Hi. Here's the second chapter! I know that the first one didn't revealed to much. In this one, you'll see Hermione for the first time. Remember, this is Luke's POV so, isn't exactly accurate, since he don't know her very well. But let me know if Hermione is OOC.

I hope you enjoy :).

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Paths – Chapter 2 - Neighbour

I've a brother and a sister but I really enjoy when I'm alone, like now. I've the all house for myself; I can lie on the sofa while watching my favourite show, I can fix some snacks for myself and put them beside me without being worried about being robbed by on of my siblings (or have to share), I can use the stereo we have on the living room, put it really loud, and listen to my band of choice without being bothered. I can even throw the plastic wraps or cans to the floor and only throw them to the garbage in one go, before my mother's arrival.

I can't wait to live on my own. I don't understand people who say that being alone is awful. It's great to have no one to worry but myself.

Wow, now I really sound selfish. I'm not. I do love my family and I worry about them, but I don't think I can worry about anyone else and that's why I want to live alone.

Why am I thinking about the future? I shouldn't be. I promised myself I wouldn't make any plans about my future until I finish the university, which I'm excited about. The undergraduate I'm going to do in Psychology seems like and awesome course and the right one for me. And that's what is important at the moment.

Damn, when Mark says that I think like a girl because I think about things too much, he is right. Speaking about Mark, I should call him. I need to be with someone who gives my mind a rest.

I rise from the bed for the first time since my mom's car left, and go downstairs, to reach for our phone. Good times when I had one in my bedroom, but that was before…. before the girlfriend-at-the-time-incident-that-wouldn't-be-an-incident-if-my-mother-wasn't-hearing-our-conversation-from-the-kitchen-phone. Saying that she was shocked for a few days is an understatement. But why did she decide to spy on me, that day and that hour? Everyone knows where late night conversations lead to…if you know what I mean.

I grab the phone and enter Mike's number and in less than 5 seconds someone answers. It's him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mike! Are you at home?"

"Oh, Lucky-Luke, it's you! That's the dumbest question I have ever heard from you. What do you think? That I would carry my HOME phone with me? Of course I'm home!" He speaks really quickly, more than normal. Maybe he's excited about something.

"Right…hm…so…do you want to go out? I'm bored at home and thinking a lot and I don't want to." He already knows what that means. "Would you like to go to play football at the park? Like the good old times, eh?" I ask, hopping that he doesn't already have plans for this afternoon. I noticed that I have one finger going towards my mouth and I stop before biting my nail. Stupid habit I can't get rid of.

"Good old times? The last time we did that was last month. You know what? Stay where you are. Your house is on the way to the park so I'll be there in 10 minutes, ok? See ya!" And hangs up the call right away. That's why I enjoy being friends with Mike. He can be really concise in his actions.

I go upstairs to change my clothes, something confortable but not tracksuits. I never know when I have to be a wingman for Michael. And tracksuits don't help that.

I grab a pair of jeans and decide to go with my Manchester United sweatshirt. It's summer but the weather doesn't agree with that so, I should be prepared for anything. I'll have a t-shirt underneath, if anything.

I'm still questioning if I should carry my bag pack with some snacks and water when the bell rings. I run to the front door and open it. Mark is standing there with all his glory. Since he gained some muscles a few years ago, he wears sleeveless shirts whenever he can to show them. Sure he is a little bit shorter than me, but his confidence and his body made him look bigger.

"You're a git!" I say.

"What? I just left my house, I accepted you invitation to go to the park, and you call me that? That's mean, my boy!" He says, pretending to be offended but I know he isn't. And he still seems excited. I need to know why.

"Well, sorry. Hear me, I need to get my backpack finished. Just some stuff we might need. While I fix that, could you tell what's the matter?"

"What's the matter with what? And I thought that we only needed the football…"

"Yeah, that too. But really Mike, you seem excited. What happened?" I ask, becoming really curious. He follows me to the kitchen with a big sigh, like I'm forcing him to answer me.

