I Stole the Bad Boy's Skateboard

Chapter 2: A New Neighbor (Edited)

"This show is boring, Alex!" Tyler whined. "Change it already!"

"It's not boring," I replied, shrugging. "If you don't want to watch go up to your room and play Minecraft instead."

My brother has a habit of showing up next to me on the couch whenever I'm watching TV. For the first few minutes, he would ask me what I'm watching then keep quiet and try to watch with me. Soon after he would complain about not liking the show and I would be able to convince him to play Minecraft instead. It's a cycle I've gotten used to.

"Alright," Tyler replied, lazily standing up from the couch. "But I got dibs on the TV tonight!"

He marched up the stairs grumpily. I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"Sweetheart, can you come over here for just one sec?"

Mom was experimenting in the kitchen. She has a passion for food whether she's making them or eating them. She's usually at work busying herself in her law firm, but when she's home, she'd always find be in the kitchen. I love whenever my mom cooks and bakes. She says that working in the kitchen calms her and relieves her of her stress. It's the break that keeps her sane when work becomes overwhelming. Somehow, whenever I get my hands on what she makes, it relieves me of my stress too.

I turned the TV off and made my way to the kitchen. It wasn't exactly spotless, but it wasn't messy and dirty either. You could see the telling evidences of her baking. There was a mixing bowl, some egg shells, a bag of half-emptied flour, packs of Oreo, and a bottle of vanilla flavoring among other ingredients on the counter. Mom was bending in front of the oven as she pulled out a tray of freshly baked cupcakes.

"What's this one called, mom?" I asked, smelling the mouth-watering aroma of her cupcakes. Last week it was Lemon Crinkle Bites.

"Oreo Vanilla Cupcakes," mom replied. "I made an extra batch for our new neighbours. I just want to make sure they taste good before handing them over. Do you mind tasting for me?"

Just like that, I forgot all about the cupcakes on the counter. The news caught me off guard.

We have new neighbours? Last time I checked the house right next to us had a 'FOR SALE' sign stuck to the grass. The house beside us has been up for sale for years. It was for sale when we moved in, and I was eight at the time. Who knew someone would finally decide to buy it?

"I didn't know we had new neighbours," I replied, reaching for a cupcake.

"Their moving truck and Innova arrived a few minutes after you left for school this morning," mom replied. "Well, what are you waiting for? Taste the cupcake. Tell me what you think."

I took a bite from the top side of the cupcake. Words couldn't even describe the flavours exploding in my mouth. The cupcake was in one word: mind-blowing. Of course, another delicious cupcake recipe for the books.

"It's your best creation yet, mom," I replied, grinning in delight. I wiped the tiny crumbs near my lips with the sleeve of my sweater. "I hope you made extra batches for us."

"I never forget to, honey," mom replied. "Thanks for being my food critic."

"Always a pleasure," I replied with a British accent.

My mom let out a chuckle as she pulled me in for a hug. It's times like this that I don't mind not having a father around. The love my mother had for me and my brother was plainly more than enough.

"Do you want me to deliver the cupcakes?" I offered, grabbing a basket from one of the cabinets on our kitchen walls. "I'm not really doing anything at the moment."

"Don't you have home work to finish?" mom asked, taking the basket from me.

"Nope," I replied, happily. "Our teachers decided to go easy on us on our first day."

"Alright," mom replied, placing the cupcakes in the basket one by one. "Be back before dinner, okay?"

I checked the time on my phone. 4:00 pm.

"Mom, I don't plan on staying that long. I haven't even met them," I replied.

*~*~*~*~*~*

I stood in front of our new neighbours' front door with the basket of cupcakes dangling from my forearm. Before leaving, mom told me to fix up. She's always believed that making good first impressions are always important. I ended up wearing one of her white, laced, long sleeved blouses and denim shorts instead of my usual worn-out grey sweater and sweatpants.

A little after I rang the bell, I heard woman's voice shouting from inside. I didn't quite understand what she said but by the sound of it, she was asking someone to open the door for her. A few moments later, a voice – appearing to be of a guy my age answered back.

Why does his voice sound weirdly familiar? It's probably just me.

The door swings open in one swift motion. My breath got caught in my throat. There, standing like a Greek god...

Wait, what did I just say? Get it together, Alex.

...was the same boy I almost hit with the car this morning. He was shirtless and wore his sweatpants a little bit lower down his waist, showing off his six-pack and a slight 'V' right below it. I was too busy looking at him that I didn't even notice my very awkward stare.

"Enjoying the view there?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. His tone was too smug for my liking. It was pissing me off.

"Uh...no," I replied. "Who greets a stranger shirtless? You should cover up. There's nothing interesting to show off."

We all know that's a lie...

He smirked and shook his head.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, griping the basket tighter.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" the Jerk asked back. "Wait a minute, are you stalking me, Foster?"

He remembered my name – technically my last name. Not that I find that particuarly important...

"You wish," I replied, shrugging. "You're just supposed to be my new neighbour, unfortunately." I shrugged.

"I guess so," he replied, smirking. "Hey, are those for me?"

"No, but I bet you don't want the added calories," I replied, throwing my own smirk back at him. "These are for your family."

I quickly handed him the basket and walked away. I walked down his front porch steps and turned left. While walking, I couldn't help but feel him still watching me. They were practically shooting laserbeams at my back. Being the second-guessing self I am, I turned around. Sure enough, he was leaning on the doorframe, eyes on me.

"Miss me already?" he asked, eyebrows raised.  

Well, turning around was clearly a huge mistake.

"Never gonna happen," I rolled my eyes. "I just wanted to know if you could actually take your eyes off me for a second."

With that, I shut the front door behind me. Leaning on the door, I hit it with the back of my head repeatedly. With my eyes closed and jaw clenched, there was only one thing going on in my mind.

I can't believe the skateboarding jerk is my new neighbor.