Hey guys! I hope you all like this chapter! So far I'm doing good about updating. I wanted to say thanks for the positive feedback I got on the first chapter! I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! This chapter is written in more than one perspective. Please let me know what you think.

I just got back from Spring Break so I'm pretty tired. I went to a theatre convention. That might sound super lame but to me it's totally my natural habitat. I hope to be a playwright someday. And there's a Cydney fun fact for you. But anyways, I'm absolutely exhausted yet I couldn't wait to post this chapter. I'm really excited about this story, guys, and I hope you are too.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to James Patterson.

MAX

The house we pulled up to was nothing at all like I imagined.

What I had imagined was a suburban house that looked identical to all the other houses on the street and had a 10x10 patch of grass and neat trimmed hedges.

What we pulled up to was a large, white, two-story house complete with a wrap-around porch, and white picket fence. There was a thicket of trees separating the house from the neighbors. And the lawn was spacey and lined with flowers. It looked like something out of a magazine.

No wonder Jeb had kept it a secret.

"Holy shit," I muttered, putting my truck into park.

Ella too had her jaw hanging slack in shock. "I know the dude is a scientist but for what? NASA?"

"Maybe he sells human organs illegally on the black market."

"Or maybe he invented a new super drug and is the leader of a mafia or something."

(Mom would later assure us since we weren't listening the first time that he was a brain surgeon).

Ella and I exchanged a look and took a deep breath. We hopped out of the truck and prepared to confront our new lives.

I didn't get very far before stopping in my tracks. My attention was suddenly captured by my Mother greeting Jeb in a loving embrace. They kissed and when she pulled away I was shocked to see tears on her face. My Mother rarely cried so when she did it always hit me like a punch.

She cried when her father died. She cried when she learned her husband wasn't the man she thought he was. And she cried when he left.

But this was a different kind of crying, I could tell. There was a giant smile on her face, accenting her delicate features. And Jeb was smiling too. And it was so clear. She was happy. And this was a new beginning for her too. Maybe bigger than mine or Ella's.

I had to allow myself a smile before continuing my walk up to the porch where I said hello to Jeb.

Jeb was a nice guy, I had to admit. And he was charming and handsome. It wasn't hard to see why Mom fell for him. He was polite and always a gentleman and he was willing to do anything for my Mom. I tried my hardest for the longest time to find a fault in him but I always came up short. So instead I decided to quit playing the obnoxious step-daughter role and tried getting along with him.

He gave me a side hug which weirded me out a little but I went with it. "Maximum!"

"Jeb, how many times have I told you to call me Max?" I asked as politely as I could.

He ignored me. "How was the drive?"

"Bloody hell."

Mom swatted my arm while Jeb laughed. "But the house is beautiful."

"I'm glad you think so," He replied. "Your mother and I have the master bedroom downstairs and your bedroom is upstairs as well as Ella's."

"Wait, you mean Ella and I don't have to share a room anymore?" I gasped, as Ella joined us on the porch. Ella and I had shared a room since the beginning of time. I gave her my best Bambi eyes before blurting out, "Oh, thank the heavens above!"

Ella shoved me into the house and we took our time wandering around and admiring each room. It was absolutely amazing. I could be exaggerating but I had grown up in a Brooklyn apartment so this house was to me, Cinderella's castle. Although to anyone else it was probably just a normal house.

I had finally made it upstairs and stood in front of the door at the end of the hall which was marked with a sticky note that said 'Max' on it. Ella's was marked with her name as well. I was a little upset that they had picked out our rooms for us instead of just letting us duke it out like normal people. That is until I opened the door.

My room alone was bigger than our entire apartment back home. There was a large window on one wall and all the other wall a wide set of doors that opened up to a balcony. I tried to take in the grandness of it all. I couldn't. This was more than I could have ever expected.

A knock sounded on my door and I turned to see Jeb and Mom standing there smiling at me. "How do you like it, Max?"

I had to take a moment to assemble my thoughts. "It's…I love it, actually."

Ella burst in, pushing Mom and Jeb aside. "Why the hell does she get a freaking balcony?"

I rolled my eyes. And so it began.

FANG

"Fang, look!" My little sister shouted at me from the window. I went over to her to see what she was pointing at. Next door I could see men unloading things from a moving van and carrying them through the front door. There was Jeb, who we had met earlier this week. He was with a woman and they were drinking lemonade on the porch.

But what caught my attention was the girls sitting on the tailgate of a beat up red truck. Or more specifically the older looking one who looked to be about my age. She looked connected yet disconnected to all of it. She watched the movers pass her with a curious look on her face.

I couldn't help myself. She was very pretty. Her hair was long and wavy and was a dirty blondish color. She was tall and slim. She wore a red flannel with the sleeves pulled up, denim shorts, and black hi-top converse. She was sitting on the tailgate with her legs swinging over the side. The sunlight was shining on her like the heavens above were trying to tell me something. She looked so casual yet utterly stunning at the same time. I was actually stunned. I'm never stunned.

