noah

@noahgreysloan

Mark walked into his kitchen, running a hand through his hair and letting out a deep sigh. It had been a rough day when it came to his patients and he was glad to be at home. He startled slightly at the sight of his son but smiled when the figure registered in his brain. “Hey, kiddo. Wasn’t sure you’d be home right now. How’s your day been?” He asked, moving to grab a glass of water.

noah had stopped by his parents house to see if anybody was home. he had just gotten off work and was exhausted, but truly didn’t feel like going back to his empty apartment. truthfully, he was thinking about maybe getting a cat or something but he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “oh hey dad- did you just get home?” noah took a sip of his water and then shrugged. “busy but i’m sure you understand that. how about you? do any interesting surgeries today?” 

_

“I.. yeah,” Sofia spoke, sighing slightly at herself. She’d been predominantly working nights to try to spend as much time with her dogs as she could, but then found herself not sleeping during the day for the same reason. Her exhaustion had built up over the last few days and she crashed hard. “Probably a solid 8/10 sleep,” she nodded. “Did you sleep alright? I happen to know that my couch is pretty comfortable, there’ve been many times that I’ve not made it all the way to bed.”

“wow- an 8? that’s pretty good.” noah nodded his head and then shrugged his shoulders. “not really. it had nothing to do with the couch though, just a lot on my mind lately.” she took a deep breath and then laughed. “it is pretty comfortable! where’d you get it from? i could use one for my apartment.” 

It had been a long couple of weeks for Sofia. Between picking up extra shifts to help her coworkers out during the holidays amid her should I actually be a surgeon crisis, while also trying to be the best dog mom she could be, and unintentionally staying sober for an entire month… she was simply tired. Constantly. There were only naps, never a night of sleep. However, during those naps, a train could blow through the walls of the room and Sofia wouldn’t move. That said, when she slowly woke up, she was already disoriented enough but even more so seeing someone else in the room with her. “How long have you been here?” The brunette mumbled, rubbing her eyes then combing her fingers through her hair, “what time is it?”

“You know what really sucks?” Annabelle asked, mostly to herself because she honestly wasn’t paying attention to anything but the computer screen in front of her. “The fact that this super specific class I need to take is only offered by one professor.” She still had yet too mention any of what had happened the previous semester to anyone, and she really didn’t want to have to potentially go through that again by being in his classroom, but it appeared she had no choice. “Think I can get my degree if I’m missing a class from the major?”

“The cute little desserts aren’t doing it for you? There’s little chocolate-covered strawberries decorated like little pumpkins. If not the little pumpkins, not even the silly cocktails? I had one either with a little gummy eyeball floating in it, and while it was mildly disturbing, I can appreciate the art,” Sofia grinned. She’d missed Noah’s point almost entirely, but that was bound to happen when she was as many drinks in as she was. Though, after a beat, her brows furrowed, “where else would you be right now?”

“are you kidding me? the cute, free desserts are the only reason i’m still here!” he said shoving a small brownie into his mouth and then shaking his head. “oh trust me, the cocktails are a nice plus.” he raised his glass to hers, before taking another sip. “a gummy eyeball huh? i haven’t tried that one yet, was it good?” 

“okay as far as halloween parties go, it could be better… but hey, at least until your normal time here, all the blood is fake.” a lame joke, but she’d never claimed to be funny. glancing around the room, she could mentally note it looked pretty good, whoever had been in charge of decorations had clearly taken the role well. “look on the plus side - it’s only one night, there’s free things about and name better company than me - i dare you. and know i will cry if you say i’m horrible company.” 

“that’s true. i will be thankful for that much.” he laughed and then looked around the room, before turning back to his sister. “i do love free food and drinks, so i should stop complaining!” he said taking another cookie off the table and then laughing. “lou- i would never call you horrible company. trust me, you’re good company.” 

“Can you call being bored out of my mind fun?” Annabelle asked in retort, shaking her head. “It’s stupid. I can’t drink. The music is lame. Mom dressed up as Glurp … I just can’t anymore.” Her eyes looked down to the drink in his hand and then back up. “Wanna get me one of those, big bro-ski?” she asked with a sweet smile on her face.

“join the club.” noah laughed as he talked to his younger sister and then shook his head. “i know.. some of the costumes are a little out there but who cares right? at least they seem happy.” the brunette took another sip of his drink and then shook his head. “no thank you! mom and dad would have my head if they saw me hand you a drink. but if you want to come over to my place and watch movies like old times and make fun of the actors, i’ll give you one. just don’t tell mom and dad okay? we haven’t caught up in awhile, how’s everything going?” 

Bailey narrowed his eyes at his cousin when he said that the party was lame, pointing at him. “Take that back. You don’t have to enjoy being here or like parties or Halloween, but calling things lame that other people really enjoy is lame.” Bailey took a drink of his own, careful to not smudge the makeup covering his face.

noah laughed and then put up his hands. “okay, i take it back. it’s not lame at all.” he said lowering his hands and taking a sip of his beer. “i’m guessing you’re having a good time then?” 

Being fresh out of the psych ward of the hospital, Lexie was actually scared of what to expect. She hadn’t shown her face to her peers and their families since she went in. She didn’t know who knew what, who was going to judge her. She was good now. Back on her meds, a slightly stronger dose, she was stable. She was Lexie again. As she stood there in her goldfish costume, she felt very exposed, but that was because it was just a bodysuit. Definitely not her norm. She gave a soft wave to the person approaching one of the dessert tables where she was. “You look good. The uh.. The worms in dirt is really good.”

“thanks mom, so do you. love the goldish idea.” he said picking up one of the dessert cups and taking a bite. “you know - i’ve never been a big fan of gummy worms stuck in things, but you’re right this is pretty good!” he said taking another bite and then shaking his head, as he looked out and saw everybody having a good time in their costumes. “are you having a good time? if not- i’m sure we could sneak out of here without anybody noticing and go home to watch halloween movies. honestly, that sounds like a better idea to me.” 

Finding a costume idea had been difficult. Annabelle had circled through about four or five different thoughts before finally settling on the current one, and dressing up as a cowgirl. It was simple, and she thought she looked pretty cute that night. Unfortunately, the teen still wasn’t super enthused about being at this event, especially since she was still, sadly, not old enough to imbibe in drinks that would make the night a little more exciting. Spying someone eyeing her from the bar area, she sidled up and was in the middle of trying to flirt her way into being bought a drink when she heard footsteps walking her way. Turning towards the figure, she hoped they hadn’t heard too much of her interaction. “Hey, nice costume! Are you enjoying yourself this evening so far?”

“so far, i can’t complain. though this party is a little lame if you ask me.” he shrugged his shoulders as he looked at his sister. “how about you? are you having fun? you look nice.” he said as he took a sip of his drink, thankful they had alcohol at this party.