Carter and Zac walked past the house with the big "SOLD" sign on the front lawn at least 8 times. Carter linked her arm with Zac's and started to jump up and down. "It better be somebody my age. It just better be. If one more little rugrat moves in around here I'm gonna scream."
Zac shrugged his shoulders and stared at the moving van. "Maybe it's some old gangly people with no hair and no kids."
"Shut up Zac. I'm getting my hopes up here."
"No kidding." Zac rolled his eyes. When the girl jumped out of the moving van, his mouth dropped to the ground. "She looks like... 7."
"Damn." Carter sighed.
Zac continued to stare at the girl. "She's so tiny. But she looks older." The girl's skin was flawless and perfectly tanned. Her hair was dark and shiny, perfect spiral curls that came a little past her shoulders. "HEY!" He yelled to her as she stood next to the back of the van, waiting for the movers to open it.
The girl waved and ran over. "Hi." She smiled shyly and shoved her hands into the pockets of her khaki shorts. Her dark green tanktop revealed her tiny, yet slightly chubby body.
Zac took a good look at her eyes and smiled. They were so big and dark brown. He thought that she was beautiful. "You movin in?"
Carter rolled her eyes. "Duh, Zac. What do you think the moving van's for."
Zac smacked Carter on the arm and ignored her. "What's your name?"
"Dominique. But people call me Nique." She pronounced it "Nick." She nervously tucked her curly hair behind her ears and smiled at Zac.
"How old are you?"
Dominique looked down at the ground. "16."
"16?!" Carter looked shocked.
"I know. I'm really short." She sighed. "But hey, it has advantages. How old are you guys?"
"I'm Zac and this is Carter. She's 16. I'm 14."
"You're so much taller than her."
Carter smiled. "Yeah. I'm short too."
"Can we help you move some stuff inside?"
Dominique look surprised. "Help me? Uhm. I dunno. Uhm."
Carter laughed. "We don't bite. Well, he does."
"Shut up, Car."
Dominique laughed. "Well, I don't really need much help. My dad and brothers will do most of the work. They push me out of the way."
Carter smiled. "You live with just your dad?"
"Yeah. My mother died." Dominique looked past Carter, at the yellow double house across the street. "You live there?"
"Yeah. I'm on the right, Zac's on the left." Carter wanted to know what happened to Nique's mother, but she decided not to ask.
"I have two brothers." Zac seemed to jump at the chance to make conversation. "Taylor's your age. Isaac's 19. Taylor's..." Zac coughed. "Carter's boyfriend. And she has a sister. But she's a bitch. You won't like her. Unless of course you hang out with people like her. In which case we'll introduce you to her..."
Carter smacked Zac's arms and rolled her eyes. "Shut up you goon." She laughed and turned to Dominique. "He gets this way when anything pretty crosses his path. Which is a problem seeing as though he looks slightly like a girl. So you know when he looks in a mirror he just drools and drools. I have to remind him it's a reflection sometimes."
Zac smacked Carter back.
"You guys are quite ... physical." Dominique laughed.
"We're best friends."
"Are you gonna get off your short little ass and help us move in?!" Dominique turned around and sighed when her brother called her. He looked to be no more than 5 foot 3 inches himself.
Carter laughed to herself. "Listen, You wanna spend the night tonight? We could hang out and I could tell you about the neighborhood and my demon neighbors."
Zac laughed. "Can I sleep over too?"
"No. It's chicks night."
"I'd love too. I just have to ask. But I'm sure it will be ok."
"Ok." Carter smiled and pulled Zac's arm. "Let's go Zac. Back in the house. You need to sleep."
Dominique waved and went inside. She couldn't help but notice how nice Zac was to her. She knew she should have noticed how great a friend Carter could become, but all she could see was Zac. She hoped she would get to see him that night when she slept at Carter's house.
Carter sat down on Zac's bed and turned the tv on. "Did she have her eyebrow pierced?"
"Yeah. Her bellybutton too."
"How'd you see it?"
"Well, when she shook my hand, her shirt went up a little. And she had one of those... banana rings in."
Carter laughed. "You're a pervert."
"What?" He asked innocently, staring at the tv.
"You're all looking up her shirt. I'm surprised you didn't know what color her bra was."
"Blue."
"Oh my god."
"What? The strap was showing cause of her tanktop."
"You make me sick."
"She was pretty. Do you think she was pretty?"
"I dunno. I don't judge girls."
"Well, she wasn't like.. as pretty as you."
Carter's cheeks turned red and she smiled.
"Or Melissa. But she was pretty. She had cool hair."
"Yeah." Carter mumbled, turning the tv off.
"I was watching that."
"What was it?"
"Nique."
"Damn you Zac. Snap out of it. She's just a girl."
"So? You're just a girl too, and I talk about you all the time."
"Yeah, but you don't drool with you talk about me."
"So." Zac yawned and moved his head from side to side. "Ow." He wimpered and rubbed his arm.
"What's wrong?"
"I dunno. I've just been really sore today. Like my whole body needs to be stretched out."
"Here." Carter climbed behind him sat on her knees. She pressed the palms of her hands onto his shoulders. "That better?"
Zac let out a loud moan.
"Damn. That sounded sexual." She laughed and moved her hands away.
"No no no. Don't stop. Please? Come on." Zac whined.
"Oh yeah. And that sounds much better." Carter laughed again and started to massage his shoulders. Everytime Zac let out a moan or a groan, she'd smack him.
"Damn. Now I'm gonna be all bruised. But at least I don't hurt anymore."
"You don't make any sense."
"So?"
Carter laughed. "Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"DOORBELL!" Carter jumped off the bed and ran down the stairs.
"Damn woman. Yer all answerin my door."
When Carter threw the door open she smiled at Dominique. "HI! Sorry. I wasn't home."
"That's ok. That blonde girl told me to come over here cause you live here." She shrugged. Half of Dominique's hair was pulled on top of her head with a few tendrils hanging over her ears.
"ZAC! NIQUE'S HERE!" Carter turned around and screamed straight into Zac's face. "Oops. Sorry."
Zac shook his head and grabbed Dominique's backpack. "Here. We're gonna sleep here tonight."
"We are?" Carter and Dominique asked in unison.
"Yeah. Well actually. We're gonna sleep on the balcony."
"Zac, I said it was chick's night."
"Oh come on. I'll be a chick for the night. I don't wanna be lonely."
Carter laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Right. And if I let you on the balcony, Tay will wanna come. And then it'll be Ike. Then he'll wanna bring Trey. Then Tristan. Then Melissa and her bitch ho friend Gabi..."
Dominique looked overwhelmed. "Trey? Who's that?"
Carter laughed. "Nobody. Let's go upstairs and watch tv." Carter turned around and smacked Zac lightly on his cheek. "Yer drooling again."
"Oops." Zac grinned sheepishly and led them all upstairs.