"𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝙳𝚞𝚖𝚋"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥
𝕥𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

"THANK YOU for bringing me, P," Noah beams as she grabs her bookbag that has her overnight stuff in it.

"Of course, have fun sweetie!" Penelope exclaims and gives Noah a hug over the middle console. The teen hops out of the car and makes her way down Jess' driveway, sending one last wave Penelope's way.

"Noah, Noah, Noah!" Jess shouts excitedly as she runs out of the house, meeting the brunette in the driveway.

"What?!" Noah frets as Jess stops right in front of her and grabs her arms.

"Mom has a late meeting tonight and she's not gonna be home for another two hours!" Jess exclaims with a wide smile on her face.

"So..." Noah trails off with a smirk.

"So, we play house!" The blonde chimes and pulls Noah inside.

Penelope watches the two teens get inside safely, smiling to herself. She drives off, leaving Noah to have her fun.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Noah giggles as she is dragged into the kitchen. There is an open bottle of white wine and an unfinished jigsaw puzzle on the kitchen counter.

"I'm trying to find joy in pretending that I'm in my late twenties trying to solve puzzles over a glass of wine after a long week of work." Jess jokes and takes the bottle of wine by the handle. She takes a big swig, shocking Noah.

"Are you tipsy?" Noah asks with a smile.

"No, I can hold wine very well," Jess beams and leans forward on the counter to scan the puzzle pieces.

"What's the puzzle?" Noah asks.

"Positano, Italy," Jess replies and places one of the pieces into the puzzle, turning it until it fits into the space.

"Here," Noah says as she picks up a piece and hands it to Jess, "It goes this way next to that red one," She adds and watches Jess place the piece perfectly.

"How'd you find that so fast?" Jess asks.

"I don't know," Noah shrugs as she takes a swig of the wine as well.

Noah and Jess lean on the counter next to each other, completing the puzzle while taking sips of wine here and there. Jess watches Noah in awe as she places piece after piece. The way Jess can see Noah's brain working makes her smile to herself. When Jess looks away, Noah takes in the way Jess picks up her pieces. She is gentle and places the pieces together as if they are made of glass. She can see the frustration that takes over when Jess puts a piece down, but it does not fit the way she thought it would.

"I don't know how you've done that whole side already," Jess huffs as Noah starts helping the blonde finish her side of the puzzle.

"Can we take a break?" Noah asks.

"And do what?" Jess questions, still analyzing the puzzle pieces.

"Mario Kart?"

"And then a movie?" Jess pleads.

"Yes, then we can watch your movie," Noah giggles and grabs the wine bottle, "You need to put this away before your Mom comes home."

"Right," Jess says and takes the bottle, walking it into the garage and placing it in the recycling with the other bottles of wine that her mother had finished.

"Alright, let's go!"

—

Noah and Jess are laying on the blonde's bed, watching The Proposal. Jess watches with a glimmer in her eyes as Noah watches with an unconvinced expression.

"Didn't you love it?" Jess asks with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, it was great," Noah says sarcastically.

"Why do you hate romance so much?!" Jess groans as she shuffles to face Noah.

"I don't, I just hate when it's unrealistic," Noah replies and turns to face the blonde as well.

"Wanna change into our pajamas?" The blonde asks.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna call Emily really quick," Noah says as she sits up, Jess mirroring her actions.

"Take your time," Jess nods and watches Noah walk out of the room. Noah finds her way downstairs and walks onto the patio in the backyard. She presses Emily's contact on her phone and waits as the line rings.

"Hey, everything okay?" Emily immediately asks as she answers the call.

"Yeah, I was just calling to say goodnight," Noah says as she finds a seat on one of the patio chairs.

"Oh, I thought you were sleeping over at Jess' tonight?" Emily asks.

"I am,"

"I didn't think you'd call if you were too busy with your friends," The mother notes with a small smile.

"I didn't get to say goodbye, so..." Noah trails off as a frown finds her lips.

"Hopefully, I'll be home soon," Emily reassures the teen.

