Hello, Neighbor (closed for wrterlogan)

[AmandaAce]

Kate Loughton stood at the window of her parents' kitchen, loudly crunching on a carrot stick and complaining.

"I really do not want to go," she said, leaning back against the counter. Her wavy brown hair fell across her face as she leaned her head back, and she blew it away irritably. Bending over, she reached down and scratched her knee through the hole in her faded jeans.

"Kate, it's a few hours, please," said her mother, Carol. She stood at the counter next to Kate, chopping vegetables. Every so often Kate would reach over and steal another piece from the cutting board. "Who knows? You might have fun and stop moping around here like your life has ended."

"It has," Kate mumbled. She walked over to the refrigerator, her sandals slapping against the tile floor.

"Oh, it has not!" Carol admonished, turning away from the cutting board and pointing at Kate. "You've been here for a week and your attitude is just awful. You are only 25, young lady, stop acting like living here is the end of the world!" Kate shrugged, pulling a bottle of juice from the fridge.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so..." She trailed off, taking a swig from the bottle.

"You're bored. You're in a funk. So come to the Hanson's party with us. It's always so nice, and Cheryl is such a lovely cook --"

"There will be no one I know there, Mom. I am going to stay here." Tossing the bottle back into the fridge, Kate began to leave the room. Carol looked up from the cutting board.

"Wait! Yes there will!" Carol said brightly. "That was what I meant to tell you. I was talking to Cheryl and she said -- remember the Kincaids?"

"No," Kate said, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Yes, you do, they live right down the street. And their son, I cannot for the life of me remember his name -- Darren? I don't know, well, he's moved back in with them and he'll be there, so you can talk to him!" Carol triumphantly returned to chopping vegetables.

"Mom, I don't know any Darren --" Kate turned to leave the room, then stopped. "Wait -- Duncan Kincaid?" she asked.

"Yes!" Carol turned to her. "You went to school with him, right?"

"Yeah, I did." Kate rolled her eyes. "Duncan Kincaid poured Sprite on my head in eighth grade." With that, she turned and left the kitchen. As she walked up the stairs to her room, she considered the party. She would go, she supposed, and have as many free drinks as she could, and then she could come home and have some peace.

"Whatever," she said under her breath, closing the door of her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed and closed her eyes.

 

[wrterlogan]

"Duncan!!!!"

Duncan Kincaid almost feel out of bed as he turned towards the noise. In the darkness he could make out the form of his mother standing in the doorway, hand on her hip.

"Duncan, I thought we talked about this, you can't sleep until three in the afternoon every day. You have to get up and get moving."

"Yeah, yeah mom I know. I'm just having trouble falling asleep," replied Duncan as he tried to rub the sleepy expression off his face. He nearly succeeded in preventing a loud yawn from escaping his lips but couldn't stop it in time.

"Yes well maybe you wouldn't have a problem if you didn't stay up watching tv."

Duncan sighed. This had been the same conversation he'd had with his mother for the last four days. She just couldn't seem to understand what it was like to be back here. Maybe she had expected sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows at the prospect of getting her son back in his old room but it was more a less a constant reminder of his failure. Well, it wasn't a complete failure but not a situation he'd like to be in anymore. These days he thought a lot about what he'd done in college and what he could have done if he really had applied himself like everyone had said. Then again, it wasn't like you could get do overs with college...

"Well mister you might want to rouse yourself soon...we have a party to go to."

"What mom?" sputtered Duncan, "I thought I told you there was no way I was going to that thing."

"Duncan, you owe me," answered his mom, her eyes narrowing to slits, "Your father didn't appreciate the fact that you almost made him late for work when you came back with the car at a quarter to seven. You are lucky he didn't throw you out right then."

She sighed and her expression softened, "Come on honey, it won't be for that long and maybe you can put on a smile and a little of that charm and it won't be so bad."

Duncan considered his mom's words for a moment and then nodded his head, "Sure mom, if it'll make you happy then I'll go."

"Thanks sweetie!"

And with that, his mother hurried out the door leaving him to try and remember where he'd left his one clean towel.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate lifted the remote and raised the volume on the television. With one hand, she crammed a fistful of popcorn into her mouth. Munching, she reclined on the couch and lay there quietly, hoping her parents would forget she was there. She loved her parents, and she knew they liked having her at home, but it was just so embarrassing. It wasn’t her fault the company had gone under, but she missed her job, and her life in the city, and she felt like a failure.

“Kate, are you getting ready?” Her mother bustled into the living room and peered over the couch. “You have not even begun to get dressed.” Carol folded her arms and glared at Kate.

