Sophie's old and nosy neighbour, Mr Forkle, had recently moved out, thank goodness.

And the property had been bought and went into a construction period, which just ended about a week ago.

Apparently, the new neighbours would be moving in today, and Sophie didn't want to give them any of the cookies that her mom and her just baked for them.

Sophie and her parents, Grady and Edaline, had no idea who bought the property, and Sophie didn't quite like the idea of having a new neighbour, especially if there was going to be a kid, since her parents would bug her to be friends with them.

Unlike other seven year olds, Sophie wasn't a social butterfly, and very much prefers the comfort of her own home rather than going out to play at playgrounds.

This made her parents worry a little, but honestly, Sophie just didn't like to interact with others, especially since they never shared her interests.

She recently started reading Harry Potter, which was supposedly fast for her age, so she never really fit in.

She liked it better than way though.

From her window, there was a room right next to hers, and she didn't like that already, since she would like to keep her own privacy.

"Sophie! Come and greet your new neighbours!" Edaline called from downstairs.

Sophie's eyes widened, not wanting to see them just yet.

Still, she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing that she looked presentable, and headed downstairs.

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Keefe never liked moving houses, and as far as he could remember, he already stayed in four, which was a lot coming from an eight year old.

Still, whenever he complained, his parents would glare at him and tell him how lucky he was to be able to lead such a luxurious life, although he would very much disagree.

What was the point in having wealth when there was no love around?

He hated seeing how other kids had their parents to fetch them from school, or how others would show-off where they went with their parents over the weekends.

He gazed outside the car windows, hoping that this new home would be somewhere with people who would love and care for him, and hoped that his new neighbours would be nice and share cakes with him like his previous ones.

His parents were sitting in front of him, with him sitting in the third row of the limousine.

They had not uttered a single word for the whole journey, just keeping their mouths shut as they looked at their phones.

Sometimes, he wondered why they even got married. Nothing was between them, and he hoped that one day, he would find someone who truly liked him for who he was.

For someone so young, he truly had too many  hopes and dreams to share, but he liked to keep them to himself since his parents would always discourage him whenever he spoke of one.

He continued to sketch the wide field he spotted outside the window, although the car was moving fast.

He had a photographic memory, so he could still remember the scenery well enough to sketch it out.

"Dreaming all day won't get you anywhere, you actually need to do something, not just sit around and doodle rubbish."

That's what his parents would say whenever they spotted him drawing.

His teacher said he had a gift at art, but his parents would always ignore it, saying it's a waste and utterly useless.

He still liked drawing though, he just wouldn't do it in front of his parents.

He quickly kept his notebook into his bag before his dad would find it and tear it like his previous one, and sighed.

He hoped, and hoped, and hoped, that one day, someone would show him what love felt like.

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Young sir, you can wake up now," someone said as he stirred awake.

He opened his eyes lazily, to see that there was already houses around him, and the car stopped moving.

He hoped out of it, smiling as he looked at the huge house in front of him.

"Hello there! We're your new neighbours!" A woman greeted his parents.

She had amber hair and turquoise eyes, and the man standing next to her wore a smile as he took his hand out to shake his parents.

He stood there, next to the road, unsure of how to approach them.

Maybe he should stay out of this, and perhaps stand here until they walk away-

Keefe noticed a girl, about his age, standing behind her mother. She was trying to hide too, he realised.

Maybe they could be friends, he thought as he looked at her.

She had blonde hair, and she wore a plain white tshirt with jeans. She looked kind of scared though.

As the adults talked for a while, he noticed that the little girl was peeking out.

His eyes caught hers and she immediately turned away, causing her mom to turn to him.

He had no idea what to do. Run? Too suspicious. Stand there and act dumb? May work. Just go over? His parents may not like it.

"Hi buddy! What's your name?" The man smiled at him warmly, and Keefe's eyes lit up, sending that it was a friendly figure.

Slingling his bag across his shoulder he walked up to them to his dad's side, looking up for permission first before he smirked.

"Keefe," he introduced.

"Darling, go introduce yourself," the woman stepped back for the little girl to come out.

She stared at the grass before looking up. "Sophie," she said, and Keefe had no idea how to classify her as.

That kind who clings onto parents? Possibly. The annoying kind that shows off? She seemed quiet. The social butterfly? Maybe not.

"Why don't we let the kids play, and we could talk-"

The woman was interrupted by his mom, who said, "Thank you fo the offer, but probably another time. We will need to unpack first, if you won't mind."

The woman nodded. "What about Keefe?" She asked again, and Keefe beamed at how he wasn't forgotten yet.