"Luke, quit speaking like you're a psychologist. You aren't one…yet. But if you are so curious, well sorry, nothing happened. I'm just in a good mood."

"Really? Not even a raise in your allowance?" I don't know if I'm getting frustrated about his lack of information or about the things I've been finding in the kitchen drawers. Nothing, not even small packs of cookies or candy. I've to buy it on the way….

"No, but now that you say that, maybe I should discuss that with my mother." He starts to wonder, looking outside.

"Ok, let's go then. I've to go to the grocery shop before we get to the park, ok?"

We leave by the kitchen's door to the backyard to find the one of many footballs my brother and me have. The first one I grab is almost empty so I search for another. When I find the perfect one, I throw it at Mark, with my back turned to him. He was in the porch so he has to run to catch the ball with his foot, but the rapidity makes his kick fail and be stronger than intended and I see the ball flowing over my fence to the neighbours backyard.

"Bloody hell Mark!" I yell at him.

"What? I was far from the ball! Next time look before you throw!" He yells at me.

I don't say anything because he is right. He joins me near the fence and we start too look to the other side. We don't see anyone.

"Maybe you should go get the ball right now, before someone appears…Just jump over the fence" I say to Mike who is still looking to the ball.

"What? You should go yourself. They are your neighbours, not mine. What would I say if one appears? "Hi, I'm your neighbour's older son's friend"? That's stupid!" Yeah, Mike also has the capacity to overreact when he's nervous.

"Fine then, I'll go".

We leave my house together. When we approach my neighbour's front gate, I tell him to wait right there. Just one of us was necessary to pick up the ball.

I walk the front yard and the front steps. Was this house always here? I can't remember a single detail, not even the colour. I know at least that about my neighbour's houses. I look around, for something that my mind acknowledges for itself but nothing.

"Hurry up Luke! What's the wrong?" Mark whispers loudly to me.

I ignore his question and turn to the front door and ring the bell. Maybe this house is new in here. But I don't remember any construction…. Are there any people living here? I don't have any idea. And I thought I was good observer….

All of a sudden someone opens the door and startles me. And now I become really worried. How I didn't notice her? We teenagers acknowledge other teenagers. It's natural. Maybe she just moved. But who lived here before?

"Good afternoon. Can I help you?" She asks. She is looking at me a bit worried. I close my mouth to swallow and answer her.

"Hmm, yeah. Good afternoon. Ehh… I think I threw my football to your backyard. Accidently, of course!" I think I threw my football? That's stupid! "Could I pick it up really quickly? I really apologize for any inconvenient."

"Sure, of course. I'll take you to the backyard." She looks over my shoulder before let me in. She must have noticed Mark.

"Isn't your friend cold?" she asks suddenly while we cross her living room. It doesn't looks like a living room of someone who just moved. I realize that I have to answer her.

"Ehh, I don't think so." The git! I bet she just enjoyed the view of Mark's biceps, like any other girl would do. That's one think I would like to understand about them. How come guy's arms are seductive?

We arrive to the backyard and I grab the football. "I hope I didn't provoke any damage to your flowers." I know the ball didn't hit the flowers, but I think I must be polite to show her that I'm not any hooligan. And sometimes, an apology isn't enough.

"It's fine. I don't think it touched them." She has her arms crossed and is leaning on the doorway. I noticed that her eyes look tired. It makes her look older. How old is she?

"Good, I guess…" I walk towards her and stop half a meter from her. I think I'm too close…

The amount of questions I have to ask her! She seems a nice girl, how I haven't noticed her before? And all those hours I spent looking outside my window, when I need to calm down? I have a clear view of this backyard and I never noticed anyone. How is that possible?

"Well…So… Eh… Thank you for letting me grab my football." She smiles at me and leads me to the front door. The way she looked at me before turning around was almost like she was making fun of my stutter. I feel myself blush because I'm not used to that. I like and I KNOW how to speak fluently. Who's her?