I had to physically force myself to look away.

"Come on, Angel. Leave them alone."

But at that moment my little brother materialized beside me and shouted, "Mom! The new neighbors are here!"

I clasped a hand over his mouth and hissed, "Gazzy, shut up!" But it was too late. Mom came fluttering over to the window and grinned. Here we go.

I slunk down into the couch as she giddily announced, "We're going to go say hello. It's a good thing I just made a pie."

"Mom you knew they were arriving today. It's not a coincidence that you made a pie," I retorted.

She ignored me and pulled me off the couch by my arm.

"Fang it won't kill you to be social. Plus they have a daughter your age. You two can be friends."

"Why do we have to be such a cliché?"

"I don't know what you mean." She replied innocently.

"Greet the new neighbors with a welcome-to-the-neighborhood pie? Come on, Mom."

"It's called being friendly, Sunshine."

My dad had just joined us from his office and we shared a kill-me-now look. At least he was on my side.

Before we walked out the front door, Mom turned and assessed us. She tried to fix our hair and make us presentable as best as she could before giving up. "Just try to look semi-functional."

Next thing I know we're crossing the path between our houses and infiltrating our neighbor's space. We walked to the porch where Jeb and the woman were sitting. The girls were still sitting on the truck. I tried not to stare.

Jeb stood to greet us. "Hey! It's good to see y'all again! Valencia, honey, these are our new neighbors, the Montgomery's."

The woman stood and beamed at us. I noticed that she looked a lot like who I assumed were her daughters. "It's nice to meet you."

My mother started off the introduction process. "I'm Anne and this is my husband."

"I'm David. Welcome to the neighborhood. These are our children. Angel and Zephyr." Angel looked innocent as ever while 'Zephyr' took it upon himself to mention his nickname which I'm sure must have made my mom internally cringe.

"You can call me The Gasman or Gazzy for short." The new neighbors didn't seem too perplexed which I took as a good sign.

When I realized no one was going to introduce me I said, "I'm Nick." They didn't need to know my nickname. But apparently The Gasman thought differently because he mentioned that I was normally called Fang. Which I assume also made my mother internally cringe.

"We brought you a pie!" She announced, fluidly changing the subject.

Valencia smiled. "That's so sweet." Then she called over to the girls on the truck. "Girls, come meet the neighbors! They brought us a pie."

I tried to make myself look as chill as possible which probably had the opposite effect and watched as they hopped off the tailgate and walked over to us.

MAX

"Hey look, you think those are the neighbors?"

"I hope not. I'm not up for socializing right now. Or ever."

Ella pointed to a boy who looked about my age. "He's cute."

I swatted her arm down before he saw. "You think every boy is cute."

"Yeah but this one is especially cute. No. Cute isn't a strong enough word. He's gorgeous. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

"Okay no more Shakespeare for you." I rolled my eyes but unfortunately she was right, like always. The boy was cute. Maybe even hot. Summer's day hot. I wasn't one to get all gooey over strangers but I wasn't going to deny myself the pleasure of looking at him. He was tall and slender. Although he was thin I could see the muscles in his arm move as he shook my Mother's hand. His skin was a tan olive color. Like a Greek God in a movie or something. And his hair was in a black shaggy mess around his head. He was decked out in faded, torn blue jeans and a baseball tee that was white with black sleeves. His shoes, I noticed were dingy black converse like mine.

"Max, you're drooling."

"Shut up, twerp." But I had to force myself to look away.

We sat there hoping that we would go unnoticed but we were never that lucky. Mom, of course called us over. "Girls come meet the neighbors! They brought us a pie!"

Ella groaned and I mumbled, "What the hell is this? A damn lifetime movie?"

But we obeyed and plastered on our fakest smiles. When we reached them Mom thankfully introduced us. "These are my daughters Ella and Maximum."

"You can just call me Max. Nice to meet you." We shook their hands and when I reached the boy, whose name was apparently Nick, I couldn't help but meet his eyes. They were obsidian black yet bright and lively at the same time. Never have I ever seen eyes like his.

And immediately I was drawn in.

FANG

I shook her hand, but all I could think was 'Holy shit, her eyes.' It wasn't too intelligent and I knew if I opened my mouth to say something it would be my downfall. So I kept my mouth shut and tried not to seem like a total lame-wad.

Again, it was such a cliché. She was the girl next door. I could practically see the plot line unfolding before me. But I couldn't help it. She drew me in with her big brown eyes.

And so it began.

Also in case any of you were wondering, my inspiration for Fang is Avan Jogia. He played Beck on that Nickelodeon show, Victorious. I think he would make a beautiful Fang. I had trouble writing about Fang without making him sound so aggressively emo. I think there's more to him than his black clothes, you know? And Beck just became my muse. So I hope you guys are okay with that.

Don't forget to review!(:

-Cydney