Noah

"Sorry," I grinned, knowing he was teasing. "Justin Smith, is it?"

"It is," he sighed. Nothing fun or nice, just THE most common name among English speaking countries. Not lovely like Adema."

The whistles blew again and the man in the suit yelled wordlessly. "Albright! Get your ass to the bench! What the fuck is wrong with you? Springer, you're in! What the hell is your issue tonight, Albright?" the man demanded, looking up at a glowering Noah.

"Nothing," Noah spat, his eyes cutting back to me.

The man followed his gaze and looked at me and Justin. I realized then we were facing each other and holding both of our hands, having been lost in our own conversation.

The man in the suit leaned over the bench. "Bitch, I don't know what game your playing, but you need to fucking leave!"

"She stays!" Noah growled.

"The hell she does! Your head can't be in the game if all you can do is look at her!I don't know what your fucking deal is, but she isn't even the one you were fucking last week so it can't be that goddamn important!"

"You're wrong," Noah snarled in the man's face. "She's fucking important! She's EVERYTHING!" he screamed at the man.

"Oh shit," Justin chirped in a small, high voice. "That's our cue, m'lady, that particular brand of crazy is a bit more than anyone here signed up for. Let's go!" he smiled, helping me stand slowly to lead me out. "Tell me if you're going to go down, I want to get you out of here before it happens. Do I need to carry you?"

"Stop!" Noah yelled. "Sit her back down, YOU don't get to leave with her you fucking freak!"

"We're not looking, we're not looking," Justin mumbled, still guiding me up the steps. "And there she goes," he narrated as my knees buckled and he caught me. "I have you, don't worry. I'm sure this looks completely normal to everyone staring at us right now," he smiled cheerfully, my head swimming. Despite everything, I still managed to giggle as I nuzzled into his shirt.

There was a commotion behind us, but blackness rolled me.

When I woke, I knew I wasn't at home, or in a hospital, but I was in a bed. A bed that smelled like Justins light cologne. It smelled wonderful, even if my head did hurt. Reaching out in both directions, I knew I was in the bed alone and I knew it was dark. Late.

"Justin?"

"Mmm? Huh? Yeah? Here!" he called sleepily, fumbling a few feet away. A moment later, a lamp came on and Justin was sitting up next to the bed, blinking at me. "How do you feel?" he asked, standing and kicking off the blanket his legs were wrapped in.

"Head hurts. Why are you on the floor?"

"Well... I could have slept in the guest bedroom, but I wanted to keep an eye on you. Sorry."

"No, I mean, why aren't you up here in the bed?"

"Without your permission? No way, not a chance, not happening."

"If it's just sleep, I don't care," I sighed sleepily.

"Here. take these," he told me, heping me sit up to take pills.

"What are they?"

"They'll help, trust me. Drink all this water, as much as you can. Good girl. The rest. Great. Perfect. Let me look at your eyes..." he mumbled, peeling back my eyelids. "Perfect," he told me, then checked my pulse. "You feel like you need the hospital?"

"No thanks, I'm good. I just need sleep."

"Alright. I'm right here if you need anything."

"You can sleep by me? In the bed? Close?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I do," I mumbled, then immediately cuddled into him as he got into bed.

"Wowza. You feel amazing, Sutton. So tiny and perfect in my arms, I could get used to this."

"Mmm," I managed before drifting off.

When morning came, I woke alone. There was a note on the bedside table though.

'Had to work, didn't want to wake you. Stay as long as you like! (until I get home preferably, and then even longer) There's food in the fridge and in the cupboards, you're welcome to anything in the house. Avoid the blue bowl with the white lid, my sister made that and it's supposed to be tater-tot casserole, BUT IT IS NOT! There's cauliflower masquerading as tater tots in there and it HORRIFYING. I am simply waiting the appropriate amount of time so I can dump it and tell her it was amazing before returning her dish. The gray remote works the TV, the PS4 remote works all the streaming services. DO NOT watch the new season of Mandalorian without me. I set some older, too small clothes out that you can borrow if you want a shower, but I didn't have any undies in your size. Sorry. There are more pain pills on the nightstand if you need them, but not until at least 11 AM. Tonks won't bother you unless you breathe or move at all and let her know there is someone in the bedroom sleeping without her. She may or may not have already licked half your face off last night. Don't worry, I washed your face, then she did again too for good measure. She's good like that. Your phone is in the living room plugged in next to the entertainment center, I didn't want it to wake you. Ignore the news and texts from other people. Try and just get some rest, no more stress for you. -Justin

PS - my sister has a key. Not expecting her, but she might show up.

