"Greetings, Neighbor!" His voice echoed in the kitchen, and for a moment, I thought I was dreaming about him. Not like romantic fantasies in my head, but a hallucination like I had this morning. I crossed my arms across my chest and asked, "How did you come in?"

"The door?" He walked towards me, standing just a foot away, and my irritation grew. "What are you doing here?" I asked impatiently. I didn't have time for his nonsense, and I was hungry.

As I silently wondered if I could eat him instead, he continued, "Well, I am a kind, friendly neighbor, and I thought to present you a housewarming gift." He strolled towards the refrigerator and, moments later, emerged with a delicious-looking black forest cake in his hands, cherries and all.

Though I loved chocolate, the bitterness of chocolate cakes had never been my thing. Why all these formalities? It's not like we moved here today. Mom arrived here a month ago. Not that I was complaining. The cake was mouthwatering, and my stomach churned at the sight.

"It's all yours!" he announced with pride in his voice. Did he make that?

"Thank you. You may leave," I replied a bit rudely, eager for him to go.

My response seemed to render him speechless for a moment, and he tried to form words but shook his head instead. After placing the cake on the kitchen counter, he walked out of the house through the back door.

No mockery or witty words from him? Weird. Not that I yearned for him to stand and bicker with me. I was totally thankful that he left. However, I stared at the back door a little longer.

Then my attention turned towards the big piece of sugar and calories right in front of me, inviting me to eat it. I mean, I would gulp it down without a second thought if I hadn't heard enough times that I needed to lose weight. That wasn't going to stop me this time when the delicious cake was sitting on the counter, just for me. As I walked towards it, I heard the back door open.

Please, not him.

I looked towards the door, and to my relief, I found Jake instead. I let out a huge sigh. That boy was affecting me quite too much. A devil he was.

"Don't tell me you made this," Jake said with a raised brow.

"Um... The neighbor?" I mumbled, realizing I didn't even know his name. I should ask the next time he crossed my path. He had a habit of doing so. "The Monroes?"

"Ah, all that stuff..." he cut me off as he grabbed a knife from one of the drawers.

Jake cut a piece for himself and ate it before I could warn him. Who knew? It might be some prank by that guy. He's... him, after all.

"Whoa, it's delicious! No wonder Sand & Witches is so popular," mumbled he with cake still in his mouth.

"What?"

"The Monroes?" he explained. "Our neighbor. They own the restaurant, dummy. Mom works for them. I told you before."

Really? That was my problem. I was an absent-minded person and usually ignored all the important information.

I frowned as Jake took another piece of cake with him to the living room and plunged onto one of the couches. I, on the other hand, contemplated how recklessly I behaved with the son of mom's boss. Mom got a good-paying job, and we got this house at a low rent. Moreover, his son, who's a bit arrogant and egoistic, brought the cake. I felt a pang of guilt in my empty stomach.

The back door opened and slammed loudly. I let out a shriek and shuffled towards the door to close it. As I reached the door, I saw the beautiful sun setting down on the horizon. I beamed as I took in the mesmerizing scene.

Out of nowhere, a boy appeared at the door, and I jumped back, almost stumbling and hurting my butt. He was maybe in his early twenties, and his grin widened as he saw me horrified. And then, all of a sudden, he frowned and asked, "Can you... can you see me?"

I rolled my eyes. What was with everyone in this town? Did they play this prank on every single person?

"No," I tried not to make a face, but I couldn't hold back my annoyance.

"Claire, meet Rick," Jake introduced from behind. "Rick, meet my sister Claire."

"Nice to see you," I replied with sarcasm.

Rick and Jake laughed loudly, and as I walked to the living room, I couldn't help but wonder how Jake knew this Rick guy. Since when did he start making friends? It's been one day, just one day here, and Jake was acting out of character.

"He came for the pizza delivery yesterday, and when I went for a walk on the lake, I met him. So, I invited him over," my brother explained. Totally out of character.

Before I could digest all this, Rick offered, "We're going to a party down by the lake tonight. You wanna join?"

I stared at Jake with my mouth agape, speechless. My geek brother, Jake, was making friends and inviting people over. Heck, he was going to parties with them? Since when?

"No," I replied, still unsure if this was even happening.

My phone rang, and even before looking at the caller ID, I knew it was Aria.

"Hello," I spoke, keeping my phone a bit away from my ears.

"Hello," spoke an overly excited voice with lots of 'O's in the end. "Claire! I called you so many times yesterday. Where were you? How's Havendell? How is your house? Do you like it..."

I walked to my room as she started asking her a long list of questions, and I answered them one by one. We talked until my ears got red and sweaty from the long call. After two hectic days, I had some 'normal' stuff. I told all that I'd been holding, and I felt quite relieved. She was the only person after Dad who knew me - the real me. She knew what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.

However, I skipped the part about the hot neighbor. It would trigger some old memories, and I didn't have anyone to console me. I had to be strong. I sat on my bed with my head in my hands after we said our goodbyes. I realized how alone I was here. How was I going to pass the summer? Oh, it was going to be a long one.

"Claire, we're going to the party," Jake chimed as he stood by my door. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"Positive," I replied, still uncertain if this was right or not.

I was happy that Jake was enjoying, but he was taking this 'fresh beginning' very forcefully. Mom pretended that last year didn't happen, or she broke off her marriage with her husband of 25 years! How can they change all of a sudden? I wasn't able to pretend it never happened. The divorce, my breakup, anything! I can't just act like the past is the past. It was hard to gather the pieces that were left of you after a storm and move on, much less build something else and forget the storm altogether. All I knew was it was going to be very hard for me, and I was alone in this.

I surfed the internet for a few minutes. I saw someone posted a picture of a delicious sundae which reminded me I was hungry. If I didn't eat anything, I would faint.

I sprinted to the kitchen and finally gave a shot to the cake. I grabbed the knife that Jake left on the counter and cut a piece of cake for myself. I ate the cherry first and mentally thanked the Mr. Hot-Looks-arrogant neighbor (and I saw him smirk in return). I brought the piece near my mouth and almost forgave him... Shoot!

Some thick, red strands wiggled out of the soft cake. Damn. Were those worms? I inspected the cake and saw more squiggly things coming out of it as well. They were worms! I threw the piece on the floor and gave my hand a few jerks to remove those squiggly things crawling on me. I hated worms. I hated insects. They grossed me out. And to think I was going to eat them? I almost puked at that thought.

Jake ate this cake. Two pieces. Oh no! I shook with rage as I tightened my fists. That mongrel Monroe, Urrgghh... I thought that I was overreacting and being intentionally rude (which was quite normal for me those days) but that scum! I was going to kill him.

I looked around and tried to cool down. 'Breathe in, Breathe out.' I heard Aria's voice in my head. Aria would know how to handle my temper. Why wasn't she here?

Before I could think if this was right or not, I picked up the cake carefully and charged out of the back door as if I were going to war. Maybe I was. I knew it wasn't mature, but it would give me relief, and him, a lesson.

I reached the back door of Monroe's house and banged it loudly.

What if his mom or dad were home? What if they answered the door? Oh, jeez! What was I doing? This was a wrong move, Claire.

I turned around and started walking back towards my house, but the door opened. "So Hunter is here.." It was him and his snarky voice. But before he could complete his statement, I turned around and smashed the cake on his face.

Take that, mongrel.