Lovely Greeting

Noah stepped out to grab some drinks for them, and Alice was going to tag along when Noah seated her back down on the stool which she didn't complain about considering it was the first time in over three hours that she was able to sit in her own seat without Noah taking it up all the space like nobody's business.

It was getting late, and she needed to leave soon. Alice didn't want to overstay her welcome, but she was sure that Noah would immediately disagree with her. Now that he was out of the room, it made it too quiet. Alice glanced over at his grandfather who was sleeping peacefully, knowing of all of the ruckus that were about to come crashing down.

She didn't want to be involved in that, but she knew that Noah would be able to handle whatever came his way. As long as he had enough energy of course. In the grand scheme of things, she was grateful to see this side of Noah. However, she would never ask for anyone to be put in such a saddened state.

Clearing her throat, Alice wrung her hands together as she found it would be impolite to take out her phone when there was someone in front of her. Social media was important to her, but she knew when to draw the line. A hobby like that could easily take over one's life and suck one in if they weren't careful. 

When Noah left he asked what she wanted to drink, he gave her a long selection of various beverages cracking Alice up. The list was too long to be a leisurely mention.

He was serious in his endeavors, and when she raised her eyebrows, all he had in response was that he had spent too much time in front of the vending machine.

She didn't doubt that. He was here to accompany his grandfather for every single day that he could. In a hospital, there were limited things to do. If he could keep himself occupied for longer than a few minutes, she would truly be astounded, but then again, Noah seemed to live to astound her in the most random ways. 

Alice settled for a small canned coffee that was known to be sweet and to her taste. The coffee flavor in it was light, and it was the one that she and Claudia always got when they went to school.

It was crazy to think that she was sitting and waiting for hours that went by too fast despite her and Noah doing nothing and only sharing very few words. She supposed it was for the good company.

Looking down at her short lavender nails, she brought them up into the light and wondered if it was time to get a new set.

A soft sniffle came to the side which she didn't think much of, filtered out along with the loud air unit, only for her to immediately freeze. Her gaze was rooted at her feet when she realized that she wasn't the only person awake in the room

Her skin prickled with the sudden awareness. She couldn't bring herself to drag her eyes up to the person waiting in question, but she steeled herself from whatever embarrassment was running through her veins.

But there was also an emotion that she could place which made her freak out earlier. Noah caught her before she could leave. 

She was here for moral support on Noah's end, but she also didn't seem prepared for the moment. Thoughts were flying through her head as she figured out routes that she could take, but she couldn't take the easy way out. What was life without any hardships? It was a hurdle that Alice could certainly curb, right?

A part of her wanted to look good in front of his grandfather. She supposed that it was a normal feeling. Alice was stalling, waiting for Noah to come back into the room with the skin of her teeth, but as the second went by, she looked more odd by waiting rather than saying nothing when she was right there.

The older man was in a deep sleep for a while, so the least that she could do was greet him in a welcoming manner when he woke up. Alice dragged her gaze up to the grandfather who was waiting patiently.

Alice gave him the best smile that she had in store for greeting. It was her sparkling one that made people look twice in hopes she would gain his favor.

His grandfather's eyes were dark, contrasting with his hair which was going a silvery grey. His grandfather tilted his head to the side with a smile hinting at his amusement. "What brought such a lovely creature to my doorstep?"