THIS is an abnormally long...filler. it's just kinda introducing the characters and their relationship. Chapter two will probably be slightly similar. just to jump from summer to school. hope you slightly like it anyways.
just so you know; the AU comes in HERE and all the chapter following. Cam is rambly. Kemp is awesome.! Chris is random. Josh is over protective. Derrick is slightly jerky, at least at the beginning. Claire is gorgeouss, because i want her to be, and rich and alpha. Dylan is beta. you'll learn more about them below. and, no relationship in the actual book ever happened.
For everyone who reviewed. hope it's not too bad. (and for abby for being fantastic and updating Forever Starts Tonight (FST VS. NST, FST FTW).) -DISCLAIMED-
"A family just moved in next door." Mrs. Hurley informed her son casually, trying to get him to actually talk to her. "They have a boy your age. His mom said he plays soccer, and I can't remember his name for the life of me... Ah, right. Derrick Harrington." She continued, though she wasn't positive if Kemp was even listening.
"That's great mom." He replied, distracted by the IM box in front of him. "I'm assuming you want me to get meet him?" He asked as he typed something on the laptop's keyboard. Without waiting for the 'that'll be great' he knew would come, he continued. "I'll do it before you leave." Mrs. Hurley knew that that was the end of that conversation and, with a quick nod, exited the living room.
khurley: Yo, Plovert. Make sure somebody's bringing the food. & the drinks. & everything. I'm supplying the location and some random kid named Derrick Harrington. See you in a few.
plovert: Sounds like a plan. I feel that that is a job for Fisher and Hotz. See you there.
khurley went away at 6:17 PM.
khurley: PARTY! See you all at 7:00.
---
Claire Lyons phone buzzed, Dylan, Kristen, and Massie's following seconds behind. "That's the fourth. I'm going for six, you guys in?" Claire announced, flipping open the phone to read Chris Plovert's mass text. 'Party at Hurley's. Be there. 7:00 PM or later.' Every time there was a party thrown by one of their (close) friends, the guys got a little mass text crazy. The four girls always bet to see how many they would get, from the time they woke up to the time the party started.
They all added their input, four, five, and eight, before turning back to Dylan's mirror. Getting ready for a party, even one as idiotic as Kemp Hurley's, took a lot of mirror time, make up, and hair products, or at least in their book. "Finished!" Massie smiled, turning to her alpha for the final approval. Claire looked away from her reflections for a fraction of a second to look at her friend.
"You look great. Can you call or text Cam or Josh to tell them we have a ride?" Claire requested. Massie took the kind request as an order and picked up her phone, her thumbs flying over the keypad. "What do you guys think?" Claire asked after a few minutes of silence.
There was a chorus of 'total ten' and 'gorgeous' in response. "Josh will die when he sees you." Dylan, her faithful beta, informed her as she pulled up her flaming red hair. She bit her bottom lip in concentration, ruining her perfectly applied lip gloss. "As usual." She added after she finished her hair. She went back to her lips and Kristen continued applying her makeup.
Then came the loud mix of buzzing and beeping and an odd cricket chirp, signaling mass text number five. "Kris, you lost already. Seriously, we need to take ourselves off their contacts or something." Massie smiled in victory, winning this game was a big deal to them on party days. 'Kemp's at 7. See you there.' Cam's message read.
"Griffin sent out an email, per Kemp's request, too. There is no way anybody will forget." Dylan looked at Claire for her approval and Claire nodded with a smile. "And that's one text from all of them. Which means Massie probably lost, knowing Kemp." She thought out loud before squealing over how good Kristen looked. Only Claire's phone buzzed the sixth time.
Kemp: New kid at my house. Derrick Harrington. Seems cool. Find us first.
Claire: Alright. See you there.
Kemp: & remember, 7 doesn't apply to you girls.
