Noah stayed perfectly still, hidden in the shadows of the hallway, his eyes narrowing as he listened to the boy's final reluctant agreement.
"Alright," the boy muttered, his voice heavy with nervous resignation. "Let's go tonight."
Noah smirked, the pieces of the interaction falling neatly into place in his mind.
'She's working him like a puppet on strings,' he thought, his smirk deepening.
The boy's body language was screaming vulnerability, hesitation, awkward pauses, and anxious attempts to deviate from the conversation.
'She's a piece of work,' Noah mused, a fleeting memory flashing through his mind of another manipulative person he'd encountered in the past.
'The parallels are… funny.'
Hearing the pair getting ready to leave, Noah made his exit, slipping out the same window he had used to enter.
Sliding into the driver's seat, he started the engine, his destination the boy's house.
