Cliché (Player Next Door Spinoff)

| 03 | New Housemate

How are we on chapter 3 and @itsdestinywrites has ALREADY made the most AMAZING TRAILER for this series???  I'm stunned!!  

Chapter 03: New Housemate

I hadn't been able to concentrate for even a minute during the first half of this movie.

From the moment the lights went down, my mind kept going back to the movie playing out at home. Austin Taylor was staying with us for the summer.

Get over yourself Lara. It's not a big deal.

It is a big deal.

I reached over to scoop a handful of salty popcorn from the bucket Will and I were sharing between us.

Our fingers scraped as he went for it at the same time. We both grabbed a handful and looked at one another as we stuffed it into our mouths.

Do I tell him about my new housemate?

How do you even describe Austin?

A warm, bubbly personality inside a gorgeous body.

Or maybe he's nothing like I remembered him to be. I used to idolize him, but I was just a kid then, and he had that older, 'can-do-no-wrong-because-I'm-naïve' vibe.

He's probably arrogant now. All that hotness gone to his head.  

"Get over it," I muttered to myself, staring up at the big screen.

"What?" Will asked, mouth still full of popcorn.

"Nothing," I shrugged my shoulders and slid further down the leather couch.

I needed to pull myself together.

**

It was dark by the time Will drove us back to my house. Our beach home was perched atop a small hill with panoramic views of the coastline beneath. We had one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood and the old stone feel always reminded me of a bygone era that was the gilded age. 

The soft glow of ambient lighting dotted the house and gardens, giving it a warmth in the summer night.

His car rolled to a stop and I pushed the door open, waving him goodbye.

"Are we going to talk about the guy in your house?" Will asked, lighting up a cigarette as he rolled down a window.

I froze.

"You think I didn't see you staring at him walking by, blushing next to him and behaving weirdly at the movies tonight?"

I leaned over and grabbed the cigarette from his fingers, inhaling it myself.

"He's just a family friend staying with us this summer. I had no idea he was planning to stay, so it took me by surprise," I said, handing the cigarette back.

Will took a puff and blew smoke out the window, rolling his eyes at me. He didn't believe me. 

I caved, "OK, and I used to have the tiniest, little crush on him."

He laughed and revved up the engine, "That's all I needed to hear. Night Lara."

I sighed, knowing he was going to mock me for it all summer now. I slammed the door shut, "Night Will."

As Will drove off, I walked through the garden towards the front door. The fountain was always relaxing at night, with the gentle sounds of water trickling down stone. The soft rustle of the leaves in the garden intermingled with the tranquil sounds of water.

The house was quiet when I walked in. I expected as much. My dad and little sister were already asleep. I heard the TV in the living room and figured my mom was watching it as part of her night time routine.

I took a turn for the kitchen, pushing the door open.

The dishwasher was running from this evening's dinner. A half-eaten apple pie had was covered on a glass cake stand.

But the sight that stopped me was of the two people in the kitchen.

My older sister Harlow and Austin.  Too close for comfort. 

A/N: Dun, dun, duuun. Next chapter already up ->

☆ Please vote! ☆