Claire smiled at the IM. Not only was their a new kid, which Claire always adored, Kemp remembered to ask if this kid could hang out with them instead of just assuming. Everybody is still scarred from the Jesse Murray incident nobody cares to relive. "New boy at Kemp's." Claire summed up the IM in a few words, answering the girls questioning gazes. "And he said to get there early. Everybody ready?"
---
Every party thrown by one of the guys in the group was almost a routine. The other guys showed up first, a half an hour to an hour early, and the girls showed up fifteen minutes to a half an hour early. It works well and the girls were never one for a dramatic entrances. Or at least they weren't after Claire Lyons arrived from Orlando and changed everything.
Today was no different. Chris arrived an hour before the party started, like he always did for a party at the Hurley's, Griffin following ten minutes later, and Cam and Josh showing up at 6:30 with the food and drinks and whatever else Chris forced them to get.
"Where's mommy Hurley again?" Josh asked after he barged into the house, his arms full of boxes. Without waiting for anybody to help him, he dropped the boxes on the floor and stepped over them, heading to the living room.
"Work something for a few days. She'll be back on Wednesday or something." Plovert answered, Kemp couldn't be found, as he picked up the boxes and set them on a nearby table. "Where's Cam?" In reply, Cam Fisher pushed open the door, empty-handed. "Right. Hey, Cam." Chris greeted, before walking into the living room after Josh, Cam at his heels.
"Who's that?" Cam asked bluntly, signaling to the blonde boy lounging on a couch. The blonde looked up for a fraction of a second before looking back down to his cell phone, where his thumbs were flying over the keypad faster the Massie's did, which is saying something.
"That," Kemp began, joining them in the big room. "question will remain unanswered for a second. He's staying for the party." Kemp talked about the boy like he wasn't in the room. "Well, he has to meet Claire first." He added, his friends sharing knowing glances, all thinking about the Jesse Murray incident.
"So, introduction time. Everybody, this is Derrick Harrington, my new neighbor. Derrick, meet the guys." Kemp introduced in his lazy fashion. Cam, with a roll of his eyes, filled in the names of 'everybody'. Derrick nodded in greeting before turning back to his phone for a second time.
"The girls will be here soon." Griffin spoke his first words since arriving at Kemp's, reading over the text he just got. "Five minutes, tops. Claire said that if it's messy, they aren't going to help clean." He added. The guys exchanged looks before going to straighten up the house, leaving Derrick to sit on the couch, his phone his only company.
---
"That is Kristen Gregory. Crazy-good soccer player and Plovert's girlfriend of two days." Kemp and Derrick were near the stairs, the perfect distance away from the door. It was always good to meet the girls before actually meeting them. Trying to remember their names and focus on the conversation, with their looks and peppiness was almost impossible the first time you meet them.
They watched Chris walk up to Kristen with a quick kiss, before starting a conversation. Then they turned back to the door. "Dylan Marvil. Loud, hot, and a guy at heart. Completely single, if you get desperate enough." Though the comment sounded evil, Kemp's tone was playful as he watched his friend run right up to Cam before she started to yell, probably accidentally, in his face. "Stay on her good side though."
"Why?" Derrick asked, watching Dylan and Cam closely. Kemp just replied with a 'you'll see'. He waved at Dylan who beamed back. The girl was way to happy for her own good. Another girl walked through the door, and Kemp briefly wondered if they were purposely walking in that way.
"Massie Block." Kemp said after a moment's hesitation. "Watch out for her. You seem to be exactly her type. A guy." This time, there was no playfulness traced in his voice. Derrick was about to ask what happened between the two of them, but then she walked through the door. Kemp didn't give a name, he just took the time to stare at her.
"Who is that?" Derrick finally asked. Kemp took a second to answer as she walked further into the house. She was a small blonde and, even from the distance, Derrick could tell she was pretty. Actually, though Derrick was one to say 'hot', the word just didn't fit this time, she was drop-dead gorgeous.
