NEIGHBORS // Rucas

1) Time, Where'd You Go?

R I L E Y

Checking the clock, I read that it was only 5:36 in the afternoon. The gang would be at my place in about half an hour for my "house warming party." It was really more of a regular night than any house warming party, just the five of us—Maya, Josh, Smackle, Farkle, and I—drinking some beers and maybe watching a couple of films. Ones we've already watched, of course. If we were to try and watch any new ones, Farkle and Smackle would just get into a competition of who could predict the ending more accurately. Those little intelligent brains of theirs never took any breaks, I swear.

I placed the last picture frame on the mantle and straightened out any others. The photo was of Maya and I on the day of our high school graduation. I spent the whole afternoon unpacking as much as I could and getting the apartment straightened out with all of the necessities. It was honestly weird to see my childhood home but much more... me. The photos were different, the art was different, some of the furniture was new, yet it still had that same feeling of home from years ago.

The lock on my front door twisted and in stormed my lovely blonde best friend with my uncle hot on her heels like a puppy on a leash. Yes, I had only just moved in and she already had a key. It's been a mutual thing ever since we moved away from our parents.

"Riles, are you aware that you have a super cute, super buff, super HOT next door neighbor?" Maya had that excited look in her eyes, the one that never really brought anything good. She hung up her coat on the rack and then sat on one of my bar stools while Josh grabbed some sodas from the fridge.

"Maya, really? I'm right here," Josh pointed out. He passed her a Coke.

"And I love you honey, my sweetie pie, my cupcake, but back to the hot neighbor," she said, resting her chin on her palm.

"No, I was not aware of my supposedly hot neighbor. What are you doing here so early, anyways?" I said.

"We wanted to see if you needed help and I'm glad we did, because we caught him walking to his apartment next door." Maya said proudly, "You're lucky I have Josh, or I would've pounced. You should definitely go for it." She suggestively raised her eyebrows.

I shrugged my shoulders. "We don't even know what the guy's like yet, peaches. Plus, it's only been about a month since everything that happened with Charlie. I'm not so sure if I can get back into the dating game just yet." Looking down at my hands, I twiddled my fingers and picked at my cuticles. It was a nervous habit. Trusting people was something that didn't come easy anymore, ever since that man made my life do a complete 360.

"I know, Riles, and I still hate him for everything he put you through. You never know, maybe Mr. Hot Neighbor is a nice guy. Maybe he can be a part of your new beginning."

"Yeah... Maybe... We'll just have to see."

- - - - - - - - - -

Farkle and Smackle joined us half an hour later and after finishing a movie, we ended up reminiscing on our younger days. I even pulled out some old photo albums and scrapbooks that I made years ago. All of us had a beer except Smackle, who decided to stay sober because she had to drive home. Maya and Josh would take a taxi, if not crash on my couch.

"Oh my goodness, look at Farkle's bowl cut!" Maya gasped, causing us all to laugh. Farkle covered his face with his hands but couldn't help his smile and joined in.