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[This just randomly popped up while listening to 'Neighbors' by The Academy Is... and going through my pictures of Elias Reidy heart ]

NEIGHBORS

Between a full time job at the corner bookstore and evening classes at community college, Jasmyn Prentiss had very little time for sleep and even less time for a normal social life. Her new neighbors weren't making matters any easier either. They had only moved into the adjoining duplex a month ago, and Jasmyn was on the verge of losing it.

They were five boys living in one tiny, two bedroom house in the small town of Middleburg, Florida. Two of them looked to be about the same age as Jasmyn, eighteen or nineteen; the other three were slightly older. They had a band and were constantly holding practices inside the house. They always seemed to start practicing as Jasmyn was starting to study or take a nap before night school. Then the late night parties came.

Jasmyn tried desperately to ignore the noise. After the first party, six days after they moved in, Jasmyn invested in a pair of earplugs. She quickly learned it couldn't ward off the vibrating bass coming from the neighbors' sound system and amplifiers. She then tried sleeping on the living room couch which was the farthest place in her home from the neighbors' home. That failed, too.

It never occurred to Jasmyn to go over to her neighbors and have a reasonable conversation about the problem. Jasmyn had spent most of her teenage years avoiding the opposite sex at all costs. She had been unlucky to say the least when it came to guys. Most of the ones Jasmyn had gone to school with were egotistical jerks who treated her badly. That led Jasmyn to believe all guys were like that.

One day after Jasmyn got home after another long day at the bookstore, she found her home in a peaceful state. She decided to take advantage of the precious silence by grabbing her psychology book and lying down on the couch with it. Thirty minutes passed by quickly and just as Jasmyn was falling asleep, book folded into her lap, the sounds of an electric guitar blasted into her eardrums.

"ARGGHH!!" she screams at the top of her lungs as she falls off the couch, hitting the hardwood floor with a loud thud. She quickly jumps to her feet, leaving the psych book on the floor and marches out of her duplex and over to her neighbors. Jasmyn angrily bangs her fists on the door for several seconds and waits impatiently until one of the younger guys answers the door.

"May I help you?" he asks Jasmyn politely, pushing away a long strand of dark brown hair from his face. Jasmyn stands speechless for a moment, staring up into his amazingly dark brown eyes. His pale cheeks are scattered with brown freckles and he has the most adorable, genuine smile Jasmyn has ever seen. However, she quickly notices the electric guitar dangling from the boy's side and remembers her reason for being there.

"Would you please stop with all the noise? Turn down the amp or practice on an acoustic or something. The constant noise is driving me crazy," Jasmyn states in a bitchy tone. The boy frowns at her. "Excuse me, but who the hell are you, and why is it any of your damn business, anyways?" he asks in and arrogant tone that Jasmyn is all too familiar to hearing.

Jasmyn steps closer to him and angrily glares up at him, not intimidated by the fact that he's a good five or six inches taller than her. "If you bothered to take time out of your oh so busy schedule of practicing and partying you might know I'm your new neighbor," Jasmyn responds venomously, pointing at her half of the duplex. "How am I supposed to know you're my neighbor when you're never home?" the boy reasonably asks.

Jasmyn continues to glare at the boy. "Well, I'm sorry for having to work over forty hours a week and go to school full time. I don't get the luxury of staying home all day like you do," she answers. His eyes immediately soften as he stares down at Jasmyn's stormy eyes. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, but when you just barge over and start attacking me out of no where...let's start over. Hi, I'm Elias Reidy and you are?" he asks, holding out his hand.

Jasmyn eyes his hand suspiciously but grips it with hers after a moment of contemplation. "Hello, I'm Jasmyn Prentiss. Elias, could you please keep it down until about 5:30pm. I'm trying to take a nap before class," she explains. "Of course, it's not a problem Jasmyn. Any time the noise bothers you just ask us to stop. Here's our number so you don't have to walk all the way over here," Elias says as he scribbles a phone number on a piece of paper. He hands her the paper and adds with the same grin that he greeted her with, "But you're always welcome to stop by anytime for any reason."

"Thank you, Elias, really I appreciate it. Sorry for being so rude before. Bye," Jasmyn calls, walking quickly back to her home. She has a similar smile plastered across her face as she walks back into her living room and lies back down on her couch. 'Elias seems like a really nice guy' she can't help but think to herself as she quickly drifts off to sleep.

