Friendly Neighbors

01. New town, New people

THE HOUSE WAS small, white, had a red door, and a white picket fence running along the sides of the house. Theo Bennett stared at the new house, marveling as he let out a sigh. "This is perfect."

"Bull," Nathan Jung scoffed, standing beside his friend. "You call this dump perfect?" The Korean kid asked, pointing to the house with disgust. "This looks like a bigger version of my dog's house." Nathan deprecated the white house further with a snarl.

"Bro, this was all I could afford – the rent is seriously just $400 a month. Could we just - pity me and just appreciate the house." Theo defended himself, staring at the house in front of him. Okay, so the house wasn't perfect - let's be honest, the house was crap. It was small - too small. Sure, the house was white but the color was also chipping at every nook and cranny and there were some parts where it looked more yellow than white. The red door - it looked like a monster threw up a disgusting greenish-brown color, which just so happened to stain the lower half of the assumedly red door. Also, the white picket fence was pretty much falling apart. "Okay, so it isn't perfect."

"Nah, this house is a much bigger and crappier version of my dog's house," Nathan commented, sipping his Capri Sun as he lifted up his sunglasses. "Congratulations, though, Theo. This is the first house that you're renting with your own money." He said with a smile, clapping his hands on the back of his friend's back.

"I probably should've just stayed at my parents' house, right?" Theo asked, pressing his lips into a thin line as he grimaced. Just one week ago, he had a stable job at an IT company working in customer service, a beautiful girlfriend of five years, and a home to live in happily. But that was last week. Now, it's a new week and he is unemployed, single, and living in a small house he now must call home. How did his life turn upside down in a matter of a few days?

"Yeah, you probably should've stayed there." Nathan immediately agreed, nodding. "But hey! New house, new town, new neighbors, new job, maybe a new girlfriend?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Speaking of new neighbors, have you met any of them?" The raven-haired boy scoped the houses sitting on either side of Theo's new home and grimaced. "Okay, so that house looks like it's been deserted for years ... and also looks like there might've been a murder. And that house," Nathan pointed from a dark, dingy house on the right of Theo's to a clean, white house on the left of Theo's home. "Looks like it might just have a really nice owner. Look, there's a garden there, too. A girl definitely lives there."

Theo gave his friend a look and sighed, shaking his head. "Nathan, I'm not here to get a new girlfriend. I'm here because my ex-girlfriend of five years dumped me for another guy and I lived with my parents, which makes me pathetic." He clarified, closing the trunk of his car. "I'm here to start fresh, live in a new environment on my own, and just ... I don't know, just start anew? And I've already made my decision, I'm done with relationships. I'm done with girls, I'm just going to become a nun and just vow a life of ... celibacy. I should learn how to cook or knit." Theo shrugged, walking up to the house.

Nathan took a long sip of his Capri Sun and scoffed. "You might as well just date Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart. And besides, women are nuns whilst men are monks."

"Says the oh-so-mature twenty four-year-old grown up drinking Capri Sun," Theo said, giving his friend a look.

Nathan finished his drink and crushed it in his hands. "Okay, Theo, first of all - no one is ever too old to drink Capri Sun. Ever. And I'll have you know, this is the Capri Sun Super V - it's the fruit and vegetable juice drink. That's healthy stuff. Would you rather have me drink some Diet Coke and die early than drink this healthy and wonderfully delightful fruit and vegetable drink?"

"Okay, I get the point." Theo backed down as he laughed, taking out the key to his new house. "Ready? I promise the inside is a little better than the outside. Don't judge a book by its cover."

"Bro, I can already tell the inside is going to be better than the outside. It can't get any worse than this," He said, pointing to the broken fence door. "And Theo, I'm Asian, we judge everything - it's in our blood."

Just before Theo unlocked the door to his new house, the two boys heard a loud thud from beside them. They looked over to see a girl poking her head out from the white house on his left. The mysterious girl had on a hat that covered almost all of her face. Theo leaned over to get a good look at her and he put on a smile. "Hi, I just moved in right next door. My name's The--" The girl immediately slammed the door and that was that. She was gone. "--o."

"That went well," Nathan stated with a sigh. "Maybe she's shy?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Dude, your neighbor's a freak."

"Like I said, I'm done with relationships." Theo shook his head and unlocked the door to his new house. "Well, welcome to my humble domain, Nathan Jung." He opened the door and smiled brightly.

Nathan gave the house a quick look and smiled meekly at his friend. "I see a dead rat in there. Theo, I love you, man. You're so brave. Look, I'd love to stay and chat some more and help you move your things but Jenny's waiting for me at the cafe. I gotta go, stay strong, Theo." He said, patting his friend's back before running off.

"I need a new friend while I'm at it," Theo stated and sighed once he caught sight of the dead rat. "Oh my god." He pinched his nose and grabbed his duffel bag. He cast the white house one last look before going inside. The door slammed behind him and he let out a scream when a spider crawled out of the rat.

This was going to be a rough day.

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THEO SIGHED OUT as he collapsed down on his bed, moaning and groaning from all the hard work he has accomplished in so little time. He didn't have a lot of furniture, really. He had a two-person couch, a small tv and a coffee table which he set in the living room. He had one box full of kitchen utensils his mother had bought and packed for him. All his clothes were in one big duffel bag and he placed his twin sized mattress on the floor in his cramped bedroom. Looking around the room, Theo realized he could only walk so many steps before he hit a wall – four steps, to be exact.

"Was this a good idea?" He asked himself, staring up at the ceiling. "No, Theo, stop second-guessing yourself. This is a great idea – you're twenty-four and you finally have your own house ... even if it's a rent." His encouragement speech ended promptly as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Well, the rent is cheap, so look on the bright side, Theo Bennett!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands as he sat up on the mattress. "I need some air."

The brown-haired boy got up and walked over to the window, pushing it open and poking his head out. He had a perfect view of the big moon shining down on him and smiled. "Well, at least the view's great." Appreciating nature's night sky, Theo finally found some peace and calm in his world. "Things are definitely looking up." He muttered, catching sight of a shooting star. "Oh! I should take a video of this." Quickly pulling out his phone, he tried to take a video of the shooting star but frowned for he had missed it. "Damn it,"

Clank!

Theo snapped his head towards the sound in shock to see a dark silhouette of a girl dressed in an oversized knit cardigan and a black hat covering a majority of her face. "Oh, hey ..." He whispered and leaned out of the window, looking over. She was watering her flowers. "That's nice—wait." Theo leaned away from the window, taking a few steps away as he checked his phone. "But it's almost eleven p.m."

Furrowing his eyebrows, he stepped up to the window and poked his head out. "Uh, hi." He announced himself with an amicable smile playing at his lips. "We met earlier but I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm The—"

The girl gasped and instantly dropped her watering can, running into her house and locking it shut.

"--o." Theo finished awkwardly. "I'm Theo and you're gone ... again." He sighed and leaned out, closing his window. "It's two syllables and she can't stay long enough to hear my name?" He muttered under his breath, clearly embarrassed and upset. "What's her problem?" He asked himself, wondering why his neighbor was wearing a hat that covered a majority of her face, wondering why she ran back inside every time he tried to talk to her, and wondering why she would be watering her plants at this hour of the night.

Walking into his bathroom, he grabbed out his toothbrush. "Who is she?"

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