As Noah approached the house he took a few deep, calming breaths. Tonight was supposed to be fun. This was is what kids his age did…they hung out. His mom was right…it was time he acted his age…enjoyed himself.

God…how he wished he could take one last look at himself…just to make sure that he didn’t look like a total tool. Well…maybe it was best that he couldn’t see himself because if he did look like a tool there was nothing he could do about it now. And for the hundredth time…what did it really matter. Luke was a moot point.
Plastering a smile onto his face, Noah stepped inside the farmhouse where Luke was sitting at the kitchen table typing manically on his laptop. “Hey there,” Noah announced as he slowly approached the table just in case Luke was writing something confidential.

Luke glanced up. “Hey,” he said, immediately closing it, which confirmed Noah’s suspicions.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s okay,” Luke assured him, slipping his laptop into its case. “I was just finishing up anyway.”

Noah hesitated for a moment; this could be the opening he was looking for to get to know Luke better. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? “So…ah…your dad mentioned that you wanted to be a writer,” Noah said, sitting down next to him at the table.

Luke ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah.”

“Do you want to be a journalist?”

“I’d like to write a book,” Luke admitted, casting a sidelong glance at him. “Pretty lame, hun?”

Noah shook his head. “Not at all. Actually, I think it’s pretty cool. So…are you any good?”

Luke shrugged. “I’d like to think so…but really…I don’t know.”

Before Luke could ask him what he wanted to do with his life, Noah quickly changed the subject. “Your dad introduced me to Whitman today. I understand why you named him Whitman…after Walt Whitman.”

Although Noah would never admit this aloud, he had been quite impressed that Luke had named his horse after the famous American poet. He’d wrongly assumed that a rich kid like Luke would be only interested in fast cars, video games, and getting drunk but after Holden had introduced him to Whitman this afternoon, Noah was beginning to realize that he probably didn’t know the first thing about Luke Snyder.

“Yeah…kinda geeky,” Luke admitted, wrinkling his nose.

“No, it’s something I would have done if I had a pet,” Noah admitted. Of course the Colonel had forbidden pets. He remembered how hard his mom had lobbied for him to be allowed to keep his little brown stuffed puppy dog. “You picked one of the best poets so you really couldn’t go wrong with the name. ‘O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting…” Noah stopped once he noticed Luke staring at him, slack jawed. “Sorry…about that,” he mumbled, cheeks flushing.

“While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead,” Luke said, meeting Noah’s gaze. “I…uh…never met anyone my age that could recite Whitman without before forced to for class…and even then it’s quickly forgotten.”

Noah shrugged. “My mom loves American poets… Dickenson, Poe, Sandburg, ee cummings so I studied them heavily when she home schooled me,” he admitted. “And sometimes I just can’t help myself and I spout off some of the poems I’ve memorized.”

“That’s definitely nothing to apologize about…I think it’s great,” Luke said. “I swear half the people in my senior class are illiterate.”

“My mom was an English teacher,” Noah explained. “She’s a very smart woman. We’ve just…” His voice trailed off unsure of how exactly to explain to Luke what happened. He couldn’t tell him the truth. And he really hated lying…

“I can imagine that things might get difficult if it was just you and your mom,” Luke supplied.

“Yeah,” Noah said, cutting him off and nodding. “I’d really rather not talk about it right now if you don’t mind.”

“Sure…I understand,” Luke said. “Boy…we really got sidetrack from talking about my horse,” he chuckled.

Noah gladly returned to that topic. “Whitman’s pretty amazing. Your dad told me the story about how you guys rescued him and everything…”

“I couldn’t let those bastards send him off to die,” Luke said, folding his arms across his chest. “He was so young and sick. And they felt that just because he wasn’t some expensive horse he wasn’t worth saving. It wasn’t his fault he was different…not good enough.”

Oh wow. Noah felt as if Luke was talking about him…the pathetic outcast. His stomach knotted up. Maybe Luke would understand if I just told him…

No…you can’t. You barely know him! Are you crazy considering confiding in someone who is practically a perfect stranger?

“He seems pretty great to me,” Noah said quietly. “He’s beautiful…actually.”

“Are you sure you met my horse?” Luke teased. “He’s not one of those fancy horses that my dad breeds.”

“Yes…it was definitely Whitman. And I think he’s amazing in his own right.”

A small smile played on Luke’s lips. “He’s a big sweetheart,” he replied. “Did he con some carrots out of you?”

“Yeah,” Noah chuckled. “He thought I was hiding them in my pockets.”

