"Mom i'm begging, PLEASE."
Lana was kneeling on the road outside of the building she once called her house.
All of this was because her dad cheated on her mom, claire,
So now, they were moving away to some shitty town so she could recindle with her child hood best friend, Lois Wilkerson.
Which did not sound convincing enough to Lana, which is why she was here, on the floor. hands pressed together, and a small pout resting against her lips, while her mother sat in the sky blue, honda convertible, sunglasses resting on her head.
"get in the car Lana, i won't ask again." her mother threatened, becoming tired of the back and fourth. "or ill leave you here" she smirked, her red lip stick creating a blossoming shine against her lips.
she was always precise, Lana was sure she had OCD but that was another story, which was why she was so suprised when her mum allowed her to get ralphie, their golden retreiver. She assumed it was a —
"so sorry you have
to leave all your friends and you one true love ben johnson, do you still love me?!"
"you wouldn't dare" Lana challenged. glaring slates at the dark haired, older woman.
"try me, hon" Claire challenged back.
WOOF
"FINE! i'll get it. but only because ralphie asked"
and so she did. sparing one last glance at the house she grew up in before her mum drove away, making it a memory in the past.
Claire flicked the radio up a notch, and the beginning chords of 'unwritten' by natasha bedingfield blasted through the speakers, and before anyone could protest, she started singing along with full confidence and zero concern for pitch, timing, or human dignity.
Lana groaned. "Mom, please."
Was she hiding her smirk? yes.
did she really like this song? yes
Claire pointed dramatically at the road. "Life is a musical, Lana. You either sing or you suffer in silence."
"I choose silence."
Ralphie barked like he voted for singing.
Lana sighed so deeply it could've powered a small wind farm.
"traitor"
Still, as the sun spilled gold over the dashboard and the world ahead stretched unfamiliar and weirdly open, something in her annoyance softened just a fraction.
and suddenly as the chorus began to play, lana couldn't hold back anymore, and the three voices in the car were most likely heard everywhere.
As the song died down, all that was heard was the hum of the engine, ralphie's soft snores, and the crickets chirping as the sun was slowly setting.
"Hey," Claire said after a moment, quieter now. "Lois is really going to love you, you know."
Lana squinted. "You say that like you're leaving me there.." suddenly lana's heart dropped.
"your not leaving me there right?"
Claire smiled, just a little. "depends how mad you make me"
silence filled the car. a soft whimper from ralphie in the back seat, he had also faced the wrath of Claire, especially when he ate the whole chicken on thanksgiving.
"try get some sleep, were having dinners at Lois' house once we get there as the moving company said the fridge will take longer to be delivered as it's extra fragile"
a sigh escaped Lana's mouth.
"great"
She tried to stay awake, she wanted to watch the scenery, see the wildlife, and plan her premature escape room. her eyes peeled for the nearest bus station, but somewhere between the road signs they didn't recognize and Ralphie's gentle snorts. Lana's eyes became heavier. and she eventually fell asleep.
She was lying in a treehouse.
It felt warm, quiet. Someone was next to her, arm occasionally lifting to point at the sky, talking softly.
She leaned into him, laughing under her breath.
Then he kissed her cheek.
Again.
And again.
"...okay, wait—"
She turned her head.
"Zac?"
It was Zac Efron.
He kept going.
"Wait, what about Vanessa? I feel like—"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Lana jumped.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Her eyes snapped open.
Ralphie was licking her face.
"Oh my god—Ralphie!"
She pulled back just as someone knocked on the window again.
"Hi! It's Lois!"
Lana blinked, trying to process everything at once.
"...great."
The shower was fairy good, no three story, suburban house shower but, a showers a shower.
Claire had insisted on taking the dog out on a quick walk, trying to become familiar with the woods that they would soon, very often be walking a lot in.
so there lana stood infront of her mirror, gently singing Year 3000, by Buster. The only CD that had been delivered so far. Her hands reaching upwards every now and again, slightly readjusting the white towel wrapped around her wet, tanned body, her already dark hair, now almost black with the liquid on it.
what could she wear? the suitcases resting on the wooden empty floors, matching with the plain, light coral walls which aswell had nothing in it but a huge mirror resting against it.
She picked up the first pieces of fabric she saw, which so happened to conveniently be a red bra with lacing around the edge, and the other piece matching the same colour, making a pair.
Sure, No one would be seeing it,but not only could she not be bothered to dig through her suitcase to find another pair, she was also short on time.
She slowly bent over, pulling the fabric over her ankles and slowly shimmying them up her thighs, before quickly turning around to a more comfortable, spacious area to change into her other clothes.
suddenly, she made direct eye contact with a pair of darker one peeking over her windowsill, it wasn't hard to miss, whoever it was had hair that most defiantly added an inch or two to their height, and the tips were a lighter colours than it was originally.
"AHHH"
"AHHH"
the boy stood up, screaming, before really taking in the girl stood infront of him. his terror turning into shock. cheeks glowing pink.
She wore a short white towel that must've only stopped at her mid-thigh which was most definitely much shorter at the back - he assumed-
his guess quickly getting an answer as she turned around and ran out the room.
