Y/N’s POV
As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, I raced up the stairs and into my room. I threw open my closet door, revealing a chaotic jumble of clothes. It looked like a rainbow unicorn had exploded inside! I dove into the swirling mass of fabric and eventually pulled out a white tank top, a favorite flannel in my favorite color, and a pair of jean shorts. I quickly changed, then headed to the master bathroom, brushing my hair, which is H/C. A quick swipe of mascara completed the look, and I hurried back downstairs, eager to start the tour.
Garroth and Laurence were waiting outside, exchanging glances.
“Took you long enough!” Laurence commented, his gaze fixed on me.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “Are you going to actually *take* me on a tour, or just stand here and judge my tardiness?” I asked sarcastically.
“Yeah! But you need shoes first!” Garroth said with a goofy grin.
I looked down at my bare feet. Sure enough, I was barefoot. Heat flushed my cheeks as I remembered rushing out the door without thinking. I retraced my steps inside, slipped on a pair of black flip-flops, and hurried back outside.
“Now we can go!” Garroth chirped, skipping down the street.
The first house we visited was next door to theirs. It was a yellow-beige house with a cobbled roof, slightly smaller than Garroth and Laurence’s. We knocked on the door, and it was opened by a guy with white hair, a bit shorter than Garroth. He had olive skin and startlingly bright lime-green eyes.
“What’s up, Garroth!” he greeted.
“Hey, Travis! We’re taking our new neighbor, Y/N, around the neighborhood to meet everyone!” Garroth said excitedly.
Travis turned his gaze to me and smirked. “Well, how do you do, cutie? The name’s Travis, but you can call me—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Laurence punched him in the stomach. Travis stumbled backward, landing flat on his butt with a groan. “OH MY IRENE! Laurence, what was *that* for?” I blurted out.
“He deserved it,” Laurence shrugged, then turned to Travis who was getting back on his feet. “I thought you were dating Katelyn!”
“Katelyn made it clear we aren’t dating! So I’m technically single and have every right to mingle!” Travis retorted, his voice laced with frustration.
Just then, a boy with tanned olive skin, blue eyes, and matching blue hair appeared in the doorway beside Travis. “Travis, what’s going on?” he asked, then glanced at me. “Oh, hey guys, who’s this?”
“I’m Y/N! I just moved into the neighborhood yesterday, and Garroth and Laurence are taking me around!” I introduced myself.
“Nice to meet you, Y/N, I’m Dante! Welcome to the neighborhood!” The bluenette said with a smile.
“Alright, enough chit chat! Y/N needs to meet the other neighbors!” Laurence said impatiently.
Travis leaned forward, his voice dripping with flirtation. “I’ll see you around, my love!” He reached out and pressed a kiss to my hand.
My face flushed again as a blush crept onto my cheeks. “Aren’t you with Katelyn, Travis?” Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.
“FOR THE LAST TIME! WE AREN’T DATING!” Travis shouted, his eyes flashing purple for a split second.
“Calm down, dude!” Dante said defensively. I swear I heard him mutter, “Katelyn really has rubbed off on you.”
“Well, it was nice meeting you Travis, Dante!” I said quickly, walking away from their house with Laurance and Garroth close behind.
“I’ll see you around!” Travis called after us, before Dante slammed the door shut.
“Sorry about Travis, he’s just a big flirt!” Garroth said apologetically.
“It’s fine,” I giggled.
“He’s really nice once you get to know him!” Garroth continued, feeling the need to explain his friend further.
“No, really, he seems like a fun person to be around,” I reassured him.
“He is something, that’s for sure!” Laurence said with a wry laugh.
We walked across the street—looking both ways first, of course—and headed toward a sandstone house with a wooden roof. We rang the doorbell repeatedly. Just as we were about to give up, the door opened to reveal a girl with silvery white hair and piercing purple eyes. She had pale skin and wore heavy black makeup.
“What do you want?” she asked in a bored tone.
“I’m Y/N, I moved in across the street and these two,” I motioned to Garroth and Laurence, “are showing me around!” I said with a smile.
“I’m Sasha. I assume you’ll wanna meet my roommates?” she said with a flicker of interest.
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied with a small smile.
“ZENIX, GENE! GET YOUR A**** DOWN HERE!!” she screamed.
At her words, two boys came running down the stairs. One had chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes, while the other had black hair and ocean blue eyes. The second one looked remarkably like Dante.
“What do you want, Sasha!” the first boy growled.
“The new girl wants to meet you guys, introduce yourselves.” she answered before turning and heading back up the stairs.
The brunette scoffed. “I’m Zenix, who are you?” he grumbled in the same unenthusiastic tone Sasha had shown.
“I-I’m Y/N…” I stuttered, unnerved by the amount of dislike radiating from Zenix. He rolled his eyes and turned away, going back up the stairs.
“Sorry about him, I’m Gene. I assume, since Garroth and Laurence are with you, that you met my brother Dante,” he said in a calming, casual voice.
“Yeah, you look like him,” I replied, relaxing a bit more. He seemed much friendlier than the other two.
“Heh, I get that a lot,” he said with a wry smile.
“I’m Y—" I began, but he cut me off.
“Y/N, I know. I heard you telling Zenix.”
