Your New Neighbor

5

I woke up to the sound of my ringtone. I leaned across my bed to grab my phone off my nightstand, then put the phone to my ear.

"...Hello?"

"Y/N!" Ophelia shouted immediately. "I thought you'd died!"

"You thought I died? What- why?" I sat up and leaned against the backboard of my bed.

She huffed, "You never miss my calls! Not even when it's six in the morning! You only miss my calls when you're dead!"

"Wh- Pardon? I- Whatever. Did you actually need something, or were you bothering me for no reason? I didn't fall asleep until almost four in the morning, and I'd like to go back to bed."

"Bothering?!" She said with feign offense, "No, I didn't need anything, but now I'm curious as to what you were doing until four at night."

I sighed. Ophelia was quite the curious one. She knew a lot of gossip, but she wasn't a spreader. That's what made her different.

Well, she didn't spread to anyone except for me. And, also, Delilah.

"Well... Did I tell you about that guy I live next to?"

"Vaguely. Minecraft streamer? And he bought you flowers and alcohol? What was his name again..?" Her voice drifted.

"Wilbur." I reminded.

"Wilbur Soot! Right, Delilah has talked about him before. She doesn't watch him, but they really enjoy his music."

In the background, I could faintly hear a familiar voice perk up, "Did you say Wilbur Soot? What are you two talking about?" It just so happened to be Delilah.

"Oh, love- here- Y/N, do you mind if I put you on speaker so Dee can hear you?"

"Go ahead. Have you not told Delilah about Wilbur? I was expecting you to spill as soon as I first told you."

"Meh, kinda forgot."

"Tell me what?" Delilah asked, her voice now clear.

"So, basically, there's this guy that I moved in next to, and he does music and he streams Minecraft, and it just so happens to be Wilbur Soot." I explained.

I could hear Delilah gasp on the other side, "You're kidding! He's so talented!" Then I heard her whisper, "Ophie, we gotta visit them as soon as possible..."

"...And last night," I continued, ignoring her humorous comment, "His little friend came over and they invited me over to be on his stream."

Delilah made a sound of shock. Ophelia only asked, "So you were at his house until the ungodly hours of the night?"

"No, I was only over there until two, but y'know how I am."

"Well, that's amazing. Are you in love with him or something?"

I choked on her words. "What the fuck-" My choking soon turned to laughter.

"What?! Dee has shown me what he looks like before, and he's an attractive guy! I may not be attracted to the male gender. However, even I can admit that he is damn hot."

"Yeah, sure, he's really handsome, but I wouldn't say I'm in love with him. I do... admire him. He's been visiting the cafe lately. Sometimes I catch him looking at me..."

"Maybe he likes you, then." Delilah said.

"Don't get my hopes up." I chuckled. "Anyway, I'm going back to bed. I'll talk to you both later. Bye Ophie, bye Delilah."

They both sang back a goodbye, and I hung up.

"Don't make me laugh."

.....

Monday morning, I arrived at Purrfectly Brewed and grabbed my apron. Haruki quickly greeted me upon noticing me.

"Good morning, Y/N! Do you mind starting out on the register?" She flipped over the sign on the door to say 'Open.'

"Never have before. I prefer it over making drinks and pastries, anyway." I sighed, "Can you help me tie this damn thing?"

She ran over to me and fastened the rope. "We can switch off every hour if you'd like. Akira got a bit pissy last Thursday when I 'forced you' to cashier the whole day... They're a bit of a... how do you say it... oh, jama (じゃま)." Haruki studied Japanese in her free time and frequently used it to describe things. She'd told me once that it was her first language. However, due to the overuse of English in life, she'd forgotten almost every Japanese word.

"Jama?" I repeated.

"A hindrance. Nuisance. What have you." She groaned. "There you go." She backed away, and I turned to face her.

"Thank you. Every other hour works."

"Great. Let's get going then."

…

Five hours into my shift, a familiar face walked in.

"Ah, Mr. Soot himself. How are you this fine afternoon?" I greeted Wilbur as he walked towards me.

"Quite fine. Yourself?"

"The same. A bit tired, though. What would you like?"

"A bit of your time?" He grinned.

I breathed out a laugh. "Using that again, huh? Sure, it's about time for my break, anyway. Let me just see..."

I went to the area where Haruki was making coffee. "Yo, Haru." I called.

"Yeah?"

"You good if I take my break?"

She peeped around the corner and looked at Wilbur. Her eyes switched from him to me a few times.

"...What?"

"Yes. Just finish up in twenty."

...

Wilbur and I sat at a table in the corner of the cafe. "So? Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Wilbur looked hesitant as if he were planning out what to say. "Would you like to come over Friday night again?"

"Oh- Sure, I'd like to. Is there any special reason? Is Tommy coming over again?"

He inhaled a long breath. "No, no. No reason. Tommy won't be there this time, either. I just... wanted to hang out, I guess. I've got some really nice expensive wine, and it just tastes so much better when there's someone there to share the memory."

"Sounds like a plan." I rested my hand on the table.

"Hm..."

"What?"

"Your hands are small." He said.

"Wh- What the hell? No they aren't."

"Yeah, they are. Put it up."

I held my hand in the air, and Wilbur did the same. His hand was a bit larger than mine. I huffed at that.

Our hands stayed touching for a moment until Wilbur laced our fingers.

My eyes went wide, and my heartbeat sped up a bit. "Wha-"

He burst into a fit of laughter, retrieving his hand. "God, your reaction was priceless. I couldn't help but wonder how you'd react to such an advance."

I scoffed. "You're so funny, Wilbur." I said sarcastically.

"Aww, you know you love me."

"Do I?"

"Don't say you don't. I'll cry."

"No you won't, you silly."

"I will. Actually."

I smiled at him strangely, causing him to laugh once again. This time, I joined him.

.....

1119 words
2/24/22

A/N: yeah hi omg it's me, ash. finally posting. y'all got like 3-4 chapters left of this fic after this one. I finally figured out what the fuck I'm doing with this story.

remember to hydrate and eat. my heart is with all of you. please stay safe out there, yall.