Courageous

CHAPTER EIGHT

"You know you're supposed to hit the pins and not put the ball in the gutter, right?" Noah asked as he stifled another laugh from his seat behind Carter as he again miserably tried to play bowling.

Truth to be told, Carter was awful at playing bowling but he really enjoyed himself even if he never managed to hit any of the pins. That was the reason he had even agreed to go to Mike's Bowling Alley in the first place. Plus, they made some mean burgers and pizza which made everyone there indecisive since they couldn't pick what they wanted.

However, the two friends had a schedule to make sure they would never be in a dilemma like that. They think back to what they got the previous time and order the other fast food for a change as they liked to say. The first time they tried to do that they couldn't decide what they wanted to eat first and after one agonizing hour of playing bowling and eating their nails, they chose pizza. They hadn't seen a waiter more relieved since then.

"Shut up," he mumbled as he returned to his seat and his friend got up since it was his turn. He took a bite from his juicy burger and ate a few fries before taking a large from his drink. For some reason, he felt famished. Did not actually playing bowling make everyone hungry or was it just him?

Noah cheered as he hit all the pins, "And that's how you play bowling!"

Carter threw some of his fries at him which made the other male cry out due to the waste of perfectly fine food. He snorted in return before he got up since it was his turn again.

All of a sudden, he felt as if everyone was looking at him and he almost cowered away. However, on his way to the lane, Noah patted his shoulder and gave him a brilliant smile that smoothed his nerves. He grabbed the yellow ball just because he liked the colour and moved closer to the lane but stayed behind the slippery part of it. He had done that once and he had fallen on his face.

He definitely didn't want to repeat that.

"Remember, shoot with your arm, not your body!" Noah shouted from behind him and he did just as he was instructed to after he targeted the centre. He watched as the ball started moved sideways towards the gutter again but that time instead of just falling in there, it knocked down two pins too.

Noah cheered from behind him as he went to get his ball again. He took a deep breath and tried doing what he did before. This time he only knocked one pin down but still, that was a big accomplishment since he could barely even touch the pins before.

He moved back as the game ended with Noah winning due to how many strikes he had achieved. He didn't feel jealous he lost since his achievement was more important to him.

"So anyway, what happened with Jasmine?" he took another bite from his burger, not meeting his friend's eyes.

Noah rolled his eyes and snorted, "Not gonna work. How did it go with Max? Did you ask him out yet?"

Carter didn't reply. Instead, he took a large sip from his Coca Cola and then, smiled once it started making noise indicating that he had finished it all. He waved over a waiter and asked for a refill all while he felt Noah's glare on him. The waiter did so too which was the reason why he left too quickly.

No one wanted to feel the wrath of Noah Green.

"Seriously, you still haven't asked?" He groaned, his forehead hitting their wooden table which caused many to turn and look at them. Carter gave them an uneasy smile and then frowned once Noah lifted his head only to see a large red mark on it.

He pointed at that but his friend waved his arm in front of his face, dismissing him. He huffed, "I don't know how to ask him, okay? Every time I think about it while we hang out, I say something stupid. I just found the courage to be my actual self with him, maybe I should just wait,"

Noah cringed, "I just remember how you acted around me before you became yourself again," Another fry was thrown at him just as Carter's drink arrived. The waiter scowled at them and told them to pick out the fries they threw. Once he turned around, the brown-haired male gave him the finger which caused Carter to stifle a laugh.

"Anyway, I say you do it now. The guy likes you, anyone from a hundred miles away can see that!" His roommate and best friend continued as he stole a sip from his drink, "Plus, what if he finds another male soon before you even get the chance to ask him?"

Carter nodded at that before he scoffed, "He could be heterosexual for all I know!"

"You never asked him?" Noah asked in disbelief.

"How was I supposed to ask him? 'Hey Max, are you interested in boys' while we were playing FIFA?"

Noah's eyes widened, "YES!"

"Oh, f**k off," Carter mumbled, "Besides that, I am too afraid of getting rejected or even messing up our friendship!"

"You're exaggerating," his friend exclaimed, "I say go for it. You have nothing to lose either way and if he does or says anything, I can always go all 'Criminal Minds' on him,"

He winked at him.

The black-haired male didn't comment on that even though he wanted to smile at his friend. He was extremely grateful to have him as his best friend and he didn't know what he would do if he wasn't there for him.

"I just told you I might mess up our friendship! That's something I can lose," He raised his hands in the air, his frustration levels going extremely up.

Noah only smiled in return, "But you'll never lose me,"