Chapter 1

Bethany Woods took a sip of her juice, flipping the pancake over with a spatula and glanced at the clock. So far, they were good on time. Placing her glass on the countertop, she plated the fluffy pancake on top of the stack she had already made and opened her mouth to call out when her younger brother came running down the stairs with his bag slung over one shoulder, shoving his homework inside and his hair a dishevelled mess.

Eric hopped up on the stool at the countertop with a wide grin that never failed to make her day. "Morning, B!"

"Good morning," she greeted, leaning down to kiss his forehead and muss his hair which had the expected result as he began to comb through and smooth the mess.

As she poured in more batter for the next pancake, she heard an excited cheer of, "Pancakes!" that had her laughing to herself. If there was any breakfast item that Eric loved more than anything, it was pancakes.

"With extra chocolate chips," she added, glancing over her shoulder to see the boy literally stuffing his mouth with pancakes.

"You're the best!"

"Tell me something I don't know."

Finishing with the last pancake and shutting off the fire, she plated it for herself before joining her brother at the countertop. Adding a slab of butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup, it was a contrast to her brother who had his with chocolate sauce. As they ate, they easily slipped into their typical sibling banter as she teased him about obviously not finishing his homework the night before as evidenced by his hurried state earlier and the obvious sight of him stuffing the papers in his backpack. In retaliation, Eric easily pointed out that she herself, didn't have a good track record with homework as she often woke up early to get it done if at all.

"I'm older," she retorted, prompting Eric to laugh as that was always her reason and he conceded.

With breakfast done, the two of them shared the task of cleaning up with Beth washing and drying the dishes while Eric wiped the countertop clean and kept the juice back in the fridge.

"Books?"

"Packed!"

"Homework?"

"Done and packed! Lunch?"

She grabbed the container and handed it over to him. "Done. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, apple slices and peanut butter, crackers and a grape juice box."

"Fancy," he quipped, packing it in his bag.

"Please try not to eat your crackers in the middle of class again."

Eric frowned, his brows furrowing and arms crossed adorably. "I still don't know how you adults know."

She flicked his nose. "We always know."

He wrinkled his nose as she locked the door behind them.

Eventually, Eric would realize that whenever he ate crackers, the evidence would always be there. On his shirt, around his mouth and for some weird reason, in his hair. The boy was a mess.

"B, look! I think someone's moving into Mrs. Collins' old place!" Eric exclaimed, pointing at the spot where the 'For Sale' sign used to be.

Jerking a thumb towards the large obstruction in front of the place, she commented, "And judging by the large ass dumpster, Mrs. Collins either left a ton of crap behind or the place is undergoing a total overhaul."

Although, considering that Mrs. Collins was one hell of a hoarder, the first reason could definitely be tossed out unlike the hairball that one of the old lady's cats had puked out three years ago. Surprisingly, the woman was able to preserve it very well which had been a disgusting yet interesting experience for Beth. There was a third reason which Beth refrained from mentioning to her younger brother and that was that the new owner could have possibly found a multitude of remains of Mrs. Collins' cats and their litters but then again, the woman had likely taken them with her when she decided to move after the numerous complaints from the residents of their neighbourhood and one Jane Brewster as the cats began going into heat one by one.

Whoever the new owner was, they were one brave cookie because Beth entered the place once five years ago and it was a major sensory overload for a twelve-year-old to experience. She had never stepped foot into the place since. She didn't even want to think of the internal state of the house though was there anything left behind? Beth swore she saw the woman hauling the sink out of there and that thing came with the house when it was built. She probably took everything and the kitchen sink.

"We're finally going to have a new neighbour."

"Considering the previous owner, let's hope that this one is better. Then again, they probably got it for dirt cheap and let's face it, whoever bought that horror house is probably another weirdo."

"Probably," Eric agreed.

"Good morning, Beth, Eric!" Jane Brewster called, waving at them from her lawn, interrupting the siblings' discussion on the new and old owner of their new neighbour.

They returned the wave, Eric's flapping arm a little more enthusiastic than his older sister's single wave.

"Morning, Jane/Good morning, Mrs. Brewster!" The siblings greeted as the woman walked over to them.

"So… New neighbour. You kids excited?"

Beth and Eric shared a glance before facing the older woman. "Not really."

"Oh, come on, I'm excited."

"That's only because Mrs. Collins and you have had a feud ever since one of her cats escaped and bit Charley's dick six years ago," Beth pointed out.

"Yes, and at that age, it wasn't very big. Just a little wiener," Jane said, holding up her thumb and index finger apart an inch for reference. "That cat was probably bigger than he was."

"First of all, the wiener thing… Ew. The size though? Meh. And secondly, that cat was definitely bigger than him."

Who could blame the cat though? It probably did think it was a wiener with the way Charley was running around with his dick out after splitting his pants right down the middle and not wearing any underwear. Summer or not, there was no reason for an eleven-year-old boy to go commando.


Jerry Dandridge was curious as his ears picked up on the interesting conversation happening outside his new place about cats and wieners. At least his new neighbours weren't a total drag like his previous ones. He killed them the chance he got. Drawing closer to the window, he took a look outside at his neighbours who were asleep when he moved in and when he began renovating the shithole.

