Still don't know what I was waitin' for

[Noah Coulson]

((ooc: Hope it's alright with how I set it up, left it wide enough for you to say whatever you want. Ignore the random song title, I'm on a bit of a Bowie kick tonight haha.))

Noah dumped his black satchel in the passenger seat of 'Faith', his old, beaten-up Ford Escort, and started the car up after having to jiggle the keys in the ignition a few times to get it going, as was his routine. For all he could probably put a bit of money aside each month and scrape his savings together and get a brand new car, Noah could never quite justify it to himself; as odd as it may have seemed to others, he kinda liked the temperamental, but structurally sturdy, nature of 'Faith'. Having had to work an extra long shift to cover a colleague's absence at the espresso bar in the art gallery, Noah now drove back through the streets of Leeds at 4 o'clock, hoping to make the most of the rest of his Saturday, maybe see if his mates were up for a couple of hours band practice or fancied a trip to their local pub.

Running his left hand through his hair, only succeeding in making it seem even more bedhead-esque, he turned onto his street and slowly backed the car into reverse to reverse into the house's driveway. Only when glancing behind him did he spot the flash of something in his mirror by the house's front door. Someone was sitting by the doorway, clearly waiting for someone to get home. Wondering if Lydia had forgot her keys or something, he hit the brake when he'd finished reversing, killed the engine, slung his bag over his shoulder and got out of the car. Fiddling with locking the car, he didn't realise who said person was until he'd walked round the car to meet them by the front door. "Oh, Case, hey! Sorry, were you waiting long? I didn't realise you'd be here," he apologised quickly, the surprise in his tone not well hidden to say the least, as he unlocked the house's front door and then held the door open for her to enter the house with him.

[Casey Ammon]

Casey sat on the front steps of Noah Coulson’s house. She had knocked on the front door but no one was home so she sat and decided to wait. As Noah’s car backed into the driveway a small smile curved her lips. She had been waiting longer than she should have, but even so she was happy to see him. They were to go out on a date tonight and Casey had really tried to make an effort this time having gone home first to change into her nice party dress and high heels. She even managed to put on a bit of makeup, shimmery lip-gloss over flushed lipstick, blusher and eyeliner and mascara, but still a tasteful amount. Casey went for the natural look most of the time.

“Hey yourself,” she smiled at him. “Nope, not long,” it was a lie, but she knew he worked hard and had probably needed to stay late to cover someone else’s shift. Her face fell a bit as he said he didn’t realise she was going to be here and noted the surprise evident in his voice. She recovered quickly, “Oh, I just thought I’d stop by, see if you wanted to hang out,” she said pushing a bit of hair out of her face. She had even blow dried her hair so that it was manageable, not some curly mess. She didn’t have the heart to tell him they had planned tonight as a date night last week. “Thanks,” she smiled as he held the door open for her and walked in, his house was always so homey.

((ooc: Aww they are so cute, poor Casey, she isn’t very good by the way I am still sorting her out, how to write for her I mean.))

[Noah Coulson]

"Good! I'm so glad you made that decision because I cannot tell you how much I would love to hang out with someone, talking about coffee for the last 8 hours isn't as thrilling as you might think," he joked dryly, completely missing the way her face fell as he'd been fiddling with his bunch of keys to find the one for the house. "Man, I am exhausted," Noah chattered along as he usually would as he dumped his bag in the hallway and put his car keys in the bowl on the side table before heading into the kitchen, walking backwards as he continued to talk to her. "I blame Robert, he rang in sick when I know for a fact he was at someone's house party last night so he isn't really ill, well he is but self-inflicted, so of course they asked if I could cover his shift and like the idiot I am, I said yeah, course," he explained with a slight shake of his head at himself as they reached the kitchen and he went over to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Water? I think we have some of those smoothie things in that you like," he offered as he unscrewed the lid on the bottle and took a sip. Only then did he look at Casey properly, all of her, without being distracted by locking up his car or unlocking the front door. His brow furrowed slightly then as he realised she was wearing a sort of... going-out-ish kind of dress (not that he was a bit follower of fashion) and she was practically his height thanks to the high heels she had on. He quickly tore his gaze from her feet, or rather (let's be honest now) her legs, and met her gaze questioningly, "Ummm, night out?" he asked in confusion. "Or were you just expecting it to be all party in the Coulson house? Cos I mean that's our middle name... well maybe just Aunt Eva's," he commented conversationally as he leaned back against the kitchen counter and faced Casey.

[Casey Ammon]

Casey followed him into the house wordlessly. Listening to him chatter on as they made their way into the kitchen, “Sure,” she said as he offered her one of those smoothie things, having a suspicion this was probably as good as their “date night” was going to get. She opened the bottle and took a sip.

