Daniel

"One. Two. Three," the dresser lifted on Mr. Young's command. Though Daniel did all the actual heaving. Benjamin Young may have been determined and hopelessly optimistic, but the simple fact was he was just too old, and a little too out of shape. So naturally, he insisted on doing a lot of heavy lifting. Daniel's mom had warned him that Benjamin was having back problems... and knee pains... and hot flashes, but neither of them wanted to hurt the man's pride. Even if it was a lot harder to wound than his body. Regardless, the result was Daniel straining to carry the bulk of the weight, shifting the pressure off his mom's boyfriend and on to himself. Honestly, it would have been a lot easier if he could just carry it by himself, but he'd have to settle for letting Benjamin think he was helping.

"Thank you, boys," Daniel's mother chimed, giving Benjamin a kiss on the cheek, before returning to the kitchen. It was an action that no longer made Daniel cringe. He had to get used to it. After all, this man would probably be his teacher in school.

"Thanks again, Mr. Young," Daniel grunted as the corner of the dresser caught him in the big toe. He smiled on the outside, but on the inside tears formed. How he'd love to be carrying that furniture by himself.

"Oh, no problem, and please call me Benjamin or Ben."

"Right, Ben. Sorry," Daniel felt the dresser slack before Benjamin let out a groan.

"Let's set it here for a moment, so we can catch our breath."

Yes, we, Daniel thought.

The dresser hit the floor with a thud, as Benjamin not so gracefully released it.

"So, uh how do you like it here so far?" He removed his glasses to wipe the sweat that had already started beading there, from the not so strenuous labor.

"Well, for the whole forty-five minutes I've been here, it hasn't been so bad."

Benjamin let out a warm chuckle. Daniel was being sarcastic and truthful. They had driven straight through town and then immediately started unpacking. In the time that had elapsed, he hadn't had a chance to do anything else. Daniel pictured everything he had seen so far. There was the winding road, the sea, the school, and then... Daniel had a flashback. The image of a perfectly round butt appeared in his memory. Who was she, he wondered?

Daniel looked back at Benjamin, "Yea it's not so bad."

"Good, good. I was a bit worried and all. Having to leave your friends behind and all that," he mumbled.

It felt as though a cold tide of water slowly covered his heart. It was hard. Before the move, he had just about everything he could have ever wanted or needed. A small part-time job at the library, his dance crew, and Sparky... He knew he'd miss her the most. No one shared his love or appreciation for dance as much as she did.

Benjamin must have read his face, and attempted to comfort him. "The people here are very nice, I'm sure you'll make friends quickly."

Daniel smiled, "Well since you're from around here I can't call you a liar. Thanks again for lending us a hand," he nodded up the stairs cueing Benjamin, to ready himself for the pilgrimage. The man worked hard but got sidetracked easily.

"Well, it's no problem at all. Gives me an excuse to come over and see Stephanie." Benjamin removed one hand to wave to Daniel's mom, nearly crushing him with the dresser in the process.

He planted a foot on the step, bracing himself against the wooden furniture that sought to pancake him. It was now official, it would have been a hundred and fifty times easier to move this himself.

"Oh sorry." Benjamin apologized, regaining control of his side, having realized he almost ended his girlfriend's son. "You know Daniel, there's a lot of pretty girls at school here."

"Can you say that?" Daniel asked half-serious but a little curious as well.

"Of course! I'm not on the clock. Besides, it's not like being a teacher makes people look like they've been hit with the ugly stick."

Though his statement seemed a little odd, Daniel knew he meant no harm, Benjamin had a way with words. Besides, technically that was a true statement and he knew first hand Benjamin wasn't wrong. His brain drifted back to the girl with the butt. He wondered what her name was, and what it was she had dropped. She looked so distraught over it.

They set the dresser down in his mother's room, the carpet muting the cries of the wooden furniture that threatened to crush him only moments before.

"We actually drove by a group of girls on our way here. I'm surprised, if you had to go all the way to Ventura to meet my mom, I figured there wouldn't be any lookers here."

"Oh, just wait till bikini season. It gets so hot you'll be sweating more buckets than a hog in a sauna."

Daniel couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't sure if Benjamin was talking about the temperature or something else. It was like he said, Benjamin had a way with words.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing," Daniel smiled as he made his way back down to the first floor. Outside the sun's rays bathed him. It was seldom this warm and clean feeling in the city. Though he missed it, he was sure he could adjust to this unsoiled air. He proceeded to grab a box from the moving truck and headed to his room. It was amazing. This house was so big in comparison to his home in Ventura. Correction ex-home. He dropped the box next to the pieces of his bed frame. Daniel let out a sigh and pulled out a trophy. It was a first-place award from a dance competition his crew had won. He danced his heart out at that championship. They all did. That's why it deserved to be with the crew. Not the leader who abandoned it.

