Chapter 5

Alex POV

I got up from my bed, put my guitar on the stand and walked to the front door. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the door. This couldn't be real… There was no way…

"Hi, sorry for interrupting you. You sounded really good. My mom said we could come over and use your shower and bathrooms and stuff right?"

"Um, yeah definitely," I barely got the words out. There was a girl standing 10 inches away from me that looked identical to Rydel Lynch, the sister of the guy I loved. Also the only girl in my favorite band. The band I had always dreamt of meeting one day. My heart was going crazy… My head was spinning… No wait, that was the room…

"Uh, are you ok? You look kind of pale."

"Yeah, I just need to sit down for a minute," I said.

"So can I take a shower now, or not yet, or…"

"Now's fine. Oh, my name's Alex by the way." I realized that if I introduced myself, she would probably do the same and I would find out if the person in my house was really Rydel or not.

"Ok thanks. Oh and my name's Rydel, nice to meet you Alex," she said.

I was about to explode inside.

"Wait. Rydel from R5?"

"Yeah, you know us?"

"Of course I do. You guys are the best band ever!" I realized how cheesy that sounded after I said it.

"Well, we just moved in across the street, so maybe later you can come over and say hi, unless we all end up meeting you here to take showers and stuff."

"Yeah that would be amazing. When your brother Ryland came over earlier, I knew he looked familiar, but I figured my mind was just going crazy. I mean, what are the chances of my favorite band moving in next door?"

Rydel's POV

I laughed. Alex was such a sweet girl. I could tell her mind was still trying to process me being here. It was so nice of her to let us use her water while ours wasn't working. I was glad we picked to move here, since we had an amazing fan just across the street.

"Haha, yeah," I said.

"Oh you probably want to take a shower now. That's why you came over here. The bathroom's right here," Alex said.

"Thanks a bunch."

Alex POV

I could not believe what was happening right now. My favorite band had just moved in across the street and now one of them was using my shower! Rydel Lynch was using my shower. That just completely blew my mind.

I realized I hadn't moved at all from my place on the couch because I was completely in shock. I got up and went to my room. I thought about texting Katelyn, but I knew she was having a lot of fun since she barely texted me. But this was her favorite band. She loved Rocky almost as much as I loved Riker. Hmmm. I'll tell her later.

I heard the shower turn off, so I went and sat in the living room so Rydel wouldn't have to hunt me down if she had any questions or anything.

Rydel's POV

I turned off the bathroom light and opened the bathroom door. Alex was on the couch. I wondered if she had been there this whole time…

"Thanks for letting me use your shower," I said.

"Oh, it was no problem."

"Well at 7:00, my mom wanted to know if you and your parents wanted to come over and meet us," I said.

"Well I would love to meet you all, but my parents are staying the night at my aunt's house. My aunt lives on the lake down the street, so my parents took their boat to her house," she said.

"There's a lake on this street?"

"Yeah, it's just down the road. My friend and I go swimming in it all the time," she said.

"Wow, that's so cool. I didn't even know there was a lake on the street. Wait, so you're all alone in your house tonight?"

"Yeah I'm home alone. My parents just decide not to come home sometimes, so I'm kind of used to it," said Alex.

"Well, if you need anything, we're just across the street. And if you want to come over at 7:00 to meet us, that would be great," I said.

"Ok, cool, I'll be there."

"Ok, well, I'll see you then."

Alex POV

I was going to meet R5! Riker! AHHHH!

I watched videos of R5 on YouTube, trying to pass the time until it was 7:00. I found a new one I hadn't seen before. It was an episode of R5TV and they were covering Justin Bieber's "Kiss Me". Normally, I was not a Justin Bieber fan. But the way Riker sang it…

After watching "Kiss Me" a few times, I realized it was almost time to head over. I grabbed my phone, slipped on my flip flops, and headed out the door.

Rydel POV

"No, you guys can't go to the store yet. Our next door neighbor is coming over to meet us, and she's a huge fan. She'll be devastated if you guys aren't here," I said.

"Rydel, we need water. And food. We haven't eaten anything all day. Or drank anything except Gatorade," said Rocky.

I watched as Rocky, Ross, and Riker headed through the front door, got in their car, and drove away.

Just then, I got a phone call. It was from Ellington.

"Hey, I'm almost there. I'm like 15 minutes away," he said.

"Ok, well, I'll see you soon."

Ellington had joined our band about a year ago. Since we had to move, his parents agreed to let him live with us, since he was practically at our house everyday anyway.

*Knock Knock Knock

That was probably Alex.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey, come in. Unfortunately, my brothers, except Ryland decided food was more important at the moment, so they're not actually here right now," I said.

"Well, they're boys, what would you expect?" she said.

I was glad she understood and wasn't too upset about my brothers…

"Well, maybe you can meet them when they come back. Or tomorrow. Sometimes they spend such a long time shopping, it's ridiculous!"

"Yeah. Well, since they're not here, did you want me to show you the lake?" she said.

"Yeah, that'd be great! I still haven't gone down to see it yet."

"Do you want to go now?"

"Yeah, let's go," I said.

