One House Behind | ✓

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞

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Upon reaching outside, I walked up to the fence and looked straight through it. She was there. I was searching for something to say when her head tilted up and looked at where I was standing. I froze. Could she see me?

"So, you are Joe Goldberg, nice to meet you, Joe," she laughed.

"My name is not Joe nor Joseph. Although, I do have an uncle with that name."

"I could care less, it doesn't matter. Your name is Joe now."

I walked over to a chair that we had lying in the backyard and set it against the fence. After checking to make sure it was stable enough to stand on, I raised myself to see what the girl looked like. What I saw wasn't what I expected.

I expected to see a brunette chick showing as much skin as possible seeing as the sun hit their backyard more than mine. I thought I was going to see her look up, scowl, and then run inside. Instead, she looked up, scowled, and then laid her head back against the chair she was sitting on.

My hands stayed on the fence as I watched her. It was hot today and yet she found herself laying in it. Her skin looked wet—from sweat most likely—but she didn't seem to care. A water bottle lay to the right side of her and her phone was between her thighs, most likely to try to shield it from the sun.

"And you say you aren't Joe," she chuckled as she closed her eyes.

"I'm not."

"Okay, dude, whatever you say." She lifted her head to look at me, brown eyes glaring at me. "But remember, you are watching me sunbathe and that's not normal." She shook her head as she laid it back against the chair and closed her eyes again.

I still watched her. I was bored and she seemed fun to rile up. Granted I knew nothing about her, but it would be fun to talk to someone who doesn't always find a way to ignore me or be rude. Well, she was both but she seemed like she would make being ignored fun. Was something wrong with me for thinking that?

I started to sweat when I saw someone walking to her sliding door. A choked-out gasp came out of me as I jumped off the chair and sat on it. I bet it was her parents and they caught me gawking at their daughter. They probably thought I was a peeping tom.

"Shelly?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Come inside, I thought I saw something."

"See ya," Shelly yelled before a door opened and closed.

Her mother saw me and I was officially embarrassed. I leaned my head against the fence before moving the chair back to its original spot and going inside. As soon as I did, I found Susie laughing while staring at her phone.

"What's so funny?" I grumbled, getting up and walking over to her.

"Nothing, just you standing on a chair and looking over the fence like a fucking peeping tom," she guffawed as she turned her phone to show me a picture of myself standing on the white chair.

"Haha, really funny," I narrowed my eyes.

"It is, just wait until Mom and Dad see this!"

"Screw ya, Susie."

"That's weird, I'm your-"

"Perv!" I threw at her before walking to my room.

"Says the one who looked over a fence!" she called even though my door was shut.

I groaned as I turned over. I didn't find anything funny about it. But, even if they saw me as a peeping tom, I had gotten a good thing out of it. A name.

Shelly.