arguably, kasper could say the same thing. heâs about to, but a part of him forces his gaze behind her. down the hallway. he half expects another kringle to show up  â  but he doesnât hold his breath. itâs a mix of confusion, excitement, and embarrassment that keeps his focus. demands it.  â disappointing, i know. â  self deprecation, at its finest. he sidesteps. opens the door all the way so she can come in.  â what ⌠brings you here? â  an honest enough question as he moves into a side room. his bedroom. grabs a pair of jeans, for both their sake.  â itâs like, only a few days out from the big day. from what i remember, i wouldnât think an impromptu vacation would be allowed. â  not when all hands needed to be on deck.
the way his gaze darts behind her confuses noelle at first, but she soon realizes the thing ââ well, the person ââ that is decidedly missing. it makes her feel an odd pang of angry and sad. itâs not kasperâs fault ââ heâs known them forever as brother and sister, as the kringles, nick and noelle. but even though she misses nick terribly, she canât help but wish people would see her as just noelle. enough to stand on her own. itâs part of why she came out here searching, isnât it? to prove that sheâs enough? but kasperâs words shake her out of those thoughts. â wh ââ what do you mean? i mean, iâm definitely surprised to see you, but iâm glad. really glad. â she steps politely in after him, wide eyes taking in his apartment, wanting to know more of who he is now, who heâs become since they were little. the question almost startles her, though she is relieved that he reenters with some pants. â itâs, uh... well. itâs slightly more complicated than that. â she frowns, and when she speaks, her voice wavers just slightly. maybe itâs something about seeing their childhood friend that makes her able to really feel the worry sheâs been fighting off since leaving the north pole. â nickâs gone, â she says finally, â not, like, gone gone ââ heâs here, actually! in arizona. but dad passed away earlier this year and now nickâs santa and he was so stressed so i told him to get away for a couple of days, but now a couple of days turned into a lot of days and while i was looking for him i found you in the phone book and i just kind of knew it was you? so i came here because i didnât know if maybe youâd seen him but i need your help to find him because we really need him to come home. â noelle doesnât notice how badly she needs to inhale until sheâs done speaking, cheeks red with the effort, and a sheen of sweat on her browââ mostly from her too-warm clothes, but still.
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