🅸'🅻🅻 🅱🅴 🆃🅷🅴🆁🅴 🅵🅾🆁 🆈🅾🆄 {ERIC MATTHEWS}

S1 E1. The One With The New Neighbor

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷IT WAS NINE YEARS AGO, he remembers. He'd seen the 'for sale' sign in front of the house next door get taken down in the morning before school, and when he got back, there were moving trucks lining the sidewalk. 

Normally, Eric was one to play outside. His baby brother wasn't really old enough to accompany him, but he didn't mind playing on his own. He could spend hours amusing himself only by tossing up a baseball and catching it in his little plastic training glove. On this day day he couldn't bring himself to tear his line of sight from all the furniture and belongings of his new neighbors being hurried inside. If he weren't only seven at the time, he'd have half a mind to go over and help. 

At one point he found himself standing in the middle of the street, watching as item by item, the trucks started to empty. From what he could tell, the neighbors had three TVs, an old fashioned looking radio, and a giant couch that he bet could fit ten people if they tried. He got so caught up in his nosy behavior that he almost completely zoned out, momentarily ignoring the harsh honking sound from behind him. He jumped in his place when he finally realized what was happening, and rushed back onto the sidewalk. 

The car pulled in behind the big truck, and he nearly face-palmed. Those were the new neighbors, and he'd argue he made quite the first impression. The first one to step out of the car was a woman, about his mother's age, maybe older. She was pretty, long hair and kind eyes, and  a cigarette hanging loosely between her lips. Her demeanor immediately told him she was peeved at something, perhaps even him for getting in the way of the car. 

The second one out was a man, tall and broad and very strong looking. He looked as though he could singlehandedly carry that big couch Eric saw earlier. The tall man curved around to the backseat of the car, closest to the sidewalk, and opened the door. Spilling out came a girl, maybe six or seven, clutching tightly to a bright red felted teddy bear, more than half her size. The other arm hooked around three coloring books and the crayons to go with them. As soon as she had her bearing, her father closed the door behind her. She seemed to be having trouble carrying her small belongings, and though Eric knew he wasn't strong enough to carry something like a couch, he figured he could help with some coloring books and crayons. 

He ran up to the girl on the sidewalk and tapped her on the shoulder. She didn't turn around immediately, but when she did, she smiled. 

"Hi, I saw your stuff and was wondering if you needed help," he pointed to the coloring books. She looked like she was contemplating it for a second before she gave in.

"Sure," and soon Eric was met with a plushy red teddy being shoved towards his face. He didn't mind, only laughed and followed after her when she turned towards the walkway to the house. 

When they reached the doorstep she stopped, turning around and taking her bear back and putting it on the ground right inside the doorway. Her parents had long since gone inside, probably settling some adult things with the movers that helped them. Eric was confused, but stood still, awaiting her to talk to him or even give further instructions. 

"You can't come in yet, my mom says not to bring strangers in the house," she was brutally honest, but then again, so are all young children. They couldn't possibly care about something called feelings. Not that Eric thought anything of it, he understood the rule, as it applied to him, too. 

"Well, I'm not really a stranger," he reasoned, looking between the inside of her house and to the front porch of his. "I live right next door. We're neighbors now."

She leaned out the doorway and followed his pointed hand, seeing the sweet looking house next door and thinking that maybe he was right, they weren't strangers after all.