Page 118 of Stop and Seek
“Answer thequestion, Noah,” Theo whispered.
The tone killed him. His chest went tight as Theo stepped back, jaw clenched like he was trying not to scream.
Theo shoved his glasses up, fingers digging at his eyes so hard it left red marks. “Please. I need a yes or no.”
Noah’s mouth opened, but the world was spinning. He was stuck in the same position as Sunday—unable to help. Standing in one spot, forced to watch as somethingelsegot in their way.
“No,” he finally said, too loud. “Kyran isn’t taping here. That’s already done.”
“Thank you.”
Theo’s voice had gone far-off, like Noah wasn’t even real anymore. He stood half an inch away, staring at the space over Noah’s shoulder, hugging his arms to his chest. “Wait. I need you to say that again. The last part. The hell does that mean?”
Stop asking questions, baby. Please.
Noah rubbed the back of his neck, heart pounding. They’d already told Benji, and ifBenjitook it badly… he didn’t want to think about how pissed Theo was going to be.
“At East Bridge,” he began, watching Theo’s eyes snap back to him. “Kyran had it set up to record Stop and Seek. The video’s going live tomorrow. He needs consent forms from everyone involved.”
Theo flinched like he’d been slapped.
“He wants a form… after? That’s fucked up… why—did you know? Of course you did, you’re like, best friends—”
“I didn’t.” The lie tasted awful. Theo had two rules—verysimplerules. And here he was, breaking one. But Theo looked like he was drowning, and Noah would gladly sink with him if it meant keeping him close. “It’s why Max and I got into it.”
Once he started talking, it spilled out fast.
“She knew the whole time. She told me earlier tonight and I was pissed, too. It’s an invasion of everyone’s privacy. I threw things at her, she hit me. It was a shit show, honestly. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before. I was excited to see you.”
That part wasn’t a lie. Hewasexcited to see him. Needy and starved in a way that made himoverlyexcited.
Theo wouldn’t stop shaking his head like a bug had crawled into his ears and was whispering every betrayal Noah had ever committed. His mouth opened, shut. No words.
“I can’t fucking deal with this right now,” Theo croaked. The rawness of it kicked Noah square in the chest.
He watched Theo pull out his phone, hands trembling so hard he almost dropped it. This jittery, soft version of Theo made Noah’s instincts screamprotect.
And then the phone flew past Noah’s head. He didn’t even flinch. He was too focused on Theo—on howhurthe looked. On how fast tears glossed over his eyes.
The phone cracked against a column, loud as hell. Kyran went silent somewhere down the hall.
Their muffled conversation started back up after a minute.
“It’s alright,” Noah said, voice gentle. He reached out carefully, not touching skin yet. Just brushing Theo’s sleeve. “Let me help.”
“Is it okay? Really? I don’t fucking think so. This all feels like a sick joke.”
When Theo didn’t bat him off or jerk away, Noah wrapped Theo up in his arms and held him like that was the only thing in the world he knew how to do. And it was. He expected Theo to lash out—snap, scratch him, throw more punches—but instead, he sagged. Dropped like the fight had finally run out, head sinking into Noah’s neck.
The sudden warmth of tears hurt more than a bullet.
Noah tightened his grip until Theo’s back cracked, like he could press all the broken parts back together just byholding hard enough.
Those fucking silent sobs weregut wrenching.He’d never seen someone cry like this. This wasn’t about camera shyness or some dumbass tape. This was something else unraveling at the seams.
His nerdy soap bubble popped.
Wrangling Theo into the backseat of his car was way easier than Noah expected. No arguing. No kicking. No screaming at him to back off. Just—quiet. And Theo’s hand in his. Clammy, shaky, but holding tight.
