Noah walked down the sidewalk, hands in his pocket and hops over his head. It was already two in the afternoon, time for when he would meet his new friend Iv.

He had decided to leave his phone at him; after what happened, he wouldn't be surprised if she put a tracker on it, and from what she's done to isolate him from his friends, he couldn't let Alexa know.

It didn't take long for the Coffee Town sign to appear in his point of view. Against the wall was Iv, checking her phone.

His cheeks heated up a little at the sight, there was no doubt this girl was pretty. But he shook his head, he didn't have the choice to be with someone else, even though he really wanted to..

"Hey." Noah greeted as he walked over.

Iv looked up, letting a smile grow on her face as she put her phone in her pocket. "Hey!"

He returned a tiny smile, though it didn't last long. She then nodded towards the building. "Ready to go in?"

He nodded in response, both walking inside. The familiar sent of delicious pastries filled the homey coffee shop. It was designed to look like a dark yet comfortable living room, which is one of the reasons many people came here for lunch breaks, not to mention the delicious food.

Iv inhaled heavily, raking in the mouthwatering smells before letting out her breath. "God I love this place.."

Noah let out a small chuckle at her reaction, soon looking at the shelf of baked goods. "I've never actually been inside this place."

"What?!" Iv's eyes widened in shock, making him grow confused; she then dragged him over to the counter. "Then you've never tasted the best desserts in the whole galaxy!"

"Uh.."

The cashier walked over, asking for their orders. They both asked for a coffee, but when Noah didn't order for food, Iv turned to them and spoke. "Two Chocolate Volcanoes please."

Noah looked over at her, and she only gave a small yet playful wink. "Go get us a table, I'll get the food."

He nodded in response before walking away from the counter, looking around and finding a small one by the window, sitting down. His gaze was kept to look out the window; it was an odd feeling to be out in town with a friend, to be out of that little bubble Alexa kept him in.

He missed it, all of it.

He wanted to visit his family, to make a new group of friends, to go back to his studies, to find someone good to be in love with.

A fresh new start for life. That's all he asked for right now.

"Alright, food's here!" He was startled when Iv's voice appeared, seeing her sit down at the other end of the table. On it were the two coffees they ordered, along with two chocolate cakes with hot chocolate syrup oozing from its center.

The smell alone made his stomach grumble, but his eyes looked up at the girl in red who had already started eating hers.

Her eyes soon met his, raising an eyebrow at his expression. "What."

"What exactly is this..?"

"Chocolate cake and chocolate syrup." She watched as his gaze moved down to the cake, both curiosity and nervousness in them. "You did say you loved chocolate yesterday."

"I do. Well, I did; it's been a while since I last had some."

"How long?"

"... about a year..?"

Iv nearly choked on her coffee, looking at him in shock. "The hell?! Why so long?!"

Noah thought about his response; if he spoke about Alexa, she'd want to know more, and she'd be forced into his problems.

He let out a small sigh. "I just got carried away with some family business and haven't had time for myself."

Seeing her expression, Noah could tell Iv debates whether to believe his story or not. In the end, she shrugged it off, giving a warm smile. "Today's your lucky day then, dig in!"

"He looked down at the chocolate-y goodness, his stomach rumbling fiercely.

He finally took the first bite, his eyes lighting up almost immediately; it was so delicious!

Iv looked up a bit surprised when she noticed him honking down the dessert live there was no tomorrow. She placed a hand over her mouth holding in her laughter.

When he finished, he looked up at her, his eyes suddenly widening as his face flushed red in embarrassment. He then looked away, lifting his hoodie to cover his face. "S-Sorry! I-I'm usually not like this, I j-just-!"

Noah grew darker as she began to laugh, but it wasn't out of embarrassment this time.

She had a hand over her mouth, eyes closed. It was more of a giggle, soft and joyous. "It's fine, dude, I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

There was a warm feeling in his chest as he pulled his hoodie down a bit, letting Iv see his eyes, but still covering the lower half of his face. It wasn't a feeling he could put into words.

"So, any hobbies?" He looked back at her at her question, letting go of his hoodie.

"I.. barely have time for anything nowadays.."

"Didn't you say your liked gaming?" She tilted her head, obviously curious.

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. "I do, that's the reason I entered college.."

"What do you mean?"

He kept his gaze down as she stared, awaiting his answer. "Um... Well, I sort of wanted to learn programming and make my own games.."

"Seriously?!" Her eyes lit up.

"However, he only crossed his arms, looking away in shame. "I-I know, it's stupid.."

"Dude, that's awesome!"

"H-Huh..?" He looked back at her, a bit surprised at her reaction.

She had an excited smile spread across her face, eyes glimmering in joy. "That's so cool! I'd totally play whatever game you make!"

Slightly gripping his sleeves, Noah stared at her. Whenever he told Alexa what he wanted to do, she'd get angry and tell him he'd fail at life. He never told his parents about wanting to focus on programming either; his sister already knew and encouraged him to do it, but those drama were soon killed by Alexa.

Maybe not killed, but on hold for a while.

"Y-you mean that..?"

"Yeah!"

He felt a small smile grow on his face, though it soon fades away. "I wish I'd known that sooner.."

Iv's expression fell a bit, though still curious. "What do you mean?"

"I uh.. left school around a year ago.."

She grew silent, thoughts running through her mind; there were things that just didn't add up, he would keep saying he was too busy for things and yet he lived on his own with no school or job.

After thinking for a while, she let out a sigh. "Noah, I know we haven't known each other for long, and what happens in your personal life is for your liking to share. But you're really starting to confuse me, you keep eating you've been busy, but don't do anything."

He stared for a while, a pit forming in his stomach. It's true, he didn't do anything, Alexa wouldn't let him.

She kept him in her apartment, and only recently let him move our because she thought they needed space.

But he wasn't ready to share that information not with her.

"I know it's strange, but I don't want to talk about it now.. Maybe one day.."

Iv stares at him, a little worried. Soon enough, she nodded in understanding. "Alright.."

After a while, he stood up, taking a deep breath. "Anyways, thanks for this nice outing, but I should be going."

She stood up as well, her smile returning. "Okay, I had fun though."

Noah smiled back, the warm feeling from before returning. "Me too."

It felt really nice to have a friend again.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

❤️❤️❤️