Won’t You Be My Neighbor - *New Potential Newt x Theseus Series*
Hey everyone! I’ve been toying with this idea for a while and I wanted to see what you all thought. I know it’s not MO, but I hope you guys enjoy.
If you like this and want me to continue the story, please make some noise and tell me! If I get a lot of responses, I’m going to add it to my writing schedule.
The rain could not have come at a worst time. In London fashion, it seemed to never cease, but on this day you wish it would. To say that you had the worst day would be an absolute understatement. As you trudge through the sopping rain, the only thing you want is your cozy bed and a nice cup of tea. With each sloshing step and each plop of water on your uncovered head, the thought of home was evermore alluring. As you push open the front door, you can feel the remaining drops fall to the carpet and quickly disappear as if they had never existed. You try to ring out the bottom of your shirt as best you can and quickly tie back your hair in a wet, sloppy bun. Nothing could be done about the mascara running down your cheeks.
The rustling of cardboard above you alerts you to new tenants. The chatting voices echo off the walls as you climb the never-ending stairs. As you carry on, you pray quietly that they are not occupying the apartment next to yours. That apartment had been vacant for some time after the last tenant had mysteriously vanished. Empty is how you wished it would stay, though these wishes were dashed as you land on your floor to see piles of boxes stacked neglectfully in the way of your door. Throwing your head back, you let out an inaudible moan of annoyance and grudgingly make your way to the blocked door.
“Newt, I’m going to curse you! Stop letting them out!”
Oh God, they have pets. They better not make any noises. You think as you fumble for your keys in your giant bag.
“Theseus! They are living things, I can’t just leave them in there. They need fresh air.”
Suddenly, you stop fussing and roll your eyes upward to look up at the ceiling in horror.
Newt? Theseus? What the hell kind of names were these? Where were they from? Somewhere crazy?! Like some random place in Iceland?
With vigor, you withdraw your keys and try to maneuver around the boxes to get to your door. Pressing your body against the tall stack of boxes, you prepare to slide the heavy stack to the side. Though you are surprised to find as you place all your weight upon them, the boxes instantly start an avalanche, sending them to fall all around you with a light and empty thuds. In a defeated fashion, you fling your arms to your side causing your shiny keys to fall to the ground noisily. For a moment nothing happens, your body froze waiting for the two men to be attracted to the noise outside. Without another noise, you breathe a sigh of relief and look down for your keys on the floor.
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice one of the boxes suddenly move and a face appears causing you to jump with fright.
“Jesus!” You exclaim as the face displays a friendly smile.
“Terribly sorry to frighten you. We’re just moving in.” The face is covered in an array of mismatched freckles which copied its owner’s sandy and slightly messy hair. He ran a nervous hand through it, causing its chaos to continue. You notice his bright green eyes glowing at you. Suddenly, you realize your current state and try to wipe the stained runny makeup from your face with your sleeve.
“Why do you have all the empty boxes out in the hallway.” You comment as you run your sleeve across your cheek.
His smile turns from friendly to doubt.
“Empty? What, you actually fill them with something?” The stranger’s eyes widened as if horrified by this news.
Is this guy for real? “Well, yeah and afterward you get rid of them. Not clutter the hallway with your leftovers.” He looks back at you and nods in acceptance slowly.
“THESEUS! I think we got the boxes wrong.” A crash can be heard from inside and in a blink, the other one appears. He looks you up and down quickly, making you more self-conscious of the fact that there is a damp ring around your feet. This one seems more put together than freckles.
“I am never trusting Biggles with anything Muggle-related again.” He mutters. As the topic leaves his lips, you instantly wrinkle your face with confusion.
“What did you just say?” You ask. The two seem very odd and you grow ever more concerned with the fact that you will be sharing a wall with them. Seemingly he ignores what you had to say and offers a hand to you in greeting.
“Theseus Scamander. This here is Newton Scamander, my younger brother.” You take his hand warily as if you might catch something from touching it. You nod your head along with your hand as you take his. Newt walks through the boxes as they fall around him, creating an even bigger mess.
“Please ignore him and call me Newt.” You take his hand and shake it uneasily, unsure of where they've been. A rustling from one of the fallen boxes causes a distraction in your introduction. Feeling like the swimmer at the beginning of Jaws, you take a step back from Newt and cling to your bag.
