The Definition Of Love (Book 1) [Gxg]

Chapter 24

He walked out of his house. His black hair a perfect mess atop his head. His blue eye calm and cool. He had a maroon scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore a tight black t-shirt and some black jeans. Simple. he messed his hair up a bit more as he raced down the front steps of his house. The wind blew on his face, mildly cold October air. In just a few days he would be fifteen. He shivered at the thought. Every time he grew a year older, he felt more responsibility being pushed onto his shoulders. He brushed the back of his hand over his chin, looking for a stubble that wasn't there. He got on his skateboard and took off. He didn't stop until he'd reached his destination. Well except for the traffic lights of course. A bike shop. He HAD to get a bike. Not that he minded riding around with Haley, but he needed his own.

He settled for a black and blue mountain bike. He could use that in the city, but he really wanted to go biking in the mountains. Especially with his brother. Luca and him used to go biking in the mountains all the time. They'd wake up early and watch the sunrise in between peaks. Those were one of the few... very few... good memories he had of his brother.

But today he was going to hang out with some of his friends. He'd managed to make quite a few (surprisingly). Mainly dudes he'd met at the skate park but a few from school too. They were going to a pizza place for dinner and then go to the beach for a night swim. He fastened his skateboard to his bike and biked home. He locked it up in the garage, gave his mom a heads up, grabbed his swim trunks and got back on his skate board. He loved the feeling of the wind blowing on his face, pushing all his hair back. It cleared his head, much like painting and writing. He felt like skating was the closest he would ever get to flying.

'Fly baby, fly,' his mum said laughing.

'You can do it son, come on,' said his dad, encouragingly.

He got on his first skateboard, his dad stood back, his mum didn't come to help. But his brother was right next to him, smiling.

'Come on hermano, we'll do this together,' he'd said getting onto his own skateboard.

He'd only been five. He hadn't realised that behind those encouraging words, and pride, were lies. He hadn't realised that his dad had a false demeanour on, just to make everything unexpected. To shatter all their hearts at once. Leaving no clues. He'd been a smart, meticulous criminal. His mother should have realised when he stole her heart.

"Hey bruh," Louis and Jake pulled him from his thoughts.

"Hallo," Jamie greeted.

"Hola," Juan replied smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, we know you are Spanish, no need to make us jealous," Jake said, rolling his eyes and smirking.

"Jealous?" Juan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, you dudes steal all the ladies... god."

Juan laughed. He went to Jake and knocked on his head.

"Hello, brain... you in there," he asked still chuckling, "If you are, please tell Jake to stop calling them 'ladies', 'cause if he does, he might even have a tiny shot at getting a girlfriend."

"See, all this charming stuff is what attracts them, well that and the 'cute' accent," Jake said, emphasising the cute with a high pitch.

"Awww, Jakey you think I'm charming?"

"Blergh Jakey."

Louis and Jamie burst out laughing.

"Right we getting pizza or not lads?"

"Oh now with the British accent, god you foreigners."

Jamie stuck his tongue out.

"Charming," Louis said, smirking.

Jamie smacked him on the head. 

And they continued bickering until they decided to return home.

When Juan returned to his house his uncle was there.

"Oh hey, didn't know you were coming."

His dad's brother. Uncle Nicholas. Tall, brown hair, brown eyes, ravishingly handsome face. No signs of wrinkles. ('How?' Juan wondered.) And an everlasting smirk.

"Hey Alejandro, how are you."

He flinched a little at the name and his accent. Overly American.

"I am good, you?"

"Fine. Your dad says you are an artist, if you don't mind may I see some of your pieces. I am an artist myself."

"Oh cool! Sure."

He didn't know that much about Uncle Nick. He'd only ever met him once before. When he'd first come home. And back then he'd been a scared little orphan, too scared to pay attention to his surroundings, much less the people.

He rushed up to his room, opened his desk drawer and grabbed his sketchbook. He got out a pencil to jot down critiques. If this guy was an artist, then he could give him tips on how to improve. And then he ran back down.

Uncle Nick flipped through the pages, murmuring praise and enunciating rectification points. He ran his hands over the pages and familiarised himself with the texture and feel of the mediums he'd used. He looked as if he'd gone into another world as he stopped flipping and started to observe every detail as he got to the more recent sketches. He seemed lost in the colours.

And then he reached the drawing. THE drawing. As Nick looked into the textbook, obsidian eyes gazed back up at him. Nick froze. He stared at the drawing, his face, a mixture of unreadable emotions. The only movements he managed to make, were stroking his thumb across the paper and then dropping the sketchbook.

He stared at Juan with intensity and hope in his brown eyes. His walls and carefree attitude disappeared. Grief appeared like gashes on his face. He bit his lips until Juan could see drops of blood appearing on the fragile pink skin. The nails of his right hand were digging into his left wrist. The smirk was gone. Sweat appeared on his brow and the wrinkles that Juan had wondered about started to appear. He started to take deep breaths. And after what seemed to be an eternity he said, "Alejandro, answer me carefully, please. I need to know. Who is that girl?"

And that's when the doorbell rang.

Definition #24: When you can be yourself with a person. Or even better... you discover who you actually are when you are with them.

A/N
DUN DUN DUNNNNNN

Hey guys! I really hope you like the story, but I mean if you've reached this far, hopefully, you do. Writing this story has been amazing. I really feel like I'm disappearing into a whole new world when I start writing each chapter.

Also... why do you think Nick wants to know who the girl is? And what's up with Daniela Ross?

I don't know. Do you?

Comment and Vote guys... if you want to, that is. Wouldn't hurt if you followed me either 😝.

Also aren't Rick and Ria the cutest kids ever!

~Amara1611