"Hey!" The guy who had been talking to Mr Arrogant was Kyle. He walked up to us, either not sensing the tension or deciding to ignore it.

      "Annie, right?" I couldn't hold back the glare that I shot him. I was feeling a lot of emotions right now. Anger, hurt, confusion, hatred.

      Anger, hurt and confusion, all directed towards Jace. Same anger and then, hatred, at taat asshole that just moved next door. Everyon  of them just kept staring at me, maybe anticipating my next action because I was so sure my face was mirroring the strongest of those emotions; anger.

      Take a deep breath. I remembered my mom used to tell me this.
To hell with that thought! She had no right to tell me what to do. Not even in my head! Oh my God! I was losing my mind.

      The only person that didn't seem to look scared of my expression was that asshole. He just had a bored look on his face.

      I turned to look at Jace who had staryed scuffing his sneakers on the floor, with his head down. When I spoke, he looked up.

      "Do you care to explain what the hell you're doing here and why the fuck you're ignoring me?"

      "Pretty colorful." I heard Mr Arrogant say as he began to walk towards the car parked outside.

      "Can't recall asking for your contribution." I retorted.  He opened his mouth to speak again but Chloe's voice rang through.

      "Annie!" She ran up to me. When she got close to me, she whispered, "That's my neighbor. Told you he was hotter than Nick Jonas." Sometimes, I just wished I could strangle Chloe. At times like this, she deserves an award for the worst best friend ever. To get this straight, Chloe was bad at whispering. She was horrible at it.

      I heard the asshole snort behind me. "Pig." I muttered. Pun definitely intended. Kyle went behind him, shooting me an unsure look. I don't blame him; after all, I shot him that glare. Chloe already saw Jace and was talking to him, completely oblivious to what just happened. He wasn't giving her proper responses. He only nodded and shook his head in reply. It was obvious that I was the one he had a problem with, though. He walked to the car without giving me a second glance and Chloe's hot neighbor followed. They got into the car and Jace drove.

      "What's wrong?" I was asking if he could drop you off-" She stopped talking and took my face in her hands. "You look so red!" She exclaimed. "That's because I'm mad." I said, louder than necessary. Was she always this oblivious to things like this or was she always pretending?

      "Thanks for today." I told her quickly. "I'll go from here." I walked to the bus stop and sat down. As much as I hated to listen to what my mom said, I took a deep breath. Did it work? No, it didn't and I fucking hated that I listened to her!

      When I got home, Dad wasn't back yet. I went straight to my room and got into the shower.

      Since mom left, anger had been one of my biggest problem, and the hardest emotion to control. I had appointments with a psychologist for about a year and when it looked like it wasn't working, I stopped. My psychologist had always told me to let my feelings out, even if no one was around to listen. She bought me a journal as a gift and also a voice recorder so that I wouldn't feel crazy talking to myself. Dad was almost never around and even though he was, I wouldn't want to bother him. He already had enough stress from work.

      I got out of the shower and dried myself. My windows were shut and the curtains stayed in their place. One had to be careful especially when they had a guy as a next-window neighbor. I heard the doorbell and I hurriedly threw on a tank top and my pajama pants.

      I opened the door to reveal- "Nicole McLane from next door", she said, gesturing towards their house, a nervous smile displayed on her face. "Is there anything I can help you with?" I offered, smiling back at her.

      "I was wondering if you could help keep an eye on my little son." She said, unsure. "That's if you're okay with it." She added nervously. There was a pleading look to her eyes and her voice was laced with worry. I went over it in my head. I didn't think I could do it. Not when Mr. Arrogant lived there.

      "Jamie got into trouble." She piped up, sensing my discomfort. Good. Not because he got into trouble. I don't care. Good that he wasn't going to be around. "Okay, give me a second." I said, smiling at her. She looked so relieved at my response. "Thank you so much, Sweetheart. I have to go get my keys too. I'll see you inside." She hurried off and I closed the door. I went back up to my room to throw on a sweatshirt over my tank top, picking up my phone and going out the door.

      Whatever trouble Mr. Arrogant got into, I didn't want to know. He was the kind of person my mom would say to keep away from. Yeah right! If she came back home tomorrow and told me to keep away from him, I'd do the exact opposite even though I hated him, just to spite her. Hate is a strong word, but now I'm not permitted to use it? Even when he is being so horrible?

      He's not the one you're mad at. You're only looking for an excuse to keep you from directing your anger towards Jace. My mom's voice rang in my head again. I didn't want to think about these now.

      I walked up to the McLanes and let myself in. I knew every corner of this house like it was mine. The setting of the living room was definitely different but the house still looked the same to me.

      Nicole came up to me, her bag slung over her shoulder and keys in hand. "We should be back in an hour or two." We? I guess she was referring to her and Jamie. She was going to get him from whatever trouble he got into. I should get out of here before they got back, then. 

      "Please, keep an eye on him. He could cause a lot of trouble too, if he's not being watched." I nodded. "I will."

      "The first room on the left, Nicholas' room. Thank you so much." She gave me a quick hug and hurried outside . I waited till I heard the car go out the driveway before I put the lock on the door. When Chloe lived here, the first room on the left was the guest room , where her cousins stayed when they visited. The room now belonged to Nicholas.

      I climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his room. He lay fast asleep on his bed. Well, this was going to be easy. I put a blanket over him then stepped out of the room and went downstairs. Thankfully, I had books that I could read on e-book format on my phone. My phone lit up with a text from dad. 

      'Got held up @ work. C u 2morrow. Sweet dreams, sweetie!'

       I sighed and dropped my phone. I didn't want to read anymore. I looked around the house, it was neatly arranged. Since the house looked different, I wondered what Chloe's old room would look like, since it was now occupied by a guy. I scrunched my nose up at the thought of him.

      I walked back upstairs and moved down to the other side of the hallway. The door was slightly ajar and I pushed it open slowly. It was neatly arranged; unexpected. But the sheets were ruffled; expected. The room smelled of lavender.

      The strong smell of something stopped me in my tracks. I quickly walked out of the room and headed for Nicholas's room. He wasn't there.I should have known he was pretending. His mom told me he could cause a lot of trouble. I ran as fast as my legs could carry to where the smell was strongest from.

       I saw him, perched up on a stool in the kitchen, he held an iron rod, and an empty can of Nutella put at the tip, over the lit stove. The can had begun to melt. I ran over to him, pulled him away from the stove, in the process, making the hot rod have contact with my arm. I yelped in pain and put off the stove. 

      "What were you thinking?" I scolded. He folded his arm across his chest and looked at me, annoyed that I stopped him from burning down thehouse. I started moving him towards the living room. 

      "Your mom won't be happy when she finds out what you did". I said. He looked up at me, smiling mischievously.

       "Jamie won't be happy either, when he finds what you did". I knew what he meant. He'd caught me snooping.

A/N:

Nicholas causes trouble like his brother, but I love him!! Who else does? 

Ps: I had to do a quick update and so, I'm still contemplating on the ideal song of the chapter.

Pps: I might update on random days for a while. My schedule doesn't leave any time for typing but I'm still trying to fit it in, even if it means typing on the days meant for me to rest.

Xoxo,

Hanie. :*