Episode 23: Wells Language

Episode 23: Wells Language

"You look stunning," he said and she couldn't help but smile at the familiar face.

What were the odds that her boyfriend's best mate and her unknowingly attended the same event?

"What are you doing here?" She whispered as the announcer began to talk.

James looked between the two of them suspiciously but didn't say a word. Just shifted his focus to the front, though his ears were still open to their conversation.

"I'm here upon invitation," she quirked an eyebrow at him questionably. Noah returned a cheeky smile. "The last time I checked, I am a writer, aren't I?"

She flushed.

"Right."

Naturally, she could appreciate how handsome he looked in a formal grey blazer over a white t-shirt, accompanied by a matching dress pants and shiny shoes.

His hair was slickly styled and he looked exceptional to say the least.

The age range for the people here was predominantly over forty so it came as a relief for her to see some eye candy (not in the totally unacceptable manner of course).

Just like how one could appreciate the beautiful glow of the sunset, she could say Noah was a package of a man.

"I'm just taken aback, that's all. Christopher never mentioned you were coming."

"That begrudging friend of mine chooses to omit things out of his own benefit. Get used to it. Or better yet, keep it in mind when dealing with him."

Huh, was all she thought, not quite knowing what to do with that piece of information.

The pitch of the hostess' tone raised, spanning Leslie's attention to the front. She couldn't help but wonder if the woman had laser vision to see that a whole lot of them weren't paying attention like they were supposed to be.

With a sheepish smile, she gave her the undivided attention she craved.

This was probably the highlight of her entire year.

Sure would be a shame to ruin it for her.

"Thank you for coming, everyone! As I was saying before, these events are like a gem to writers so be sure to take away something while being here. Let's start off the well-anticipated competition with a lovely young man by the name of Steven Hearthstone."

The young man with the glasses practically dashed onto the stage and stole the mic from her.

So much for being lovely, Leslie judged.

He was most positively a nervous wreck, at least from her outlook.

But his work wasn't as bad as his delivery.

It was actually good.

"And that's how I shall conclude my piece by saying that some things in life aren't meant to be no matter how hard you try for it. You'll have the tendency to blame every person on the planet but fail to realize that everything happens for a reason. Give it some time and you'll realize that better things are in store for you. The path you want to choose may seem filled with gold, but it's the humblest one of flowers that bring the greatest joys."

They all clapped at his speech and he finally wiped at his perspiring forehead.

Leslie dreaded to be as shaken up as he was.

She looked around when Noah tugged at her sleeve.

"I heard you're presenting a piece."

She nodded. "Yeah, I was kind of nominated for it by the publishing company."

He was impressed.

"Nice. You must be quite the writer then."

"Only occasionally. But when forced to, I'm a mess."

"I kind of understand what you're saying but there's no forcing when it comes to writing. It's either you have the drive and persistence to finish or you don't. There's no in between."

She was stunned by that.

Had she really not been hungry enough in her literature to awaken them into the greatness they could be?

"Maybe someday you'll get to see how much writing has to it on the inside as much as the outside. Nothing would start in the first place without internal manifestation and imagination."

"Spoken like a true award-winning poet," she teased.

He folded his arms and leant back in a mockingly cocky manner. "If I do say so myself..."

She couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Oh, shut up!"

Noah blinked at how refined she looked in that moment.

Beneath the artificial lights, she was the most natural thing.

Christopher, you lucky son of a bitch.

Speaking of his best friend...

"I see that your boyfriend failed to tell you of my presence because he had plans of using me to spy on you." He revealed, showing her the text he sent a minute ago.

Her forehead creased.

"All he asked was 'How's everything going?' though." She muttered plainly.

"I see you haven't mastered the art of reading the Wells language."

She looked at him, confused by his ridiculous speech.

"In Christopher's words, that explicitly translates to 'How's Leslie doing?'."

She gasped.

"No way."

Noah smiled at her cute reaction.

"If there's anything I've learnt about my best friend it's that he has an awful roundabout way of worrying about someone. Or caring for them." Noah began to type something while continuing to talk.

