The New Kid: a Noah Beck Fanfiction *completed*

7

When I finally got the girls to calm down, we headed downstairs.
"What was that little powwow?" Blake asked, pulling Amelie down into his lap.
"Don't worry about it, buddy," Nessa said, sitting between Blake and Josh. "What's the plan for the rest of the night?"
Noah stood up. "Hold on, I think that I have your names down." He walked around the room. "You two," he said, motioning to Blake and Amelie, "are Blake and Amelie. You're not official yet, but I see it heading that way. You guys are dating, and you're Josh and Nessa. Jaden and Mads are also together, and they're over there."
It had been mere hours, and he was doing pretty good. He walked down the couch, naming off the people as he passed them. "Cynthia. Quinton. Bryce. Addison. Anthony. Avani. Dixie. Griffin. Chase and Charli, right?"

Bryce looked at him in shock. "How the hell did you do that? You learned all of our names like five hours ago."
"What can I say? It felt important," Noah said, shrugging as he sat back down next to me.
Griffin interrupted before anyone else could speak. "I'm starving, does anyone want to order pizza?"
"Is that even a question?" Anthony asked.
Avani laughed. "You don't count. You're always hungry."
Griffin got up and headed into the kitchen with Dixie to order the pizza.

Griffin came back into the living room, shoving himself between Noah and me. "We need to leave a little room for Jesus, kids."
I hit him playfully. "There's no room now, thanks to you."
Dixie pulled him to his feet. "Don't be a buzzkill. The pizza should be ready in about fifteen minutes. Who wants to go pick it up?"
Noah's face immediately lit up. "I'll go. Wanna go with me Grace?"
The girls all turned to look at me as I answered. "Sure, I would like that."

When we got into the car, it was a fairly quiet ride. Because he was still new to the area, I gave him directions as he drove. "So, this place is really good?" he asked. We had opted for a local pizza parlor instead of a national chain, and I could tell that Noah was a little skeptical about the quality.
"The Johnsons don't mess around when it comes to pizza. You never have to worry about me or Griffin leading you astray. Besides, the Romanos have owned the place for decades. They've obviously perfected their craft."
Noah chuckled as he pulled into the parking lot. "Alright. I'll believe you."

We walked in, and I greeted Giana, one of the owners. "Are your parents out of town again, Grace?" she asked, knowing that Griffin and I always ordered from them when our parents were gone.
I nodded. "They are. We've got some friends over tonight, and this one just moved here, so we figured we'd introduce him to the eats of the area."
"It's nice to meet you. What's your name, sweetie?" Giana replied.
"I'm Noah. It's really nice to meet you."
Giana turned, grabbing our order. "You and Griffin call if you need anything, sweetie. Enjoy your dinner."

When we got back in the car, Noah turned down the radio. "I don't know what you're doing tomorrow after you get out of volleyball practice, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me."
"Like, as friends?" I asked, still unsure if this was real or if I was just exaggerating everything he said or did.
"I was hoping like a date, but if you just want to go as friends, that's okay, too," he said, clearly nervous.
"I would like that, Noah. Do you want to meet me outside the locker room again?"
I watched Noah nod as he pulled into my driveway.

"Food's here, bitches!" I yelled as I kicked open the door.
Bryce came running, pulling the pizza boxes from my hands. "Thanks, Grace." I followed him, laughing as he set the boxes down on the counter, pulling out a slice.
"Wow, Bryce. Don't waste any time at all," Addison laughed, reaching over him to grab her own slice.
Nessa came up next to me, whispering in my ear. "How did the drive go?"
I grabbed a breadstick from the container and took a bite before answering. "He asked me to go to dinner with him tomorrow night," I whispered back.
"What?" Nessa exclaimed, causing everyone in the kitchen to turn and look at the two of us.
"Can you keep your voice down, please?" I whispered, grabbing her arm. "He asked me out on a date. That was it. It's not that big of a deal."
Nessa shook her head. "Of course it's a big deal. He's cute, and you haven't had a boyfriend since you and Ryland broke up."
I rolled my eyes. "I would rather not talk about Ryland."

"Who's Ryland?" Noah asked, sitting next to us at the table.
I glared at Nessa before answering. "Ryland is my ex-boyfriend."
Noah's face fell as he took a bite of his pizza. "Oh."
"Nothing is going on there. Nessa was just asking if I had talked to him recently."
"Oh. Have you?" he asked, trying not to let on the real reason for his curiosity.
I shook my head. "Nope. We haven't talked since we broke up. We always said that we would still be friends, but things happen, you know?"
Noah nodded. "I know how that is. I guess it's a little bit easier for me since I don't live in the same state as my ex-girlfriend anymore."

Josh came up behind Nessa, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the top of the head. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Exes," Nessa said, turning her head up to look at Josh. "If you don't stop suffocating me and sit down next to me instead, I'll be able to join in on the conversation."
Josh laughed, sitting down next to her. "How are you, man? Adjusting to Oregon well?" he asked Noah.
"I think I'm doing pretty well. I mean, I've already made so many friends. Soccer is probably going to help me get adjusted even better."