Sparky and everyone else insisted that he take it when he left. He had plenty of trophies already and refused. But Sparky was more stubborn than he could ever hope to be. She made sure he took it with him despite it being the first one she'd ever one. There was no arguing with that stubborn girl.

"Oh, is that one of your trophies?" Benjamin stacked a box on top of its twin, the top of the cardboard collapsing slightly under the weight. "You know there is a dance studio here in Freeman?"

Daniel let the metallic award fall into a sea of bubble wrap. "No, I didn't."

"If you want I can swing you over there before dinner?"

Daniel thought for a second. It would be nice to dance. It was something that always made him feel better, but at the same time, it'd seem like a betrayal to find new people to dance with so soon. He could always dance solo on the streets... "It's fine Benjamin. I'm self-taught anyways, and I should finish unpacking." Daniel looked left and then right, giving a box a nudge with his foot. "And I should probably find my backpack. School tomorrow."

"Well okay, Brainiac," Benjamin turned, departing out of Daniel's room, and out of sight.

He'd always been self-trained, that's how most kids did it on the streets where he was from. They could never afford classes. He started solo but enjoyed being backed by his crew, as much as he would've loved to check out the studio, the guilt propelled him to forget about it. He didn't need lessons anyways.

"Well, that's the last box," Benjamin said as he crossed back inside.

"Wow, isn't this just exciting Danny?" his mom asked, appearing from the kitchen.

"Yep. The adventure I've always wanted. I wonder how much trouble I can stir up at school tomorrow," he smiled mischievously at his mother.

"You better not. Get kicked out of here, and there's no backup young man."

Daniel wasn't exactly known for trouble, but his sometimes-hyper nature occasionally landed him in turbulent situations. Not to mention his unwillingness to back down, tended to land him in fights. One such entanglement ending in expulsion. Though it wasn't an optimal solution to things and looked bad on applications, he'd do it again if it meant defending a friend.

Stephanie looked out the window, "Geeze, my car is just absolutely filthy, I can't go to work in that."

"Must have been that drive through the mountains. Kicks up a lot of dust. There's a car wash on the other side of town. Just a kangaroo's hop away."

Daniel and Stephanie joined in on a laugh at Benjamin's expense. He raised his hands in protest and exited the room into the kitchen. "No need to waste the money. I don't think we have a hose, but I'm sure I can find a way to clean it." Daniel offered.

"I'll go borrow one from your neighbors." With that Benjamin was gone, out the door, down the steps, and on his way across the street. Daniel had little trouble locating the cleaning chemicals. His mom was very organized so everything was meticulously labeled and categorized. Except for sponges and towels. He was sure Benjamin had placed them somewhere odd. He was always misplacing things. He looked down at the items he held in his hands. The weapons he'd wage war against the dirty with. If he didn't have a cleaning cloth he'd just have to improvise.

Psssh! The jet of water supplied by the borrowed hose tinged against the car. It even came with a spray nozzle, allowing it to cut through the layers of mud with ease. It did look a little like someone took the wagon dune riding. He noted that he'd have to thank the neighbors for the hose later; this would have been a job, near impossible without it. Daniel circled around the car, spraying at the hub caps, the rims began to glisten in the light, reflecting a prism of colors. Cool. Rainbow, he thought to himself. The stream cut out as he removed his fingers from the trigger. It was time to deploy the suds.

"Goodbye shirt," Daniel reached down, pulling the top above his head, in an attempt to take it off. The fabric snagging on his glasses. He wrestled around with it, deciding a good tug would be best. The thick eyewear fell from his face, as he threw the shirt into the bucket. It was an old shirt he wouldn't miss, besides if his mother wanted a clean car, he was going to give her a clean car. Daniel crouched wringing out his new washcloth. He slapped the wet article over his knee and retrieved his glasses.

A breeze blew through, bringing with it a different smell other than seawater. It was... odd. The smell was somewhere between perfume and fresh laundry, with a hint of flowers, it smelt... good. Daniel turned to see a female's body, with her back to him. She had long brown hair that tossed over her shoulders as she walked away, and a butt he would recognize anywhere.

