2. Moving in

I woke up to the sound of men yelling at each other from a distance and immediately felt irritated. It's 8am, dammit. I get up and look out of my bedroom window which faces the street and see a big truck parked in front of the house opposite from mine. A couple men are carrying boxes and I realize the new neighbors are moving in. I honestly couldn't care less, I just wish I hadn't woken up so early. I fall back in bed but quickly realize that I won't be able to fall asleep again.

I get up, brush my teeth and get ready. I don't really have plans today except hanging out with a couple people, including Neil. Just as I was thinking about him, I hear my phone buzzing as he is trying to face time me. I pick up and look at him in disgust, for no particular reason.

"Good morning shit face" He says as he himself is looking like a sleepless rat, his blonde hair being all over the place.

"Hi rat" I laugh, I should use this nickname for him more often.

"Are we still hanging out today" He asks

"Yeah of course, I just need to meet my new neighbors at some point so I don't know how long that's gonna take, but I'll text you."

"Alright it's just gonna be me, you, Ryan and Jordy. Text you when I get home" He says

"Wait where the fuck are you" I smirk, suddenly intrigued

"Alyssa" He whispers through the phone, smiling like a fool as he says the name of the girl that he's been hooking up with recently.

"You asshole, you better not leave before she wakes up" I warn him, knowing that he will get punched if he dares to do that

"Hey I'm an asshole but not that kind of asshole" He laughs "See you, love you" He says before he hangs up. I roll my eyes at him and make my way to the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth and my hair, apply a little foundation and light mascara.

I put on my favorite wide jeans that used to be dark blue but I've worn them so much that at this point they've turned into a washed up light blue. I decide to wear my oversized Nirvana shirt that I stole from Neil. Ironically, Neil truly looks like a less sexy and dumber version of Kurt.

I go downstairs and see my dad working at the kitchen table. "Hi dad" I greet him

"Hi sweetie" He says, barely looking up from his computer, too consumed by his work.

I make my way over to the fridge and grab an avocado. Yes, just an avocado. I'm going to say hi to Neil's mom later so I'll just eat it at his place, plus I'm not really hungry.

I realize how warm it is outside and smile. I make sure I have my phone, keys and earphones on me : "Did you meet the neighbors yet?" I ask my dad curiously

"Uh, no, I'll do that later, go introduce yourself" He says, not looking up from his computer

I sigh, not wanting to sound like a child, but I feel awkward meeting them when he's not with me. I get out of the house and close the door behind me. I check if my bike is still next to the garage where I had left it last evening. Thankfully, it's still there. I should stop doing that.

I look over and the moving truck isn't there anymore, but there are still many boxes left outside the house. I slowly make my way over. I was young when the last neighbors left and was never close to them.

"Mommy he tried to make me fall again!!!" I hear a little girl scream. She sounds angry and her front door is wide open, allowing me to see inside. I am still ten meters away, but the little girl comes into sight and crosses eyes with me. She looks intrigued.

"Who are you?" She innocently asks me

"I'm the neighbor next door, hi" I warmly wave at the little girl

"You're pretty!" She boldly says

"Thank you, you're pretty too" I giggle at the little girl. This heartfelt and unfiltered comment made me smile

Suddenly, a young boy's voice is heard from the inside of the house. "Where are you hiding looser" He teases her and comes out. He is practically the same age as the little girl and I figure they are the twins. The little girl rolls her eyes at her brother and he seems confused when he seems me, as if I am some strange creature.

"I'm Camille, but you can call me Cami because it's hard to pronounce. And that's my stupid brother Journey" She says, pointing at her brother. I smile at her behavior. This little girl is so bold.

"Those are such pretty names" I say wholeheartedly. I truly love those names.

"Thanks, mom and dad chose them." Cami says to which I laugh.

