The Boy Next Door 3.0

"Um, Aurora, if you don't mind me asking, why does Marcus keep disturbing you? Are you guys becoming a thing or…?" asked Emma. "Eww, do not ever say that, please. As I said before, bad boys are so cliché," I replied.

We walk out of school and see Leon's car, waving at him. Leon raises his hand, which I think was a wave—I don't know?! We enter the car, and Leon starts to drive back to their house. I call my mom to notify her that I'll be sleeping at Emma's house this weekend. I see Leon staring at me through the rearview mirror, and I stare back for only a second before turning my head.

Leon asks us about our classes—the usual. I wonder why he hasn't called me out, saying he wants to speak to me alone. We arrive at their house and are greeted by their parents. Emma and I get out of the car, and I hug Emma and Leon's parents. They have always treated me like I'm their daughter, and I am very grateful. Emma joins in the group hug as well since she doesn't want to be left out. We all go inside and prepare for dinner.

I go up to Emma's room and change into shorts while still wearing my hoodie, but I have a singlet underneath in case I get hot. I go back downstairs and see Emma and Leon helping their parents cook. Leon glances at me as I start bringing out the plates and cutlery from the drawer. I ignore it, then go to sit down at the dining table I prepared while Emma brings the food over.

We all sit down, pray, and eat. We talk about our day, and dinner finally ends. I make a bet with Emma that I'll wash all the dishes if she allows me to paint her face next week—so I have to make sure those plates are squeaky clean.

I grab all the dishes and go to the sink to start washing while everyone goes to their respective rooms.

"Hey, do you need some help?" Leon asks. "Um, I kind of do," I say, making a puppy dog face. He laughs and starts helping me rinse the plates I washed. "Oh, Aurora, I think we need to talk," he says. "About what?" I ask, acting as if I don't know what he's going to say so I can avoid this conversation. "Never mind," he says. I sigh in relief. "Wait—why are you sighing? Did you already know what I was going to talk to you about?" Leon asks. F*ck. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." He grabs my hand tightly and pulls me close. "What did you want to tell me that night?" he asks. "Oh, uhh, nothing special. Just the usual crazy stuff," I joke. He adjusts his hair and looks at me fiercely with his dark brown eyes. "Aurora, you said you liked—what? Do you like me?" he asks. "Oh, no, no, no! I meant to say I liked yogurt. Yes, yogurt," I say. His face saddens as he releases my hand, leaving the dishes for me to finish alone. Ughh, what's his deal? He looked hot when he talked to me seriously—let me not lie.

I finish washing the dishes and arrange them in the dishwasher. Then, I go up to Emma's room. "What took you so long?" Emma asks. "It's not easy to wash a lot of dishes, you know," I say. I remove my hoodie and lie on my bubble mattress. I receive a notification from an unknown number. I checked it out, and guess who it was? GUESS GUESS guess GUESS Guess. IT WAS XAVIER!! YIPEE!

We talk for what feels like two hours. Emma is already asleep, and I feel thirsty, so I go downstairs to get water from the kitchen. I see Leon smoking on the patio and go to meet him. I take the cigarette out of his mouth. "Smoking is bad for you," I say. He looks at me like he was checking me out, then grabs another. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be sleeping," he asks. "I was thirsty," I say. "Are you angry at me, Leon?" I ask. He takes off his glasses before answering me. "No." I think he's angry about our last conversation, but he shouldn't be. It's not as if he likes me.

"Hey, are you single?" I ask. He coughs and replies, "What? Why do you care? Are you drunk again?","Nooo, I am not drunk. It was just a random thought," I say. He rolls his eyes at me. "Ughh, the disrespect," I say. "I am older than you, Aurora," he says. Leon then steps on his cigarette and goes back inside the house. "Oh, I need your help," I say. Leon turns back. "With what?" he asks. "How do you kiss someone?", "Enough of this sh*t. I am going to bed," says Leon. "I know it's a weird question, but I'm going on a date on Sunday, and I can't ask Emma because she'll be weird about it." "So you want to use me as practice? Wow, Aurora, I did not expect you to be this direct," Leon says. "You know what? Forget it. Forget it," I say.

"Come back. I think I can help. This kiss is for learning only, okay?" Leon says. "Okay, okay. Thank youuu," I say. He grabs my hand and takes me to his room. "Sit down here," he says. I sit on the bed. "So what do I do, Teacher Leon?" I ask. "First things first, do not be awkward. Look into the person's eyes, make sure it's the right moment, then plant your lips on them. Got it?" he asks. "Yeah..." I say. I breathe in and out, staring at his eyes and lips. "How am I supposed to kiss you if you're standing? Don't you know you're tall?" I ask. "Fine," he says. He squats in front of me. I move closer to his face, kiss him quickly, then pull away. He grabs my face and kisses me back.