The Girl Next Door

Driving up to the house, I groaned. I hate moving, especially when I have to move away from all of my friends. This better be worth it, I thought, dragging myself out of the car and grabbing my bags from the mountain of suitcases that I'm surprised didn't even get close (or so it seemed) to falling out of the car. Trudging up the stairs, I set my bags on the floor as I reached my sanctuary (or so it felt like with my annoying parents being everywhere else), opening the first one I picked up at random.

Picking clothes and CDs off of the floor, I placed all folded clothes inside the dresser, and all the CDs on top of it. As soon as I finished, I grabbed my phone and opened it up, seeing that I missed five calls from Gerard. Smiling, I called him back immediately. "Gerard, pick up!" I said as the phone rand for the third time.

"Hello?" I heard Gerard's voice rang through my ear.

"Finally," I sighed in relief, "a friendly voice," I heard him chuckle over the phone. "I'm serious! My annoying parents won't get off my back, saying how I should meet new people here, maybe then I'll stop being so 'rebellious'. Maybe I'll meet people who don't smoke and drink besides you and only a few others - or at least as far as her knowledge goes. That's the only up side to this new neighborhood."

"It can't be that bad. You've only been there for a little while. Not even an hour have you been there, have you even met anybody yet?" he asked. I'll admit, he has a damn good point.

"See, this is why I consider you my brother," I explained. "You're the only person who seriously keeps me grounded. If it weren't for you, I'd be in an insane asylum, or so I'd assume," I continued, searching around my room for my CD player.

"I don't think you'd be in an insane asylum exactly, but I appreciate the compliment," he said.

"Okay, well, I have to get going before my mom says that I need to get away from you, like always. Well, bye Gerard, I'll talk to you as much and as soon as possible, I promise!" I said.

"Bye, Courtney," he said, chuckling lightly, hanging up.

I grinned at the phone after he hung up, which revealed a picture of Gerard, his brother Mikey, and I several years back on Gerard's birthday.

"Courtney!" I heard my mom's voice calling me from down the stairs. "You still have a few boxes downstairs, honey," she told me.

I rolled my eyes, stomping down the steps, I grabbed a few of the boxes with my name on them (literally), and rushing back up the steps of the household. "Oh, and Courtney," my mom called me back. As I turned around, she continued, "remember to make more friends. More decent ones, who aren't misfits... one's like that Gerard boy."

Smiling, I replied, "Good to see you can have a decent attitude toward one of my friends, even though I specifically saying you couldn't stand him and that he was a trecherous creation of mankind, and a stupid decision on its part."

"Gerard was a good boy, at least most of the time. You kids have your moments, every kid," she continued, obviously thinking I wanted to be apart of this conversation.

"Well, I'm going to go unpack," I said as an escape route, setting the boxes down on the staircase, walking down and past her, going into the kitchen and picking up one of the very few knives that have already been taken out of their box (or whatever they were contained inside of) and brought it up the stairs with me. As I grabbed the boxes again, they tumbled out of my hands and down the stairs. "Crap," I muttered, taking the knife in my hand and the one box that was tight in my grasp into my room. I walked back down the steps and grabbed the boxes that had fallen.

Once I had placed everything in my room and had finished unpacking, it was already seven thirty, at least close enough, and I was being called down for a half an hour already. "Courtney. Courtney, come on, you're going to have to eat," my mom kept calling

"I'll be down in a minute, Mom," I replied from up the stairs. Checking my phone again to see no one trying to contact me, I ran down the stairs, hurrying over to the dinner table.

"We've been waiting for you," my father began.

"And we need to have a little talk about your behavior," my mother finished for him.

"My behavior? What's wrong with my behavior? I'm acting like I always have, there is nothing different about the way I act, I swear," I put my hands up in defense, trying to get my parents off my back.

It's true. I am acting the same way I always have. My entire life I've acted this way, and they're just noticing now? Such great parents they are. My parents shoved a piece of white paper toward me. "It's from your old school," Dad said.

My eyes widened immediately. I knew I was in trouble - huge trouble - if they saw anything the school had sent them.

"What the hell is this, Courtney?" Mom asked abruptly.

