MY NEW NEIGHBOR

Chapter 4

           Not exactly certain why I was so nervous. Deep down I knew that I wanted him to like me, wanted to be normal and have friends and perhaps knowing that I never could and never would was digging at me. I was openly pursuing something that I knew I could never have but maybe... Just maybe... If only for the moment... I could pretend.
         
          So after much promoting from my family, most of it coming from Alicia of course, and a lot of procrastination on my part, I carried his freshly laundered clothes next door. I did that weird tapping knock of mine again, hoping that no one answered, like calling someone and hoping to get their voicemail, "hey I tried to call but you weren't around so really it's your fault that I missed you." Unfortunately, the door opened almost immediately, Mrs. Morrison standing there as if she had been waiting for the knock.

          "Max!" She called as if greeting a friend she hadn't seen since highschool.

          "Hello," I said softly, my voice sounding small. " I was just returning Graham's shirt."

          "Great! Come on in!" She said, reaching out and snagging me by the elbow and pulling me inside, dispelling any hopes I had of escape.

          I followed the stairs to a very different room than yesterday and I'm ashamed to say that I had jumped to conclusions about how it would look when it was done. Missing were the posters and trophies, replaced with a rather creepy collection of porcelain clowns and a triple screened gaming computer.

          Graham was on the bed, texting away on his cell and didn't notice me at first, giving me a chance to study him a bit. He wore athletic shorts and a Chicago Cubs tee that was stretched and faded with time. The muscles of his arms and calves were absurdly visible, rippling underneath his golden skin with each movement. Suddenly as if he had a feeling that he was being watched, and he was, in a very creepy manner I might add, he looked up, locking eyes with me, his lips turning up at the corners to reveal an overly devilish grin.

          "What's up bro?" He called, waving me inside.

          I stepped through the threshold and held his clothes up. "Just brought your clothes back. I kinda cleptoed them yesterday."

          He laughed that easy, slightly musical laugh that left no doubt in my mind that he had spent his entire life being popular. He took the clothes with thanks but strangely enough, didn't make any move to return my own.

          "You uh, got everything moved in?"

          "Yeah!" He explained excited, pointing out the computer and Xbox. He was a total gamer apparently and I wondered if I would ever learn to stop judging him off of the stereotype that I had set on him. "Well?"

          My mind had wondered off but gears were slowly turning, playing catch up. I turned to look at him, cheeks flushing, and asked, "what?"

          Graham gave me a goofy, lopsided grin that I liked better than his feral, sharp toothed one. It seemed more personal, like he didn't share it with everyone. "I asked what you do for fun," 

          "Oh, well... Uh," I stammered, briefly considering lying to make myself seem more interesting but quickly vetoed that idea. I wasn't good at it and underneath those piercing eyes of his, I had no doubt he would see right through anything I could concoct. " I read a lot... And I draw."

          Somehow I found myself talking about... Well, myself... Again! He had a strangely deceptive way of leading conversations in whatever way he wanted them to go without seeming pushy and I found myself thinking that he was dangerous. Maybe not punch you in the face dangerous, though his knuckles looked as if he might be good at doing that too, but definitely not the type of person someone would want as an adversary. He seemed to be able to talk you into something, convincing you that it was all your idea before it was over.

          At some point I ended up on his bed, close enough to make me nervous, to where I could smell his shampoo, feel the heat of his body. Every time he moved, I could feel the bed tilt and leaned away to avoid accidentally pressing our thighs together. He was in mid-sentence when his hand darted out suddenly, brushing the hair from my face.

          "You weren't wearing glasses yesterday," he said, cocking his head to the side like an intrigued puppy.

          "What? Oh,no," I responded, "contacts. I don't wear my glasses all the time." 

          "You should."

          I didn't know what to say to that, averting my eyes to keep him from seeing my burning cheeks, only to have them land on his little clock. Four twenty six? Had it really been four hours? I jumped up so quickly that it startled him.

          "I've got to go!"

          Graham hopped up behind me. "Go? Why? Did I do something?"

         That gave me pause and I turned to look at him. His face was twisted up in concern and I'm not accustomed to calling boys cute so I'll simply say more human. 

          "Oh, no. Nothing." I said quickly, dispelling any fear he had of causing me insult. Once again I debated on lying but decided against it. He would find out eventually anyways. "I've got dance class at five thirty."

          He looked more relieved than surprised. "Oh okay, cool. See you tomorrow"