Chapter 59: A Date That Gets Off to a Rough Start.
Noah woke up early.
The alarm hadn’t gone off yet when he opened his eyes and checked the time.
He still had more than forty minutes before he needed to leave, but he didn’t go back to sleep.
This was his first date with Luna since they had started their secret relationship, so just thinking about it filled him with a mix of nerves and guilt.
Noah sat up and grabbed his phone.
There was a message from Luna sent seven minutes ago.
[Already awake.]
Noah replied.
[Me too.]
The response came immediately.
[Don’t be late.]
Noah frowned.
[There’s still plenty of time.]
[I know.]
He set the phone down on the bed and got up.
He showered, got dressed, and checked several times that he had everything he needed. He didn’t want to draw attention, so he chose simple clothes. Even so, it took him way too long to decide which T-shirt to wear.
’This isn’t any different from going out with Yume.’
The thought didn’t help.
Noah carefully opened the door to his room, saw that the hallway was empty, and went down the stairs as quietly as he could.
Emma was still sleeping and Ava had already left.
Sarah usually left early, so Noah assumed she was already gone.
He reached the front door, grabbed the handle, opened it—and Sarah was standing on the other side.
Noah froze.
She was holding a bag of bread in one hand and the house keys in the other.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Sarah spoke first.
"Where are you going so early?"
Noah tried to answer right away, but his mind couldn’t find any useful excuse.
"I’m going out."
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"I can see that."
Noah smiled nervously.
Sarah stepped inside and set the bag down on a nearby table.
"Who are you going out with?"
"With Ren."
The lie came out too quickly, so Sarah studied him.
"Ren?"
"Yeah."
"At this hour?"
"We’re meeting early."
"For what?"
Noah glanced toward the open door.
"To talk."
Sarah closed the door, which was not a good sign.
"You can talk on the phone."
"It’s something important."
"What is it?"
Noah stayed silent. He couldn’t make up too much because Sarah had known Ren for years; if she asked him about it later, the lie could easily fall apart.
"A personal situation."
Sarah crossed her arms.
"Is the situation Ren’s or yours?"
"Both."
"That sounds really vague."
Noah tried to walk toward the door.
"I’ll tell you later."
Sarah stepped in front of him.
"Noah."
"Yeah?"
"You’ve been going out a lot lately."
Noah felt fresh pressure.
"Not that much."
"You’ve come home late several times."
"Because I train sometimes."
"You’re also texting a lot of other people."
Noah tried to keep a calm expression.
"It’s high school stuff."
His phone vibrated again and again, so Sarah glanced down at his pocket.
"Is that Ren?"
Noah took out his phone and saw four messages from Luna.
[Already left.]
[Have you left yet?]
[Don’t reply late.]
[If you don’t show up, I’ll come get you.]
Noah checked the time and widened his eyes.
He had taken too long getting ready, so if he didn’t leave right now, he would be late.
Luna sent another message.
[Should I come to your house?]
Noah typed quickly.
[No, I’m on my way.]
Sarah watched his reaction.
"You seem really nervous for someone texting Ren."
"I’m not nervous."
"You’re typing really fast."
"Because he gets impatient."
"Ren never gets impatient."
Noah looked up because Sarah was right.
"He does today."
"Why?"
"Because..."
The phone vibrated again.
[You have five minutes to reply.]
Noah wrote.
[Heading out now.]
Sarah tried to look at the screen, but Noah put the phone away.
"I really have to go."
"Show me the message."
"No."
Sarah’s eyes widened slightly.
"Noah."
"It’s a private conversation."
"With Ren?"
"Yeah."
"Then there shouldn’t be anything weird about it."
Noah took a step toward the door.
"It’s a personal thing for him, so I can’t show it."
Sarah looked less and less convinced.
"You’re not going out with some girl without telling us, are you?"
Noah felt his body tense up.
"No."
The answer came out too loudly and Sarah tilted her head.
"I just asked a question."
"And I already answered."
"You’re hiding something."
"I’m not hiding anything."
"Noah, if you’re going out with someone, you don’t have to lie."
’I’m not just going out with one.’
He was going out with two girls, and one of them didn’t know the other was also his girlfriend, but he couldn’t tell Sarah that.
"I’m just going to see Ren."
The phone vibrated again and Noah didn’t want to take it out, but Sarah pointed at his pocket.
"Your friend seems really insistent."
"Yeah."
"Want me to call him and tell him you’ll be late?"
"No."
Noah grabbed the handle.
"I have to go."
Sarah kept watching him.
Noah opened the door.
"I’ll be back later."
"What time?"
"I don’t know."
"Where will you be?"
"At the station."
"And after that?"
"We’ll decide there."
Sarah narrowed her eyes, but Noah stepped out before she could ask anything else.
"See you later!"
He closed the door and started walking quickly, but when he looked back, he saw Sarah watching him from a window.
Noah sped up.
’She didn’t believe any of that.’
He took out his phone as he headed to the station.
There were two more messages.
[Where are you?]
[I’m coming.]
Noah replied.
[Don’t leave the station, I’m close.]
Luna took less than ten seconds.
[You’re late.]
Noah started running.
When he reached the station, Luna was standing by a pillar, looking at her phone.
She was wearing a simple dark dress, black tights, and a gray coat. Her hair was down and she had changed the accessories she usually wore.
Noah slowed down and stood there watching her for a moment.
Luna looked up.
"Four minutes late."
Noah was breathing hard.
"My mom held me up."
"I told you I’d come get you."
"That would’ve made everything worse."
Luna put her phone away.
"I could’ve used invisibility."
"Exactly why it would’ve made everything worse."
She stepped closer.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
Luna took his hand and Noah instinctively looked around, but she reassured him.
"We’re on a date, so I can hold your hand."
Noah didn’t answer, so Luna interlaced her fingers with his.
"Let’s go."
The date began.