The Girl Next Door (BunBun)

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Jackson sighed into the furnished bedroom that was to be his new home. He'd moved out of the dorms, which was only slightly inconvenient, but looking at the room his aunt had for him...it was honestly the biggest he'd ever had. It even had an adjoining bathroom, shared with the bedroom across the way(his cousin's). Jackson had taken most of the day to move his stuff from the dorms to the house and now this spacious room had several boxes of that stuff stacked across the carpet. And there was still room to move around. Jackson sighed again, figuratively rolled up his sleeves, and started to work on unpacking. It'd been a long day, but he really didn't want to put this off until tomorrow. Because then he'd just put it off 'til the next day, or the day after, and then it'd never get done. And then his aunt would surely scold him.

Backing up, how had it come to pass that Jackson was now living with his aunt?

After his grandmother died back in July, it'd been a circus within his family(his dad's side) as they debated between themselves as to who would take up the role of guardian for the teenage boy from now on. In the end, since she already had one of her boys going to Hammel, and because she was also Jackson's godmother(he didn't even know that!), it was decided that she would move to Pilot Ridge to act as his caretaker, along with her two sons. It was just a matter of her finding employment out in PR and buying a house. Jackson had no idea how wealthy she was, given the size of the home she bought for the four of them. When asked about his uncle, she laughed and said "that lazy pig can keep mooching off his mother for all I care." If he wanted to come out with her, he was more than welcome to get himself a job and do it, but she wasn't going to add another kid to her list of people to take care of.

Jackson worked for about an hour before he decided it was time to take a break. He thought he'd made good progress so far - clothes hung up, his books stacked on the shelf - there were only a few more boxes left dedicated to his sports gear, a few video games, and the like. Jackson would probably go downstairs for a snack or something in a minute. For the moment, he went to the window and opened it to let the breeze in. He'd worked up a sweat and Aunt Mariana didn't want to use the air conditioning if she didn't have to.

He opened the window and leaned up against the ledge looking down at the grass two stories below him, the side-yards of his aunt's house and the one next door separated by a wooden fence. This...wasn't so bad, he supposed. He thought his aunt would be a lot more overbearing, but....well, she wasn't his dad's sister, she was his sister-in-law. Maybe that had something to do with it? Or maybe....

Jackson didn't want to finish that thought. He loved his grandmother. She could be harsh at times, but she always meant well. She wouldn't lie about her son-in-law's family, right? Jackson himself had memories of them being terrible people...though when he thought about it, he never really interacted with Aunt Mariana too much. She was always working whenever he'd come to visit.

Jackson released another sigh. He didn't want to think about that right now. He just wanted to.... Jackson's thoughts were (thankfully) interrupted by movement in the window across from his, from the house next door. He hadn't had a chance to get a good look before, but yeah...it looked like a girl lived there. A very girly girl, at that. Was she there right now? Jackson continued to stare into the window across the way, still resting his head down on his arms on the sill of his bedroom window. He wondered if the neighbors were nice people...?

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Bunny had known for a while that they were getting new neighbors. The old ones had moved out not too long ago, but she wasn’t too upset; it was a younger married couple that she didn’t really get to know all that well in the time that she had lived there, so she was excited to see who might move in afterwards. Once the house sold, she eagerly waited to peek at them through the windows whenever they eventually moved in, and determine whether or not they looked friendly enough for her to welcome them with cookies or a pie.

The day had finally come, and Bunny took the occasional peek outside, trying to determine how many were in the family. She didn’t have the best view from her house, but as far as she could tell, it looked like a woman and three teenage-ish boys. Wow… Three boys moving next door? Bunny wondered if they were cute, but she couldn’t tell very well from this distance. Hopefully she would find out when she brought dessert over later!

In the meantime, she was doing a little cleaning around her room herself. Bunny had had a small flare-up recently and had been stuck in bed for a while, and she hadn’t been able to get much work done. Now that she was feeling better, she was organizing some of her dresses and trying to decide what sort of video she wanted to do next. Bunny was dressed in a loose, simple nightgown that hung to her knees; she wasn’t going to sleep too soon, but it was comfy, and it wasn’t like anyone could see her. Or so she thought. As she passed by the cracked-open window, Bunny felt a chill, like someone’s eyes were on her. She slowly turned to look outside and – oh! It was one of the boys that had just moved in… but… not just any boy…

“J-Jackson?” she gasped, stepping back slightly in surprise and alarm. For a moment she was excited, but then she remembered how their last meeting had gone, and she shrunk away from the window in worry. He’d left so fast… Bunny knew she must have done something wrong. And now they were neighbors… She wrung her fingers nervously as she stood there, unsure of whether she should say something else or close the blinds.

