𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡'𝐬 leg bounces as she looks out the tinted window in the backseat. She nervously rubs her palms against her pants as she tries to make them stop sweating. When the car pulls up to the restaurant, Noah takes a deep breath before an agent opens her car door. She steps out and walks up the sidewalk, heading to the doors of the restaurant.

After opening the door and stepping inside, she looks around and sees a table in the back corner. The breath she was holding releases as she sees her friends waiting for her. Her throat becomes soar as she feels a burning sensation from the sudden tears trickling out of her eyes.

Noah rushes over as Liv meets her halfway and they clash into each other's arms. Noah cries as Liv rocks them back and forth.

"I missed you so much," the redhead whispers.

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't be sorry," Liv cuts her off. "We can't even imagine what you're going through."

They pull away and Noah smiles as she looks into Liv's eyes. She turns to look at Parker and hugs him tightly. He mutters that he's missed her and he's sorry for her loss. Then, she feels a hand on her head before Tate pulls her into his arms and Ronan turns it into a group hug as he wraps his arms around both of them. When they release, Noah turns to see Brittany crying as she holds onto Clay's arm. When she realizes that it's her and Clay's turn, she embraces Noah tightly, not wanting to let her go.

"We're so sorry," Britanny says as she steps back to let Clay hug Noah.

Noah turns to Hailey, hugging her as well. She is surprised to see her there, but it means the world to her.

In the middle of a random restaurant, they've all created an intimate moment where they're reuniting with their friend. The hole that formed when she left is now whole again and all they want to do is take care of her.

"Hi, gorgeous," Jess says quietly as she wraps her arms around Noah's neck. "Happy birthday."

Noah smiles softly at the words and feels Jess kiss her cheek. She pulls away and looks deeply into Jess' eyes. The get-together was all her doing and Noah was hesitant at first, but she gave in eventually. And now she's glad she did.

"How are you?" the blonde asks. "1 day until 16."

"Better," Noah nods as everyone finds their seats at the table. Noah sits beside Jess and feels her hand on her knee.

"What do you wanna do?" Jess asks softly. "We can not talk about it and just have fun or we can all listen."

"I just want to hear everything I've missed," Noah says with a small smile. "I just wanna have fun with you guys. I want it to be normal."

Everyone smiles and looks around at each other. They seem to be hesitant to start the conversation, and no one really knows how to be normal. They all feel heavy for her and they can see how it's affected her. But, of course, Liv is the one to break the ice.

"So...we're not gonna mention the new red hair?" she asks and everyone looks at Noah, who laughs at the joke. Everyone laughs as they realize that Noah really does just want to be normal.

"I decided to join you," Noah mentions.

"Yeah, now when we make fun of the ginger, we have to make fun of you too," Ronan adds as he ruffles his girlfriend's hair.

"At least hers can go back," Parker chuckles, making Liv glare at him.

"I don't know, I like it," Jess chimes as she runs her fingers through the ends of Noah's hair.

"Of course you do," Ronan teases.

"You're the one dating a natural ginger," Tate says, aiming the fire at him now.

As they continue to joke around, Noah finds herself smiling and laughing. She's not sure why she was so nervous. The second she saw all of them, a weight lifted off of her chest. They understand what she needs. Although the team does everything they can to take care of her, without knowing it, Noah craves what life used to be—when everyone was normal and it didn't feel like a chore just to get out of bed in the morning.

They order massive pizzas and split them all. They laugh, make fun of each other, and catch up. Noah feels like no time has passed. And as they leave, she's happy that it's not over. She doesn't feel like crawling into bed by herself, she feels like laughing with Liv or planning pranks with Tate and Ronan or teasing Parker.

They head to the roller rink and Noah can't help but roll her eyes at Jess. But the blonde bumps their shoulders together, which makes her smile again. They all head inside and get their skates. As Noah waits for the girl to get her size, she hears a voice behind her.

"Happy birthday."

