opposites attract

the staring was mutual

i walk up and down the porch stairs. over and over and over again. stop being so difficult. it's just a simple conversation ameena. hi and bye, that's it. d will do most of the talking anyways.

i leave the front gate and start to walk over.

oh man, i should've walked with delilah.

they all come into view and i remember to breathe as i approach them.

i make eye contact with the girl first. now that i have a closer look i notice how beautiful she is. "oh! this is who i was talking about. this is ameena, my best friend and roommate." delilah smiles at me.

"hi." i wave.

all eyes are on me now, how terrifying.

"i'm samara." the beautiful girl with tattoos greets me with a quick head nod.

"nico." my attention is on the tall guy now.

"jaden." i use this opportunity to practice my eye contact with everyone.

my eyes wander to the last boy. the one who stared and waved twice at me. "elijah." he looks straight at me. i wait for him to look away but he doesn't.

i unintentionally stare back.

"they were just telling me about new york." delilah continues, gaining my attention. she grins at me mischievously.

"is that where you guys moved from?" i ask suddenly able to contribute to a conversation.

"yeah, i miss it already." nico drops the remains of what they were smoking and puts it out with his shoe. with the faint smell of weed in the air, i assume they're all high.

"what made you all come to california?" my friend asks. i glance over at her for a few seconds. i admire her. so bold, so fearless.

and here i am shaking in my boots over introducing myself.

i let myself fade into the background while they talk.

i take this time to observe my new neighbors. my cool new neighbors. i notice the clothes they're wearing, the piercings they have, the way they're standing.

they look artsy and creative. now that i'm up close, i realize samara wasn't the only beautiful one, they all were so attractive. intimidating even.

i look down at what i was wearing and feel out of place.

"i saw a drum set and a bunch of instruments in the truck. are you guys musicians?" delilah asks looking at samara.

"we are, we're actually in a band." jaden smirks.

i pay attention again. "a band? nice. are you any good?" delilah asks and i laugh in my head.

"you should come to a show and find out," elijah looks at me. "both of you." he adds.

his gaze makes me nervous. every time i looked at him he was already looking at me. i try to blend in again.

"let us know when, we'll be there."

now i look at my friend. how dare she include me in these plans.