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Chapter Four

Not A Hugger?

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Noah

Tiffany leaned against the bleachers outside, watching the soccer practice that was taking place further out on the field. Her eyes followed the balls being kicked around, distant chatter and yells sounding from the team. The way she watched; always a focused look as she observed everything, careful analyzation of that which was in front of her as though she were engraving the picture to memory and ensuring not a detail was missed.

I wonder what's going on in that head of hers.

It was interesting, picking at my curiosity-that look she'd get in her eyes. Always watching so carefully.

"Do you play soccer too?"

She turned when my voice sounded from behind her. "What?"

I nodded out at the field where the boys were running through drills. "Charlie-he's always played. Do you?"

She resumed the stance she had before, looking out at the team. "I used to. I stopped playing when I was twelve."

Twelve.

"That's when-when your parents split up. Right?" I was hesitant as I asked, afraid one word would cause her to throw her walls up higher than they already were.

"Yeah." She didn't look at me.

I nodded slowly. "Was that why you stopped playing?"

Stop while you're ahead, Noah.

I knew I was stepping into dangerous territory, trying to learn more about the girl who very obviously wanted to keep everyone far, far away. Asking her these questions, initiating this conversation and prying-I was practically handing her reason to hate her more than she already seemed to.

"Kind of," she answered, seemingly unbothered by my intrusion into finding out who Tiffany really is. "I played with Charlie. Stopped when he left."

It surprised me she was telling me as much as she was-and though I knew it was best to stop before prying too far, I couldn't help wanting to know more, seeing as the opportunity was right in front of me.

"Did you only play because he did?"

Slowly, she glanced at me. Impassive as ever, her eyes distant. Her stare on me was dull but long. She didn't answer until looking back at the field. "It was something we did together. I was on the boys soccer team with him. When I transferred schools after Charlie moved with dad, the new team wasn't as welcoming." She paused for a moment, eyes following a ball being kicked into the neck. She winced when the goalie had caught the soccer ball. "The new team was giving me too much crap and Charlie wasn't there to-" she shrugged.

"To push you to stay on the team?" I offered, hesitantly.

Eyes flickering onto me for only a moment, her expression was straight. "Yeah. That."

I hummed in thought, watching her as she watched the drills being done. "Do you-do you regret quitting?"

She paused for a long moment. If I didn't know her, I would have sworn there was nostalgia lingering in those hazel eyes. "Things would have been different if I hadn't."

That was all she said, a cryptic answer that was hard to decipher. Somehow I knew, her words held more to them-but Tiffany did wonders to make herself appear as though there was nothing more than what was shown on the surface.

"What does that mean?" Stupid question, Noah.

Exhaling sharply, she finally turned to look at me. Her eyes momentarily flicked to my soccer uniform shirt. "Shouldn't you be out on the field?"

Shit. I do.

Glancing at the field, I winced internally. "Oh-yeah. I should be out there. Couch is going to give me extra suicide runs for being late."

It would be worth it, for the few glimmers of Tiffany light had surprisingly been shone on.

Scoffing, she looked away from me.

"What?"

She shrugged disinterestedly. "Golden boy is going to get in trouble."

"What does that mean?" My eyebrows drew together.

Her neck craned to the side, grimacing each time the goalie caught the ball. "I'm calling you a princess, Ace."

"Ace?" Ignoring her calling me a princess, the nickname was far more confusing.

Laughing, Tiffany turned towards me. She patted my arm-in a taunting manner before walking back towards the school.

"What the hell are you doing, Coates!" Coach's booming voice pried my gaze away from Tiffany. "Get your ass on the field!"

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A heavy sigh followed Tiffany as she dragged her feet into the kitchen, walking past the group of us towards the refrigerator. "You guys don't have your own homes or something?"

The boys and me sat around the table with boxes of pizza stacked in front of us-a routine evening after long practices.

"Sunshine!" Luke bounced up from his seat and was quick to draw Tiffany into a hug, his arms wrapping around her smaller frame and squeezing tight. "There you are."

"Let go, asshat." Squirming, Tiffany wiggled out from under Luke's hold.

"Not a hugger?"

"No," she grumbled, turning back to the cabinets where she plucked out a box of cereal. The one she bought that day.

"Oh, she is a hugger." Ezra smirked at his cousin, slouching back in his chair with amusement in his eyes.

"Am not."

"Are too. Remember when you would just roll over and-"

Tiffany spun around, her glare on Ezra hard and shooting daggers. With her eyes, telling him to shut the fuck up, for his own good.

