EX Tradings announces merger with Holt Enterprises (and none of us are surprised)
Shooting at East Falville High leaves 2 dead and 9 injured.
When Camille ventured downstairs in the morning, the sound of his bare feet on the wooden stairs was almost obnoxiously loud in the quiet of Noah's house. A smile pulled the corners of his lips up when he saw Noah silently vibing to whatever music was playing in his headphones. He did not want to spook Noah, so he stayed by the bottom of the stairs and just watched Noah make breakfast.
Noah must have caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye because he pulled out a headphone. "Good morning."
"Good morning." Copying Noah seemed to be the safest thing to do. He would just need to figure out when it was not socially appropriate. "What're you listening to?"
Noah looked surprised for a moment. Then he answered, "Le Sserafim."
Camille did his best to hold back a laugh. "You didn't strike me as a K-pop guy."
Noah chuckled. "Well, I am. I'm not like a super fanatic, but I like the music. I listen for the vibes."
"You did strike me as a vibes guy."
Noah's laugh was startling, mostly because it came out of nowhere and was much louder than Camille had been anticipating. "Has anyone ever told you that you're really funny?"
Camille tipped his head as if seeing Noah from a different angle would help him understand better. "No?"
Noah stored his earbuds in their case and slipped it into his pocket. "Well, then I'm honored to be the first." He picked up the spatula and stirred the eggs in the pan. "I think this living arrangement is going to work out wonderfully."
Camille thought about the copy of the contract he had upstairs under his clothes in the dresser. Even though he had held the papers in his hands yesterday, this all still felt unreal. "We haven't even spent twenty four hours together yet."
With a shrug, Noah replied, "So? You're not freaking out, and nobody's died yet. I'd call that pretty good. Speaking of which, your medicine's on the island. Take it."
Camille picked up the pills and downed them with the glass of orange juice Noah had set out for him. He showed his empty hands to Noah. "All done."
Noah smiled in a way that appeared genuine enough to scare Camille. "You're so cute."
Camille took a step back, giving himself more avenues of possible escape. Nothing good followed when someone told him things like that. "Okay." His voice was so flat that it sounded dead.
Noah's smile dropped immediately, and concern replaced it in the blink of the eye. "Did I scare you by saying that?"
Camille quickly shook his head. "No, I'm fine." The last thing he needed was for Noah to think he was a horrible person. Noah did not deserve to think of himself like that.
"Your pale face and step backwards say the opposite," Noah countered. "I scared you."
"No," Camille started to protest again, but Noah cut him off.
"I'm sorry."
That stopped everything, even Camille's thoughts. "What?" he asked in the lamest voice possible.
Noah squeezed his eyes shut like he was trying to hold back tears. "My god, has no one ever apologized to you before?" He opened his eyes, and they were shinier than before, the repressed tears catching the light.
Camille eyed him nervously, unsure of where the conversation was heading. He had had plenty of people apologize to him, but it had always been insincere and in a context that always ended with them tearing away another piece of Camille's soul. No one had ever apologized like Noah.
Noah slowly came around the island but stopped there. "Can I hug you?" he asked in a whisper. "I think you need it."
Camille blinked, but it sounded like Noah was genuinely heartbroken for him. He nodded cautiously, hoping he would not regret it. He panicked for a second when Noah's arms trapped him, but his body finally communicated to his brain that it was safe and let him relax into the warmth. It was nice. This was nice. Hugs were nice.
Noah pulled back after a couple minutes. "Are you okay?" His dark eyes were so worried, and he looked like he was scared of screwing everything up.
Camille nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked down to where Noah's hand lingered on his waist. It did not feel suggestive or pushy. It felt grounding. "I like your hugs." Why had he said such a stupid thing? Now Noah was going to think he was an imbecile.
Noah just smiled. "That's good. I'd feel mortally wounded if you hated it."
That drew a chuckle past Camille's lips. "Mortally wounded?"
Noah mimed stabbing a dagger into his chest. "Absolutely."
Camille rolled his eyes, feigning casualness even though Noah's hand on his hip was doing weird things to his thoughts. "You're ridiculous."
Noah's other hand slipped away from Camille's body, leaving him feeling a little cold and empty. "But I'm funny, so it works." He returned to the kitchen, where he muttered aborted curse words at the slightly burned eggs.
Camille carefully approached the island again, this time leaning his elbows on the counter. What would he have to do to get Noah to hug him again? He shook his head fiercely at himself. What the hell was he thinking? He was an imbecile and an idiot, not a person who someone as smart as Noah would ever get with. Why was he thinking about relationships now? They had shared a roof for barely more than twelve hours, and the part of his biology that set him up to be bred was already taking charge. Wonderful. This was going to be torture. Emotional torture. The best kind.