A couple of weeks quickly pass and Jasmyn can't stop thinking about her new neighbor, Elias. Anytime she sees him as she leaves for work or school, Jasmyn can't help but smile and wave stupidly at him. What astonishes her is Elias always smiles and waves back.

One morning as she's getting ready to leave the duplex, Elias's voice calls out to her, "Hey, Jasmyn." She turns her head and sees him standing with the rest of her neighbors. Jasmyn cautiously walks over to the boys, smiling nervously at them. "Don't worry, they won't bite, unless you ask of course," Elias smirks as another long haired boy, about three or four years older then Jasmyn, smacks him across the back of his head. "OW!!" Elias cries out in pain.

The boy ignores him and smiles warmly at Jasmyn. "Hello, Jasmyn, the name's Ronnie, Ronnie Winter. This is Duke, Joey, and Jon. We all live next door," he explains. Jasmyn smiles warmly at the friendly faces. "It's nice to meet you and put all the names with the faces. I've really got to go, or I'll be late for work," Jasmyn says in a rush, moving towards her car.

"Wait, Jasmyn!" Elias's voice calls out as she reaches for the handle of her blue hatchback. She turns her head and yells to him, "Yes, Elias?" "We're having a party tonight. Can you make it?" he asks, and Jasmyn detects a hint of nervousness in his voice.

The immediate response in Jasmyn's head is a firm yes, but she stops herself quickly. "Maybe!" she responds coyly as she hops into her car and takes off. Elias watches in disbelief as the pretty girl quickly races down the street in her car. "Maybe! What the hell does she mean maybe?" Elias asks incredulously. Ronnie gives his best friend a knowing smirk, "Someone has a crush, and her name is J-A-S-M-Y-N." Elias flips off Ronnie and walks back into the house.

Later that evening, Jasmyn arrives at her house to see the party is already raging. 'I'm so glad I don't have work in the morning' she thinks to herself as she unlocks her door. She looks at the digital clock above her television, 9:05pm. 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to go to the party for a little while. It would be rude not to go,' Jasmyn reasons with herself. 'That's not the only reason. A certain someone by the name of Elias will be there. You like him, admit it' a little voice taunts Jasmyn's subconscious. "Shut up brain," Jasmyn scolds herself.

She quickly changes into her favorite pair of skinny jeans and a black and white, long-sleeved shirt. She throws on her old, black and white low top converse sneakers and pulls her long, rose red hair into a high ponytail. Jasmyn gives herself one more satisfied glance in the mirror and grabs her keys, locking the door behind her.

She nervously lets herself into her neighbors' home and is immediately enveloped into a hug by Ronnie. "I'm so glad you could make it sweetheart. Come in, make yourself comfortable," he rushes on, pulling Jasmyn through the crowd of people. Jasmyn sees Duke and Joey immersed in an argument over the greatest guitar players of all time. They are going back and forth between Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, and Jasmyn can't help but take an interest in the conversation.

"Um, actually you're both wrong. I won't deny you, Hendrix and Vaughn are both legends, and I love their music, but hands down Eric Clapton is the best guitarist of all time," Jasmyn cuts in stopping Duke mid-sentence. He stares at her in momentary bewilderment when a voice breaks in, "Hah!! That's what I've been trying to tell these two for months now." Jasmyn spins around to meet those dark brown eyes that seem to make her heart flutter.

"Well it's the truth," Jasmyn says smiling up at Elias. He leans down, his breath causing the hairs on the back of Jasmyn's neck to tingle as he gently whispers in her ear, "You know that, and I know that but trying to get those two idiots to see the light...well I doubt it will ever happen." He smiles at her as he pulls away, and Jasmyn can feel her face growing increasingly hot.

Elias quickly takes notice and leans back into her ear, "What are you blushing for?" He looks into Jasmyn's eyes, a knowing smirk playing across his face. The color quickly drains from her cheeks as she glares at Elias, her eyes changing from their normal deep blue to a steely grey. "You really think you're something special don't you Mr. Reidy? You're just like every other guy I've ever met, arrogant, egotistical..." Jasmyn's rant is silenced as Elias's lips crash into her own. She is too shocked to respond at first but quickly finds herself kissing him back.

Moments pass, and Jasmyn quickly comes to her senses, pushing away Elias with all her strength. She stares at him in disbelief but quickly recovers and leaves. She can hear Elias calling after her but ignores him as she lets herself back into her home and rushes into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

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