretty big milestone for some people. and tonight, we were going to celebrate.

"so, noel? what are we doing to celebrate?" i asked, turning to look at him as he put his phone down.

"i don't know actually. i was thinking we could go to my place and-"

"drink?" i finished, watching as he chuckled.

"yep, drink. i was also gonna invite another friend over." i raised my eyebrow as i pulled into his driveway. shoving his phone in his pocket, we both unbuckled our seatbelts.

"neat. do i know them?" he shrugged and opened the car door, looking atop the hood to keep the contact with me.

"not sure. you know my bud cody? i make videos with him sometimes." shaking my head no i waited for noel to open the door.

"doesn't sound familiar. i don't watch my friends youtube videos." he laughed as he opened the door and let me in.

"yeah that's weird how you don't watch my videos. i'm pretty fuckin' funny." we both chuckled and he pulled his phone out. the little clicks his phone made as he texted we're the only noise going on in the house.

"you're texting cory?" the phone was placed on the table and noel shot me a look.

"cory? his name's cody." noel laughed at the mistake and checked his phone when he heard the text tone.

"nice, cody will be here in a few minutes. you wanna help me get the drinks out while we wait?" i nodded and followed him to the cabinet of liquor, where he kept his finest. there was white wine, bourbon, brandi and scotch. there were beers in the fridge along with some coca-cola to mix them with.

"want me to pour you something now?" pulling a glass out of the cupboard, he offered politely. i shook my head no for now, wanting to be at least a little sober for tonight. i walked into the living room and just laid down on the couch. noel and i were best friends since high school. we were so close that we would usually just crash at each other's places and were so comfortable with one another.

"okay well i'm gonna start drinking then." the sound of fluids pouring out from the bottle into the glass went on for a little longer than it should have. i rolled over on my stomach and saw noel was using a bigger glass for his wine. he strut over to the couch and waited for me to move my legs before sitting. they laid on his lap once he was seated as i stared at his glass.

"can i have a sip?" he raised his eyebrow and handed me the glass. i took a gingerly sip and handed the glass back to him. the rich taste slid down my throat. it was a more expensive wine than what i had.

noel and i had gone into conversation about drama going on lately in each other's lives, yet we were interrupted when we heard a knock and the door handle open. "what's up noel, it's code!"

the voice was nicely deep. noel got up and greeted the man, who i have to assume is cody, when he walked into sight. he glanced over me quickly, then did a quick double take.

"who's that?" his whispering skills were not good whatsoever. noel pointed to my direction as he introduced me,

"that's faelecia, she's a friend." i brought my hand up as a wave and then went back to my phone.

"oh, i thought it was gonna be just us..." he awkwardly chuckled as he placed a can of beers on the table. i got up and walked into the kitchen. now i was gonna need a beer.

"nah man, i wanted my two closest friends with me so we can get trashed!" noel chanted. i laughed and cracked my beer open, taking a nice chug out of it. the bottom of the can smacked against the top of the counter as my eyes gazed up and down on cody.

"faelecia, nice to meet you." i extended my hand for him and he looked at noel before shaking it. asshole.

"cody," he said simply. that was all i got, was cody.

"okay then," picking up my beer, i walked back to the living room. noel followed.

"hey," he whispered, "what's going on? you seem a little moodier."

knowing noel for a long time, it was clear that he didn't know how to make girls feel better. i got used to it.

"i'm not moody." my eyes remained on the bright phone screen. noel sighed and got up.

"can i pour you anything cody?" glasses clinked as noel took one from the cupboard.

"i'll go with some scotch." he shrugged, seeming to not care.

"ay, sounds good. go sit and i'll bring you your drink." i heard the quiet sounds of his footsteps as cody sat in the armchair. i looked up for a brief moment. cody's eyes were on me as he looked me up and down. i just rolled my eyes and continued scrolling through instagram. he cleared his throat once, yet i completely ignored him.

"here code." noel gave him the glass and sat down right beside me. i put my phone down and looked to at my beer on the table. i reached over and grabbed it, taking another sip. i kept it with me as i threw my feet up on the table. noel threw his arm on the back of the couch, almost around my shoulders.

"so, fae, you staying the night?" i looked at noel and nodded.

"i don't have a ride back and i'm gonna get drunk, so might as well. i'll just crash in the guest bedroom." cody spoke up to that.

"oh, shit. i was gonna stay the night too, where would i go?" i shot him a glare and took another sip of my drink.

"well i don't know. i'm not gay so like, cody and i can't sleep in the same bed," noel chuckled, "so that leaves you to either sleep with me or with cody."

my eyes shot towards cody. i'm not sleeping with a piece of shit. a sly smirk struck his lips.

"yeah, i'm gonna need a few more drinks..."