Look At Me // Jenlisa

1: New Neighbor

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A slamming door jolted Jennie awake. She looked at her phone: 6am. Who the hell would dare wake her up at 6am? She got out of bed and walked to her window. She craned her neck and spotted the same girl from yesterday stretching on her porch. Jennie watched as she moved from one side to the other, loosening the muscles in her legs. After a few minutes, she took off running down the street in her baggy sweats and light gray hoodie. Jennie inhaled deeply, annoyed by the girl who woke her up, yet simultaneously curious about her.

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The next morning Jennie was awoken the exact same way at the exact same time. She threw the covers off her bed and stormed toward the window. She wanted to throw it open and yell at the girl below, but instead, she just watched her once again. This time, she was wearing tight black leggings and a white tank top. The sun wasn't fully up yet, so it was a little dark, but Jennie was able to see more of the girl than she had before. Her arms were toned and those leggings fit her perfectly. Jennie swallowed as she watched the girl stretch and pick out a song on her iPhone. Then, she clipped the iPhone onto her workout pants and took off running once again.

Jennie watched until the girl was no longer in sight, then climbed back into bed. Unfortunately, sleep never found her. She spent the rest of the morning thinking about her mysterious new neighbor.

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Her alarm squealed in her ear at 5:45am the next morning. She slammed her hand down and lay back down, seriously contemplating going back to sleep. But her curiosity outweighed her laziness and she was up and dressed to go running within five minutes.

She paced downstairs by her front door for a few minutes until it was 5:59am. Then she opened the door and slowly walked out. She looked around for the girl, but saw no sign of her. So she started to stretch. Or at least she pretended to. She hadn't worked out in ages and her idea of a stretch was trying to hang a painting or reaching for something on a top shelf. She didn't always have time to work out during the school year. Not that she really needed it. She was proud of her body and knew she was in decent enough shape. But for some reason, she suddenly had the urge to take up running. Hmm...weird.

When the door to the house next door slammed shut, Jennie looked over and saw the girl. This time, she was in blue running shorts and a long sleeve dark green shirt.

Jennie panicked slightly. She had not thought this through. What was she supposed to do? Go up to her and say 'Hi. You run. I run. We run together, yes?'

Shit. Shit. Shit. Jennie was starting to regret this. What did she think would happen? The girl's eyes caught Jennie's and they stared at each other for a moment. Jennie was paralyzed. Say something, Kim. Say something! Anything! Words!

There was nothing but silence. And Jennie wanted to die. The girl watched her carefully for a few more moments, looking her up and down. She then stepped off the porch and nodded at Jennie, signaling her to join her. Jennie nodded back and they both started jogging down the street.

Jennie was proud of herself. She managed to keep the pace with the other brunette. At least for the first five minutes. That's around when her body started betraying her. She fell behind a bit and could tell the girl slowed her pace way down just for Jennie. She pumped her legs as hard as she could to catch up. Jennie didn't want the other girl to change her routine just for her.

They still hadn't spoken a word to each other. The only noise either of them could hear was Jennie's heavy breathing and coughing. She watched as the taller girl looked over her shoulder behind her and gave Jennie a small smile, shook her head and slowed down a bit more so Jennie could catch up.