“I am dressed,” Kate said, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

“You are not wearing those jeans,” Carol said. “Now go change, let’s have some fun, it’s a party!” She bustled back into the kitchen.

Kate rolled off the couch and slouched slowly upstairs to her room. “What do you even wear to an old people party?” she asked herself, picking up and discarding clothes around the room. She found a cute white sundress and tried it on. Shrugging, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and slipped on a pair of sandals. She looked in the mirror once, rubbed her eyes, and slouched back downstairs. Her mother was waiting by the door.

“Was that so hard?” Carol asked. “What a cute dress. You used to have one just like that when you were four. You look so sweet.” Kate rolled her eyes.

Her father came in from the other room, and the three of them left the house together. With Kate leading the way, they made their way to the Hanson’s house at the end of the street.

 

[wrterlogan]

Just before headed downstairs, Duncan ran a comb through his hair. It wasn't that he wanted to look nice for the party, he just liked to take care of his hair at least. It was one small battle that he was willing to fight everyday. He dropped his keys into his pants and slowly descended the stairs to the living room.

His mother was waiting for him and gave him a reassuring smile. His father was just out of the room but Duncan could tell that if his father could see him, the response would have been a grunt for a hello. He and his father Jim hadn't gotten along for a number of years but the problems seemed to have gotten worse since he went to college, almost everything was an argument between the two.

"Well, I think you like Duncan."

"Thanks mom," he replied in an uninterested tone. He knew that she would have said that regardless of what he was wearing. It was his mom's way of trying to make any bad situation better. Most of the time he respected that quality but noticed that it got on his nerves more with each passing day.

"Ok. So are we ready to go?" his father called into the room.

"Just a minute dear," she called and then turned to Duncan, "And please, promise me that you'll try not to fight with him tonight?"

"Sure, I'll try."

With that, the Kincaids exited their house.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate stifled a yawn as they reached the Hanson’s gate. Carol poked her in the arm.

“Please at least try to be your normal charming self,” she said, walking through the gate. “Cheryl, hi! You remember Kate.” Her father waved a quick hi to Mrs. Hanson and disappeared around the back of the house, towards the patio where the bar was kept.

“Of course I remember Kate,” Cheryl said, giving her a quick hug. “You look so pretty! How are you enjoying being back home?”

Kate smiled stiffly. “Oh, it’s great. I’m having a lot of fun. Excuse me.”

Flashing her mother a look, she began to make for the patio. She glanced back as she rounded the house, and saw Carol and Cheryl greeting some other guests. It took her a second to realize that the new guests were the Kincaids. Duncan was with them, she recognized him immediately. He was still cute, she saw, and probably still the kind of guy who would pour a soft drink on someone’s head. Her mother was talking to him animatedly, and at one point she saw them both glance over at her. Cheryl began to walk with the guests towards the patio, and Kate quickly ducked over to the bar. She made herself a gin and tonic and found her father. He was standing by the grill, talking to Mr. Hanson, and Kate stood next to him, nodding at their conversation and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan had just arrived at the party with his parents when Mrs. Hanson and another woman approached. He was pretty sure that this face was supposed to be familiar to him, that he'd seen this woman around somewhere before but just couldn't place it. And had he actually been interested he might have made the effort but as it was he just waited to see what would happen.

"Hi Cheryl!" his mom chirped in, "Thanks for inviting me and the boys over today."

"Oh of course, no problem. Let me introduce Carol Loughton. Carol these are the Kincaids."

"I know them," replied Carol with a smile, "My daughter Katie went to school with Duncan. She's actually right over there."

She gestured with her head and Duncan's gaze couldn't help but follow. He saw a brown-haired girl wearing a sundress. As soon as their eyes met, she immediately turned away.

"She's been having a bit of a rough time Duncan, she didn't want to come today. Maybe if you talked to her that might make her feel better," Carol added.

Duncan tried to think about what he remembered of Katie Loughton. The best word he could come up with was standoffish. The two hadn't really talked much but he had gotten the impression that she didn't like being told what to do or having anyone act superior to her. Not that he had really tried that, every guy was kind of a girl in highschool but she didn't seem to get the memo on that one. He was about to kindly decline when his mother elbowed him in the ribs.

"You need to do this mister, you weren't going to talk to that many people here anyways and it will get you away from your father for a bit."

He almost rolled his eyes but instead smiled to Mrs. Loughton, "Sure no problem, let me go find her."