"There were these people at that school that hated me so much, that whenever they got in trouble, they would blame me. Because, of course, I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time," I sighed at the plethora of times I had almost been suspended for doing something illegal when I honestly wasn't the one who was doing it.

"Well make sure it doesn't happen again," Mom said, walking into the kitchen. "We can't have that happen again, now can we?"



Waking up in the morning was surprisingly easy on me. I woke up at six o'clock sharp, making sure to get ready beforehand so that I can talk to Gerard for a little while before I had to head to school and he had to head to his next period after break. After taking a shower and getting my clothes on, I headed toward my cell phone, picking it up and dialing Gerard's number immediately.

Gerard and I had a long conversation - as opposed to how short it could have been - yet I couldn't help but feel that, once it was over, it was cut too short, which, if we're all being honest here, it was. Maybe it's because Gerard has been by my side every day for years and only talking to him for a mere twenty minutes just sucks. Grabbing my backpack and the supplies I got from the school in advanced, I walked outside to my car, unlocking it with one push of a button and quickly got inside. Once finding my way into the school, I opened the doors to the main office.

"Hi, I'm Courtney," I started, "I'm new here. It's my first day."

"Ah, yes, Courtney," the lady, who had a quite thick British accent, "nice to see you're here a little early. Let me go back and find your schedule," she said, going in a room opposite from here. When she returned, she handed me a piece of paper that had listed classes on it.

"You will be going to Mr. Daniel's class first, it's room 362, it's a building over, up a flight of stairs and walk straight for a little while. It'll be the third door to your right," she explained, going back to whatever paperwork she was doing before I got here.

I gave a polite smile, saying a solemn, "Thank you, ma'am," and making my way out of the office. Looking back down at my schedule, I gazed at my locker number: three-hundred fifty-nine. Damn. This is going to be difficult. So many lockers.



Don't you just love it when the welcome wagon pays you a visit? Me neither. Out neighbors, the Urie's, stopped by the house about half an hour after school. I'll say it now, Summerlin high school is a fucking waste of time. The teachers don't even really teach you anything!

"Courtney, come down here, we have guests," my mother called while I was on the phone with Gerard. Oh, perfect timing, mother dearest!

"Gee, I gotta go. The welcome wagon seems to have arrived earlier than I anticipated," I grumbled, pressing the end call button and walking downstairs. "Mom, thank you so much, I was on the phone with Gerard. Do you know how little we get to talk now that we've moved from Jersey to Las Vegas? Fuck, Mom, why'd we have to move? Dads' job was keeping him there, nothing is keeping us here.

My mother sighed, a smile fading. "Courtney, these are the Urie's. They're our new neighbors, and I want you to be respectable – that includes their religion," what the fuck could I tease them for? Religion is religion, beliefs are beliefs. "They're Morman, so don't act inappropriately toward them or around them," she told me sternly, facing the Urie's again. "And they have a son your age," she added, grabbing the hand of a nerdy boy. He looked like the boys you find at the comic book stores! Actually, I shouldn't judge that. I read comics.

"Mom, I don't care," she overreacted with a gasp. "I have friends, but of course, you made me leave them behind to live in this dump."

My mother sighed again. "Give Brendon a chance," she said.

"Fine," I grumbled, grabbing his hand. "But I'm not talking to you anywhere near my mother," I told him, dragging him up the stairs with me.

He looked around the room, and I was unsure of what to do. "So, you're Morman?" I asked suddenly. "That... came out wrong."

He chuckled, "Yeah, it's fine. Why so curious?" he asked, smirking with his large lips. I'll admittedly say I was staring at them. I'm not sure why.

"You just... You don't seem Morman. Fuck, that came out wrong, too!"

"It's fine. It's not like I enjoy it."



I smiled. "Gerard," I told my friend, Ryan, when he questioned why I was so angry about leaving New Jersey. Or, at least the main reason. And then some.

"Gerard? Hm, okay. Why didn't you just tell the guy; he couldn't have gotten too pissed off about that. Hell, I'd be shocked if he did get pissed. I mean, shocked, that seems ethical, but angry? I think you're over reacting about this," Ryan explained, scanning his paper one more time.

