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NOAH WARREN

Age: 19

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For a place this huge, it was really cramped. Hoards of people hurried around in a blur, boarding flights, meeting up with their loved ones and chasing after excited kids.

A business man tapped his foot impatiently against the smooth, epoxy flooring as he barked orders into his phone, while a throng of screaming teenagers vied for the attention of a TikTok star who was trying his hardest to speed walk through the crowd.

With all the rare attractions that Crysauralia had to offer, it was a booming tourist hotspot.

The Christmas season had ended just a few days ago, so a lot of persons were going back home now. It was one of the busiest times of the year, which explained the near deafening noise that engulfed the chilly airport.

The periodic, monotonous drone of the female voice on the PA announcing the arrivals and departures mingled with the smell of cheap coffee, junk food and jet fuel.

I shifted in the cold metal chair, trying to tune out the noise. I nodded distractedly at the loquacious greying lady who’d sat beside me and was half-way through telling me her life story. I didn’t ask and honestly, I wasn’t very interested, but as long as she knew I could hear her, she kept going. I’d zoned out somewhere between her twenties and thirties.

That’s why I always brought my earphones with me. They were my escape from social interactions. But it would probably be rude to put them in now.

Woof!

I grinned at the friendly brown beagle that padded up to me and giggled as she licked my ankle. From her collar, I could see her name was Peanut.

She was so cute! I had to pet her, I just had to. I cooed at the friendly dog who stood on her hind legs and placed her paws on my lap.

I always ended up talking to animals in a baby voice. I couldn’t help it; she was just too adorable for words! I’d always wanted a dog or cat, but both my parents were allergic so that option went out the window.

I glanced back at the arrival gate as a fresh crowd of people trickled out. There was still no sign of Noah. I had gotten here earlier than necessary and the time seemed to tick by tauntingly slow.

I shivered. After sitting in the A.C for so long, the air only seemed to get colder by the minute. It was still winter, but this was one of the warmest winters we’d gotten.

I’d wished for snow, but we didn’t get any, which sucked because I liked snow. There was nothing better than getting cozy under the sheets with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book while the snow fell in soft, cottony heaps outside.

All we got were a few scattered showers, which for me, didn’t even come close to snow.

I zipped and unzipped my jacket and then settled for nibbling on my nails. I always got so nervous before meeting people again after so long. That’s how it’d been last Christmas when some of my relatives came around.

My parents hardly joined in the family dinners so every few years when we saw each other, we hardly knew what to say.

Uncle Rob would keep bringing up that one embarrassing time I’d thought the Christmas cake was just for me (don’t ask) while Aunt Julia, who walked like she was two short people under a trench-coat pretending to be one, would pry about every detail of my life and my cousin Lisa would chase me with her ant farm.

For some reason, everyone would steer clear of long conversations and was tight lipped about the time before I lost my memories. Whenever I tried to ask about it, they got all nervous and said talking about it would just stress me out.

I hoped I wouldn’t be weird around Noah. The awkwardness might just kill me.

We’d spent years together, but we were kids back then. What if he didn’t like any of the stuff we used to do together?

Would he even remember that summer when we thought there was a zombie apocalypse and got stuck in his parents’ basement?

He probably didn’t.

I wondered how much had changed over the last six years that we hadn’t seen each other. I mean people didn’t usually stay the same. How much had I changed?

My hair was longer and I’d grown out my bangs after freshman year. I was taller than back then too.

I pulled at the corners of my jacket nervously as Peanut bounded back over to her owner, leaving me and Mrs. Weatherspoon alone together again.

“Queen E!”

I glanced over at the sound of my nickname to see an all too familiar face. I could feel my face break out in a big grin as Noah rushed towards me.

He enveloped me in a big bear hug and I was taken by surprise at how much taller he’d grown since the last time I saw him. His Instagram pictures didn’t do him justice.

Yes, he was definitely a lot taller. Pushing six feet, he made me feel like I hadn’t grown at all. He was trim, but not overly muscular.

