In love with the boy next door

New Neighbors

“We are home!!” mom shouts as we enter the house with a handful of groceries bags.

“Mommy and Abby are back.” Aiden comes running into the house from the back door.

“Hey slow down, you do not wanna lose any teeth now do you?” I say.

“I am ten and I have already lost enough.” He sticks his tongue out.

“Oh no, wait until you are 12 then we are assured you will not lose any more.” I make a fanny face.

“Where is your father? We could use a hand.” Mom asks Aiden.

“In the back yard preparing the barbecue.” He responds.

“Barbecue for who?” Both mom and I ask in sync.

“The new neighbors.” He says with a wide grin.

“My beautiful ladies are back.” Dad says while walking into the kitchen with open arms.

“Your ladies could use a hand.” I say with a tight smile.

“No problem, the boys and I will offload the things from the car.” Dad responds.

“Great, Abby and I will start putting them away.” Says mom.

“Got you.” Dad says as he leaves the house to grab the other things with the boys.

“Wait what’s this thing about a barbecue?” mom asks dad when he is almost half way out of the house.

“Oh, our next-door neighbors came over and suggested we have a barbecue as a welcome to the neighborhood.” He says then walks out.

“And you accepted?” mom asks not sounding very pleased.

“Yes, I think it’s a good way to get to know people around.” Dad responds when he walks in. “Do you not think so?” he asks looking at both mom and I.

“If they are welcoming us, should they not be hosting us?” mom asks.

“They offered and I suggested we do it here.” Dad smiles.

I turn to look at mom who is not at all impressed.

“Well,” I shrug, I already have an annoying neighbor who thinks crawling into my room through my window is fun and I do not even know his name. “I am okay with the barbecue so long as it will not be too much work. And also, since you bought the house, I think we should get to know the neighbors.” I smile at the end of my sentence.

“I agree with you.” Dad says.

“Well fine, I just thought is too early to be inviting people over to our house. I liked the lady that came by earlier.”

“You see, I think she is the same one whom we are having the barbecue with, Mrs. McClain?”

“Yes, she seemed like a nice person.” Mom adds.

Dad and mom continue chit chatting while we put the groceries away. The fridge is full and so is the pantry. I need to take my toiletries up to my room now then come back downstairs to help mom and dad prepare snacks for this barbecue.

“Let me put my things away then join you in a few minutes.” I tell them both.

“Sure sweetie.” Mom smiles at me before I leave.

I go up the stairs in a rush and the moment I swing my bedroom door open, there he is sitting by my window with his legs dangling into my room.

“Ahh!!” a scream escapes my mouth as I drop the shopping bag with my things on the floor. My heart is racing so fast.

“What is there a ghost?” he asks in a calm voice as he looks around the room.

What ghost, you gave me a scare fool.

“Honey is everything alright up there?” I hear dad call out for me from downstairs.

“Yes!!! Don’t mind me, I thought I saw a spider.” I lie which makes him chuckle.

I close the door behind me.

“I thought we talked about this.” I say in a low tone while moving closer to him.

“Yes, and I came to apologize.” He responds.

“By doing the exact same thing?” I ask with my arms folded across my chest.

How stupid!

He just shrugs then steps on the floor then starts moving towards me.

“I feel like we did not start off on a good note. Let us be friends.” He smiles, “I am Dylan, the boy next door, whom you were spying on.” He offers his hand with a wide toothy smile.

He wants to be friends? No one has ever asked to be my friend this way.

I look at his hand then his face, he has apologized, is being nice and wants to be friends? Wow this is unexpected. I should give him a chance.

“Abby.” I shake his hand just as his smile grows wider. “And for the record I was not spying.”

He chuckles. “Nice to meet you, Abby.” He smiles again.

Oh my lord he has a dreamy smile.

Wait what? Did I just find his smile dreamy, oh no I should not fall for him just yet it is too early to tell if he is genuine or not?

“Okay, I will see you later. I need to do something.” He says after pulling his hand back.

“Okay.” I say then tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Later.”

He smiles again then leaves my room the same way he came in. I move towards my bed and lay on my stomach staring at the window.

Dylan, oh my I think I have already fallen.

**********

“Honey what time did the neighbors say they are coming again?” mom asks dad just as we finish preparing a few snacks and setting the table.

Mom and dad decided we make a garden salad, beef burgers, prepared some already made samosas and spring rolls then added some crisps and nuts in a few bowls.

“They should be here any second now.” Dad responds as he turns the beef patties on the braai stand.

