Have you ever seen that picture of a crying girl slumped against a toilet? And there's someone else holding a broom, petting the crying girl's back in an effort to comfort her because they're too awkward to comfort them normally? Yeah? Well, I would be the person holding onto the broom. Completely awkward and uncomfortable. Consolation isn't really my strong point. That's why as my mom clung to me crying, I, Allie Heywood, was as stiff as a board, unable to do anything to console her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she questioned me for the hundredth time, sniffling loudly.

I squirmed around, trying to get her to release her death grip on me. "Mom, I'm positive. Stop acting like it's the end of the world! I'm moving three towns over, not three states over!"

Her bright blue eyes brimmed over with new tears. "That's still a two hour drive!"

"Holly," my dad interjected, frowning at my mom, "a two hour drive isn't really that long. Plus, Allie Cat has the same habit of speeding as I do. It'd only be about an hour and a half for us."

My mom whipped her head around to stare at my dad incredulously. "Chris! You shouldn't be making that sound okay!"

I took the moment of my mother's shock to my advantage, shimmying out of her slender arms. "Mom, please. You don't need to cry so much..."

"You should realize after seventeen years that your mother's favorite past time is crying, Allie Cat." My dad smirked, his grey eyes flashing in amusement.

A blush blossomed on my mom's cheeks and she glared at him. "You're such a jerk!"

"You guys should act your age, not like teenagers," I muttered. It was supposed to be to myself, but my dad has an unnatural habit of catching things people mutter under their breath. It's kind of annoying.

"Heard that, Allie Cat," he told me with a wink.

"Don't call me that!"

"Chris, call her Allie," my mom scolded, giving him a disapproving look. "You know that bothers her."

He grinned evilly. "Oh, I know. But she's just as cute as you are when it comes to angry reactions."

"You're being annoying!"

"Am I?"

Rolling my eyes, I turned my back on the bickering couple and surveyed the brick apartment complex standing before me. To be completely honest, it was a little intimidating. Not scary, but it was a little too fancy for my liking. Just by glancing at it you could tell whoever lived there had money. A lot of it. It was two stories tall, with white siding and a black slate roof. Vines climbed up the side of it in an elegant way, giving the building a picturesque vibe. It was split into two apartments; one of which belonged to the man I was going to be staying with for the duration of my senior year.

The man who was currently missing in action.

"Paul better get here quick," my dad muttered, frowning at the sky. "It looks like it's going to start raining."

"I think he said he had to stop by Holly's house to give her a late Mother's Day gift," my mom said thoughtfully.

"Mother's Day gift? That was over three months ago."

"I said late. Paul is always behind the times."

Paul. Paul Russet. That was the man I was moving in with. According to my parents, they'd known him since he was a baby. They're also good friends with his parents, Holly (yeah, same name as my Mom) and Andy. As it just so happened, Paul lived near Chennault Academy— the infamous music school I'd spent my whole high school career trying to get into.

I'd first heard of the school when I was thirteen. After one of my piano lessons, they'd mentioned it to my teacher, seeing if she thought I was good enough to go. When the answer was affirmative, I'd snuck to my room to research the school. Within the first five minutes of browsing the website, I fell in love. Then when I found out the tuition, my hopes were crushed. It was way more money than my parents made. However, after discussing it with both my parents and piano teacher, I'd made it my goal to study hard in high school so hopefully by either junior or senior year I would be considered for a scholarship. During my junior year, I'd received a letter from the school, asking me to come for an audition. By that point I'd been playing the piano for over ten years, so I passed with flying colors, earning myself acceptance with a full scholarship for my senior year.

It was at that point my parents requested that Paul give me a place to stay so I could attend. The man in question agreed easily, claiming he was more than happy to have company in his lonely abode. So now I was at his apartment, waiting for him to return home so I could bring my luggage in before it rained.

"Mom, is Paul nice?" I inquired, turning to give her a questioning look. It worried me I'd waited so long to ask that.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What? You don't remember? You used to play with him all the time!"

"Yeah, when I was like, six. I don't remember things from that long ago," I told her, crossing my arms. "I don't want to live here if he's an ass."

"He's not! And watch your mouth!"

"You sure?"

"If he's not nice, just punch him. I'll bet he's nice after that," my dad commented with a sly smirk.

My mom looked aghast. "Chris! You shouldn't say that!"

I grinned at her expression. "Chill, Mom. I won't hit him... Unless he's a pervert. Then I might."

"Allie!"

"I'm kidding!" I responded with a laugh. "Geez. You take things too seriously."

She scowled at me. "You take way too much after your father."

