The Boy Next Door ≫ l.h [on hold]

seven

It was after school on the day of party. Lily came over and we were getting ready together.

"You know it seems like you and Luke have been getting pretty close. What he said to you at school on Wednesday was sweet. It makes me miss Tris." She laughs.

Tristan was her boyfriend and they've been dating since sophomore year. He goes to a school on the other side of town so they don't see each other frequently.

I shrugged. "Sure we're getting close but he's just a good friend. He just said that stuff because he thought I was sick."

"No, I don't think so. There was something else there in those words and it wasn't just because he thought you were sick. He had that look that people have when they really care about someone." She smiles.

"C'mon, he did not look at me like that at all. I mean that's what you're supposed to say when someone gets sick. He's just kind like that, nothing special." I argue.

"Alright, whatever you say. You are completely oblivious and it's very amusing." She laughs at me.

I roll my eyes and I get my dress out from the closet and slip it on. I finished putting my shoes on and I walk down the stairs.

"Are you ready?" She asks.

"Yeah, let's go."

We both walk out the door towards her car and she is about to get in until she see me walking across the lawn.

"Where are you going? My car is right here silly!" She questions loudly.

"We're bringing Luke with us, remember?" I shout back.

I walk towards his front door and knock a few times.

A few seconds later, I hear footsteps running down the stairs towards the door.

It opens up to reveal Luke in a blue denim button-up along with black skinny jeans and vans.

"Hey." He grins.

"Hi. You ready to go?"

"Yeah I'm ready. Hold on just one second." He closes the door again.

A minute later, he comes back out and locks the door behind him.

"You ready to party?" I smile.

He smiles back at me and nods. "Oh I was born ready."

"Alright let's go!" I shout excited.

We get into the car as Lily starts the engine. We back out of the driveway and drive towards the party.

*At the party*

When we arrived at the house, the music was so loud that I could feel the walls shaking.

Lily immediately walked straight towards the drinks and served herself some cherry flavored drink that I don't know the name of. She tried to offer me some but I turned her down.

"Not the alcoholic type of girl?" Luke said smirking at me.

"No, I'm not into those kinds of drinks. So is practically everyone else at this party. I admit it, I'm a bit of a fool for playing by the rules. Plus they taste really bad." I say while scrunching up my nose, remembering when I tried it for the first time.

This was partly true, but in reality I hated alcohol because it made people lose control and reminded me of the guy who always lost his control and in return, ended up hurting me because of it.

"They're alright for me, but the last time I got drunk, I got caught by my mum and she grounded me for 2 months." He admits rubbing his neck.

"Really? So the bad boy gets caught by mommy and has to pout around the house for two months?" I snicker. "You're not so good at being sneaky after all."

We sat down and chatted for a while until three large bodies sat down next to us and I glanced over at them.

One of them has brown curly hair, and another has black hair and a few tattoos. The last one was sporting dyed Lilac hair with an eyebrow piercing and some tattoos as well. The realization hit me and I remembered that these were Luke's new friends.

I quirked an eyebrow in Luke's direction and saw he had a bright smile on his face and was already greeting them.

He looks at me and says, "Em, these are the guys I was talking about. You said you've met before."

"Well I've seen them around but I haven't officially met them. Hi, I'm Emily." I say while shaking hands with them.

"Ashton."

"Calum."

"Michael."

"As I'm guessing by all of your accents, you three are Australian as well?" I asked.

They all nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. But the three of us have lived in America for a few years now." Ashton replies.

"I see."

Luke and the other boys talked for a bit until the three boys got up and left to go to the backyard.

As they were leaving, Lily approaches Luke and I, grabs our hands, and leads us to a room with a bunch of guys playing pool. Jackson looks up from the game and walks over to where we're standing.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you made it!" He shouts over the loud music.

"Thanks for inviting us!" I shout back.

"Anytime." He looks over to Luke and reaches out his hand for him to shake.

"I'm Jackson."

"Luke." He says while shaking his hand.

"Where are you from, Luke?"

"I'm from Australia, but I just moved in recently right next to Emily."

"Well I hope your enjoying it here so far."

"Yeah, I'm definitely enjoying it here." He says while sneaking a glance at me.

"Well, I gotta get back to my game, but I'll see you around." Jackson diverts his attention back to the table.

Luke turns his attention to me and a small smile creeps onto his face.

"He seems cool. He's like the only person from our school that hasn't quickly assumed I'm a stoner or some other stupid sterotype."

"Hey, I didn't judge you!" I laugh.

"I know, that's why I like you."

Unexpectedly, my hand slipped from its position and stumbled back a little.

"Sorry what?" I question.

"I mean, I like that you, uh, tried to get to know me first." He says quickly, looking relieved as if he just saves himself from embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, well thanks I guess." I laugh lightly.

Although I repeatedly told myself that's what he truly meant, I shook it off and convince myself otherwise.

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Hey guys! So extremely sorry that I haven't updated in like forever. I'll try update more but school's been getting in the way. I love you guys! Please stay updated :)