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What kind of creeper was he, to be looking in a girl’s window from across the way? What exactly was he hoping to see? A girl in her underwear? Well….that’s almost exactly what he got when a pretty girl walked by the window again in her nightgown.

A pretty girl….wait, was that?

Jackson sat up from his resting position and stared forward, his eyes widening and mouth gaping at the girl who suddenly appeared before him. Holy….what were the chances? “Bunny?” he echoed with her own name, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. Consequently, he’d completely forgotten about how he’d left her last time they met and so wasn’t half as worried as she was.

He leaned forward slightly, his palms resting on the window ledge, as that smile of his grew. “You…wow, I didn’t think…..you live here?” he rambled out a bunch of incoherent words in his surprise, unsure of how he should take this meeting. Maybe as some sort of fate? It had to be something like that, right? “That’s just…..wow, what are the…..that’s just kinda….really amazing, y’know?” Jackson dipped his head and meekly rubbed his nose as he tried to hide his sudden shyness. His cheeks were no doubt red by now, weren’t they? “It’s….it’s good to see you…” Jackson was so caught up in his own surprise that he didn’t notice anything about Bunny’s nervous worries or discomfort. He still wasn’t the most observant of people, unfortunately.

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Bunny flinched a little as the older boy said her name. So it was him (of course it was, he looked exactly like Jackson, what were the odds?). “H-hi…” she stammered back quietly; he might not even have heard. Bunny’s heart was beating quickly, and her face was flushed self-consciously. Did he… Was he really interested in talking to her? Even after…?

Maybe… Maybe she had misinterpreted that entire thing. Maybe something had really come up, that he’d suddenly remembered, and he had to rush off. Yeah… That could be it… Otherwise, wouldn’t he have turned away from her instead of leaning more out of his window?

She tentatively got closer to her own window as well, finally allowing a meek smile to pass her lips when she saw his. “Yeah, um… My parents and I moved in here when I was recruited to Hammel…” she explained, a little less nervous. Bunny finally giggled as he started rambling incoherently, and covered her mouth with her hand. She’d totally forgotten she was still standing there in her nightgown; her hair was probably even a little frizzy and she didn’t have any makeup on. She was just too happy that he didn’t seem mad! “It’s really weird,” she agreed, leaning outside her window a little. “So… Are you living there, now? Are we really gonna be neighbors?” Oh wow, that was… A giddy excitement ran up Bunny’s spine. “It’s good to see you too!” she chirped, but her expression fell a little afterwards. “Last time, you… You left so fast, I was afraid I’d done something bad and upset you…” Bunny turned her big, slightly watery eyes back up to him. “If I did, I’m really sorry, I-I just… If it’s the whole boy-shifting thing, I know it’s weird, so I understand if you don’t really want to be around me like that…” Although he’d assured her it was fine, so maybe it was something else?

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If he remembered, Jackson might have been more aware of why Bunny looked like…a scared bunny about to hop away in fright. If he was more observant, Jackson might’ve noticed that she was shirking back from him to begin with. She was just shy, he concluded. She was shy, but a bright ball of sunshine when you finally got her going.

His perception of her now was exactly what he needed right now. A friendly face. Someone he could count on to keep the energy up and help him forget the bullshit his life was going through right now. Someone he could put a face on for so he could ignore how he was really feeling. Bunny was good for that, if nothing else.

Jackson listened to her, a gentle look on his face. “Really? You’re lucky, that your family was able to come all the way out with you.” Or maybe it wasn’t that impressive of a move? “Where are you from, actually?” he asked as a follow up, tilting his head to the side. Jackson nodded at her question and laughed, nervously scratching the back of his head. “Yeah, my aunt came up from Mexico, so I’m gonna be living here now, with her and my cousins.” He didn’t bother offering her a full explanation of why they had to make the change. His grandmother’s death was still not something he wanted to touch on, though he might answer if she thought to press further.