Noah turns around and sees a familiar face. "Liam?" she asks before jumping into the boy's arms. She hugs him tightly and feels his arms find their way around her too.

"You thought I'd miss your birthday?" he asks with a wide grin. "Not in a million years."

"How did you—" she says before turning to Jess. "You did this?"

"She did," Liam answers for her.

Jess giggles at the sight of Liam and Noah talking. She hasn't seen Noah smile that wide in months. She's glad that she kept it a secret and they were able to surprise her. It doesn't give Noah time to let it sink in and let anything else take over. With a surprise, she doesn't know it's coming, so she can't stop the smile that paints her lips.

Everyone laces up their skates, excitement bubbling in the air. Once on the smooth floor, some of them glide effortlessly while others wobble on their wheels. Noah giggles as she holds onto Liam's hand, helping him stay steady. Jess skates backward in front of them, of course, her being a natural. She holds up the camera that Noah gave her for Christmas and takes a picture of the two of them.

With the same camera, she captures laughter as they all chase one another in a swirl of neon lights and upbeat music. Time seems to melt away, leaving only the sound of wheels spinning and the echo of carefree laughter as they embrace the pure fun of the moment. And when everyone says their goodbyes, Noah feels content knowing she'll see them all again soon.

The agents that had a perimeter around the roller rink drive Noah to Jess' house. As she walks down the driveway, Jess grabs her hand. There's a comfortable silence between them and it makes Noah feel at ease. They walk into the house and Jess closes the door behind them.

"My mom will be home later tonight," she says. "Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you," Noah replies and feels Jess grab her hand again.

"Do you wanna go upstairs?"

"Sure."

Jess leads Noah to her bed and they get comfortable against the mattress. The blonde sits crisscrossed while Noah leans back against the headboard.

"What's going through your head?" Jess asks.

"I just feel like everyone is in the dark about what happened and...I don't know, I wanna let you in, but I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"That after I say it, you'll be scared of me."

"I would never be scared of you," Jess insists as she scoots closer and reaches her hand out.

Noah takes her hand and holds it tightly. "I'm sorry that I've been a bad girlfriend—"

"Noah," Jess stops her before she can say anything more. "You lost your mother. You don't have to apologize for anything."

"I feel like I should tell you what happened. Maybe it'll help me, but also explain more about why I had to disappear."

"Are you sure?" Jess asks.

"No, but I think you should know," Noah says as she looks into the blonde's eyes. "I want you to know."

"You don't have to tell me—"

"I don't, but I want to. But you have to swear you won't tell anyone. Normally, I wouldn't say anything or make you swear because I trust you, but this information cannot get out. It sounds crazy, but it may be dangerous just for you to know what happened."

Jess looks into Noah's blue eyes, seeking the truth. She can see the fear, but also desperation. There's a secret hiding within her and it's bursting to come out.

"You tell me whatever you want," Jess says, not minding how dangerous it is.

Noah stays silent for a few moments. She knows that she shouldn't say anything, but it's right on the tip of her tongue. She wants to tell her everything, every little detail. So she does.

"A few weeks before I gave my speech, some weird things happened. A few CPS agents came by and they found out that the agent that was visiting me at my old foster house wasn't in their database. And Emily kept everything she found out about it from me and she was being really weird. Whenever I was parted from her, she would keep asking me where I was going, who was gonna be there, and how long I was gonna be gone. She just wasn't herself. She eventually moved us into a hotel. Said there was a gas leak at the apartment, but I found out it was a lie. She said it was something about my foster father trying to find me through a fake CPS agent. But before I could ask more, I gave my speech, and...she disappeared after."

"What do you mean?"

"One second she was there, the next she was gone. And she left me this really strange voicemail. I called Aaron and he had Derek come pick me up."

"That was the last time I saw you," Jess mentions. "I saw you outside and when I went to bring you inside, you were gone. I sent you, like, a thousand messages—"

"I know, that's why they had to send you the letter."

"Yeah, the letter that came days after."

"I know," Noah sighs. "But I'm getting to why that is."

