𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆

     "𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, everyone line up!" the coach shouts after blowing her whistle. With that direction, Noah walks to the white line on the soccer field and stands at the end. "We have four teams that you can be eligible to join. There's our freshman team, our Junior Varsity team, and the Varsity A and B teams."

"Good luck," a voice quietly says as Noah feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns and sees Jess' friend, Casey.

"Thanks," Noah replies with a smile.

She turns back to pay attention to the coach and listens to her instructions. She lines up with the rest of the girls in alphabetical order. The first distance they're running is the 100-meter dash. The coach explains that they will all be timed and she will determine with the assistant coaches who should try the 200-meter after.

Noah watches the first few groups of people go. When it's her turn, she stands at the start line of the fifth lane. She bends down and waits for the whistle to start. Her heart pounds nervously, but no one around her would know. And when the loud whistle sounds, she takes off with light feet.

She runs ahead of a few of the girls and doesn't stop until she gets to the finish. She slows down to a walk and heads over to the other girls who have already gone. A few more groups go and the coaches take a few minutes to discuss.

"Alright, girls," the coach announces as she gathers all the tryouts. "If you hear your name, we're gonna ask you to try out for the 200-meter."

Noah stands around as they go in alphabetical order. She is shocked as she hears her name, not expecting to be chosen for another sprint event. She lines up again while the coach calls out the boys' names.

They go through the same process again and Noah waits to be called up for the 800-meter, which is much more in her wheelhouse. As she waits, she stretches her legs and takes deep breaths. Casey told her earlier in the week that if she doesn't take time to relax, she'll crumble by the time they get to the mile.

The coaches quietly talk to each other after each group finishes. They are trying to find the new standouts and Noah knows it. She watches them through the corner of her eyes. They allow a short break before they start the longer-distance races. Noah stands off to the side, not wanting anything to distract her. She drinks water and takes deep breaths, building her energy back up.

The coaches let people decide if they want to run the longer races. Noah lines up for the mile race, knowing that this is where she might be able to stand out. She sits down as some of the tryouts run the 800-meter. When it's almost time to run the mile, she stands up and starts warming her body up to be energized.

The girls eventually line up and Noah puts herself in the middle, not knowing how good she'll be compared to them. When the whistle blows, she starts at an easy pace. Even with that, after the first lap, she realizes she's running faster than all of them.

Noah keeps her pace, beginning her sprint when she starts the last lap. She pushes herself, harder than she did in any of her practices. She flies around the track, the curves not slowing her down one bit. And when she rounds to the second straight shot, she picks up speed again, racing until the last step across the finish line.

Noah slows to a walk and her chest puffs up and down. She turns to look at the coaches as she walks towards the grass. The coaches all look at the time they've written down for Noah, the head coach looking up to see Noah standing in the grass.

"How the hell are you still standing?" Casey asks as she approaches Noah.

"What?" Noah asks before taking a sip of her water.

"You hit six minutes flat," Casey chimes and puts a hand on Noah's shoulder. "Welcome to the team."

"They haven't—"

Casey cuts her off and squeezes her shoulder. "They don't need to."

After tryouts are over, Noah makes her way to the locker room. She changes back into her clothes and walks into the hallway. She looks up and sees Jess leaning against the wall with her headphones on.

Noah smiles as she walks up to her and taps her shoulder.

"Oh," Jess chimes as she takes her headphones off. "How was it?!"

"It was good," Noah says with a smile. "What're you doing here?"

"Came to see you," the blonde replies. "And also check to make sure that you came."

Noah chuckles as she nods. "Thanks."

"Did they like you?" Jess asks as she hooks her arms with Noah's.

"I think so. I was first to finish the mile."

"Really?" Jess beams and tugs on Noah's arm. "That's amazing! I knew you'd be the best out of everyone there."

"You really didn't have to come," Noah says as she walks them towards the exit of the school.

"I wanted to make sure that you're okay. I know you've been doing a lot lately. Hey, did you hear back from the coffee shop?"

"Not yet, but I think they're gonna hire me," Noah says. "The owner really liked me and she recognized Derek when he dropped me off for the interview."

"Speaking of dropping you off, what about your license?"

"I have my test in a few weeks," Noah replies and looks down at Jess, seeing her smile widen.

"Look at you," Jess giggles as her girlfriend holds the door open for her. "Trying out for the track team, getting a job, getting your license. What's next?"

