Chapter Text
About two days after their fight, Noah and Jake came out to their friends, like they had said. Of course they couldn't only come out to their friends within also coming out to the entire school. Especially since they weren't very lowkey about it.
Like Noah said, they started with Audrey, who was possibly the most surprised besides maybe Will.
They had told her in the library during one of their free periods, Noah going in first and sitting across from her, warning her to please not freak out. She had promised she wouldn't, but that didn't stop her eyes from widening comically and her hands from dropping the book she held in shock when Jake sat down next to Noah and intertwined their fingers.
//
"But-" Audrey managed to stutter out, "you- and yo- w-why? How? When? ....why?!"
"See, this is what I meant by freaking out. Thanks for the support, best-friend-since-childhood," Noah said with a sarcastic tone and a teasing smile. She did deserve some answers though so he began telling her the story about Jake asking him out, Noah declining at first because he didn't trust Jake at the time, Jake insisting for a week that Noah give him a chance, Noah finally agreeing, Jake taking him on a date, it actually working out and finally, them agreeing that it would better to keep it private for awhile. Jake butted in a lot, because it really was impossible for him to keep his mouth shut for more than ten seconds.
Noah smiled at the end of the story, "And so, yeah, we're dating. And, I want you to know before you freak out again - I'm happy."
"Okay, I'm officially not freaked out then," Audrey said after listening to the boy's story. "I'm happy you're happy. I just can't believe you're going out with Jake Fitzgerald."
Jake smirked slightly, "Why, because I'm so hot and out of his league?" That earned a glare from both Noah and Audrey.
"No, because you made his life hell since 6th grade," Audrey deadpanned, instantly erasing the smirk from Jake's face. She sent him a death glare which, you'd think would be less intimidating on a face like hers, but no, it was terrifying. There wasn't a doubt in Jake's mind that she could probably kill him.
Noah cleared his throat, hoping to draw the attention away from each other and back towards the actually subject, "Hey, Aud, do you, uh, think you could do the whole protective best friend act later?"
"Fine," she sighed. She thought back to their story and suddenly realized Noah had mentioned they hid their relationship. He never mentioned a time period though. She began to wonder for how long they had been hiding. She knew why they'd do that, but she knew Noah was shit at keeping secrets and Jake had the biggest mouth in school so just how long had they managed to keep this? She had a slight frown, as she spoke up on it, "So how long then?"
"...." Noah and Jake exchanged glances. This wouldn't be good and they'd have to go through the same thing with all their friends. Because really, four months is a long time to hide something from your best friends.
Jake leaned forward in his chair, resting his arm on the table in front of them. He cleared his throat and looked at the girl with an apologetic look, "We're, uh, coming up on about four months."
Noah cringed at the sadness and betrayal he could see building in side of Audrey. Before she could yell at him, Noah placed the hand not holding Jake's over hers and began his apology, "Please don't be upset, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just," Noah squeezed Jake's hand and sent him a small smile before turning back to his friend, "I really wanted this to work. I didn't want to tell people and get my hopes up just to have it last a week. I am sorry, though," he said, offering her a reassuring smile.
Audrey considered Noah's words, avoiding his stare by looking down at their hands, eventually turning hers so it held his and placing her other hand on top of both. She sighed, grinning up at him slightly, "I guess I'll let you off the hook. But next time you have a secret relationship, you are required to let me in on it. I am your only friend after all, it'd be a real shame to lose me."
"Deal," Noah laughed and let go of her hand to hold it up for their signature fist bump. She smiled and raised her own fist, placing it against his for a moment before making their small explosive sound.
Jake smiled at them a little before he actually processed what Audrey had said, "Hey, wait, no, what do you mean by, 'next time'?"
\\
Since Noah promised Jake they'd definitely tell Will last, and since Emma, Riley and Brooke always hung out together anyway, they were the next to tell. Jake and Noah had waited a day after telling Audrey so one or two rumours about seeing the two holding hands in the library had spread, but no one believed them. People found it harder to believe that the two had been hanging around each other civilly let alone dating each other.
Rumour or not, it didn't change the girl's reactions. None of them were absolutely shocked but they definitely weren't unfazed either.