He snapped his mouth shut; Ezra and Charlie sharing a quick look with each other.

Pouring her cereal, Tiffany was making her way out of the kitchen when Luke stopped her. "Where are you going?"

"Let the girl have some peace, Luke." Leo rolled his eyes at the boy, stuffing his face with pizza. I think he felt for Tiffany-or more so, understood how pestering Luke could sometimes come off.

She stopped, glancing over her shoulder at the table where we sat. Her eyebrows furrowed. "My room? Do I have to worry that you'll follow me?"

"No, I'll refrain from doing as such." Luke laughed. "But just join us."

Tiffany's eyes squinted like she was having a hard time understanding what Luke had just suggested. "Why would I want to do that?"

"If it helps, the rest of us are more tolerable," Leo piped up, offering a sideways grin.

Tiffany fell into an internal debate, glancing between the group of us. She glanced down at her cereal, as if the bowl itself would give her an answer. Finally, she sighed as she walked over and took an empty seat at the table.

Tiffany silently ate her cereal as the rest of the boys fell into conversation about soccer and upcoming games. Her mind seemed to be astray, hardly noticing anyone was sitting with her.

"Hey," Charlie spoke, looking at his sister. "Have you talked to mom lately?" He asked nonchalantly.

Tiffany lifted her gaze, body tensing momentarily. Her eyes narrowed in her brothers. "Why would I have done that? Have you?"

Charlie spoke with nonchalance, hardly thinking of what he was saying-which massively contradicted Tiffany's expression; jaw clenched, clutching her spoon tight enough for her knuckles to grow even whiter. "Yeah. She wanted to check in. See if you're settling in alright."

Tiffany laughed dryly, shaking her head. Looking down at her cereal, she stirred the spoon around, a bitter little smile playing on her lips. "Ever-concerned mother."

"Tiff-"

"Checking in on me through you instead of directly through me." She slunk back in her seat, still staring at her bowl but dropping the spoon from her hand like her appetite had abruptly vanished.

Ezra looked between the two siblings cautiously, hesitant to cut between. He looked equally concerned, confused, and uncomfortable-as did the other boys.

It was obvious Ezra knew more than he led on.

"When's your next soccer game?" Ezra asked, diverting his gaze towards me and the other boys.

"In a few weeks," I answered. "Against Herbrooke. We might be screwed." I was still watching Tiffany warily. She seems so cold but perhaps, that's only a mask-when really, she's just sad.

"No we won't," Leo scoffed. "We're so much better than them. They stand no chance."

"They're our biggest competition," Charlie sighed. "The odds with them are fifty-fifty. They're good-as much as we don't want to admit it."

"And we are better," Luke retorted firmly. ""They didn't beat us last time. They won't this time either. We're working far harder than last years-thanks to captain." Rolling his eyes-at me, Luke chucked a water bottle at me which I easily caught.

I returned an eye-roll. "I only changed some of the drills."

"Changed?" He snickered. "You doubled the suicide count and make us do three times the drills we did last year."

"Work harder to get better-and the harder we work, the harder we play."

"Wise words from cap," Kai laughed. "This is why you're the boss."

Tiffany lifted her gaze, eyes narrowing on me. "You're captain?" She laughed. "Not surprised, Ace."

I glanced between my friends-who were all laughing. "What-what's wrong with being captain?"

"Nothing," she shook her head dismissively. "You just-well, you really do live up to your reputation. Total stereotype."

"My reputation?"

"Yeah. Goody-goody Golden Boy." She snickered amusedly. "Keep it up, Ace." Standing up, she brought her bowl to the sink before leaving the kitchen-not bothering another word or glance.

Luke sucked in a sharp breath. "Did that one hurt, Noah?"

"How am I a Golden Boy?" I looked at my friends, eyebrows drawn together. "What the hell does Ace mean?"

"Ace-little miss perfect," Leo laughed deeply, needing a minute to regain his breath. "Ah-she's calling you a goody-goody without actually calling you a goody-goody."

"You all suck." Flipping a finger to the boys, I got up to leave. Their incessant snickering sounded behind me as I left.

"Don't tell me your ego got so bruised by such a minor comment that you're leaving."

As I was slipping on my shoes to head out, Tiffany's ever-amused voice broke the silence from behind me. She leaned against the staircase railing, a little grin livening her face as she watched me getting ready to leave.

