Next Door (All Human):

Adrian watched his mother, decked out in her best, knock on the heavy wooden door of the house next to their own.

"Smile, sweetie." She reminded him. "We want to make a good impression. You can go back to your games after we've met the new neighbors."

Adrian nodded and plastered a fake grin on his face as the door swung swiftly open.

"Hello?" Asked a cold looking man in a black, wrinkle-free suit. His shoes were polished to a shine, and he was blocking the entrance in a very unwelcoming manner. Adrian immediately decided he didn't like him; he looked too much like his own father for comfort.

"Hello," despite the man's harsh tone, his mother kept her smile in place. "Jared Sage, isn't it? I'm Daniella Ivashkov, and this is my son Adrian. We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."

A woman appeared behind Mr. Sage—Mrs. Sage, presumably. "Oh, how lovely! Why don't you come in? I'm Deborah."

Mr. Sage stepped aside, allowing the two strangers entrance.

"I'm sorry you have to see the place like this," Mrs. Sage said as she led them through a hallway filled with boxes and into a living area. "We're not completely unpacked yet."

"No, no, I can already see this house will be absolutely lovely when all is said and done," his mother said. "I brought cookies."

Ms. Sage smiled, "How thoughtful of you."

She led them into the kitchen, where she pulled five small plates down from a cabinet. "They've been washed." She assured them.

His mother dished cookies and Adrian waited patiently to receive his share. "Jared, would you be a darling and go get the girls?"

Mr. Sage nodded and left the room. Adrian found the space marginally more comfortable without the man's keen gaze weighing him down.

"I have three girls," Mrs. Sage was saying. Adrian knew that much. His mother hadn't stopped gathering intel since they'd moved in. "One of them is about your age. How old are you?" This inquiry was addressed to Adrian.

"Eleven."

"Eleven," she nodded, biting into a cookie, "I bet you'll be in class with Carly."

Adrian shrugged. "Maybe."

"I hope you two get along. It would be so nice for Carly to know someone on the first day at a new school." Mrs. Sage added.

"Oh, I'm sure they will," Adrian's mother said, "and there's always the other neighborhood children. Of course, many of them are a few years younger, but they all get along quite nicely."

Not really, Adrian thought. Mia and Rose couldn't go a day without getting into a smack-down, Natalie was a total nut job –Adrian was the only one who saw it-, and a good number of the boys were in a battle for Rose's heart. Sure, they 'get along quite nicely'.

Mrs. Sage poured milk into tall glasses. "It's good to know there are friendly kids close by. My eight year old, Sydney, is a bit shy. "

"She's not shy," said a girl—Carly, probably—who'd just entered the kitchen, "she just doesn't like talking to people who aren't boring."

"It's not my fault I don't like makeup yet." Huffed the smallest eight-year-old girl Adrian had ever seen. She was even shorter than Mia—which he hadn't thought possible. Her face was screwed up into a mighty, comically fearsome scowl. It didn't go with her pink sundress.

"Ooh, cookies," Carly bounded up to the plate, her shiny brown curls bouncing as she did.

"Thank Mrs. Ivashkov and Adrian," her mother ordered.

"Thank you." Carly took a big bite.

Sydney, however, was still struggling to pull herself onto the tall barstool that was just a bit too high for her. Her sister reached down to help, but Carly was brushed aside. It took a lot of willpower, and a lot of muscle, but Sydney did it.

Adrian found himself amused despite his efforts to be put out. He wanted to be in his room playing video games right now, not meeting the neighbors. But the cookies and now the girls were distracting him from his mission.

Cookies and girls, both of my weaknesses in the same room. I. Am. Helpless.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ivashkov. Thank you, Adrian." She said, a little breathlessly, and took a cookie.

"This is Carly and Sydney," their mother introduced them. "Where's Zoe and your Father?"

"Dad said he'd be in his study," Carly shrugged as Sydney's eyes went wide. Her cookie froze halfway to her mouth.

Sydney's look wasn't missed by her mother. "How many times have I told you not to leave your sister alone with your Legos?!" Mrs. Sage rushed out of the kitchen.

"You play with Legos?" Daniella asked, filling the silence that followed Mrs. Sage's departure. "Adrian likes Legos, don't you, Adrian?"

"I've told her a million times that Legos are a boy's toy," Carly said. "She just won't listen."

"I don't think they're just a boy's toy," Adrian protested and took a bite out of his cookie.

"See?" Sydney sent a smug look at her sister, and Adrian got the feeling his comment had just settled an ongoing argument.

"Well, Keith still agrees with me, so you haven't proven anything. We're tied." Carly said.

Well, maybe not settled.

"Hopper thinks I'm right," Sydney said.

"Hopper is a rabbit. He doesn't count." Carly told her sister.

"You have a rabbit named Hopper?" Adrian asked in an attempt to break up the argument. "Cool."

