J A D E N was pissed, not just because of the fact that he got detention again, but because his mom was forcing him to have dinner with his new neighbors tonight.

A family recently moved into the house next to Jaden's. They had a little daughter, who seemed to be just about Jaden's age.

He finally made to their front porch, following his mother behind. The grumpy eight year old climbed up the little stairs and folded his arms tightly together.

A small woman opened the door, her dark brown hair made into a bun and her hands covered with flour.

She had freckles covering her nose and a soft smile playing on her face. She looked to be about in her

late 20's.

"Hey Mrs. Carter!" She said, signing them to come in. "Still cooking?" Jaden's mom chuckled.

"Yeah."

"Who's that little boy behind you?" She exclaimed in awe. Jaden hated being called a little boy. He was big, strong and tough.

Jaden's mom elbowed him to wave at her. He sighed and waved, trying not to cause any trouble.

"What's you name?" Mrs. Grant cooed. Jaden hated it but didn't say anything. "He's Jaden." Mrs. Carter nervously answered for him.

She was disappointed at the fact that Jaden made no little effort to impress their new neighbors.

Levy Grant and Anna Carter has been very good friends since they were little. It was very upsetting to Anna when Levy decided to leave her hometown to attend college.

"Such a big boy name you have there." Mrs. Grant jokingly giggled. Jaden frowned at how she was treating him like a baby.

"So where's your little girl?" Mrs. Carter questioned looking around the huge living room.

"She's probably upstairs." Mrs. Grant responded with a shrug. "You guys take a seat, I'll go get her." She added.

Before she could head upstairs, Mrs. Carter Stopped her. "Why don't you get cleaned up first? Jaden can go get her. Right Jaden?"

Mrs. Grant nodded and left for the kitchen. Jaden blankly stared at his mom. "Jaden..." his mom started. With a growl he headed towards the staircase.

"It's the 3rd room to the right!" Mrs. Grant shouted from the kitchen, informing Jaden.

Jaden rolled his light green eyes and climbed up the huge staircase. It wasn't as big as his own but it was still pretty big.

This whole neighborhood screamed rich. It was pretty big compared to all the other neighborhoods around.

Jaden's house was right next to theirs. Both had very big windows and huge chandeliers hanging around everywhere.

After what seemed like an hours he finally reached the top floor. He pushed open the huge door in front of him and a slight gasp escaped

his mouth.

A young girl was standing in front of him with a book on her hand. Jaden sucked on the air around him as his eyes went wide.

The girl was wearing all white with a white ribbon tied around her light wavy brown hair. She looked so innocent and peaceful.

She had rosy pink cheeks and plump lips. Her eyes were the prettiest Jaden had ever seen. It was a light shade of brown. It was filled with mystery and innocence.

He continued to stare at the young girl in front him, her eyes still on the book. She snapped up at the boy staring at her and let out an adorable little squeal.

Jaden looked so tall compared to her. She gazed him with confusion. She neatly set the book on top of her nightstand and glared at him.

"W-who are you?" She scrunched her eyebrows together. She didn't like how the boy was staring at her. It was very intimidating.

"Jaden." He breathed. It's almost like he was nervous. He didn't like that. He's never nervous.

He stepped closer to her as she narrowed her eyes, watching his every step. Jaden quickly took a glimpse of the book she was reading and soon a frown took over his face.

It was one of those elephant and piggy books. It was very lame and baby like. "You can't read that." He huffed.

"But w-why?" The girl quietly asked. That was her favorite book. She loved reading them all the time.

"It's for baby's." Jaden giggled. She didn't like how he was judging her. It made her frown even more.

"I'm not a baby." She pouted. "You are!" Jaden teased.

"No I'm a big girl!" She exclaimed crossing her arms. She was very mad at Jaden for making fun of her.

"No you're not! Only baby's read those books." Jaden chuckled.

"N-no." She shuttered. She almost wanted to cry. She hated being called a little girl. It brings all the bad memories back.

A sob escaped her lips and a tears dropped down her cheeks. "I don't like you!" She shouted before running down the stairs.

Jaden stood there confused, not knowing what he had done.

"I didn't even do anything." Jaden huffed before slowly tiptoeing down the stairs. Worried that his mom will be mad at him.

"Jaden?..."Mrs. Carter sighed. She looked very disappointed. Jaden could see the girl hugging her mom tightly. "What did you do?" Mrs. Carter asked with a serious tone.

"Nothing." Jaden simply answered.

"No momma, he made fun of me!" The girl cried. "It's ok Lily, don't cry." Her mom reassured her.

Lily?

"That wasn't nice Jaden." His mother sighed. "We'll talk about this later, go say sorry to Lily."

"But she's crybaby." Jaden shook his head. They all stared at him not liking his tone. "Jaden!" His mom raised her voice.

"Hey Anna, it's alright. She'll be just fine. Lily can get a bit sensitive sometimes." Mrs. Grant nervously chuckled trying to ignore Jaden's poor behavior.

"I'm sorry... Lily." He quietly apologized.

The dinner was a bit quite after the mess Jaden created. Lily didn't dare to look up at Jaden. He looked quite scary staring at her.

"So when is she attending school?" Mrs. Carter asked trying to bring out a conversation.

Lily looked up at her mom thinking the same thing. "She's actually gonna be homeschooled." Mrs. Grant firmly stated. She seemed very serious.

Jaden watched Lily play with her food. She looked sad. He hoped he wasn't the reason why. Jaden's eyes where on Lily the whole time. It was even more surprising to himself than Lily.

"Oh why's that?" Mrs. Carter asked. "Just some reasons." Levy turned her down. Mrs. Carter was surprised with the tone of her voice.

Why is she being homeschooled? Does that mean I won't see her anymore?

What am I even saying, I live two feet away from her.

I'll see her everyday!

She's the girl next door.

•••

Thanks for reading.