Neighbors (S. R.)

March

Wednesday, March 17

Day 3

"Fuck!"

You stared helplessly as the contents of your purse scattered along the hardwood floors of the apartment hallway. Your arms were already full, the cardboard of the box you carried digging uncomfortably into the sensitive skin on the inside of your arms. You weren't sure what was in it, though; you had been too much in a hurry while packing to actually label anything.

You sighed, juggling the box in your hands as you fumbled for the keys to unlock your front door. What a stupid mess. You hadn't even been here a full day and you were already dumping things on the ground. Moving was stressful enough, and now you had to go and pick your shit up off the floor like a dumb little animal. Hopefully nobody would walk by. You were already embarrassed enough, and having anybody see you bent over trying to chase a tube of lipstick down the hallway was mortifying.

Thankfully, your friends had helped you move your furniture in on day one, all that was left was the plethora of cardboard boxes and plastic bins that you had to tote up three flights of stairs. As you plopped the box down on the couch, you seriously wondered why you thought moving to the third floor in an apartment building with no elevator was a good idea.

It was the charm, honestly. It was a busy city, but the building was quiet. It had an older feel to it, wooden molding, the walls painted a nice sage green, ornate doorknockers, wide stairs. It was definitely built sometime before the 1950's, but it had good bones for it to still be standing. It reminded you of an old library, ones with very few windows and spotty lighting. You half-expected to see some sort of groundskeeper or watcher over the building, but the hallways were never full. You had only run into a handful of people over the past few days, and all of them seemed to keep to themselves.

You made your way out into the hallway to pick up the scattered items from your purse, only to find that a tall man was bent over, collecting the things into his hands. You paused, unsure of what to make of him. He had messy light brown hair and was a bit on the pale side. He was skinny, but you could tell he had a good amount of muscle from the way his forearms peeked out from the cuffed sleeves of his button-down shirt.

"Oh!" you said. "Thanks so much for helping me. You didn't have to do that."

You bent down to pick up the last few things as he stood, and when you straightened up, you finally got a good look of his face. He had these beautiful hazel eyes set behind thick-rimmed glasses and full lips that were upturned into a small smile.

"It's no problem at all," he replied. "You're new here."

Most people would have phrased it as a question, but he had said it as if he knew it for a fact. It was a bit strange, seeing as you had barely seen anyone in the building. How could he have known that you had just moved in?

"Yeah," you said finally. "I'm actually right here, in 302."

You pointed to your open front door, and the man nodded.

"I figured. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, by the way. I live in 301. What's your name?"

You introduced yourself, inviting him inside so that he could set your things down onto your dining room table.

"Sorry about the mess," you apologized. "I just moved in, I haven't even started to unpack yet."

"That's alright," he murmured, taking a look around your disorganized living room. He made eye contact with you.

"Sorry, I have something going on this afternoon. It was really nice meeting you, neighbor," he smiled. "If you need any help moving anything in, just let me know. I'll be around for the next few days."

You smiled back. He was pretty charming in an unintentional way. It was cute.

"Absolutely, Doctor. I'm sure I'll see you around."

He gave you a small wave, and you watched as he left your apartment, shutting the door lightly behind himself. You turned back to your unpacked boxes with a sigh. It was going to be a long week.

-

Wednesday, March 31

Day 15

A sharp knock startled you. You quickly paused the tv, getting up and heading towards the front door cautiously. You checked the clock on the way.

8:43pm

Did they even deliver packages this late? You checked the peephole, quickly unlocking your door to see Spencer standing there.

"Hey," you greeted him, suddenly self-conscious of the fact that you were in your pajamas and definitely not wearing a bra. "What's up?"

"I believe these are for you," he stated, handing you a few envelopes that you hadn't noticed were in his hand. Sure enough, all of them had your name plastered on the front.

"The apartment number is correct, in case you were wondering," Spencer continued. "I think they just got a little confused. Nobody has lived in 302 for awhile."

"Oh, okay. Thanks," you said, looking up at him. He gave an awkward smile.

"Alright well I've better get going. Nice to see you again."

"Yeah," you replied, smiling softly. "It was nice seeing you too."