The Boy Next Door || Harry Styles

chapter one. {melanie}

Looking for the Girl Next Door

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Home, sweet home. I smile and set my bags down on the porch as I reach my hand up to knock on the front door. It has almost been a year and half since I've been home. I missed the last Christmas and New Years because the flights were all cancelled. When the door opens, I see a small boy jumping up and down, screaming,

"Melanie! Melanie!" Laughing, I pick the child up and swing him around in circles. Setting him down and I ask,

"How is my favorite boy?" I lean down and kiss his nose.

"Riley is great!" Riley, my half-brother, who is almost going to be 4, grabs my hand and drags me inside.

"Guess what? I have a surprise for you!" Riley smiles and continues to jump around me. Reaching into one of my bags, I pull out a teddy bear-looking beanie. The cute, brown-haired boy smiles even bigger and grabs the hat from me. After he pulls it on his head and huffs in satisfaction, I grab his hand and walk into the kitchen where I find my dad and his new wife, Cassidy.

"Hey, Pops!" He turns around and walks toward me with great, big arms.

"I haven't seen you in a while." He laughs and squeezes me tighter.

"Okay, dad! Just let me breath." I gasp for air. When he releases me, Cassidy comes over and kisses my forehead and I give her a tight, side hug.

"How are you, Melanie?" She smiles and sets down her cup of tea.

"Great, great. I'm glad to be back home. The delivery people said that my boxes should be coming sometime this week." I say as I grab my two bags and drop them at the bottom of the counter.

"Did you like it San Francisco?" Riley interrupts.

"I loved it. But I like it here more. Do you want to help me unpack?" He nods his head repeatedly and goes to retrieve one of my bags, which looks to be bigger than his body. I take the bag from him and let him carry the smaller one.

"I'll just settle in and then I'm gonna drive around and say hi to everyone." My dad agrees,

"Yeah, lots of people have missed you!" I smile and go upstairs with Riley.

When I open my room, I find it completely bare. Everything was as I left it four years ago. Riley hops on the bed as I look around my room. I notice that a layer of dust had accumulated on my desk .

"Sometimes I sleep in here!" Riley almost shouts. He jumps up and down on the squeaky mattress.

"Oh really? By yourself?" He nods with a smile on his face.

"Wow, you're such a big boy now!" I kneel down and unzip my bags. Riley gets off the bed and walks over to my balcony door.

"They never let me go inside the tree house." He frowns and puts his hand to the glass. He is so young and innocent, I think.

"Awh, why not? I loved the tree house when I was little." Suddenly, visions of me and a boy flash in my mind.

"They say it's dangerous and it might fall over." He plops down on the floor and crosses his legs, still looking out.

"Well I can help you fix it, if you want." I smile and start to put my clothes away in my closet.

"You would do that?" He turns around and his eyes light up.

"Of course, I would! I would do anything for you, Riley!" After I finish putting away my clothes, I start to pile my notebooks onto my desk. Over the years in San Francisco, I majored in composition and also minored in music theory. I found the language of music interesting and I wanted to enjoy what I studied. My notebooks are filled with songs and other pieces of work that I have composed. Also in my time in 'college', as they call it in America, I learned to play the piano. It came naturally and I picked up very fast. Hopefully that's another skill that will help me find a job.