Backstory

"Something is here."

Noah who was engaging with Tulip looks at Lincoln and follows his gaze, then looks back at him questioningly when not noticing anything. Lincoln stands up and approach the bushes where he saw movement. It could just be an animal, but incase it wasn't, Lincoln will confirm it.

"Careful, what if something is really there?"

Noah calls out, pulling Tulip to sit behind him. Tulip peeks over his shoulder to watch Lincoln, she did hear something there too but she didn't feel any danger. However now that she thinks about it, how can she be so sure with her powers that she fail to use?

Lincoln who has reached the bushes, reaches his hand into the bushes. With a tense expression praying that nothing will bite off his hand. That is when something clasp his hand pulling him into the bushes having him yelp and Noah stand up rushing towards him, but then two faces pop up, scaring the two.

"Agh!?"

"Ugh!"

Lincoln and Noah stagger back, then relax when seeing familiar faces.

"Walter! Ronan! What's the meaning of this?!"

The two that jump out burst out laughing, hollering and hitting each other playfully. While they do that another face pops up, the offender who took hold of Lincoln arm. Lincoln glaring at her holding his arm tightly against his chest away from her and yelling out.

"Piper!!"

Piper wears a proud look with her hands on her hips, then stepping out the bushes, careful not to dirty her appearance. Walter and Ronan follows after her.

"Sorry, we saw you guys here when exploring the bushes here. We couldn't just come by normally."

"And why not? Sounds fine to me."

"Welp, too late!"

Piper shrugs her shoulders with an innocent face and takes her seat where Tulip sat first. Taking notice of the lunchboxes and naturally taking the yellow one closest to her.

"What's this? Looks good?"

"Wait!-"

Before Noah could stop her, Piper takes one of the rice hearts and takes a bite. Tulip watches her instead of stopping her, even though she hasn't even taken a bite herself. Fixated on Lincoln and Noah.

Noah grabs hold of her shoulder, and accidentally flicks the rice heart into the lunchbox, the impact causing it to break apart. Seeing the rice heart that he imagined Tulip made with care break like that, made him more upset.

"Piper, that was Tulip's! Not Lincoln or mine."

Piper looks up at him puzzled.

"So? Can't she share?"

For some reason, Noah felt irked. Piper his friend, is still acting like a jerk. Or maybe she always was one, this was how she acted with him on a daily bases, except Noah didn't mind, but Tulip might have different boundaries. Closing his eyes, he suppresses his anger and glowers at Piper who slaps his hand away.

"Don't touch me."

"Then don't take Tulip's food."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what? Is being upset that you're eating someone else's food wrong?"

Piper press her lips together to that, knowing she's in the wrong but doesn't want to admit it. Instead she turns her head to Tulip unbothered with her attitude. The sight is annoying, Piper didn't like to see her be so mature.

"You, sharing is okay right? A girl would share."

Noah doesn't like Piper choice of words and his glare grows darker, but waits for Tulip answer. Maybe he was wrong and Tulip doesn't mind. However if she doesn't understand or does mind, then he wont tolerate Piper no more.

"You are hungry? Please eat!"

Instead of getting upset or reluctantly giving in, Tulip instead gives her a sweet smile, her eyes turning into crescents and full cheeks emphasising her sincere looking smile. The five of them stare blankly at Tulip.

Noah almost forgot Tulip's personality, they are so compatible that he believed she would react like him too, however that isn't it. From the beginning this is who Tulip is, a clueless, sometimes oblivious in times when someone wouldn't be and unusually smart when you wouldn't expect it. Alongside being tender and considerate.

A memory that he had forgotten is then recalled, when Tulip wasn't herself one time. At the time it had been less than a day since they've met, but after 2 months of living together he now knows of her usual behaviour, and that wasn't it.

That time..it was weird. Noah doesn't want it to happen again.

Since then he has learnt of many things of Tulip, directly and indirectly. Noah was curious as to why Tulip had started living with them, so he asked his mother, she briefed that kids like Tulip don't have a family anymore.

To this Noah asked why, and how? Everyone has a family.

Noah's mother explained that she doesn't know why too, it is true everyone has had a family, but sometimes families don't stay together. After that, Noah didn't ask anymore. Considering as to why Tulip family didn't stay together. There are many possible reasons, but a possibility passed Noah. Striking him.

Noah only has his mother because his father has died, he didn't leave them by choice, no, he died many years ago when Noah was 7. Besides the first storm that was the largest, this storm was the third largest storm. It wasn't the strongest, but the storm had always been strong, and at the time it was 5 years after the first storm. Society was still adapting to these storms. Unfortunately for Noah's family, the storms were more frequent in their town Novourse. No one knew why, but it is well known.

That day it was the first day of Noah going into first grade. The school hours were over and it was time for pick up. Noah's mother was busy, the other week another storm occurred nearby their house, the wind damaged some parts of their house so his mother was doing that.

They planned to delay Noah's first day of school, but he insisted. His parents were unsure, worried if the damage on roads will be a hazard, but it wasn't a problem. It was unlikely for a storm to happen again a week after, it had never happened at the time. So his father drove in the heavy rain that would happen for a week after a storm.

That day the sky was unusually cloudy, but everyone had thought that meant the rain will be harder and that was all. So when a storm had appeared, a sweeping storm that had Noah and the students go to the emergency room and families to take cover, everyone was horrified. That day Noah's father devastatingly passed away. His body was found far away from nearby roads, below the hill where the road that is a shortcut to the school is.

A horrible memory, Noah hates to think about what his father experienced in his last moments. A terrifying storm that had his car crash down the hill. Till this day he would hear people gossip of it, looking at him and his mother with pity.