We reach the front door, she opens it and I get outside. Mark's is looking at me and is curious.

"Thank you again. Have a nice day." I wish her without looking at her, even though she just embarrassed me and I can still feel my face hot. I walk quickly to the front gate before she says another word. Who's her?

I approach Mark and he seems worried. "What happened? Did you argue with her?" he says to me almost in a whisper.

"Why do you ask that?" I whisper to him back. Where did he get that idea?

"You are all flushed! But I didn't ear anything…. You if you didn't argue with her, what happened?" I close her gate behind me and take a last look. She is still on the front door looking at us. Or Mark's biceps…

"Nothing Mark, forget it." I hope he drops the issue, or I'll have to lie to him. And I hate lying. We start to walk down to street, getting away from her.

"Ok, whatever. You never told me you had a neighbour with our age!" He says to me. He seems excited.

"How do you know she has our age?"

"Are you blind? Does she look a girl in her 20's? I don't think so. And does she look a girl with less than 15? I don't think so too. Therefore, she has our age range at least"

The way he says this almost makes it feel like the world's most accurate statement ever. And obviously, he didn't saw her like I did. She looked older in some way. Her eyes… Something…

"You must be right…" How can I argue him?

"How come you never talked about her before? You didn't want to share her, eh?"

"I never talked about her before because I've never saw her before." It's the true and I can't believe it myself. It's weird.

"What? That's bullshit! She's your neighbour for god's sake!"

"I'm serious, I've never noticed her before… And why are you so interested anyway?" Yeah, why? I have a slightly idea of why, but I need the confirmation.

"Really Luke? She's. Is. A. Girl! Girls are always girls and we, guys, need to be updated about the girls around us. And she's fine, you know? I can't believe you never noticed her... Ok, she's not like those birds on the telly, but she's good enough. I wonder if-"

"Do you hear yourself?" I'm not surprised about the way he is talking about girls. We guys use to do that a lot when we get together for beers. I know it's not a nice way, but it's a way to evaluate girls that we know and aren't emotional attached to. But since I don't know this girl, I feel defensive of her. She isn't one of our classmates or a girl from our school.

"What did I say?" He stops walking and looks at me really surprised.

"Look, Mark, you shouldn't talk about her in that way. We don't know her. And I think she just moved, that's why I didn't noticed her before." I know that's not the case. My mom would know that for sure.

"Oh, ok. Sorry then. It was disrespectful. But still, she is nice you know?" He says almost afraid of an incoming outburst. But he's looking at the sidewalk with a hint of smile. Oh no…

"Are you interested in her?" I have to ask. If he is interested in her, I need to prepare. 'For what?' you might be asking. I'm always Mark's companion in his tasks to get girlfriends and/or get to know girls. It's always tiring and I have very few rewards. One time, I pretended to be a guy with a nasty behaviour towards a girl for him. He arrived, punched me and was her saviour. I think my black eye was longer that their relationship.

"Well, I think I should get to know her. If she is new around here, she needs friends. I would be glad to do it! And I know she noticed me back there, so…"

"Yeah, she asked me if you weren't cold." I say reticent.

"Really? That's great! Now I can talk to her about how hot I am!" He is excited again.

I punch him in the arm, but I notice that it was with more force than intended. But Mark is like a rock, and just laughs…

We do the rest of the way in silence. He is smiling and obviously thinking about what scheme he should use for this new girl. I notice that I'm not confortable about this. Most of the girls Mike dated didn't become either him or my friends after he dumped them and I understand why. But since this girl is my neighbour, that would be difficult to deal with. See her disappointed face everyday, or maybe she would turn her family against mine because of the things Mike and me did for him to get her attention.

