The Boy Next Door

Chapter 4

A/N: edited as of 1-28-16

My dad walks through the front door, glancing up. "Whoa." He says, doing a double take. I groan, dropping my head onto the counter. "Who let you dye your hair? And why'd you choose pink?" "Blake dyed it, I didn't have a choice. He put it in my shampoo and I didn't know." My dad laughs, shaking his head. "He likes you." He tells me. "Told you." Mom pipes in. I roll my eyes, huffing. "You people and thinking Blake likes me."

After dinner I watch tv, falling asleep on the couch.

-

I wake up, looking around. The house was unusually quiet, no stupid brothers being obnoxiously loud. I narrow my eyes, slowly walking into the kitchen. A note is taped to the fridge, my moms handwriting. I relax, reading it.

Sammy,
Dad and I won't be home until late, there's an office party for me and they say those last well into the night. Seth and Oliver are getting jobs at the local restaurant, which you should also think about doing. I presume they won't be home until late, mentioning something about a friends house so I'm not even going to guess a time they will be home. Trevor is at the neighbors, please pick him up by three. Tanner is at a friends and will be sleeping over so it's just you and Trevor today. Have fun!
Love, mom

I check the time, my eyes widening. It was almost four! I run over to the Timmons', ringing the doorbell. "You're late." Blake says, answering the door. "Trevor could have walked home if it was such an inconvenience." I scoff, stepping inside. "How come you're late?" "There's this thing all humans need, it goes by the name sleep." I tell him sarcastically, standing there.

"Where's Trevor?" "Last I heard they were playing hide and go seek." "How do you play that with two people?" "I was playing." "So there is a little heart in there!" I laugh. "No, I was it and I haven't looked for them since 2:45." "You're an ass." I tell him, looking around. My phone buzzes and I check it, frowning. "My mom just said to come over here and stay the night..." I say slowly, glancing up at Blake. "I got a similar message. It's probably because of the storm, you have yet to experience an east coast storm." He shrugs, going farther into the house.

Trevor and Ben are in there, both of them shooting a glare at Blake. "You're a meanie." Ben tells Blake, making me smile. "Sam!" Trevor shouts, running over to me. "You can play with us!" He offers, looking at Ben. "No thanks, I just woke up." "Then it's snack time!" Ben announces, turning to Blake. "One sandwich for Sam and Oreos for Trevor and me, please." "You have feet, go get the Oreos yourself." Blake mutters, opening the fridge.

"I don't need a sandwich." I tell Blake. "I'm hungry so I might as well make you one while I'm making mine." He shrugs, pulling everything out. He makes me a ham sandwich, putting it on a plate and handing it to me. "Let me guess, you worked at some sandwich place?" I ask, watching him finish his. "Still work there." He shrugs, taking a bite of his. I eat mine, taking an Oreo from Trevor. "Mine." He says, narrowing his eyes at me. I raise an eyebrow and he looks away, making me shake my head. Little boys.

"Now will you play with us?" Ben asks when I finish eating. I sigh, nodding. "Sure." I comply. "Let's play hide and seek again!" He offers. "No! Sharks and minnows! It's the opposite of hide and seek! One person hides while the rest seek and once you find them you hide with them. Last person to hide is it!" "Blake, you should play with us!" I offer, shooting him a smirk. "Yeah!" The boys agree. He glares at me, but nods. "Who's it first?" He asks, sounding bored. It's silent and I make a circle with my arms, looking at everyone. "Put a hand in the fishbowl." Everyone does and Trevor smiles. "Someone put one in for me." Blake does and I smirk. "You're it." He frowns, glaring at me. He stalks off and we count, stopping at sixty. "Ready or not, here we come!" The boys say, running through the house.