Begin

Old 60's music blasts through the speakers, and slightly off pitch voices lay over the main vocals. Wind rushes through the rolled down windows and whisks my baby hairs all about. I didn't mind nor notice though.

Leaning forward in the seat, notebook in lap, my elbows rest on my thighs as I gaze into space. With my thumb nail in between my teeth, my head is turned ever so slightly that it would be difficult for anyone to see that I was paying attention to anything else beside what's in front of me. But really my eyes were trained on something totally different.

Golden streaks of hair shine dimly against the nearing sunset, and her skin look so smooth that she could have been a porcelain doll.

Of course Audrey was close to being one.

I watched as her hair flew all different directions against her skin, and how her hand flung out of the car anytime she belted a note. My eyes would always trail up to look back at her face though, and when she looks over my direction I almost scream for being so close to being caught.

But because I'm literally an idiot I decide to glance right back at her after only a few seconds of waiting. Out of sheer luck she wasn't looking directly at me, just left, and I'm able to see her pretty blue eyes.

They looked like literal sapphires.

"Joe!" Someone shoves my shoulder, taking me out of my daze and scaring the shit out of me.

"Jesus Theo!" I yell back with annoyance. "What?!"

He looks at me for a second and scoffs with an expression of mocking disbelief. "Don't yell at me. I've been trying to get your attention for like two minutes! It's not my fault you were daydreaming."

I immediately feel embarrassed about the fact he saw me staring. I have to stop doing that. If I get caught I'll literally die.

From embarrassment or worry? I guess I'll decide when the moment comes.

"What did you want Theo?" I ask with sarcastic enthusiasm dripping from my voice.

"Well as I was TRYING to say before," he continues cheekily, with a grin that I know for a fact is on his smug ass face, "Can you actually believe we've survived this long?"

When he glances over at the both of us like an overexcited puppy, I hear a light laugh beside me.

"Oh please, Joeanna and I have had the best grades since freshman year. You're the one who was struggling to survive."

Theo brushes off the comment with ease and holds out his pointer finger at us. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Ms. 'I'm going to be a fucking housewife'."

My eyes widened and this time I look over to see her reaction. Her mouth was dropped open, but instead of looking offended, she looked like she was just trying not to laugh.

Clearing his throat, probably to stop himself from laughing as well, Theo says, "Alright as I was saying– you two do realize that we're going to officially be seniors tomorrow?!"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit this time. Anyone would if they knew how much he's been bringing this up. Half way through summer break I haven't been able to talk to Theo without him bringing this up. At first it was cute, but oh my god– now it's just ridiculous.

I shake my head and retort back, "No, it's not like you've said that twenty times already."

"Yeah, and I've been doing that because you two must have some form of short term memory loss- because how the hell else have you been so calm about this?!" He says while waving his hand all about.

"Okay calm down princess, put your hands back on the wheel. We actually have to live till tomorrow to become seniors, you know?" I reach my hand out to wave down his back onto the wheel.

When he places his hands back on the wheel, it gives me some sort of comfort, but then he begins to rant again.

In these moments I kinda want to strangle him, but then at his funeral I would say a bunch of sappy, nice things because I still love him. I swear Theo makes me bipolar.

"Wait this means we get to go to prom!" Theo turns his head to look at both of us with a open mouth and wide, blue-green eyes. And before I could do anything to stop him, he yells out, "We're going to be fucking seniors!!"

I hit his shoulder as hard as I can, making him look at me and wince. This didn't stop me from hitting him again of course.

"Would you shut up!" I yell in a whisper, taking into consideration that we were now near my house and the windows are down. When I looked around the outside to check I was almost able to sigh in relief because I hadn't seen anyone, but then again I did say almost.

As we started to slow down, due to the neighborhood speed limit, I saw a car and a moving trailer. Two people stood by the car, a tall man with brown, wavy hair and a kind smile. He was the first person to spot us. When he saw us it looked like he was confused at first, but he waved at us politely with a kind smile anyway.

Now he definitely had the right to look at us way worse then he did because at that particular moment I had my hand raised slightly as if I was going to hit Theo, who was now just awkwardly driving.

After a few seconds of being frozen in place I returned his smile with an awkwardly sweet one. As I wave back I see the second figure turn their head in the direction we're the other was looking. Her hair was dark, except for one, white streaking saw slipping out behind her ear. When she looks over at us her hand runs through her hair, showing us every single one of her piercings. If I hadn't kept my mouth sealed shut I would have looked like an idiot.

No one looked like that around here.

Before I could get a better look though, Theo passes by them and continues to drive at a faster pace. For a few seconds it was silent, and I sat back in my seat, but before it could get to tense Audrey asks, "Who do you think they are?"

"Umm I don't know Audrey, maybe a new resident in this fine establishment we have." Theo remarks in a posh tone. "Oh I'm so sorry," he frowns before reaching his hand out to her. "I should have said living place instead. I don't want to confuse your uneducated, house wife mind."

I couldn't even hold it in this time. I bursted out laughing as Audrey yelled back at him and would reach across me to try and smack him. Then of course Theo would carry on to say, "Oh so you're an a abusive house wife now?!".

I swear I almost pissed myself.

Everything was absolute chaos until we were five minutes away from my house. Then everyone had mellowed out due to habit, and Theo would turn the music all the way down.

It was like a rule.

The closer you get to the white picket fences…the quieter you get.

Once we made it to my house I hopped out of Theo's car and said my quick goodbyes before jogging up to the front door. When I open it I'm greeted with the smell of chicken and Italian dressing. Yeah, my moms big on eating healthy. We all have to 'keep our figures'.

As I walk around the corner into the dining room I see my mother setting the table. "Hi mom," I say in a quiet, yet polite tone. When she turns around I make sure to smile, and she smiles back.

"Hi Joeanna, did you have a nice time out with Theo?" She asks, turning back to what she was doing. "It was getting a bit late, I was thinking about calling you for a second."

You know it'd probably be easier for you to just be straight we me mom. At least then it wouldn't be so contradicting.

In all honesty a part of me wanted to tell her that it was only five o'clock, and I was also with Audrey, but I knew better. So I just settled for the simple, "Sorry, I'll try and get home earlier next time."

After that nothing else was said and the thick atmosphere stayed as I helped her set the table. Once everything was done mom went to go get my dad in his office, while I went up to go retrieve my brother. We were never allowed to just shout for them. That would be entirely barbaric.

When I made it up to his room, across the hall from mine, I knocked on his door and said, "Dinner." Not even five seconds later, and the sound of springs moving, my brother opens the door.

"Thank god, I'm starving."

I scoff at him. "You always are."

He wraps his arm around my shoulders and walks with me down the stairs. "That's because I'm still growing my dear sister, and I happen to play football, so I do run all of this off." He quips back with a grin.

I roll my eye and hum. "Yeah, I bet." Just before we turn the corner to join our parents I grab his bicep, pulling him aside. When I do he furrows his eyebrows at me in confusion. With his arm unwrapped from around me I let his arm go and ask, "Do you happen to know who just moved in on our street?"

Austin's eyes widen. "Someone's new... here?" He points to the floor as if it's some shocking news, and he's not necessarily wrong to.

It wasn't something that happened very often around here. It was always the same people. That's why news and rumors would travel so fast, small town equals fast gossip.

So he didn't know either.

Maybe they just got there after all. If they hadn't Austin would have seen them, or at least one of his friends. Like I said before gossip travels fast. Austin would have known in seconds.

Whatever, I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Shaking my head I whisper a nevermind before walking into the dining room to sit next to my dad. I smile immediately as I enter the room and ask, "Hi dad, How was your day?"