"Hey, the way you said that makes it sound like you think it's a bad thing," my dad replied, flicking her nose.

"D-don't do that!" she cried, slapping her hand away.

My nose wrinkled in disgust. "Could you guys stop flirting, for like, five seconds?"

My dad gave me a pitying look. "You just can't understand the act of flirting between couples since you just broke up—"

"Chris!" my mom hissed, cutting him off.

A sheepish expression crossed his face. "Whoops. Sorry, Allie Cat."

On the outside, I kept my face normal, shrugging nonchalantly. On the inside though, my gut wrenched. "Whatever. What's done is done."

"I'm sure you'll meet a lot of sweet guys at your new school," my mom insisted, smiling encouragingly at me.

I waved her off. "I'm going to focus on music."

"I want to know if you date any guys," my dad told me seriously, an ominous expression crossing his face. "Even if you don't tell me, I'll know."

"I won't tell you because you'll scare them away."

"I will not."

Staring at him flatly, I thought of the numerous amount of guys he'd scared away. "Yes—"

"No," he interjected firmly.

Sighing, I rubbed my temples, not in the mood to argue with my dad. He had an unfair habit of always coming out the victor in our little spats. Not that we fought often.

He was actually pretty cool... aside from the normal my-daughter-is-off-limits-to-guys attitude. That was a little bit annoying, but it could've been worse.

"Maybe Paul's out taking Lucky for a walk," my mom guessed, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she glanced down the sidewalk in both directions. "He couldn't have forgotten about you..."

"Well remember, Paul's pretty unreliable," my dad mentioned, grinning mischievously. "Kind of like other people we know..."

I squinted my eyes toward the setting sun, seeing two figures emerge from around the corner of the street. One was in the shape of a human, the other in the shape of a dog. As they grew closer, their appearances became more defined. I could make out the shaggy, yellow fur of a golden retriever and the chestnut, semi-curly hair of the young man walking him. The human was slender and tall, his height rivaling my five-foot-six with his six-foot-two.

The dog suddenly barked, shooting forward and causing the holder of his leash to stumble and release his grip on the tether. Intimidated by the dog barreling toward us, I stepped behind my mom's back, using her as a protective barrier.

"Hey Lucky," my dad greeted, bending down and allowing the great golden retriever to jump on him. "How you doin' boy?"

Excited, Lucky woofed loudly, his tail wagging back and forth happily as my dad rubbed his back. He was now standing on his back paws with his front ones on my dad's shoulders.

"Lucky! Down!" a new, slightly breathless, voice demanded in a commanding tone. "Down boy!"

My gaze switched from the puppy to the young man giving the order. Icy blue eyes met my own dull grey ones and I blinked, startled. Even in the fading sunlight they seemed to sparkle. It was strange to see a guy with eyes so bright. His structured face was caught between being boyish and being chiseled, but it suited him rather well. As did his tan complexion, which revealed to me he'd spent some time in a sunny place over summer. Judging by his slim but muscular arms, he probably spent some time working out too.

Realizing I was visibly checking him out, I forced my eyes to the ground before anyone else noticed.

Without warning, a strong pair of arms wrapped around me and I nearly jumped. "It's been so long!" Paul said happily. "It's nice to see you! You've grown up so much! I almost can't believe it. You've developed into such an attractive young lady! I should've seen that coming though, I guess. You've always been cute."

Surprised by the sudden physical contact, it took me a moment to return the hug. "Um, nice to see you too," I murmured, my cheeks warming up at his compliments. Hopefully no one would notice. Had Paul always been this friendly? I couldn't remember.

"Of course she's attractive. She's my daughter after all," my dad stated proudly.

I gave him a wry smile, knowing he was just flattering himself.

"So how have you been, Allie Cat?" Paul started, smiling widely at me.

My eyes widened. "Dad!" I cried accusingly, my head whipping toward my father as a wave of embarrassment washed over me upon hearing my nickname fall from Paul's lips. Now the blush was more prominent on my face, but luckily for a different reason. It was a good cover up.

"What?" my dad responded innocently.

"You told him my nickname?"

Paul laughed loudly, his voice echoing through the quiet neighborhood. "Allie, you've got it all wrong. When we were younger you'd follow me around all the time and I thought you were just like a cat— hence the nickname Allie Cat. I thought of it. Your dad just stole it from me, apparently."

Now gaping at the sort-of stranger in front of me, it was hard to wrap my mind around his words. He remembered me, but I couldn't remember him. One would think someone wouldn't forget a male as cute as he, but as hard as I tried to recollect any memory of him, I found I couldn't. "It's a stupid nickname," I finally stated, frowning.