We are about to enter do grocery shop when I'm debating with myself if I should tell him what I think. But, what if she is the one for him? I know, not likely. And there is no such thing called destiny and soul mate. Have your mind before your heart Luke! But if I'm like… protecting her from him, maybe it's my heart speaking… If so, my mind and my heart agree with each other…

"Mark, maybe you shouldn't do it." I say as he's checking the snacks section. He stops in his track, looks at me and I feel intimated. He is the ladies man and never bothered with any advice I gave him before. In this subject, he is the professional. The only girlfriend I had was because of him and I never questioned the advices he gave me that time and it worked out well. So, why would he hear me now?

"What are you talking about?" I know he knows, but maybe he just wants to confirm we are in same page.

"I'm talking about the new girl. She is my neighbour and I don't want any mess if the things turn out wrong… I live in a neighbourhood where people get along very well and I don't want that to change…"

"What? She is your neighbour mate, not mine! If things go wrong, I'm the one who did the mess, not you!" He is surprised because I never gave my opinion about any of the girls before. But this is different.

His gaze doesn't move.

"I know, but I'm your friend and I don't want her to be bad mad at me if anything happens. That's what happened with the other girls, you know? I'll face her more regularly than the others and until we go to the Uni., I don't want any misunderstandings around my mom, or she'll be reticent about me living alone in the campus. Really, the less mess, the better."

He looks at the ceiling while putting his hands on his shorts pockets. I'm chewing my lip nervously. I have never felt like this before with Mike.

"Listen mate, I'm not afraid of what you'll be doing to her. I'm used to that. I'm just worried about her behaviour after you dump her. And as you said, she is new. She needs friends. It's too soon for her to be ditched in a new town."

He finally looks at me and agrees with his head. I exhale the air I was holding and notice that my body was tense when I feel myself getting lighter.

"You're right. But she's a pretty bird… What about you get to know her first?"

"Me? I'm not the one interested!" I'm obviously in denial. I'm very curious about her and Mike's suggestion is not bad at all.

He starts to walk, looking for his favourites snacks on the top shelf, and I see that he has a smug smile in his face.

"I think you are. Don't forget that you were blushing when you left her house. If you didn't argue, what did you do?" He looks at me like he already knows the answer. Which he don't. Damn him for remembering it.

"Forget what I asked. Go after her and do whatever you want. I'll deal with whatever consequences your actions will bring" I walk to the soda section and he almost has to run after him. I hate when Mark gets to my weak point without noticing. And I never warn him about that because that's just embarrassing.

"Luke, mate. Calm down." He turns me around to face him. He is worried. "Sorry ok? Don't tell me what happened in her house. I was just playing with you!"

I finally look at him and accept his apology. Mark always understands when I'm really mad. Am I really mad about this?

"Listen, you took it the wrong way. When I said that you should get to know her first, I was talking about being a good neighbour and show her around the town and stuff. It isn't suspicious at all and then, even if someday I ask her out, she won't think that you are her friend because of me. That way, whatever happens, she'll still be your friend. What do you think?" For the first time, Mark his asking my opinion about a girl he wants to date. And his face tells me that he is really interested on my opinion.

"You are right. We'll do it that way then. But please, let me be friends with her before you come to the picture, ok? I don't want to be known as the guy-who-introduced-me-to-that-bloody-git…"

"You're the bloody git!" He says to me laughing.

Five minutes later we head towards the cashier to pay for our snacks and drinks, and after we leave the grocery shop, we run to the park to get the best spot to play football with each other. The park has a lot of people but luckily, most of them are kids who prefer the playground. The clearing is almost empty and we find a place where the ground isn't inclined and doesn't have holes where the ball gets stuck.

We start to play with each other, 50 meters apart, when Mark grabs the ball with his hands…

"What's wrong?" I ask confused.

"The girl…what's her name?"

Of all the questions I had in my head, neither was about her name… Damn…

*****F*****

Thank you for reading this chapter and, please, feel free to review it and let me know what you think. I already have the next chapter finished, but I'll give it some time.

Until next time :).