Best of Friends 13 - Breakfast

Godfrey's cafeteria was a space of polished marble and privilege. Newly built, lavishly furnished, and serving gourmet meals to the academy's elite.

Noah often felt out of place sitting at the quartz countertop tables. This morning especially as he watched Mike work away at several plates of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns.

Rachel sat closely beside him, taking a bite from her yogurt covered in granola as she watched the incoming crowd of students.

"Kind of slow today," Rachel said. Mike grunted, finishing off his second plate of eggs and letting out a loud burb.

"Yeah, probably because of the fucking game last night. Most people party after," Mike said.

"Oh! That's the one Ethan played in right?" Rachel asked.

"He starts every time," Mike said, digging into a pile of bacon as he spoke.

"Do you guys ever go to watch him?" Noah asked. Mike shrugged.

"I mean sometimes. Godfrey Stadium fills up pretty quick so good fucking luck getting a seat. Plus I'm like... fucking busy with shit so yeah."

"Weird, I thought you'd be big into basketball," Noah said. Mike stared, confused.

"Why?"

Noah shrugged. "I don't know, you seemed like the sports type to me." Mike shook his head.

"Nah. Shits boring. I did do wrestling for a little bit but I didn't want to do it in college."

"So what do you like to do for fun?" Rachel asked. Mike smirked.

"Party and fuck!" Mike said far too loudly. Rachel glared at him while others stared at their table.

"Mike! Volume," Rachel hissed.

"Oh right sorry," Mike looked over at their neighboring students and gave a polite smile. "I do like to fuck, but I'm not fucking her. Because that's his girlfriend so like... we don't... do that." Mike looked over to Rachel, seeking approval. She shook her head and let out a soft laugh.

"We're going to have to work on that." She squeezed Noah's arm as Mike laughed along with her, finishing off his pile of bacon before grabbing another plate of eggs.

"Speaking of fucking though, like... I remember bits of last night... I remember it feeling good and shit but like... I'm foggy," Mike said.

"That will happen when you're drunk," Noah said.

"I guess, I just need a reality check. It really did happen, right? Did we go fucking crazy? Like multiple times?"

"Yes Mike, it really did happen," Noah confirmed.

"That's so fucking sick man, holy shit." Mike stared at Rachel dumbfounded, his eyes wide open as he took her in. "I'm so fucking lucky. This morning was fucking awesome too."

"What was awesome about this morning?" Jack asked, approaching the three with a warm smile. Mike looked at Rachel and Noah bashfully.

"Uh... you know... some stuff." He spoke like an elementary child, Jack slid into the seat next to him and looked at Rachel curiously.

"Some stuff? Like, what?" He asked.

"Jack, maybe it's best we skip the subject? It's kind of sensitive," Rachel said. Noah looked at her with surprise.

"You don't want him to know?" Noah asked. Rachel laughed uncomfortably. Jack's eyebrow raised.

"Don't want me to know what?"

"Ooooh man, this is getting fucking good," Mike said. Jack's face shifted from curiosity to pain as the pieces fell into place.

"Wait... did you two..."

"We fucked!" Mike said, holding out his hand for a high five from Jack. Jack stared into Rachel's eyes as if stricken by a bolt. He raised his hand and weakly hit Mike's.

"You fucked," Jack said dully. Rachel blushed and fixed her hair.

"We did," She confirmed. Noah watched Jack closely, surprised to see him becoming disturbed by the news.

"Dude I fucking plowed the shit out of her, it was mind-blowing. Definitely in the like the top ten fucks I've had for sure." Mike said

"Top ten, you must be so proud Rachel," Jack said dryly as he took a swig of his coffee. Rachel's brow furrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Jack shook his head.

"It doesn't mean anything," Jack shot back. Mike grabbed Jack's coffee and took a sip from it. Jack looked at him with annoyance.

"Thanks, bro, I'm fucking tired as fuck," Mike said, sliding the mug back over.

