She glanced at her watch since Noah had been gone for a long time. It couldn't be hard to get the drinks, but maybe there was something broken with the machine. If anything, she also wouldn't be surprised if he was also taking his time just staring at the machine and drinks itself. Because there certainly was a lot to read if one put their mind to it.
Just as she was thinking of Noah, she was shocked to see Noah pulling the door open in a rush, his eyes wide with his face frozen in a shocked expression. He was instantly staring at his grandfather, holding onto the door tightly enough to make his knuckles turn white from the force that he pressing on it.
He was about to drop his drinks in the other arm with his hands shaking so much, and Alice was about to get up to go over there as her heart broke. What she saw on his face wasn't the relief that she expected after a long day's wait, instead, it was so much raw pain mirrored on his face that made her speechless.
Noah's voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. "Grandfather."
Alice immediately stood, and Noah came to her side as he crossed the room in only a few strides. Noah bent over by his grandfather's legs and leaned down on his arms with his down on the bed to the blanket. A long groan came from him, and she could see the stress and tension leave from his shoulders.
Noah finally looked up, and the all-too-familiar angry expression came to the surface. "You know better than to go on walks like that unsupervised."
His grandfather sighed. "I got it."
"You need to take care of yourself better."
"I have a lot of people here. It was only a few minutes."
"You need to be more careful. Please."
His grandfather watched Noah, and for those few seconds, Alice was able to take in that they truly did care for each other from their silent words that were exchanged with only their eyes and body language. Noah wasn't too happy at all, and it was clear to see. She hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked at her.
She met his pale blue eyes, flicking back and forth to try and read him as best as she could. A smile touched his lips before he squeezed her side. His instant touch was what she needed for confirmation. Alice breathed a sigh of relief, worry gone in a second as she glanced over Noah's shoulder to see his grandfather looking at them.
Noah surprisingly pulled away which made Alice embarrassed to face Henry now, she ended up pivoting her body, so that she was slightly behind Noah's large frame. She hoped that Henry didn't take too much offense to it, but she didn't have to worry since the knowing glint was what put her in high gear, wanting to set the record straight.
Noah didn't give her that chance as he launched into some more chiding which his grandfather agreed to endlessly. Alice laughed lightly to herself since she had never seen Noah that animated before, but it was nice to be seeing new sides to him. In fact, it was safe to say that they were definitely seeing a lot of new sides of each other.
It was comfort that she didn't expect, but one that she wouldn't have any other way. Noah suddenly turned to her which made her freeze with his arm around her waist. "Well, I haven't given you a proper introduction, grandfather."
She smiled while pinching Noah in the back at the sudden change in topic, but it was fine since a formal introduction was always a good idea. It was clear that they went to the same school with their similar uniform where as Noah had already shucked off his jacket and loosened the grey tie around his neck with his cuffs rolled up.
Her blazer was opted out for a cropped version today due to her small dark grey vest to add some more flare to her outfit. Her usual tall boots were into platform black loafers. She had tall black socks that went up to her knees, so she supposed that they still gave that look without being suffocating in black leather.
The hair around her shoulders cascaded down in loose waves that she braided subtly in the front to add some dimension. It was an overall good look if she said so herself. Their briefcases were tossed to the side of the room, on the small chaise lounge that was pushed against the window.
It was the first time that she glanced at her briefcase all night, and she was surprised considering that she thought she would feel off-kilter by it. Instead, she was feeling okay. The notion of wasting time was lost in this moment, and Alice supposed that it was a good thing. She was really putting herself out there for him.