Jackson blinked several times as he processed her concerned words over their last meeting…then his face lit up with realization and he leaned over the edge of the window. “No! That’s not it, you didn’t do anything wrong! I was just…” How to explain that he had a ‘reaction’ to her becoming a boy…she seemed to innocent to know what any of that would mean. “I….” What to say? “I was feeling sick, and realized I forgot my medicine, so had to go back to the dorms, but it takes a while for it to work and by the time I was feeling better….” Yup, blame it on the diabetes…though that wasn’t necessarily an untrue scenario, just not the primary reason why he booked it. Jackson dipped his head. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you or explained it better or….sorry!” Bunny probably thought he was a jerk for that, didn’t she?

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As long as Jackson wasn’t mad at her, Bunny would be happy to help cheer him up if she could. She was just so afraid that he thought she was a… A weirdo, or a freak, or something, that she wasn’t initially as excited about seeing him as she would have been otherwise. But now that he was actually seeming glad to see her and not at all like he’d been when he’d run away, she was feeling a lot better, as well as confused.

“Yeah… I mean, they didn’t have a whole lot of options because of my disorder, but I’m really glad it wasn’t too hard for them to come here with me,” Bunny replied with a small smile. Thankfully her parents were fairly rich and had occupations that could be beneficial pretty much anywhere. “Oh! I’m from Seattle, so it was quite a move,” she admitted a little shyly. “I’ve never lived in a small town before, so I’m still getting used to it.” She listened curiously to his own short explanation, curious as to why his aunt had moved into town, but not enough so to pry for more than Jackson was telling her. “That’s great! We can see each other, like, every morning before school!” she gushed. Maybe they could even carpool together sometimes! How great would that be?? Bunny was already imagining all the things they could do together with this sort of convenience…

But then their last meeting was brought up, and Bunny’s enthusiasm quieted a little as she worriedly waited for the older boy’s response. She looked up at him hopefully when he started denying her fears, and tentatively scooted closer to the window again. Her expression went soft with understanding when he spoke of feeling sick and needing to take medicine. “Oh… Oh, I know what that’s like,” she replied, completely getting what he was talking about now. “I get that way sometimes too, and it’s hard to tell people without them just thinking I’m tired or don’t want to be doing something.” It was amazing how much people her age didn’t understand how bad diseases could be, and how yucky her own could make her feel. “It’s okay!” she reassured him, smiling again. “I’m just sorry you felt so bad. I hope it doesn’t happen again.” Bunny leaned against the windowsill and bit her lip shyly as she averted her eyes. “Um… Do you… Maybe want to come over, or something?” she asked meekly. “I made some scones earlier, if you want one…” Not that that was the only reason she would like for him to come see her.

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Her disorder? Jackson vaguely remembered talking to Rue about that…what was it again? “Yeah, that’s really, uh…nice of them, and really convenient for you, I bet!” he said brightly, then pressed his eyebrows forward in curiosity. “Um….I feel like I shouldn’t ask, because I don’t wanna be rude, but…..what disorder is it you have?” Jackson quickly held up a hand. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna, I was just curious because I heard from someone, and don’t really remember what it was, and actually, it’s really none of my business, so I’m just gonna shut up now.” Geeeeze, that was embarrassing! Why did Jackson always have to run his mouth like that?? His face was no doubt as red as a strawberry. He tried to focus on the other things she was saying, hoping the color in his face would fade as he continued onto other topics.

“Oh? Seattle? That is far! Wow!” Jackson grinned, leaning forward through the window once again. “Small town living isn’t so bad, I’m from Albuquerque myself and that’s somewhere between a large town and a small city, ha ha..you’ll get used to it in no time!” And yes! That was exactly what he was thinking! “Yeah, and…maybe we can walk to school together sometimes?” It wasn’t actually that far of a walk, it was actually closer than his grams’ old apartment, but he was sure his aunt would prefer to drive Jackson and her sons to school instead. “Maybe…I don’t know if my aunt would let me…but it’d sure be fun, y’know?”