PPS - my other sister also has a key, she is less likely but I thought it worth mentioning.

PPPS - my brother also has a key, but he lives an hour away now and has never once used his key to come in and leave me random casseroles like my sisters do.

PPPPS - don't take this to mean I let just anyone have access to my apartment, You are special.

PPPPPS - please text me when you wake up so I know you're ok.

PPPPPPS - I'm just doing this for fun now, you can stop reading.'

Laughing, I dropped the paper and sat up, looking around the room. There were posters on the wall, all of them of fandoms. A Lord of the Rings poster, a Game of Thrones, Fallout 4 Nuka Cola sign, A breakdown of the Serenity ship.

Yeah, he wasn't kidding on being a geek.

Opening the door, I was immediately jumped on by a black fluffball that wagged its entire body as I smiled and pet her, scratching her ears.

The living room had a huge TV on an entertainment center and that was bracketed by a full half dozen large bookcases, all full of books with a few other things thrown in. A lot of tabletop RPG books, a few figurines.

Looking out the window, he was on the first floor of the apartment building and as soon as I opened the curtain to the sliding glass door to the patio, Tonks pressed her nose to the edge, wagging.

"You need out?" I asked, opening the door.

She shot out and ran around the small open area while I watched her play as I looked around the kitchen. A lot of take-out and fast food. No wonder his sisters brought him food.

Tonks came back in as soon as I called her and I closed the door, going to find my phone. It was right where he said it was and I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or not, but it was right next to a stand that held a replica of the One Ring. Like he had teased.

'Awake,' I texted him.

No answer, he must be busy.

Moving to the fridge, I looked inside, then pulled out the blue bowl. It sounded good to me. I was watching the microwave heat it up when the door opened.

The woman who stood there staring at me in fear looked a lot like Justin, same red hair and green eyes. Her glasses were smaller framed.

"Hi," I called softly. "I'm a friend of Justin's."

The girl let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing. "Swore for a minute ya mighta been a ghost? A fey thin'." she called, her accent strong. "Well then, yer lovely, aint ya? What's yer name then?"

"Sutton," I smiled, staying back as the girl came into the kitchen with four bowls.

Setting them on the counter, she looked down at me in confusion. "How old are ya?"

I gave her a tight smile, letting her know I was offended by the question. "Justin and I met on campus. The college campus. I had a seizure during a lecture."

"So yer in college then," she spoke, sounding relieved. "He ain't spoke of ya?"

"We only just met? We had a date last night..."

"So quick?" she laughed, putting the bowls away. "Tha's not like my brother't'all."

"It wasn't like that. I had another episode and I didn't want to go to the ER. He brought me here to keep an eye on me, then let me rest while he went to work."

"Well now, THAT sounds like my baby brother!" she laughed. "M'name is Justine, but family all calls me Tine. Lovely ta meet ya Sutton."

"Same," I managed as the microwave beeped. "Justin and Justine, family name?"

"My da' is just real proud of hisself," she laughed. "Think he'd'a named alla us after him if ma'd let'm. Oh, do ya like that? That there's a new recipe! Mah sister is tryin' to stop eatin' carbs. She liked it well enough!"

"S'good," I managed, sucking air around the hot bite.

"If ya don't mind, wha's wrong with ya? You look a bit peeked! Ya need ta lay down? I kin bring ya more if ya want, n'somethin' ta drink too?"

The door opened again and another woman paused, bringing in a large dish. "Tine! Hello, wasn't expecting you. Who's this?"

"A girl. Justin's girl. She goes to the college'n he met'r there. Sutton."

"Sutton," I agreed, nodding at the other woman cautiously. Was this a setup? Had he told them to come? Next his brother would come in with all his kids. Was it his brother who had the kids? No, his sister who he'd found. Which one was she?

"Molly," the other woman smiled, coming in. "Well, aren't you just lovely? Such a tiny little thing."

"Feylike," Justine offered.

"Very," Molly agreed, both of them looking me over. "D'you sleepover?" Molly asked uncertainly.

"She did," Justine volunteered. "They were out'n she took sick. He brought her back ta care for her."

"Ahhh," Molly nodded, smiling. Mystery solved.

The door opened again and I was fully expecting a man who looked like them to walk in.

He did look like them, but it was Justin and he looked a bit terrified as he looked at the three of us standing in his kitchen. "Ahhh... hello, Molly, Tine. What are you both doing here?"

