Afterwards

The pizza ran out fairly quickly. As Stavo grabbed the final slice, Audrey took the box, Noah following her into the hall. Audrey struggled for a moment, attempting to get the slightly too large box into the slightly too small trashcan. Finally managing to get enough of the box in to be satisfied, she turned quickly to find Noah directly in her way, leaning towards her.
“Were we going to invite them on our possible little road trip, or…should we not?” he whispered quietly, glancing back in the direction of their friends.
Audrey sighed, her shoulders falling from their previously tensed position. “Let’s…broach the subject. Make it a possibility. It’s still just an idea after all.”
“I know you Audrey. You’re going. And I’m coming with you.”
She blinked. “They don’t have to know that. Not yet anyway.”
“Alright.”
Emma ducked out into the hall. “What’re you guys talking about?”
Audrey shrugged. “Nothing really.”
Noah nodded along. “I was just thinking that we need a bigger trashcan.” He gestured at the pizza box sticking out of the garbage.
Emma gave him her patented ‘what are you talking about’ look, but quickly turned her attention back to Audrey, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to the kitchen.
Brooke had somehow found a bag of chips, and was leaning on the counter, pouring them lazily out into a bowl. Stavo was shaking his head.
“You are like a tiny bottomless pit.”
“Might as well use my metabolism while I’ve got it. And come on, tell me you’re not going to have any.”
“Fair enough.”
“What’ve you guys been up to while we were gone?” Audrey asked as she entered the room, grabbing a chip from the bowl.
“Talking about how great it is that summer’s almost here,” Brooke sighed. “Lounging by pools, swimsuits for all, and all the more time to party, get drunk, and have fun. I can’t wait. I deserve it this summer.”
“I think we all do,” Emma laughed.
“Two more weeks, people, then we’re free,” Audrey added.
“Anyone have big plans for the summer?” Noah asked quickly. “We kind of lost sight of that stuff during the, you know, horrific murders.”
“How can one person have so little tact?” Audrey said with a grin.
“Hey, you’re no better,” Noah said, teasing. Audrey just shrugged.
Brooke shrugged along with Audrey. “Nothing much. My summer so far appears to consist of making sure my mom’s on the road to sobriety, and making sure I’m not.”
Stavo grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me. You and me still going to work on that book we’ve been talking about?” He gaze shifted from Brooke to Noah.
“Oh absolutely! I’ve actually had some ideas, and-”
“Save it for later plot man,” Audrey cut in, “as much as we all support your little murder book endeavor, we do not need a full on geek session in the middle of our fun.”
Noah threw her a glance of mock pain, and she rolled her eyes. They both broke out grinning. Brooke was grinning too.
Emma sighed. “I honestly haven’t thought about the summer. I’ll probably spend it hiding from the press, maybe getting my job back, though I’m not sure I even want to go back to the Grind House, and hanging out with you guys. What about you Audrey?”
Audrey shrugged. “I’ll probably end up doing as little as humanly possible. I might need to find a new job though.” She paused, and Noah took the opportunity to kick her gently in the shins. She glared at him for a fraction of a second before focusing back on the group. “You know what would be really fun? Getting out of this town, going somewhere far away. You know, road trip out to somewhere more interesting than Lakewood.”
Brooke laughed. “Sounds like a dream! No Lakewood, no press, no responsibilities. I could go for that…” she sighed wistfully.
Stavo nodded. “As long as I didn’t have to drive, sounds like it could be a good time.”
Emma smiled lightly, but said nothing, seeing Audrey’s eyes on her.
“It’s just an idea,” Audrey said, glancing down at the table.
“We could definitely pull it off if we wanted!” Noah interjected, still all smiles. Audrey grinned at his insistence. Brooke and Stavo nodded in agreement.
“Maggie would never let me,” Emma finally said.
Everyone’s faces fell.
“She needs me here, and she’d never let me go off somewhere without her permission.”
“Not necessarily,” Stavo said after a moment.
Brooke looked up at him. “What’re you thinking?”
“We could tell Maggie that we’re going on a college trip. We could actually do that if people wanted, but I bet your mom would let you go if we were touring colleges.”
