How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

The New Neighbor

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

— John Green, The Fault In Our Stars

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It was mid-August when Owen's mother told him the news: that someone would be moving in next door to him. He'd been genuinely excited, hoping that it would be someone who loved books as much as he did. Someone who was his age, preferably. He kept his hopes up, but he knew it wasn't likely.

The chances of his new neighbor being his age — sixteen-years-old — were slim, but the probability of that person liking books? That would be even rarer. As he got older, Owen noticed that kids his age just didn't care about reading. It disappointed him, but that was okay!

Everyone had their hobbies, even if those hobbies only included playing sports and dating. Owen was the only person he knew who loved reading, aside from his best friend, Bethany. He didn't know how he'd get through school if it wasn't for her. Whether it was at the library or school, they were always hanging out. Bethany was Owen's greatest friend, and he was her's.

Up until seventh grade, he'd been sitting alone at lunch everyday. Back then, he'd had books to keep him company when he felt alone. Owen had gained a small circle of online friends, but obviously, they had never met him in person. If they had, they might've called him a nerd, and ignored him, just like the rest of his classmates.

That all changed on the day that he took a leap of faith, deciding to sit next to Bethany at lunch. She'd happened to be sitting alone, too. At first, she'd been extremely reluctant to be his friend. But, against all odds, they'd become fast friends. Owen was still unsure how someone like him could become best friends with someone like her, but it made sense, since they both loved books.

But Bethany wasn't the only friend he'd made.

Kiel, a boy who he'd met the following year, was the exact opposite of Owen. He was popular, funny, and probably the coolest person that Owen had ever met. Hands down. He even was in the magic club, which made him even cooler. Owen wasn't sure how they'd become such good friends, exactly, given how different they were. Kiel didn't even like reading, but that didn't matter to Owen.

Even still, the idea of making another friend was enough to lift his spirits. Between working at the library all summer, Owen hadn't had much of an opportunity to see his friends as much as he would've liked. Since Bethany lived closer, they hung out a couple times each week. He saw Kiel less often, since Kiel had been on vacation with his family for the past few weeks.

That would change when the school year started up again, but it didn't hurt to hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd make another friend. It would be nice, especially to have someone who lived a walking distance away.

Owen sat on the carpeted floor of his bedroom, a half-eaten ice cream sandwich in one hand as he scrolled through book theories on his phone. He kept looking over at the window, expecting to see the family's car pull up. They never did. His mom had sworn they'd be moving in this week, but at this point, Owen was almost positive that the whole new neighbor thing was a myth.

At this point, he'd be ecstatic if anyone showed up. He'd peppered his mother with questions, asking if she knew who the neighbors were, if they had any kids, how old they were, etc. But every time, she had replied that no, she didn't know. That left Owen in the dark, leaving his imagination to conjure up what his new neighbors would be like.

And then, he heard it. The sound of car engine humming, which grew louder with every passing second. At first, he'd assumed that it was only his imagination. It wasn't uncommon for his imagination to get out of hand, especially at nighttime. And even if there was a car out there, it wouldn't be the new neighbors! There was no way . . . was there?