Jess gets comfortable as Noah begins to explain Emily's background. She talks about her time with Interpol and how she became connected to Ian Doyle. She tells her that she's unsure how and why, but that her mother fell pregnant with her at the hands of Ian.

"You had no idea that she even worked for Interpol?"

"No," Noah answers softly as she shakes her head. "I didn't know she worked for Interpol and I never knew that my father was a dangerous person. I mean, she had warned me that I didn't want to know him, but she never made it sound that bad."

"Did Emily...love him?"

"I don't know," Noah says quietly. "I never really figured that out. And I guess I never will. But to know me...you have to know him. How he hurt me, what he's done to me. You also have to know Emily. Who she was, the mistakes she made, the ones she didn't. In a way, all of the rights and wrongs of my life lead back to them."

"Only if you're ready. You need time and I won't take that away from you."

"Honestly...it's already being taken away from me."

Jess doesn't peel her eyes away from Noah's gaze. She wants her to know that she's there for her and she won't judge her for anything that happened. Noah didn't choose her parents or who they are.

As Noah allows herself to tell the story of that night almost three months ago, she expresses herself fully. She cries, gets frustrated, feels nervous, and shakes with the fear that hasn't left her since. Jess has never heard anything like it as she battles with her own beliefs, trying to understand how someone could do this, especially how he could do this to Noah and her mother.

"Trust me, even to me, it sounds crazy," Noah says softly. "I don't know how to move on from it. I don't know how to say it other than what it is. And it haunts me, every second of it. But if he's my father, I don't know if I'll ever truly escape him or who he made me. So, to know me is to know him too."

"Noah..." Jess trails off as she looks into her girlfriend's blue eyes. "For me, to know you is to love you. And to love you is to see your faults. Your losses and triumphs, your pain and your happiness. Nothing that has been done to you will change how I feel about you. Because all I see is a smart, independent, strong girl, who's done nothing but survive and love."

"I haven't loved—"

"Don't say that," Jess immediately cuts her off. "You have loved everyone I've ever known you to know. You love the team as if they're your family. You love Jack, who you put your life on the line to protect. You love Henry and treat him like he's your own brother. You love our friends, so much so that you put us on hold to spare Parker's feelings. You love me enough that you used your fists on someone who called me "blondie" because you know I hate that unless it comes from you. You love your mother so fiercely that you sit by her grave almost every day and I know the days when you don't, it fills you with so much guilt that it consumes you."

Noah looks away from the piercing green eyes across from her. She tries to hold in her emotions, feeling like she's cried enough. But when she looks back at Jess, all she can do is let it all out.

"All you do is love, Noah. It's who you are. You may not trust everyone, but you can be damn sure that you love them nonetheless. I don't think you see the kindness that you've always had inside of you."

"I wouldn't really use the word 'kindness' to describe me."

"I do," Jess replies with a small smile. "Because I know that you're more than what's happened to you. And I know you're more than the people who raised you. I see that and I know Emily saw it too. And she was so proud of you."

Noah starts to pick at her fingernails as she speaks. "Do you think so?"

"If only you could've seen the way she looked at you," Jess says as she takes Noah's hands in her own. "It was like you were the only person she cared about. Everything she did, she did for you. Even when she put her life on the line."

"She died for me," Noah whispers.

Jess is at a loss for words, her silence heavy with unspoken empathy. Instead, she inches closer, drawing Noah into her arms. She wraps her in a fierce embrace, wishing that she could lift the weight from Noah's shoulders. Jess would give anything, everything, to soothe her anguish, but she knows that some heartbreaks are beyond repair, their shards too deep and jagged to ever fully mend.

The two of them stay like that, enveloped in the quiet of their shared sorrow, as the world outside continues to move on. Jess closes her eyes, silently vowing to stand by Noah through every storm, no matter how severe. For now, all she can offer is her presence and the promise that even in the darkest times, she'll always be there. And right now, Noah realizes, that's enough.