The Natives

I sighed and rested my head on Aron's shoulder, noticing I still hadn't seen my best friend or Dillon. Odd. She would have jumped at my voice. Maybe they were...busy.

George saw me looking around, and he smiled. "They moved," he said.

"What?" I said. "Where?"

"Next door," George replied. "We all live around here."

I punched his shoulder gently and said, "Thanks, Georgey."

"I'll take your stuff up to your room," Matt said.

I kissed his cheek, and he smiled.

"Don't stay over there too long, Kara," Aron warned.

I shot him a look and said, "Who are you, mom?"

"You wish..." Aron mumbled in reply. I crossed my arms, and he added, "I didn't tell her, if that's what you wanna know."

"Good, then I'll surprise her," I said. "Be back later. See ya, guys!"

I hugged each one of them, and I left. As I stepped on the porch, I felt the warm Los Angeles air hit me. Oh, it feels so good to be home. I saw a pizza delivery car pull up, and I flounced over to meet him.

"You here for this house?" I asked, nodding to the house George had told me.

"Yeah, you the one who ordered?" said the guy.

"No, but I know who did," I said. "Can I see the pizza?"

"I'm sorry, miss, I'm not at liberty to give you a pizza you didn't order."

"It's got pepperoni and M&M's on it, doesn't it? Stuffed crust? Extra cheese?"

"How do you-"

"Know? My best friend ordered that, and I'm trying to surprise her. Can I please just see it?" Jesus, dude. I'm 5'3" and 115 lbs. How much of a threat do you think I am?

"Alright...but I better not get sued for this."

"I promise you won't."

He handed me the pizza, and I began arranging the M&M's. It took me a few minutes, but I finally spelled out OPEN YOUR DOOR in the little candy-coated chocolates. I handed the pizza back to him, thanking him sweetly. He nodded to me and went up to the house.

I hid behind a tree, observing as a young woman with blonde-highlighted hair opened the door. Meredith. I smiled to myself. She had hardly changed. She handed the guy some money and went back inside, shutting the door behind her. I saw a light nearby flick on, and I ran to the door.

From inside, I heard a man say, "Mer, what up with the pizza?"

"Hmmm...not sure," replied my friend. I heard some footsteps, and I leaned casually against the archway of the house.

The door opened a second later, and there stood Meredith McDonald. She was a head taller than I was, and slightly more muscular. Her chocolate brown eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Hello, there," I said. "Have you heard who's back from Bakersfield?"

"¡Ay, Dios mío!" she squealed. "Dill, come here!" She wrapped her arms around me, jumping up and down. I was beaming when Dillon came around the hallway. He saw me, and he grinned.

"Kara, Kara, Kara," he said. "How long's it been, beyatch?"

"Over a year, Dillon," I said. He held out his fist, and I met it with my knuckles. "See you guys are still together! As I knew- and hoped- you were."

"When did you get here?" asked Meredith. "Why are you here? Well, come in!"

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into their house. Dillon chuckled and shut the door behind us. I sat down at the table with them while they ate their pizza. Meredith smiled at me, and I sighed.

"Alright," I said. "I got here a little bit ago. I made Aron promise not to tell you. I wanted you guys to be surprised."

Dillon nodded and said, "I'm surprised. Where's Alex?"

"Oh...we're not exactly dating anymore," I replied.

"What! Why?" said Meredith.

"I caught him in bed with some underage girl," I said.

"I'll kill him...I could just kill him-"

"Mer, it's fine. There's better fish in the sea."

Meredith frowned, but she said nothing more. I patted her hand gently and smiled, making her smile as well. She never could stay mad. Dillon put his arm around my shoulders, and he lay back in his chair.

"I guess this means we'll have to tranq Jordan," he chuckled.

I knew he was talking about Jordan's inability to keep it in his pants around single women, and I shrugged.

"Nah, he's well-trained around me," I said. I took an M&M off their pizza. "Besides, I might need a night or two of just letting loose."

Meredith grinned evilly, and I was suddenly worrying about how she had taken my statement.