"Yeah, how's the case going?" Noah inquires.

"It's okay, it's kinda crazy around here. I think we're gonna have a pretty late night," Emily groans as she looks around the busy office. Hotch has been acting strange towards the case, which is understandable but also worrying.

"Well, I hope you solve everything," Noah says.

"Thanks,"

Noah stands from the chair as she gets a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She paces around the patio as she begins to chew on the nail of her thumb. Emily stays silent on the other side of the phone, probably distracted by her work.

"Hey, Emily...?" Noah calls out.

"Yeah, bub?"

"Will you just...be careful?" The teen says with pleading laced in her voice. Emily peers over at her phone, which has been on speaker, and furrows her brows. She takes the phone off speaker and holds it to her ear for more privacy.

"You know I always am," Emily chuckles, but the silence on the other end of the line makes her freeze, "Is everything okay? Where's this coming from?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Noah says as she looks up at the stars in the night sky, knowing her mother is under the same stars as her.

"I'm okay, Noah..." Emily says and hears her daughter sigh.

"I know, I just wanted to remind you," Noah replies and smiles to herself, "I'll let you get back to the case. I have to call Penelope and check in with her anyways,"

"Okay," Emily says, concerned about her daughter's words, "I love you, alright?"

"I love you too," Noah replies and nods.

"Have fun tonight," Emily mentions, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay,"

"Goodnight, honey,"

"Goodnight, Emily," Noah mutters and hangs up the phone. To distract herself from the feeling, she calls Penelope to check in with her.

After blabbing to Penelope for a few minutes, she hangs up and rushes back up to Jess' room.

"Everything okay?" Jess asks as Noah comes back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah," Noah nods and sits on the bed next to the blonde, "Another movie?"

"Actually, I was thinking that we could talk about something...?" Jess says as she sits up.

"Okay,"

"I can't really tell what's been going on with you lately..." Jess trails off, leaving Noah confused, "But you've been acting really different."

"Different?" Noah asks.

"I don't know, it's just been a different vibe for a while," Jess shrugs, "I mean, you've been okay today, but sometimes I can't help but notice it."

"What do you mean?" Noah questions.

"Just that you seem more guarded towards me. Like, we don't spend as much time together as we used to. It almost feels like something's holding you back." Jess explains as she nervously fiddles with her hands.

"I don't know what you mean—" Noah denies.

"Oh, Noah, don't play dumb!" Jess huffs as she loses her patience.

"I'm not!" Noah exclaims.

"You've been weird lately — it's okay! I'm just asking why!"

"I don't have an answer for you," Noah shrugs.

"So, you just don't wanna spend time with me anymore?" Jess asks with annoyance.

"No, see, now you're just overthinking—"

"And that's a bad thing?!" Jess shrieks, "My friend doesn't wanna hang out with me as much anymore and I'm supposed to just think that that's normal?!"

"Well, no, but you're jumping to conclusions—"

"All I ask is one simple question and you can't even answer it!" Jess shouts, not even minding that her mother could be home.

"Why're you picking a fight?!" Noah groans and stands up from the bed.

"Now it's about me picking a fight—" Jess replies angrily as she stands as well.

"Well, you are!" Noah exclaims.

"Noah, this is about you suddenly disappearing all the time! What happened?!"

"Nothing happened—"

"You're lying!"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Noah says with a shrug and Jess crosses her arms, not replying, "So, you're done?"

"I'm not speaking to you until you're honest with me," Jess says proudly and waits for Noah's answer.

But it never comes.

Noah grabs her bookbag with her few belongings in it and grabs her phone. She walks out of the bedroom and down the staircase. Jess comes yelling after her, practically tripping over to chase the girl down the steps.

"Noah, wait!" Jess calls, but Noah does not stop. She opens the front door and walks out, leaving Jess stranded at the doorway.

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a/n: hello! it's so nice to be back! i've missed all of you, even though i know some of you haven't even gone away! merry late christmas! and if you don't celebrate christmas, then i wish you a happy end of the year!