"You're welcome..."

"God I wish I could fucking see it again though man... I'm kind of bummed I was drunk for half of it."

Noah cleared his throat.

"I mean, I did record it," he said. Jack and Mike both looked at him with peaked interest.

"You recorded it?" Jack asked with confusion. "Why?"

Noah shrugged. "I don't know, it just seemed right at the time I guess I..."

"He enjoys it," Rachel interjected, "We both enjoy it. No harm in recording something that we both would like to remember."

"Yeah well, I don't know if I'd feel the same way about it," Jack replied.

"Then it's a good thing you're not Noah," Rachel countered. Tension filled the air as Jack slowly sipped his coffee, staring at Rachel with cold eyes.

"I guess so."

"Does it bother you?" Rachel asked.

"Who said anything about it bothering me?"

"You're the one acting strange about it," Rachel said. Jack shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

As the two continued to banter, Noah's gaze drifted beyond the table and landed on a figure he knew all too well. A silhouette from a past he had tried desperately to forget. A man he never wanted to see again.

Brian.

"Look, I'm not trying to start anything," Jack continued.

"Well you're doing a terrible job of it," Rachel said dully.

"I'm just trying to understand... so does this mean Mike is going to be fucking you regularly from now on?" Jack asked.

"I fucking hope so," Mike said, playfully punching Jack's shoulder. Rachel leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"What if he is?" She asked. Jack let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"Look, I get it. You two are into this kind of thing. I just... wasn't expecting it, that's all." Jack leaned back in his seat, forcing a smile as his eyes drifted away from Rachel.

"Well, expecting it or not, there's no reason for you to get upset about it," Rachel replied.

"I just don't understand how you two don't get jealous..."

Their voices trailed off. Noah couldn't hear them anymore. His eyes were fixed on Brian. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind in the blink of an eye. Perhaps the greatest of all being how he would get Rachel out of the cafeteria without Brian noticing.

"Look Jack I don't need to explain to you why it works for us. It just does. So can we please drop it?" Rachel asked. Jack sighed as he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, we can drop it. I have to get going anyway. I'll talk to you two later, alright?" Jack stood from the table, Noah snapped back to attention and smiled.

"Oh, y-yeah. See you, Jack."

"Yeah..." Jack said, walking off into the ever-growing crowd of students. Rachel stared after him, letting out a frustrated sigh before turning her attention to Mike.

"What's his deal? Did he get his feelings hurt?" Rachel said. Mike shrugged.

"He's always been emotional. Just his thing I guess," Mike said.

"Noah, what do you think?" Rachel asked.

Noah didn't respond. Rachel gave him a gentle nudge.

"Noah?"

When Noah didn't respond again, Rachel leaned forward and caressed his arm. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"It's him," Noah said flatly. Rachel, perplexed, looked off into the crowd.

"Who?"

"Brian," Noah said. Saying the name out loud felt like taking a plunge in cold water.

"Wait, the Brian?" Rachel hissed.

"Yeah, the Brian," Noah confirmed.

"Who the hell is Brian?" Mike asked, looking over at the other table. "Is it the tall football-looking guy?"

"Mike don't look!" Noah said. Mike slowly chewed his food and shrugged.

"Yeah, alright whatever. So what's the deal with him?"

"It's not important; we just need to get out of here." Noah began frantically gathering his things, Rachel following his lead without question.

"I kinda want to finish my food though..." Mike said.

"For Christ's sake Mike you ate four plates of eggs I think you can skip on the extra hash browns," Rachel countered, throwing her backpack over her shoulder as Noah stood from the table.

"Man... all this for a football guy? If you need me to kick his ass I can."

"Mike, please, let's just go ok?" Rachel said softly. Mike sighed and stood slowly. As the three prepared to leave, Noah looked back over to Brian, his heart sinking when he saw him giving an overly friendly wave as he walked towards them.