He was glad that she seemed to buy his explanation for why he left so suddenly during their last meeting. That she compared it to how she felt about her own illness was relieving. That meant that she really did understand…even if his excuse wasn’t exactly the reason for why he bolted like he did. Jackson smiled. “It’s okay, I’m fine. I mean, I was fine…I still am fine…” He couldn’t guarantee he would be fine though, considering how terrible he was at monitoring his blood sugar levels. At the offer, Jackson smiled broadly, his eyes squinting in his mirth. “That sounds amazing!” he said, quickly accepting the offer. “I’d love to try one. I’d love to try anything you make, Bunny.” Jackson really shouldn’t be eating those things though…he was going to anyway. Jackson chuckled.

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Bunny nodded in agreement with what Jackson said. “Yeah, it really is…” she replied. She was super grateful for all that her parents did for her. She paused and listened for a moment as the older boy rambled, and by the time he was finished, she was chuckling softly and shaking her head. “It’s okay!” she reassured him. “Although I am curious about who mentioned it to you before…” She mused on this; Bunny didn’t really advertise her lupus any more than she had to, but she didn’t purposefully try to keep it hidden either. It was hard to, when she missed more school than a typical teenager. “I have lupus,” she told him with a half-smile. “It’s not too bad most of the time, but it’s been flaring up a lot lately…” She’d been switching between some medications recently, which was one of the reasons why she had grown so thin in the last couple of months. The doctors were still working with her to figure out what worked best.

“Yep!” she chirped, leaning against the side of her windowsill. Bunny was feeling pretty good at the moment, at least. “I miss it a lot, there were a lot of fun things to do there… But Pilot Ridge isn’t too bad!” It just didn’t have as much to do as the much larger city, but Bunny was pretty good at entertaining herself. “Albuquerque? That’s a long ways away too! I’ve never been down near there before.” She never had any reason to go; the closest she’d probably been was Los Angeles. “Ohmygosh, I would love that!” Bunny gushed at his suggestion to walk to school. She clapped her hands together excitedly. “I-I mean, I might not be able to walk that far every day, but I can try!” Hopefully her joints weren’t aching too badly tomorrow!

Bunny was just immensely relieved that this was the reason why Jackson had left, and not because of something she’d done. Well, she hated that he hadn’t felt well, but at least he was okay now! “I’m really glad to hear that,” she beamed over at him. When he accepted her offer, she clapped her hands again and waved him towards her house. “Come on over, then!” she squeed. “I’ll go downstairs and let you in! You can have as many as you’d like, you can take some for your relatives too!” The younger girl excitedly went downstairs and waited in the open doorway for Jackson, after hurriedly mentioning to her parents that her neighbor-friend was coming over for scones. Hopefully they wouldn’t ask too many questions…

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“Oh, that was…” Should he really mention him to her, he wondered? It was probably fine. “Do you know Rue Janggok? He’s my tutor, actually, and I uh….I kinda told him about you.” Cue another blush, as he just now admitted that he talked about Bunny to other people for…reasons, whatever they were. His face dropped into one of concern when he heard about her illness. “Lupus? Oh….that sounds…I’m sorry.” What was he supposed to say to that? It was probably a lot worse than his own illness.

He was a lot more at ease talking about something happier. “Yeah, it really isn’t. But Seattle’s a great place, I hear. I’d like to hear more about it sometime!” Because Jackson had never really lived in a big big city before. He may as well live through someone else! “No? Well…I guess not.” Not if she was sick, she probably wasn’t up for travel too much. Not even walking to and from school was very good for her, it seemed. But he was glad that she at least had the spirit to try when she could. Jackson wasn’t sure he cold manage that with an illness like hers. It was hard enough with his own, keeping up a happy face. “Okay! We’ll try sometime, but…if you feel like you can’t, tell me right away, okay? I don’t want to push you too hard, y’know?” And he didn’t want to be held responsible if anything bad were to happen to her.

Jackson nodded at the invite, grinning from ear to ear, eagerly imagining the sort of treats she had waiting for him. How lucky was he to have a….a friend…who would do that for him? “Okay! I’ll be right down!” he said excitedly. “Wait for me!” Almost immediately, Jackson pushed away from the window and stumbled down the stairs and out the door, almost forgetting to close it behind him after having flung it open. He rounded about the front yard and up the walkway of the house next door. He gave the girl a wave as he approached the doorway. “Hey, uh…..” Now what was he supposed to say? “Hi again! Ah ha ha ha~” He nervously scratched his head. “Thanks for having me over, I guess.”