Paul laughed again. Already I could tell I was going to like the sound. "Come on. It's not all that bad, is it?"

"She denies it, but she loves affectionate terms," my dad told him, mussing with the hair on my head.

I shoved his hand off. "I do not."

A low rumble of thunder came from the sky and Lucky barked excitedly, jumping up on me. A low cry of surprise escaped my lips and I lost my balance, toppling over backwards. Immediately Lucky was on me, licking my face and hair. Paul quickly grabbed his collar, pulling him off me. "Lucky! No! Bad boy!"

"Looks like Lucky likes Allie," my mom commented with a smile. "That's good."

With Lucky finally off me, I pushed myself into a sitting position on the ground. "Is Lucky your dog?" I inquired, silently praying he wasn't. I liked dogs, but I didn't think I could live with him. I'd grown up with cats all my life.

"Nah," Paul responded, scratching the retriever's neck. "He belongs to my next door neighbor, but he has afternoon classes every other day so I take him for walks and feed him and all that."

I lifted an eyebrow. So Paul had a young next-door neighbor... A grin formed on my face as I started to picture what this mysterious neighbor might look like. I hoped to God he was cute.

"Speaking of college, you finished up last year, right?" my mom asked.

"Yeah," Paul responded happily. "My two years are completed."

I gazed at him curiously. "Only two? Aren't you supposed to do four?"

"I don't need to," he told me, smiling. "I've already got a career. Two actually. Didn't you know that, Allie Cat?"

"I didn't..." I trailed off, pursing my lips at my parents. It was very well known he was a pianist, but I had no clue what his other job was. "What's your other career?"

He wiggled his fingers in a motion like he was playing a piano. "Don't you remember what I'm best at?"

"Piano," I said, already knowing that. It didn't explain what his career was though.

"Bingo!" he replied, snapping his fingers. "You're pretty smart, huh?"

Unable to help myself, I gave him a flat stare. "It wasn't that hard to figure out. Seriously."

"Right..." He chuckled uncomfortably and I immediately regretted my words. I had to remember to think before I spoke.

Another rumble of thunder crossed the sky and we all looked up at it uneasily. Lucky woofed loudly and I scuffed my feet on the ground. "Um, if you don't mind Paul, can I bring all my stuff in before it rains?"

"Oh! Sure! Of course," he said quickly, snatching Lucky's leash from off the ground. "Do you need help with it or...?"

"I've got it," my dad told him, nodding toward the small amount of suitcases on the ground. "Why don't you bring Lucky back while we carry things up?"

Paul nodded. "Sounds fine. The door should be unlocked."

"You don't lock your door?" my mom questioned, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Rolling my eyes, I lifted two of my suitcases off the ground while my dad grabbed the rest. Together we trudged up the steps to the apartment door, finding it unlocked as Paul had stated. My mom trailed behind us, sighing deeply. I knew she was getting ready for an emotional goodbye and I grimaced. For some reason tears made me wary. I was never a big crier, neither was my father, so maybe that was why.

The apartment was lavish on the inside. As soon as I stepped through the front door and into the main hall, I was overwhelmed. The floors were made out of Eastern white oak, shining brightly as if they were brand new. Overhead was a crystal chandelier, making an impressive first impression. My dad whistled lowly, moving down the hall and into what I assumed to be the living room. "Fancy," he commented, setting my suitcases down.

"I'll say," I muttered, stepping into the room after him.

The first thing that met my sight was a gigantic flat screen T.V. Across from it was a black leather couch with a coffee table in front of it. On the coffee table was a pile of magazines and sheet music, as well as a bowl of candy. Two black plush chairs were placed at either end of the coffee table, both with white pillows on them. In the far right corner of the room there was a fireplace, and at the left, a gigantic bookshelf full of all sorts of novels and volumes. Expensive looking paintings lined the walls, as well as photographs of Paul and his family. A few of the portraits were of my mom and dad and there was even one of me when I was younger. I walked over to it, frowning slightly as I touched the frame. I sure didn't have a sense of style back then...

"Chris?"

"Living room," my dad called back to my mom, causing me to jump. "So how much do you think this place costs, Allie Cat?"

I turned to him, shaking my head. "Too much. I'm not sure if I can stay here."

"Too fancy for you?"

"Way too. I was happy with the life style we have at home." It wasn't a bad lifestyle at all. My dad was an anatomy and biology teacher while my mom was a nurse. Apparently my dad had only been a biology teacher at first, but he'd gone back to college to learn anatomy as well. That way he was paid for teaching both classes. We were pretty well off, but not as well off as Paul.