"Looking at colleges, figuring out what I want to study. And maybe trying to run for president of the honor society."

"Where's all this coming from?"

"Trying to be busy so you can forget about me," a voice says before Noah sees her father walking alongside Jess. "You know, she's not as bright as you make her out to be."

Noah tries to ignore him and looks at Jess. "It's just to fill time. And be ready for the future."

"Oh," Ian says with a smirk. "She doesn't know that you see me. Got it."

Jess notices that Noah seems to be looking past her, so she turns her head to see no one beside her. "Are you okay?"

"No, she's crazy," Ian notes.

"Stop," Noah snaps but sees that Jess looks confused.

"Babe, what's going on?" Jess asks as she stops them from walking any further.

"Nothing," Noah replies as she shakes her head. She closes her eyes and feels the blonde's hands on her waist. "Nothing's wrong."

"Hey, it's okay, just relax," Jess says as she soothingly runs her hands up and down Noah's arms. "I'm here. There's nothing to worry about. Whatever it is, you can tell me or we can just move on, whatever you want."

Noah takes a deep breath before opening her eyes again, finding a pair of green eyes looking right back into hers. The icy blue eyes that parallel her own are nowhere to be seen. It's just her and Jess, nothing but love and care between them.

"Let's go to lunch, just the two of us," Jess says softly. "And then the agents can look after you for me."

𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘂

"Anything?" Derek asks as he walks into Penelope's office.

"No, nothing yet," she replies as she swivels her chair around to face him. "Derek, can I ask you something?"

"I have a feeling you're going to anyway," he chuckles as he leans against her desk.

"What if this is a dead end?" she asks. "Doyle flew under the radar for years, even with Interpol agents infiltrating his business, he got away with so much. What if he gets away with this too?"

"I'm not gonna let that happen," he says, determined to avenge his friend.

"I don't want this to turn into something that drives you crazy," she notes, putting a hand on his arm. "It's already caused so much hurt, and the last thing I want is for this to start involving Noah."

"I won't let that happen either," he repeats himself. "She has no idea we're even looking into this."

"Do you really think she's that oblivious?"

"I think she's going through too much to even notice," he replies.

"I'm still worried about her," she frets. "I don't know if she'll ever be the same."

"Were you?" he asks her. "I know I wasn't."

Penelope opens her mouth to say something but closes it as she realizes he's right. She wasn't the same and, to be honest, she blamed herself. Some parts of her still do.

"I'm doing this for her too," he declares. "I want her to have her normal life back. I want her to not have to worry about agents following her every move. I want Doyle gone—for good."

𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Noah walks into the apartment and drops her bookbag. She lays back on the couch and puts her feet up on the coffee table. Derek comes out of his bedroom at the sound of her coming in and chuckles to himself.

"Why do you look exhausted?" he asks.

"I was running," Noah says between deep breaths.

"Do you miss running with Hotch?"

"A little," she shrugs. "It's kinda nice running by myself, though."

"You've been looking better lately," he notes. "Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah, I feel like I've got some strength back. It's nice being back at school with my friends. It feels somewhat normal."

"Good," he nods. "Is normal...a good thing?"

"Sort of. I guess it's nice to have some normalcy, but it doesn't necessarily make anything better."

"You don't have to take this on alone," he reminds her.

"Maybe I do," she replies with sad eyes. "You weren't there that night. If I hadn't fallen into his trap or if I had kept my mouth shut, maybe he wouldn't have..."

"It's not your fault, Noah."

"I could have done something—"

"Don't say that," he interrupts her.

"If I had known he wouldn't hesitate, I would have followed them. I would have done a lot of things differently."

Derek watches her closely as she speaks, his heart tightening when he notices the way her voice falters, how her eyes drop to the floor, avoiding his. When she finally looks up at him, he sees it—an overwhelming pain, mixed with something deeper. Guilt. She's carrying the weight of something she should never have to.

"Hey, look at me," he says as he lifts her chin. "You didn't do anything wrong. Ian Doyle is responsible for this, not you. She protected you because that's what any parent would do."

Noah looks into Derek's eyes with hope. She wishes that one day she could believe him, but right now, she can't. All she can think about is Emily's last words. The promise she made that she would live on, but she never said she'd be happy while she did so.

"You know what? I want you to come somewhere with me tomorrow," he says.

Noah sighs softly. "Where?"

"You'll see."

"I don't like the sound of that," she says with a small smile.

"C'mon, kid," he assures her. "I promise it'll be worth it."