The Girl Next Door
It was the fall of Drake and Josh's junior year of high school. Josh was content in his relationship with Mindy, and Drake was playing the field as usual. He didn't care much, another hot girl on his arm any given night. Not to mention the fact that his band was progressing at a rapid fire pace, he was to say the least content.
It was a warm Saturday in San Diego, both boys were content in their room. Drake strumming away on his guitar, Josh IM'ing Mindy concocting plans for their next date.
"Hey Drake I think the Oggdenburgs are moving." Josh stated enthusiastically as he looked out the tiny window next to the computer desk.
"What you sure?" Drake asked running to look out the window while somehow managing to get stuck between his bed and the computer chair. "Josh you boob would you move the chair?" Drake questioned hitting Josh upside the head. Josh in return scowled at him.
"Wow, your right they really are moving." Drake stated as he watched the older couple load mammoth amounts of junk into a moving truck.
"Told ya!" Josh yelled as he turned around to face the computer screen. "Now if you'd excuse me I have a very important date with an online game."
Drake shrugged and went back to playing his guitar.
"Hey,Josh, I'm going to head out to band practice. I'll be home in an hour or so." Drake said as he grabbed his guitar and headed out the bedroom door. Josh content with his set plans with Mindy grabbed a soda out of the mini fridge and played gamesphere.
"I'm back." Drake announced a few hours later as he placed his guitar down and grabbed a bag of chips out of Josh's hands.
"Hey, I was eating those." Josh yelled as Drake just walked over to his bed.
"You can stand to loose a few pound...HOLY SNOT!" Drake gasped as he ran towards the window.
"What? What is it? Let me see move over." Josh questioned as he tried to push Drake out of the way. "Hey there's nothing there you buffoon." Josh exclaimed knocking Drake aside the head.
"Real pretty girl..." Drake mumbled fixed on the entrance of the Oggdenburgs old house.
"Drake this is not the time to..."Josh started just as Drake grabbed his face and truned it to reveal an attractive girl in the window across from theirs. "Drake you were right. ACK I can't be looking at this I'm dating Mindy." Josh said covering his eyes and running back to the gamesphere.
"Yeah, you can't, but I can." Drake said grabbing teh binoculars off of his bed.
"Drake, in some countries that's considered stalking." Josh said from the couch.
"Yeah, but not if I don't get caught." Drake said continuing to look across at the new girl next door.
For the next half hour Drake was captivated by watching her. She was about 5'5'' and not overtly skinny. She had dark brown hair that fell just a little below her shoulders from what Drake could tell she had really nice green eyes. NOt only that but she was decorating her new room in a mini skirt.
"Awwww...come on just a little lower." Drake spurred as the girl bend down to pick up a box of things.
"Drake it's 1:30, you've been watching her for an hour. Why don't you go over and introduce yourself already?" Josh questioned.
"You're a genious you know that? Jell-o, I need jell-o. Josh how do you make Jell-o?" Drake asked throwing down the binoculars as he sprinted towards the door.
Two hours and 5 boxes of jell-o later Drake stood waiting outside the door to the grils new house. HOlding what looked what he thought to be jell-o, in it's most primitve form. He rang the door bell and held his breath. She answered a look of surprise and confusion washed over her face.
"Uh…Hi." She said starring at the would be jell-o in Drake's hands. He stood there speechless, for once in his life he could not find the words to woo a girl, he only hopped that his looks would win this one. "Hello? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" The girl asked after a few moments of silence.
"Oh, yeah, right. I'mDrakeParkerIlivenextdoortoyou.OhandImadethisforyou." He managed to say in one breath.
"Okay…" She stated looking at the pathetic attempt at jell-o in her hands. "I'll just put this here." She stated placing the bowl of jell-o on a side table. "So you're Drake. I'm Sarah." She said holding out her hand for Drake. He stood there dumbfounded and she quickly took her hand back. "I'll make this easy for you Drake, if that is your name. My family and I will come over to your house for dinner, 7 sound okay. Alright seven it is we'll see you then." She said as Drake turned around a look of utter stupidity plastered on his face. "MAILBOX" Sarah yelled but it was too late, Drake managed to stumble into her mailbox. He turned and ran as fast as he could home.
Drake ran into the house and shut the door, very flustered. It took him a second to register what happened. When it hit him that Sarah was coming over for dinner with his family, he ran to the closet and grabbed the vacuum cleaner.
"Oh no, Drake's cleaning something's wrong." Megan said as she and her mom walked through the front door. Mrs. Parker pulled the plug from the vacuum and a dumbfounded Drake started waving the hose around and then proceeded to stare into the nozzle.
"Mom turned it off you boob." Megan stated coyly as she walked out of the room.
"Don't call me a boob." Drake said as he glared at his sister who shrugged.
"Drake what's going on? You never clean, ever. Are you sick?" Mrs. Parker questioned as she put a hand on his forehead.
"Drake's invited the new neighbors over for dinner." Josh gloated from the kitchen.
"Josh be quiet." Drake hissed as he avoided eye contact with his mother.
"Oh that's wonderful Drake, how nice of you." Mrs. Parker beamed as Josh shot Drake an evil glare which was returned with a smirk from Drake.
Drake walked up to his room, there was only an hour before Sarah came over with her family and he needed to find the perfect outfit, and quickly.
JOsh entered their room to find clothes strewn everywhere and more flying through the air.
"Drake? What are you doing?" Josh questioned as he walked over to a very, very, frantic Drake.
