Tate Langdon x Dead!Reader

Chapter 1

It hadn't been too long since they moved in that I decided to introduce myself. Maybe a couple of weeks. They seemed to be very interesting people and the boy, "Tate" I heard his mom calling him, was by far the most intriguing. I could tell that he was sick. That he was lonesome. That he needed a friend by his side.

    His bedroom door was open so I decided now would be the best time to talk to him as no one else was in the house.

    "Hello there," I quietly spoke. He seemed very startled by my sudden appearance. I could see him visibly jump and turn to face me.

    "Who are you? How'd you get in here?" He stood up with great alarm and tried to make himself look bigger, as if that could be possible.

    "I'm (name). And the door was left open," I spoke in a way that showed that I wasn't here to hurt him but I also wouldn't be backing down if worst came to worst. I might not be super threatening but I could put up a fight if I needed to. Luckily, it wasn't needed in that moment.

    "Okay..." hesitation was apparent in his voice. "Why are you here?"

    "Oh, I just wanted to meet the new neighbors. I live next door. This is a pretty interesting house you've found yourself in." His puzzling look said more than any words could. "This place just has quite the history." I looked around the room with a smile. All the while, feeling his steely gaze on me.

    "Would you like me to leave?" My head tilted as I asked the question.

    "No, you're good. You can stay," he trailed off which left me longing for a proper answer. I found one in the smile he gave me after. I doubt he was all that used to people suddenly appearing in his room. I mean, who is after all.

    "Can we sit?" I pointed at his bed and shifted my gaze over for just a moment, before returning back to the boy standing in front of me.

    "Sure," the smile lingered on his face as he moved to sit back on the bed. I followed after him and took my seat closest to the headboard while he stayed at the end. I ran my hand over the blanket and noticed how soft it was. Looking up at him, I noticed he was watching my every move.

    "Would you like to say something?" My eyes filled with jest and I had a smile to match. He seemed to become nervous at this. I raised my eyebrow at him and placed my hand on his knee and laughed. "You can lighten up a bit." He took a short moment to look at the hand now touching him before returning to my eyes with a bigger smile.

    "I'm light. It's cool. Yeah, cool." I playfully roll my eyes at his awkwardness. At that, I heard someone walking up the stairs. Their steps sounded tired and heavy. I turned my eyes to the door that someone now stood in.

    "Tate can you- oh, hello," she seemed quite surprised. "Is this a new friend?" Her face lit up in anticipation at the answer. I could tell that this was something pretty new for him.

    "Yes, I live next door and just wanted to say hi. I'm (name) by the way." I gave her a pleasant smile before getting up to shake her hand. "I should probably get going now. It looks like it's getting pretty late." Time flies by when you're just standing there watching someone.

    I looked back at Tate to see longing eyes. He looked like he wanted more. More closeness. I smiled at him for a second before returning back to his mom (I presume anyway). I gave her a final smile and wave as I walked down the stairs and out the front door, knowing damn well that I would just be teleported back into the house.