Dad makes the best beef burgers we have ever tasted and everyone who tastes them says the same. Mom and I are arranging everything on the table we have set up in the back yard.

“Knock knock.” We hear a soft female voice coming in from the small back gate which is shared by the two houses.

“Hi come in.” mom signals for the lady to walk in as she walks towards her.

A man that looks the same age as dad walks in right behind her holding two bottles of alcohol. Whiskey in one and a bottle of red wine in the other hand. The woman has a casserole dish in one hand and tray in the other hand.

“Welcome neighbors!” Dad cheerfully shouts from the braai stand.

Wait these two just came in from that direction, meaning their are…….

“Where is your son?” Mom asks. “I believe he must be the same age as our oldest.” Mom says then stops to look at me. “Honey come and greet our neighbors.”

I put whatever I have in my hands down on the table then move forward to greet our neighbors.

“Good afternoon, I am Abby.” I smile at the lady and gentleman.

“Oh, my goodness she is so beautiful, just like you.” The lady smiles.

“Thank you.” I smile politely.

Maybe they are not his parents otherwise he would have been here unless he has gone to do something like he mentioned when he left my room. As I relax and get comfortable, the small back yard gate swings open and Dylan walks in. Oh my goodness, so he really is their son then.

“Dylan there you are.” His mom calls out for him. “Come and meet Abby.” She adds.

His eyes turn towards where I am standing, and he gazes at me from my feet slowly up to my face. Him staring at my legs is giving me an uneasy feeling. Mom made me change out of my comfortable clothes into a dress that exposes my legs.

His face is so composed without any emotions. It’s like he is seeing for the first time, but then again someone always has a reaction or emotion when you meet someone for the first time. So I do not understand why he is pretending to not know me.

We have met in my room twice now and not so long ago he was charmingly smiling at me and now he is just staring at me like I am an empty boring vase.

“Hello, I am Dylan.” He stretches his hand for me to shake.

This sounds familiar. I stare at it for a second before I shake it.

“Hi, I am Abby.” I give him a tinny smile. Let me also pretend if that is what he wants.

“Nice to meet you.” He smiles, but not the same smile as the one before.

Why is he behaving so different?

“Food is ready, and we are an hour past lunch so I think we should all dig in.” mom says from the table with food.

“Yes!!! Food.” The twins cheer rushing towards the food table.

I have never met children that love to eat like Aiden and Alex.

“You should try the burgers they are the best you shall ever have.” Dad tells Mr. McClain.

“Oh yeah, did you make them?” Mr. McClain asks.

“Yep.” Dad proudly nods his head.

Everyone moves to dish themselves something to eat while I take a seat at one of the tables and sip on my lemonade. Lord I pray this town will be different, I just need to finish high school and then go to university where I can start my life without my parents trying to control what I do or anything.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

I turn to my left and find Dylan sitting in the chair next to mine. He gives me a small smile.

“Are you not eating?” I ask.

“Are you?” he asks.

“I am, waiting for everyone to get their food then……….”

He nods his head towards the food table. I turn and look over my shoulder, the food table is clear of any humans. Turning back to look at him I find a sly smile.

“So deep in thoughts ey?” he asks.

“Sort of.” I keep it short, I do not need to start explaining my life to him right now, or even later.

“Mind telling me about them while we grab something to eat?” he asks as he stands up.

I get off my seat too and follow him to the table.

“Why did you pretend like we have not already met?” I ask while serving myself a beef burger from the pile dad made. I pick a quarter cob of corn that Mrs McClain brought and some of the garden salad I made.

“Did you have a problem with that?” he asks without even looking at me.

“Yes, I did.” I whisper so that no one else hears our conversation.

“Well I think the biggest problem would have been our parents finding out how we met. Your parents would not be impressed to learn that you were spying on me the day you moved in and mine that I crawled up into your room through your window.” He smiles at me once he is done speaking.

I never thought about it in that way.

“I was not spying.”

“Yes, you were.” He smiles and walks back to our table.

Our parents are all on one table, the boys on a mat they laid down for themselves with a few of their toys leaving Dylan and I to sit on our own.

I pick my plate off the table and follow him back to the table.

“So, tell me about yourself.” He says before taking a generous bite of his burger.

Now he wants to know about me.

“There’s nothing interesting about me that you need to know.” I say focusing on my own food.

“Lies, I have seen your room and that board you have there. What’s that ‘new start’ all about?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” I ask feeling a little irritated by all his questions.

He stops eating and looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“You are new in town, my neighbor and I think we should be friends.”

“Why?”

“Because I like you.” He says with his eyeballs piercing mine.

Did he just say he likes me?