"Gerard and I thought of each other as siblings, Ry. I can't just tell him something like that! Gerard would really hate me if I did tell him that, or even thought about it one more time."

"One more?" Ryan asked, his face contorting into a curious expression.

"Ryan, don't ask about my derranged life from when I was back in New Jersey. It was confusing, demented at least half the time, and most definitely not something to share with a guy I met only several weeks ago," I explained, playing with my fingers as I did so. "And the only people who understand besides Gerard and I is our friend Frank and Gerard's brother, Mikey," I added.

"Okay, I won't ask if you don't want me to. But just so you know, if you ever need to talk to anyone about it, I'm always gonna be here; trust me, I can understand complexity."

I chuckled, "Thanks, Ross," I said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, I should really be heading home. My dad will be wondering where I am, if he even bothered to get up," he grumbled, picking his backpack up and leaving the bench.

I narrowed my eyes, saying, "You could come to my place. I think you'll be just fine. If your dad might not have even bothered to open his eyes, how is he supposed to be a well-fit parent?" Ryan chuckled. "I'm serious. Just for a few hours, even, just please?" I whined.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine," he muttered. "Fine, I'll go, but only 'cause my dad is a shitty parent," he followed me to my car and we drove to my house. "So, your parents aren't home?" he asked, analyzing the half-open garage and empty driveway. "Please tell me this won't end horribly."

I laughed slightly. "This isn't going to end horribly, I'm not gonna try anything, I promise," I replied, quickly parking in the driveway and walking in the house. "Wow, this place is... Wow," Ryan said.

"What?" I asked, trying to find something that would stand out from a normal house. "This is average, isn't it?"

"Not compared to mine, mine actually looks like Hell, minus the flames."

"It can't be that bad," I said, "and I know for a fact you're describing my house back in Jersey, Ross."

He chuckled. "Whatever will appease you, Johnson."



"You didn't have to," I told him over the phone. "It can't even be that bad. You guys must love not having me - little miss annoying - bugging you all day."

"Yeah right. I'm fine with it, Courtney, and I already did it, you're a little too late. And plus, I've missed you since you left, you wouldn't have pulled me away - no matter what," he laughed quietly over the phone and continued. "I've really missed you."

I couldn't help but let the smile tugging at my lips rise completely. "I've missed you, too. Here, it's a living hell. Gerard, this sucks."

"So you were right when you told me that you were gonna hate it last month," he mumbled.

"Yeah."

"Listen, I have to get packing, I'll see you next week," he told me, a yawn slipping from his mouth and through the phone.

"See you. Sleep well, sounds like you really need it."

"I do. Bye."



"So, tomorrow? He really doesn't like to waste time, does he?" Ryan asked.

"Dude, there's nothing going on, Gerard and I just haven't seen each other in a long time, or at least it feels that way. Is it really that bad that we want to see each other? It's not like I set this up, he called me last week and told me. I didn't even expect it, Ry."

"Fine," he grumbled. "Go back to sleep, I've wasted enough of your time," he continued, instantly falling back asleep with an obnoxiously loud snore. I giggled and followed suit.

"Dad," I whined, sniffling, "please, stop it," I hastily grabbed my stomach in attempt to make sure he didn't put that part of my body in hell as well. "I didn't do anything wrong; I didn't mean to do anything bad!" I groaned again in pain.

"I fucking warned you," I screamed. "I told you to stay the fuck away, but you didn't listen!" he continued, reaching to smack my head, only to hit the counter top, a screech emitting my lips as blood rushed from his hands. "You were too motherfucking oblivious — too idiotic — to even listen to me, Courtney!"

"Gerard's different, Dad, you can trust him. I trust him," I whispered, placing myself under the table and a chair. "He's not like the others. He's better than them; I know I can trust him. Why can't you just let me be happy for once?" I asked as I began to cry into my hands.

"Because, I know what it looks like when a boy is using a girl, and he is. I've seen it too many times, it has depressed so many people, and I know to not let it happen to you," I got out from under the table and began backing as far away from him as possible.

"Dad, this is different, whether you believe me or not. You don't have to trust me, I'm staying with him and there's nothing you can do about it," he quickly replied with a slap to my face. I groaned. "Please," I fell to the floor in front of the cabinet, "stop. Please."