Noting him looking her over and then the expression of bewilderment on his face before he started asking her if she had expected it to be all party in the Coulson house she smiled awkwardly and ran a hand through her silky hair again. “Actually…” she paused, “We were supposed to go on a date,” she said with a shrug. “But it’s fine,” she shook her head as if it were nothing, trying to compose her face into a cheery one when she admittedly felt a bit dejected that he had forgotten about her, again. “We could do a night in,” she suggested with a gleeful smile at him, ever the eternal optimist always trying to turn it around. “Here, I could make some popcorn,” she said crossing over to the cupboards beside him and stretching to open the top cupboard. Thankfully in high heels she didn’t have to stand on her tiptoes.

((ooc: Oh, when should I bring in Lydia? Oh and she is wearing something kind of like this and makeup I thought something sparkly and a bit more flashy would be her trying to make more of an effort to ‘glam up’ or ‘girl up’ one of the two, and blue eyeliner would be a new thing for her.))

[Noah Coulson]

Noah handed Casey the smoothie bottle, his hand brushing over hers as he did so, before he smiled and raised the bottle he held to his lips once more. Then he noticed her smile was... forced somehow, the cheeriness of it didn't seem quite as genuine as how she used to smile, he realised then. "We were?" he asked quietly and then groaned, closing his eyes in despair, "Oh God, we were! I-I'm so sorry Casey, I-" he paused, wondering whether to try to make it better or just be honest. He thought she at least deserved honesty from him - she deserved a lot more than that, more than what he could give her. "I didn't realise, I've been a bit... distracted, haven't I? And it's not fine, not at all," he countered sadly, shaking his head, before he abandoned the bottle of water on the counter.

"You don't deserve this, you deserve better than this, I just- it slipped my mind completely and that's not right, not right at all. It's not fine," he repeated her words as if convincing himself of the matter whilst she talked of having a night in and popcorn. Looking sideways at her, Noah wordlessly moved closer to her, looking down at her for a moment, and reached up for the microwave popcorn packet from the top shelf. "I've been a pretty lousy boyfriend lately, haven't I?" the boy asked, more rhetorically than anything else, as he still held onto the popcorn for the moment.

((ooc: Anytime you'd like with Lydia, she could linger in the living room trying not to listen and overhears everything?))

[Lydia Coulson]

Meanwhile Lydia had opened the front door, returning from football practice and almost dropped her bag loudly by the door when she heard not one but two voices. Noah’s and a GIRL’s! Lydia quietly set her bag down and then removing her muddy cleats by the door softly tiptoed into the living room and sat innocently on the sofa. She could hear their entire conversation from the kitchen and if anyone asks she was just sitting on the sofa reading… a magazine. Lydia picked up a magazine from the coffee table and started flipping through it, stealing a glance every once in a while back at the kitchen, and when she thought they might see her ducked down, crouching lengthwise on the sofa. Finally Lydia recognised the low voice as being Casey: the smart, really funny redhead from the Ministry.

[Casey Ammon]

“Noah its fine, really,” Casey told him, “It’s not a big deal, don’t get your panties in a bunch over nothing,” she smiled over at him taking another sip of her smoothie. “You have a lot of responsibilities. It’s understandable,” she told him.

Turning towards him then she smiled as he got the popcorn packet down for her. “Yes you have,” she teased about being a lousy boyfriend, her arms encircling his neck, “But you could make it up to me,” she added suggestively before kissing him. It wasn’t as passionate of a kiss as they had once had, but it was nice all the same. Noah was the perfect guy and Casey wanted this to work, and he would do someday, make it work with a girl. She was starting to wonder if she just wasn’t that girl.

[Noah Coulson]

Noah protested, despite her smile and how she seemed to be trying to shrug it off, "It's not 'nothing', Case, it's... I feel awful. I shouldn't have just... forgot about it. You're more important than that," he told her simply with a sigh. "I've always had a load of responsibilities, okay maybe not always but everyone has... stuff they have to do, places they have to be, it's not okay for me to just forget a date," he countered, his expression becoming sadder as he looked over at her. He knew she wasn't as fine with this as she was making out she was and he didn't blame her for feeling like that. She was one of the kindest, most understanding people he'd ever known and he reckoned it was because of this that she wasn't super pissed off at him right now as, probably, any other girl would have been.

He bowed his head slightly as she agreed that he'd been a lousy boyfriend, about to open his mouth to apologise again, before he noted the teasing tone her voice had taken and the arms she now wrapped around his neck. His hands raising either side of her to rest softly on her waist he frowned, "Make it up to you... but... how would I- oh... ohhh," he said with a slightly choked laugh then as he realised how stupid he'd been not to immediately cotton on to the suggestive nature of her words. It was too late to say anything though as her lips were upon his and he found himself reciprocating the kiss. The kiss was almost like a knee-jerk reaction, the usual procedure, a routine to go through. Noah jerked away in surprise when he realised this, looking down at her with a clearly taken aback expression. "Wait, this isn't... well it's not the same any more, is it? It hasn't been for a while now... this... you and I?" he asked hesitantly though he had a sort of sneaking suspicion that they both weren't feeling the kiss quite as much as they used to. They used to be quite cutesy, touchy-feely, ever for the surprise rugby tackle onto Noah's bed and what inevitably followed that. (Thank Merlin for Muffiliato charms, the saviour of teenagers living at home. He wasn't even sure his siblings knew someone else was in his room on such occasions!) Now, it just felt... off somehow, as much as he hated admitting that aloud.