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Noah nodded shyly. “But your dad had them so he gave me some to give to Whitman.”

“His next favorite thing besides being ridden…is being groomed…maybe I can show you sometime…”

“Yeah…sure,” Noah said, trying to downplay his excitement. He was thrilled that Luke wanted to share something so special with him. After all, Holden had said that
Whitman was Luke’s baby. And Noah could tell that from the way Luke was talking about his horse that he held a very dear spot in his heart.

God…there was definitely more to Luke Snyder than met the eye. A typical spoiled rich kid he definitely wasn’t. And he didn’t even seem like that snarky guy who made
the crack about stealing the silver. Luke was sweet, compassionate…

And very much off limits. Remember that fact.

“So enough about me,” Luke said, brushing his fingers through his blonde hair. “Tell me about you. What do you want to do…?”

Luke wasn’t able to finish his question because there was a knock on the door. Noah was relieved to have been spared from sharing his pipe dream for the future but now was faced with the anxiety of meeting the friends.

“Hold that thought,” Luke said, getting up from his chair. “It looks like my friends are here.”

Noah was sitting with his back to the door, his eyes focused on his hands which were folded in front of him on the table. God…he was suddenly so incredibly nervous. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around to sneak a peek at Luke’s friends. He’d meet them soon enough.

“Hey, guys,” Luke greeted them.

Guys…great…surely one of them had to be Blane…Luke’s hot, rich, college boyfriend.

“Hey, Luke,” a male voice replied.

“Hi, Luke,” a female voice greeted him.

Wait? A girl?

Noah couldn’t help himself. He had to look now. Twisting around in his chair, he discovered that Luke’s friends consisted of a male and a female. They both looked about his age. The guy was good looking…blonde hair with long bangs that hung in his blue eyes. He was casually dressed in a black silk screened tee with a denim jacket and he was holding a DVD. The girl was beautiful…long brown, wavy hair, brown eyes, a cute button nose and a smile that lit up the room.

She steered Luke aside. “He’s gorgeous,” she said in a low voice that Noah probably wasn’t supposed to hear.

Gorgeous? She couldn’t be talking about him. But then who else was there in the room? This didn’t make any sense. He wasn’t gorgeous…he was a mess. And why did she care what he looked like anyway?

“So glad you approve,” Luke muttered. Then he cleared his throat and spoke in a louder voice. “Maddie…Casey…this is Noah. Noah, these are my friends.”

Casey. So it wasn’t Blane but if John Hughes had made another poor girl/rich boy movie he’d bet any money the next rich boy’s name would be Casey…he was sure of it.

“Hi,” Noah said, standing up, “it’s nice to meet you guys.”

“Noah’s from Michigan, right?” Luke said, glancing at him with a slight grin.

“Yeah,” Noah replied, figuring that it was best to keep it as simple as possible. Out of the corner of his eye he could feel Casey eyeing him.

S’hit…there’s no way he could possible know about me…

“Where in Michigan are you from?” Maddie asked.

“We were living in a small resort town on Lake Huron called East Tawas,” Noah replied, trying not to fidget. “You probably never heard of it.”

“You must have graduated from high school since you’re not going to school with Luke and Maddie,” Casey said, folding his arms across his chest.

Noah wished he could just say yes but Luke knew he was home schooled since they’d just been talking about it. Dammit…now he was going to stand out even more (and not in a good way). “Actually…I was home schooled but I’ve completed all of my high school requirements.”

“Home schooled?” Casey asked, completely floored. “What? Are you Amish or something?”

“Casey!” Maddie exclaimed. “Don’t be so rude!”

But Casey wouldn’t let the subject drop. “Well…who the hell is home schooled?”

“I was,” Noah admitted, scuffing his toe along the hardwood floor. Oh why couldn’t he just disappear…like now? This movie night idea probably wasn’t such a good idea after all. What was he thinking trying to fit in with Luke and his friends? He was just some misfit with raggedy old clothes…no diploma…and no future…

“Why?” Casey persisted. “Were you kicked out of school or something?”

“Case, just let it go man,” Luke said, stepping in on his behalf. “People get home schooled all the time.”

“I’m not Amish. I wasn’t kicked out of school. And I don’t have any learning disabilities,” Noah calmly explained as his cheeks burned with shame. “My family was going through a rough time and my mom was a teacher so she was able to home school me.”

“But that can’t really count,” Casey persisted. “You can’t get the same education like you can in a real high school.”

Luke folded his arms across his chest. “Actually, Noah’s was better,” he informed Casey. “I can guarantee that he knows more about American Literature than your sorry ass does. So don’t go giving him s’hit about being home schooled when you just barely got accepted into OU.”