"I figured" I say

"What's your name?" She asks me

"I'm Alex" I say

"Just Alex?" She asks

I laugh again "Short for Alexandra. But you're allowed to call me Alex" I wink at her, which makes her feel special and smile at her brother for getting all of my attention instead of him

"Kids who are you talking to" A man's voice is heard, and their father quickly comes to the porch as well. "Hi" He greets me, probably wondering why I'm talking to his children.

This man looks overly confident from just one greeting, but I try not to judge too soon, as I don't know anything about him ; except the fact that he is loaded since he didn't give my dad's company any trouble with the house, he just took whatever price they gave him. This surprised my father and he talks a lot about his work with me, so he shared.

"Hi! I'm uh- I'm Alex. I live next door." I say, pointing at my house, wondering why I am so intimidated by this man. I then notice the Rolex on his wrist and the way his posture seems to confident and figured out.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you. I'm Harvey Spencer." He comes closer and gives me a handshake, and I feel like I just signed a contract

"Hi Mr. Spencer" I say, feeling dumb for saying hi again "So I just met the little ones" I laugh. I am usually pretty confident myself but something about this man is very intimidating to me.

"I see that" He strikes a smile "They can be quite a handful. We're just moving in today and don't really know the neighborhood yet and as you can see they aren't being very helpful with the boxes." He says, shooting a glare at his kids who laugh and go back inside to help, understanding the message

"Bye Alex!!" Cami says before disappearing back inside

I giggle and say bye back. "If you need any help with the boxes, my father and I are willing to help." I smile warmly at him

"Thanks, I think we got it. Come inside so you can meet my wife and Cindy" He motions with a delicate hand gesture, making me feel like I had just been invited inside a castle. I say thank you and make my way inside their house. It is definitely bigger than ours and feels weird being so empty. I have set food in here a couple years ago when my old neighbors lived here, but haven't seen the insides in a very long time. I find myself analyzing the rooms and the overall colors of the place. I think I inherited some of it from my father.

"So Alex, how old are you?" Mr. Spencer asks me

"I'm 17, about to turn 18 this year sir." I answer

"So high school?" He assumes

"Yeah, senior year starting soon." I exhale, thinking about it stresses me out.

"Ah, good times. Enjoy it while you can." He says honestly. I look at him and he seems to be thinking of his own high school days. He definitely would have been the star of the football team or something ; his confidence is shining all over the place. Suddenly he raises his voice "Eve honey come down!", as he calls who is, I assume, his wife

A couple seconds later I hear someone coming down the stairs and look up.

A spark arises through me as the woman locks eyes with me. She is so beautiful that I couldn't possibly find the words to describe it. I find myself adjusting to the sight, hoping my mouth isn't wide open. "Hi" I manage to get out, rolling my eyes at myself. They have three adorable kids, although I have only met two of them, a husband who seems to have enough power to rule an entire city, hell even a country, of course the wife would be drop-dead gorgeous.

"Hello" She warmly smiles at me. Her smile is so expressive ; it made all her features come to life. "You are?" She asks curiously

"I'm- I'm Alex. Neighbor next door. Just wanted to introduce myself and say welcome" I smile shyly, finding myself justifying why I came here in the first place. I truly wouldn't want to bother them.

"It's so nice to meet you Alex, I'm Eve." I see that warm smile coming from her lips again, lightening up my whole body from the inside.

"She just met the kids on the porch" Mr. Spencer steps in, probably preventing an awkward silence.

"Oh really?" Eve raises her eyebrows at me, my heart fluttering for no reason. Probably the fact that she gives me even the slightest bit of attention. "Did they give you a hard time?" She asks, seeming to laugh about it.

"They're lovely" I say shyly, to which both parents laugh.

"You'll change your mind soon enough" Mr. Spencer says jokingly, but not really

I nod and laugh along "Honestly I love kids, if you need a babysitter any time I could give you my number?" I look up at Eve, still on the staircase, and Mr.Spencer

"That would be great actually" Harvey says and takes out his Iphone 12 Pro from his back pocket. He hands it to me and I type my number in, trying not to mess it up.