Daniel's heart lurched, a strange feeling of momentary nervousness clenched at his chest. What was the cute girl from earlier doing in his yard? He recovered quickly, never being one for shyness. He wrung out the shirt one more time, as he cleared his mind. Daniel had to approach her. He had to try and clear the air between them about what happened earlier, pick the right words. Maybe he'd play it smooth even. "Hey! You're the tight pants girl, right?"

The young teen in front of him jumped, startled to the point that one would have thought she had just been caught shoplifting. He watched as her hair bounced up and down as if she was debating sprinting, but instead she turned around and flipped her brown locks over her shoulder with one hand. Her green eyes bore down on him. Daniel ignored the scowl she wore, confirming she had a face as attractive as her backside.

"No, I'm not the tight pants girl. I'm the girl who happened to only have a pair of shrunken tights!" she snapped. It was obvious to Daniel he had said something wrong, though he wasn't sure what, maybe it'd pay to give her a compliment. "Well, why'd you do that? Your butt looks fine as it is." The girl's face flushed.

"I didn't do it on purpose you creep!"

"Woah sorry, sorry. Look I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I know it must have looked like I was checking you out. And I was a little." Daniel watched her eyebrows furrow knowing he had made another mistake. "But-"

"-Butt? My butt! I know!" the girl's face grew even redder, he wasn't sure if it was anger or embarrassment, but at this pace, he was certain either would end in his doom. "No! That's not what I meant! I meant, but I was just worried about whatever it was you dropped. You just looked so bummed over it."

The girl's face relaxed, and Daniel no longer feared his life was coming to an end. A woman's wrath was a scary thing indeed. He used the time it took her to process, to begin scrubbing the car again, and divert himself off the course of death. "Is it okay? What was it?"

"It's none of your business," she said with her arms crossed. It was a bummer really. He was curious, and it hadn't pleased him to see her look so sad.

"All right. Can I ask you why you're on my lawn though? Is that any of my business? Or who you are?"

"My name is Erin." The girl answered somehow, making her name sound like a threat.

Daniel returned her statement with a smile and an outstretched hand. "Daniel."

Erin looked at him skeptically, before deciding to accept his peace offering.

"Damn, you have like, freakishly smooth hands," he said, noting aloud the velvety texture of her palms. Oops. Talking to this girl was like tip-toeing through a minefield. And Daniel knew he had a bad habit of talking first and thinking later.

"Is that good or bad?" She asked.

"It's better than prune fingers," he said, showing his hands, the water causing them to wrinkle.

"I guess so." Erin flipped her hair as she commented back.

Another breeze blew in, carrying Erin's sweet scent to his nose. She was awesome. Soft skin, fresh smell, gorgeous eyes, and a rocking body, though her attitude could use a little adjusting. What was a girl like that doing talking to him anyway? He didn't have any homework for her to copy, and he hadn't rigged her pom-poms to explode in a fizzy mess of cola-flavored soda.

"So, what are you doing here?" Daniel asked again. Erin seemed to forget he had asked the question.

"My mom sent me over to say Hi. I'm your neighbor."

"Oh, nice!" Who could ask for more from the girl next door?"

"Why's that nice?"

Daniel looked at her puzzled, what was this twenty questions, couldn't she just take a compliment? He tried to think of the right words, "It's like every boys' dream to have a hot neighbor." Daniel threw his shirt back in the bucket, readying the jet nozzle for a final rinse. "You know, even if they're not blonde."

"What's wrong with brunettes?" Erin's tone once again began to boil. A volcano stirring from slumber steadily growing to a full-out eruption.

"Nothing, it was a joke. Honest opinion-" Daniel turned to face the car and pointed the spout at the window. "You look good just the way you are." The teens both smiled, and then he pulled the trigger. Water ricocheted against the window, and Daniel heard a high shriek. He spun around to see a soaked Erin.

"Ow! You moron!"

He released the trigger of the hose that was now spraying her directly. It was too late; the damage was done. He had drenched her, and admittedly, he found it hot. She, on the other hand, probably found it cold. Either way, the important thing was that for once, he knew to keep his mouth shut.

"Why'd you do that!?"

"It was an accident," Daniel pleaded.

"Whatever. It's fine." Erin wrung her hair as she said it, rolling her eyes, and gathering her locks to one side. With it all pulled back, and resting on her shoulder, the new visual shocked him. First the pants and now this, why did she have to wear a white t-shirt.

