he'll never be the one (a.i)

noa peters

• C H A P T E R • O N E •

Noa Peters.

That is the name of the girl that stands at a whoppingly unimpressive 5'5" with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes so brown that she often contemplates saying that her eyes are actually black instead. Saying her eyes are brown nearly felt like a lie, and it didn't help that her hair had always been a shade of brown that left you wondering if it was really brown at all. In some light, it looks more red than brown, but sometimes the light hits it just right and you almost think to categorize it as a dirty blonde. That's something that had always bothered Noa; she had always hated wondering if people thought of her as the brunette or not.

Noa Peters is a recent college graduate; if you consider three years ago to be recent. She likes to think that her life hasn't really begun yet; if it had, she thinks, then that'd be sad. Noa works at a bookstore in a small town in Maine and has been a manager for over a year now. It isn't her final destination, though. She always reminds herself that there is something else in store. Noa just doesn't know what that something else is yet.

Noa's story technically starts in a hospital room in 1998 but the story that's being told here more accurately starts in 2016. That's when she met Ashton Irwin for the first time. It was in a dodgy frat house with her closest friends back in college. She hadn't met him before, but he was a friend of a friend. You've likely heard a similar story. But Noa and Ashton didn't fall in love; they hardly even saw each other for the remainder of their freshman year of college—after meeting. In the Spring of their sophomore year, however, they started to see more of one another. In more ways than one.

One night during their sophomore year, Ashton's flattering words finally penetrated Noa's tipsy mind. He'd always been sweet on her, to be fair; it was Noa that was always blowing him off. She never thought his words really held any weight. She always took him for being all talk. But the night she gave in, she changed her mind. Perhaps he wasn't all talk, she recalculated. Ashton was the first person to actually cause Noa to orgasm. She'd come to learn later that faking it wasn't as tasteful of an option as she once believed, but that didn't change the fact that she spent most of her early adult life faking it. Ashton was different, though. She had to give him that, at least.

Throughout the semester, they hooked up here and there. They didn't feel any kind of obligation to one another, but they liked knowing that they had each other to fall back on. But then summer came and they lost touch. And it didn't help that Noa went abroad during the first semester of their junior year. They were ancient history. Until they saw each other at a party during the second semester, that is. Upon reuniting, Ashton still felt the passion while Noa was far too amused teasing him and stringing him along. She'd never let him get far, but they'd usually end the night with their lips locked. She'd always leave him wanting more.

Then came senior year. Ashton lived with one of Noa's best friends, so they had to see each other much more often. And they liked seeing each other as often as they did. They never dated, never fell in love, but they certainly fucked. And they fucked all the time.

Sometimes Noa wondered if Ashton was the best she'd ever have; Ashton had already accepted the fact that Noa was definitely the best he'd ever get.

Back then—wherever Noa was, Ashton was sure to be close behind. People knew them as a pair but never dared to get them confused as a couple. That just wasn't like them, people would say. They'd be a terrible couple, honestly.

When graduation came around, Noa and Ashton knew that their time had come to an end. They had no plans to continue whatever it was they were, and they hardly had a reason to stay in contact. Noa often thought about Ashton and laughed; how could you feel the closest you've ever felt to someone while also feeling as though you'd hardly gotten to know them? Ashton would never be just some guy to Noa, but the more she thought about it, the more he really was just some guy. Just some guy from her past. Just some guy she hooked up with. Just. Some. Guy.

Ashton Irwin was just some guy. Just some anecdotal story that Noa found herself reminiscing on every now and again. But thoughts of Ashton were as rare as a blue moon.

Until Septemeber. September is where this story begins.

a/n:

hello everyone!!! can we tell that this book is already not like my others? 🤪🤪

ok but i do wanna quickly touch on a few things about this story:

1. there will be a lot of smut ... most likely

2. the lengths of chapters will vary a lot

3. chapters will not be like this. this is an anomaly. i just needed a little intro moment!

4. i'm writing this in the third person, present tense which is NOT my strong suit. this could be a whole train wreck so pls bare w me!!! editing for this story will be a necessity soooo we shall see how that complicates things

ok i thinks that's all my disclaimers ... for now <3

can't wait for u to embark on noa and ashton's story... hehe <3

are u excited?

i am !

i already have the next two chapters written (and 20+ chapters plotted) sooooo be prepared <3

ok bye love u so much

<3

j