He let out a hum of approval at the sight of the blonde woman, observing her from head to toe. He had a feeling the real estate agent he spoke to who sold him the house would easy on the eyes. She sure sounded like she would be. While the redhead she was talking to with a kid next to her had her back to him, he could certainly appreciate her figure. Those long legs and that ass in those tight jeans? Yum.

His lifted a brow as she muttered something under her breath about how the cat's actions had been a foreshadowing to Charley being a dick and it should have bitten him harder. Mmm, he liked his women with a little fire and this one was definitely fiery.

A door shut, drawing his attention and he found a teenaged boy standing there, staring at the redhead. Jerry heard the boy's heart pound in his chest and the redhead's heartrate spiked but she pointedly ignored him, excusing herself to head to her car as the teenager joined the blonde who commented on how he and the redhead used to be so close. The house had been shit but at least his neighbours were interesting and he was looking forward to seeing more of the redhead.


"Have a great day at school!"

"You have a great day too, Jane," Beth called out.

She got into her car with Eric and as they were buckling up, she rubbed the back of her neck, feeling like she was being watched.

Eric looked at her. "Do we still not like Charley?"

"Yup."

Eric stared for a moment before nodding. "Okay. He was weird anyway." Rummaging around his bag, he pulled out the bag of gummies she bought him and held out a red gummy bear. "Gummy bear?"

"Definitely."

Opening her mouth, Eric popped the sweet into her mouth and she drove off, waving at Jane but ignoring Charley's gaze. It wasn't like she always disliked Charley. They had been close once. Charley, Ed, Adam and her. They were her best friends and for Beth, who had never had friends until meeting them, they were all that more important. Till Charley became an ass and ditched them to hang with the popular crowd who didn't even really consider him one of them.

She didn't really care anymore though because she still had Adam and Ed. They were a little nutty but still her best friends. For now, at least. Besides, she didn't care for people who abandoned others. She didn't have the luxury to bother about Charley Brewster and his betrayal. There were more important things to worry about. Glancing over at Eric, she mussed his soft chocolate brown locks and he grinned at her before popping a gummy bear in his mouth. She would not be held responsible for his sugar rush later.

"I can't believe that Charley's with the popular crowd though," Eric commented and Beth scoffed.

"He's with them but he's not one of them. I mean, if that doesn't spell pathetic then I don't know what does. Why hang out with people who don't even understand you? That's torture. Then again, he's torturing them as much as they are torturing him. Must suck to have to hang out with people one normally wouldn't care about because of one chick."

Eric chortled next to her, enjoying his normally cool sister being all sarcastic. It was a default mode now whenever the topic of Charley Brewster came up.

"Well, at least you have Adam and Ed," Eric pointed out.

"Yeah."

Noting Beth's dispirited response, Eric sighed. "Adam's not that much either."

"I guess."

"He's a coward too."

"He is," she murmured.

Adam Johnson. One of her two remaining best friends and her ex-boyfriend as of two months ago. Her first love. Beth understood where he was coming from when he suggested that they end their secret relationship but at the same time, she wanted more. It was a slap in the face when he wanted to break up because he wanted to remain friends when he asked her out in the first place. He claimed that he didn't want Ed to feel lonely and she got that but it wasn't like they were going to abandon Ed. They could have carried on as they had been. She just wanted them to be official but in the end, she accepted it because she would be a hypocrite for judging Charley for dumping them for a girl.

"You'll find someone else, B," Eric murmured and she smiled.

"Look at you. You're growing up way too fast," she teased.

"B…"

She held his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "Hey, they are my friends but you're my only family and that's all I really need. We came here to live in peace and other people don't matter in the end. Charley proved that and if in the end, Adam and Ed choose to do the same… I'll be okay with that because friendships don't last but you and I? We're forever."

"You're all I need too, B."

With his hand squeezing hers back, Beth was convinced that as long as she had Eric, she would be okay.

"I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, B."

Dropping Eric off at school, she gave him a once over and nodded in approval at his appearance and that he hadn't forgotten his bag in the car again. She stuck her cheek out and he leaned in, giving her a peck.

"Be good, all right?"

"I got it. No crackers in class."

She sniggered. "That especially. Spaghetti for dinner?"

"With extra sausages in the meat sauce?"

"And loads of parmesan cheese."

Giving each other a knuckle bump, Beth stayed to watch Eric head towards the doors, waving at her just before he went inside. Pulling out of her spot, she headed off to school, mulling over their conversation. It hurt to think about being abandoned by Adam and Ed but at the same time, if it was going to happen, what could she do about it? Charley had left them so easily even though they had years of friendship between them so what was stopping Adam and Ed from doing the same thing? It wasn't like she was a stranger to being abandoned. Her father had done so even before she was born and her mother had the very same thing years ago. Would Eric eventually leave her behind too?

Bang!