"Don't flatter yourself," I mused back. "I still haven't decided whether or not your opinion is relevant just yet." I paused, eyes narrowing. "I have to pick up my younger brother. Do you want to join?"

I surprised myself with my own offer.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"You ask that question a lot." I bent down to tie my laces, peering up at the dark-haired girl standing in front of me. "It's called spontaneity, sunshine."

"Spontaneity could get me murdered."

I stood back up. "Or-it could give you an adventure."

"Why would I-"

Rolling my eyes, I cut her off. "I won't take you somewhere to kill you-and yes, you don't know me or my brother so why would you come along-yatta yatta. I presume you could spend all day questioning and arguing or you could just come along for the ride."

She hesitated.

My head tilted to the side as I offered my most darling smile. "What do you say?"

Surprisingly me, Tiffany pushed herself off the banister and walked out the front door without a word. Surprised, but glad nevertheless, I followed after her; taking whatever I was getting.

Clicking her belt shut, she tugged on it-as if checking for defects.

"You alright?"

She looked at me. "Where are we picking your brother up from?"

"His friends house," I told her as I reversed out of the driveway. "He doesn't like driving-which hassles my life but it's just as an older brother must do, right?"

"I wouldn't know," she mumbled quietly, looking out the window at the trees blurring past. "I'm not an older brother."

I couldn't help my smile, looking at her for as long as I could before having to look at the road once more.

"I can feel your smile without looking at you," she rolled her eyes. "Surprised the devil's got some wit?"

My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as I hummed, ever-delighted. "Surprised but also jubilant."

Ignoring my comment, she began fiddling with the radio buttons as she searched for a station to stop on.

Pressing the brakes abruptly, not having noticed the stop sign sooner for I was too distracted looking at her, the car screeched to a sharp halt.

"Jesus, Noah!" Tiffany chocked out, gripping her seat belt. Her face had gone paler.

My eyes widened. I hesitated to reach a hand out-but when I did, she flinched away. "I'm sorry," I sputtered. "I-I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Exhaling slowly, she nodded her head but didn't look at me. "Fine," her voice came out in a wheeze. "I'm fine. I just-" she lifted her gaze. "It's a stop-sign not a stoplight. Are you going to go?"

"You don't like car rides?" I asked, glancing at her for a brief second before looking back at the road.

I felt her gaze on me for a few seconds before she looked out the window again. "Why do you suggest that?"

"You seem on edge and you're never on edge."

"I'm never on edge?"

"No," I scoffed. "Not at all. You always seem unbothered and completely detached-unfazed as ever. Calm even if there's a storm all around."

"I don't seem calm right now?" She asked, almost challengingly. Her eyes narrowed on me.

Halting at another stop-sign-this time properly, my gaze fell from her eyes to her hands; gripping the sides of the leather seat tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. "You look about ready to kiss the ground as soon as the car is in park."

Jaw set, Tiffany stared out the windshield. "It's your driving I'm waiting to get away from."

"Touché." I mumbled with a small grin. Very soon after that, I stopped outside the familiar house. I texted my brother and waited for him to come.

"You and your family close?" I looked at Tiffany, surprised at the question. "What?" She questioned. "Might as well get to know you while I'm stuck here, right?"

I laughed, "I guess we are. Not so much with my dad, though. All of us, in general, used to be closer when we were younger but yeah, we are close."

Tiffany nodded in response but didn't say anything.

"Are you and Charlie close? He said you guys stayed in touch even though you didn't live near each other."

"Charlie and I are close, sure. We talk, he's there for me, we joke around and everything. Ezra and I are closer though." Her voice was firm and eyes were locked straight ahead out the window as she spoke. She seemed distant whenever she was talking even though she was right beside me.

"Did Ezra live near you before he moved here?" I asked. "None of us know a lot about him. Ever since he moved here he hasn't been at school much until recently."

Tiffany thought for a moment before she continued speaking. It were like she were debating on how much to tell me. "He wasn't at school because he was with me. He use to live in Saratoga Springs until he moved here because my aunt and uncle got a divorce. Over the past months while he's lived here he'd always be in Saratoga visiting me and my mother."

"And now you're both in Long Grove so he's around more too." I noted, making sense of the situation. "Pretty clear you guys are closer."

Tiffany nodded, "He's just been by my side through a lot. Sure, Charlie was there too and I'm grateful to have him but Ezra understood things better because he was actually there when they were happening. Charlie could comfort me and give me advice but Ezra knows me better than anyone ever will."