“I don’t know if she’d go for that…” Emma said doubtfully.
Stavo shrugged. “It was just an idea.”
Noah glanced at Audrey, whose face was still staring steadily at the counter. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “How about we go back downstairs and start another movie?”
Everyone nodded quickly.
Brooke grabbed Emma and pulled her aside harshly as everyone else headed down the stairs. “Seriously, sometimes I wonder where your head is these days! You’ve lost all ability to read the mood! Are you trying to be a Debbie Downer?”
Emma wouldn’t meet Brooke’s eyes. “What’re you talking about?”
Brooke sighed. “It was obvious that Audrey really wanted to do that trip! You should know that better than anyone! You need to get your head fixed girl, because something’s knocked an emotion screw loose. And also, down in the basement, why the hell did you stop Noah?!”
“Stop Noah from what?”
Brooke’s eyes widened and her head shifted back a bit. “Oh no! Don’t pull that on me! You know exactly what was happening! Why did you get in the way?! What is going on in your brain right now?”
Emma huffed and turned towards the stairs. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Brooke muttered, “nothing’s going on in your head.” She sighed again. “I’m going to need up my game to get this one to work out…since when did matchmaking become actual work?”
The movie wasn’t that good. By about two thirds of the way through the movie they were all bored out of their mind. Emma was wrapped around Audrey, her head buried in Audrey’s shoulder. Her hands gripped Audrey’s, fingers tangling in and out. Brooke was watching them more than the movie, rolling her eyes, her hold on Stavo’s shirt tightening.
Eventually, Noah groaned. “Okay, enough. This movie is the worst thing I’ve seen since Ouija or Blair Witch II.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Stavo laughed lightly.
“Let’s just give up on this one…” Brooke said.
Audrey sighed. “Thank god, I don’t think I could have taken much more of that. That movie could be used as a legitimate form of torture.”
Noah glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late, maybe we should get to sleep.”
Everyone nodded, and slid into autopilot. This was yet another one of their new routines. They’d all gotten used to sleeping at Noah’s. Brooke and Stavo would sleep in the basement, on the couch that they were already laying on, Emma would stay in the guest bedroom, and Audrey and Noah would stay in his room like always. As they were headed up the stairs though, Emma grabbed Audrey’s arm.
“Hey, do you…maybe want to stay with me in the guest room? I…really want to talk to you about some things.”
Audrey looked over at Noah. “Can we talk about whatever it is in the morning? I’d honestly rather sleep in Noah’s room like usual.”
Emma tightened her grip on Audrey’s arm. “I…really don’t want to be alone tonight.”
Audrey blinked. “Why?”
Emma shook her head quietly. “I just don’t.”
“I fit better in Noah’s bed than the guest bed with you. Trust me, it works better this way.”
“But-”
“I said I’m going to sleep in Noah’s room like usual Emma!”
Emma flinched, and quickly backed off, turning on her heel towards the guest room.
Noah turned to Audrey. “That was a bit harsh.”
Audrey growled under her breath. “I’m just…so sick of talking with her. All she wants to talk about is how sad she is, how upset everything makes her, how glad she is that we got through it together! I don’t want to think about it anymore! And usually, neither does she! If anyone else asks her about the murders, she tells them to back the fuck off! But around me she turns into a walking memorial to everything I want to be done with! I don’t get it, and I can’t stand it anymore! I can’t baby her! I get that it hurt her, but it hurt me too, and I don’t go around acting like this! I know I haven’t handled it very well either, but seriously…” She took a deep breath. “I need a break from her BS, just for tonight.”
Noah nodded. “I get it. Emma can be a handful.” He grinned. “You’ll get no complaints from me. I’m perfectly happy to have you in my room as always.”
“You don’t want the whole bed all to yourself for once?” Audrey teased.
“The bed would be so much colder without you, and my room’s a bit drafty right now.”
“Glad to know I’m just a human heater to you.”
“Hey, you are a top quality heater,” Noah said, resting his chin on her head, letting his arms fall over her shoulders. “Not everyone gets impressive banter with their warmth.”
Audrey laughed. “You’re an idiot, Foster.”