With that, he excused himself to try and find a person he wasn't exactly thrilled to talk too.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate drained her drink and nodded at Mr. Hanson, who was explaining the finer points of steak grilling to her father. Glancing around, she saw her mother helping Mrs. Hanson with a vegetable tray. Carol looked over at her and gave her a big smile, then pointed discreetly across the patio. Kate looked in the direction she was pointing and saw Duncan slowly making his way through the crowd. He stopped a couple of times to speak to other people, but he was walking straight towards Kate. She rolled her eyes. Her mother had told him to come over here and talk to her, no doubt. Carol insisted on acting like Kate was a child. Who knows what else she’d said to him.

“Katie, will you grab me a beer?” her father asked, and Kate nodded and quickly slipped over to the bar. She reached over and grabbed two beers. Holding them both out, she turned around and walked back over to her dad.

“Here you go, Dad,” she said, handing him one and opening the other for herself. She took a sip and looked around.

Duncan was still walking towards her, and she caught his eye as she looked over. Sighing inwardly, Kate smiled and waved at him. He was coming over here anyway, she might as well try to be nice. She couldn’t spend the entire evening standing here next to the grill.

“Hi, Duncan,” she said as he approached her.

 

[wrterlogan]

While searching for Kate, Duncan had been trying to formulate a plan. He didn't want to get into a long, drawn out conversation with her yet he had to stay long enough to appease his mother. Stopping along the way to ask if various people had seen her was a good distraction, she wouldn't be hard to find in this crowd anyways.

Just as he was getting within earshot, she looked over, smiled, and waved. Duncan wanted to cringe, he considered it overblown and fake when people pretended to be friendly. You either liked someone or you didn't, you shouldn't fake a relationship like that. He responded with a curt nod.

"Hi Kate," responded when he heard his name. It felt strange to be talking to someone he hadn't seen in years but at the same time, there was a small sense of familiarity in chatting with someone he'd known in the past. She certainly hadn't changed much appearancewise. The sundress had been a perfect choice for her, making her stand out in the crowd without being slutty.

"You look very nice," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Well, it was the truth, she didn't look like a troll quite the opposite. Duncan could sense the awkwardness of the moment and quickly added," I heard you went away to school. How was college?"

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate took a swig of her beer as Duncan approached. He looked really good. He flashed her an extremely charming smile, and she smiled at him again, doing her best to look as pleasant as possible.

“You look very nice,” he said.

Kate glanced down at herself, then back up at Duncan. She was going to say something, but when she looked back up, he was staring at her cleavage. He looked up quickly, but he seemed kind of flustered.

“I heard you went away to school,” he added. “How was college?”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Oh, it was great! I had a lot of fun. I got a really great job, too, but, you know, things happen, and I moved home last week. But it’s cool, I’m just hanging out. Not a lot to do around here, but it’s nice to have some time off.” She was rambling. “So, how was college for you? How are you enjoying being back home?”

 

[wrterlogan]

Great, he thought sarcastically, so that wasn't completely as terrible as it could have been. Part of him wanted to turn and just walk away and leave this very fake conversation to itself.

He had expected that kind of answer she gave: a lot of basic information that was more evasive than informative. Duncan couldn't blame Kate, he was probably the last sort of person she'd expected to see here, let alone talk too. All in all it was a decent response so he figured he should return the favor.

"To be honest, it sucks. I mean, the being at home part. College was fantastic. You learn so much there and most of it isn't during class. It's so different being home...it's like I know what I want to be doing with myself but it's just hard figuring out how I'm supposed to get from right here where I am to that point. And that was a very long answer to a very short question...sorry."

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate laughed and nodded. “It does suck being home,” she said. It was nice to not have to pretend that she was enjoying her ridiculous situation, at least for a few minutes. She could tell that Duncan wasn’t having the best time talking to her. She couldn’t blame him. He’d known her in high school, and they’d both been more unpleasant then.

They were both kind of squinting in the sun, so Kate walked across the patio to a small stone wall and sat down. Duncan followed her.

“So what were you in school for?” she said, undoing her ponytail. Her hair fell down over her shoulders and she leaned back, gathering it back up, and retied it. She turned to Duncan and smiled again. “I am – was, whatever, a dancer. A choreographer.”

 

[wrterlogan]

"Oh dancing? That's pretty sweet. I took a music class my freshman year where we had to watch a group perform a dance to this composer's song and it was really cool."

Duncan grinned. This part was true, he had been impressed by the athleticism and grace of the dancers. The next part was going to be harder for him to get out.

"Well, you probably knew a few kids in college who were sort of good at a lot of things but not great? That was me. I started out in Pre-Med then went for Business then Psychology and I finally finished out with an Interdisciplinary Studies degree in Political Science. So basically I graduated after taking a lot of classes that really didn't go together and now I'm trying to figure out what I can do with that."

