𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 || 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭

𝟏: 𝐦𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫

   Sophia Foster was without a doubt that this was her best batch of muffins to date.

Pulling the steaming treats from the cupcake tin, she placed them into a brown cardboard dessert box, scrawling welcome to the neighborhood! in swirly letters on the top.

"I'm going over to say hi to the new neighbors, be right back!" She called over her shoulder to her mom as she pulled on her sneakers.

"Tell them I said hello!" Her mom yelled back from somewhere upstairs. The brunette grabbed the box from the counter and stepped outside, clicking shut the dark green door behind her.

Her street was dappled in late afternoon light, the July heat just starting to ebb away into a cool breeze.

She walked the sidewalk to the navy blue house next door, the oak tree planted between the two houses reaching the tops of the roofs. She didn't know how long it had been there, but it was her favorite spot to climb out of the window and read each night.

She stepped through the picket fence gate and hopped up the cobblestone steps. It was just as she rang the doorbell that she remembered she was definitely covered in more than a little bit of flour.

'So much for a good first impression' She thought, attempting to dust some of it from her sweater sleeve.

After a few short seconds the door swung open, and she was greeted by a smiling blonde woman.

"Hi, what can I do for you?"

Sophia extended her arms, holding out the box. "I'm Sophia, your next door neighbor in the white house to your right—I just wanted to stop by and welcome you guys to the neighborhood." She paused, smiling awkwardly. "Oh yeah, and I made these for you! They're cinnamon muffins."

The woman opened the door a bit further, gasping in delight. "Oh my goodness, how sweet of you! Come in come in, we'll find a spot for them in the kitchen."

"Oh are you sure? I don't want to intrude-"

"Yes, of course! I'm Mrs. Scobell, but you can just call me Heather."

Sophia nodded, and followed her into the house. There were boxes all over the living room, everything still packed up except for a couch sitting against the back wall and a floor lamp next to it.

"We've only been here a few days, so I told the kids to focus on their rooms first, and then we'd unpack everything else together."

"Oh cute! I babysit sometimes, if you ever need help I'm more than happy to!" Sophia offered as they stepped into the kitchen, trying to sound useful to make up for her messy appearance.

The woman laughed, unpacking and unwrapping a few mugs and setting them into the glass cabinet above her. "Actually my three kids are a bit older than that, I think you might be around the same age as my son Walker. He's fifteen."

Sophia fought the red that crept into her cheeks from her own embarrassing assumption. She nodded.

"Oh yeah, I'm fifteen too. Small world I guess."

Just then, the sound of someone teetering down the stairs came from behind them. A boy appeared, holding two big brown boxes labeled 'dining room'. She couldn't see his head or torso as he carefully made his way to the bottom, the boxes balancing precariously.

"Mom I think you put these in my room on accident." His muffled voice came from behind the wall of cardboard obscuring his face.

"Oh okay, you can just set them on the dining room table."

Sophia realized a second too late that he had no idea she was there, and he swung the boxes up to set them down, knocking the muffins clean out of her hands.

She gasped as they hit the ground, a few unlucky soldiers tumbling out as crumbs sprayed across the hardwood floor.

The boy set the boxes down and peeked around them, staring at her before his eyes went to the muffin covered floor.

"Oh hi. Did I do that?" He asked blankly.

His mom facepalmed, apologizing as she walked down the hall to find a broom.

Sophia gritted her teeth, bending down to pick up what she could. "Yeah, you did. But it's fine, I'll just pick it up myself."

He continued to stand motionless by the table,  his blue eyes staring at the ground.

She guessed he was probably embarrassed, but the least he could do was offer to help. Instead he was staring, and it was starting to agitate her.

She placed the last of the muffins back in the box, putting it on the other side of the table to avoid being knocked over again.

His hand ran through his blonde curls. "Sorry, you just surprised me is all."

She didn't say anything, pulling at her sleeve and wanting desperately for the nice lady to come back with the broom and cut the awkward silence.

Her wish was granted, and not a second later his mom was back, sweeping the crumbs.

"Sorry Sophia, Walker's brain is on a different planet ninety-percent of the time." (Cue glaring from Walker.) "I have no doubt the muffins are still delicious."

Sophia rejected her apologies, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "No worries, I should probably get home anyways. Gotta help my mom with dinner."

She waved a goodbye and made her way to the door. A pair of footsteps jogged to catch up with her, and Walker reached the handle, pulling the door open for her.

"Thanks for the muffins. Sorry I kinda put them all over the floor."

Her brown eyes met his blue ones as they stood there. For a split second she thought he looked vaguely familiar, but she waved away his apologies and her own thoughts, stepping through the door.

"It's totally fine, seriously. You had no idea I was there anyways." She gave him a close-lipped smile.

Walking back down towards the sidewalk, she had just stepped through the gate when he called out to her.

"What's your name?"

"Sophia."

"I'm Walker."

"Okay. See ya later Walker."

"Yeah. Thanks again for the muffins!"

She heard his front door click shut behind him.