Through the Screen novel Chapter 81

"no noah i can't let you—"

"oh come on, this will look good on you, go try it on," noah's hand reached to the curve of abel 's waist, pressing his fingers in the flesh gently as he handed abel the shirt, abel 's cheeks flushing a light pink as he muttered something under his breath before making his way to the changing rooms.

abel 's muscles were tensing up every second at the thought of facing noah, telling him that all his efforts of making things better are ultimately going to go to waste, that abel is not someone worth his time or his affection or the little hopeful smile noah kept giving him.

he looked over his shoulder momentarily, watching as noah's lips pulled into a thin line as his fingers skimmed over a few patterned shirts, the tip of his nose still holding the zenith colour from the cold. abel sighed, crumpling the soft fabric in his fists as he took faster steps towards the cubicles, quickly getting into one and locking the door behind.

he looked just as miserable as he thought he looked, his hair a mess of frizzy waves and his skin colourless and pale. lumps of tiredness and guilt settled in purple bags under his eyes and no matter how many times he licked his lips, they always appeared to be cracked.

he slumped against the door, dropping the shirt in his hand on the floor and running his fingertips along his face, the pads pressing into the skin of his forehead harshly to relieve the throbbing pain in his head. guilt was pooling rapidly, chaining abel 's lungs into place to restrict them from breathing and birthing lumps to settle down under his tongue so he is unable to speak.

"abel, which one are you in?" noah's voice was soft as it bounced off the walls of the small cubicle and abel opened his mouth to reply but was afraid that he might choke on the giant lump in his throat— so he resorted to simply tapping his knuckles twice against the door to let noah know.

"did you try it on?" noah's voice was clearer now and abel stared at the black piece of clothing on the floor, quickly replacing his jumper with the chiffon material. he didn't like the way the thin fabric clung to the dips in his waist or how it exposed his collarbones just the tiniest bit—his confidence had completely drained and his self esteem was blustering on the last of its flames.

maybe it was just in his head, but he felt like covering his body as much as possible, even the slightest amount of skin visible made him feel self-conscious about nothing in particular, and he pursed his lips before adjusting the collar and heaving out a sigh, unbolting the door so he can show noah what it looks like.

he peeked his head outside the cubicle, watching as noah's eyes averted from his shoes towards abel, a small smile stretching across his lips.

"well come on out, show me," noah beckoned and abel flushed yet again, biting his lip and shaking his head meekly.

"and what's so wrong with that?" noah let his back off the door, his hands snaking around abel 's waist and pulling abel 's back flush against his front, his lips pressing gentle kisses on his exposed shoulder. "you have nothing to hide,"

"noah," abel wasn't sure if he was asking him to stop or keep going. he wanted noah to stop because the guilt of doing this with him after he has already done this with someone else will break noah's heart, and he wanted him to keep going because he had no idea when he will be able to feel noah this way after he tells noah what he has done.

noah's mouth moved along the curve of abel 's neck, placing open mouthed kisses against the soft flesh, teeth barely grazing the surface and he could feel abel tense up and relax all at once in his grip. in the mirror, he could see the way the colour had returned to abel 's cheeks, his bottom lip caught tight between his teeth and his eyes hooded as he watched noah continue his assault.

"god we're gonna get kicked out if you continue," abel pressed further into noah, his head falling back and hitting noah's shoulder and noah's fingers tightened their hold on abel 's hips, kisses leading up to the back of abel 's ear and ending with a small nibble on his earlobe.

"maybe we can continue this later then,"