I look up at Eve and her eyes unexpectedly meet mine. I quickly turn my eyes away, knowing these type of awkward interactions stay in people's minds, not wanting to create any.

"Thank you so much for coming to say hi, Alex". She smiles at me

"No problem" I smile back, trying to be as friendly as possible. "If you need help with any of the boxes I'm willing to help too, I don't really have any plans." I lie, hoping I don't sound to eager. I don't really understand my thought process at this moment and I truly hope I'm not sounding clingy. They were kind enough to invite me into their home in the first place. I start feeling insecure and overthinking every sentence

"I think we're good-" Mr. Spencer says

"Actually, it would kind of go faster if I don't carry all of Cindy's CDS by myself." Eve says, hoping I accept

"Sure, that's okay" I smile, suddenly super intimidated but try not to let it show. What is wrong with this family? Or me, for that matter? I usually am not that nervous around new people.

"Come" Eve's gentle voice motions and I follow her up the staircase, leading to the bedrooms. I love this house, as well as I love mind, because they are very simply built but very nicely structured, as in, the place is nicely spread out. Their house is bigger than mine for sure.

"Thank you so much for the help ; I would ask Cindy to do this but she hasn't really taken the decision of moving very lightly and it's been really hard on her. The boxes are over here, just open them up with the scissors and put the CDs into the shelves" She sighs as I can feel that she is concerned for her older daughter.

"Where is she now?" I ask as I start doing what she asked.

"In the backyard, she refuses to talk to us. Harvey wasn't having it but I convinced him not to give her a hard time right now." She looks down

"I'm sorry." I say, seeing the sadness in her eyes that for some reason I share.

"It's okay, she's a pre teen, moving accross the country from New York is not the easiest thing to do. She'll get over it. Have you always lived here?" She asks me, her blue eyes piercing right through me

"I- Yeah, yes I've always lived here" I say and I see that she sensed my discomfort, but she is probably assuming that I'm simply a very awkward teenager.

"And do you like it here?" She asks me as she unboxes other things

"It's okay. The weather's nice, for sure nicer than New York. It's not as depressive. This part of the city is really nice, to be honest." I say as I take the first CDs of the teenager's collection. Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus find themselves in my hands. I smile softly at this kid's expected music choices. I hear Eve chuckle, probably having the same thoughts as me. I love those artists too, although they're not my go-to's.

"I see. I'm happy to hear that then. I'm from New York myself but wasn't too keen on moving, but we really needed this for Harvey's job." I nod, this was an expected reason of moving here.

"And what do you guys do for a living?" I ask her as a way of striking up a new conversation

"I'm a stay at home mom, but Cami and Journey are starting school so I will probably start looking for jobs around. Harvey's in finance." I look at her and try hiding a grin from my lips. So expected. So traditional. Not that there's anything wrong with it ; they both seem like genuine people.

"What about your parents, what do they do?" She asks, and my brain turns on the defense mechanism that I have mastered after all these parents questions. However, I feel nervous around her, so I take a second to think. I'm always nervous around older women since I have never truly been close to one ; my mother and I had a stable relationship when I was a child, but there isn't too much I remember.

"My dad's in real estate." I say, hoping she won't insist further. My brain clicks with a way of diverting the subject : "He actually works for the firm that suggested this house to Mr. Spencer but another agent was responsible" I say

"Oh, that's nice, I didn't know. I'll have to meet him soon." She smiles, the conversation going so smoothly. "What about your mom?" She asks, striking me with the one question that I really hoped she wouldn't ask, although she would find out eventually. I don't reply because I'm not feeling comfortable with announcing that she's dead, knowing his dreadful conversations get after this type of revelation

"I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything" Eve says after a long moment of silence. I look up to her, she is distracting herself with other things, as a way to not look at me in the eye. I am a little surprised at how easily she was able to read my body language, I like to think that I don't show that much.

