a/n - last night/this morning was a full moon. well, a blue moon to be precise (meaning the second full moon in a single month). but not only is it a blue moon, it's also a total lunar eclipse. and on top of both of those, it's a supermoon. seems like a good day to get super werewolf-y, wouldn't you say? ♡, noah.

—

Noel's first appearance of the episode is during the scene in gym at the rock wall. He stands on the ground with Stiles to start, and when Stiles is called to do the climb next, Noel pats his shoulders in casual support. Noel then does the same to Erica, who doesn't respond to the touch. When the class gets concerned for Erica, Noel says "Coach, we may wanna get her down from there." Allison nods in agreement, saying "She is epileptic, coach."

The coach convinces her to ease herself down, and Noel stands with Scott looking concerned as she walks out of class.

—

In the locker room, Noel stands with Scott and Stiles in silence as coach makes the announcement about Isaac. When Stiles says "He's Derek's problem now," Noel rolls his eyes and follows them.

When Stiles makes his "Stiles wants to have a good time" monologue, Noel says "I keep telling you, I could always have a good time with you."

"Shut up, we've discussed this, we just aren't compatible. Look at our zodiacs," Stiles replies, then turns back to Scott. "Were you even listening to me?" he asks his best friend, Noel laughing a bit and rummaging around in his locker. He looks at Scott's shaking hand when it's brought to his attention, and is there when Scott catches Erica. He takes Allison's "How did you know?" line, and Scott replies "I just felt it."

—

After Stiles gets the keys to the rink from Boyd, he walks over to their usual table where Scott is sitting with Noel. Stiles asks if he's gonna pick Scott up after work that night, and Noel says "Derek and I could always tag along, I'm sure it would be funny to watch the sourwolf tripping and stumbling and face planting on the ice."

"No, Jesus, stop trying to butt into our plans. This is my one chance with Lydia and I don't want you or Derek there to ruin it for me," Stiles responds, Noel gritting his teeth and returning to his food, not looking up until Erica comes into the cafeteria.

When she comes in, his jaw is hanging down in shock, and he runs after her with Scott and Stiles only to find her getting into Derek's car. He looks utterly lost as Derek drives away, putting his hand up to his forehead in annoyance/confusion.

—

He is not mentioned during the scene at the skating rink, but when Erica has her arms around Scott after their little interrogation in the hallway the next day, Noel is standing with Allison, a hand on her upper back almost comfortingly. He turns and walks away when she does, disappearing off camera with her.

—

He is not with Allison or Scott at lunch. He comes in with Stiles, and when Stiles has Scott look over at the empty table, Scott says "So what? It's an empty table." "WHOSE empty table?" Noel asks, and Scott finally gets it. "Boyd," he says, and the three of them leave the cafeteria and discuss what they're going to do to prevent Boyd from taking the bite.

—

"I'm gonna go to the ice rink, see if he's there. And if he's not at home, Stiles, you call me," Scott directs, Noel asking "What do I do?"

"Why don't you stay here and go to class like a good little boy. This operation doesn't need a backseat driver," Stiles says, his hostility unwarranted. Noel looks shocked by his words, Scott interjecting "Noel, you can come with me. If he is there, he may listen to you before he listens to me." Noel nods, moving to walk closer to Scott. When Stiles says nothing, Scott asks him why he's not speaking.

"It's just... Maybe we should let him do it," Stiles says, Noel rolling his eyes and taking a step away like he's shocked by the notion. Stiles continues with "You said Derek's giving them a choice, right?"

"We can't," Scott says, dragging Stiles and Noel down the hall by their sleeves.

"Yeah, but you gotta admit, Erica looks pretty good, The word sensational comes to mind," Stiles says, Noel cutting in "How good is she gonna look with a wolfsbane bullet through her head?"

Stiles talks about how the situation may not be their responsibility, and Scott counters by saying that he's right. It isn't their responsibility, it's his responsibility. Noel looks sympathetic, and Stiles says his iconic line:

"Okay, I'm with you. And I also gotta say, this newfound heroism is making me very attracted to you." Scott laughs it off, but Stiles continues "No, seriously. Do you wanna just try making out for a second? Just to see how it feels?" Noel pinches the bridge of his nose and drags Stiles away from Scott by his sleeve, Scott following them with a playful smile on his face.

—

The next time we see Noel is at the skating rink. He walks in with Scott as he calls Boyd's name, trying to look non-threatening and friendly.

"We just wanna talk," Scott says as he walks across the ice, Noel following and trying not to slip. "Come on, Boyd, please," Noel adds, and that makes Boyd stop the zamboni and listen to what they have to say to him.

"Did Derek tell you everything?" Scott asks, walking closer and offering Noel an elbow to help him balance. He then continues. "That doesn't just mean going out of control on the full moon, that means everything."

"He told me about the hunters," Boyd says, Scott replying "And that's not enough to make you say no?" Noel looks almost guilty, letting go of Scott's elbow and taking his normal defensive stance- arms wrapped around himself, taking up as little space as possible.