[Casey Ammon]

“I know, and that is what makes you a good person,” Casey told him with a kind smile, knowing that he felt bad about it, trying to put on a brave face even though inside she was quite disappointed that he had forgotten her again. She wasn’t the type to be clingy or needy but his nonchalance about their relationship made Casey feel a tad unwanted.

Casey smiled then as he was catching on, and gave him an expression that said, ‘You understand me now,’ with a rather adorable coy smile. Parting from their kiss as he pulled away she looked up at him, “We have just hit a rough patch that’s all,” she tried to reason with him leaning in for another kiss and holding onto his t-shirt as if that might keep him closer but at the expression on his face she stopped herself and took a step back from him removing herself from his arms. “Wait,” she shook her head unable to hide the sadness creeping into her eyes as her voice tightened and she glanced around anxiously, anywhere but at him, “Are you saying it’s over between us?” she asked, the tears started to form as she glanced at him. She knew to some degree he was right, but she didn’t want this to be the end. They started out with such fire. It should have only been appropriate that they ended with such a bang, but this was nothing. Realising that was what he was trying to say Casey sucked in a breath, “Right,” she nodded, gazing at the ground for a moment, “Well I should, I should go,” her voice cracked a little as she said it. She sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly as she moved passed him.
Casey couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, as much as she had known the end was near, she loved him and never wanted to believe it. Noah was the perfect guy in her eyes, everything she had ever wanted, and she didn’t want to believe that it was over. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed her bag and ran out the door feeling more than a little rejected. The door slammed shut behind her.

((ooc: Hope that was okay. Sorry it took me forever to write this. Let me know if you want me to change anything.))

[Noah Coulson]

"Is it? I'm not sure any more," Noah disagreed, "I mean how can it make me a good person if it means I do everything for my family but at the price of neglecting someone like you? Someone who deserves way more than what this is, whatever we're doing right now," he shook his head in despair. He could tell that she hid her disappointment well, she always had been so kind and accepting and understanding about everything, even when he'd had to cancel plans at the last minute when she'd already turned up at the cinema or restaurant and was waiting for him.

Looking down at her he chewed on the inside of his cheek anxiously, a nervous habit of his, and shook his head once more at the idea of a 'rough patch'. When Casey hesitated in kissing him again he felt like the biggest jerk possible, a feeling which only grew immeasurably as he saw a look of such sadness creep into her expression that it broke his heart, especially when she looked anywhere but at him as she continued to speak then. "Don't," he protested ineffectually as she moved away from him, but really what else could he say? He wanted to be honest, she deserved that much and much more, and he couldn't bare to deceive her. "I just think..." he started hesitantly, "I think that it feels... it doesn't feel like it used to. It feels like we're trying to fix something, to keep going on, even when we both know it fizzled out months ago but we don't want to say anything about it or discuss it... and... I really like you Case but let's face it... I've been such a dick lately, cancelling, rearranging things, forgetting about dates. And I know it bothers you way more than you let on," he argued.

"You should go? Well I... no, Case," Noah protested as she began to move past him, stopping her by placing a hand about her waist and pulling him back into him, barely looking down at her before he captured her mouth, his lips crushing hers in a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable and to force himself to acknowledge a spark. 'There must be something still there,' he thought, 'something that just needs to be reignited.' But as much as he wished for it, he just couldn't feel it, all her could feel was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and he let go of her completely, standing dazed as he realised this. It took him a few moments to register that she was actually leaving and it was for this reason that there was a somewhat delayed reaction which gave her a head-start. "No, Case, look don't go, don't leave like this," Noah argued, rushing after her as she grabbed her things and left, but he made it into the passageway just as the front door had slammed shut behind her.

He knew she didn't want to see him anymore so running after her would be a big mistake. Instead he slumped against the wall of the hallway, groaning loudly in annoyance and muttering a string of curse words (mostly aimed at himself for how it had went down) before he realised there was now Lydia's bag sat by the doorway, meaning she was home, meaning she'd probably heard everything. With a sigh Noah pushed himself off from the wall and wandered into the living room, fixing her with a resigned look, "How much of that did you overhear? Be honest please Lyd," he spoke quietly, sadly, as he flopped down on the sofa beside her, his own eyes slightly shiny with tears that he'd never allow to escape and he tightened his jaw firmly to this end.

((ooc: Dw and it was great! Noah feels like a uber dick rn but it's cool haha.))