The Other Side

Chapter 3

"Look, I think they're just looking for somewhere quiet to live too. Anne and Joe said they'd had trouble at the last place as a lot of people knew where they lived, and it was too much for them. I'm sure they'll keep low profiles and it'll blow over and be old news soon." Mum pats my back.

That's true, I hadn't thought of it like that. Trends come and go, and soon One Direction will be 'Which Direction?' when no one remembers them. So I just had to ignore it for now and not get suspended again.

"Feel better?" Mum asks, noticing my change in mood immediately.

"Yeah," I nod. "But I'm still not leaving my room until One Direction Infection is over."

Mum just shakes her head with a smile and walks out, but it's not long until I follow her out there. I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving. I do spend the rest of the day indoors, but in a considerably better mood than this morning.

Friday morning I'm up early, and I decide to go for a jog. It's really quiet around our area, and not that built up. I jog for about an hour, and get home just before nine. As I'm walking into my yard, some random guy comes up to me.

"You live here?" he asks, motioning to my house.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" I retort, slowing down a bit.

"What can you tell us about Harry Styles?" he says. "Have you noticed any girls around? What he gets up to on a daily basis?"

"What? Get lost!" I demand, going in my yard and shutting the front gate. My parents have already headed off for work, but I'll happily call the police if he doesn't leave.

"If you give us some good information, some good pictures, we'll pay you!" the creep calls out.

I ignore him and jog down my driveway, getting into the house and locking myself in there. Ok, so as if the crazed girls at my school weren't enough to worry about, I now need to steer clear of the paparazzi outside my own home. This 'Harry for a neighbour' thing wasn't looking any better.

After I've showered and gotten dressed, I take a chance and venture outside. I can't stay locked indoors forever. There's no one outside my place that I can see. I head for my banana lounge and lay down. I promise myself today no matter what happens I'll stay out here. I'm not going to be a prisoner in my own home just because I'm scared of seeing Harry Styles in my backyard.

Half an hour goes by, and there's finally some movement next door. Someone - I can only assume it's Harry - comes out, sporting shorts and no shirt. I try to concentrate on my book, but my eyes sneak up and glance at him every now and then. There doesn't seem to be any point of him being in the yard. He randomly wanders around or just sits on the outdoor bench, sunning himself.

His strange habits continue for the entire day, and I ignore him as best I can. I don't want to draw attention to myself, and I don't want to capture his attention. I tell my parents about this tonight, and they laugh me off, telling me I'm paranoid. He's just a regular kid wanting some relaxing time is what they tell me. When I tell them about my paparazzi attack this morning they say it's unfortunate but it should settle down. No help.

Saturday I go for a run again, not being bothered by the paparazzi this time, which I'm grateful for. Again I shower, eat, and then go read a book in the yard, because it's my favourite place to be. And again, Harry comes out shirtless to hang out in his yard. At one stage he washes the car that's there, and I swear if he could turn the scene slow motion he would.

"Hey!" I hear someone call out. And I startle myself, I must have dozed off. I ignore it, trying to keep my nose out of my neighbours' business. "Excuse me, girl reading book!"

I bring my book down and peer over the book, noticing that Harry is standing at the fence line, staring in my direction.

"Yes, you!" he says with a laugh.

I take a deep breath and lay my book down, wandering over lazily. "Yeah?" I say once I'm there, and I know it's rude, but I can't help it.

"I'm Harry, your new neighbour," he says, extending his hand to me.

"No joke!" I shoot back sarcastically.

Harry just grins, not affected by my sharp tone in the slightest. "I just wanted to say hi."

"Hi," I say, my voice flat.

"Did I do something in the zero times we've talked before to upset you?" he asks.

I drop my left hip and fold my arms, something I do when I'm annoyed. "No, it's all fine and dandy," is my sarcastic reply. "But your little paparazzi friend was real great to meet yesterday."

Harry groans. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise."

"Oh, you didn't realise that when you bought a new house that you'd be putting neighbours under paparazzi attack?"

Harry looks taken aback. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry, the paparazzi is the least of my problems," I reply truthfully. "It's the teen girls at my school begging to be my new best friends that's the worst part. Thanks to you I have the choice of any girl at my school to come and hang with me each weekend. Oh and I should also thank you for getting me suspended!" I finish my rant.

"Whoa, ok, don't know where that came from," Harry raises his arms defensively. "I was just trying to be nice and say hi. I didn't realise I'd gotten you into so much trouble by living in a house and doing nothing."

My face knits up, annoyed at his carefree attitude, and it takes  me a minute to respond with, "Well, why'd you have to pick the house next to mine to do nothing in!" And then I storm off.

So now here I am again, locked in my room, wishing I could move far away to Antarctica.