"Shit..." Noah said. Rachel glanced up.

"Oh no, looks like he spotted us."

"Looks like it."

"Are you going to be ok?" Rachel asked. Noah breathed slowly and shook his head.

"Yeah, I think so... let's just get it over with," Noah said, waving weakly as Brian approached the table.

"Holy shit, so it is you! I thought I was seeing a ghost there for a second," Brian opened his arms for a hug, just like he used to in high school. Noah grit his teeth and hugged Brian weakly. Looking back at Rachel as he did so.

"Nice seeing you Brian," Noah said shortly. It was hard looking at him. Excluding the undercurrent of rage Noah felt, Brian had somehow managed to put on even more muscle since Noah had last seen him.

"I had no idea you went to this school," Brain said shortly.

"Yeah, well, they have a great IT program," Noah said flatly.

"Surprised you got in. No offense. I know you've always been nerdy, but I never thought you'd make it into Godfrey," Brian laughed to himself, Mike let out an annoyed grunt as he stepped over to Rachel and Noah.

The two monoliths stared at one another for a moment. Brian cleared his throat. " So what's your name?"

"Mike," Mike said flatly.

"You friends with Noah?" Brian asked.

"Yeah," Mike shot back. "You don't seem to be though."

Brian laughed uncomfortably. "We were once upon a time."

"Uh-huh, but not fucking now."

Brian shifted, it made Noah smile, at least until Brian's attention turned to Rachel.

"And what's your name?" Brian asked. His charisma an all too familiar venom for Noah.

"Rachel," Rachel said coldly.

Brian stepped towards her. Rachel stepped back.

"You Mike's girlfriend?" Brian asked.

"No, I'm Noah's," Rachel answered, grabbing onto Noah's arm tightly. Brian's smile dropped as a cold laugh left him.

"Noah's girlfriend, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Wow, happy for you two... really... did you guys meet on campus then?"

"High school, actually. Senior year." Rachel's answers were cold and calculated, a thick shield of armor that couldn't be breached.

"No way, you're from Herferd then?"

"One and the same," Rachel answered. Brian's eyes slowly began to widen.

"Wait, I do know you! You were cheerleading captain right?"

"I was," Rachel said with a polite smile. Brian stared in disbelief, scoffing as he shook his head.

"Wow, that's uh... that's crazy. So I guess Noah has a thing for cheerleaders then." Brian stared at Noah, his contempt piercing like a bullet.

"Or maybe they have a thing for him," Rachel shot back. Brian's eyes locked onto hers, his teeth clenched as he forced a smile.

"Oh? Well, I wouldn't say Allison had a thing for him, more of a phase, right bud?" It was a cold question. Noah squeezed Rachel's hand tightly and took a deep breath.

"How is Allison?" He asked. Rachel squeezed his hand back, giving him an encouraging smile as she stepped closer to him.

"Oh you know, she's fine. She's actually going here too. I'm sure she'd love to hear that you're around. You were such a good friend after all."

"Is she hot?" Mike asked, cutting the tension like a knife. Brian glared at him.

"She's my girlfriend," Brian said pointedly.

"Ok? Is she hot?" Mike asked again. Brian stared in disbelief.

"Yes, she's hot."

Mike chuckled, "Probably not as hot as Rachel though."

Brian scoffed and took a step back from the three.

"Look, I got to get to class. It was nice catching up, we'll see each other around," Brian said, slapping Noah's shoulder with enough force to knock him off balance. Upon seeing this, Mike stepped forward, but Rachel grabbed his forearm, stopping Mike midstep.

"Yes, we will. Nice to finally meet you, Brian," Rachel said with a smile.

Brian made no retort, turning away and skulking into the crowd with deliberate steps.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Rachel said.

"At least for now..." Noah replied.

There was a rolling tide coming in, Noah knew that much. But at the very least, it was nice to know he had defeated Brian this time. The three left the cafeteria as Noah tried to slow his breathing.