Noah let out a small smile when a pink blush covered her features. He loved when he could flatter her, mostly because he could see that small smile that threatened to show. He found it adorable, and most of all, beautiful. "You don't." He said with conviction, not a ounce of uncertainty in his voice. The warm feeling that often spread into his chest made it's way there as he watched her fiddle with her castle, and Noah couldn't help but grin. "What''s so important about that little castle?" He asked.
Lia shrugged, not really having a reason for showing such interest in her castle, other than the truth. "It has to be perfect." She said, biting her lip. She looked up at him through her lashes, not really raising her face. She wasn't really working on her castle anymore, just kind of moving her hands around it, fidgeting. She had no idea why being around him made her so nervous all the time, or why her heart seemed to beat faster when he was around.
Noah let out a small chuckle when she spoke. It seemed that the castle was merely a distraction, from what, he couldn't exactly tell. Without thinking, he got up and bent over, grabbing her hands and pulling her up. The camera that had been in his lap, placed safely on the ground. Noah tugged her along the beach with a smile, until they hit the water. He continued pulling her along until they were in about calf deep water. He gave her a wink, and looked along the shoreline, spotting Sophia collecting shells in a small bucket.
Lia gasped lightly when Noah pulled her up, her eyes flying up to his. "Noah? What are you--?" She'd been trying to get away from him as they neared the water, but now that they were actually in it, her grip tightened on his hands. "Noah, I can't swim." She whispered, fear filling her eyes. Azalia had told him she couldn't swim before, but she had never told him she was actually afraid of the water. Lia tried not to let him see her fear too much, but she could feel the familiar panic closing her throat and squeezed her eyes shut, moving closer to him. "You won't let me drown, will you?"
Noah's mouth dropped open slightly when he saw how frightened Lia became, but didn't regret bringing her into the water. It would give him the perfect excuse to hold her, though he wished he didn't need an excuse. He gave her a reassuring smile, and pulled her a little closer. He could almost feel her start to shake, and felt bad. "I wont let anything happen to you." He told her, while backing them further into the water slowly. He didn't take her out too far, he know should couldn't swim and would have to take it slow.
Lia's grip on Noah became almost death-like, her breathing rising as she felt him pull her further into the water. "Noah..." She whimpered softly. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she hated herself for being so afraid. But Azalia still couldn't help the fact that she felt like she couldn't breathe, even though they were barely up to her hips in the water. She felt hot tears prick the back of her eyes and tried to take slow, deep breaths like her therapist had taught her, except they weren't working well enough and she was growing more and more afraid that she'd drown.
As he watched her features become more and more panicked, Noah pulled her closer to him. He loosened her grip on his hands, and brought them up to rest around his neck. He gave her a small smile, wrapping his arms around her. "Hey," He spoke into her ear, "It's going to be okay." He then realized this was as close as they had ever been, and if it had been under more calm circumstances, he probably would have enjoyed it, a lot. "I've got you. Talk to me," He told her, trying to take her mind off the water. "What's your favorite color?"
Azalia's eyes snapped open when she felt Noah let go of her hands, a soft gasp leaving her. She tightened her hold around his neck, not noticing herself how close they were, seeing as she was too focused on being in the water. "I-i-it's r-red." Lia didn't normally stammer, but she was shaking badly and it was messing with her speech.
Noah was feeling guilty for dragging her into the water, but it wasn't his fault, completely anyway. He knew that she couldn't swim, but from the looks of it, Azalia was terrified of water. He was confident that he could keep her from drowning, but if she didn't calm down, she might have an anxiety attack, and that was not good, at all. He smiled down at her, pushing his guilty thoughts away, he just focused on her.
Grabbing her chin with his hand, Noah looked her in the eyes, smile gone and a serious expression in its place. He locked his eyes with hers. "Hey," He said, his tone soft but demanding. "Look at me." When he had her compliance, he continued. "It's okay, Azalia. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay? It's just water, it cant do you any harm as long as I am here with you." He spoke to her confidently, after all, if he panicked, it would do her no good. "Wanna know mine? It's blue. I like all types of blue, but I prefer darker ones. More like Indigo or even sapphire."
Lia had closed her eyes again, trying to calm down by taking slow, deep breaths. But the feel of the water against her was causing her to lose focus. She felt Noah grab her chin and opened her eyes when she was told to. "I-I k-know. I-I'm s-s-sorry." Still, it wasn't helping her to calm down any. She really just wanted to get as far away from the water as possible. A tear slid down her cheek as she listened to him talk about his favorite color. "W-why darker o-ones?" She was trying to keep her mind off the water and on Noah's voice.
Noah's heart threatened to break when he saw that tear slide down her cheek. He didn't enjoy seeing people cry, especially those he cared for. He cared for Lia, possibly more than just cared for her, so that one little tear could have broken him. He brought his hand up to wipe the tear away, pushing a lock of her hair out of her face as he did so. "Don't be sorry." He said, his tone soft. He wanted to take her mind off the water, but he had no idea how. He was really close to just pulling her out of there, when he thought of something. Ignoring her question, he gave her a smile. "Lia, do you want to go on a date with me?" Noah asked, "Tonight?"
If the situation would have been different, Lia would've probably blushed from him brushing her tear away. And it would've annoyed her to no end. But the only thing she could do was take a deep breath, try to control her speeding heart. Of course, Noah's next question pretty much stopped it from beating altogether. Azalia's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. "Y-you want t-to go o-on a date w-with me?" Lia had never been asked out before, guys either treated her as one of them or disregarded her altogether, so the fact that Noah wanted to go on a date with her was surprising enough to take her mind off the water, at least for a few minutes.
Noah couldn't help but smile, he'd finally done what he had been thinking about for days now. He could do nothing much focus on the girl in front of him, at last not freaking out about the water, at least for the time being. He'd managed to distract her, all right. "Yes, I do." He told her, "In fact, it's all I've wanted to do for days now." Noah wasn't lying when he said that, from the time that he'd first had a conversation with her, he had wanted more and more alone time with her. Azalia's shyness fascinated him, and he wanted to break her shell, and lean all of the things about her. "Don't be so surprised," He teased, "You're very dateworthy, more than dateworthy."
Lia bit her lip, lowering her gaze a bit. It didn't fall onto the water though, just a bit further down on his chest. "I-I've never been o-on a d-date before." She admitted, her grip on his neck loosening just a bit, though she was still very much pressed against him. At his next statement she looked up at him, before blushing and looking away again, this time her eyes falling on the water. Azalia finally realized they were still in the water and she turned worried eyes back up to Noah, her breathing picking up again. "C-can we g-get out o-of the water?"
Noah should've been surprised at her admission, but he really wasn't. From the way she was blushing, it was obvious. He didn't mind though, it was pretty cute. "It's okay, you know, it doesn't bother me at all, really." He said, grabbing her hand and leading them closer to shore. "That you've never been on a date before, that is." He was kind of glad they are getting out of the water though, Noah didn't want her to have another panic attack. He wouldn't admit it, but it kind of scared the shit out of him. "There's a first time for everything, right?"