The Couple Next Door

Chapter One

I wake up still tired. My alarm is blaring some default sound I picked when I was half asleep, and I have never, ever , hated a sound more in my life. I angrily open my eyes and unlock my phone to switch off my alarm. Why is life so cruel as to make me wake up at this hour? Oh yeah, so I can go to work and suffer more.

I look at my phone closer this time and realize I actually woke up to my first alarm, which is surprising. I usually end up sleeping through at least of five of them. I switch the rest off and move off of my small bed, spilling a concerning amount of blankets on the floor. No wonder I am sweating more than a high schooler giving an oral presentation.

I walk over to my closet begrudgingly, putting on a simple dress shirt and some jeans. It's not like I work anywhere fancy, so who cares? I somehow got stuck being a librarian, and I don't even like reading. I guess I really should have gone to college. No time to contemplate though, I might get fired from my amazing job.

I head out the door of my apartment, locking it behind me. It would be just my luck that my key gets stuck in the lock. As I'm trying to get the key out of my doors shitty lock, I hear the door beside mine open.

"Kalem? What's going on?" Oh my god. I am hearing god now. I stop trying to pull the stupid key out and just live in the moment. An actual god is talking to me.

"Kalem, please I am not a god. Now tell me what's wrong," the voice of my neighbor says. Whoops, guess I said all of that out loud.

I turn to face the owner of that sweet, sweet voice, and come face to face to my neighbor, Benton. The things I would let that man do to me. He's 5"10 and he has blonde hair that curls perfectly and cuts off right before his ears. Don't even get me started on his eyes, because you won't be able to stop me. His eyes are a light hazel and can actually see through your soul. Somehow, he looks younger than me, despite him 100% being at least 5 years older.

"Kalem, stop spacing out or you are going to be late to work," said my beautiful Benton, effectively snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Well hello Benton, how's it going? Did you need something?" He could have anything.

"Uh, no, I just assumed you did because you were angrily muttering and kicking at your door," he said with an amused look on his amazing face.

Ah, yes the door. I shrug and look back at my door, where my key is still stuck in the lock

"Well, I mean yeah, my asshole of a door took my key and I was trying to take it back, I'm starting to think they are in a relationship,".

He rolls his eye with a smile and motions for me to move out of the way and starts attempting to get my key out. He gets it out in 3 tries, surprisingly and hands my key back to me.

"Well, it looks like they will have a forbidden relationship. They must not be very good for each other. What a tragedy,".

Oh my god his hand touched mine. Benton's beautiful, elegant hand touched mine. I am going to die. I will actually die, right here. No one can stop me.

"As amusing as that would be, I think it would be better if you headed to work. You seriously need to start getting there on time so your friend stops yelling at you over the phone. I think you are going to give them a heart attack one day," Benton said while putting a hand around my shoulder and walking me towards the elevator.

Okay so one, I said that out loud, again, and two, he has heard me talk to Tanner on the phone. Life really is full of curveballs.

"Awww Benny, you would find my death amusing? I thought we were closer than that! Also, Tanner can keep yelling at me, he leaves too early anyways, it evens out!" I exclaimed. I wonder if he heard the other things I have said to Tanner over the phone. I don't think even Tanner wanted to hear those things, let alone Benton.

He chuckled and finally got me to the elevator. He removed his arm and I was so close to pouting like a child because honestly, his arm could be covered in alien slime and I would still want it around me. However, I guess that doesn't matter because that same arm pushes me gently into the elevator and waves goodbye, all without me noticing that he had pressed the ground floor.

Me and Benton have known each other for about 6 months. He already lived here when I moved in after finally moving out of my parent's house. I was much worse when I first saw him. I instantly had asked if he came with the apartment, which in hindsight, I regret, because no way he, a god, would come with this shitty apartment. He took it rather well and politely told me that he was taken and would have to decline being a package deal, so now we joke about it all the time, but I would still sell all of my earthly possessions to even sleep next to him at night, he is really hot.

While lost in those thoughts, I had somehow walked to my work. I am surprised that I am still alive at this point. I push through the library's doors, they were already unlocked, and I instantly see my best friend Tanner organizing some books.

"Oh my god Tanny, Benton and I are married now," I yelled to him. Tanner only turned back and glared at me through his thick glasses.

"Oh yeah, and I am president. How did you harass him now?"

Tanner is very aware of my crush on Benton. I talked about him all the time and tell Tanner every little detail of when I see him. I'm surprised he still listens at this point.

"I did not harass him! He helped me get my key out of the lock and put his arm around me and lead me to the elevator so I wouldn't be late to work. Isn't he romantic Tanny?" I say, and can feel the hearts in my eyes.

"No, he was trying to get rid of you so he could invite his hot girlfriend over without the gay guy next door accusing him of cheating," Tanner replies, going back to organizing books while I join him.

Tanner is not homophobic in anyway. He is actually gay as well. If his attitude wasn't so sour, he would have men all over him. He is rather small at 5"4, but his brown hair and blue eyes compensate. He isn't my type, because he has a rather round face and could fit under the twink category, but in another life I would totally have a piece.

"Okay listen, he never said girlfriend-, he said significant other. He was probably just too scared to say he's gay,".

"Yeah, I mean, I'd be scared to say I was gay in front of you too. You probably would have harassed him even more,".

"Shut up! In my head we are happily married and you can't tear us apart," I cry dramatically, while he finally cracks a smile and hits me gently over the head with a book.

"Well, we will never know, so until then do you want to go stare at dudes together at Denny's next week?" I love it when he talks food to me. Denny's is amazing.

"Sure, next friday I am free. Maybe we will finally find someone who loves you despite your hurtful words,". This time I am already prepared for being hit with the book and grab it, stacking it on the shelf and laughing. I love this little midget.

We start acting a little bit mature as we finish organizing the books and officially open the doors. We both go back to sit at the desk and wait for some customers, and messing around. Tanner makes work a little bit more tolerable, but it's still a pain and goes slow.

Finally it's around closing time and Tanner and I are drawing on the free bookmarks. Neither of us notice the doors open. We continue to sit there and try to draw Yoshi without looking up a picture. When a couch interrupts us, I'm glad, because I honestly cannot remember how to draw Yoshi.

I look up, but I wish I would have continued my Yoshi drawing because the man staring down at me is terrifying.

He is a Korean man with black hair that's slicked back. His eyes are so dark that you could almost mistake them as black, but they were brown at a closer look. His jaw could cut me open, no joke. I would've found him attractive but it looked like he wanted to eat me, and not in the fun way.

"Where is the flower store?" He questioned, his voice was really deep and I couldn't do anything but stare into his eyes.

I faintly heard Tanner give him directions, but his eyes never left me. We just kept staring before eventually he walked out with no other words.

I heard Tanner joke about it but I wasn't paying attention.

All I could think was, I hope I never run into that man again.

_______________________