My mom entered the room at that moment, surprise crossing her slim face. "Wow."

My dad chuckled at her reaction. "Yeah."

"How much money can you make from being a pianist?" she wondered out loud.

"More than enough when I actually perform. But I have another job to keep the money flow coming in," Paul responded, appearing at the doorway next to her, a half-smile on his face. He gestured for me to follow him. "Want to see your room? I haven't decorated it much because it was just a guest room before, so don't expect too much. You can change it up later."

I nodded, picking up my suitcases again and dogging him out of the room. We passed a few other rooms, but I tried my best not to peek at them. I was afraid too much awe would cause me to black out. It seemed the apartment appeared smaller on the outside than it was on the inside because it felt like we'd passed at least five other rooms before we came to the stairs that led up to the bedrooms. The stairs didn't even creak beneath our feet.

"Here we are," Paul said cheerfully, pushing open the door that led to my temporary bedroom. "Sorry it's kind of musty. I don't use it much."

The first thing I noticed was that it was at least twice the size of the room back at my house. The second thing I noticed was that I had a king-sized bed. "Yay!" I cried excitedly, nearly running over to it. "I've always wanted a king-sized bed!"

My dad groaned. "I'm afraid she's going to be spoiled here."

Paul grinned sheepishly at him. "I don't mean to..."

"No, no, it's fine," he sighed. "We're not the ones who are going to have to deal with her all year."

"All year," my mom echoed, her voice sounding choked up.

I froze, wrinkling up my nose. It was coming soon. I could tell.

"So do you guys want some coffee or something?" Paul offered, placing his hands behind his head. "Or tea?"

"I'm afraid we don't have time," my dad told him, frowning slightly. "Since school's coming up I have to start heading in to prep—"

"A-and I have work," my mom said in a watery voice. "B-but we'll be back to visit a-as soon as p-possible, okay?"

Groaning quietly, I turned around to face her. "Mom, don't—"

Without warning, she lunged toward me, throwing her arms around me and starting to sob. Sighing, I patted her back, waiting for her to gather herself. I could see my dad and Paul grinning by the door. I stuck my tongue out at them.

"Call me everyday!"

"Yes, Mom."

"If you can't call, text me!"

"Yes, Mom."

"I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Mom," I responded automatically, feeling her tears dampening my shirt. "Will you please stop crying? I'll be going off to college next year so it's not like..." I trailed off when I saw my dad drawing a finger across his neck and shaking his head. "I-I mean..."

Too late. My mom broke out into new sobs and my dad started laughing. I gave him a pleading look and he nodded his head, coming to my rescue. "Come on, Holly. It's fine. She'll be in good hands here."

"They're so young though," my mom cried, tightening her grip on me. "What if someone robs them?"

"I have an alarm system on my house!" Paul interjected cheerfully.

"B-But..."

My dad slowly pried her off me, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Just pretend they're two college roommates dorming together. It's not any different, is it? Paul is an adult and Allie is almost an adult, so it's fine. You started living with me when you were eighteen."

"I-it's different," she blubbered. "You were twenty-three... Paul's only twenty!"

Shaking his head, my dad turned back to me. "I'm going to bring her home before she drowns us all."

I laughed, nodding my head. "Okay, Dad. I'll see you two soon."

"I love you, Allie Cat."

"I love you too," I said, following him back into the hall. "I'll walk with you guys back to the front door."

Paul dawdled behind us silently, choosing not to interrupt our family moment. I smiled at that. He seemed like a pretty okay guy.

My mom hugged me one last time and kissed me before handing me off to my father who also hugged and kissed me. Wiping their germs off my face, I waved as my dad half-dragged my mom to their awaiting car. It was kind of comical, but at the same time I could feel tears tugging at the back of my eyes. Being away from my parents was going to be strange and hard to get used to. The longest I'd been away from them before was only a weekend camping trip for school. Three days of camping was nothing compared to the one hundred eighty days of school.

After they drove away I shut the door and turned back to Paul. He smiled kindly at me. "Want a tour of the house?"

"Sure," I murmured, suddenly feeling shy.

"We'll start with the kitchen then," he decided, offering me another smile.

Thirty minutes later, and much complimenting and gaping from me, we returned to the sparkling white kitchen. Due to the luxury of it all, my mind didn't retain all the details of the rooms we peeked into. From what I could remember though, almost every single appliance and piece of furniture in the entire apartment appeared brand new. From the Jacuzzi tub in bathroom, to the billiards table in the game room, and even to the banister that lined the stairs to the second floor of the apartment. Everything seemed untouched. And expensive. Just treading on the carpet made me feel like I was ruining hundreds of dollars. Especially since I'd forgotten to take of my shoes, and either Paul hadn't noticed, or he was too polite to tell me to take them off.

