The Girl Next Door

--Chapter One--

The bright lights of the city fill the windows of the car. I clutch my pillow closer to my chest and try to sleep. I can't. The small town in the UK I grew up in was never as bright as this.

It seemed like there were people everywhere. Cars honked and people bustled along crosswalks. Even at midnight the city was busy. I guess the saying "the city never sleeps" is true.

I feel the car come to a stop, despite my eyes being shut. My mom pulls the keys out of the ignition, her face solemn as she does so. "Our new home!" She says as cheerfully as she can muster. A tall building, with many windows and ladders scaling the side like a big green snake. It's brick, and the roof is flat. "We're on the 3rd floor right?" I ask sleepily. She nods, and pops open the trunk. We have our suitcases full of meager clothing, our moving truck supposed to come in the morning with everything else.

"Take these." My mother tosses me a duffel bag and a smaller away bag full of toiletries judging by the clink it makes when I catch it. I walk into the main doors, and I trudge up the steps until I reach floor 3. I was way too sleepy to look for an elevator. I stick my house key into the door, and open her up. I cough at the smell of dust. Sluggishly I lay out a sleeping bag on the ground, and throw my pillow on it. I fall into the makeshift bed and fall asleep immediately, not even noticing the door that's slipping open behind me.

I hear a creak of floorboards. The sound of someone's footsteps fills my ears. I open my eyes and sit up, expecting my mother. Instead I see a girl in grey sweatpants and a band tee shirt, with dirty blonde , standing in the doorway. "WHAT THE HECK!" I yell, and she seems startled. "Oh you're awake! Do you, live here? I thought you might be trying to trespassing. I've never seen you around here." I look at her, confused. "No, I just moved here. My mom is bringing the rest of our stuff, I just fell asleep. Now could you please get out?" She smirks and throws her hands in the air. "Ok! Ok, well I guess I'll see you in the morning or whatever." She backs out of the apartment and shuts the door. I roll my eyes, and lay back down.

I wake up back on the cold floor, my back aching. I roll over and open my eyes, to see my mom sleeping next to me in her own sleeping bag.

I stretch a bit and get up. I get a better look around the apartment as well. A kitchen with cabinets and a countertop bar area directly left of the door, past that some large windows with an open space. I turn to the right of me to see a short hallway, with one small bedroom on the left, a larger one on the right, and a bathroom in between them at the end of the hallway. I go back into the main living space, to see my mom and I have settled our sleeping bags to the right of the door. I also notice the bag of food sitting in the counter. My mom must have brought it in.

I pour myself a bowl of cereal, using the milk in the fridge. I sit on the ground and eat, whilst scrolling my phone. I hear my mom stirring.

"Hey mom! Good morning." She nods at me and gets up, opening the fridge. "Not much food, huh?" I return the nod. "I'm gonna go out and get coffee and some groceries. Is that ok? I give her a thumbs up, my eyes trained on the phone screen. "Well, I guess that's a yes from you. I'm gonna get dressed."

Mom leaves, and put on some clothes. I slip on Gray sweatpants, a blue baggy shirt and I put my hair into a ponytail. I pop headphones into my ears and locate the broom in the corner, starting to sweet and listen to music.

I sweep the living room area, and hallway, and I'm about to go sweep my bedroom when I hear a knock. I take my headphones out and open the door, only to see little miss stalker. "Hey, can I come in or am I trespassing?"

I roll my eyes. "Trespassing, yes, but I suppose I'll allow it. She walks in, her hand remaining in her green hoodie pockets. Her hair is wavy, and it rests easily on her shoulders. She's wearing black sweats and adidas slides.

"Sorry for coming in on you like that last night, I just wanted to make sure you weren't- ya know." I nod. "It's no problem, really. I was just confused." The girl smiled and walked over to observe the windows before turning around. "Oh! Right, I forgot. I'm Clara." She said. I gave her a small smile. "Georgia."

I watched her leave. I had never seen anyone with eyes greener than hers. I felt my heart speed up a bit. "This is stupid!" I said aloud in panic. Why was she allowed to make me all flustered like that? I got back to sweeping, trying to use the music to drown out my feelings.