MACY's POV

"Macy, honey," I felt something touch my shoulder and begin shaking. "Come on."

My eyes opened slowly and the bright sunlight coming through the window blinded me. This never happened back in my apartment in Oregon, mostly because the windows there were barred since some stupid kids had thrown a football through the window a few years prior to us moving in.

"Macy, we're going to go buy your furniture today. Come on get up."

It was struggle to sit up from the inflatable mattress. "I'm up, grandma. I'll go get ready soon. What time is it?"

"Six thirty, dear. We're leaving in twenty minutes. Breakfast is downstairs."

As soon as she left the room, I fell back onto the bed and groaned. I usually got up early but the last few days have been tiring and I needed a lot more sleep than usual.

Lazily, I got up and fixed my bed, then head to the bathroom. I looked absolutely horrible, but it was better than yesterday. Maybe if I dressed better today, the neighborhood won't remember my hobo inspired look from yesterday. I brushed my teeth and washed my face with the Ocean Salt face wash from Lush that I packed with my other belongings.

For my outfit, I settled with keeping my black leggings and replaced my white sweater with a black tank top and large, cat-covered cardigan. With that, I wore my usual plain black vans.

Since most of my clothes were having instead of folded like they usually were back in Oregon, it was kind of obvious to see that most of the clothes I owned were plain black, white, or had a really weird design, like space cats or giraffes. I had no idea when that happened.

Forgetting about my odd clothing choices, I quickly brushed my hair and ran down the stairs to find my grandparents at the table, talking.

It was always a rush whenever I was with my mom. She tried to do so many things at once and when she couldn't, she'd stress and get angry. Maybe that's why I froze as I saw them happily talking and eating.

"Took you long enough, slow poke. How'd you sleep?" My grandpa asked, pushing my plate towards the seat next to him. 

"Pretty good. I woke up late last night though and I met the neighbor," I said nonchalantly, taking a bit of the buttered toast on my plate.

The two of them shared a look.

"Macy, are you talking about the next door neighbor? The young man?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't tell me his name, but he seemed pretty okay. Why?"

"Listen, Macy. We're not the kind to judge but we've lived in this house for quite a long time and not once have we ever seen that boy do anything productive," my grandpa said sternly. "He only goes out for groceries and things like that. He doesn't go to any college or job. Probably just a deadbeat with rich parents. He's a bad influence."

In all honesty, I didn't see anything wrong with him. He kept to himself, which isn't necessarily a negative aspect. Plus, he could have a stay-at-home job.

Though, I found it pointless to bother going against my grandparent's judgement on him so I nodded and continued eating.

After I finished my food, I went to wait outside while my grandparents went to get their stuff ready. The front porch held a swinging bench and a small table next to it which was a perfect place sit down and relax.

The picture in front of me was of the house across the street, belonging to the small family of four. While I stared, their front door suddenly opened and the boy that had introduced himself came walking out. He was walking towards his car when he spotted me.

"Hey, neighbor," he said jokingly, quickly running across the dead end street. "I'm Jayden, in case you forgot. You met a lot of people yesterday."

"And I remember absolutely no one," I laughed slightly, feeling more comfortable when he showed off a boyish smile. "Well, nice to meet you again Jayden. Where are you heading off to?"

"I was planning on going to your grandma's cafe downtown." His brown eyes flickered for a second to the window behind me. I turned around to see my grandparents smiling at me and waving at Jayden. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Kerjoff," he waved back. "As I was saying, I'm going to a cafe. Would you want to join?"

Behind me, I could hear my grandparents tapping on the glass window. If I had known how embarrassing this would have been, I wouldn't have stepped outside.

Apparently, it was a great idea to go according to my grandma's thumbs up and my grandpa's smiling face through the window.

Jayden laughed and looked at me again. "I'm assuming that's a yes."

"Yeah, I'll just get my laptop really quick. I'll be right back," I told him, rushing inside.

"Here, Macy," my grandpa handed me a $20 once I was finished grabbing my laptop and shoved it in my bag. "We'll send you pictures of the furniture and see if you like it."