"It's okay" I say while opening another CD box. This time, the content changes, as I see disks of Nirvana, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns, The Beatles, Queen, Prince, The Smiths?

I stand up in chock of seeing my favorite bands "Are those also Cindy's?" I say, eye-wide

Eve smirks "I gifted some to her but they mostly come from me" as she looks at me knowingly

"Is that so?" I play along comfortably, happy that we share the same music taste. Music means so much to me. Finding out someone likes the same bands and songs as you just opens a similar perspective of the world and of art that they have, that they interpret in their own way, and that you hope you will be able to relate to ; it's like a bridge being built and words being exchanged

"Very much so" She chuckles and I get back to work

"Stevie Nicks?" I ask

"Rock and menopause do not mix. It is not good, it sucks and every day I fight it to the death, or, at the very least, not let it take me over." She cites a legendary quote of hers

I smile at myself and even slightly blush, hoping Eve doesn't notice. But I hear her soft chuckle again.

"Honey, should I go talk to Cind?" I hear Mr. Spencer's voice by the door and quickly compose myself

"Uh- I'll do that" Eve says and excuses herself out of the room, seeming distraught

"How's it going Alex?" He asks kindly

"Good, almost done actually" I smile back at him

He nods and starts cleaning some stuff in the same room as me, as uncomfortable silence sets itself in the room, making me wish Eve never left.

After ten minutes that seemed like an eternity, I had arranged all of Cindy's disks on the shelves, by genre because hopefully it would make her happy.

"Thanks for the help Alex" Harvey tells me as he notices I'm finished

"Anytime Mr. Spencer" I smile and get out of the room, hoping I can find Eve to say goodbye before I go to Neil's.

As I start making my way down the stairs, I hear a conversation and can't help but listen.

"I really don't want to be here mom" Says a teen girl' voice, who I assume to be Cindy. She seems to be crying and I don't want to interrupt this intimate moment between her and her mom.

"I know baby, but this is going to be fun, okay? School is starting soon, you will make many friends, I promise. It's going to be really, really nice. You're a beautiful girl. Don't cry or I'll cry too" I her Eve reassuring her daughter and she seems to have calmed down.

I decide to go down as it would be better than getting caught listening to private conversations, especially by Mr. Spencer

I see Eve and what appears to be Cindy in the kitchen. The teen is a light brunette, with her mom's blue eyes. She seems confused to see me.

"Cindy this is Alex, our neighbor. She just helped with your CDs and a couple things." Eve explains

"Hi Cindy, it's really nice to meet you." I smile warmly at the girl, seeing a bit of myself in her, for some reason

"Hi" Cindy smiles, probably feeling vulnerable as I am seeing her tears.

"I really like your music taste" I say as a way of breaking the ice, making her laugh softly and her mom smile.

"Thank you, what do you listen to?" She asks me while cuddling on her mom's shoulder

"Same things as you, and your mom" I smile, dropping a side smile at Eve concerning our conversation earlier

"Do you want to stay over for lunch?" Eve kindly invites me

"I promised by best friend that I would come over, but thank you so much for the invite. It was really nice meeting you." I say, trying to stay as formal and normal as possible. The thought of lunch with this stable family scares the hell out of me, although I wouldn't mind spending more time with Eve.

"Right, let me take you to the door" She suggests and I make my way to the entrance of their home. I turn to look at her and find her already looking at me, like earlier. Her eyes flicker and look somewhere else.

"Bye Mrs. Spencer" I say, trying to sound as respectful as possible, hoping they would let me babysit soon.

Something in her expression changes, indicating that she isn't too keen on what I had just called her. Or maybe she enjoyed it?

"Call me Eve." She says as I find that sly smile on her face again, her eyes looking brightly at me

"Right, Eve." I tease confidently. "I'll see you soon" I say and make my way to my house

Mr. Spencer didn't even present the possibility of a first name basis and I don't think he ever will. The way I felt so comfortable around his wife contrasted so much with the way I feel with him, which was almost funny to think about.