EDIT: June 17, 2013 – Rewriting all chapters up until Chapter 9, however the changes aren't too major.

Enjoy~!

"I'm already trying to talk daddy into letting me stay for a few weeks towards the end of summer break." Miku's excited voice came from the other line, followed by the sound of her blowing on her nails to speed the drying.

I let out an exasperated groan and rolled over onto my back, my head dangling off the side of the bed. "That's gonna feel like for-ev-er!"

"Chill, girl!" Miku laughed. "I'll get to see you soon. Summer always passes so fast!"

"That was when you lived across the street! Now I have no one to hang out with!" I switched my neon orange cellphone to my other hand and rolled back onto my belly.

"Oh, pfft." I pictured my teal-haired friend dismissing me with a wave of her hand and rolling her eyes. "You'll live. Oh, by the way, have you met the new neighbors?"

"No." I stood up and walked over to the window to gaze out at my front yard. The two-story brick house where Miku used to live looked so different without her father's goofy lawn decorations. The electric blue car that always sat there was replaced with a moving truck. There was some lady with super long blonde hair walking towards the front door with a cardboard box in her arms. "What are they like? Didn't your dad meet them when he signed the house over?"

"Mmph." Miku shuffled a bit as though she were shifting herself to be more comfortable. "Yea, but he didn't tell me anything about them."

I snorted. "They're probably cranky, children-hating jerks." I brushed some of my hair behind my ear and turned away from the window. Things would be so different from now on. Miku's family had lived in that house since before she was born. But after her mother died two years ago, her dad decided to cut all ties to this little county. He took a job four hours away from here. Now, the two of us could only talk over the phone or Skype. There wouldn't be sleepovers as often. We wouldn't be able to pull pranks on our teachers anymore. I felt completely alone, even though I still had Luka and Gumi.

It just wasn't the same. They weren't as close to me as Miku had been.

"Ummm, Earth to Rin!" I jolted at the sound of fingers snapping.

"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Well don't think too hard. We know that's not good for you." Miku laughed again.

"Hey!" My protest was barely heard over our chuckling. This was like old times, except she wasn't there in front of me clutching a pillow to her chest while I leaned forward onto her shoulder, out of breath from laughing. Those weekend sleepovers were always the most fun.

"Rin!"

And that was my mom.

"Can you hold on a second, Miku?" I asked my friend, not waiting for her answer before holding the phone away from my face and covering the mouthpiece. "What?"

"Don't give me that tone! The new neighbors are here; we're gonna go greet them! Make yourself presentable!"

I groaned. "Mom! Normal people don't do that!"

"Well, we do. Now get ready. We're going over there in five minutes."

I threw my head back and groaned again before addressing Miku. She was giggling.

"I heard that. Your mom is so awesome!" she snickered.

"No! She's embarrassing." I made my way down the hall to my bathroom where I was greeted by a huge mirror that stretched from corner to corner of the wall. I took one of the white pins from the pile on the vanity, tilted my head to hold my cellphone between my cheek and shoulder, and started to brush my hair out of my eyes. "Anyways, I gotta go."

Miku made this little whining sound, before sighing. "M'kay. Well, while you're doing that, I've got some pictures of me and Kaito to text you. I think you'll find him very cute."

I could picture her winking at me. I giggled. "Sounds like a plan. Goodbye, Miku."

"Later, Rin!"

I clicked my phone shut and set it down on the vanity. Reaching for one more pin, I stuck it in my hair to finish my signature look: four hair pins for my bangs and a tall, white bow that bounced with my every movement. I smiled at myself in the mirror for a brief instant. With an off-shoulder shirt that matched the color of my eyes and showed my belly, and a pair of really short denim shorts held over my hips with a white belt, I was sure I looked decent.

As I headed down the stairs, I was met with the mouth-watering smell of cinnamon and apples.

Oh, God. She's not...

My mom twirled out of the kitchen, holding a neat-looking pie in her hands. Her blue eyes were bright.

Oh. She is.

Someone kill me now.

"Let's go! We'll give them a nice, warm welcome to the neighborhood," she said in a sing-song voice, bounding towards the door.

I groaned. Not cool. I slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops and followed my mom out the door. As we headed to the end of the driveway, the woman who had been moving boxes from the truck to the house leaned against the sturdy mailbox to greet us.

"Hello!" the blonde lady said warmly.

"Hi!" My mom presented that pie to the woman. "We're glad to have you as our neighbor."

She took the baked good and gave it a sniff. "Oh! Thank you so much! It's nice to know someone cares!"

"I'm Lenka!" My mom held out her hand in greeting.

"Lily," our neighbor grinned. "And is this your daughter?" Her blue gaze switched over to look at me.

No duh.

I knew my mom would expect me to introduce myself. So, resisting the urge to roll my eyes sarcastically, I spoke up. "Yes; I'm Rin."

"Oh! You look a lot like-"

The sound of an approaching vehicle cut Lily off. Her smile widened, wrinkles forming under her eyes.

"Oh! Here they are now."

The silver Taurus pulled into the driveway and fell silent. The drivers' side door opened, and a man stepped out. He was tall, with pale skin and golden hair that was messily pinned back out of his cerulean eyes with pins similar to my own. But his sharp jawline and narrowed eyes alone seemed to give away his age; he must be over thirty, yet muscles still rippled along his arms. He glanced at me for a second before stomping over to the stairs and heading into the house.

That was peculiar. The guy looked pissed.

Then I heard the slam of another door. Someone had gotten out of the passenger side of the car. This kid was a few inches taller than me, with ragged blonde hair of a matching color that was pulled back into a tiny ponytail. He was wearing a baggy white shirt and a pair of black shorts that reached to his knees. He kept his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his head down as he approached Lily.

"These are our neighbors, Lenka and her daughter, Rin," Lily introduced us.

At the mention of the word 'daughter,' the boy's head snapped up. And in that instant, it seemed as though my heart stopped. His eyes were a slightly darker shade of mine and betrayed an unbearable amount of pain. But the moment his gaze met mine, he looked happy. Stunned, even. Then, this smirk formed on his lips.

"I'm Len. It's nice to meet you."

Oh, and I know most people see Lenka and Rinto as a couple. I do too, but this way, Len and Rin still have the same last name without being twins. You follow me? ;)

Care to drop a review?

(:Mizune