Jake would have guessed the girls would be more surprised though when he first walked Noah out to the girls spot in the courtyard. They had a slightly different interpretation.
//
Brooke simply sighed when she saw Jake dragging the poor nerd out to where her and the girls sat at one of the picnic tables. Noah looked like he did not want to be there in anyway so when Jake got to there table and made Noah sit next him, Brooke couldn't help but assume the worst, "Jake, we really don't have time for your brand of nerd torture today, we're actually trying to study."
"Yeah, seriously, Jake let him go or go show Will whatever mean thing you're planning," Riley added.
Jake furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly caught off guard by both girls. He turned to Noah for help but Noah just raised his eyebrows and lifted their hands, showing Jake that he'd dragged Noah all the way through the courtyard by his wrist. Oh. Yeah, he couldn't say that looked like something a boyfriend would do. Especially when said boyfriend also happened to be 'former bully'.
Jake let go of his wrist, sending an apologetic look while doing so and looked back at the girls. Brooke had watched their little exchange, raising her eyebrows at the two of them, "So, Noah," Brooke addressed him instead of Jake just because she wanted to see if he had had a say in this, "Did he drag you all the way down here with an actual purpose? One with importance, I mean."
Noah seemed surprised she would ask him, but nodded regardless, "Uh, yeah, I would hope so. W-Well important to us anyway, I'm not sure if it is gonna seem important to you bu-"
"Noah," Jake interrupted, stopping his ramblings that would, no doubt go on until Noah found himself in a very awkward situation, "It's important, okay. And trust me, you're gonna like this." He smiled at the girls and at Noah who just seemed worried. They hadn't really discussed how they'd be telling the girls like they planned it with Audrey so Noah had no idea what Jake had in mind.
"So are you gonna get on with it or leave us hanging?" Emma spoke up, already tired of feeling left out of their little secret that she didn't even know they had.
"Alright, fine, you want it done the quick way, we'll do it the quick way," Jake rolled his eyes and turned, completely facing Noah, who was already confused.
He caught on quick when Jake placed both hands gently on the sides of Noah's face and leaned in, pulling Noah's face towards him, their lips connecting in the middle. Noah smiled into the short kiss and, though he felt slightly awkward doing it in front of the three girls, he brought his hands up, copying what Jake had done on him.
They broke apart when they heard Brooke clear her throat, reminding them that they were in fact still surrounded by people. They dropped their hands from each others faces, Jake grabbing one of Noah's, and turned back to the girls, grinning.
Riley laughed slightly awkwardly, "Are you trying to tell us you're dating or are you trying to prove that you really can talk people into anything?" She teased.
"The answer to both of those questions would be yes," Jake said with a proud smile, making Riley laugh.
Noah chuckled along with them, not feeling quite as awkward as he did before the kiss. Who knew kissing your boyfriend in front girls that used to make fun of you would actually help you relax?
"So, love birds, how long has this," Brooke started with her genuine smile, suddenly much more interested in the subject, and gestured to the two of them, "been going on?"
Jake suddenly recalled their experience with Audrey and his smile faltered a second, "Don't freak out, but in like a week, it'll be four months."
"Four months?!" All three girls exclaimed at the same time, all with similar surprise on their faces.
\\
Jake had actually felt bad for Noah that day because after explaining everything to them, the girls had all began asking him rapid fire questions that Noah either didn't know the answers to or he was too embarrassed to answer. Their minds thought up strange things.
Jake was just thankful they all got along with his boyfriend so he really didn't care about their many questions. Especially because most of them made Noah blush.
All they had left was Will and he was, by far, the hardest to tell and not just because he was Jake's best friend.
See, since they had chose to tell him last and since Jake procrastinated it for two days, it gave time for the real rumours to spread. Rumours like "Oh my god, is it true that Jake is actually dating Noah Foster? That has got to be fake!" and a lot of "I think I saw Jake and Noah kissing in the courtyard yesterday, did you see it?" and the ones Jake hated the most were; "I heard Jake is bullying that Foster kid into dating him."
One Noah particularly disliked; "I bet Noah's just trying to bump Jake's social status down by telling people they're dating. How pathetic."