Reese was stood there giggling aimlessly, his mind replaying the moment he just saw.
When he quickly realised what he was doing, he ran away. Tripping over his feet in the process.
Lana had dropped her bra, and ran out of her room into the hallway, before realising her window, AND curtain was still open, and what more does a creep like than a cute red lace bra, Lana was unsure, but all she knew was that she also loved the flimsy piece of fabric, so Lana braved it and stormed into her room, shoving her window down and slamming the curtains shut in the process. Quickly grabbing the bra that remained on the floor thankfully
Clearly that altercation took a lot longer than Lana thought because she only had 5 minutes until she had to leave, luckily her mother wasn't even home yet which gave her at-least 3 more minutes.
"so, any clue when the Tv is going to arrive?" Lana questioned her mum, her arm wrapped around the taller woman's as they began walking against the street lamp lit path to the Wilkersons house.
"They said sometime around the end of this week or next, but i did think that mover guy was flirting with me so he might pull some cards" Claire winked over at her daughter, slightly joking. and Laughing at the grimace that had landed on her face.
suddenly, her mum stopped front of a smaller house, with noise booming out of every inch.
Claire smiled, eyes squinting to see the number on the door.
"looks like were here!"
Her fist lightly, but loud enough to be heard, banging against the door.
a familiar voice seemed to be aimed in the direction of the door,
"MALCOLM WILL YOU GET THAT"
the only problem was, she didn't get an answer and the door did NOT open.
so of course, she asked - no, demanded- again
"MALCOLM GET THE DOOR"
and much like the first time. no response.
"MALC-"
"Mom chill, i'll get it"
a deeper voice replied, slightly closer to the two standing on the other side.
"that must be reese" Claire glanced down at her daughter, wiggling her eyebrows.
of course, Lana had no clue who reese was, and what the eyebrows meant, but either way. she was hungry.
And almost as though she summoned it, the door swung open, and in slow motion, Lana made direct eye contact with 'reese' which somehow seemed like it was the second time today.
On the other end, Reese realised he messed up.
the girl stood infront of him was different close up, a lot prettier, her now dry hair, reflecting the lights that hung either side of the door.
And her body wearing a light wash pair of low rise jeans, and a stripy off the shoulder sweater.
Which was definitely a change from what he saw earlier. The thighs he once saw, decorated with water droplets, now covered with a thick material.
Every instinct inside of him was telling him slam the door on their faces and deny deny deny; he was sure the girl recognised him, and was most definitely going to rat him out to his mom for perving on his new neighbour.
But instead, she smiled, her dimples appearing on either side of her face, attempting to follow her mother inside the house.
She could only assume the frosted tipped boy invited them inside. She kind of zoned out and everything had become a blur, except for the slightly taller boy infront of her.
Green eyes -surrounded by mascara covered lashes- had now met Brown.
The only question lana had was where she recognised them from?
But before she could look closer, His eyes widened before looking down and walking back towards the rest of his family. almost letting the door slam into Lana, and only Lana, now that her mum had snuck past without either teenagers noticing.
Her mother had began to say hello to Lois and Hal, leaving Lana to slowly follow the noise, mostly muffled by the awkward interaction resting in her mind.
what was that guys problem, and where did she know those eyes from?
She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as her mother lightly called for her. Waving the younger girl over to the dinner table where the three boys, plus the three adults were already sat.
By looking at the pictures on the way over, she noticed they had another son, taller, blonder, older, and not here? Lana noted that it would be a question to ask her mom after the dinner.
On one end of the table, sat Lois, Reese next to her on one side, and an empty seat on her other side, both directly facing one another.
Next to reese was a slightly shorter boy she learned the name of earlier which was malcom, and squeezed next to him, sat Dewey, the smaller, cuter, and funnier brother.
Leaving Hal on the other end and Claire on the side of him that had been unoccupied.
all was going well, she had gotten the conversation about school already out of the way, something she dreaded as it reminded her she knew no one, and would have to go from being one of the most popular girls back at her old school, to the loser who joined and the most inconvenient time with no friends.
or so she thought, she had then learnt that Reese was also in her year and also had no friends so he would be more than happy to show her around, atleast that's what Lois said. Neither one of the teenagers being happy with the offer.
Great.
As Lana began to eat, her eyes were mostly staying stuck to her plate, but sometimes jumping up to look around the unfamiliar house they were in.
She took in the pictures, now being able to put a face to the Blonde boy she saw framed earlier, francis, having slightly been listening in on the conversation between the adults. Some about Malcolm being something called a "krelbyone"
which Lana originally thought was the name of people who had been plagued by a disease, but later on found out it just meant he was smart, much smarter than most.
Lana had began daydreaming about things like her bed, how her room might look when everything was converted over, and how Kacy was most DEFINITELY making out with Ben Johnson -her true love-
when suddenly, she was snapped out of her saddening thoughts when she heard a familiar humming coming from nearby, the noise being the rhythm and beat of the song she had been listening to prior Year 3000.
