Chapter 2: New Neighbors.

~Coraline's POV~

It had been two days since Wybie moved away, and I hadn't heard anything from him yet. How far away did his aunt and uncle live, anyway? Ever since he moved I had been in a horrible mood. Every little thing seemed to make me mad, and the thought of going to Billy's birthday party on Saturday made it even worse.
"Hm... Maybe if I try and make myself get sick, I won't have to go to Billy's party..." I thought aloud as I jumped over a puddle. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice that I was getting closer to Wybie's old house.
"Hello!" a friendly voice said. I looked over at the house and saw a lady waving and smiling at me. I waved back but didn't smile. It seemed like I had forgotten how to smile.
"Hello." I said, trying my best to force a smile on my face. Nothing.
"You must live at those apartments down the road." the lady said, "What are they called again? The, um... Pink Castle Apartments?"
"Pink Palace." I corrected her.
"Oh, yes, right." the lady said, her friendly smile not leaving her face, "Well, I'm Margaret. And that's my son Jeff and my son Liu."
I hadn't even noticed the boys standing out there, helping the men load boxes into the house. The two boys appeared to be around my age, and Jeff had light brown hair and blue eyes, and Liu had dark brown hair and green eyes.
"Jeff is 13 and Liu is 12." Margaret said with a smile, "How old are you?"
"12." I said.
"Well, I bet you three'll get along just fine!" Margaret said, taking a box into the house. Liu did the same. So the only ones outside now were me and Jeff, and I couldn't help but notice he was staring at me. I looked over at him and glared at him.
"What?" I asked. Jeff chuckled.
"Hey, hey, no need to get pissed off." Jeff said, raising his hands up in a defensive way, "Anyway, who're you?"
"What does it matter?" I asked, then sighed, "Look, I'm sorry I'm being a jerk, I just-"
"Your best friend lived here." Jeff said. I blinked in surprise. How the heck did he know that?
"Hey... How'd you know that?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Lucky guess." Jeff said with a grin, "Now can you PLEASE tell me what your name is?"
He got down on his knees and started playfully making puppy-dog eyes. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch, and then I smiled for the first time in two days.
"Well... If ya wanna know... You'll have to catch me first." I said with a playful smirk.
"Aw, c'mon, I don't have time for this kid stuff." Jeff said.
"Well, looks like you won't know my name, then..." I said, turning on my heel and starting to slowly walk off.
"Oh, alright, fine." Jeff said, "But, lemme just warn ya, I'm a pretty fast runner."
I looked at him and smirked.
"Pfft!" I scoffed, "Yeah, right, we'll see about that."
Before I knew it we had both taken off running, Jeff close behind me but me still managing not to get caught, and we were both laughing the entire time.

~Jeff's POV~

I couldn't help but feel a little dumb at first. I mean, this was kid stuff! But I wanted to know her name, right? As we ran, I began to pick up the pace, and before I knew it I was right behind her. Now all I had to do was catch her. I reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Aw, man!" she said as I pulled her to a stop.
"Haha!" I said, trying to catch my breath, "Caught ya! Now tell me your name."
The girl put her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.
"Do I *pant pant* have to?" she asked. I crossed my arms.
"YES." I said in a playfully stern voice. She grinned.
"Okay, okay, calm down." she said, putting her hands up defensively like I did before, "It's Coraline."
"Coraline?" I asked, "Whoa... Cool name."
She grinned.
"Thanks." she replied. I wasn't sure, but I had a feeling I'd like it here. Something about that girl made me feel... Happier than I had before. I mean, I had been pretty excited about leaving and going to a better house, but she was making it more... Enjoyable. Not to mention she was pretty, but I didn't dare to tell her that. She seemed like one of those girls who would punch you in the face if you said something she didn't like.
"Most people get my name wrong." Coraline said, "They call me 'Caroline' instead of 'Coraline'."
I laughed lightly.
"Heh, I guess that gets annoying, huh?" I asked.
"You don't know the HALF of it." Coraline said. After a minute or two of staring at each other awkwardly, I suddenly remembered something.
"Sh**! I've gotta get back home." I said, "I'll see ya later, Cora. I can call you 'Cora', right?"
She smirked.
"Sure." she said. I grinned, waved good-bye, and then ran back home. When I got there, Liu was standing there waiting for me.
"What?" I asked. He raised a brow.
"You like her, don't you?" he asked with a smirk.
"Oh, shut up, I do not!" I said, punching him in the shoulder playfully. Liu laughed and the two of us kept loading boxes into the house until we were done. But I couldn't help but look forward to seeing that girl again. She seemed interesting.

~Coraline's POV~

"Well, someone's in a better mood." Mom said to me as I walked in the house. And I guess I DID look like I was in a better mood. I wasn't slouching as I walked, I had a smile on my face, and although I couldn't see it, I knew my eyes were sparkling.
"Yeah!" I said, "Our new neighbors are AWESOME."
"Oh, you met the new neighbors?" Mom asked, "I'll have to go see them sometime soon."
"Yeah, you'll like Miss Margaret." I said, "And I'm sure Dad'll get along with her husband, too!"
Mom smiled at me as I skipped upstairs into my room. When I got to my room, I checked my email to see if Wybie had sent me anything. Nothing.
"Well, if he's not gonna send me anything, I'll send HIM something." I said, tired of waiting. So I sent him an email:

Hey Wybie! :) The new neighbors are really nice. I think I'll get along with them alright. Anyway, how're things in... Wherever the hell you are, lol. It's been FOREVER since you've emailed me!... Well, I guess 2 days isn't forever, is it? Well, it's felt like it. :( Email me back when ya can! :3 -Coraline aka Jonesy.

As soon as I clicked 'send', I heard a familiar "Reowww..." at my window. I looked over and saw Cat sitting on the windowsill with his head tilted slightly to the right. With a grin I opened the window and let him in.
"Hey, Cat." I said. Cat purred in response.
"What is it?" I asked. Cat gestured with his head for me to follow him. I opened my bedroom door for him and he walked out, with me following him into the den. The DEN?! This was the place the little door was! He didn't want me to go in THERE, did he?! Thankfully, he stopped at the door.
"Well, what is it?" I whispered.
"It's the new neighbors." Cat whispered, "Something's up."
"What is?" I asked.
"Well, it hasn't happened yet, but something is going to happen to that Jeff fellow." Cat said, "But I'm not sure what."
"What're you talking about? NOTHING will happen to them." I said, "... You're just joking, right?"
Cat shook his head.
"No, I'm not joking." Cat said, narrowing his eyes a bit, "I'm just telling you this: Be careful. If you see anything that seems wrong with Jeff, let me know."
"But-" I got interrupted.
"Just be careful." Cat said. With that Cat walked over to the open window and jumped out. I sat there on the floor, uncomfortably close to the little door, but I was too confused to notice it. What was going to happen to Jeff?
"Well, there's NO WAY I'm telling Jeff that a talking cat told me that something bad was going to happen to him." I thought, crossing my arms, "Does he mean the bullies are gonna hurt him? Well, I won't let that happen. I'm not letting those jerkwads hurt Jeff OR his brother."
With that I returned to my room, still thinking on the subject.