Waking up in the morning, I shouted. I looked to Ryan, noticing he was still fast asleep. I walked up to him and said, "It's Saturday, Ry. Gerard's coming today, are you staying or leaving?" I asked, taking note of the purple rings under his eyes as they opened in a flash.

"I'm staying for as long as I can, just so long as I don't you you and this Gerard dude," he turned over and closed his eyes.

"If you're staying, you're going in the guest room," I shoved him off of the couch that had been in here for the past two weeks.

He groaned and picked up his pillow, keeping his blanket wrapped tightly around him, almost as if for safety, and trudged out of my room and into the guest room a few doors down. "Is this better for you?" he yelled as he got inside.

"Much," I replied as I hastily took off my horrid pajamas and put on everyday clothing.

"Woah," Ryan returned in my room fully dressed minutes later, purple rings still under his eyes. "Is this how Gerard knows you as?"

"Yes. He knows how I actually dress, I couldn't exactly dress this way here due to the fucking ridiculous dress code. They don't want the girls to be strippers and the guys to not be prostitute supporters, but, fuck, dude. We're in Las Vegas, it's bound to happen at one point or another — if not, everybody is going to become a druggy. It's the inevitable."

"Oh. Lovely," he muttered.

"Isn't it? Well, Gee's gonna be here in a few hours, and you... he doesn't even know you exist, George."

"I told you before," he growled, "it's Ryan — I'll fucking kill you if you call be George."

"Okay, but just don't get so snippy, Ry," I chuckled and sat down on the couch.



"Stop it!" I screamed at Ryan.

"No, not unt —" Ryan was cut off by the doorbell ringing. A grin spread across my face. Gerard.

I ran to the door, opening it as quickly as possible. Gerard took one look at me and chuckled at the insane look on my face. I ignored it and hugged him as quickly as possible. "Gerard!" I squealed.

"Hey, Courtney," he hugged me back. "Who's this?" Gerard asked, turning his attention to Ryan.

"Oh, this is my friend, Ryan."

"Nice to meet you, Gerard," Ryan said politely, his teeth showing a little too much for him to even slightly avoid looking like a stalker or just a phsyco maniac.

"You too, Ryan," he smiled and shook Ryan's hand.

"Oh, before I forget, I have to get to band practice. I'll see you guys later," he walked out of the room and straight to his car.

"Well, come on, Gee, don't be a stranger. Apparently my mother doesn't hate you, so it's not as bad as you remember."

"Oh, like that makes it better. Your fucking dad, Court, that's what catches me everytime. Ever since... that one day," he awkwardly looked to the ground and scratched the back of his neck.

"That was one time, Gee, I think we're fine at this point. And plus, it's never gonna happen again, anyway, so why make such a big deal about it?" I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder.

Gerard immediately pulled away. "Courtney, it was my fault. I was just upset about you leaving, and..." he sighed. "Listen, I'm really sorry. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

"Gerard, they won't if you keep acting this way. Just forget it ever happened, not that I want that, but it's probably for the best," I scoffed at myself, internally slapping my own face. I quickly ran up to my room and placed his bags on the couch, Gerard quickly following behind.

"You... don't?" he asked as he came inside.

"Not really. But... we probably should just forget it, my dad would destroy you and me both, so maybe it's not such a good idea."

"Yeah, you're probably right. He's not gonna do anything to me, is he?" his voice sounded with sudden alarm.

"No, I bet my dad won't even remember you! And if he does... Well, that's your own problem, Gee. You brought this on yourself," I chuckled and ran down the steps of my house. "So, Gee, I have a question — you have to promise to not act like a child, okay?" he quickly nodded. "Back on the subject of what we were talking about a minute ago... do you want to forget?" I asked, playing with my fingers awkwardly.

"Well, not really. But, like you said, it's... probably for the best."

I could've sworn I heard my heart break in half in a distance or whatever it would be put as. Just my luck.

I nodded and went inside my bedroom with him. "So, this is my room," I said, giggling lightly as Gerard stared at everything. "What?"

"It's practically the exact same way your room in Jersey used to look," he noted. "Except I think you had less Misfits posters when you lived in Jersey," he added.