"So, who’s coming?" Kevin asked as he helped himself to small pizza squares. "No girlfriends, that’s for sure! Probably all the guys, the band, the dancers, old friends from school, the label, and probably 300 people we don’t know." Nick joked. Kevin nodded towards Brian who was in the kitchen chatting up a pretty blonde. Nick looked over at Brian and shrugged. "He’s learning to talk to girls again." He joked. Before long, there was close to 30 people in the house dancing, laughing, eating and drinking. Nick was slightly bored. He loved hanging with the guys but it was the fans disguised as friends that annoyed him. They wanted to get close to him just because of what he was and it caused him to close up emotionally when he met new people.

Nick casually glanced out the window and noticed that a familiar Corvette parked in the neighbors parking space. "Oh shit!" Nick mumbled as he ran out the front door over to the car. "Yo D! They sold that house and already moved in." Nick stated. "Since when?" Howie asked as he stepped out of his car. "Today. And according to Bri, she’s a bitch so you better move your car." Howie looked confused before he got back in his car in an attempt to find a new parking space.

****

Xanda drove down the quiet street and grinned to herself when she realized that she was part of the American dream. And it bored her. Her life was so common and lonely yet she was perfectly content. With the exception of her inconsiderate neighbor, she lived in the perfect neighborhood. She drove slowly with her trunk full of groceries while she stared at each house trying to get an idea about who she lived near and what kind of landscaping she should have. "That’s cute." She noted when she saw a front yard filled with a vast amount of flowers and little to no grass.

Before long she made it to her driveway and cursed when she saw cars lining the street. She quickly turned onto her driveway and got out of her car. The music was still blaring. Xanda shook her head in confusion as she popped her trunk open. She grabbed two bags and walked up the front steps of her house before one of the bags ripped. "SHIT!" She shouted as she unlocked the door and threw it opened. She grabbed the ripped bag and the contents that were on the floor and put them on the couch. "This is NOT my day!" She shouted as she ran back down the front steps to grab the last four bags from her trunk. She saw in the corner of her eye the neighbor she so hated as he walked some tall, pretty girl out to her car. "Ugh!" She groaned at the sight of him. She pretended to search through her trunk until he went inside. She didn’t want to risk him seeing her drop another bag. ‘That’s all he needs…just more for him to laugh at.’ She thought to herself. The moment he went back inside she grabbed another two bags. She was halfway across her lawn when another bag ripped. This time she put her hands on top of her head and tried to keep her temper in check by breathing in deeply.

Xanda heard a car pull up near her driveway and turned around to see a man getting out of his Ford Expedition. She felt him staring at her and almost felt violated. She felt as though he was undressing her with his eyes but quickly shrugged it off when the streetlights reflected off the can of soup on the ground. She kneeled down on the grass and tried to salvage what she could of the eggs and the bag with little luck.

"Need some help?" She heard a gruff voice ask. His voice was almost smooth and sexy. She looked up over her shoulder and saw the same man from a moment ago peering at her over his dark tinted glasses. She looked him over and came to the conclusion that his bark was probably worse than his bite. "Yeah, I guess I could use some help. Thanks." Xanda smiled. "Give me those and that bag before it rips. You grab the rest." He instructed. She nodded as she handed him the bag that was in one piece. "Do you have any extra bags so we can put the rest of the groceries in?" He asked as they walked up the front steps. "No. I just moved here and these are the only bags I have." She explained. "Oh well, we’ll just have to make some extra trips won’t we." He said with a smile. Xanda couldn’t help but smile back. He oozed sex appeal and his self confidence was staggering.

"By the way, my name is AJ." He said as he placed the bag down on the kitchen table. "What does AJ stand for?" She asked. "Alexander James." He stated as he looked her over. She laughed slightly as she stared at the ground. "What’s so funny?" He asked back. It was obvious that he was attracted to her. "Your name." She replied back with a smirk. "My name?" He asked again as he walked a little bit closer to her. "Fine. Then what is your name?" He stared at her with his arms folded as he waited for an answer. She smirked again before replying. "Alexandra." She stated. This time he laughed. "Good name." He replied. "I should say the same to you." They stared at each other before the trembling walls reminded him about why he was there in the first place. "Do you have any more groceries that you need help with?" He asked. "Actually I have two more bags in the trunk…" she replied as she started to walk towards the front door. "No, let me get them. You unpack and put this stuff away."

As AJ walked away Xanda smiled to herself as she hummed the song she heard coming from next door. A moment later, AJ walked into the kitchen and smiled. "Hey, why don’t you come with me next door? It’s gonna be a killer party! Brian hasn’t been able to throw a good one since he was with his ex." AJ stated as he placed the groceries on the table. "Um, I really don’t think that’s such a good idea." Xanda stated as she put the eggs and milk away. AJ could sense a tone of bitterness in her voice. He felt slightly rejected as he placed a hand in his front pocket to produce a cell phone. Xanda continued to put groceries away as she watched AJ dial someone’s number. "Yo Nick, tell Bri that I’ll be over in a bit. Alright, later." AJ clicked off the phone and gave Xanda the once over. "So, where did you move from?" He asked, trying to make conversation. "New York City." She replied as she tossed him the bread. AJ put it away unsure about what other things their was to discuss. "So, how old are you?" Xanda was about to answer him when they heard someone running down the street yelling like a cowboy. "Ye haw? Ya’ll say that here?" Xanda joked. "Shit. Only Bri says that!" AJ explained as he stared out the front window. "He’s probably drunk by now." He added. "Brian is the one who owns that house, right? He’s about this high, light brown hair, and small blue eyes, right?" Xanda asked. "Uh huh." AJ replied as he continued to stare out the window laughing at his friends who were making fools of themselves courtesy of Jack Daniels. "Figures he’d be the only one who would say ‘ye haw.’" Xanda mumbled.