"Sometimes I save him the emotional distress and just tell him what he'd actually like to know but sometimes..." he showed her his reply and she couldn't help but grin like a fool.

It said, things are going rather splendidly. Thanks for asking. Champagne, wine and beautiful women. What's there to complain about?

"And sometimes I let him suffer."

"That's what friends are for." She chimed.

He nodded, rather proud of himself.

His phone buzzed again.

"Is that him?" She asked excitedly.

He shook his head.

"No. If he stays true to himself, he's not going to pry anymore. My response already told him all there is to know that I'm not giving him a free pass to getting the information he wants. The one about you."

"It's funny to see that you know him so well."

"As he does me," he sighed, wincing a bit. "Which is the bane of my existence."

Her nervousness wasn't an issue anymore because of the time she spent chatting with Noah. It appeared the entire duration leading up to her speech had managed to calm her nerves.

She guessed all she needed was a familiar face and a nice laugh to make matters better.

The woman was convinced that his presence had been a blessing in disguise.

"You're up next, Leslie."

James' voice caught her attention and she froze at his words.

Already?

She looked to Noah, a hint of her panic more than likely showing for him to give her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine."

She gave him an appreciative smile before heading on stage after her name was announced.

Somehow, she'd hoped James had been wrong about her being next.

"Next up we have a new contender by the name of Leslie Quinn. She's had remarkable achievements for her age and she's representing the well-renowned publishing house Charles and Collins. Give her a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen."

They all politely clapped for her as she made her way to the stage and she tapped on the mic twice to test it.

Clearing her throat at the feedback working just fine, she placed her MacBook right in front of her and started presenting her piece.

"I'd just like to start off by saying how wonderful the pieces before mine were. I could relate to each and every one of them in a special way which is a talent in and of itself,"

The judges smiled at her humble acknowledgement towards the other contestants.

It was something from the heart and what she didn't have to do because it brought her no special merit.

Or at least that's what most people would think.

In that moment, Leslie was a beautiful person, not just in looks, as they all could see she was pretty. It was with reference to the way she carried herself and spoke like God had specialized a way of perfecting a sense of care in her soul and it was filling the space the more she spoke.

"I know many of my fellow authors spoke towards hope and a better meaning in life. To escalate things a bit, I'll be presenting on something that encompasses all of those — that is love."

Everyone was intrigued at this point.

How will she make a worthy argument out of a cliché topic like this one?

"It's something to fall in love but it's an entirely different experience to fall in love with someone who seemingly has it all. It's quite scary, not knowing what you could offer to this person's life. You can't help but feel insecurities while stealing glances at them. Or even when you've progressed as far as holding their hands. However, your worth is not defined by the material things of this earth but something much more intangible."

"It's the red invisible string that connects the both of you like faith. It's the unexpected warmth of a beautiful pair of acerbic eyes. How his lips fail in delivering actual words but those eyes could put any Victorian poet to shame with a single glance."

Leslie went on, all throughout her piece thinking of the man she was certain she had been falling in love with.

Her eyes met the crowd and they marvelled at the emotions within her gaze.

"And with that my dear lover, I proclaim that your penned medication is my daily motivation."

She could see them being stunned by her last sentence. They all let it sink in like some undiscovered drug before they all sprung up in a standing ovation.

The first one of the evening.

The older woman who was in line on the podium became sour in the face, knowing there was no way she could top that.

"Would you mind sharing where all that passion came from?" James asked once she had returned to her chair.

She began gathering her things without an answer, only giving a frantic emission of, "I've gotta go."

She needed to see him.

Desperately.

"Wait, but the event's not over—"

"Tell me who wins. I'll have my phone with me. I'm sorry." She gave him a quick hug before turning to Noah who had a knowing expression on his face.

"Go get him." He encouraged her.

She didn't need anything more than that to find her way through the doors of the exit.

***

A/N:

Leslie after hearing that line—

*Tik tok running Versailles lady gif*

Haha, excuse my clown behavior and please don't forget to vote for this chapter. I appreciate every time you click that star button below! ⭐️

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