Never Enough // NH au

1.1 in which they meet

Warnings: alcohol use & swearing

Sometimes Julianna felt like she was in a movie. One of those angsty coming of age teenage movies that had an awesome soundtrack and characters that were unlikable but they were honest and that's why people loved them. That's how Julianna felt but her life was nowhere near as exciting as coming of age films were.

Julianna lived on the western coast and had been for the last three months. At eighteen, she ran away from New York to go to London. She worked in a cafe for five years and slept on couches to end up here.

She showed up to her publishers house after she dodged emails and phone calls from 20 year old Julianna. In her hands there was a three hundred page manuscript of poems and prose from her angsty years.

Her publisher slammed the door in her face. Juliana  broadcasted the poems as loud as she could until her neighbors complained. And born of it was Julianna's career, part time poet, full time lover.

Julianna did book tours and readings all across the world and as much as she loved it, her inspiration ran dry. Life inspired her and she wanted to explore her fascination with isolation. That's how she wound up in what could only be described as a house that had lots of character.

When Julianna found out someone had moved in next door, she couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true. Julianna did the most neighborly thing she could think of. She carried her plate of muffins over, knocking on the door gently.

The door swung open and a brunet appeared before her. Julianna took a breath, smiling. "Hi my names Julianna. I live next door. I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."

The brunet looked her up and down, pushed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "There's only two houses."

"I know," Julianna laughed. "The neighborhood is quite small."

"This isn't a neighborhood," he argued, seeming exasperated. "There's only two houses."

"I believe it is a neighborhood," Julianna argued back, shifting on her feet. She let out a sharp sigh. "Do you want these fucking muffins or not."

The brunet let out a startled laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Woah."

"Pardon my French," she rolled her eyes, extending the plate towards him.

He slowly took the plate from her, eyes looking her up and down. "Thanks. I'm Niall."

"Good to know," Julianna responded dryly.

"If you want this to be a neighborhood it can be," Niall nodded, eyes drifting off to the coast behind her. "But I'm isolating myself for personal reasons."

"Me too," she responded. "I'm a writer."

"Are you?" He asked, looking her over once more. "I never would've guessed."

Julianna narrowed her eyes at him, eyebrows scrunching up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Niall shrugged, holding the plate in his arm. With his other hand, he pushed the door open wider. "Do you want to come in?"

"I suppose," Julianna nodded. "By the way this is Gordy."

"I guess he can come in too," Niall nodded, gesturing for them to come in.

Julianna followed him inside, snapping her fingers for Gordy to follow. He was eager to run inside the house, making work of inspecting (sniffing) the entire place.

The house was very similar to hers. A tiny living room dimply lit from a lamp plugged into the wall. The kitchen was small with only an island and two stools to sit at. The layout was exactly the same as Julianna's. She didn't have to go down the hall to know that the bathroom was right across from the bedroom.