My eyes wandered around the clean kitchen, landing on the Whirlpool refrigerator. It was the most familiar thing to me, seeing as my parents owned the exact same one at my house... or rather, at their house. This was my home for now.

Taking my gaze the wrong way, Paul spoke up. "Oh, are you hungry?" he questioned, his voice breaking the silence and startling me. "Sorry, but we'll have to order take out. There's not much in there for dinner food."

"Why not?" I asked, genuinely surprised. If his apartment was stocked with all sorts of expensive appliances, shouldn't his fridge be filled with food?

"Uh, well... I can't cook," he admitted, lowering his gaze to the white tiled floor. "Sorry."

Frowning, I gazed around the kitchen again. No wonder why everything came across as being new. The poor guy didn't know how to feed himself.

An awkward silence settled in after that, and I fiddled with my fingers. If this was what living with him was going to be like, I was going to go crazy. But if I wanted to feel more comfortable, I'd have to take the first step. "Um... Well, if it's okay with you, I could maybe cook? For both of us, of course," I added quickly.

A gleam of hope appeared in his eyes as they returned to my face. "Really?"

"I'm not the best, but—"

"If you can cook it without burning it, you're in charge of dinner from now on," he decided swiftly.

Curious, I opened the fridge and peeked into it. "Oh."

A nervous chuckle came from Paul. "Like I said, there's not much..."

"There's nothing in here," I corrected him, staring at the white empty insides. "Aside from the sole gallon of milk. How do you survive like this?"

"I just got used to it," he responded with a half-smile.

The line sounded a little lonely. As far as I was aware, he'd been living on his own since college. Which meant he'd been staying here alone for over two years, surviving on takeout food. The idea seemed crazy to me. Nodding, I silently made myself a promise. Since Paul was kind enough to let me stay with him for the duration of the school year, I was going to make him dinner every night without fail. No more takeout for him.

"Where's the closest grocery store?" I demanded.

He blinked at me. "About twenty minutes away—"

"Give me your car keys," I ordered, holding out my hand. "I'm going to go stock up your fridge."

"Wait, I'll come with you," he responded, his eyes sweeping around the room for his keys. "I don't want you getting lost or kidnapped or something. School starts tomorrow, so that wouldn't be good. Let me just grab my jacket and wallet. Since it's my house, I'll pay for the groceries."

I grinned at him. "What? Did you actually think I'd pay for them?"

My response threw him off guard. He stared at me for a moment, caught between bewilderment and surprise. Unable to help myself, I burst out laughing. Maybe living with Paul wasn't going to be so awkward after all.

"L-let's just go," he muttered, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"Sure," I agreed, smiling easily.

As we were exiting his apartment, he paused, blinking. "Ah, I also don't have any girly shampoo or conditioner, so you'll have to buy that. And other, um, stuff..."

"Like what?"

"You know. Girl things."

Still unsure of what he was talking about, I furrowed my eyebrows. "I brought my brush and hair straightener and stuff."

"No, I meant like, you know..."

Completely ignorant, I just stared at him. What was he talking about?

"Tampons," he said in a barely audible voice.

My cheeks flushed instantly. This conversation just went from casual to embarrassing. "O-oh! Right! Of course! I'll buy some... yeah."

"Yeah," he said, keeping his head turned away from me. "If you think of anything else, just mention it. We'll stop somewhere and grab it."

"Can we go by the school? I don't know how to get here."

"I'll give you a ride tomorrow," he told me. "Don't worry about it."

"Really?" I responded skeptically. Just how friendly was Paul?

Grinning, he locked his door behind us. "Really. Now let's hurry and do the shopping so we can come back and you can cook a delicious homemade meal."

"I don't know if it'll be delicious..."

"I bet it will be," he responded confidently. "If not, I'll pretend."

Now it was my turn to grin. "Sounds good."

________________________________________

Edit: I wrote this book...omg... idk. 7 years ago? More than that? And I haven't edited it and quite frankly I won't because I am embarrassed of it and refuse to read it again. However, it's been requested that it stays up, so I am leaving it up. I am just warning you. There are probably things that I would never write or agree with today in here, like idk having a crush on your teacher? LOL. If you can look past that, please enjoy.

This has no association to any of my other stories whatsoever. You do NOT, I repeat do NOT have to have read any of my other stories to read this one when I start it. If you have read some of my other stories, you'll recognize a few characters, but you won't need to know them. Okay? :D

Well, I hoped you liked the (boring) first chapter!

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