"Do you want to see him?" Carly offered.

"Sure." Adrian followed Carly's lead and jumped down from the stool.

"You kids go on, I'll stay here." Daniella said.

Sydney sighed and said morosely, "But I just got up."

Carly smiled apologetically, "You don't have to get down."

Sydney shook her head. "Hopper loves me best, and he gets nervous around new people. I have to be there."

"You don't know for sure that he loves you best." Carly disagreed as Sydney carefully maneuvered down the stool.

When her feet were firmly back on the ground, they started for a staircase. "Yes I do." Sydney said.

Carly shook her head. "He's an animal. You just can't tell."

"You can't tell," Sydney began to lag a bit behind them, her shorter legs carrying her at a slower speed. "I can."

Carly sent a look at Adrian. Kids, it said in an amused tone.

They ran into their mother on the way up, five-year-old Zoe in her arms.

"We're going to show Adrian the bunny," Carly told her.

"Good," She smiled. Then, with a pointed look at Sydney, she added, "Your sister is fine."

Sydney blushed and pressed against the wall so that her mother could pass.

"Zoe swallowed a Lego once," Carly launched into a quick retelling of the epic time their mother had freaked, they'd all traveled to the emergency room, and Zoe had gotten an x-ray. "The doctors said not to worry too much, that it was one of the really tiny pieces and it would be out of her in a couple of days."

"Wow." Adrian said. "I had to go to the emergency room once, but it wasn't nearly as exciting. My dad was having an allergic reaction to kittens."

"Kittens?" Sydney asked incredulously.

Adrian nodded and said very seriously. "He's also allergic to smiles and stained ties, but he's never had to go to the hospital for that before."

"Carly, do you think our Dad is allergic to those things too?" Sydney said as Carly pushed open the door to the designated play-room.

"Maybe," Carly nodded. "It would explain a lot." Carly entered and her two companions followed closely behind. "Here he is."

"He's cute." Adrian said, looking at the rabbit. It was white and fluffy and its nose gave little twitches as he drank his water.

"He's the best rabbit ever." Sydney declared loudly and proudly.

Adrian would have said more, but a bright spot of color caught his eyes. In the corner of the room stood a massive structure of multicolored, interlocking Legos.

He whistled. "You weren't joking when you said you play with Legos."

"It took weeks to get all the pieces to fit right." Sydney told him. "Then, it fell apart in one of the moving trucks. I don't know if I can build it like it was before." She was frowning slightly, now.

Adrian walked over to it, studying it. At first glance there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the structure. It just looked like a random pyramid of colored blocks, but Adrian could recognize some semblance of order in the heap. "I could help, if you wanted."

"Okay," Sydney said hesitantly. "You have to do what I say, though."

Adrian agreed, and they go to work.

Sydney was only eight, but Adrian was surprised to find she was fairly good at it. Every so often, though, Adrian would make a suggestion and Sydney would crinkle her nose.

"That's not what I did before." She'd say.

"But it's better." Adrian would say.

"You agreed to do whatever I told you to." She'd end the conversation.

Then, nine times out of ten, she would think on it, and then go ahead and do whatever it was that Adrian had suggested (without saying anything.) Adrian couldn't decide if this was annoying or cute. Finally, he settled on a little bit of both.

Carly had fetched a few dolls and was now curling their hair with a real-life curling iron, striking up a new conversation every minute or so.

Adrian was listening to Sydney tell Carly she'd catch a doll on fire if hse kept going at it like that when a new voice penetrated the room.

"Adrian?" His mother's voice rang from down the hall. She appeared in the doorway and smiled when she saw him getting along so well with the neighbor girls. She was a bit surprised to see that he had opted to sit by the younger one. "It's time to go."

"Alright." Adrian stood and stretched. "You know, Sydney, you're not half bad at Legos."

"You too." Sydney returned the compliment.

"Well, see you at school, or around…" Adrian said as way of a goodbye.

"See you," Carly said. "It was nice meeting you both."

"You too, Carly." Daniella waved. "Goodbye, Sydney."

"Goodbye."

Adrian was happy to be back in his own home, to say the least.

"That went well," his mother said. "I really like the Sages, don't you?"

"They're nice." Adrian had told her, then fled to his room.

"Hello, old friends." He greeted the controller and the screen. "Long time no see." He plopped down in front of them, his back to the window.

This window, this lovely window that happened to provide a view of the yard and Sydney Sage's room.

Adrian hadn't even noticed it, and had not an inkling of how important that window would become to him within the next few years.

However; across the street, Sydney noticed. And, wearing a faint blush, she pulled the curtains closed.

We meet again, old friends.

And, in response to all the questions I keep getting: There WILL be a sequel chapter to 'The Sorting Hat Says', I am working on it right now.

Thank you! Review?