Suddenly the kitchen had gotten uncomfortably quiet. Casey’s eyes were bugging out of his head while Maddie stood next to him nervously chewing her lip. Noah was stunned. Besides his mother no one had ever gone to bat for him but Luke had just dressed down Casey on his behalf. He couldn’t figure out why Luke would do such a thing for someone he barely knew.

“You’ll have to excuse Casey. Sometimes his mouth gets ahead of his brain,” Maddie quickly said.

“Thanks a lot,” Casey muttered, glancing at Maddie. “I’m sorry about the home school stuff, Noah. Obviously, I didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“It’s okay,” Noah replied. All he wanted at this point was just to let the subject drop. He hated being the center of attention.

“What movie did you guys pick up?” Luke asked, quickly changing the topic.

“X-Men: The Last Stand,” Casey declared, holding it up for everyone to see and grinning.

“That obviously wasn’t your choice,” Luke said to Maddie.

“No, it wasn’t,” Maddie sighed dramatically.

“Maddie wanted to get some old black and white movie,” Casey grumbled, “but I told her there was a reason why God invented color TV.”

Noah perked up a bit. It wasn’t often he encountered someone else who enjoyed black and white films. He wondered what black and white movie Maddie had in mind. It was pretty rare to encounter someone else his own age that also liked the classics.

“I think we’re better off with X-Men,” Luke agreed. “Does it sound okay to you, Noah?”

“X-Men was always one of my favorites comics,” Noah replied. When I could afford to pick up a comic book, he silently added. Which wasn’t too often, but Luke didn’t need to know just how poor Noah and his mom actually were or else all of the valuables at the farm would be locked up…not just the silver.

“Me too.” Luke grinned.

Maddie raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. It was almost as if she were privy to some sort of special secret.

But what?

Before Noah could ponder it, Casey blurted out, “I was promised popcorn to go with this movie.”

“Noah and I can take care of it if you show us where the supplies are,” Maddie casually suggested.

Casey had probably told Maddie that he wanted some alone time with Luke before they all watched the movie together. So this was where Maddie was conveniently left alone with Noah while Luke goes off with his boyfriend...probably to make out until the popcorn is ready. At least she liked old movies so they’d be able to talk about them and he’d be spared from any other embarrassing questions from Luke’s boyfriend.

“My pleasure,” Luke said, sauntering over to the pantry. “You know…you’re not going to get off easy with microwave popcorn. We expect good old fashioned stove top popcorn.” He got out the popcorn along with some oil and set it on the kitchen island. Then he strolled over and retrieved a large pot with a lid, placing it next to the popcorn. “I assume you know what to do with this.”

“Don’t worry,” Maddie assure him. “We can figure it out. Right, Noah?”

“Right,” Noah replied, forcing a smile.

“Come on, Casey,” Luke said, placing his hand on Casey’s shoulder and steering him into the parlor. “Fill me in on college life while we wait for our popcorn.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I kinda volunteered you for popcorn duty,” Maddie said, picking up the large pot and lid Luke had left out for them and heading over to the stove.

“No, it’s okay,” Noah replied, following her with the popcorn and oil. “My mom and I used to do it this way when I was little.”

“Good…an old pro.” She grinned.

Noah shrugged. “Something like that. The secret is making sure that you keep shaking the pot to keep it from burning.”

“I have to apologize for my boyfriend’s rude behavior,” she said, taking the oil from him and pouring it into the pot. “Sometimes he can be so tactless. There’s really nothing wrong with being home schooled and he shouldn’t have made you feel that way.”

“Wait…your boyfriend?” Noah asked completely flabbergasted. If Casey was Maddie’s boyfriend that meant he wasn’t Luke’s. Maybe Luke didn’t have a boyfriend after all. But of course he did…Luke was gorgeous, probably smart, had friends, and a great family from what he’s seen so far.

Maddie giggled, “Yes…my boyfriend. You didn’t think…” Noah blushed which only confirmed her suspicions. “Oh…Casey would just love that! Oh that’s hilarious!”

“So you like black and white movies?” Noah asked eager to get away from his embarrassing faux pas.

“Love ‘em,” she admitted. “It Happened One Night, Shop Around the Corner, Here Comes Mr. Jordan…”

Noah couldn’t believe it. Maddie was speaking his language. “You gotta love Here Comes Mr. Jordan because it has Claude Rains.”

“Oh!” Maddie exclaimed practically jumping up and down. “Claude Rains. He is the best. Like…absolute best. Love him!”

