She stood looking at him for a while, trying to send him a bad vibe with her eyes. Things had been almost perfect in the house before he had moved in next door. Lazy sleepins every day and waking to the glorious silence of a sunny kitchen.

She knew what he was like the first time that she had seen him walking up the driveway, with a cheeky nod her way. She ignored him to begin with.

Give him no attention, he'll lose interest.

But he didn't.

When she woke up and looked out the window, he would be there.

When she came home after a long day, he would be there, sitting at his window, staring, blinking out at her, his tongue almost hanging out of his mouth. 

She quickly retreated into her kitchen, planning her next move.

Why does he annoy me so much? It's his constant happiness, his neediness that gets to me, she concluded.

He's lonely, that's all.

She sat in front of the glass patio door, enjoying the heat, thinking. Her eyes closing, tired…a long day…sleep...

It was dark. She woke, confused. She had fallen asleep again in the kitchen. She was just about to stretch herself when something moved.

Out there.

In the garden.

It couldn't be, he wouldn't have the nerve. Would he?

Another movement.

She rose up, ready to investigate when the front door opened.

" Hello, we are home!"

Great, she thought.

She didn't even look at them and retreated upstairs quickly.

She could hear them murmuring, speaking about her. But, she was too tired to care. She took a quick peek out the window.

He wasn’t in her garden.

He was in his own. Standing there, looking right up at her. This time, no nod, nothing. He stared right up at her, almost willing her to come down.

She moved quickly away from the window.

I will deal with him tomorrow, she thought. He will get the same as the last one. Quick and painful.

She slept easily with this thought.

He had moved in with a family that worked during the day, they left him out in the garden to roam. To annoy. To bark and yap at every single movement from the bushes.

She had decided that she was going to go right into his garden today. She was going to face him. She hadn't been in the garden since he had arrived, but she just couldn't handle the idea of another creature thinking they owned this garden, never mind a dog.

She sat on the shed trying to portray a tough image. He was only a poodle. She had fought bigger and uglier.

She arched herself up slowly, allowing him to see her full strength. He carried on barking at the hedge.

Stupid animal, she thought, as she sculked across the roof and jumped right into his garden. He still didn't notice her, his pointless little tail wagging.

Look over, feel my wrath, she thought.

He turned. His tail stopped wagging and dropped.

She stopped too, the hair all over her standing to attention, her tail wagging, flicking, sending a message.

Their eyes met for a brief minute.

She walked.