"Coincidence," Molly shrugged, lifting the pan.

"I knew it was the start of yer weekend'n wanted ta get good food in ya before ya drown yerself in salt'n sugar," Justine told him, motioning to the bowls.

"Yeah. So, I suppose you've all met?" he asked lightly and I wondered if he were embarrassed of me.

"Your little fey guest? We have. She's lovely little brother."

Justin grinned as he came in and knelt, giving Tonks the attention she'd been begging for since he'd opened the door. "She is a bit fey, isn't she? Tine spent six years back home with family," he told me and I nodded. That explained why her accent was so much stronger than her sisters. "How do you feel?" he asked, standing and moving closer to me, then bending to kiss me on top of my head. In front of his sisters.

They suppressed grins and cut eyes at each other.

"Better, thanks. Are you early?"

"No, I'm off. I saw your text, but I was already on my way home. Guess you were tired?"

"Guess I was. Umm..."

"I don't know what your plans are tonight, but I was hoping you might want to hang? Watch a movie? Roll a character for tomorrow?"

"Justin! No! No, don't scare her off talkin' that nonsense!" Molly cried, horrified. "Look at her, she's..."

Justin laughed, waving his sister off. "For the record, she brought up D&D before I did! She loves it."

"She does?" Justine asked, screwing up her face like she couldn't imagine such a thing.

"I do," I agreed. "That sounds perfect. I don't have to roll in front of everyone?"

"Nah, I'll keep you honest," he grinned.

I glanced at the bowls, then looked back at him. "Can we order in chinese?"

"Yes! We absolutely can!"

"Can I pick the movie?"

"Maybe," he answered, suddenly going mock skeptical. "No chick flicks."

"Is Kill Bill considered a chick flick?"

"Wowza, you know, never considered that."

"She's like him, only not as bad," Molly whispered loudly to Justine, her eyes shining.

Justine grinned, then looked at her phone as it chimed. Her face went confused, then she showed it to Molly.

"Baby brother, is that you?" Molly asked, leaning closer to the phone to see it better.

"Yeah," Justin sighed, wilting. "I wasn't going to tell her."

"Tha's her then?" Justine asked. "What got the basketball boy arrested?"

Justin gave me a guarded look as I looked at him in alarm.

"She didn't know, she was passed out when all that happened. I had him arrested, not her, the article got it wrong."

"What happened?" I demanded, picking up my phone and opening all the messages I had ignored earlier.

8 from Cicely, 13 from Dee and... 127 from Noah.

I tilted my phone to Justin, showing him. Squinting, he leaned in. "There's no way that says 127? He texted you 127 times? Wowza, he is off his nut. We should go by the station and you should file a report, show them this," he told me, but I was hardly listening as I scrolled through the messages.

"How did you not see that many messages before?" Molly demanded as Justin was talking.

"I had my message from Justin open already, I didn't close it to look at the rest," I mumbled, reading rapidly.

Noah went from raging and angry to pleading and apologizing, to angry again and back to how much he loved me and couldn't stand to see me with another man. On and on and on. The texts stopped at 9:44 AM and I hadn't gotten one since.

Closing them, I opened the web and searched his name.

'Trojans game interrupted by scuffle, player arrested'

'College hoops mayhem: NBA favorite Albright arrested'

'Trojans Albright arrested mid game as he storms off the court to chase down cheating girlfriend'

'College Hoops Star Albright arrested in domestic disturbance at the game'

'Ex carried out of the stadium unresponsive after basketball up and coming storms her new beau in the stands'

I shook my head, staring down at the stories in disbelief.

Justin's hand covered my phone and he pushed it down. "Sutton? Did you hear me?"

"What? No... I... I ..."

"I said I think you need to lay down," he told me, taking my shoulders and leading me to the couch to lay me down.

"She alright?" Molly asked softly, moving around so she could see me, Justine next to her.

"She'll be fine, won't you, beautiful? Just nice deep breaths and let's think about something else. Now, we were talking about a Druid, yes? What flavor were you thinking? Personally, i was thinking pixie, that would suit you to a t. I can work that into the storyline easy peasy. Whad'ya think?"

"Is he still in jail?" I asked softly.