“What can't he do?”

“Casablanca.”

For the first time in quite awhile, Noah was comfortable. He found a fellow film geek. Who would have thought? “Notorious, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” he quickly rattled off some Claude Rains films as the popcorn began to pop.

“Lawrence of Arabia, Now, Voyager.”

“Casablanca.”

“I said it,” she giggled, playfully smacking him in the arm.

“It has to be said twice,” he chuckled.

“I’m shocked, shocked to find there's gambling going on here!” Maddie quoted from the film as she vigorously shook the pot on the stove to keep the popcorn from burning.

“Round up the usual suspects,” Noah jumped in.

Maddie lifted the pot of popcorn from the burner, placing it on one that wasn’t hot. “Okay, who are you and where do you come from? Were we like separated at birth?” she teased.

Noah grinned, comforted by the fact that he wasn’t the only one feeling the quick bond they had just formed. “Do you know how weird it is to meet someone who actually knows what I'm talking about?”

“Were your parents total movie buffs?”

“My mom is a huge fan but she loves movies from the ‘70s,” Noah explained while Maddie searched for some bowls. “I think she humors my love the oldies but really prefers to watch things in color.”

“You’re lucky,” Maddie sighed. “I can’t get Casey to humor me too often. I actually wanted to rent Casablanca tonight but he quickly vetoed it.”

“That’s too bad. I haven’t seen it in awhile and it’s one of my all time favorites,” Noah said. “My copy got ruined and I haven’t gotten around to replacing it.”

“You’ll have to rectify that. It’s a classic and a must for every movie collection,” Maddie replied. “Can you get the butter out of the refrigerator?”

“Sure,” Noah replied. He wasn’t about to tell her that a DVD purchase was a luxury that he couldn’t afford. And his movie collection was pretty pathetic for someone who loved movies as much as he did.

“Well…now I know who to come to when I need a classic movie fix,” Maddie said as she poured the popcorn into a couple of bowls.

Noah found some butter and handed it to Maddie. “Yeah…just as long as your boyfriend doesn’t mind. I don’t want to step on any toes, especially being new in town and all.”

Maddie sliced some butter off into a measuring cup and then put it into the microwave that was above the stove. “Casey may come off as all big and bad but he’s really a softy at heart.” She lowered her voice, leaning close to him. “Just don’t let tell him that I said that.”

“I won’t,” Noah promised, grinning at his new friend.


Luke couldn’t figure out why Maddie and Noah hadn’t appeared with the popcorn yet. He could smell the popcorn wafting from the kitchen so it had to be almost done. Popping popcorn wasn’t rocket science so it shouldn’t be taking this long.

“Where are they?” Casey grumbled, shifting on the sofa.

“I’m sure it’s almost done,” Luke replied, glancing toward the kitchen. He hoped that Maddie wasn’t making Noah feel uncomfortable. Casey had certainly done a number on him earlier which had surprised Luke. He couldn’t figure out why his friend asked those ridiculous questions.

Like you have? an inner voice asked.

No…like Casey was, he tried to reason with himself. I was never intentionally trying to be mean to Noah.

Not even when you accused him of trying to steal Gram’s silver?

All of the sudden Casey was standing up. “I’m going to see what the hell is going on in there,” he declared.

Luke scrambled after him. “I’m sure they’re just making popcorn.” He followed Casey into the kitchen where Noah and Maddie were dumping the popcorn into a couple of bowls.

“From Here to Eternity…the beach scene is just so romantic,” Maddie was saying as Luke and Casey approach the island.

“It looks good on film,” Noah replied, “but realistically I think it would be to too much sand.”

“What’s going on here?” Casey asked.

“We were just finishing up the popcorn,” Noah announced as he poured the butter over the bowls.

“Took you long enough,” Casey huffed, wrapping his arm around Maddie.

“Hey…we wanted to make sure that we didn’t burn it,” Maddie replied.

“I appreciate you guys not wanting to stink up my grandmother’s kitchen,” Luke said, smiling at Noah who seemed to be having a good time. Actually, he looked relaxed which was new for him. Noah was always a bit nervous or tense.

How in the hell did Maddie manage to get Noah to unwind?

Noah returned his smile, shrugging slightly. “I can’t stand the smell of brunt popcorn. It’s the worst. You can’t watch a movie with bad popcorn…it takes away from the mood.”

“So,” Maddie said, turning to Noah. “Bette Davis or Joan Crawford?”

