peace will follow // river phoenix fanfiction

November, 1978 (2)

For some strange reason, I was extremely nervous. My mom had gone through quite the work to make myself look presentable for our new neighbors. Even my grandfather, who would much rather stay home reading his favorite novel, tagged along with us.

Apparently, the family were hesitant in having a welcoming dinner thrown for them, but Mia's epic persuasive skills convinced them to go.

It was 9PM and it was already dark outside. The cold wind thrashed against my silly pink dress ferociously, making me shudder. When all three of us reached Mia's house, we could already hear chatter coming from inside and the smell of roast chicken floating in the air. My stomach rumbled furiously.

"Hurry up, mom!" I tugged at her hand, eager to meet the newcomers.

My grandfather raised an eyebrow at me. "Jocelyn, are you quite alright?"

"She's desperate to meet the neighbors," my mom informed him, shrugging nonchalantly at her father's quizzical expression.

Mia opened the door for us with a warm smile and directed us straight to the living room. There, concentrated in the small space, was a family of six, who in my own opinion looked nothing like a typical American family.

The first person I noticed was the hippy looking woman with a brown pixie cut, looking heavily pregnant. Beside her was a stockily built, bearded man whom I concluded must be her husband, considering they were sat quite close together. And then, that's when I noticed the four fragile looking kids all staring back at me, sat in order from biggest to smallest on the sofa opposite; the first one, the eldest, had cute blonde hair - it suddenly hit me when I realized it was the boy I had seen before. His innocent green eyes scrutinized me from head to toe, which left me feeling oddly vulnerable and nervous. Quickly, my eyes darted away from him and onto the younger girl sat beside him. She, without a doubt, looked the same age as me. She had a beautifully odd shaped face and the same prepossessing eyes as her brother. In fact, all four of them had been lucky enough to be blessed with those gorgeous eyes. Her thick, cutesy black hair was cut in the same way as her mother. And then finally, right at the end was yet another boy and another girl, the youngest of them all for sure. The boy's freckly face and goofy teeth made him look adorable. The girl was a little chubby but just as cute. The eldest had close to no resemblance with the other three, it was odd.

"Arlyn, you should meet the Liberty family. Rose, John and Jocelyn, meet the Bottom family," Mia introduced us all.

My mom and grandfather immediately began speaking with the family. Arlyn, the very pregnant mother, ushered her kids toward her. I watched from afar how they all greeted my mom and my grandfather. I didn't really know what to do, I mean, all this excitement and I didn't even have the courage to say hello. Silly, right?

The eldest glanced at me from his spot while the others were too busy to notice I hadn't moved an inch - there was something so fragile and forlorn in his verdant gaze, something really mysterious. Him simply looking in my direction was enough to make my knees wobble. Being a six year old girl and having never gotten any attention from boys whatsoever, my reaction was completely natural... I think.

"Jocey, come on," my mom called. Reluctantly, I walked over to her.

"What a beautiful angel," Arlyn complimented, smiling brightly at me. "You know, Rose, I think our children will get along excellently. They really need a friendly, fresh face."

"I agree," my mother said.

"Cone on, everyone! To the dining table!" Mia called out.

-P E A C E W I L L F O L L O W-