Alex and I walked down the street. The lake was only a 2 minute walk from our houses. We walked down the steep hill to the beach. Alex showed me a path that led to the docks and boats. We sat down on one of the docks, and stuck our feet in the water.

"It's so cold!" I screamed.

"You'll get used to it," said Alex.

"Do you actually go swimming in it?" I asked.

"Well not usually now, since it's not June yet, and as you already said, it's cold, but yeah I go swimming in it. A few weeks ago I was dared by my friend Katelyn to jump off one of these docks. It was freezing. But I never back down from a dare, and it was fun," she said.

"Wow, you are so much like my brothers. They would totally do something like that," I said.

Alex POV

"Really?"

"Yeah, without even thinking twice," Rydel said.

I still couldn't believe I was sitting next to Rydel. Rydel was actually here! And she seemed interested in being my friend which was amazing! Rydel was a sweet person, and a growing celebrity. Katelyn's going to be so jealous when she finds out I have a new best friend and she wasn't even here to meet her!

Rydel and I sat and talked until it got dark out, so then we started walking back up to our houses. When we were standing in between both of our houses, we said goodnight.

"If you need anything water related, or anything related for that matter, feel free to drop by, even if it's late. I won't mind," I said.

"Alright thanks," she said.

Rydel asked for my cell number and told me she would text me later tonight. I sat in my room, trying to understand that this WAS ALL REAL!

A little bit later, I got a text from Katelyn. She was laying in bed, just wondering if anything was new around here. Before I answered her question, I asked her how her trip was going. Apparently she was having the time of her life, which was a first for her and her family. I decided still not to tell her about our new neighbors. I knew if I did, it would ruin her vacation because that's all she would think about.

Rydel never texted me that night, and I was starting to think that she was just pretending to be my friend because she felt bad for using my shower or something. I decided to go to bed.

The next morning…

I woke up and got ready for school. It was a Monday. I hated Mondays. To make my Monday even worse, Katelyn wasn't even here to wait for the bus with me. I was all alone, thinking about getting kidnapped…

I got to school and was in fourth period when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. The lights were off, and I was sitting towards the back, so I decided to risk it and see who had texted me.

It was Rydel. She was wondering if I was ok because I wasn't answering my front door and she couldn't hear anyone inside. I texted her back saying I was at school in math class. She apologized and asked when I got out of school. I told her I got out at 2, but I would get home at 2:45 because I was one of the last people to get dropped off from my bus. She said that she could pick me up from school if I wanted and I accepted because a 45 minute bus ride without Katelyn would be absolute torture. Plus, it was Rydel. Who wouldn't want a ride home with her?

During lunch, I got a text from Katelyn. The world was finally balanced again because she was mad at her family. Really mad. She asked me if the new neighbors had moved in yet.

"Well yeah, they did," I said.

"Why do you say it like that?" She texted back.

"Well, you know them," I said.

"Really? Do I like them?"

"I'll say you do."

"Who? I'm like dying here!"

"It's… R5. Like seriously. It's really them. I hung out with Rydel for about an hour yesterday, but I didn't really meet anyone else."

"You're joking. I know you are. Seriously, who are the new neighbors?"

"R5. It's really them."

"REALLY!? OH MY GOSH THAT IS AMAZING! Did you tell Rydel about me?"

"Um, no. Why would I?"

"Because I'm your best friend and I want to marry Rocky! I can't believe you wouldn't tell Rydel about me. You're so selfish sometimes. You just want them all for yourself."

"Katelyn, that's ridiculous. I know you like Rocky, and I don't "want them all for myself" What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me is that I picked you to be my best friend."

I couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. I was so mad at Katelyn. She was being ridiculous, and a jerk. How could she say those things to me?

Rydel picked me up from school.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"I can tell something's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me. Did one of you guys need to shower?"

"Well actually yeah. But that's not why I offered to pick you up. I just wanted to hang out. I mean, if you wanted to."

"Yeah sure, I just have to finish some textbook questions for math. It will only take me an hour and then you can come over if you want," I said.

"That sounds great."

Rydel dropped me off at my house and parked the car in front of hers. There was a second car in their driveway which I suspected was Ellington's.

I started on my math homework so I didn't keep Rydel waiting.

Rydel POV

"What's wrong, Rydel?" Rocky asked.

"Well you know how I'm friends with the girl across the street, Alex?"

"Yes…"

"Well when I picked her up from school today, I could tell something was bothering her, and she wouldn't tell me what. But it seemed kind of bad. She barely talked, and didn't even smile once. Yesterday she was a completely different person. I barely saw her without a smile on her face. I'm worried about her. And apparently her parents weren't even home last night. She was all alone. She told me this was normal for her to spend the night alone. If she hadn't been so smiley, I would have been concerned. But now, I know something's wrong."

"Wait, wait, wait. Slow down Rydel. Let's just take this one question at a time. Now, does she have any good food over there?"

"ROCKY!"

Ugh, he was ridiculous. His brain was only on food. When I screamed his name, he jumped, which made me feel a little bit better, but I was really worried about Alex.

*CRASH

"What was that!?" I screamed.