I nodded. I was disappointed the conversation came to a stop because my brother walked out of his friends house and started walking to the car. I finally felt like I was getting through to Tiffany and didn't know if this conversation would come up again. Bad timing, Braxton.

"Uh, hey," my brother muttered awkwardly as he got into the car.

"Braxton, this is my friend Tiffany. Tiffany, meet Braxton."

Tiffany turned and looked at him. She narrowed her eyes. I was expecting her to say hello but she winced and looked away.

"What?" I looked at her in confusion.

She gave me a flat look that said 'can you not see what I see'. I was confused.

Braxton grumbled under his breath and looked out the window. "It's not a big deal. Not like I'm the only kid you ever seen do it."

"Never said you were." She replied dully to my brother, not looking at him. "Just not a fan. Don't mind me, though. Who am I to judge, right?"

"What are you guys going off about?" I looked between the two of them but they both simply looked out their own windows.

"Can we go home? I got stuff I need to do." Braxton gave me an irritated look, not seeming very happy.

"I'm not driving until one of you tells me what the tension is about." I raised my eyebrow and waited for an answer.

"He's your brother, it's none of my business." Tiffany gave me a tired look.

"Then why are you being pissy about it?" Braxton retorted, narrowing down his eyes at the back of her seat since he didn't have a clear view of her.

"I'm not," Tiffany held a straight face and emotionless voice. "I don't care."

"That explains your judgemental looks." Braxton muttered quietly but loud enough for us to hear.

Tiffany finally turned around to look at him, "Listen kid, I can smell it off you. I don't care what you do but for your own good you may want to stop before it ruins your life, okay? That's all I'm saying. Aside from that, I'm not judging you because I don't know you and I don't know what your deal is. I'm not a fan of these things so I truly hope you forgive me for cringing when I smelt it radiating off you."

"Ruin his life?" I asked as Tiffany turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you talking about? Smell what?"

"Oh come on, Ace." Tiffany looked at me and rolled her eyes irritably. "Are you really telling me you have never smelt weed before? This is the 21st century."

I looked at her in confusion and then looked at Braxton with wide eyes, "you smoke weed?"

Braxton leaned his head against the window, "Took you long enough to catch on." He was unamused and not fazed.

"Dude, seriously?" I looked at him in anger. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're really going to ruin your life by doing that especially after seeing-" I stopped myself. I shook my head and turned back around in my seat.

"Can we just go home?" Braxton grumbled.

I didn't say anything. I started driving in silence and started thinking about how it made sense. Some of his actions and his attitude all made sense but I didn't know how I was blind enough to not see it sooner. We were going to have to have a conversation later.

A short and quite uncomfortable drive later, we got to my house. Braxton rushed out of the car before I had even properly parked.

I looked at Tiffany as I took the keys out of the ignition, "am I a shit brother for not noticing?"

Tiffany looked at me and gave me a soft smile which took me by surprise but I kept my face neutral so she wouldn't see that. Tiffany never smiled - like, ever.

"No. He's a stupid teenager who got caught up in the wrong things with the wrong crowd. Smoking weed doesn't make you a bad person but it can lead to bad decisions that can cause a lot of harm." Once again, I noticed the distant look in her eyes. She was here but her mind was somewhere else. "Just talk to him. Try to get him to understand how dangerous it can be but don't beat yourself - or him up about it."

I nodded slowly and smiled, "you caught on right when you met him." My statement came out more like a question.

"I've been around a lot of different types of people." That was all she said before she quickly changed the subject. "So, what are we doing now, Ace?"

"Come on," I motioned towards my house as I opened the car door. "You can meet my other brother who I think may be easier to get to know compared to Braxton."

Tiffany looked a little hesitant but followed me inside my house anyways. Almost instantly, my youngest brother ran to me and hugged me.

"Hey kiddo," I smiled. "This is my friend, Tiffany."

Tiffany bent down so she was at his height and stuck out her hand with a small smile playing on her lips, "Hi there."

Colton looked at her with a toothy grin and ignored her hand as he gave her a big hug causing her to laugh as she almost fell over. "Hi, I am Colton. I'm nine years old and I'm really good at reading - oh and math."

Tiffany laughed as they pulled apart, "it is very nice to meet you, Colton. I think you're already my favourite."

Colton smiled even wider as Tiffany stood up. He grabbed her hand and started dragging her through the house, "Here! I'll show you the others."