He let out a breath, then picked up my phone from me. Turning it on, he hit call on a number. "Hey, no, this isn't her, this is Justin. ... The EMT? ... No, she's still down and being watched by medical professionals. It's Cicely, right? Cis, she's stressed, worried about what's going on. If he's going to come around looking for her. Do you know if he's still in jail? ... He is? How long until he's out? ... Alright, yeah. I'll have her call when she's able. ... No, you can't talk to her, she's pretty out of it and really stressed, like I said. With her condition, you can't put additional stress on her, you'll put her in the ICU. ... How did you NOT know she had a condition, didn't you read her application? ... Aren't you in charge? ... I see, so what you are saying is you are guilty of gross neglect, among other things. You're in charge of that house, how many other women there have issues that you aren't even aware of even though you're in charge and you're pushing them too hard all the time. ... No, absolutely not. You can expect a visit from security and the dean by Monday. If I were you, I'd get your shit together."

He hung up and set the phone down, his cheeks red with real anger.

"He's not out yet, but his lawyers are there now seeing to bail. He won't come here, Sutton. I already have an ex-parte and a restraining order coming and he doesn't even know who I actually am or my address."

"Justin, are you in danger?" Molly asked fearfully. "You should come stay with me for a week!"

"I'm fine here," Justin rolled his eyes. "If he can find me here, he'd find me two floors higher too. It's not me he cares about anyway. Sutton, it's going to be fine. He won't come after you and as soon as you feel up to it we're going up to the station and YOU are filing an ex-parte as well, then a restraining order."

I nodded, but I felt horrible.

I did then the only thing I could think of to do. Picking up my phone, I called Josiah.

He was there to get me in under twenty minutes, though he actually lived almost half an hour away.

As soon as Justin laid eyes on him, his face fell and I knew why. Josiah was ridiculously hot, and he only got more attractive as he got older. Now that he ran restaurants, he was always in suits and he looked like he had money on top of how hot he was.

Hugging him, I cried in his arms a moment, then pulled back. "Jos, this is Justin, my boyfriend."

Justin perked up, surprised, then smiled at Josiah uncertainly as he shook his hand.

"Holy fuck, Sut, he's like... right up your fucking alley, isn't he?" Josiah asked in mock disgust, looking around.

"Diagon even," Justin offered.

I grinned, but shook my head. "He didn't get that joke," I told him. "Justin, this is Josiah, my best friend of all my life and my honorary big brother."

"Hah!" Justine laughed lightly.

"Might be havin' step brother fantasies myself," Molly chuckled, looking Josiah over.

Josiah only grinned at them pleasantly and I shook my head. "Josiah, how's Shawna?"

"Dunno," he grinned. "But Jacintha is fantastic. An ass as round as my fucking car, Sut, you should see it. Stunning. She might just be the one!"

"You say that every time you find a new perfect ass on another new girl. Big beautiful girl," I told Molly and Justine. "If they aren't as curvy as his Ferrari, he's not interested."

"Mmmm, the more curves the better," he smirked. "I want to get lost in her when we're making love! And her skin has to be as dark as the night. Nothing on earth is hotter than a beautiful nubian goddess with more curves than I can explore in a single night."

"Shame, that," Justine smiled. "Ever had a redhead?"

"Tine!" Justin cried, horrified.

"What? Just a shame is all, and if he's never even tried..."

"I have," Josiah chuckled. "I've tried... everything. Only one thing does it for me though, and I am happy to have narrowed the field so much! Hopefully soon I will find HER. The one. Enough of that talk, Sut, when did YOU finally decide to date?"

"Remember Noah Albright?" I asked him, pulling him to sit down next to me, but leaning on Justin when Justin sat on the other side of me.

"Of course. Gigantic douche nozzle, how could anyone forget?"

I told him about what had been happening since I arrived and Molly and Justine stayed close, listening.

"That's fucked up," Josiah interjected when I told him about the pictures. "AND I TOLD YOU! Remember that night we were watching that scary movie and I said someone was outside your window? You thought I was just trying to scare you and I swore I wasn't! I TOLD you! He needs his ass beat. You want me on it? I can..."

My phone chirped with a text and I picked it up, Justin immediately taking it away from me. "You should turn this off. He's out now, obviously and has his phone back, or charged or whatever."

"Control issues much, asshole?" Josiah spat. "Give her her phone!"

I waved Josiah off. "He's an EMT, Jos, he isn't being controlling like you think. I've been having a lot of episodes and even seizures."

"My bad. Sorry my dude. Still, give her phone back."

Justin handed it back to me, his face red. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's ok," I smiled, hugging his arm. "I know what you were doing. You're right. Anyway, Jos, I met Justin when he showed up after I had a seizure in class. He was my EMT. We hit it off, like... really really really well. Even if he does claim to be bigger geek than me."