Searching for a place to stay

Liam paced around the living room, phone pressed to his ear as it rang. He tapped his foot impatiently, occasionally glancing at Noah, who sat on the couch, clutching his sketchpad like it was a lifeline. The poor kid looked just as stressed.

Finally, Kevin picked up.

"What is it, Liam?"

Liam grinned. "DUDEEEEEEE!"

Kevin sighed. *"What do you want now?"*

"Okay, hear me out. You remember Henry's little bro, Noah?"

"Yeah… wait. What did he do now? Did he betray us?"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Relax, nobody's betraying anybody."

"Then what is it?"

Liam took a deep breath. "Can Noah crash at your place for a few days?"

"Why?"

Liam scratched his head. "Uhhh… I may or may not have gotten into some, uh… complications with Henry."

There was silence. Then—

"YOU WHAT?!" Kevin's voice went full-on high-pitched. "DUDE, we literally agreed not to mess with Henry unless we all talked about it first!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Liam muttered. "But things just… escalated."

"Escalated how?"

Liam sighed. "Fine, I'll say it. I beat the shit out of him. In front of Kate."

Click.

Kevin hung up.

Liam blinked at his phone. "Okay, well, that's a no."

Noah, still clutching his sketchpad, looked up. "That bad, huh?"

Liam groaned. "You have no idea. But don't worry, we've got more options."

He scrolled through his contacts. "Let's try Maiya."

The phone rang a few times before she picked up.

"Liam, if you're asking for food again, I swear—"

"No, no, nothing about food!" Liam quickly reassured her. "It's about Noah."

Maiya sighed. "What did he do?"

Liam huffed. "Why does everyone think Noah did something? This is about what I did!"

"Oh god. What did you do?"

"Can Noah stay at your place for a few days?"

"Are you joking? Is this a prank?"

"I wish."

"The answer is no."

Liam groaned. "Why not?"

"Because my parents would kill me! You know how strict they are."

Liam sighed. "Alright, fine."

"Wait, why isn't Noah staying at your place anymore?"

"Ask Kevin."

Click.

Liam tossed his phone onto the couch. "That's another no."

Noah looked at him. "I'm sensing a pattern."

"Shut up," Liam muttered, picking up his phone again. "We still got more people."

He dialed Ryan's number. No answer. Called again. Nothing. Called six more times. Still nothing.

Liam threw his hands in the air. "I swear, if Ryan is ghosting me, I'm going to break into his house and eat all his snacks."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "That seems excessive."

"You don't understand," Liam muttered darkly. "He has the best snacks."

Liam scrolled again. "Alright, Ethan's next."

The phone barely rang twice before Ethan picked up.

"No."

Liam blinked. "What?"

"No."

"Dude, I haven't even said anything yet!"

"No."

Liam groaned. "This is serious!"

"No."

Liam clenched his jaw. "Can you at least let me—"

"No."

Click

Liam stared at his phone for a solid three seconds. Then he let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

Noah tilted his head. "So that's a no?"

Liam shot him a look. "Noah, I don't know how to break this to you, but I think Ethan might be saying no."

Noah nodded, completely deadpan.

Liam rubbed his temples. "Alright. I got one last person. But…"

Noah narrowed his eyes. "But what?"

"You'll see."

Liam dialed Sarah's number. The phone barely rang once before she picked up.

"YES, BOSS! WHAT DO YOU NEED? I FINISHED MY RESEARCH ON FANTASY, BY THE WAY!"

Liam pulled the phone away from his ear. "Jesus, Sarah, inside voice."

"Sorry! So, what do you need?"

"You know Noah, Henry's brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Can he stay at your place for a few days?"

There was a long pause. Then—

*"Are you kidding me?!"*

"Yeah, yeah, sorry I—"

"Absolutely he can!"

Liam blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah! He can stay over. My parents are out on a business trip, so I'm home alone. I was actually thinking about inviting Maiya over just for fun."

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Huh. That easy?"

"Yep! You can drop him off whenever."

Liam hung up and turned to Noah. "Well, congrats. You're staying at Sarah's."

Noah hesitated. "Uh… okay. I guess?"

Liam smirked. "Don't worry, she's nice. Just a little…"

Noah's eyes narrowed. "A little what?"

Liam grinned wider. "You'll see."

Noah stared at him. "That's not reassuring."

Liam laughed. "You'll be fine."

He checked his phone. "It's already six. Wanna head out now?"

Noah shifted in his seat. "Now?"

"Your brother could show up at any time," Liam reminded him. "And if he finds you here…"

Noah sighed. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

Liam grabbed his keys and headed out the door. As they climbed onto his Activa, he grinned at Noah.

"Alright, hold on tight. And if we die, tell my story."

Noah groaned. "You're so dramatic."

Liam revved the engine. "Hell yeah, I am."

And with that, they sped off into the night.

---