Daniel stared as the water leaked into the fabric making it grow transparent. Until now he had become captivated by her face and had ignored her other various feminine...features. He hadn't noticed she had more curves. He could ignore it, well who was he kidding that wasn't going to happen. He'd have to let her know, but he knew she wasn't going to be pleased. Daniel let out a sigh.

"Um, Erin I'm not sure how to say this, but your shirt."

"What?" she asked looking down.

"It's see-through." He watched as her face instantly hit a shade of crimson. Her hands flying fast to her chest she yelled a curse, and with that Daniel was left to watch his cute, and probably him hating neighbor disappear.

"Well fuck. Butchered that." Daniel turned his attention back to the car. Spraying off the rest of the suds. He was zero and two when it came to interacting with the locals. It was a shame, both times it had to be with a cute girl, who also happened to live across the street. No doubt she'd be in some, if not all his classes at school, just to make life more awkward of course. Erin. What a strange girl. Such a pretty girl with a sweet voice, but dull tone. Why was she so uptight? What was her problem?

"Hey, you the new neighbor?"

Daniel spun around to meet another girl. She wore Erin's face except with stronger features, and a much happier complexion. Her hair was shorter and he couldn't help but notice her chest was several times bigger. It was the supposed leader of the pack.

"Yeah. I am," he answered. "I take it your Erin's sister?"

"Yeah, I'm related to that blockhead. Don't remind me."

He smiled. This girl seemed to have a much cheerier disposition. Maybe there was a chance to make friends in Freeman after all. He relaxed, leaning against the now gleaming station wagon. "I'll try. Is she still mad?"

The girl moved closer, leaning on the car next to him. She didn't seem to care about people's personal belongings too much. Insensitivity ran through her voice. "I don't know. Probably, what'd you do?"

"Well first I talked, and then second... I sprayed her with a hose."

The girl burst out laughing. "That's great! You understand her perfectly." She continued heaving until her laugh turned into a snort, causing her to laugh more, this time at herself. Daniel couldn't help but join in. For the first time since he had moved there, he felt more at home.

"You know, you're pretty cool. What's your name?"

She took a deep breath before talking again. "May. So, did Asteroid ask you over for dinner?"

"Who?" Daniel asked, confused. Was she talking about Benjamin and making fun of his weight? It would make sense that she knew him since he saw her attending the one school in town, which Mr. Young happened to work at.

"Space Cadet?" May inquired.

Daniel was still lost. He looked at her with a puzzled expression. May retaliated with an eye roll.

"Ugh, Erin? So, she really didn't ask you. Figures," she leaned into her hip as she said it.

Daniel felt a fluttering beneath his ribs. Erin was going to ask him to dinner? Or Was he supposed to eat supper with both cute girls? Either way, the thought made him happy, maybe Freeman wasn't so bad after all.

"Well consider this your invite. My mom wants to have you guys over. Your mom, you, Mr. Young apparently. You don't have any siblings, right?"

"Um no," Daniel answered hesitantly.

"Don't worry. My mom's tight with everybody. The community, the school board, you name it. She knows everything, I'm not stalking you," she shrugged her shoulders. "My mom is."

That made sense. It was probably commonplace in a small town like this for everybody to know everyone.

"That's food at seven, but you're welcome to come over earlier if you'd like. My mom loves to talk."

Daniel was glad his mom and Benjamin were invited. As much as he'd like to dine with two babes, he couldn't ditch his mom and Benjamin like that. Besides, his mother needed to make new friends too, and May's mom seemed very nice.

"Do you need to go ask your folks," she questioned. Daniel knew his mother was too nice to refuse. As well as Benjamin, it was pretty much a safe bet that he would be dining across the street tonight.

"My mom will say yes, so we're in."

"Awesome. By the way, nice shirt," May turned away and walked out into the road towards her house. Daniel looked down. That's right! He wasn't wearing a shirt. Admittedly he felt like a tool and was almost embarrassed. Almost. He wasn't ashamed of his body, he was quite proud actually. All the breakdancing that he did, kept his upper body strength, and the cardio kept him fit. Underneath his clothes, he knew he looked surprisingly athletic.

As May walked away, he watched her for a bit, before turning away himself. He didn't find her quite as cute as her sister, and she didn't have the same butt. However, she made up for that in boobs. What really impressed him though was something she possessed that was more important than either of those two things. Personality. There was something about May that made him feel comfortable, maybe it was the fact she was so chill. Talking to her came naturally. It almost seemed impossible that the two were sisters. He looked down at the hose he held in his hands. Looks like he was returning it at dinner.