Ch 2

Noah was assigned with the task of visiting Jace in the hospital. He wasn't exactly upset, he just felt mildly uncomfortable about it given the fact that he barely knew this boy.

The teacher suggested that the class pay a visit but was met with unenthusiastic groans and responses. Even with the promise of a day off from school, they were all still unwilling. It was nothing personal against Jace, nobody just felt close enough to him to go out of their way to visit him all the way in the hospital. Ms Livia then changed her proposition, instead saying that a representative could go rather than the entirety of them. No one else had volunteered to do it though so Noah would've felt bad if he declined.

Groups of three my foot, he thought. There wasn't even one person willing to go, the principal had been worried about the wrong thing.

The class raised a total of 16.50 dollars, out of which 10 dollars had actually come from Noah's own pocket. It was honestly quite pitiful when he thought about it, which is exactly why he decided not to do so. Noah knew in his heart that surely the entire class of 30 students could put together a sum that amounted to more than pocket change, they just couldn't be bothered enough to do so.

The next issue was what to get. What could he possibly like? Noah had barely interacted with him before and his mind was blank on what to get him. He thought about pocketing the money and just going to see him to get it over with but he knew he'd feel awkward just showing up empty handed.

Noah spent his Saturday afternoon wandering around the mall for almost 20 minutes, thinking about what would be a suitable present for Jace, silently cursing out Derek who was supposed to be helping him but had ditched him at the last minute to go on a date. He also felt bad for the whoever the poor boy that would be Derek's next victim was.

Derek was one of Noah's few friends and when he had come out as gay a few months ago, Noah had taken it well. What Noah didn't approve of however, was the way Derek changed partners on an almost weekly basis. Last week he wouldn't shut up about a Jerry he was sure was his soulmate, and now he was going on about a Frankie that was definitely 'the one'.

Derek was honestly just a hopeless romantic at heart, intent on finding his 'match made in Heaven', oblivious to his growing reputation as a player who broke hearts left, right and center. Frankly, Noah though he was just dumb and too impatient to wait till he actually did find 'the one'.

Noah let out an exasperated sigh as he cleared the thoughts of his friend from his head and decided to focus on the task at hand. He eventually settled on a stuffed animal that he thought was cute, hoping that Jace would share his sentiments as well. He paid for the present, got it wrapped and headed back home with it while having serious second thoughts about the whole visiting Jace thing.

Eventually, the next day came around and Noah groaned internally, wishing the night would draw on forever so he could avoid the impending awkwardness that was sure to come. He tried to sleep in but his conscience kept eating at him so eventually he willed himself to get out of bed and get dressed for his visit to the hospital.

Noah's visit to the hospital was uncomfortable to say the least.  The young boy stood in front of the door of Jace's hospital ward as he still seriously considered ditching the task at the last minute. His classmates wouldn't blame him if he did anyways. None of them had wanted to go in the first place, surely they'd understand if he said he didn't want to either.

Just as he decided that he was going to make a run for it, the door opened and out walked a nurse holding a tray of empty dishes in her left hand. She paused and examined the teenage boy before asking, "Are you here to see Master Williams?"

It was too late to turn back now. Noah took a deep breath before nodding his head in affirmation and the nurse broke out into a smile as she ushered him quickly into the room, practically pushing him in with her free hand.

Jace heard the commotion by the door and raised his head up, looking around a bit before his eyes zeroed in on Noah. The look of confusion on Jace's face was almost comical and Noah might have burst out laughing in any other situation but he knew his facial expression right then wasn't any better.

Noah stood awkwardly at the entrance, fiddling with the package he held behind his back, while Jace was seated on the hospital bed, picking at his fingernails just as awkwardly, each one waiting for the other to speak first.

Jace eventually decided to break the silence, "Sooooo..."

"Ummm hi, I'm Noah Carter. We go to the same school and I uhh...heard you were sick so I decided to pay a visit," he said, walking over to Jace and handing him the box in his hands.

"I know who you are, I've sat behind you everyday in class for the past seven months. Anyways, why are you here? You don't look very happy to be here either, were you forced?" Jace asked flatly as he eyed the box up and down before finally accepting it.

Noah bit his lower lip to prevent a rude remark from slipping out. For someone who was basically an outcast in school, he sure has quite an attitude, Noah thought to himself, regretting the thought almost as soon as it passed through his head.

"Jason, you had better be nice to your friend. He came all this way to see you and he even got you a present," Mrs Williams scolded her son as she walked out of the room to give the boys some space.

"Oh right, the present," he said as he fumbled with the box and unwrapped it to reveal a light brown stuffed teddy bear wearing a black blazer with a small 'Get well soon' card attached to the navy blue bow tie on its neck. He looked at the stuffed animal in his hands before looking up questioningly at Noah who seemed to be looking everywhere else but at Jace.

"I uhhh...I didn't really know what to get you cause I wasn't sure what you liked and then I saw this and I thought it looked cute so I got it but if you don't like it, I could take it back and exchange it for something else," Noah babbled on nervously.

"No kidding, this is the first time you've spoken more than two words to me in a row," he replied, holding back a small smile. Jace disliked a lot of the people in his class, in his school even because they all seemed fake and annoying to him but this rambling kid however, something about him had captivated Jace right from the very beginning, and he definitely seemed alright.

^^^\~Kyra✨^^^

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