The Boy Next Door

4

"Astrid, guess what?"

"What?"

"No, you have to guess!"

"You discovered your parents are fire breathing lizards, you discovered a new species of bacteria, you―"

"Flynn kissed me yesterday!" My best friend squealed with delight.

I couldn't help but let out a little squeal along with her. Flynn and Bella had been dating for nearly two months, and we were both anxious for him to finally make the first move.

"Oh my gosh, what was it like?" I asked her.

"It was weird, for sure, but amazing at the same time. It really is like people say. Fireworks." She let out a sigh.

I tried not to laugh at her expense, but I had never seen her act so dreamy and lovestruck. Bella was not known to be boy-crazy.

She noticed my suppressed giggles and punched me playfully in the arm.

"It really was, okay!" She laughed.

We entered the mall, and Bella made a beeline to Macy's. I followed, practically running so I could keep up with her.

"Sooooooo," she dragged the word out, "any luck on the romance front for you?"

"You know me, I don't bother talking to boys." I reminded her.

"Yeah, I know, but are there any boys that strike your fancy?"

I thought of Leo, but what came out of my mouth was "Nope. Don't know why you're so interested in my love life all of a sudden." I laughed a little too loud.

She gave me a funny look, then went back to browsing the clearance rack. She dragged me out on this shopping trip this morning so she could get some new winter clothes, mostly to show off to Flynn, and I needed to get some new stuff anyway. She always wanted my opinion, because we both knew I had the better fashion sense.

She bought a pair of comfy blue jeans and fleece leggings, a cute sweater with a cat on it, and a blue long sleeved shirt, and I got some simple flannel pajamas and a lavender sweater. After Macy's we walked around a bit, and got some lunch at Subway. While Bella was talking my ear off about her date with Flynn, my mind kept wandering to thoughts of me and Leo on that date. I realized what I was thinking and snapped myself out of it.

"And that was the moment we kissed, and it felt so magical," She finished, but noticed my vacant gaze. 

"Astrid." She snapped her fingers in my face. "You okay?"

I lightly pushed her hand away and said I was fine. The only thing I needed was for him to get out of my head. 

I sighed in frustration when I arrived back home and flopped on my bed. That night I went straight to sleep, not daring to look out the window or even pick up my bow. 

A/N: This was a bit of a filler chapter just to add some characters and development to the story, so stay tuned for more. Thank you for reading!