Next Door Heart Throb

  "You heard he's coming home, right?"

  "Yeah! His flight comes in at 11. One hour left to go! I swear; everyone is going to be either in front of his house, or at the airport just waiting for him. I, unlike most paparazzi, will be at his house. And when he comes home, I know he's going to be like: "Dang she's gorgeous, hey, wanna go out sweet stuff?""

  "He'd never say that in his life." I mumbled to myself while I was listening to the blond bimbo's go on and on (and on and on) about Chase Michaels coming home from New York where he was filming a new movie.

  "I'm sorry, did you say something?" Bimbo number one asked me.

  "Huh? Oh, no. I was just reading the coffee choices." I said with a smile before turning around and rolling my eyes.

  "Anyway." Number two said. "I'm sure that's going to happen. And we're going to live happily ever after."

  Those two girls are thirteen. What in the world do they know about 'happily ever after' besides Cinderella and all of those other Disney movies? I bet the only thing they know how to love is their parents, by their clothes: their parents money, and their stuffed animal they probably still sleep with every night. Oh, and their night light.

  "It says here in this mag that his favorite number is 22," wrong, it's 23. "Favorite color is red." Bet you don't know what shade of red. "His best friend is some chick that he's known since he was two. I bet they don't even talk." Wrong again, we talk every day. But at their ignorance and little celeb crush, I couldn't help but smile.

  The last time I saw my best friend was one year ago -through a blurred vision due to tears, might I add- before he left me and everyone else to follow his dream in acting. Now, since Chase Michaels is done with his movie, he's finally coming home, to me, his best friend, and I get to see him.

  I smiled to myself as I made my way out of Starbucks and into my Jeep -the one I had begged my uncle to give me. And since I’m his favorite, after years of saying I have to pay for it, he gave it to me for my 16th birthday-, and made my way home: into Valleyway Community-Circle.

  When I first heard I'd be moving to Valleyway when I was nine, the whole "community-circle" part sounded like it was some dump where poor people go and live for free. But boy was I wrong. It's full of the nicest houses in the city, completed with gate entrance. But I'm not saying I’m rich. I'm saying we're well off enough to live a block away from my best friend, Chase and his family.

  Making my way down to the circle, I slowed down to a stop to chat with the gate guard, Cindy.

  "Why, hello Aria! Good to see you this morning. Hear the amazing news?"

  "I just won the lottery and have a date with Leonardo DiCaprio? Ron Pope is here to sing me a love song?"

  "Don't we all wish that?" Cindy said while laughing. "But sadly, no. That's not the news. Not yet, anyway. Chase is coming home today!"

"That news I did hear." I said with a smile. "We're all very excited for him to come home, finally."

  "You haven't seen him in what, eight months?" Cindy asked, pushing her auburn hair over her shoulder so she could get a better look at me.

  "Actually, exactly one year!" I said, laughing at how well I remember it's been since I haven't seen him.

  "Well I guess I should let you in and let you go get ready! Big day ahead of you, I'm guessing?"

  I gave Cindy a quick nod, and drove my jeep right up to my house, and parked in the garage. Sliding through my car window, not bothering to open the door, I ran into the house as fast as I could without spilling my caramel frappacino, up the stairs, and into my room to get ready for the big day.