“Bette Davis!” Noah exclaimed not even having to think about her question. “Now Voyager, Jezebel, Dark Victory, What Ever Happened to Baby
Jane?…”

“That has both of them,” Maddie interrupted him.

“But it’s still a must see,” Noah insisted.

“You forgot All About Eve,” Maddie declared. “I love that movie!”

“That’s because you interrupted me,” Noah chuckled.

“Can you believe that Luke has never seen Psycho?” Maddie asked, giving Noah a friendly nudge.

“Wow…really?” Noah’s eyes bugged out. “It’s a classic…Janet Leigh…the shower scene…the Bates Motel.”

“I know,” Maddie nodded knowingly.

Luke rolled his eyes. Here we go again with the ‘Luke hasn’t seen this classic movie’ thing.

“The movie is pure genius,” Noah gushed.

“I know… the shower scene is brilliant,” Maddie quickly added.

“What the hell is it about this shower scene?” Luke asked a bit irritated. He was getting tired of it being referenced.

Noah looked at him like he had grown a second head. “It’s only one of the most famous scenes in American film history,” he enthusiastically explained. “It’s when the heroine gets stabbed in the shower at the Bates Motel. The scene features 77 different camera angles. Most of the shots are extreme close-ups. And the way it’s cut you never actually see the knife puncturing flesh but you think you do…that coupled with the score that is used over the scene is just pure brilliance.”

“And the blood is actually chocolate syrup,” Maddie said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“Yummy,” Luke muttered.

“The scene lasted three minutes and had fifty cuts in it,” Noah said, shaking his head.

“That’s just crazy,” Maddie readily agreed.

Luke was being to think Noah and Maddie were the crazy ones. They seemed to be speaking a foreign language.

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” Casey asked positively exasperated.

“It’s geek speak,” Maddie giggled. “I found my twin. I think Noah and I were separated at birth. He’s an old movie buff just like I am. I finally found someone who understands what I’m saying.”

“Maddie has great taste in movies,” Noah said. “You guys should have rented Psycho…especially if Luke has never seen it…it’s the perfect thriller especially with Halloween only a few weeks away.” Noah turned to him. “It may be in black and white but it’s still one of the best horror movies ever made.”

“So I hear,” Luke replied still trying to wrap his head around Noah the film geek. He’d never seen him so animated.

Casey frowned. “Psycho wouldn’t have been a very good movie to rent given recent events.”

Oh s’hit…Casey was in pit bull mode. He better step in before his friend ripped Noah’s head off. “Case, remember Noah isn’t from here. He doesn’t know what happened at Raven Lake,” Luke gently reminded him.

“I’m sorry,” Noah said, the smile quickly fading from his handsome face. “Did something bad happen?”

“Something bad?” Casey mocked him. “Well…if you call some of our classmates getting stabbed to death last month ‘something bad’.”

“Casey!” Maddie exclaimed, glaring at him.

“I…I….didn’t…” Noah stammered, glancing from Casey to Luke obviously mortified by his error.

“Of course you didn’t,” Luke said, placing his hand on Noah’s arm, who immediately tensed. S’hit…what the f’uck was the thinking touching Noah? Of course the straight kid didn’t want the gay guy coping a feel. Stupid move on his part. Quickly, he released his hold. “No one is blaming you…no one. Right, Casey?” He shot his friend a threatening look. He didn’t know what Casey’s problem was but he needed to cut it out. Now.

“Yeah…right,” Casey conceded. “Sorry…it’s just a touchy subject around here.”

Noah nodded. “I can imagine. And if I knew I wouldn’t have suggested renting a horror movie.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal. Casey is just being a bit overprotective which I can appreciate even if it may be a bit misplaced at the moment,” Maddie said, half reassuring Noah and half chastising her boyfriend. “But I think we will have to make sure Luke sees it in a few months because it is criminal that he’s gone this long without seeing it.”

Luke held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine…fine…I’ll see the movie just so you stop harassing me about it. Now can we go watch the new, pretty color movie that you guys rented?”

“Yes…that would be great,” Casey readily agreed.

“I don’t know if it will be great,” Maddie teased, grabbing one of the bowls of popcorn.

“It definitely won’t be The Thin Man,” Noah chuckled.

“Oh…I adore Nick and Nora Charles…and Asta!” Maddie grinned. “I always said if I ever got a dog I’d name it Asta.”

Luke took the other bowl of popcorn. There they go again…

Before they could leave the room the door to the kitchen opened and Maddie’s smile faded. “Oh god,” she muttered, staring at the doorway.

Luke turned to see who she was looking at and there stood his cousin, Jade.