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate nodded. Duncan had always been really smart – it didn’t surprise her that he’d been good at so many things.

“That’s really impressive,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do all that stuff, you know? It’s weird, though, because now I don’t know what I want to do with myself either. It’s not like choreographers are in great demand here.” She took another sip of her beer and looked at Duncan.

“You know why this sucks so much? I was never bored in New York. I was working, or I was out, or whatever. I don’t even really have any friends here. I honestly don’t know how many more times I can go to the mall with my mom before I go nuts.” She laughed. “Okay, you didn’t ask to hear my entire life story. I’m sorry. What are you doing for fun since you came back?”

 

[wrterlogan]

"Well there are a few decent bars that I like to go too, I don't know if you are into the band scene but there are some pretty good shows that come through. And yeah, I know it's kinda cliche to drink after college but the bartenders are really cool and they have a jukebox with decent music so I can usually go there to get away from my folks for a while."

He hesitated for a second, "And don't feel bad for telling me about how much it sucks being home. Not many other people understand what it's like. That's been one of the insanely frustrating things for me, like I'll try to tell someone why I've been so pissed off all the time but they just look at me like I'm dumb or something. I definitely get you."

Duncan noticed her sipping on the beer, "You know what, I think that I could use one of those myself. Do you mind if I go grab one?

 

[AmandaAce]

“No,” Kate said. “Go ahead.” She watched him walk over to the bar. It was nice that there was at least one person who could understand how hard it was to be back at home. Also, she couldn’t lie to herself, he was really good-looking. Looking down at herself, she adjusted her dress and sat up straighter.

Duncan was making his way back from the bar. Kate looked over at him, and as he walked over, she saw that he’d brought her another beer as well.

“Thanks," she said as he sat back down, “So, you said there were some cool bars that you go to. Do you want to, um, do you want to go sometime? You’re the only person I know here, maybe you could introduce me to some cool people?”

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan had to stop and think for a moment. How things had changed between the two of them. Up until this point, he thought that Kate was not someone that he'd like to see again, if you'd asked him which of his former classmates he'd like to meet again she wouldn't have made the long list. Yet here they were, hanging out at a party and talking, it wasn't so bad either.

He took a cool sip of his beer. The bar scene would probably accept her pretty quickly but he wasn't sure if she was ready for all the guys.

"Um sure. Yeah, definitely. That sounds kinda cool actually. It can get kinda boring when it's the same couple of people every time."

 

[AmandaAce]

“Cool.” Kate said, and smiled. “We should go soon. That would be fun.”

Looking around, she noticed her mother talking to Mrs. Hanson. Carole caught her eye and motioned approvingly at Duncan. Kate shook her head almost imperceptibly at her mother. She was just glad to have someone to talk to, she didn’t need her mother coming over here and embarrassing her.

“So what are you doing tomorrow?” she asked. “Do you want to come over and go swimming? I know that sounds like a sixth grade thing to say, but whatever, I have been so fucking bored.” Taking another sip of her beer, Kate glanced at Duncan. I sound like such a dork, she thought.

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan noticed Kate and her mother exchange glances and he wondered if this had been a setup the whole time. This was the kind of crap his mom probably would have pulled if the roles had been reversed. Still, it wasn't the worst offer he'd ever gotten and it wasn't like he was doing anything.

"Swimming? Sure, that'd be cool. Don't worry I'll be there even if my mom says I can't," he answered with a wink.

Truth be told, he was more than a little curious what Kate would look like in a swimsuit and that was driving his motivations at the moment. Normally he scoffed at the idea of owning your own pool, it seemed rather pretentious. But in any case, it was something to do.

"What time should I come by?"

 

[AmandaAce]

"Um, you could come around noon," Kate said. She leaned down and adjusted the strap of her sandal. "Oh, yeah, my parents will be at work, so they won't be there. Not that that matters, but you know. It won't be like we're kids." She made a face and took another sip of her beer.

They both looked up as Carole bustled over. "Sorry to interrupt, Kate, we're going home. Are you coming? Oh, Duncan, did Kate invite you over to use the pool?"

Kate stood up and glanced at Duncan apologetically. "Yes, I invited him, Mom, thank you. I'll join you in a minute."

"Okay, don't take too long, please. It was nice to see you, Duncan!" Carole began walking away to say her goodbyes to the Hansons. Kate turned to Duncan.

"I'm sorry, my mom is just -- you know how it is." Duncan nodded and they both laughed. "So, um, I'll see you tomorrow. Just come around the back, I'll be there." With that, Kate went to join her parents for the short walk home.

"See, Kate, I told you you would have a nice time," Carole said. "And now you have something to do tomorrow."