She lifted her head and rolled her eyes at the sight of Ed who had slapped the hood of her car. And then she wondered when she had arrived? Or parked for that matter. It was another kind of depressing to find her way to school while lost in thought.

"You thinking of ditching or something?"

She unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her bag, getting out of her car. "When do I not?"

"And yet, you're here."

"When am I not? Morning. You look like shit," she noted, taking note of the deeper than usual eyebags and rumpled clothes.

Should she mention that his fly was down too?

"Morning." He paused. "And thanks for noticing."

"Stayed up to watch porn again?"

Ed scowled. "You know that we don't talk about that at school."

"Ed, everyone knows that you watch porn."

Yup, Ed had made the grave error of not turning down the volume when he was in class. Still in the early stages of puberty and having discovered porn, he had been addicted. It had allowed Adam and her to spend more time together since Ed was busy beating one off but that all ended when Ed accidentally opened a particular file in his phone that filled the silent classroom with moans, groans and other particular sounds. Now, Ed was a paranoid little fuck who only watched it at home in his locked room when his parents were out or asleep with headphones on and on the lowest volume possible. He also ensured that his phone's audio was set at mute and that he never used his phone in class ever again. As a result, he spent hours before school getting his fix, sacrificing sleep in his pursuit of pleasure.

"We promised never to bring that up again."

"We didn't promise anything."

Ed frowned. "And if you must know-"

"Not particularly interested," she interjected.

He continued on as though she hadn't said anything. "-Adam and I spent the night together."

She paused, staring and then nodded. "Good for you both. Who topped?"

"What?" It was silent for a moment before Ed choked. "Not that way!"

"Really? Shame for you though. I thought you'd finally get some."

"I'm fine being a virgin, thank you very much. And as I was saying, we were just doing some research."

"Research? Did I miss something in class?"

"It's more of a personal research. We'll tell you more when we find out more."

Beth didn't really want to hear about it though. Whenever the boys got together for research, it was usually for the weirdest of things. Like trying on skirts. To this day, she could not fathom why. She'd also burned those skirts of hers. They headed into school together, splitting up to get to their lockers. When Beth shut her locker, Ed was already waiting for her with Adam at his side.

"Morning, Beth," Adam greeted, shyly meeting her gaze and she gave him a tight smile.

"Morning."

"You, uh, look nice today."

"Thanks. Uh, nice shirt," she complimented, eyeing his Star Wars tee.

"Thanks."

Ed looked between the two of them. "You losers have been so weird recently."

"When has Adam not been awkward around girls?" she pointed out.

It was true. Adam had never grown out of the stage of being awkward around girls or her for that matter and they pretty much grew up together. It had only been much later that Beth realized that he liked her and even when they started dating, he was still shy, even asking for permission to kiss her amongst other things.

Ed paused. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Let's just get to class."

She walked off with both boys hurrying after her, Adam accidentally bumping into Charley's new 'friend' who suddenly exited the washroom with Charley and another jerk.

"Watch it, loser!" Mark exclaimed, shoving Adam who bumped into Ed.

Adam apologized immediately, hunching over. "I'm sorry!"

Beth glanced at Charley who averted his gaze, saying nothing to help his old friend.

"You're sorry? You got your loser germs all over me."

She shoved at Mark as he lunged at Adam.

"He already said he was sorry and besides, how was he supposed to know that you were coming out of the toilet? It's not like he has X-ray vision."

"You saying it's my fault, Woods?"

She scoffed. "Did I say that?"

"Beth," Adam whispered, tugging at her arm.

"He didn't know you were coming out and you didn't know he was walking in your direction so how about you just let it go. It's too early for this shit. School just started."

Mark stared her down but she remained unflinching. He then looked at Adam.

"Better thank your girlfriend here, Johnson."

Mark walked off which his minions but Charley glanced at Adam for a moment before following.

"Thanks, Beth," Adam murmured.

"It's not like it's anything new," she muttered. "Let's just get to class."

It was pretty much the usual order of things. In fact, halfway through the day, Adam or Ed or even both were going to be targeted by Mark and his cronies again. It was just a normal day in her life.


Author's Note: Well, this is awkward... (*insert nervous laughter) I'm back, folks! I don't know how many of you are still looking out for updates and well, this is not exactly an update but an upgrade. For those who are familiar with this fic, it's been 9 years since I first published this story and maybe 7 or 8 since I last updated. I did promise that I wouldn't be giving up any of my stories but as you can tell, my writing style has changed a lot. I wrote this when I was much younger and my writing has evolved a lot so there was a lot of restructuring going on with my stories and in my life. There were milestones that I've experienced in life and I've had to grow up as well as give up writing for a while but if anything, I have affirmed that writing is still my passion. I'm sorry for taking so long to make my return. With regards to my story, there will be some changes with Anya's name being changed to Beth. I've taken the time to plot out Beth and Jerry's story as well and to flesh out the plot and characters a bit more since the original was a bit more...dramatic, to say the least. The old chapters have been removed and will be replaced by brand new ones. For those who are new to this fic, welcome! I hope that everyone is safe and well during this difficult pandemic that has affected our lives in one way or another. Please continue to stay strong!