Over the last few months, Noah had watched as the light went out of his friend’s eyes. He hadn’t been able to do a thing about it. Every night he prayed for her to get better. He’d asked his parents to pray, too, but his father said prayers didn’t work on Muslims, and his mother had gotten angry he was even hanging out with someone from “that part of the world.” Even though Ramin was born here in the States and he wasn’t Muslim. That hadn’t mattered.
So Noah had stopped talking to his parents about it. And he didn’t mention that he still hung out with Ramin anyway. If it was at school then they couldn’t complain.
Noah gently elbowed Ramin’s arm. “Come on, you should go. It’ll be fun.”
“No one asked me,” Ramin muttered.
Noah bit his lip. He’d been asked by… well, technically, just Stacy, but he’d had a bunch of girls ask if they were still together “just to check.” It didn’t seem fair he got so much attention when a nice guy like Ramin didn’t.
“You can always go with friends,” Noah said. “Or solo. You don’t have to have a date.”
“It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine, though. Noah wanted Ramin to go. He wanted his friend there. He wanted to see Ramin smile and laugh and dance and forget about the world and just… just be there.
He liked it when Ramin was around. Noah’s heart beat quicker, his chest felt lighter, his smile came easier when his friend was nearby. He’d never had a friend like that before, one who made everything better just by being there. Who looked Noah in the eyes and really saw him. Who didn’t want anything from him, didn’t expect anything of him, didn’t tease him about all the rumors or ask him how many girls he’d slept with. (Just Stacy, and they hadn’t even gone all the way. Not because he was waiting for marriage or anything; they were just taking things slow.)
“Come on. Say you’ll come.”
“I’m good. Really.” Ramin closed his locker and slid on his backpack.
“But it’ll be fun!” Noah wrestled Ramin into a mock pin, though it was really more of a standing bear hug from behind, swaying Ramin side to side.
“Stop!” he wheezed between bursts of laughter. Noah hadn’t heard Ramin laugh in a long time, and he laughed along, too, though he made sure to keep his hold loose so Ramin could get away if he really wanted to.
“Say you’ll come to the dance!”
“You can’t make me!”
Ramin squirmed but didn’t take the obvious out of just pushing Noah’s arm away, so Noah gave him a gentle shake, which got another squeal of laughter out of Ramin.
But suddenly Ramin went stiff in his arms. Noah let go, looking for a teacher, but there was no one but the usual press of bodies. Ramin’s face had gone all red.
“You okay?” Noah asked.
“Fine.” But Ramin wasn’t laughing anymore. He tugged on the hem of his shirt. “See you in class.”
And then he took off down the hall.
Noah swallowed the lump in his throat. And adjusted the lump in his jeans. He hadn’t realized… well. That happened in wrestling sometimes, it was a normal reaction, though he thought he’d grown out of it.
His heart sank. He’d wanted to cheer Ramin up. And he’d thought it was working.
He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.
Now
Noah woke but kept his eyes closed. He was too warm, too cozy. He just had to keep his eyes closed and drift off again. He snuggled deeper into his pillow, into the warm arms holding him, into—
Wait.
Warm arms.
Noah cracked his eyes open. He was in a dimly lit room. In Como. He remembered. The rain had finally stopped, and the clear moon lit the lake outside.
Here, now, Ramin was holding him.
Noah’s heart hammered.
