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Language:
English
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Published:
2020-06-12
Updated:
2020-07-01
Words:
5,172
Chapters:
3/?
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13
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22
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Up North

Summary:

Noel was annoyed. And not just because of the obnoxiously loud voice of his best friend on the phone next to him.

That was only the tip of the iceberg.

No, Noel didn’t wanna be here. A 9 hour bus ride with 20 other College Prep students all the way up to Northern California. It was something that would qualify as his perfect nightmare.

Notes:

hi i haven't written fics in like two years and this is my first one on this site so i have no fucking clue what i'm doing.
anyways, this fic is inspired by a trip i went on a few years ago and i felt like it was a cute idea so why not write it?
i'm gonna try my best with frequent updates so don't worry too much about that. hope you enjoy!!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: bus

Chapter Text

Noel was annoyed. And not just because of the obnoxiously loud voice of his best friend on the phone next to him.

That was only the tip of the iceberg.

No, Noel didn’t wanna be here. On a 9 hour bus ride with 20 other senior college prep students all the way up to Northern California. It was something that would qualify as his perfect nightmare.

He never even liked this class in the first place. The past 3 years of high school had mainly been spent with numerous failed attempts to drop it but with a few of his grades being on the lower side, his counselor insisted he stayed. According to her, the class was good to help keep him in check.

But why was he here, about to spend an entire weekend with his class? As far as he was concerned it was all Cody’s fault. His friend’s excitement about visiting colleges he was considering, as well as his not-so-subtle pleading was enough to get Noel to hand that damn permission slip to his parents just to shut him up.

He regret his decision already.

Noel’s eyes opened to a large box of skittles waving about in front of his face. He quickly turned down his music volume (which was blasting in an attempt to drown out Cody’s voice) and popped out an earbud, turning around to see his friend Spock leaning over the back of his seat.

Spock and Cody, as well as Noel’s other friend Sam, were all roommates on this trip. Despite how much they could get on his nerves sometimes, he loved his friends and honestly sharing a hotel room with them was the only thing worth looking forward to. He just wasn’t sure about being able to survive a whole day on a hot bus with them. Or more accurately, if they would be able to survive him.

“You want some dude?” Spock asked, shaking the box some more.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“I’ll take some!” Cody reached over to take the box. Noel must have had his music up so loud he didn’t even notice Cody got off his call. “You’re finally done screaming shit into your phone?” He teased.

“The fuck does that mean?” Cody started getting defensive, as always. Normally he could take a joke, but when it came to stuff like this? Not so much. Regardless, Noel loved messing with him. Especially when he gave reactions like that.

So he decided to egg him on. “Dude you were being loud as hell.”

“I wasn’t that loud!”

“Yes you were, asshole.” Sam poked his head over the seat, sending a glare towards Cody. “The cars next to us fucking heard you.” he said, causing both Noel and Spock to break out laughing. That’s one thing that Noel always loved about Sam. He always got straight to the point.

Cody shrugged, obviously embarrassed as he poured the skittles into his hand. “It’s loud as hell in here. Kelsey couldn’t hear me.”

“Whatever,” Spock attempted to change the subject. “I got more snacks in my bag if u want any.” He held up a small backpack. “Is that why your ass almost got left? You were buying snacks?” Noel raised an eyebrow.

“Look, I made it here alright! That’s what matters.” Spock stopped to zip open the bag. “Now do you guys want hot cheetos or not.” Noel instantly perked up, catching the hot cheeto bag Spock threw at him.

“Got any more in there?” Sam poked his head in, smiling when he pulled out a bag of his own. “Careful…” Spock pulled the backpack away. “Save some for later. College snacks are expensive. I don’t know if I can afford to restock.”

“Alright Stater Brothers, chill. We won’t get anymore.” Noel reassured him.

“No promises…” Sam laughed as he shoved a few cheetos into his mouth. Spock squinted at him suspiciously, setting his backpack on the other side of his seat, out of Sam’s reach.

They rode on for about 2 hours before the first truck stop. Most of that time Noel just spent on his phone, scrolling through Twitter and occasionally checking instagram. They were supposed to play Super Smash Bros on Kelsey’s switch that she let Cody borrow, but Cody so very conveniently left it in his suitcase that was now sitting in the bus storage. Now they had absolutely nothing to do and were bored out of their fucking minds.

So Noel didn’t hesitate to get out of the bus when they stopped. He didn’t need to use the restroom but he did have a need for fresh air. He was the first to get out, his friends following close behind as he walked towards one of the picnic tables outside the small restroom building. Cody stopped for a second to obnoxiously stretch and touch his toes when Sam snuck up behind him and lightly pushed him to the side, laughing when he dramatically almost fell to the ground.