"Josh does this make me look fat?" Drake questioned as he looked at the shirt he just put on. Josh just stood there a little dumbfounded. "Yeah you're right it does." Drake decided, just as the door bell rang. "Holy snot she's here already." Drake muttered as he threw on his shirt not noticing it was on backwards and inside out. Josh threw up his hands and followed his step-brother downstairs.
The Melvin's had just arrived outside the Parker house. Mrs. Parker opened the door.
"Hello." Mrs. Parker said as she invited the Melvin's inside.
"We're the Melvin's, I'm Patricia, this is my husband Jeff and my daughter Sarah."
"Nice to meet you come in and I'll introduce you to my family." Mrs. Parker said as she ushered the Melvin's into the living room. "This is my husband Walter my two sons Drake and Josh, and my daughter Megan. I'm Audrey." She said as everyone shook hands. Josh reluctantly tapped Drake on the shoulder and pointed out that his shirt was on inside out and backwards. A very embarrassed Drake quickly took it off and rearranged it.
"Boy's why don't you go entertain Sarah in your room. I'll call you when dinner is ready." Mrs. Parker said as Drake and Josh took Sarah to their room.
Drake blushed as Josh escorted them upstairs to their room. Sarah was wearing a totally different ensemble then she'd been wearing earlier. She wore dark jeans with a pink and yellow stripped track jacket. Underneath she wore what appeared to be a pink cami.
"And that's how I got rid of my rash." Josh explained as they entered the room.
"Josh I'm sure that she doesn't want to hear about your rash." Drake said to Josh. "She probably wants to hear about more interesting things. Like me for instance." Drake said as he pushed Josh out of his way. "So Sarah…" Drake began but noticed that she wasn't paying attention to him.
"Gasping Monkey's! Is that a cherry red Fender Strat with whammy bar, just like the lead singer in Zero Gravity has? Sarah gasped as she ran over to Drake's guitar.
"Yep, that'd be mine." Drake beamed.
"I am now totally jealous of you." Sarah stated still in awe over the guitar."
"So, you're a Zero Gravity fan I take it." Drake said.
"I'm like their number one fan." Sarah elated.
"You know Josh here broke Devin Malone's hand while he was in concert here and I got to play for him. See I won the guitar and Josh blew it up and bought me another one. Long story." Drake explained while giving a coy smile to Sarah the whole time.
"You're the kid that played for Devin Malone? And you had two Cherry red Fender Strats with whammy bars?" Sarah questioned beside herself.
"Yes, and yes." Drake beamed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"So you like video games?" Josh questioned.
"Yeah I guess." Sarah shrugged.
"You ever play Speed way Vengeance on Gamesphere?" Josh asked a look of excitement on his face. A look of annoyance on Drakes.
"Yeah, I beat it and beat the secret level too." Sarah said casually.
"Really!" Josh asked.
"Ha, Josh is only on level 3." Drake snorted sitting down on the couch next to Sarah and Josh.
"Shut up Drake it's harder then it looks. How long did it take you?" Josh asked Sarah.
"Two hours." Sarah replied to two very surprised boys.
"How…is…that…possible?" Josh wondered aloud.
"It's easy, a monkey could do it. All you do is follow the directions at the bottom of the screen they tell you exactly what to do."
"Hey sorry to interrupt but dinner's ready." Megan said a look of annoyance on her face. Drake and Josh always got everything, at least she was the one who got them in trouble.
Mrs. Parker beamed as she served Sphaghetti and Josh's world famous meatballs, the very meatballs that saved Drake from an impromtu marriage to Yuka a mere few months ago. The Melivn's were sure to enjoy the meal, not to mention the fact that winning over Jeff (Sarah's dad) would do them a world of good, well it'd at least do Walter one. Jeff was the senior correspondant of Weather Men United, the very company that backed the worlds best Weather Broadcasters. Walter could wait to rub elbows with him.
"So Sarah what do you do for fun?" Mr. Nichols asked.
"I play guitar in a band and I'd like to make music my career, but right now I'm focusing on keeping my A average in school. That's only if music doesn't work out for me, I plan on being a genetic engineer. Drake choked on his garlic bread.
"Ha, you hear that Drake. She's in a band and manages to get better grades than you!" Megan taunted her older brother who in return glared at her.
"So you must be the same age as Drake and Josh." Mrs. Parker changed the subject, preventing any fight that could break out.
"Yep." Sarah replied.
"Say, this is the best meal I've ever had." Mr. Melvin exclaimed. "I might just have to borrow the recipie for your meatballs."
"Really?" Mr. Nichols questioned, he was sure to thank Josh after this one.
"Yeah, this is superb, don't you think Patricia?" Mr. Melvin elated, his wife nodded in agreement.
Audrey gave Walter an affirming smile and Walter knew exaclty what to do.
"Well, my son Josh came up with the recipie, Didn't you Josh?"
Josh swallowed hard, the story behind the meatballs was a rather disheartening one, he looked over at his brother who had already bowed his head. Drake disliked the thought that despite being married to Yuka, he would have been a billionaire.
"Why yes, yes I did." Josh said proudly.
"Really? You're an excellent chef." Mr. Melivn proclaimed. Josh blushed.
"Aw, you don't have to go that far." Josh smiled, a little taken back. He could have just sworn that Sarah gave him a small smile.
"Well if you wouldn't mind we better get going. Got quite a bit more unpacking to do." Mr. Melvin stated as he got up from the table.
"Well thanks for having us for dinner." Mrs. Melvin thanked the Parkers.
"Your welcome it was nice to meet you." Mrs. Parker beamed.
"It was a very nice dinner." Sarah said as she glanced back at Drake who was biting his nails.
