Chapter 1. New guy on the block.
Victoria
When Victoria woke up that Saturday morning, she had no idea that her life was about to change. She was blasting her favorite band on her Bluetooth speaker while showering, singing along to the songs while warm water washed away the soap and shampoo from her naked body. She felt like such a dork standing in the shower, using her conditioner bottle as a microphone as she pretended to be on stage with Massacarade, and was glad that she was the only one in the vicinity of her bathroom.
After drying off with one of her favorite towels, she got dressed in a pair of jeans and a Massacarade tank top she had gotten a couple months back when she went to one of their shows with her friends. As she studied herself in the mirror she found her appearance to be very acceptable for a lazy Saturday.
Breakfast was a quiet affair, as her dad read the paper and her mom was browing the web on her phone. Victoria enjoyed the silence while she took apart her Mozarella and Ham toast with great gusto, sipping her coffee in between bites. She was just reaching for a second toast when her dad broke the silence.
"The new neighbor is moving in today." He commented, not looking up from the paper.
"Really? How do you know?" Victoria asked, more to hold up her end of the budding conversation than any real interest.
"Talked with Bob when I got the paper. He talked with one of the contractors that has been working at the house for the last month. They had some movers over there yesterday around noon, so the house is all ready."
"Hmm. It will be nice to have the house lived in again. It's been empty for years now." Her mother commented, eyes locked on the screen as she scrolled. "Such a shame too. The Coopers kept such a magnificent garden. A shame they moved to Florida."
Victoria rolled her eyes. Of course her mother would be all about the appearances of the house and its garden, instead of the people. She had complain relentlessly over the years that the empty house was becoming an eyesore. Victoria disagreed. While the house had stood empty since Mr. and Mrs. Cooper retired and moved to the Dick of America, it had not been left neglected. A caretaker had kept up repairs, done maintenance and kept the lawn neatly trimmed.
When a steady stream of contractors and trucks had started showing up a few weeks ago, it had been the talk of the neighborhood. Everyone was speculating that the Coopers had finally gotten around to selling the house and was sprucing it up a bit. But to everyone's surprise there was very little done to the outside of the house. It still looked like it had for as long as she could remember.
"So, dad. Did Bob know anything about who is moving in?" she asked, popping another bite into her mouth while savoring the taste.
"Huh? Oh, no, not really. Just that they were moving in today."
"When they do arrive, please try to be friendly Victoria. It's important that we make a good first impression on them, since they will be living across the street from us." Her mother said, still not looking up from her phone. Victoria just rolled her eyes at her mothers words. She was so concerned about what people thought of her and the family, that it almost bordered on the comical.
The table lapsed into silence again for a few minutes, while everyone was finishing up their breakfast. When the quiet was interrupted again, the topic was something much more to her interest.
"Hmm. That band you are always on about is on the news." Her mother commented.
"What? Massacarade?" Victoria asked dumbfounded. She was subscribed to pretty much every newsletter there was about the band, and there was nothing newsworthy last she had checked.
"Yes, Dear. Seems like they are going to take a break." She responded uninterested.
Victoria's heart skipped a beat.
No... No no no no. That cant be right!
She thought. Without thinking, her hand darted out like a striking rattlesnake, almost knocking over her coffee mug, to grab her mom's phone.
"Hey!" her mom protested, but Victoria was far beyond listening as she read the article with her heart racing. There it was, black in white. The band was going to take a break from their touring to focus on other projects. The article went on to speculate on how the solo projects might finally reveal the identity of the bandmembers. That had been the source of heavy speculations and rumors for years, as the bandmembers always wore masks when in public, and used stage names. She had spent hours imagining how they looked, especially the lead guitarist and backup vocal known as Rover. There was two highlights in the article however. The band promised that in a year's time, they would release a new album, after which they would start touring again. The other highlight was that they were going to hold a show at the stadium in her home town. It had long been speculated that the band were locals, as they first started playing in the area before their breakthrough, but still, no one really knew much about the extremely secretive group.
She put down her mother's phone on the table with an audible thud, and ignored the annoyed scolding she received as her mind raced. She had to get tickets for that show, no matter what. It would be her last chance to see them live in who knew how long.
A few hours later, she was sitting on the porch texting with her friends and enjoying the sun. Her parents had occupied the backyard when some of their friends had dropped by for a visit, so unless she wanted to be bombarded with questions about school and boys and college next year, the porch was her only option if she wanted to enjoy the relatively fresh air. As she was putting away her phone, she noticed the SUV pulling up the driveway across the street. She realized right away that it had to be the new neighbors. She imagined a typical suburban family. A married couple in their 30s or 40s, two kids, a dog.
When the door of the car opened, she found herself surprised. The guy who stepped out of the SUV looked to be just a few years older than she was. He was tall and athletically built with his abs visible through the shirt he was wearing. He had dirty blonde hair in a shaggy mop, and a pair of ray bans on as he took a look around the street. He noticed her looking his way and gave a smile and a wave. She returned it automatically, and found herself studying the guy with interest. She expected more people to exit the car, but he just closed the door with no one else emerging.
Well, mom did say to be friendly...
she thought to herself as she collected her phone and rose to her feet. She beelined right for the young man with a warm smile plastered on her face.
"Hey! You must be our new neighbor! I'm Victoria!" She said in her friendliest tone as she offered her hand.
"Hey! Yeah. Nice to meet you! I'm Ian." He said with a dazzling smile that made her heart skip a beat while he shook her hand firmly. The touch of his hand in hers left her palm tingling, even after their handshake ended.
"Ian. Welcome to the neighborhood, I'm right across the street." She said, gesturing behind her.
"Good to know." He smiled again, that beautiful smile. "So, you're a Massacarade fan?" he commented, pointing to her shirt.
"Huh? Oh yeah. They are awesome! Are you a fan?" She asked hopefully, eager to find something in common with this guy. His lips twisted into an amused smile, like at some private joke.
"Yeah, I'm passing familiar with them."