"Whatever you want, there are other ways to get it," Scott says to Boyd, and Boyd replies "I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day."

This has Scott and Noel both looking up at him, Noel saying "If you're looking for friends, we're here for you. You can sit with us at lunch, in class, wherever we see each other." Scott adds onto this, saying "If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek." Noel looks offended, looking at Scott with his eyebrows raised. Across the rink, we hear "That really hurt, Scott. And in front of my boyfriend, no less."

Scott and Noel turn around to see Derek standing across the rink, with Isaac and Erica at his side. Noel pulls the jacket around him tighter (of course, he's wearing the one he got from Derek in season one) and listens as Derek says "I mean, if you're going to review me, at least take a consensus." He gestures to Isaac and Erica, who sport twin smirks.

"Erica, how's life been for you since we met?" he asks, never taking his eyes off Scott. Erica ponders the question and says "Hm... In a word, transformative." She growls, Noel taking a subtle half step toward the Hale pack. The expression on his face is almost unreadable, but it's a mix of pain and confusion.

"Isaac?" Derek asks again, and the boy says in return "Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but, other than that, I'm great."

The camera gives us a close up on Derek. He tilts his head back a bit and says "How about you, Noel. How have you been feeling since that day you met me in the woods?"

Noel looks stunned that he's being asked, and Scott interjects "This isn't about him!" Noel puts a quieting hand on Scott's arm, pursing his lips and hesitating before saying "Weak."

Scott looks at him in shock before he continues.

"When Jackson hits me, I feel weak. When I get tackled on the field and coach benches me, I feel weak. When all it took for that hunter to knock me out was a tap on the skull from Stiles the other night... I felt weak, and I don't want to feel that way. I don't want to feel like my only purpose in this new life is to be your boyfriend, and to faint whenever I get knocked down, and to sit in the backseat while Stiles and Scott play hero. I want to fight, like I fought that night against Peter when Laura took over my body. I felt so strong, so powerful, so... Unstoppable."

As he says this speech, he walks slowly over to Derek and his pack. Occasionally we hear and see Scott saying some variation of "stop", usually just the word, or sometimes "Noel, stop!" By the end of his speech, Noel is standing in front of Derek, and Isaac and Erica are standing on either side of him.

Isaac puts his arm around Noel's shoulders, Erica placing her hand on his lower back. Derek takes hold of one of Noel's hands, gently unhooking it from where it's wrapped around his arm. He raises it up to eye level, their fingers wound together loosely.

"Noel, stop!" Scott yells again, starting to walk over. Isaac rushes over, pushing Scott back to where he stood before. Derek asks Noel "Is this what you want? To be like us?" His eyes turn red then, Erica and Isaac's shining gold. Noel looks between the three of them and then up at the wrist in Derek's hand. He takes a few deep breaths, before the music swells and he says "...Yes."

"Noel, NO!" Scott yells, watching in horror as Derek places a kiss to Noel's wrist. Derek then makes eye contact with Scott and smirks as he bites down, Noel gasping and crying out slightly at the pain. We see Scott's expression, of shock and helplessness, as Noel pants and Derek releases his wrist. Noel stands there breathing hard and holding his wrist for a few beats before turning around with his eyes glowing gold. He looks down at the bite mark on his wrist before looking back up at Scott and smirking.

"Guess I'm not Stiles' backseat bitch anymore, am I?" he asks, Erica and Isaac smirking and linking their arms with Noel's. "Looks like you're awfully outnumbered now," Erica chimes in, and Scott says "Hey, come on now, this isn't a fair fight."

"Then go home, Scott," Derek replies, pulling Noel from his betas and into his arms by his waist. Derek gestures to Isaac and Erica to go get Scott, and Scott gets down into a fighting stance as he shifts to his beta form. "I meant fair for them," he says before roaring, and we cut to commercial.

—

During the fight between Scott, Erica, and Isaac, Noel stands with Derek, watching the fight and looking sympathetic when Erica and Isaac get hit.

"Don't you get it?! He's not doing this for you!" Scott tells them after, and he looks over at Noel. "He's just adding to his own power, okay, it's all about him. He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!"

Scott slides Erica and Isaac across the ice, Noel immediately stooping down to help them. Derek pulls him back up, turning him around and gently pushing him back away from them and behind him. He then says "It's true. It is about power." He then walks forward and fights with Scott, Noel watching in stunned silence. As Derek stands on Scott's chest, the camera shows Noel supporting Isaac and Erica as they sit up. He yells out "Derek, stop!" and Derek listens, stepping off of Scott and going back to his betas.

Boyd finally gets off the zamboni, walking over to Scott. Scott looks up at him, saying "Don't. You don't wanna be like them."

Boyd says in return "You're right." He then pulls up his sweater to reveal the bite marks on his hip, saying "I wanna be like you." He walks over to Derek and the pack, the five of them walking out together while Noel glances over his shoulder at Scott.

—

He isn't seen again in the episode.