The girl next door

(1)

I never believed in love at first sight, Until I met her.

She was new.

She was shy

She was beautiful.

She knocked at my door.

I answered it.

"Hello!" she said. "I'm Arabella."

Even her name was beautiful.

"I'm Paige."

I let her in and we sat on the couch. "I just moved here. From WaterWick." Arabella explained. "I'm sure you'll love it here in Diggrove." I told her. We sat there for a while in silence. "Do you like it here so far?" I asked her. She nodded and pushed some hair away from her face.

"Paige!"

My mom walked into the room. I shook in my seat a little. She was never fond of me dating girls. We only got closer since I broke up with my last girlfriend, over a year ago. "Yes mom?" I asked. "Did you do your homework?" she asked. I nodded. "I did." I told her. She looked at Arabella. "I'm guessing this is our new neighbor?" she asked. "Yes. This is Arabella." I said. "I was going to tell you to walk with her to school tomorrow." mom said. "I will." I said. Mom left the room and left us alone.

"I better go." Arabella said, looking at her watch. "My parents didn't want me out very long."

***

The next morning, I got dressed and met Arabella on the sidewalk. When she arrived, we started walking to school. "Are you excited to start at a new school?" I asked her. "Not really. I miss my old friends. What if no one wants to be my friend?"

"I'll be your friend."

"You will?"

"Of course I will! I'll even introduce you to Sebastian."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

***

We arrived at school, and right away, I was bombarded with my friend, Sebastian. "Paige!" he said. "Hey Sebastian." I said. "Who's that?" he gestured to Arabella. "This is Arabella. She's new here." I told him. She waved. He waved back. Sebastian whispered in my ear. "Does someone have a crush?"

I immediately punched him in the shoulder. "Sorry I asked." he said. "What did you tell her?" Arabella asked. "Nothing!" I said quickly. The bell rang and we headed to class. "What class you you have?" I asked Arabella. "History. Mr. Raan." she replied. "I have that class. Follow me."

We headed to class and I took my usual spot in the back of the room. Arabella sat next to be.

"Let's begin the lesson." Mr. Raan said.

***

Lunch time. My favorite time of day.

I sat at a table with Arabella and Sebastian. "Are you liking the school?" Sebastian asked. "I love it." Arabella said.

"Colsen!"

I turned around. "Mark." I said. Mark, the school bully walked over to me. "Look who it is." Mark said. "The girl lover."

"What's wrong with liking girls?" I asked him. "Everything." Mark said. "Leave her alone." Arabella said. "Says who?" Mark asked. "Says me." she said. Sebastian stood up. "I'm tired of you being mean to Paige all the time." he said. "I'm tired of it. Why don't you mind your own business?"

Mark walked over to him. "Listen Vontel. You don't know who your messing with." he said. A teacher walked over to us. "Mark." she said. "You're coming with me."

She escorted him out of the cafeteria. "Is he always like this?" Arabella asked. "Usually." I said. "There were a lot of bullies at my last school." Arabella said.

The bell rang and we headed to our next class. On our way there, I kept thinking,

Do I like Arabella?

Hello everyone! I hope you like the first chapter of The Girl Next Door. Yes, I know this is short, but it was just trying to introduce the characters and kind of get the plot. I hope you like it and stay tuned for more!