Serendipity ↬ COMPLETE

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Dinner Party

"Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors." -Confucius

We walked up to the beautiful two story house in front of our own new house, and my dad rang the doorbell.

There was some muffled calling going through the house and then a young boy, maybe 15 or 16, with brown hair and a snapback that had the letters "TM" in white stitching, had answered the door.

"Hi! You must be the Tomlins! Please, come in. My mom says that dinner is almost ready," the boy said with a smile on his face. So far, so good.

We stepped inside, while my dad thanked the boy. When I stepped into the foyer, the boy smiled. "Hi! I'm Toby. What's your name?"

"I'm Leilani," I answered, returning his smile.

"I like that name. It's so unique," he said.

"Thanks!" I said, smiling even bigger. It was awesome that someone other than myself liked my name.

"You can come hang out with me if you want? My two older brothers are on an errand for my mom," he said hopefully.

I glanced at my parents and they smiled and nodded. My mom gave me a look that read, Go. Make friends.

I smiled back at Toby and answered, "Sure. Sounds good to me."

"Awesome! Come on, I'm just playing around with some music. I hope that's okay," he said. He led me to the living room.

"Of course! I love music," I said, excitedly.

"Great!" he said, getting equally excited as me. He led me into the living room and picked up a bass guitar. He sat down on the couch and put the guitar in his lap. He started to strum a few cords of a Rascal Flatts song. "Do you know Rascal Flatts?" he asked.

"Of course! You were playing What Hurts The Most. I love Rascal Flatts," I answered him happily, with a big smile.

He grinned and continued to play. Then he started singing.

What hurts the most, is being so close.

And having so much to say.

And watching you walk away.

And never knowing,

What could've been.

And not seeing that loving you,

Is what I was trying to do.

I listened to Toby sing and couldn't help but smile. He stopped playing and looked at me, with the smile still on my face. "Wow. You're really good," I complimented him.

He blushed, making me laugh. "Thanks. You haven't heard anything, yet, though. How long do you and your parents plan on staying?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Why?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said, winking at me.

The front door opened and shut and a soft but male voice called, "Mom?! We're back!"

"That means my brothers are back," Toby said with a laugh.

Another boy, a little older than Toby, walked into the living room and stopped when he saw me. He had black hair and brown eyes with a charming smile. He was wearing black jeans and a white tee shirt with a black jacket. "Tobster,who's your friend?" he asked with a kind smile.

"Hi, I'm Leilani Tomlin," I said, introducing myself.

"Oh! You're our new neighbor! I'm Riley," he said, his face lighting up when he realized I was his neighbor.

"Hi, Riley," I said, smiling.

He came into the living room and sat next to us on the couch. "What are you two doing?" he asked.

"I was playing with some music," Toby answered.

"And I was listening," I added, giggling.

"What were you playing?" Riley asked Toby.

"What Hurts The Most," Toby answered his older brother.

"Play it again," Riley said, smiling.

Toby strummed a cord or two before another boy, older than Riley and Toby, came into the living room.

"Hey, hey, what are you two doing playing Rascal Flatts without me?!" he asked playfully, running and plopping on top of Riley and Toby, not noticing me at first. I scooted out the way and the oldest boy, older than me by the looks of him, finally noticed me.

He looked at me in my ice blue eyes, matching his exact eyes. The boy had dirty blonde hair that worked beautifully with the ice blue orbs that took my breath away. They were so much like mine that it was weird.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you. Hi, I'm Connor McDonough. What's your name?" he said.

"It's okay,I'm used to it. I'm Leilani Tomlin," I answered him with a smile.

"Oh! Our neighbors! Mom told us about that. I hope that my brothers didn't bother you too bad," Connor said, teasing his brothers.

"Hey!" Riley and Toby said in unison, tag teaming their older brother, making me laugh.

"Kids! Dinner is ready!"Mrs. McDonough's voice came from the kitchen.

"Come on, Leilani!" the three of them cheered. They all jumped up from the couch and Toby and Riley each took one of my hands. They pulled me to my feet, making me laugh hysterically at them.

They practically dragged me to the dining room and then they offered me a seat. I thanked them, glancing at my parents. My mom was smiling in approval because the boys were being nice and they were being gentlemen. My dad was smiling, too, and it was because it seemed like I was making friends.

Toby sat on the left side of me, and Riley sat on the right side of me. Connor got the seat directly in front of me and smiled as he sat down. I returned the smile and we began to pass the delicious food around.

Mrs. McDonough had cooked some chicken in Italian dressing, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and stuffing. It was a delicious dinner for sure.

We talked about each other, trading stories so that we get to know each other. It was interesting and funny.

After dinner, Mr. and Mrs. McDonough brought out ice cream and bowls and we had some ice cream, too. They were really nice people and I'm glad that we came over.

While the four adults were cleaning up everything, my parents wouldn't let the McDonoughs take no for an answer because of my parents southern hospitality, there was a knock on the front door and Connor rushed to open it.

I followed Riley and Toby and saw two other guys standing at the door.

"Ready, boys?" the shorter one asked.

"Yeah! Hey, we have a guest, I hope that's okay. She's our new neighbor and she's over with her parents. She's really into music," Connor said, looking back at me with a smile.

The two boys at the door finally took notice in me and grinned. "Sure! The more the merrier!" the taller one said.

"Leilani, this is Thomas and Braiden. They're a part of our band," Riley said, introducing us.

"Hi, there," I said politely but nervously.

"Hey, Leilani, it's nice to meet you," Braiden, the tall one, said.

"Wait, band? You guys are a band?" I asked, catching what Riley said.

They just grinned and Riley and Toby took my hands, dragging me down the hall while Connor called to his parents, "We'll be downstairs! We have Leilani!"

"Okay! Have fun!" Mrs. McDonough called back as we came up to a door. I heard voices in the kitchen, but couldn't make anything out. Connor opened the door to reveal a set of stairs going down. The basement.

Oh, Lord of Mercy. What's going on?