Of course Nina had heard all of these and many other variations and of fucking course she told Will almost all of them.
//
"Foster!" Noah flinched at the harsh tone and his locker being slammed shut suddenly in front of him while he was trying to get his history book out. His breathing became uneven as his heart rate spiked. His body and hands started to shake as he turned to face Will, who instantly grabbed him by the fabric of his shirt and turned him around, shoving his back roughly against the lockers. It gave him war flashbacks of when Jack used to do the same thing.
"He-hey-hey, Will," Noah stuttered, "H-how are y-you on this lo-lovely day?" He asked, flinching at every move Will made, every time his fists curled tighter into Noah's shirt.
"What's this I hear about you and Jake, huh?" Will growled out, completely oblivious to the scene he was causing, the people that immediately turned to stare at them, "Why do I keep hearing that you and my best friend are dating?"
Noah repressed the urge to whimper in fear, closing his eyes and trying to come up with some sort of story, something to say that would distract Will. His eyes flickered from the faces of people behind them to the ceiling to the floor, to anywhere that wasn't Will's eyes.
Noah swallowed thickly, "Uh-h... Well, you-you see I-"
"Because it's true, Will." Noah's stuttered out excuse was cut off by Jake, who now stood directly behind Will, speaking with a stern and even voice. "Let go off him."
Will hesitated, glaring at Noah a few more seconds before loosening his grip on Noah's shirt and letting his hands fall to his sides. Noah sighed in relief at the pressure took off of him before he rushed to Jake, hiding behind him and leaving Will to glare at the spot where his head had been.
Jake turned to him, quick to make sure he was okay before doing anything else. Noah crossed his arms tightly, hoping Jake couldn't see the way his hands shook before he looked up at him and nodded, "I'm fine. I don't know if I can say the same for your 5 minutes in the future self, but do what you gotta do," Jake took a second to check if Noah was really okay before turning back to Will, who still wouldn't face him.
"Will, man, you gotta calm do-
"Shut up, Jake," Will growled, stomping away from the crowd they had drawn in. Jake sighed and watched him walk away. Whether Will liked it or not, he'd have to face it sooner or later and Jake wanted sooner.
Noah glanced around the hall, at the people whispering to each other and staring at him and Jake. Noah awkwardly wrung his hands together, shifting from foot to foot. He took a few steps, standing behind Jake, "Are we gonna go after him?"
Jake sighed and turned around to look down at Noah, "I'm gonna let him chill for a couple minutes. And when he's chill, I'm gonna politely run him over with my truck."
Noah sent him a disapproving look as the crowd around them began to disperse. Jake waited for everyone to filter out, glaring at the few that lingered until they left before looking back down at Noah. He pulled him to the side of the hall and leaned against the wall.
"He can't treat you like that, no one can," Jake said, a protective glint in his eyes, lifting his arms to hold onto Noah's sides, "Not anymore."
Noah sighed and nodded, raising his own arms so his hands rested on Jake's waist, "You still can't run him over with your truck. He didn't really hurt me. All he did was almost sever my hand via locker slamming and then slam me roughly against said locker," Jake's hands on him tightened, "- which, if I must remind you, you have done too."
"Well, I wasn't that great at flirting before, had to let you know you were mine somehow," Jake defended himself with a small smirk, though he did regret bullying Noah before they started dating.
Noah shoved lightly at his chest, "We have to go talk to Will."
Jake groaned, throwing his head back slightly. "I know. I'm not so sure I want you to come with though."
Noah raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? You actually think I'm gonna wait here while you act like you're some guy from a fairy tale come to defend his princess's honor?" Noah asked, dramatically, "Do you not know me at all?"
"...Would it help if I said you are my princess?"
Noah sent him an unimpressed look at Jake's weak defence. "Do you try to make things worse for yourself or does your mouth say things without your brain's permission?"
Jake sighed through his nose, pulling Noah closer to him. He leaned down, brushing his lips against Noah's briefly before grabbing onto his wrists and pulling them off his waist. Jake held both his hands between them, procrastinating their talk with Will by staring at Noah. Any excuse to stare at Noah was a good one for Jake. Right up until Noah started pulling him from the wall, forcing him into walking down the hall with him.
