The unknown one. Vol.1
~Gif is not my own~
~A Noah Centineo AU series~
Inspiration: The boy next door cliché always seemed to happen in movies. But when this boy moved in to the house beside yours, he seemed willing to discover more than you wanted him to know.
Warnings: None for this part x
The air was warm and muggy on this summer morning. There was no comfortable breeze and the heat was starting to become irritating after eight weeks of the same weather. Summer hadn't been forgiving- with burning concrete floors and cool pools becoming a constant escape, you were excited for the anticipated autumnal days. Though, in this scorching sun, hot chocolates and warm fires sounded like a first world hell. They had to remain as a distant dream for now.
"Alright, come on buddy," You chuckle, letting your dog off the leash as he instantly bounds up to the front door. His black curls flung carelessly over his body, ears flapping up and down with every step.
Reaching for your keys in your pocket, your eyes unknowingly wander to the house beside your own. The bold 'for sale' sign had been taken down to leave a muddy patch in the neatened grass and there had been the appearance of a family every so often that you assumed would become your new neighbours. They seemed nice enough - Two parents with a girl and a boy, one slightly older than you and one who seemed the same age, respectively. Of course, you'd be polite to them, but you liked to keep your house private from the rest and that is how it would stay.
"I'm back!" You exclaim as soon as you enter your home.
It was furnished simply with the main recognisable feature being the photos on top of photos that scattered the walls of all the rooms. Through the ages, your family were held in these walls because their photos held enough memories to bring it all to life in your head. Normally, you would pass an old photo and conjure up a story from it in your head - sometimes choosing to write it down to refuse to let it go.
"Are we going shopping today?" Your brother, Leo, hurries down the stairs with hopefulness echoing in his eyes.
"Yeah, you need to get some school stuff, right?" You respond, walking through to the kitchen to get some food for Bolt, the dog that circled your ankles in excitement. Much like his animated namesake, Bolt was named after the white flash of colour that darted across his chest, and you soon realised that his name echoed in his spritely personality.
"Yeah, I need a bag and new shoes and-" Leo stops when he notices the tired and defeated look on your face, "Well, I don't need them."
"We'll get what we can, yeah?" You push yourself up to stand from the balls of your feet on which you crouched, walking over to your brother and pressing a kiss to his curly locks.
His face brightens with a toothy grin before he's running off once more to get ready to leave.
Days usually felt like this, with no time for rest or to relax. Perhaps those autumn cosy nights weren't only limited by the heat that warmed these streets.
You chose to get changed before you left, pulling your hair out of your face and opting for an outfit of a crop top with shorts and flip flops- the true image of summer. Your mind was already creating the story- the young girl caught in summer heat, and perhaps a summer love.
Soon enough, you and Leo were heading back out of the house, locking up and descending the stairs towards your car.
"Hey, hey, excuse me," An unknown voice yells from somewhere behind you.
Leo, completely oblivious, clambers into the car without a second thought. You are left to turn on your heels and acknowledge the presence behind you. The voice had come from a tall, fairly muscular boy of about your age. He had brown hair that fell in light curls in its slightly styled way and a sharp bine structure to his mature face. You would define him in writing as every way handsome as a man could be purely based on looks. Though, you hadn't made that judgement completely yet.
"Can you help me with my key please?" He sighs, running the back of his arm over his sweat touched forehead.
"Oh, yeah, sure," You nod, holding your hand out to take the key from him.
"My family and I are moving in here and it's the first time I've actually been to the house on my own," He explains with a slightly deepened voice, one that sounded more mature than any of the other boys in your now senior year of high school, "So I have no idea what I'm doing,"
"These keys can be a bit of a pain, you've got to-" You stop, pushing down the handle with some force before turning the key and opening the door, "Just do that,"
The boy behind you looks slightly dumbfounded at what you saw as a simple action.
"Put the key in, give the handle a push down, turn the key and then put a bit of force into opening the door," You explain, handing his key back to him, "It was nice to meet you,"
Your words seemed polite but, really, they felt a bit rehearsed to you. It couldn't really be said that you had 'met' him when you'd not even acknowledged his name.
"I'm Noah," He calls after you as you are already on your way to your car, "By the way,"
Turning around quickly, you wave in his direction before getting into your car.
"Okay, I guess you don't have a name," He mumbles to himself, finding his eyes trailing back to you as your car drives out of his view.
You didn't really give him a second thought. And maybe there was a slight guilt for doing that.
~~~
Shopping, though tiring, was successful. You managed to find a few bargains to keep Leo supplied for his new year at middle school, his first year actually. Leo was 11 now and you were going into your senior year, making you 17. So, to you, him starting school mattered more than you doing the same thing.
"What's for dinner, (Y/N)?" Leo asks, walking into the kitchen and washing his hands.
"Aww, are you gonna help me?" You raise your brows, opening the cupboards to search for some available food.
Leo doesn't need to respond as he hops himself up onto the counter top and watches you rummage around the kitchen.
"Alright we've got leftovers... Or nothing," You sigh, knowing a food shop had to be your next priority.
Before your dinner conversation can continue, there's an enthusiastic knock at the door.
Bolt is already spinning in circles at the hallway, letting out an occasional bark as you and Leo head over.
When you open it, the family from next door are all stood there. The parents, the older girl, and the handsome boy from earlier.
"Hello lovelies," The mother beams, "Well, we just moved in next door and we wanted to come and introduce ourselves,"
"Oh, yeah, hi," You smile, "It's nice to meet you. I'm (Y/n), and this is my brother Leo... And that's Bolt," You chuckle as Bolt bounds in circles around them all.
"Ahh it's lovely to meet you, I'm Greg, this is Kellee," The older man explains, "This is our eldest Taylor, and this young man is Noah. Were the Centineo's,"
You smile politely as each of them are introduced.
"So, are your parents home?" Kellee asks, inquisitively looking into the house that was open behind you.
"No they're-" Leo begins, always one to never shield the truth.
"Not home at the minute, they'll be back in a couple of weeks," You interject, resting a hand across Leo's shoulders, "Busy with work,"
The parents of the family nod in response and Taylor holds out a plastic container of food to you, "I made a lasagne for you, just heat it up and it should be good to eat,"
"Thank you!" Leo grins, taking the dish from her.
The family bid you farewell and begin to head back to their own home as Leo and Bolt dash back into the kitchen. Noah hangs back slightly, turning to face you when he's on the bottom step in front of your house.
"You go to Bergemont?" He asks, referring to the local high school that you and the majority of the town attended.
"Yeah, just about to start senior year," You nod, hand holding the door and anticipating the moment when you could close it.
"I'll see you there," He smiles in response, "And it's nice to know you do have a name, (Y/N)."
A uncontrollable blush crawls onto your cheeks because this boy appeared to have all the confidence in the world stuffed into those muscular arms and those piercing eyes and that was something you had never held. And, for some reason unbeknownst to you, you found yourself watching Noah all the way until he reached his house. And you even smiled to yourself when he tried to get the door open with his key and failed, opting to knock on the door until one of his relatives opened it. Now he was the one that was blushing, fearful of you seeing him embarrass himself, but smirking because he knew you'd watched.
That family seemed nice and the smell of fresh lasagne was already warming these walls. But, sadly, they were just another family you'd lied to and another one who you didn't want to know the truth...
(So this is a new AU series I'm going to be starting, hope you like how it has begun. Obviously the depictions of Noah's family are completely fictional but they don't play too much of a big part in the story. Please give me any feedback you have and any questions. And if you have any ideas for a story, please let me know)