“We are very pleased to make your acquaintance, Y/N,” Theseus says with a flirtatious gleam in his eye. The three of you stare awkwardly at each other in silence not knowing what to say. After more uncomfortable silence, you decide to make a run for it.
“Well, this has been great, but I really should get inside.” As you finally find your keys on the floor, a rustling noise makes the three of you look toward the pile of boxes. In a split second, a black looking mole-like creature lunges at you. You let out a faint scream of surprise. Before you can get a good look at the animal, Newt throws out his arms and grabs it by the hind legs. He wrestles with it in his hands and buries it quickly in his coat pocket. Trying to make it seem like nothing out of the ordinary has happened, he looks back up and you with a manufactured smile.
"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" You pant, trying to get your heart rate back to normal.
"What was what?" Theseus asks, he shoots a deadly look over to Newt, who in turn ignores his glance.
"That thing? It tried to attack me."
"Oh, no! He just wants your keys. The Niffler wouldn't hurt anyone. Well unless they were keeping him from something shiny. Then he can give you a nasty nip." Theseus slams an open palm to his forehead unsure of how he got this idiot for a brother.
"He means a dog. It's a dog."
You stare at Theseus incredulously.
"A dog? I'm sorry... do you think I was born yesterday?"
"Well, that's highly improbable..." Newt comments again and you cut him off.
"You know what?" You say as you bend down to finally collect your keys off the ground. "I'm going to go. This has been probably one of the weirdest things that has happened to me today and given the day I've had, that's saying something." You say, your filter being completely gone as you have now mentally drained yourself with this encounter. "Good to meet you, neighbors." Nodding your head at each of them, you turn to open your door and quickly let the door shut behind you. The second the door locks into place, you crumble to the floor in a puddle of nothingness. Your eyes catch the light under the door and you can see the shoes of the men outside. Straining you listen to their conversation.
"Niffler! Really, Newton."
"I checked the lock on the case, I swear! You weren't so suave taking Biggles advice in the boxes. You know he's a bumbling idiot."
You can see them moving towards their door but their voices carry on.
"Just do something about these boxes, Newt. I'm going to find a way to smooth things over with the lovely lady."
"Oh Merlin, Theseus. She's a muggle. I'm sure she's not into weird men who carry around sticks."
"Well, she certainly isn't going to be attracted to a man who has a dog who likes to attack shiny things."
A weird rushing noise is heard as you roll over into your stomach trying to make out what it could be. A gust of wind from an open wind? She couldn't tell. All you know is that you'll be lucky if your new neighbors don't murder you in your sleep.
It was moments later that you heard the rustling on the other side of the door. You freeze on the spot. The tea bag label hanging outside of your tea mug sways as you stare at the door. The voice from the hall sounds quivering and nervous.
“Oh God, I hope this isn’t stupid.” You hear the male voice say and you wonder how quickly you can vacate your apartment in the event of a break in. You stand and stare at your door, placing your tea mug on the hall tabletop. A knock echoes from the door. “Hello? Ms. Y/L/N? It’s...well it’s Newt.”
You creep closer to the door with an amused grin. As you walk to the door the floorboards creak and Newt fixes his footing as he expects you to open the door. Instead, you decide to have some fun.
“No one’s here, I’m sorry.” You wait to see if he gets the hint.
“You’re not there or you don’t want to be there?” He chuckles slightly.
You toss your head back and forth, weighing your answer.
“Meh, a little of both.” You can hear the light laugh Newt lets out at your comment. There is more rustling outside the door and you figure playtime is over and turn to go back to your tea. As you reach the side table you suddenly catch a glimpse of something entering the room and you quickly turn your head to look. A white letter seems to have made its way under your door frame. You quickly walk over and pick it up. It’s a note and you slowly unfold it.
My dearest brother and I would like to cordially invite you to join us for dinner in order to make up for our awkward introduction.
Newt and Theseus Scamander
You shake your head in amazement.
“So...so is that a yes, he said to no one.” Newt says trying to lighten the situation. You almost laugh aloud and bring a hand to your mouth to hide your laughter.
“Well, I look forward to it.” Newt’s nervous feet pitter patter around your door for a moment and then make their exit to the sound of his door shutting behind him. You look at the note a little longer before you finish walking back to your tea mug.