Tiffany looked behind her shoulder and gave me a scared looked but was smiling as Colton pulled her along. I laughed and followed behind them.

"Guys, meet Noah's friend. She's a lot nicer than him," Colton grinned as he brought Tiffany into the lounge room where my other brothers except Braxton were sitting and playing video games.

"Oh, um hello." Tiffany shifted on her feet as she stood in the room like a deer in headlights, not expecting more guys.

"Hey, I'm Cade." He nodded at her, pausing the video game. "I've seen you around school. We have English together, I think. You're the new girl, right?"

"Yeah, I am." She smiled lightly.

"Well hello," my older brother, Adriel walked up to her and placed a kiss on her cheek which caused Tiffany's eyes to widen in surprise. "I am Adriel. The oldest and most charming of these fools. I can show you a good time of you let me." He winked.

Tiffany stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes, "has that ever actually worked on a girl?"

Cade snickered as Adriel feigned a look of disbelief.

"Cade and Braxton are fraternal twins, by the way." I mentioned as I took a seat on the couch and grabbed the bag of chips from Cade. "They're 11 months younger than me."

"I figured." Tiffany mumbled quietly as she came over and took a seat beside me.

"Why didn't you tell us you have a girlfriend, little bro?" Adriel came back to his seat and grabbed the Xbox remote as him and Cade resumed their game.

"When are you going back to uni, Adge?" I rolled my eyes, my voice light and joking. "We're tired of having you around."

Adriel reached over and punched me, "Shut up, my presence is always a delight. I can show you if you want a free test run, Tiffany." He winked at her again.

Tiffany scrunched her noes up, "I think I'm doing just fine without."

"Can we go play soccer," Colton started tugging on Cade's hand. Cade hummed before quickly destroying Adriel who was distracted in the game, then getting up. He picked Colton up in his arms and turned to Tiffany, "Bye. It was nice meeting you." He smiled.

"Bye Tiffany! Visit again soon, okay?" Colton beamed happily.

Tiffany nodded and smiled, "I will. Bye guys."

Adriel stood up and looked at the two of us with a smirk and his eyes narrowed. "Use protection, alright?" Then he left.

I coughed awkwardly and looked at Tiffany who looked stunned. Her cheeks tinged pink ever so slightly that it was hard to notice.

"So Cade is quite opposite of Braxton." She muttered quietly, breaking the silence.

I leaned back on the couch and popped a chip in my mouth as I put the bag between the two of us so she could reach it easily. "Braxton's always been the quieter one who keeps to himself. Cade's a good kid."

"I'm sure Braxton is too," she stated softly. "I mean... he probably feels like he's hiding behind Cade all the time, like he's just in his shadow. I get it."

I looked at her with my eyebrows furrowed. Was she referring to her relationship with Charlie? It made a bit of sense because Charlie was kind of like Cade whereas she was like Braxton without the drugs.

"You get it?"

She looked at me and cleared her throat. Tiffany sat up straighter, "I just mean it would make sense, being a twin and all. I... I don't uh - well Charlie and I had two separate lives, so I don't know." She looked away.

"Hey," without really thinking, I softly grabbed her chin and turned her to head so she was facing me. I tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

I got lost in her eyes for a moment as our gazes locked. It was cliche and absurd because Tiffany would probably pluck all of my hairs out individually if I ever made a move on her.

I wasn't saying I wanted to make a move on her because I didn't like her like that. We just seemed to be growing into an odd and confusing friendship.

"What are you doing, Ace?" her voice soft and barley above a whisper. We were so close I could feel her warm, minty breath on my lips.

I involuntarily licked my bottom lip. Her eyes glanced down to my lips for the most brief second that I wouldn't have caught it if our eyes weren't locked.

"Noah, have you seen my- woah, sorry. Am I interrupting? Stupid question. Yes I am. My bad, I was just looking for my Ozil jersey."

Cade's voice pulled both of us back into reality. We instantly pulled away from each other, Tiffany awkwardly looking away as she rubbed the back of her neck.

I cleared my throat and sent a glare to Cade who rambled like an idiot before backing out of the lounge.

"You should probably drive me home," Tiffany stood up. "I have homework."

Without saying anything I nodded and stood up, following her to the front door.

The whole car ride was silent and kind of awkward with no sound except the radio playing stupid pop songs.

I didn't sleep much that night. All I could wonder was what would've happened if Cade hadn't walked in. Guess we would never know.