wanting the good to stay true

Noah was in total shock when River called. Honestly, he didn't think River would have kept his number. Still there was that bridge between he and River's brother, Phoenix. "He's actually there?" Noah was thrilled to hear.

Within in minutes, he was in the car on his way to River and Declan's with Connor who was bringing over the  box of pizza they hadn't opened yet.

"His brother is the most talented jazz musician I know." Noah couldn't say anything bad about Phoenix. "I guess he's more than a best friend. He's..like a brother to me."

Of course, at the moment, he really wanted to leave out the River part. It felt like an accident that went from bad to worse. Honestly, he never knew River until he came here. He should have known it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully, River never talked to his brother about him. He still cherished his friendship with Phoenix.

"How did you guys meet?" Connor wanted to know.

"I was in Montreal. Thinking about going to school there. More like a roadtrip that turned into a semester of just traveling." Noah said, leaving out the bad parts of ditching an old lover and finding his real passion in music which left him with a real friend, Phoenix. "He was playing in this little jazz place. It was years ago. But there he was, doing something he loved. I dunno, I decided then, I wanted to do something I loved, too."

Now Noah felt as if it had possibly been more of a selfish endeavor. He knew he didn't have the humble life that Phoenix produced, day in and day out. Noah felt he was still chasing a dream. If only he knew Phoenix's true secret to success.

"You think I'm successful?" Phoenix chuckled a little bit later when Noah mentioned it to him. "Ask Jeanette about that." He looked her way, so did Noah. At least they were all together. Jeanette was now a physical therapist. Phoenix was still playing the clubs and had played on a few Jazz albums along the way. "I'm just buying time, you know. Trying to make the most of it."

His smile was quick. He didn't speak of his circumstances about his bad eyes.

"Glad you were here for my brother." Phoenix put his arm around Noah's slim shoulders. "You really are a true friend, Noah."