Confessions of a Cat Lady

Florence, Like the City.

"Florence!" Mom yelled from downstairs. I laid down my book and tried to pry Kreacher, my cat, off my lap. I got him when I was ten, which was the same year I finished the Harry Potter books. two milestones in one year: the start of two different  obsessions.

"Hey mom," I said as I reached the kitchen, making her jump, even though she was already expecting me.
"Hey fruit loop." she grins. "Could you go get the mail real quick? I need to see if your birthday present got here," she says with a wink. "And no peeking!" She adds before turning around towards whatever crazy thing she was cooking today.
My mom has called me Fruit Loop ever since I can remember. That was my favorite food ever when I was little, it was practically all I ever ate. At a yearly checkup at the doctors when I was about three, Dr. Matthews said that I needed to eat more fruits and vegetables. Thus started my strange love for broccoli.
I waltz out the front door and head towards the mailbox, keeping Kreacher inside with my foot before quickly shutting the door.
The driveway is pretty long, framed by trees on either side of it. The property really was beautiful, and it was on the outskirts of town, down a farm road. There are only a couple other houses on this street before it hits a dead end, each having a large piece of land between them so we have our privacy. The closest house is across the street, which has been empty for a while, since the people who lived there previously moved into the city two years ago. 
As I near the end of the driveway, I start to hear yelling across the street. I see a moving truck, and several people heaving boxes into the empty house. They must be moving in.
Lovely.
I finally get to the mailbox and get a good glimpse at the people. A man, most likely the dad, helps carry big cardboard boxes into the house. A dark haired woman around my mom's age tells him where they go, saying things like "Kitchen. Sunroom. Carter's room." One person, a boy person, emerges from the house. He looks about my age, maybe older. He had an athletic build, chocolatey brown hair, and really smooth-looking tan skin. He also had dark brown eyes, which I could spot from here. And a nice face. He had a nice face. Like, a really nice face. Dang. I'd assume this is the couple's kid, just from how much he looked like the both of them
Mystery guy suddenly raises his muscly arm and waved in my direction. A very muscly chest peeks out from the side of his cutoff shirt.
I then look back up to study his face again. His face was all sharp edges; his jaw, his nose, and his cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut someone. The only soft thing about his face as far as I could tell were his eyes... which happened to be staring directly into mine.
I frantically turn back to the mailbox and pull out a rectangular package. I already knew it was a book, probably because that's what I got every year. I really didn't care about that though; the only thing I cared about was getting the hecking heck out of there.
I practically start running back down the driveway, mainly because I don't want Pretty Boy to see how red my face is.
"Hey!"
I ignore the voice, knowing it's from the very attractive male who just caught me blatantly checking him out.
"Hey you!"
I whip around, trying my best to make it seem like I have no interest in speaking to him. He doesn't seem to notice. He starts walking towards my side of the street, stopping when he gets to my mailbox. He leans against it. I start to get really anxious. What if he's a jerk? What if he is going to say something completely rude like guys do in books? Do people actually do things like that in real life?  
"You live over there?" He gestures to my house. I let out an internal breath of relief. Of course he isn't a jerk, he just wanted to talk. 

"Oh. Uh, yeah," I reply, shrugging, trying to make it seem like I wasn't freaking out about him coming to talk to me. I wonder if he could see the gears inside my head and how fast and chaotic they were turning. 

"Cool. I mean, obviously I'm going to be living across from you, so I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Carter." He gives a soft smile. I'm not one for handshakes, at least formal ones anyways."

 I laugh a little, hoping that I don't sound too nervous. "Florence." 

He doesn't laugh or even crack a smile when I tell him  my name. Most people at least grin at my name. If I had a penny for every time I heard that Florence sounds like a little old lady with a lot of cats, I'd be rich. Though, I guess the name kind of fits. I honestly have the character traits of a little old lady. 

"Ah, like the city. I've seen so many pictures of there, it's beautiful." 

I nod. "Yeah, that's where my mom and dad took their honeymoon, and probably where the idea of me was brought up." Carter laughs. 

"Carter!" someone yells from his side of the street. 

"Ah. Gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Flo." He smiles at me before turning around and heading back across the street. 

"No one calls me that!" I call after him. 

"Well I guess I'm the first," he replies without looking back. I watch him walk into the house that had been vacant for nearly three years. 

I didn't want to think about change, or meeting new people, or someone moving in across the street. I also felt like I really didn't have a choice about that.

HII!! 

PSA:: I started writing this when I was in Jr, High, then abandoned it. (I'm a senior in High school now.) But since this was my most popular book I had written, I decided I'd come back to keep writing. Also, since Jr. High, my view for the book has completely changed, and I did some MAJOR editing to what I already had. In which, I totally changed some of the plot. So, If you've already read this, you might be confused when I add new chapters, so I would recommend starting from the very beginning (if you haven't already)

thank you so much!! 

I'm glad to get back into writing :))

-abbey