"He would need to settle into his room too. Perhaps another time," his dad said as he grabbed his wrist.

Keefe looked up, wanting to plead his father to let him play for a while, but immediately looked down as his dad gave him a warning sign.

The woman and the man looked at his worridedly as they nodded.

His parents went in first, and Keefe lingered a little longer.

"Hey pal, come over anytime you want, okay?" The man smiled at him.

He smiled back, the warm feeling coming back. "Really?" He asked, words light and excited.

"Yes, really. I think your parents need you now, come visit us okay? We have cookies for you too," the woman said as she handed a box to him.

He beamed. "Thank you sir! Thank you mam!"

"Oh please, just call us Eda and Grady! Visit soon!" Aunty Eda laughed and he ran off into the house, thinking about the little girl standing behind them quietly.

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Sophie noticed a little boy, perhaps even around her age standing at the corner of the pavement.

What was he even doing there? Maybe he was scared, like her.

His parents seemed pretty cold, and Sophie wasn't exactly comfortable with them.

From time to time, she would spot that boy looking at her parents in awe, and she didn't really like how he was just standing there.

What was wrong with him?

Then, he went over to talk to her parents.

She wasn't the clingy type, but she seemed pretty scared of him, but he seemed to be pretty friendly, despite his parents cold demeanour.

Keefe, that was his name.

She realised he had a pair of pretty nice ice blue eyes, and she stared at him, quizzical of how his personality was like.

He smiled at her, and she quickly turned away.

Could he want to be friends?

Soon, he went back inside, taking her cookies with him.

"He seems like a nice boy, why didn't you talk to him honey?" Edaline asked Sophie, and Sophie shrugged.

"He seems weird," she stated, and Grady and Edaline laughed.

"He looks lonely, maybe you should try to be his friend," Grady explained, and it made a little sense to Sophie.

He did seem to be neglected by his parents, and he looked pretty sad too.

Maybe they really could be friends.

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Sophie realised that Keefe's room was the one next to hers.

Just great.

He waved at her, and she smiled back awkwardly, before closing the curtains and walking away to continue reading The Goblet of Fire.

A knock came from her window.

"Sophie?" Keefe's voice was heard.

She opened her curtains, to see Keefe hanging on the tree inbetween their houses.

She stared in shock.

"What are you doing? You're going to injure yourself!" She yelled as she opened the window to check on him.

"Relax, I do this all the time. Want to join me?" He asked, smirking.

Sophie frowned.

"No! I'm not going to hurt myself."

Just as she was about to close the window, a knock came again.

"Can I come in?" He asked, and Sophie stared at him in disbelief.

"Your feet shoes better be clean, I don't want any footsteps here," she warned as she made way for him.

She had no idea why she let him in then, perhaps it was because he did seem pretty lonely in his huge room with no toys and an empty bed.

He stepped in, and smirked.

They stood there awkwardly for a while, just trying to look around the room for something to do.

She didn't have to do much before Keefe noticed the book lying on her bed.

"You read Harry Potter too?" He asked, picking it up.

She nodded. "Do you?" She asked, doubting that he even knew how to read since the other kids would always bully her for being a "nerd".

"Yeah, my dad made me read it. Which part are you at?" He asked, and Sophie widened her eyes in surprise.

"I'm at the part where Harry is at the first challenge, but I doubt you even read it," Sophie glared at him, still cautious about this mysterious new kid.

Seriously, why did she let him in again?

He laughed as he stepped forward to her. "Need proof? Would you like a spoiler then? Cedric, at the end of the book, d-"

"Okay! Don't tell me! I believe you!" Sophie covered her ears, not wanting to hear a spoiler as she giggled.

"Can we start over? I think I was pretty mean to you," Sophie admitted, holding out her hand like how the adults would do when they meet someone new.

"Sure. Keefe, Keefe Sencen," he smirked, and Sophie took a mental note that he would do that a lot.

"Sophie, Sophie Foster," she smiled, shaking his hand.

"Sophie! The cookies are done!" Edaline called out, and Sophie wished she hadn't so that she could spend more time to get to know her new neighbour.

"Coming!" Sophie replied, looking at Keefe nervously.

"Its okay, I have to go soon too. I'll come again soon! Let me in if you hear a knock!" He smiled as he went to climb on the tree again.

Sophie felt her heart skip a beat as he climbed back into his room, probably just because she was scared that he would fall from two levels.

Seriously, that kid had some guts.

Then she thought about it.

Did she make a new friend?

She squealed as she jumped for joy.

She made a friend!

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.