Sweetarts & Cherry Hearts

Chapter One

"Hey Joseph! Get up we got a new neighbour!" 

Joseph Conway, that's the one who popped up from his slumber and scurried to get dressed. He threw on his normal, neon yellow and black hoodie with a pair of pants and quickly slipped on and tied his shoes. He headed out of his room, only to be greeted by his short roommate, Lacy. "Oh hey Lacy!" He said happily

"Joseph." She said blandly before quickly adding "Why are you suddenly so excited to meet the neighbour?" 

"What if she's pretty?" 

"What if he's a guy?"

"You know I'd still like him."

"Whatever. Go meet them. I'm staying in my room."

"Okay!" Joseph said in his normal upbeat voice. He headed to the front door and peeked out. He first noticed the somewhat small moving truck then the person who, he hoped, was the new neighbour. The stranger was rather tall and was wearing a gray beanie, a mint green hoodie that was darkened with time, a pair of jeans, and some dark gray sneakers. They honestly looked kind of menacing from Joseph's point of view. They also looked really serious, seeing as how they had their arms crossed and a rather angered look on their face. Joseph was hesitant to walk up to them, but his body seemed to just force him to go over there anyways. He was about ten feet away from them when they turned to look at him. Joseph froze in place when he saw that they only had one eye, as the other had two short cuts over it and was shut. Now they looked really menacing. Joseph smiled and the stranger smiled back, but it was faint and a little awkward "Uhm.... hi! I'm Joseph! You must be the new neighbour!" Joseph said kindly when he got a little closer 

"Uhm... hi.." the tall boy mumbled 

"What's... what's your name?" Joseph asked and the boy looked at him 

"It's Mason." He said, making eye contact with Joseph for a short moment. 

Joseph looked at Mason, having to tilt his head up a little bit Is he an introvert or something? He doesn't really say much. Joseph thought to himself before looking down at his feet, seeing as how there was a very awkward silence between him and Mason. Before Joseph could say another word to his new neighbour, Mason had walked off to get a few smaller things from the moving truck. Joseph sighed and went back to the house. The moment he closed the door behind him, he let out a groan of embarrassment "Did you see that Lacy?! He just walked off!" He said to his roommate as she just stared at him from the sofa "I think he hates me.." The boy mumbled before sliding down the door and plopping onto the carpeted floor. Lacy just rolled her eyes and looked back at the tv as Joseph sat there "Whatever. I can try again tomorrow!" He said happily, mostly to himself though.

:::

Mason Cody Beckett, that's the one who just finished having a conversation with a cute boy named Joseph. When I say cute, I mean cute. Joseph was so utterly adorable with his slightly oversized hoodie and his spiky red-brown hair. Mason sat on his sofa, his face buried in a pillow as he thought about his new neighbour. But then it hit him Wait. I just met him. Why am I suddenly thinking about someone I just met?! Is that bad?! Mason thought, suddenly very nervous and concerned about himself. He got up and went to the kitchen that looked rather dull, but that obviously wouldn't last long. He loved to decorate rooms with soft colours and all types of plants, most of which are likely to be dried up roses of all colours. In fact, he had some old roses already sitting in a cream vase in the living room. He glanced over at them and smiled warmly. He never knew why, but the sight of those once-white roses with the now slightly shrivelled petals and wood-like stems was rather pleasing to him. He then turned around to gaze at the drying red roses he had. The roses were a cheery red now, but they would get a few shades darker when they get fully dried. A near crimson colour that would be perfect for a decoration in his bedroom. As he stared at the roses, he noticed more and more on how much one of them looked like a heart-shaped cherry. Just that made him think of his favourite snack: cherries. He really liked cherries for some reason, which then had him thinking Does Joseph like cherries? Maybe I could get him some? He thought as he mindlessly wandered around the house. He was lost in thought for a long time before he accidentally walked right into the wall "Oh- sorry." He blurted out. He then felt his cheeks warm up with embarrassment when he noticed it was just a wall. He had pretty much grown up saying 'sorry' to anyone or anything he bumped into. He's just.... really bad at socialising. He was lost in thought again until his phone buzzed and snapped him back to reality. He scrambled to pick up the phone, but then noticed it was an unknown caller. He set the phone down on the table and sighed "Why am I so zoned out?" He asked himself before going to pick up a box with some of his stuff in it.

:::

Joseph sighed in defeat "I think I keep getting the wrong number." He said to Lacy, who was clearly ignoring him "I could have sworn that was his number that time!" He added, getting a scoff from Lacy "Why don't you just go over to his house or something?" She asked, her eyes glued on the tv "I can't just go to his house, Lacy!" Joseph exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. "Oh my god." Lacy said madly

"What?" 

"You need to man up."

"Here we go again."

"No. I'm not giving you this lecture again you idiot. You're gonna grow a pair and go over to his house."

"Oh my lord, Lacy." 

"None of that. Go." She said demandingly

Joseph sighed before standing up "Fine." He said before walking outside and into the front yard, where he glanced over at Mason's new house. He just kind of... stood there. He just stood and stared at the house for what felt like forever before he slowly made his way over to the sidewalk, then down the walkway, and finally stopping at the front door. He stood there for a little bit, not knowing wether to ring the doorbell or just knock on the door. He took a deep breath before just ringing the dorrbell. In under a minute, the door clicked and opened, revealing the tall boy that was Mason who seemed to have downgraded in his clothes; he was wearing shorts now with a white t-shirt that had the word 'hi' in plain black text right in the middle. The two stared at each other for a moment before Joseph spoke "Oh.... uhm... hi." He said awkwardly, having a hard time keeping eye contact with Mason.

"Uhm.. hey." The other boy responded "What are you doing here?" He asked, looking down at Joseph 

"I just... wanted to give you a less awkward welcome I guess!" 

"Oh... okay." He said, stepping back a little bit as if he were going to close the door "W-wait!" Joseph said quickly, making Mason freeze and look at him "Uhm... wanna maybe get some cofee later?" Joseph asked, a nervous look on his face. Mason was quiet for a moment before nodding a little "Sure. Is 7 okay?" He asked, his inviting voice releasing almost all the weight from the heavy atmosphere that was there before "S-sure!" Joseph said happily and Mason smiled "See you then." He said before closing the door and going back to whatever it was he was doing. Joseph was just frozen in place, his face warm with blush That smile.... just... Wow he's cute.. He thought before shaking his head quickly "Stop thinking like that! You just met him! Jeez Joseph!" He said madly to himself before sighing. He smiled and walked back to his house "Seven o' clock. My new favourite time." He mumbled before he stepped inside, smiling like a complete idiot.