Nochelle - Our Stories

S H O E B O X

~Season 7+~

Shit.

Richelle rolls over, pushing away the covers, trying to be quiet so as to not wake her boyfriend up. She gets up slowly and turns to look at him – he stirs a little but then settles back into his pillow snoring softly. Richelle lets herself stare and admire him for a while, taking in his messy bedhead and nose scrunched up against the pillow, before the pain in her lower abdomen reminds her again why she was rolling out the bed at 6:13AM on a Saturday.

Shit. They had only been dating a few months and this was the first time she had stayed the night since. And now, she was waking up in Noah's bed with no tampons or pads, no ibuprofen or a heating pad. She chides herself as she squirms over to the bathroom—how could she forget? It's always marked in her calendar, she always has a back-up tampon in her purse, she always remembers. But of course, the moment she's not in her own home and has completely forgotten about her cycle, her body decides it's time. She must've been very preoccupied and distracted to have forgotten it like that. Which, quite frankly, the past few months have been distracting—what with dating the most adorable, sweet and fun boyfriend.

And speaking of said boyfriend, after putting some toilet paper in her underwear, she sticks her head out to look at Noah, still curled up under the covers. Richelle puts on a pair of sweatpants deciding that she needs to go to the nearest drug store and at least get some tampons and Pain-relief. If she hurries maybe she can make it back before Noah notices she's gone. She grabs her purse and quietly opens his bedroom door until—

"Oh God."

Richelle winces at the sharp pain and leans against the door to prevent herself from completely collapsing, unable to stop the grunt that comes out in the process. Behind her she hears shuffling and a groan and she shuts her eyes, trying to chase the ache away.

"Richie?"

"Mmh"

She's leaning on the wall now and clutching her stomach, still trying to hold herself upright.

"Are—are you okay? Why are you up?'

"Mmph—mm'okay, just—go back to sleep"

"What? I—"

The pain gets to be too much, so she lets herself slide down against the wall onto the floor and brings her knees to her chest, resting her forehead against it. She still has her eyes closed but can hear Noah jumping off the bed and quickly padding over to her.

"Richelle? You okay?"

He sits by her, wrapping an arm around to rub her back soothingly. Richelle lets herself lean into his touch, laying her head on his shoulder, still clutching onto her stomach. And, while she feels comfortable around Noah, it's still embarrassing that she forgot her tampons and now was on his floor in pain and... crying??—No, no no no no, no tears, Richelle c'mon get yourself together, this is something that happens every month and you've only stayed here overnight once, you can't be doing this on his bedroom floor you—

"Richie, hey, don't cry here—"

Noah moves to cradle her head in his arms and she shifts to lay her head on his lap, trying to slow her breathing, grounding herself with Noah's hand rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort. She sighs and they stay there on the floor for a while before she feels a stab of pain again and winces a little.

"Richie, talk to me—what's wrong?"

She's pretty sure he's figured it out by now, he was just being kind and considerate by not saying anything and letting her tell him. Ugh, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, right? This is Noah, her boyfriend, duet partner and best friend—she sniffs and sits up a little, leaning against him as he takes her hand and lifts it up to his lips, placing soft, loving kisses. Richelle allows herself to open her eyes, to be met with the warmest, most affectionate gaze and she wants to cry all over again. She swallows and takes a breath.