Don't Disappoint Me

Hoping You Like Me

Am I overdressed? This is too much. Mistake. Mistake. Panic was beginning to buzz in his head. Noah wasn't giving anything away, per usual. To an outsider, he looked serious, composed, unreadable. Just how he had looked to MC on that first day at the villa, when he hadn't stepped forward for her.

He had been too nervous. And once all the other guys had already stepped forward it seemed overconfident for him to do it. As though she would choose him over all those other lads. Hope came right to him. He didn't even have to muster the courage to step forward. It was something he liked about Hope. She made sure he was included. While he would have normally faded into the background in a group like that, Hope made sure he was one of the leading men. A power couple in the Villa.

Noah hadn't seen MC in person since the reunion a year and a half ago. They had both been happily paired up with other people at the time. They had been distant, social media friends since then. Although Noah wasn't very active, and MC hadn't been posting much in the past 5 months or so. He did occasionally look at her profile and see what was going on with her. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Bobby hadn't been in any of her pictures lately. Her posts had shifted more towards social issues and scenery. The few that she actually posted anymore. When he heard that they had broken up, he had a surge of tingly panic jolt through him. That can't have been easy for either of them. It gave him an aching in his chest to think how they both must be feeling right now. He was also desperate to take the opportunity to get closer to her. To have his chance finally. He was buzzing with this news, unsure of what his next move should be. He didn't want to just swoop in out of nowhere. Didn't want to give away his ulterior motives. But he didn't want to wait too long. They could get back together. Or she could meet someone new.

He found out she was performing nearby, and knew this was his opportunity. Her classical music career seemed to have taken off since leaving the Villa. Her claim to fame was the cello, but he knew she played a variety of other instruments, and had a nice singing voice too. He was excited to see the performance, and it was a great excuse to see her.

Things had always been perfectly chaste between them at the Villa. Mostly just furtive, quiet moments here and there. Extended eye contact. Soft smiles. Eye contact during a shared laugh. He remembered once he caught himself gazing into her eyes smiling while holding Hope. There was a shared appreciation between them. But they were in other relationships, and they were supportive of one another. Bobby, Hope, Noah, and MC were each other's best friends in the Villa.

But there was an unspoken romance too. When they'd had too much to drink, they often found themselves flirting. MC would call him over to hang out with her, or pretend to be pouty if he left the group, or went to bed. One particularly tipsy night she said to him, "Oh Noah, you know I just like you so much." It made something deep inside him soften. He was in a good mood the whole next day.

MC needed to keep up her playing over the summer, so they let her store her cello in the Hideaway. It was rarely used compared to other parts of the villa. Early on, Noah had been exploring the Villa alone, and he had stumbled upon one her sessions. He followed the sound, already missing the opportunity to listen to music all day they way he normally did. It was the general opinion that he came off as antisocial when he tried to do the things that normally relaxed him. Reading, listening to music, being alone. The Villa was a tough environment for an introvert like him, and he often craved to get away. Even his downtime was dominated by Hope. That's why he had been taking the walk in the first place.

"Oh, sorry!" he said when they saw each other and startled. "I heard the music. I'll-"

"Oh no problem! I was just in my own world! How's it going?"

"Good, just trying to get some headspace."

"So you heard the sound of someone else and came looking?" she smirked.