That Boy Next Door

Chapter 2

It was quiet the next morning as the middle Hale made her way to the bathroom. She felt a little grumpier than usual today. There was a weird feeling in her stomach though she couldn't identify it. In the bathroom, she flipped on the lights and turned toward the mirror.

A little bit more up on the sides. The edges of Dannie's mouth turned up. Maybe a bit more eye crinkle. Or the lifting of the cheeks? No, no. That just makes it look worse, she thought as she gazed at her reflection. Teeth! That was it. Maybe if it she showed the upper row of her teeth, her smile would look less fake. Dannie pulled back her upper lip and flashed a smile at the mirror.

It was all wrong! No matter how she did it, her smile just didn't seem to reach her eyes today. She was just a bit off her game today, the game where she saw how many people she could fool with her reassuring smiles and playful banter.

Sighing, she realized that it was definitely time to go visit the cemetery. She grabbed a notepad and pen before rushing out the front door.

"I'll be back in a bit!" she called to Quinn who was lounging on the couch.

Dannie grabbed her favorite skateboard; the one painted in neon colors, and pushed herself down Tiki Street. It had been a while since she had to go to the cemetery; she thought that she was moving on. Perhaps not, but at least she didn't turn insane from the accident, which she knew could have very well happened. She was lucky to have-

Her thought was cut off as something hit her back, leaving it with an icy feeling. The coldness seeped through her shirt and Dannie reached a hand to cautiously probe her back. It was wet. When she looked at her fingers, they were covered in a clear liquid. Maybe water? Dannie was just about to bring her fingers up to her nose for a whiff when another ball of liquid hit her right shoulder.

Her head snapped towards whatever had thrown the object- a water balloon she noticed now that she looked closely. Her eyes zeroed in on the culprit, or culprits to be exact. Seth, Oliver, and Dexter were laughing, each with a water balloon in their hand. Their laughter stopped for a moment when they caught her gaze but then they ended up howling even louder than before.

Dannie groaned internally with dread when she noticed the bucket of balloons sitting next to them as they stood on their driveway, ready to attack her. She mentally sighed as she realized that all of their parents were off to work since it was Monday after all. Nobody to catch them red handed.

"Attack!" Seth said launching another balloon at Dannie. She brought her skateboard up to protect her and carefully dodged the balloons they threw at her. Being on the softball team for a season sure did pay off she thought swinging her skateboard wildly like a bat. After what seemed like a half a decade, Dannie put her hands on her knees, exhausted from having to play dodge ball with water balloons. The boys seemed to be a little disappointed, as they had run out of balloons and they had barely hit Dannie except for the first two times when they had caught her off guard.

"Out of balloons, boys?" she called out regaining her breath.

"Don't get your hopes up, we have more," Seth called back giving her a lopsided smile.

Dannie rolled her eyes, calling his bluff and pushed herself on her skateboard up the Parker's driveway. They had no more balloons, she reassured herself. "What was that for anyway?"

"Just thought I'd mess with you a bit," he replied coolly.

"No," Dexter protested, "he wanted to get you back for making him look like he peed his pants last night!"

Dannie raised her eyebrows at Seth's immature antics. "Maybe," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. She lifted her fist, thumb out like Lucas had taught her, and punched him in the shoulder.