"That, my friend, is exactly why you should stay on Dylan Marvil's good side." Kemp answered after a second. "She is super sweet, funny, and well...you saw. But, if you do something to make her mad, you should fear for your life. And being mean to her best friend is one of the things you could do. Claire Lyons, a goddess among us." He sighed, taking a moment to stare at her retreating form.
"And Hotz's." Plovert added as he joined the two boys. "Don't even bother. If Josh catches you looking at her, he'll beat you to a pulp." Chris smiled at Claire when she turned around for a second and she waved back. "I thought she was supposed to come over here to meet Derrick."
"She will. But, Josh and Claire haven't seen each other in over twenty-four hours and you know how bad that is." He rolled his eyes. "Just remember, Harrington. When she gets here? Play nice. If you make her mad, you'll be escorted out and never invited back."
"Claire Lyons has that kind of control." Chris then walked away.
---
In the short distance it took to travel from Josh to Kemp, the living room to the foyer, Claire got the sixth mass text. There was only seven more minutes left until the clock struck seven, and it wasn't likely for the guys to send out another mass text so close to each other.
After reading Chris's text, Last warning. Kemp's at 7. Be there or be square, and all of it's cheesy glory, Claire let out a victory shout. "I WON!" Only with her nearest and dearest friends, and Derrick Harrington, could she be her complete, dorky and competitive, self. The girls jokingly glared as she passed.
---
"Kemp!" Claire threw her arms around him. If Dylan was her best girl friend and Josh was her boyfriend, Kemp was her best guy friend. "It's been a while." She smirked, remembering the last time they were together, aka two days ago. Lets just say that it involved the window of Kemp's mom's office and some water balloons and leave it at that.
"Yeah, you know, fourty-eight hours away from you is almost unbearable." Kemp smiled after Claire pulled away. "This..." Kemp starting, about to introduce Derrick to Claire, when he was interrupted by Derrick Harrington himself.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet." He held out a hand that she took immediately. "I'm Derrick Harrington and you must be the Claire Lyons I've heard so much about." Claire nodded with a smile before turning to fake-glare at Kemp. She hated, even with her popularity, when people talked about her and if this Derrick Harrington character was telling the truth, the guys have been talking about her.
"Yeah, I'm Claire. It's great to meet you." She took her hand back. "I didn't get to see Griffin or Cam yet, so... I'll see you around." And then she walked away, pulling out her phone and sending out an IM to all of her friends.
Claire: I approve. Get ready to add another boy to the ongoing list. You all know the drill. And MB? I think I've found you a new boy.
Kemp: Oh no, CL. I will not allow you to mix DH in with the devil on his first day.
Massie: Ooh, really, CL. Tell me more.
Kemp: Am I not speaking English? TELL HER NOTHING!
Dylan: YAY! I can't wait to meet him...
Chris: DM? Tune it down a bit. I can feel you screaming over IM.
Griffin: Shut up, guys. You are in the same house. I don't enjoy a constantly buzzing cell phone.
Claire: Love you too, G!
---
"Congrats, man. You passed the test." Cam congratulated Derrick as he walked up to him and Kemp. "I honestly didn't think she'd approve. You're too...golden retriever. Is that what Dyl said? I think so. But honestly, with that girl, you never know..." He trailed off. "That had no point. Just, congrats. Good to know we have more guy company. Like we need it."
"What test?" Derrick queried. Without answering, Cam walked away. "What test?" Derrick asked Kemp, but he shook his head.
"Don't question it. Just nod your head." Kemp answered. "Welcome to Westchester." Across the room, Claire smiled at Derrick. Kemp's phone beeped, and he showed it to Derrick.
Claire: Welcome to Westchester, DH. You'll be the main attraction at WA for a while. Hope you're ready for it. I'll see you around. -CL.
hope you liked it! (: review if you want.
i'll do my best to answer any questions. and i'll update sooner then later.
happy holidays, bailey.
(and, i'm posting a holiday oneshot tomorrow or christmas eve. (: )