(no subject)

[dewinged]

"But," I said, sinking into the chair in utter defeat. "I didn't even know your name."

"Noah," was his answer. "It's Noah." His smile spread a little further. "You could have asked anyone..."

"I know," I replied. "I mean, I know now..." I couldn't talk anymore. Hell, the conversation was making me dizzy, just thinking about it. Two years. For two years, I could have had an answer. Which, in some ways, would have been an ending. Answers are endings, sometimes. I glanced up from the board, looking as Chess-Playing Kid leaned up out of his chair. But, he has a name, this time. Noah. His name is Noah.

"Noah," I said, repeating the apellation. "Noah l-?"

"Noah like the Ark, yeah," he retorted, letting a smirk play across his face. Sure, I've seen smirks from the guys on the team before. But not until now did I ever think of a smirk as being 'cute.' He, Noah, made a smirk look cute.

"I guess you've gotten that one before?"

"/Every/ single time," he said. "Serves my parents right, for wanting something different for their kids."

"Different?"

"The name," Noah answered. "See, it even panned out in school. Like, every other guy in the place is named Matthew, or Jamie. All my age, and it's creepy. Like, every parent wanted a Matthew of their own back when we were babies. Like Cabbage Patch Kids that pooped a lot."

It was getting there, though slowly. Resolution makes me semi-cheerful, and therefore my own guard against the sheer...weirdness came down a little. Don't get me wrong: Noah didn't seem like some crazy stalker type, or even that he'd turn a magnifying glass on kittens for fun. Just, asking me about a baseball game I played two years ago as a greeting, remembering a wordless meeting and wave from one day in hundreds, that shit will weird anyone out.

But, it all just hit me, right then and there. I wanted to go for a walk, that was it. But here I am, talking to a memory, with me getting into it, fast. I found myself laughing, feeling that little bit of 'person-meeting ice' starting to melt.

Noah, to his credit, looked amused by this. "What's funny?"

"You said pooped," I admitted. "No one says that word."

"I said that word," he mock-protested. He then looked down, and jabbed his own chest with his index finger. "I don't feel like no one, though. Not today."

"You aren't," I said. "Just that almost anyone else would have said 'shit.'"

"But," he Noah countered. "Had I said 'shit,' would anyone around here have even blinked at the sound of the word?"

Well, we were teenagers, really. It's in our nature. "Nope."

"And there you go. Anyone can say 'shit.' It's something that isn't routine that attracts notice."

I admitted to myself that he had me, there. Damned if I wasn't paying attention to every word he was saying. But that was partly me, too. I always got a kick out of listening to other people. Talking with Noah, so far, felt like the speed drills we used to do for team training. Movemovemoveswitchdirectionpassitoffmovemovemove... Well, you get the idea.

Resting his elbows on the edge of the chessboard table, the dark-haired kid just gave me a smile. "Well?" He asked. "I'm waiting..."

Of course, in speed drills, they didn't leave me staring at people in complete confusion, either. I actually blinked at him. I know I outweighed him, and probably topped him by a few inches, but man, I was so feeling like a little kid right then, and Mom's waiting for me to say thank you or something. "For..."

"I told you something you didn't know..."

"Oh, oh!" I piped up. Christ. Around the guys, I have the whole 'quiet but calm and not stupid' thing going on. Here, I found myself missing even the most basic things. So I struck out a hand, since Noah seemed to forget that. "Kieran," I said.

"Nah," he answered. "I already knew that."

"How?" Now I was almost ready to run. I didn't buy into the psychic BS. "I mean, we didn't-"

"No," he said, smoothly. "But I heard your friends calling you while you were eyeing me up and down," Noah added. "Kier. Short for Kieran. Good Irish name, that. But, you don't look Irish..."

I shook my head. "Half-Irish, on Mom's side," I admitted. "Besides, what, should I have red hair and freckles? That's a stereotype."

"Just as much as associating the name 'Noah' with the Ark?"

Aaaahhh! I wanted to just give up! The kid was...was...I felt in my insides sigh. God, he's really smart. In my head, I actually said that. "You win," I whispered, just feeling beaten. Rally interested in this Noah guy, but severely beaten nonetheless.

"C'mon," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Didn't mean to bring you down." He pulled me off the chair, to stand. "I'll spring for a lemonade," he added. "But, you gotta tell me something about you that I don't know."

"I..." I could say a lot. My interests, but he'd think I'm a dork. Or that closet gay thing, and the fact I thought he was cute. But, I wanted to have him talk to me again so that was a 'No.' "I'm not sure what to tell."

"Good," he said, with a firm nod, deep blue eyes alight with some...weird inner light. If eyes could grin, that's what it would look like, I decided. "Either you don't know what I don't know yet, or you won't tell. So, I get to hang out with you more until you decide to do." He pulled me inexhorably towards the hot-dog cart. For a little guy (I was about four to five inches taller than he was), he was strong enough, or I was just feeling all shades of weak. "But let's go. Lemonade. We're burning daylight, here."

Comments

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

*glimpses at installment, grins*

(L*) is for Legion Loggage. i.e. A log waiting to post. Soon as the "we rescued Ayla, Brin and Lu" log is up.

[gamerguy.livejournal.com]

Awwwww.