Chapter One:
"So, Kate, here's the new house!" my mom declared, throwing up her arms and smiling like she had just won the lottery.
"It's uh, great," I murmured. Too upset to speak.
"You don't like it…" she said, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest.
"No, I do, I just—It's beautiful," I said, faking a smile. Luckily, my mom bought it.
"Oh! Good! I'm so glad you love it! And the best part is: dad got the whole place ready for us, so we don't have to move furniture and all that!" I swear, she sounded like a 6 year old.
"Yay," I muttered, unenthusiastically. I squeezed the black leash that was connected to my Flat-Coated Retriever, Louie's, collar. He stood, as bored as me, panting.
"Let's go check out the inside!" my mom said, grabbing my elbow and pulling me into the house.
The inside of the house was… beautiful. Hard wood covered living room floors and tile covered the kitchen. There was a door that leads to a bathroom, and a staircase that lead to my room, and my step-dad and mom's room.
"Isn't it just amazing!?" my mom exclaimed, slapping her hands together and smiling hugely.
"It's pretty awesome," I agreed.
"Why don't you take Lou out for a walk around the neighborhood, see if you can see any gals your age."
"It's Louie," I mumbled.
"What?"
"Nevermind." I patted my black dog's head and strode out the door. I felt a nice breeze flow through my straight black hair and the hot sun beat down on my tan skin.
Louie playfully tugged on his leash and I walked with him to the end of the driveway. My short, ripped, light blue jean shorts and black tank top were loosely clinging to my skin. I smiled. California weather was awesome.
I started to walk on the sidewalk, allowing Louie to sniff flowers or mail boxes when they came by, but I felt Louie pull even harder on his leash. I looked up to see a girl with two guys; they were standing outside, by a car. I guessed that the girl was the guy's sister because she was a lot younger than them.
Before I could get a better grip on Louie's leash, the cloth slipped right through my fingers and he was off. He ran all the way to the girl and rolled over so that she could rub his belly.
"Ugh," I groaned, running as fast as I could over to them. The girl was bent over, petting Louie's black fur.
"I'm so sorry!" I huffed, once I picked up his leash and quickly scolded him.
"That's okay! He's so cute! What's his name?" she asked, patting Louie's head, since he was standing again.
"Louie," I replied, smiling. She really liked him. "Do you have a dog?"
"Nah," she answered.
"That's an awesome dog!" I looked over to see two teenaged boys; one had black hair and the other had brown. The black haired one was the one who called Louie awesome
"Ha thanks," I said, amused that they all liked Louie.
"No problem. You live around here?" the same guy asked again. I could feel the other guy eyes burning into me.
"Um, yeah, I just moved in," I turned around and pointed to the only house that had moving trucks in the driveway.
"What's your name?" the brunette asked me. This was finally the time where I got to look at him. And I was glad I did. He was extremely cute. I smiled shyly at him.
"Kate, you?"
"I'm Drake, this is my step-brother Josh and that's my sister Meghan," he answered, returning the smile.
Wow, he's got a great smile I thought. I jumped when I heard my cell phone ring. It was a section of the song, 'Sweet Child of Mine' by Guns 'N' Roses.
"Oh, hold on," I murmured, taking the phone out of my pocket and checking the caller ID. It was my mom.
"Hi mom," I greeted.
"Where are you?" her voice was cold.
"Um, in the neighborhood."
"Come home, now."
"Whatever." I growled before I hung up. She had so many damn mood swings. She was freakin bi-polar!
"Sorry. I have to go, my mom…" I trailed off and rolled my eyes. "Do you go to Belleview High?"
"Yup," Drake and Josh answered in unison.
"Cool, so do I. I'll see you tomorrow then," I said, before jogging back to my house with Louie at my side.
"Bye!" I heard Drake, Meghan, and Josh call.
I jogged all the way home. I knew this was going to be a great year.
Okay so this chapter was extremely suckish, but I promise it will get better! Please review!