The Way it Goes

Chapter 2- Who is this?

"Hi, I'm Lou." I say.

"Hi. We're your new neighbors from just down the road. I'm Steven and this is my son William." He replies.

You've got to be kidding me. Sure enough, Will is standing there with wide eyes, which like mine, are also bloodshot. I'm so happy I have on my ducky sweats! Not.

"We've met." I respond embarrassed and wanting to crawl under a rock.

"Oh, that's great! Maybe you could show Will around the neighborhood sometime. The move has been hard for him." Steven responds with a sad look in his eyes.

"Ummm, sure, I guess." I tell him, secretly jumping for joy.

"Well we better be going. Oh I almost forgot, these are for you." Will's dad said as he hands me a plate of cookies.

"Thank you, they look delicious!" I reply, even though they look slightly burnt.

"Bye!" I end the conversation a little too enthusiastically. Steven waves but Will doesn't even turn around. Whatever, I can be that way too.

I spend most of the day watching The Simpsons marathon and doze off here and there. I have multiple texts from Leah, but I don't feel like talking today. I'll explain everything tomorrow. Finally at eleven at night I drag myself up the stairs to my room. After awhile I can't fall asleep so I crawl out onto the roof outside my window. I love it there. It's the place I go to think about the good things, like what my life was like before, well, you know. I had lots of friends, Kim, Andy, Kylie, Nicole, and of course Leah. After my dad got in the crash they didn't know how to treat me and faded away. Leah stood by my side though. She helped me realize all the good things I did have. First of all a great best friend, a family who loved me no matter what, and a roof over my head. We used to talk about all that on my little slice of paradise, but haven't in quite awhile. I must doze off because I wake up to sun in my eyes. When I check my phone I see the time is 5:48 in the morning, time to get ready for school. As soon as I step out the door I see Leah on my front step.

"Hi, I figured something was up since you weren't answering my texts sooo, talk." She said.
"It was my dad. His heart rate dropped last night but he's stable now. I went to go see him. I just wasn't in the mood to talk." I respond as I kick at a stone.

"I'm so sorry, Lou. You can talk to me anytime you know." She replied as she pulled me into a hug.

"About that... Guess who lives next door." I say. Leah looks at me quizzically.

"Will!" I blurt out, not being able to contain myself any longer.

"Oh. My. Gosh. How do you know?" She excitedly asks.

"He and his dad stopped by to introduce themselves." I respond with a huge smile on my face.

"Oh yeah, his dad also asked me to show Will around!" I tell Leah, my smile growing by the second.

"What?! That's great Lou! Someone's got a crush." She draws out the word as she says it.

I playfully punch her in the arm but can't stop the smile that spreads across my face.
When I get to school and head to AP History class Will is sitting on the opposite side of the room. Great. At the end of class I have to talk to him to set up a time for the town tour. When the bell rings I eagerly walk over to him.

"Hi" I say, "I was wondering when you wanted me to show you around." He looks up at me with an annoyed look.

"I don't need showing around." He responds.

Fine, if he wants to be a jerk so will I.

"Well your dad said you do, so I'll see you after school at four." I shoot back.

"Fine." He says. I walk out of the room without another word.

The day seems to zip by because all I'm thinking about is seeing Will after school. When the day ends I rush home and check to make sure I look ok. It probably won't matter anyway though, because he doesn't seem to notice or care. It's four o'clock and there's no sign of Will. At four thirty I give up. I am so done with this kid. I change into my nice sweats just in case and throw in a pizza. After eating I head to my room and text Leah about how he didn't show. After no response I close my eyes and dream. I wake up again at 11 and head out on my roof with a blanket. I lie down and look at the stars. Around a half hour later I hear a shuffling below me. Footsteps, definitely footsteps. I freeze and lie super still until a figure appears beside me.

"Lou is that you?" A voice says. I know that voice. Will.

"No, I'm just a random stranger lying on top of some house. Yes it's Lou," I angrily reply.

He stands me up and now decides to talk? "Jeez, somebody isn't acting very welcoming." He responds with a teasing tone.

"Says the one who didn't show up and has been acting like a complete jerk." I say, through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, that's what I came up here to talk about" he says, "I seen you come up here last night so I figured maybe you'd be here again. I had some stuff come up after school."

I stare him down. "What stuff?" He stares back.

"Nothing you need to know. Ya know what? Whatever, bye." Not this again.

"Wait, I'm sorry, it's just you haven't been the nicest so I just thought..."

He cuts me off. "It's okay, I know, I'm the one who should be apologizing. There's just been some family issues going on and I kinda closed myself off." He says, I could swear I seen a tear, but it is dark out so it probably was nothing.

"I know what that's like." I mumble.

"What?" He asks.

"Nothing." I quickly respond, not believing I said that out loud.

"Well, I better get going." He says as he gets up.

I never even realized he sat next to me. "See you tomorrow?" He asks with a small grin.

"Definitely." I respond with a smile. I watch him run home and then crawl back inside and fall asleep thinking of Will.
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Hey guys! What do you think of this chapter? Things are just starting between Lou and Will but let me tell you, you're in for a heck of a ride! Pleaseeee vote this chapter!!! Until next time, Love You Guys!!!❤️❤️❤️