{~~Chapter 1~~}

Mona:

Mona watched as a moving van pulled up in front of old Mrs. Sommer's house, the widow had moved into a nursing home half a year ago after she had broken her hip. The large five-bedroom house had been on the market for several months now, with many hopefuls coming by to view the house; but it wasn't until recently that the "For Sale" sign in the front yard had been removed.

Mona had heard rumors that a family with a teenage daughter was going to live in the house. She had been eagerly awaiting this day for weeks, hopefully her new neighbor would give her a chance before the queen bee of Rosewood, Alison DiLaurentis, would (most likely) snatch her away.

A blonde woman in her early forties stepped out from the van's driver side and leaned back into the vehicle to grab her purse. As she slammed the door shut, a silver SUV pulled up on the other side of the street, a young man around his early twenties jumped out, giving the woman a hug before sticking his head through the car's open window to beckon the rest of the passengers out.

Two girls, a black haired teenage girl and a toddler with tousled blonde hair greeted the woman jovially; unfortunately Mona could only see the back of their heads from her bedroom window, so she couldn't see the newcomers' faces. Mona guessed the woman was the mother of the family and the young man was probably an older son or relative. Mona felt a wave of disappointment when she estimated that the teenager was around seventeen, she probably wouldn't even give fourteen year old Mona a glance.

Mona sighed and decided to set the table for dinner as she made her way downstairs, it was almost six o'clock and her mother would be home soon. Fifteen minutes before the clock struck six, not long after Mona finished setting the table, Mrs. Vanderwaal's car pulled into the driveway.

"Hey mom, you're home early today!" Mona grinned, her mother often worked late and it was rare that the family of two got to eat dinner together.

Leona Vanderwaal smiled at her daughter, "I just couldn't wait to see you -and the new neighbors. Have you talked to them yet? That one girl looked around your age."

Mona sighed again, pouting a little, "Mom, she looks like she's seventeen or something, and even if we become friends, Alison is just going to convince her that I'm a loser."

Leona's heart broke a little bit more for her daughter, Alison Dilaurentis's relentless bullying hadn't let up even after all these years, and her daughter's self esteem had suffered a lot because of it. Leona reminded herself to talk to the school administration once again, "I'm sure even if she is older than you, she'll give you a chance, remember, you have to give people a chance too."

"Okay, I'll talk to her after dinner, does that sound good?" Mona knew her mother wanted the best for her, but after getting let down by her peers time after time, she was more than hesitant to build new relationships.

Dinner passed by peacefully, with nothing more than casual talk about Mrs. Vanderwaal's job and Mona's extracurriculars. Mona stood up to clear the plates away, but her mother touched her hand lightly and gave her a stern look, communicating that Mona should go out to greet the new neighbors instead of procrastinating.

The crisp night air felt refreshing after spending the whole afternoon cooped up inside the house avoiding Alison and her posse, who had even more time to torment her now that summer break had begun. Mona strolled down her driveway, trailing her fingers along the flank of her mom's car, she idly examined her fingertips and noted that they came back slightly dusty, shrugging, she wiped them on her pants and resumed her walk down the driveway.

The fresh night air cleared Mona's mind and filled her with courage. She pushed away her nerves and focused on putting a bright welcoming smile on her face, she felt hopeful and optimistic, even if the new family didn't like her, she would have at least tried. Her mom was right, she hadn't been giving people many chances.

When she reached the sidewalk, Mona gazed at the next-door house, the moving van was gone and the SUV was now parked neatly in the drive, a few boxes labeled "outdoor" were stacked haphazardly on the lawn giving the impression that the inhabitants of the house had not fully unpacked yet. Mona mentally scolded herself for not bringing a housewarming gift to make a good impression, but decided to go ring the doorbell nevertheless.

A pitter-patter of feet against the floor and a young voice loudly announcing, "I'll get it!" was quickly replaced by a slightly accented voice yelling, "Don't answer the door if you don't know who it is, Freya, go with your sister please!" The door opened to reveal a tall, thin teenage girl with pale skin and startling green eyes, the toddler Mona had seen earlier peeked out from behind her.

"Hi, I'm Mona. I live next door to you, I just uh..wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood!" Mona bit her lower lip, her hands twisting instinctively at the hem of her shirt as she waited for the girl to answer.

The girl smiled at her, " Hi Mona, thank you! Nobody's approached us as of yet, I'm Freya," gesturing at the toddler behind her she continued, "and this is my sister, Natalia." Mona noted that Freya had a slight accent that she presumed to be British.

Freya crouched down and hoisted Natalia up into her arms, "say hi to Mona, Tali."

The little girl peeked out from under her dark lashes, only now did Mona notice that Natalia's eyes were a beautiful azure, she felt awfully plain beside the two stunning siblings, yet they didn't seem to be judging her outfit or features.

"Hi Mona." The little girl whispered. Mona smiled at her, feeling at ease while mentally making a note to thank her mother for making her put herself out there. "Hi Natalia, how old are you?" The toddler held out three fingers, "Wow, you're a big girl aren't you?" Mona coaxed the young girl. Shyly, Natalia nodded.

The same accented voice Mona assumed to be the girls' mother called out, "Now Freya, don't let our visitor stand out in the cold, invite her in, come in!"

Mona smiled and gratefully stepped into the house, she looked around with interest, the last time she had been in the house was to check up on the newly widowed Mrs. Sommers. Back then the entranceway was dark and smelled of cat pee, now a light had been installed and the air smelled like roses.

Mona hummed softly while skipping up her driveway, the youngster had made some new friends today and was overjoyed, the next school day didn't seem so daunting now with her new classmate to look forward to.

Leona smiled as she watched her daughter skip home after spending two hours with their new neighbors. "So, how was it?"

Mona launched into a detailed explanation of what she had learned about her new neighbors. "Freya, the tall girl is fourteen, she'll be in ninth grade at Rosewood Day when the school year starts. She has a little sister called Natalia."

Taking a breath she continued, "Freya says that they moved here because of her mom's job, I didn't ask what Mrs. Girard does though… Oh! Did I mention that they used to live in Britain and that Mrs. Girard is French? But they moved to New York two years ago, and now they're here."

"Well I'm glad that you're happy, school will be much better with a friend to keep you company." Mrs. Vanderwaal told Mona, hopefully Freya would prove to be a worthwhile friend for her daughter. "It's getting late, why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed? You can tell me all about your friends later, okay?"

Nodding, Mona turned to go upstairs, remembering something, she turned around and, in a rare show of emotion, hugged her mother, "Thanks for telling me to do this mom, I love you." before heading to her room.

A/N: New chapter coming up soon!