"Yeah," Kate said drily as they reached the front door. "I have a swimming date. It's like we're in sixth grade, this is ridiculous." She kicked off her sandals and started walking up the stairs.

"Oh, shut up, Kate. You'll have a good time." Carole leaned over the bannister and shouted up to her. "You should wear the blue swimsuit!"

Kate replied by slamming her bedroom door. Flopping onto the bed, she threw her arm across her eyes. She felt like such a dork. But he was cute. Maybe she should wear the blue suit.

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan watched as Kate and her mom left and wandered back over to where his mother was.

"So how was Katie?" his mom asked before he could even get a word out of his mouth.

"She's doing good, kinda bored being around here like me. I'm going to go over to her place tomorrow for a swim."

"Ooooo, that sounds like a lot of fun," replied his mother with a slightly devilish grin.

Duncan scowled, "It's not anything like that mom. I'm just going over there because I have a few hours to kill and there's nothing else to do in this town. And besides, it'll get me out of dad's hair for a bit longer. I'm sure he'll absolutely love that."

"Well, I think you are right about that kiddo," she replied, "but honestly I am happy that you made a new friend."

Duncan wanted to sigh. His mother had found some way to make it into a stupid sort of getting to know you thing, which it wasn't. Or was it? He wasn't really sure anymore. Kate did seem a lot nicer than he remembered she was in high school so maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. And he hadn't been swimming in a while...

These were the thoughts that he allowed to take control of him as he showed up at Kate's just in time. He started to make his way towards the back, hoping that it would be too awkward.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate adjusted the straps on her dark blue bikini as she ran down the stairs. She almost fell as her flip-flops hit the tiled floor of the kitchen, and she grabbed the refrigerator to steady herself. Opening it, she grabbed a bottle of water, making a face at the huge bowl of cut-up fruit her mother had insisted on leaving for them. Cut up fruit. Like they were in kindergarten. Rolling her eyes, she slammed the fridge door and walked quickly out to the back, checking the clock as she went. It was one on the dot.

Kate sighed and sat down on one of the pool chairs. She stretched out her legs and sipped her water. It was only a few seconds before she heard the gate rattle, and she jumped up to let Duncan in.

"Hey," she said. "I'm glad you came." She turned around and led him over to the chairs.

"Um, do you want anything? Like a beer, or water?"

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan couldn't help but let his eyes rove over Kate's body as she led them towards the chairs. He was really starting to appreciate his decision to come over and swim. He was dressed in red trucks and was wearing a white t-shirt when he came over. The weather was also pretty good, that meant they would be able to swim for a while if they wanted.

It was a pretty nice pool all said and done. He dropped his towel onto one of the chairs.

"Um, a beer might be nice. Although you don't think it's too early for that?"

His tone was clearly to make fun of something that a parent might say. They were always saying things like that.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate grinned. "You sound like my mom. I'll be right back."

She went through the sliding doors to the kitchen and pulled two cold beers from the fridge. Setting them on the counter, she grabbed the bottle opener and popped the tops.

Holding the beers, she opened the sliding door with one hand and stopped as she saw Duncan in the middle of removing his shirt. His arms were up over his head, and Kate couldn't help but stare for a second. Had he been this hot in high school? It wasn't possible.

"Here you go," she said, stepping out onto the patio. She handed him one of the beers and they both took a long swallow. Then they just stood there, awkwardly, for a few seconds, before Kate walked to the edge of the pool and sat down with her feet in the water. She motioned for Duncan to join her.

 

[wrterlogan]

Duncan took a quick sip of his beer before moving towards the pool, relishing the taste. He watched her slip into the pool for a moment and then motion to him. At first, he hesitated, not sure if she wanted him to jump right in. Then again, he did come over to swim and it would be really silly if he didn't swim at all.

He moved over to the pool and dipped his toe in for a second and felt that familiar rush of cold up his body. Without waiting, he dove into the pool, causing a rather sizeable splash.

Duncan surfaced a few moments later and looked at Kate, slightly nervous, "Um, sorry about that."

 

[AmandaAce]

Kate was completely drenched by Duncan's splash. Her hair was stuck to her face, and she'd nearly tipped over in the water.

She slipped down beneath the water for a second, pushing her hair back as she surfaced. Duncan was just kind of bobbing up and down in the water, looking at her with a sheepish grin. Something about the situation struck her as extremely funny, and she began to laugh.

Kate raked one hand across the surface of the water, moving her palm towards him. The motion caused a great wall of spray to come up and hit Duncan, drenching him as well.

Kate dissolved into giggles and leaned back against the wall.