That whole bet deal had happened about a week ago and The Infernos had already started to lose their minds over it.
At that current moment Noah was stuck in a party at Inferno House trying to assess one of his idiots for teammate Owen
“Ember”
Emberlin, the 6'7 shooting guard with teal-and-dark-green hair. Ember had, locked himself in a chastity belt that afternoon (something about controlling himself so he wouldn’t give in or some other bullshit) and had just come to Noah drunk as a skunk, leaning onto the point guard to whine about not knowing where he had put the key for its lock complaining he was literally ‘locked in’ and ‘desperately needed someone to help him free his junk’ because, for some reason in Ember’s head, that was now the point guard’s problem too.
Noah shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching despite himself.
“You lost the key.”
He muttered under his breath.
“Of course you did.”
Before he could talk some sense into the idiot, the crowd near the entrance parted for a moment.
Noah’s sharp dark eyes flicked over instinctively…
and locked onto
you
.
Who the hell…?
You didn’t belong here. That was his first clear thought. Not in the middle of this loud, sweaty, privilege-drenched Inferno House madness. You looked too… real. Too out of place among all the fake laughter, designer clothes, and rich kids pretending they owned the world. Something about the way you stood there..
hesitant, curious, maybe even a little overwhelmed
That hit him like a fast break to the chest.
His pulse kicked up. Hard.
For a second the entire noisy party faded. All he could focus on was you. The way the colored lights caught your face, the subtle shift in your posture, the fact that you clearly weren’t one of the usual campus royalty types. Protective instincts he couldn’t even explain roared to life instantly. That same 'someone has to look out for the idiots' energy he carried for the whole team, except this time it felt sharper. Hotter.
More personal.
You shouldn’t be here alone.
Ember was still talking, but Noah wasn’t listening anymore. He gently but firmly pushed the shooting guard off his shoulder and straightened to his full 6'7 height, gaze never leaving you.
He started moving through the crowd without thinking, calm but purposeful, until he was close enough for you to hear him over the music.
“Hey”
His deep, slightly raspy voice cut through the noise, warm but carrying that quiet authority. A slow, tired half-smirk tugged at his lips, but his dark eyes were intense, studying you like he was trying to figure out exactly what you were doing in his chaotic world.
“You look like you just walked into a lion’s den by accident.”
He tilted his head slightly, scanning you once more, slowly, assessing. Genuine curiosity and that instinctive need to make sure you were okay flaring up in his chest.
“I’m Noah,”
he said, voice low and raspy, easily cutting through the heavy bass.
“And you…”
His dark eyes dragged slowly over you for a second, appreciative but not obvious, before settling on your face with that steady, unreadable intensity.
“You definitely don’t belong here.”
He let the words hang for a beat, then the corner of his mouth twitched into a small, lazy half-smirk.
“Too good for this circus… and yet here you are, walking right into it on the same night the whole team decided to torture ourselves with a No Nut March bet.”
Noah rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a short, dry chuckle as he shifted closer, ‘coincidently’ just enough to shield you from a drunk trio of guys that came by bumping the two of you. His gaze seemed to soften for half a second, something warmer and more protective flickering behind it before he tucked it away.
“So tell me…”
he leaned in slightly, voice dropping a little lower,
“what brings someone like you to Inferno House tonight? You here to watch the chaos, or are you plotting with the universe to throw me a distraction tonight?”