Noelle Makes friends

Meanwhile, Becky was introducing "Noelle" to her friends.

"Girls, this is Noelle! Jacob's date and star of the hour!" Becky announced. "Noelle, this is Ashley and Madison."

Ashley wore a buttercup yellow dress that complemented her warm brown skin tone perfectly. Her black hair was styled in an elaborate updo with small crystal pins catching the light, making it look like she had stars scattered through her curls.

Madison was Ashley's polar opposite in many ways. Where Ashley was tall and willowy, Madison was petite with curves that her emerald green mermaid dress highlighted dramatically. Her red hair hung down to her shoulders loosely, and she'd matched her makeup to her dress with shimmery green eyeshadow that made her hazel eyes pop.

"So this is Noelle," Madison grinned up at him.

Ashley smiled warmly, "Glad finally meet you."

Noah was suddenly overwhelmed and confused. It sounded like Becky had already told the other two about his unwanted alter ego but what could she have meant by "star of the hour." The girls circled him like sharks, examining his outfit. Once again he was on edge after nearly getting discovered by Courtney, so more scrutiny brought new waves of anxiety.

"That dress is gorgeous," Madison gushed. "Where did you get it?"

"Uh...the auto-salon place?" he admitted trying to regain his foot.

Ashely looked frustratedly at her yellow outfit, "What? That's where I got mine but yours looks way better."

Noah ignored the weird feeling of pride and did the only thing he could think of and tried to channel the same energy he brought when he "met" Becky, "Really? I didn't notice because yours looks fantastic on you. Maybe that says more about you than the dress?"

Ashely leaned her head back as if the compliment came at her with physical ****. The right corner of her lip turned up, "Oh, we are keeping her, right?"

"See? I told you she was sweet!" Becky beamed.

Noah couldn't believe how easy it was for him to flip compliments back like he had been doing. It wasn't like he was bad with women before but something about being Noelle was freeing in a way.

"Pretending to be Noelle," he mentally reminded himself.

He was brought out of his thoughts by feeling Becky's hand touch his arm, "So, Noelle. I have got to ask, are you and Jacob dating?"

"Uh, what? Um, No." Noah didn't know why that question rattled him like it did since it was a reasonable thing to conclude from the outside.

Madison didn't give him time to recover, "Is that a good 'no' or a bad 'no'?"

Ashely read the confusion on his face and clarified, "Do you want to be dating him?"

As Noah tried to figure out how to dance around that new minefield Becky spoke up, "You wouldn't be the first..."

"I wouldn't?" Noah asked Beaky probingly.

"Oh, not me but that's just a 'type' thing, but it has caused some drama you should probably be aware of," Becky began.

Noah couldn't believe what he was hearing from the girls. Jacob, the theatre nerd that he is, had a few secret admirers. He wondered if Jacob had any clue since they never talked about it.

Becky continued, "If I were you I would stay away from Jada and her friends. After Jacob turned her down, it's been like he jostled the bee hive."

"She asked him out?" Noah asked in disbelief.

Ashley tilted her head, "Do you already know her?"

"Uh, I had them pointed out to me," he lied.

Madison perked up, "Oh! You should also keep your distance from Sarah's boyfriend."

"Oh?" Noah asked, surprised that they didn't seem to like him.

Ashley leaned in conspiratorially. "Well, get this - Tony and Sarah have been fighting tonight. Apparently, he's been checking out other girls all night. Including you, by the way. I saw him eyeing you earlier."

Noah felt his stomach turn. The idea of Tony finding him attractive as "Noelle" was deeply unsettling. "Gross," he muttered.

Madison rolled her eyes dramatically, "Tell me about it, what sleaze bucket."

The girls burst out laughing, and Noah found himself joining in.

Ashley suddenly grabbed Noah's arm. "Shhh. Sarah's coming this way, and she looks pissed."

Noah turned to see his ex-girlfriend storming across the dance floor, her blue sequined dress catching the light like angry waves. Behind her, Tony was begging her to relax.

"Quick," Becky hissed, "We're just having girl talk!"

"What even is girl talk?" Noah whispered frantically.

"Just follow my lead," Madison said before raising her voice dramatically. "And I swear, every time I try to use coconut oil as a makeup remover, it's hive city"

The other girls immediately jumped in while Noah stood there nodding, trying to look like he understood what was happening. Sarah swept past their group, barely sparing them a glance as she headed straight for the bathroom, closing the door on Tony.

As soon as she was gone, they all dissolved into giggles.

"Did you see her face?" Ashley wheezed.

"Coconut oil?" Noah asked, still confused.

"It was the first thing I could think of," Madison defended, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh man, I haven't had this much fun at a dance in forever."

Noah found himself smiling genuinely. "Yeah... me neither, actually."