Neighbors

T W E N T Y

PIPER

Kissing Beckett wasn't my original intention but something in me took over and I just went for it. And god, was I happy about it. After I agreed to go out on another date with Beckett, my heart was doing somersaults. I was shocked that he was even interested in me like that, but I was beyond grateful. The two of us stayed out for a little longer before deciding that it was probably best that we go home. When he drove me home, I caught him looking over at me on more than one occasion. Once we arrived at my house, I thanked him for an eventful night and kissed his cheek before making my way up to my front door. Upon entering my house, I noticed that the only lights that were on were the ones in my mom's office.

"Hey hon, how was the party?" she smiled, looking up from her paperwork when I entered the room.

"It was fun," I smiled goofily and flopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

Mom raised her eyebrows and smirked. "I know that dreamy and dazed off look. Something happened between you and Beckett."

"I mean nothing major. We only kissed a few times," I shrugged.

My mother squealed like an excited teenager who was meeting her boy band idol in person. That's one thing I loved about my mom. She was my best friend and I could always tell her anything. I told her everything that occurred that night as she cheered happily for me. I even informed her that he had asked out on a second date. Her face lit up. Mom was my biggest supporter and I could always count on her to be there.

"So when's the date?" she grinned.

"Friday," I replied, playing with the hem of my dress. "He hasn't told me what we're doing yet but I'm still excited."

"Well I'm very happy for you, sweetheart. It's been a while since you've been this happy," mom hugged me. "I'm going to head to bed. We'll talk more in the morning. Love you."

"Night mom, love you too," I responded and got up and went to my room.

I opened my bedroom door and was greeted by the familiar scents of my half-burned candles. I took off my wedges and tossed them aside. Since it wasn't too late, I grabbed a pair of night shorts and a tank top along with a pair of underwear and headed to my bathroom. I set my clean clothes off to the side and slipped out of my dress and undergarments. I climbed inside the shower after turning it on.

After my relaxing shower, I dried off and changed into my pajamas. I brushed my teeth and dried my hair with a towel before heading back to my room to get settled into bed. Once I made it back, I checked my phone. I noticed I had a new message from Beckett.

~ i had a lot of fun tonight. thanks for putting up with my crazy family all night. sweet dreams xx

His message made my heart melt and put a smile on my face. I responded with a simple goodnight and a smiley face. I pulled back my covers to crawl in bed, when I received another text from Beckett a few minutes later.

~ look outside ;)

Confused, I set my phone down on my nightstand and went to my window. Pulling back the curtains and opening the blinds, I saw Beckett standing in his backyard with a lantern and a tent. Grabbing my phone, I texted him.

Since it was pretty warm outside, I decided to just leave on what I had. I threw on one of Bryce's old sweatshirts and slipped on my Toms, grabbed my phone, and left a note for parents before heading out. Once outside, I saw Beckett waiting for me with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. He gave me a smile when he saw me.

"You ready for a fun night of sleeping under the stars?" he smirked when I reached him.

"You're insane," I laughed.

"Crazy or not, you said you'd join me. So let's go," he gripped my hand and took off in a sprint. I ran to keep up behind him as he raced to his backyard. He slowed his pace once we made it through the gate. "Welcome to Camp Murphy!" he smiled.

I simply shook my head. "So what can we do at Camp Murphy?"

"You can be a loser and go to bed now or we can play 20 questions and get to know our fellow campers," he explained.

"Did you work at a summer camp or something?"

He nodded, "three summers in a row. I never wanna go back."

I laughed at the feared look on Beckett's face. "Why not?"

"Camp was fun, but the amount of middle school girls who tried to give me their numbers was unbearable." He shivered at the memory. "Anyway, how about we get to know each other some more?"

I nodded in agreement and Beckett urged me to go first. "Favorite musical?"

"Honestly, I don't know." He answered, "I think I'd have to say Book of Mormon, what about you?"

I thought about the question, "probably Chicago or Hairspray."

"What's your favorite childhood memory?" Beckett inquired.

I told Beckett the story of how my parents took me to New York to see my first Broadway musical. "The first musical I ever saw was Hairspray when I was eleven. That's really when I fell in love with music and theatre."

"So why haven't you ever done any shows?"

I shrugged, "stage fright, I guess. It's not as bad as it was when I was younger but I still get nervous in front of crowds."

We sat for about an hour just talking and getting to know each other before we decided to lay down and stargaze. The two of us laid in a 'T' shape on a blanket, my head resting on Beckett's stomach while his fingers twirled the ends of my hair

"I really wish I knew what any of the constellations were," Beckett chuckled, looking up at the starry sky.

"Well I know that that one is Orion's Belt," I said pointing out a line of three stars, "but that's about it."

It was quiet for a while, only the sounds of the wind and distant traffic echoed in the night. "You know," he spoke up, "it's been so long since I've done this. It's really nice."

"What?" I turned my head towards him.

"Had a camp out like this. I used to do it all the time with my cousins when we lived in Arizona."

I smiled at him. "Your cousins seem really great. Better than mine, anyway."

"I'm pretty sure you're talking about Lynn and to be quite honest with you, I don't like her. But she doesn't matter. All that matters is us right now." With that, he moved so that he could reach my lips and captured them in a simple kiss.

I didn't know what it was about him, but something about Beckett made me feel at home. It scared me how close we had grown in such a short time but I didn't mind. All I knew was that my feelings were growing more and more each day.

***

a/n: Hello! I'm so sorry that it took me forever to write this. I just couldn't bring myself to finish the chapter but I finally found the motivation to get it done. I only have three more days of my junior year until summer starts and I'm very excited for my senior year. I'm going to try to update a few more times this week but we'll have to see how I feel after my exams. Anyway, I hope you had a great day. I really appreciate all of you guys for reading. I love you. Be safe.