“Relax, I didn’t even hit that hard.” Sam snorted, making his way to the restrooms. Cody glared as he rubbed his arm before stopping to look at Noel. “You coming?” he motioned his head towards the small building. Noel shook his head, sitting down. “Nah, just needed to stretch.”

Cody nodded and turned to follow after Sam. It took a minute before Noel realized he was alone. Where the hell did Spock go? He looked around before he spotted him talking to his girlfriend Kay right outside the bus.

Probably chewing him out for being late, Noel thought, a smirk forming on his face. Kay was worried as hell before they left. Spock hadn’t been answering any texts all morning and he didn’t even show up at Cody’s place. Their initial plan was to meet there first before driving over to the school but when Spock didn’t show they had no choice but to leave without him. It wasn’t until everyone got on the bus that he finally showed up. Just a few seconds from being left behind.

Spock turned his head and noticed Noel looking at him. Next thing Noel knew, Kay and Spock were walking towards him, a few other classmates trailing behind.

“Hey Noel, what’s up?” Kay gave a small wave as she and Spock sat next to him.

“Just stretching. That bus is cramped, even for a short ass person.”

“Right? I don’t think I could last another second in there.” Another voice chimed in. Noel looked behind Kay to see one of his classmates, Aleena, smiling at him.

To Noel, Aleena was just one of his best friend’s girlfriend’s friends. At least she was at first. Thinking about it, Aleena could be considered a good friend. It was nice how she always helped him out during class study sessions. She also had a nice sense of humor. And a nice laugh too. She was just nice.

If he was being completely honest with himself, it wasn’t exactly Cody’s fault he was here. The moment he saw her hand raised when Mr. Myers asked who was going on the trip, his hand went up too.

But he couldn’t put any blame on her now could he?

Noel smiled back. “Same. I’ve been bored out of my mind.”

“And we got what? 2 more hours till we get to UCSB?” Spock added. Noel groaned, throwing his head back in anguish. “I just need like 5 more minutes out here.” He wished out loud. But as soon as those words left his mouth, they were all being called back to the bus. “You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.” Noel sighed, standing back up.

“Wow, you really just jinxed yourself.” Kay laughed

“Just my luck, huh?”

“Hey Spock, you can have my seat if you guys wanna sit together.” Aleena offered as the 4 of them started walking. “Oh, thanks!” Spock smiled, reaching for Kay’s hand. “I just gotta get my stuff from my seat then.”

When they got in the bus, Spock grabbed his backpack and went a few rows back to sit in Aleena’s former seat with Kay. Noel sat in his same seat, popped his earbuds in and started scrolling through his Spotify playlist. When Aleena took the seat next to him, he lowered his phone and looked at her in confusion.

“I guess I’m with you now!” She nervously laughed, putting her stuff underneath the seat.

“Oh… um actually, Spock was sitting with Sam. Cody was sitting there.”

Aleena’s face fell and Noel felt a small pang in his chest. “Oh! Sorry. I’ll move.” she awkwardly leaned forward to pick up her stuff again.

Fuck. Now Noel felt bad.

“You know what? Cody can move, it's fine.” He shrugged, knowing damn well Cody would not be down to move.

Speak of the devil.

“What’s… going on.” Cody pointed at Noel and then Aleena, looking slightly puzzled. “Spock went to sit with Kay. You can sit with Sam, right?” Noel explained.

Cody opened his mouth to protest before making eye contact with Aleena. Noel could tell he was trying really really hard not to hurt Aleena’s feelings. Cody was just conscious like that. He let out a sigh before looking back to Noel. “Give me my bag.”

Noel tossed it over, and he took his seat next to Sam. There was a pause and then, “Hey where the fuck is Spock?” Sam asked a little too loudly.

“With Kay, asshole.” Noel turned around to peek over his seat. “Wait, when did you even get in here?” He could have sworn he didn’t see Sam get back in the bus at all.

“Like 5 minutes ago. Cody took too long.”

“Well now you get special bonding time with him!” he laughed. “Try not to talk too loud, ‘kay?” He turned to make a face at Cody resulting in a frown from him and a kick in the seat from Sam. Noel sat back down, laughing even harder. He turned his head to see Aleena attempting to stifle laughs of her own.

“Sorry about them.”

“No no it’s fine. You guys are funny.” Aleena looked at him, smiling. For some reason, that smile gave him a bit of reassurance.

Maybe he wouldn’t regret this trip after all.