My grandparents were really modern. Grandpa had an important job at a  video game company and my grandma owned an Internet cafe, which was basically a regular cafe with wifi and computers. They were both very skilled with electronics and very creative. I was into animation production and digital art, which was probably inspired by them.

It was a quick goodbye and I soon found myself sitting at a booth, across from Jayden.

"Honestly, you look a lot better than you did yesterday," Jayden joked, sparking up a conversation.

"I looked like I was on drugs yesterday and the whole neighborhood saw me like that," I groaned. "Is the caramel macchiato here good?"

"Yeah, and it's not as if you met everyone yesterday right? There's always Jonathan who lives next door."

It would've been amazingly unattractive if I had choked on my spit at that moment, but I was so close to.
"Jonathan? You know him?"

"He's a few years older than me but we used to hang out when he first moved here. He barely talks to me now. I rarely ever see him."

I didn't question him any further, in fear of him becoming suspicious if I asked too much. Instead, I settled on ordering a caramel macchiato and a cake pop while Jayden ordered a peach tea with a sandwich.

My grandma was a really talented and creative woman. The cafe was already bursting with energy and customers. Some people were sitting at booths and tables enjoying a drink or on their laptops like Jayden and I. Others were on the actual computers in a separate area. Even with all of these people, the wifi worked amazingly. Profit, productivity, and quality was key to success, which was what my mother used to say. I now know where she got it from.

"So what are you doing?" Jayden asked, across from me. He also had his laptop out and I could slightly see his screen through the reflection of his glasses.

"Nothing much. I'm editing this small animation."

"Animation? The guy we were talking about, Jonathan, he's really into all that type of stuff; editing, animation, digital art. I'm planning to major in engineering. What are your plans for college?"

That was a question I wasn't really sure of. "I'm taking a year off before I head off for college, but I'm probably going to get into nursing and maybe graphic animation on the side."

Overall, our little trip to the cafe wasn't all that exciting, but I found out a lot more about Jayden and Jonathan.

Jayden finished high school last year and was going to a community college soon. He also worked a part time job at his mom's daycare. That way he'd be able to slowly save up for a university and stay home, which was comforting to hear. Having a friend across the street was convenient.

Jonathan, according to Jayden, had lived here since he was eighteen and he was currently twenty-three, five years older than me.

Throughout our conversations and my little moments of editing, my grandparents would send me pictures of the different types of furniture they saw and ask which one I'd prefer. It was a lot easier than I had expected and much more relaxing than walking around in IKEA with my grandparents.

"I'll talk to you soon. It was nice hanging out with you," Jayden said, dropping me off in front of the house. "My shift starts in half an hour so I have to get going."

"Thank you. Goodbye," I waved as he drove away. My grandparents apparently weren't home, but luckily they gave an extra key. As soon as I got inside, I raced upstairs into my room and sighed in relief as my back hit the air mattress.

Although the cafe was a bit relaxing, sleep sounded much more appealing. I was about to change when I realized that there was noise coming from outside the window.

Jonathan was sitting at his desk with his headphones and a controller in his hands, shouting certain inappropriate things.

"Hey, Jonathan," I shouted, catching his attention.

He immediately took off his headphones as he saw me and stormed to his window. "How do you know my name?"

"I have my methods. How are you today?"

"Just dandy," he rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Do I need a reason to say and to ask how you're doing?"

Jonathan scowled. "Kid, I've told you before. Leave me the hell alone and we'll get along just fine."

"Wow, you're cute when you're angry," I couldn't help but say, hoping that I'd get a different reaction from him. Seeing his face turn a light pink was rewarding in itself. "You're blushing!"

I jumped back as the window was violent slammed shut and I could no longer see or hear him. That might have been a bit embarrassing on his part. Though, it was definitely worth seeing Mr,Tough&Scary blush like a child.

Having an introvert as a next door neighbor didn't seem so bad after all.

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I am so sorry for not updating this sooner. Hope you all like this chapter. Vote and comment your thoughts about Jayden and Jonathan

And as always I hope ye enjoyed(:)

-lovelylittleturtles