They found Will in the weight room, throwing fists at one of the punching bags. When he saw Jake and Noah walk in, glancing from their faces down to their intertwined hands, he stopped the swinging bag and rubbed at his knuckles. He hadn't really had time to grab gloves, he had just wanted to hit something, and he did even if it hurt.
Noah cleared his throat, glancing between the two friends before looking at Will's hands. "Aren't you, uh, supposed to wear gloves when you do that?" Why did he say that, how was that important at all?
Jake didn't break his gaze from Will, but he did answer, "Yeah, you're supposed to. But Will's not really one for following safety precautions, never has been."
Will sighed, looking at his friend, "Yeah, well, best friends are supposed to tell each other things like who they're dating before they're told by Nina Patterson, of all people. But Jake's never been one for the whole 'friend' thing." Will said, bitterly throwing Jake's response right back in his face.
"Wait, so you're just mad he didn't tell you?" Noah interrupted, stepping slightly in front of Jake and pressing a hand against his arm to hold him back from probably punching Will. Noah frowned at Will who nodded slightly, "Oh thank god, I kind of thought it was because you hated me."
Will scoffed lightly, "I kind of thought Jake hated you too, but that was before I found out you two were fucking."
"Alright, first of all," Jake said, hating the way Will had said it, "we're not fucking, we're dating. The fucking just comes with the dating."
"I don't give a shit what or who you're doing, Jake, I just thought I was important enough to you to not find out from Nina fucking Patterson. Everybody else in school knew yesterday and Nina told me this morning and I thought maybe the nerd was making up shit, trying to make you look bad. Nina agreed with me so..."
Noah furrowed his eyebrows, trying to understand Will's misunderstanding, "So you thought you'd slam me against a locker and threaten me not to make up lies about my boyfriend?"
"No, I thought I'd threaten you not to make up lies about my best friend," Will paused, again looking at their hands, "But now that I know they're not actually lies..."
"You'll leave him alone?" Jake said, finishing Will's thought.
Will nodded, "I can't really picture it going well for me if I didn't so, yeah," he looked at Noah, "Sorry."
Noah nodded, "It-its alright. Just a misunderstanding, I got it."
Jake didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to tell Will that no, it's not alright, he can't ever touch Noah like that again, and part of him wanted to explain why he hadn't told him sooner. He was silent for a couple seconds before settling on an apology, "Listen, man, I'm sorry you had to hear from Nina. That's not how I wanted you to find out."
Noah nodded, "Jake wanted to do it right, that's why we told you last. And by last, I mean last of our friends, not last in the whole school."
Will's frown slowly faded, but he still wasn't smiling. "Okay, so everyone knows now. Kinda disappointed I had to be the last one of everyone, but I guess I can look past that and be happy for you," Will said, realizing how ridiculous he had been, "So, how long have you two been... you two?"
"You're not gonna slam me up against a locker again if we tell you, right?"
\\
Will hadn't freaked out too badly at the amount of time. In all honesty, he hadn't cared that they were dating, he just hated that he had literally been the last person to know about it. He even had the nerve to hold it over their heads.
Thankfully, he got over it and was able to be happy for Jake. And by be happy for him, he meant tease him relentlessly for getting with Noah Foster of all people.
Other people, of course, confronted the two about their relationship and asked if they were really together. No one really got a straight answer from either boy or any of their friends. Noah would normally scoff at them or ignore them because of the way they asked the question, as if he couldn't get a guy like Jake whereas Jake would ask them a ridiculous question in response, like "Is water really drinkable?" thinking their question was just as stupid as his.
After telling all of their closest friends in the world - and the school in the process - Noah was infinitely happy that he'd never have to hear Jake talk shit about him or vice versa and that the lying bit was over. He was even more happy that they could now freely kiss or hold hands in public and not have to go all the way to the other side of the school to sneak just a few moments of privacy.
They both silently thanked any higher power that their friends were all supportive of the two of them.
Although, they were a little bit too supportive when they all found out about the fight and Noah's "punishment" for Jake...