“Right!” I breathed out, a blush warming my cheeks. I smiled nervously, and he returned it with a sly grin.
“We should get going!” Laurence broke the silence.
“Alright, see ya around, Y/N!” Gene called as we closed the door behind us.
“Irene, I hate that guy!” Laurence grumbled as we reached the sidewalk.
“What? Why? Gene was nice!” I said confused.
“They’re not very good people, Y/N,” Garroth said grimly.
I looked between them confused. Garroth looked upset, and Laurence looked enraged. “Don’t let Gene sweet talk you into things,” Laurence hissed angrily.
I nodded and we walked to the next house in silence.
The next house we visited was between Gene’s and Aphmau’s. It was black with a gray cobbled roof. We rang the doorbell, and the door was opened by a girl with bright orange hair, red eyes, and tanned skin.
“How may I help you?” she said in a calming voice.
“Hi, I’m Y/N. I’m new to the neighborhood and Garroth and Laurence are showing me around!” I said brightly.
“Well then, welcome to the neighborhood! I’m Lucinda, and you came at the perfect time! I need someone to test my new potion on!” she said excitedly.
“Potion?” I asked nervously.
“Lucinda’s a witch. She does Magicks and potions!” Garroth informed us.
“O-Oh, is the potion dangerous?” I asked, still on edge.
“No, I never make dangerous potions! The worst it’ll do is turn you into a cat for a few hours,” she said casually, as if it happened every day.
“Okay then… I guess I can help,” I answered with a nervous smile.
She led us into her house and to her kitchen. It smelled awful! Brewing stands and potion ingredients littered the countertops. Sitting in the center of the table was a rack holding completed potions, each with a small white label. Lucinda grabbed one of the potions and handed it to me. It glowed green and smelled like wet dog. The label read: Leaping Potion. Lucinda handed me a shot glass and poured the potion into it. She put the potion back in its place.
“That should only last an hour. Drink up!” she chirped excitedly.
I looked at Garroth and Laurence nervously, but they looked bored and annoyed. I looked back at Lucinda, and she smiled encouragingly. I brought the potion to my lips and took a small sip. It tasted like pure sugar, incredibly sweet.
“You gotta drink the whole thing for it to work!” Lucinda said matter-of-factly.
I hesitated, then downed the rest of it. I put the glass down and closed my eyes, feeling a bit dizzy. Then there was a flash of white light, and everything was normal.
“Jump!” Lucinda commanded. I looked at her like she was crazy, then at Garroth and Laurence. “Just do it,” Laurence sighed.
I took a deep breath and jumped, but instead of going a few inches, I soared high enough to bang my head on the ceiling! “OUCH!” I cried out, clutching my head where it hurt.
“OH MY IRENE! I should have had you do that outside!” Lucinda cried in a panicked voice.
“I’ll get you some ice,” Garroth sighed, heading toward the fridge.
Once I had my ice pack, we said goodbye to Lucinda and continued our neighborhood tour. “Well, she’s… something,” I said, still holding the ice to my head.
“She’s really nice and means well. She didn’t mean to get you hurt!” Laurence defended.
“I’m sure she is, I’m just going to stay away from her potions!” I said with a wry laugh.
We walked up to a wooden house with a cobblestone roof and knocked on the door. It was answered by a pale me’fiwa girl with pink hair and orangey amber eyes. “Hi, Laurence~Kun and Garroth~Kun!” she said looking at them both, beaming brightly. Then she turned her gaze to me, “who’s this?”
“This is your new neighbor, Y/N!” Garroth answered for me.
“Oh! Hello Y/N~Chan! My name is Kawaii~Chan!” she greeted excitedly.
“It’s nice to meet you!” I said happily. I liked this girl.
“Let me go get Katelyn~Sama!” she said excitedly before running into the house.
She came back a few seconds later with a pale girl who had bright baby blue hair and matching blue eyes. She looked annoyed at Kawaii~Chan. “Hey, new neighbor! Happy now KC!” she said through gritted teeth.
“Kawaii~Chan! Be nice!” Kawaii~Chan lectured.
“Yeah, be nice Katelyn!” Laurence snickered.
She glared at him before looking at me. “Hi, my name is Katelyn. Welcome to the neighborhood,” she said in an annoyed tone.
I giggled, “hi Katelyn! My name is Y/N!” She gave me a short smile and then walked away.
“Kawaii~Chan just baked cookies this morning! Does Y/N~Chan want some?” Kawaii~Chan asked excitedly.
“Hmm, sure!” I chirped. She then danced away.
“Don’t worry, they won’t poison you!” Garroth teased.
I shot him a glare before Kawaii~Chan came back. “Here you go!” she beamed, placing a tin of chocolate chip cookies in my hand.
“Thanks, Kawaii~Chan!” I said with a smile.
We then closed the door and turned to leave. “Well, that’s everyone!” Laurence announced, “well, not including Aphmau and Aaron whom you already met!”
“They all seem so nice!” I commented happily.
We made our way back to our houses. I was about to go into mine when Garroth stopped me. “You wanna have lunch with us! Laurence is a great cook and we’re having F/F!”
“Sure! I love F/F!” I chirped excitedly. I turned around and followed them to their house for lunch.