His warm emerald eyes made the chilly, sterile building feel like a glowing sunset over a field of flowers, instantly making me feel warmer as the warmth extended down to his glittering white smile.

It was the type of smile that made you automatically smile back no matter how bad your day was. It was the kind of smile that instantly made everything better. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until now.

His nose was still slightly crooked from when he’d broken it falling off his bike in the third grade.

“Welcome back, Noe,” I smiled as he released me. The scent of vanilla and sandalwood lingered on my nose.

“Thanks,” he grinned.

“Oh, these are for you,” I said suddenly remembering the helium balloons in my hand.

He took them and handed me a gift bag, “For you. Purple is still your favorite color, right?”

I laughed. “Yeah. You actually remembered that?”

“How could I forget?”

His gaze rested on my wrist. “You’re wearing your special bracelet.”

“Oh,” I said, glancing at it. “Yeah. Seeing you again is a special enough reason to wear it."

I stared at it, and was suddenly reminded of Ashton and the weird interest he’d taken in it. Ugh, now I couldn’t even look at my favorite bracelet without remembering that egotistical jerk.

I shook my head to get rid of his name from my memory. I’d just file him away to the deepest corner of my mind. Right now, I was with Noah.

“Smile.”

“Hey!” I protested, blinking in surprise at the flash as Noah snapped my picture. “I wasn’t ready.”

He grinned as I tried to grab the guilty DSLR camera from him and tutted.

“Candids are the best pictures.”

I crossed my arms with a huff. “I’m sure it looks horrible.”

He examined the picture and a slow smile spread across his face. “You look perfect.”

“Uh huh,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Believe me,” he said, nudging my shoulder. He raised the camera again and posed beside me.

I narrowed my eyes at him and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, on three this time. One… two… three.”

He snapped the picture and I peered over to inspect it. Despite my awkward attempt at a pose, the picture didn’t look bad. Maybe it was the angle or the lighting, but it came out well.

“Wow, it’s actually pretty good,” I admitted. “You’re great at this.”

“I’ve been practicing,” he replied with a slight smile. “It’s still a hobby of mine. And hey, now I’ve finally got my muse back. I feel so inspired.”

“Most people use their phones now,” I chuckled. “You’re still so old school.”

“You’re one to talk. You have like zero posts on your IG. Who does that?”

“Guilty,” I grinned.

We spent the rest of the day visiting all the places that we used to love as kids. It felt surreal having Noah beside me again after so long.

I was beyond relieved that things weren’t awkward and chuckled at myself for worrying about it in the first place. Noah was still as kind and hilarious as he’d always been, but he had a more mature air around him now.

Maybe it was because he’d just finished high school. He was one year older than me and he was taking a gap year before going to university.

That was why he decided to come back to Crysauralia now. He was going to enrol in the same Chemistry course I was in for this semester.

Yes, I know. I was already taking AP classes at school, so why pick up university level chemistry at the same time? Well, that way, I'd have a better chance of getting into the Royal University.

I’d finished the first semester of university level Chemistry and it wasn’t so bad. Now I had one more semester to go and this time I’d have Noah with me, so it would be even better.

We’d be like Marie and Pierre. Like, could you name an even more iconic duo?

Bet you couldn’t.

“Where’s Yasmine?” I asked, suddenly noting the absence of Noah’s younger sister. “I thought she’d be here.”

“She’s coming. But not for another week or so. Her school isn’t on break yet.”

“I keep forgetting that the seasons are different in Nappa.”

“Yeah. It’s almost summer there.”

Nappa was north-west from Crysauralia and was pretty far away. It put a sinking feeling in my tummy thinking about Noah going back in a few months, but I shook my head. Positive thoughts. He was here in Crysauralia and we were going to have the best time ever!

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After having a fun, adventure-filled evening, it was finally time for us to call it a day.

The sun was already beginning to set and as much as he’d tried to hide it, I knew he must be tired and super jet lagged. We hugged goodbye and then parted ways.

I smiled happily, still buzzing from the time I’d gotten to spend with him. It felt like the stars were aligned and everything was right with the world. It was definitely awesome having my best friend back.

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