At first she thought it was a good opportunity be a conversation starter, she was suprised that maybe someone else liked buster and it would give Lana a good topic to bond with someone over. But once her eyes clicked up the the producer of the noise. everything clicked
Frosted tips, dark brown eyes, the SONG,
Reese Wilkerson, the boy sat directly infront of her, was the same boy that was perving on her earlier.
And almost like he read her mind. he stopped humming. Making direct eye contact with the girl, eyes wider than before and a loud gulp following down his throat - which luckily for him no one heard over the conversation the rest of the people were having-
He tried looking away, he really did. But her stare, squinted, tracking his every move somehow cursed him to hold eye contact, This was until a sharp kick to his shin made him completely wake up, a loud "OW"
interrupting the dinner table.
Heads turning all in his direction.
"Reese honey, what happened?" Lois, along with Malcolm, Dewey, Hal and claire all gave him a sympathetic, yet mostly confused stare.
But as soon as his eyes locked back onto Lana's, he also noticed her eyebrow raised, and head tilted.
That was no accident, and Reese quickly realised what she was putting down. She knew it was him, and she wanted him to know she wasn't afraid to tell everyone at the dinner table that very second, which would've been the most awkward and embarrasing situation Reese had ever faced in his whole career, that was if he hadn't smiled gently towards the table and its guests, before coughing out,
"just wanted to see if you guys cared for me, and you passed! congrats"
His voice coming up with a smooth lie on the spot, slightly cracking nearer the end.
"You are such a freak" Malcolm groaned, a sense of disbelief but also with a hint of 'this has happened before' , before the rest of the crowd continued with their meal. everyone except for Lana.
"excuse me Lois, you don't mind if i use your bathroom do you?"
Her once evil eyes now turning into a pair sent down from heaven, her eyes that were raised in mockery, now furrowing in the middle of her head, a slight dimple clad smile looking up towards his mom.
"Of course not dear! Reese will show you where it is, go on!" Lois looked down to the polite girl, her face practically in awe at the tone she was just spoken in. Being a mother of 4 boys had meant being yelled at to grab some water.
It had been a while since she heard a please.
"Mom, seriously? i'm kinda in the middle of eatin-" suddenly reese stopped, feeling the fire of his mother burning into his head.
"nevermind, follow me Lana"
Both chairs squeaked against the ground and the pair of teenagers moved.
Reese was practically shaking, next to him he had a shorter girl, harmless, right?
That's what he thought, but as soon as they turned the corner, out of sight from the others, he began to be lightly backed against the wall. The girl getting closer and closer until their fronts were pressed directly against one another.
now he couldn't deny, she was very pretty, she had an innocence on her face that made it seem like she could get away with anything, and most probably did. Her coconut scented lotion -the same one he saw her out on earlier- filled his nose, making him loose almost all his senses.
But suddenly she spoke up, proving him wrong.
"so it was you"
"me?
"the one creeping over my window to watch me change as i listened to the exact same song you were humming earlier"
Lana challenged, her face getting closer and closer to his.
Now in a normal situation, A girls face being this close to Reese's set off an instinct inside of him to kiss her- but luckily he decided maybe it wasn't the best idea.
But boy was it hard to resist moving closer. A girl who in his opinion was hotter than Megan Fox was pressed flush against his front, trapping him against the wall.
Her doe eyes glaring up at in through her eyelashes.
This was like a dream come true, expect for when he was called out for being a weirdo a few hours ago, which he most definetly was , but come on. he wasn't going to admit that.
"i have no clue what your talking about", reese stated with a
proud smirk accenting his face.
"oh really? so if i show the security camera footage to your mom she isn't going to point out it being her son?" Lana questioned, her smirk growing wider and wider, she didn't have security cameras, but Reese didn't have to know.
"FINE, fine. It was me, but i didn't mean to creep on you! i was in the neighbourhood, wondering what the moving van was for , and then i just... went over to the window.. and looked in."
Reese admitted, feeling the words fall from his mouth before he even noticed.
"huh" Lana let out a breathy laugh, moving slightly backwards. "i didn't know it would be that easy.
And by the way dingus, i obviously don't own security cameras. Where do you think you live Baker street?"
Reese let out a breath he had been holding. shoulders dropping.
"hey atleast you now know how easy it is for people to wonder outside your window, might want to start closing your curtains." Reese stated, eyebrows furrowing, trying his best to look as innocent as possible.
but his demeanour dropped as the girl replied to him with.
"we will see."
before walking away, joining her mom by the front door. thanking both Hal and Lois for dinner, and waving goodbye to Malcolm and dewey.
Before completely leaving, she turned her head to the place she was previously stood. Smirking directly to Reece's face like she hadn't just interrogated him, like she hadn't just had him pinned against the wall like some of the kids he had beaten up before.
He let her completely walk all over him, and quite frankly, he didn't mind.
the only thing he thought of now was the three words she had said to him before walking away.
we will see
we will see
we will see
what did that mean? Reese questioned, only for himself to hear.
A/N
it's 1am and i just want to get an actual chapter out.. somehow i've already written the carnival episode and the houseboat episode but no other so this may be a bit rushed but i hope you guys like it!
ALSO, this is originally a wattpad story so if you want to continue reading go over to my wattpad x
NOT PROOF READ!
soz it's too late for me x