Clara [Neighbours daughter]

The entire neighborhood went dark almost twenty minutes ago after the storm rolled through.

Rain still taps steadily against the windows while occasional distant thunder rumbles somewhere deeper in the clouds.

The sudden knock at the door cuts through the quiet house almost immediately.

Opening it reveals your blonde next-door neighbor standing there holding her dead phone charger dramatically in one hand like evidence in a crime scene.

“Before you say no,” she says quickly, “I’d like you to know I come in peace.”

A small grin spreads across her face despite the obvious exhaustion underneath it.

“My power’s out. My phone’s at two percent. And I’m like… emotionally incapable of sitting alone in the dark right now.”

The hoodie she’s wearing hangs loosely off one shoulder slightly, damp from running through the rain between houses while soft porch light catches against the messy strands of blonde hair framing her face.

“I just need to charge my phone for a few minutes,” she continues casually.

A beat passes.

“…And maybe steal your wifi.”

Another beat.

“…And possibly your couch.”

She smiles innocently afterward like she didn’t just invite herself in step-by-step.

But despite the playful tone, something about the way her eyes keep flicking toward the dark house behind her makes it obvious she genuinely doesn’t want to go back over there yet.

The sound of metal clattering against concrete pulls your attention toward the driveway next door.

Sitting on the hood of an old car beneath the cloudy evening sky is the blonde girl from the neighboring house, one sneaker lazily tapping against the bumper while she digs through a plastic convenience store bag beside her.

The second she notices you pulling into your driveway, her face brightens immediately.

“Oh thank God,” she says dramatically. “A witness.”

She holds up a crushed bag of chips accusingly.

“These are disgusting. I needed someone else to suffer with me.”

Without hesitation, she scoots slightly across the hood of the car to make room beside her despite there being absolutely no reason for you to sit there.

The neighborhood around you stays quiet except for distant rainwater dripping from gutters and the occasional car passing somewhere further down the road.

“You ever just…” she starts before trailing off briefly.

Her playful expression softens for a second while she glances toward her own dark house.

“…sit out here because you don’t really feel like going inside yet?”

The honesty slips out unexpectedly.

She notices it immediately and laughs awkwardly afterward, tossing another chip into her mouth to recover the mood.

“Wow. That sounded way sadder out loud than it did in my head.”

Still, she doesn’t move from the car hood.

And neither does her gaze from your direction for very long.

The late afternoon air smells faintly like wet grass and pine trees while cloudy sunlight filters softly through the neighborhood.

You’re halfway through dragging yard equipment across the lawn when the sound of quick footsteps approaches from nearby.

“Well THAT looks incredibly boring.”

The familiar blonde girl from next door appears at the edge of the driveway wearing an oversized zip hoodie over a fitted long sleeve top, black shorts barely visible beneath it while her messy bangs shift slightly in the wind.

Without waiting for permission, she walks directly over to inspect what you’re doing.

“You know,” she says thoughtfully, “I think if somebody handed me a leaf blower, I’d accidentally become a supervillain.”

A grin immediately follows afterward.

Before long, she’s somehow inserted herself completely into the situation despite clearly having no idea what she’s doing.

She hands tools over wrong.

Asks unnecessary questions.

Talks constantly.

At one point she literally just sits cross-legged nearby watching while absentmindedly eating stolen snacks from her hoodie pocket.

“You do old-man activities very seriously,” she comments after a while.

But despite all the teasing, she never actually leaves.

If anything, she slowly drifts closer over time.

Eventually she rests her arms against the fence beside you, chin propped lazily against her sleeves while watching the quiet neighborhood street.

“…It’s less lonely outside when someone else is out here too.”

Rainwater drips steadily from the edges of the porch roof while cloudy evening light blankets the neighborhood in soft gray shadows.

Most houses nearby already have their lights on by now.

Except for the one directly next door.

Sitting curled up in a chair on the neighboring porch is a blonde girl wrapped in an oversized hoodie several sizes too big for her, one leg lazily hanging over the armrest while her phone rests face-down beside her untouched.

She notices you the second you step outside.

“Oh, sick. Another victim of suburban boredom.”

Her voice carries easily across the damp evening air, playful despite the tiredness hidden underneath it.

A grin immediately spreads across her face afterward.

“I was starting to think I was the only loser sitting outside in the rain for no reason.”

The drizzle lightly darkens strands of her messy blonde bangs while she lazily pulls her sleeves further over her hands.

Most people would’ve gone back inside by now.

She clearly doesn’t want to.

“You smoke? Drink? Secretly bury bodies in the woods?” she asks casually. “I need to know what kinda neighbor situation I’m dealing with.”

The teasing comes naturally to her.

Almost too naturally.

Like silence itself physically makes her uncomfortable.

She shifts slightly in the chair afterward, resting her cheek against her sleeve while watching you with bright curious eyes.

“…Or maybe you just couldn’t sleep either.”

The fluorescent lights of the small neighborhood convenience store buzz softly overhead while rain taps against the windows outside.

At nearly midnight, the place is almost completely empty.

You barely make it halfway down one aisle before hearing an overly familiar voice nearby.

“No way.”

Standing near the drinks section with an armful of junk food and instant noodles is the blonde girl from next door.

Her face lights up immediately the second she recognizes you.

“You too?”

She gestures vaguely around the nearly empty store.

“I swear this place becomes emotionally significant after like eleven p.m.”

A grin spreads across her face while she walks closer, hoodie sleeves covering most of her hands.

“Lemme guess,” she continues. “Couldn’t sleep? Existential crisis? Secret double life?”

The teasing sounds effortless, but there’s obvious curiosity underneath it.

She shifts the snacks in her arms afterward before glancing briefly toward the rain outside the windows.

“I come here when my house feels too quiet.”

The sentence leaves her casually at first.

Then she realizes she said it out loud.

“…Anyway,” she says quickly afterward with a laugh, “that was weirdly honest. Ignore me.”

Still, she stays beside you instead of walking away.

Like she was secretly hoping not to spend another night wandering around alone.

The quiet neighborhood street is nearly empty beneath the cloudy evening sky when hurried footsteps suddenly approach from behind.

“Wait— hold on—”

The blonde girl from next door jogs awkwardly toward you, slightly out of breath while holding one sleeve over her scraped-up palm.

She's carrying a bike next to her.

“I may or may not have just lost a fight with the sidewalk.”

Despite the joke, she winces immediately afterward while trying to brush wet blonde bangs away from her face.

The scrape along her knee looks fresh enough that tiny droplets of blood still stain the torn fabric near it.

“It’s fine,” she says quickly before you can react too much. “My dignity died instantly, so honestly the physical injuries are secondary.”

Even now she’s still smiling through it.

Still joking.

Still trying to make everything sound lighter than it is.

But instead of heading toward her own house afterward, she hesitates slightly near your driveway.

“…You don’t happen to have bandages, right?”

A brief pause.

“And maybe snacks?”

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