The Boy Next Door

Chapter Two

"Oh my god, it was great, wasn't it, Lauren? You missed so much, Ash," Sophie said with a laugh as the three of us walked down the school hallway. Busy, yet no one appeared to be in the way.

"I know, you keep telling me," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. Despite my efforts to change the subject, Sophie kept bringing it up.

"I can't believe you kissed Max," Sophie said again.

It was only yesterday that I told Lauren I had a crush on him, but clearly, that didn't matter. What could I do? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

It wasn't even lunchtime, and like a CD on repeat, I had heard how Luke got with Sophie, Max kissed Lauren, and Tasha gave Theo a blow job. I was so envious of their weekend.

I had spent mine watching the parent trap with my little auburn-haired sister and playing games on Neopets. And Saturday consisted of being dragged around the shops by Mum and visiting the grandparents on Sunday.

When I heard the camping continued all weekend, I was livid. Green with envy. I lost count of how many photos I looked at, wishing I was there and that it was me who was asleep under a pile of jackets.

Sat around a bonfire, eating marshmallows, and drinking Smirnoff ice is where I dreamt of being. I wasn't asking for a lot, and it was pitiful thinking about it, but it would have made my weekend. I had never even tried alcohol or been to a real party.

The games of truth and dare and spin the bottle were what the weekends were for. So I was told anyway. Not only did they sound fun, but as a teenager born in the noughties, alcopops, flares, glitter, cheesy music, and boys were life. And I was the only one not doing any of it.

I couldn't imagine talking to a boy for longer than ten minutes, let alone sleeping next to one.

It's not that I was shy. I was invisible and had parents who made my social life a living hell. They had made me the dull Ashley no one expected to show up without even doing anything remotely embarrassing. After years of repeated "My parents said no," I'm surprised that they still bothered to invite me. But being best friends with Lauren was the only reason why. And despite being in with the popular crowd, I had always been the outcast. Different.

Lauren was pretty, blue-eyed, blonde, slim, and bright. Every girl wanted to be her, and the boys all wanted to date her.

You might think, why are you complaining if she's your best friend? But our mums being friends and the two of us being together through school since we were five was the only reason I had front-row tickets to Lauren's life.

She never picked me. And seeing our differences, I knew I didn't belong with Lauren. But there I was, receiving her morning texts and a part of the gossip. Not that it came without significant effort.

I did everything to fit alongside Lauren and listened to her every critique. I wore shorter skirts, put more makeup on, and dressed in lower-cut tops. I didn't even like that girly fashion and sparkly glitter, and it also didn't like me; I just spent every day of my life doing what Lauren told me to.

Why?

I wanted the boys to say hi to me and to fit in with the crowd. I wanted to be like everybody else, and listening to Lauren was the only way.

Regardless, missing out on every get-together and opportunity to gain teenage experiences took its toll. All I ever was, was the lemon, the third wheel, the one who tagged along.

*

After a morning of lame science and interrupted maths, I earned myself lunchtime detention for laughing at Ben mocking the teacher. I didn't even think I could get detention during the fresher weeks. But it went without saying that school had always been against me, and I was starting to think it always would be. I only had two more years to endure.