Hello Neighbor!

23. The Bickering

Hey guys!!

How you doin? (Joey's voiceover) Hope you responded with Pheobe's giggle. If not we can't be friends(you saw what I did there?) Okay I'll stop being lame and start with the story.

Happy reading!

I wanted to run. I soo wanted to run. I wanted to run so fast there would be Eva shaped hole in the door but my legs froze for some reason. After all the ignoring he's done to me I can't believe my legs are still on his team. No footrubs for a week and I'm gonna make sure to wear really uncomfortable shoes. They need to know the pain.

Speaking about pain, did you know I'm freaking out about the painful uncomfortable encounter walking to me right now? I tried to not look like I was a lost kid on the first day of kindergarten but the slightly amused smirk that he's trying so hard to hide tells me otherwise. What a jerk! He thinks this is funny?
You know what isn't funny? Getting a drink thrown in your face by your neighbor who hates you at the moment. I rolled my eyes internally at my overactive brain. I'd never be so dramatic to throw a drink in someone's face and that's a shame.

With all the rambling in my head I didn't realise Jace was now standing in front of me observing me keenly like I'd snap at him any moment. Which he deserves by the way. I shook my head slightly and raised an eyebrow at him in nonchalance like I had no bother in the world.

He kept staring at me a few more seconds and then cleared his throat like he was trying to prompt something. Does this jerk want me speak to him first?? Unbelievable! His ego is the size of a whole planet. Why would I voluntarily make conversation with him after being avoided for almost 2 weeks? I did nothing wrong and I even tried to speak to him for the first couple of days. Curse my need to be compulsively nice to everyone.

After a few more painful seconds of silence I gave an exasperated look and turned to walk away. If he can't be bothered to come up with a good explanation for why he's been such a jerk recently even more so than usual I'm not gonna waste my time standing in uncomfortable silence. I almost got away with my escapade before I felt a grip on my wrist. I turned around so fast my neck almost snapped off my body. I rearranged my expression to look neutral and cleared my throat just like he did a few seconds ago. Two can play at this game.

"It's pretty cold out tonight. I heard it might snow a little." He said in a tone you'd use in a casual small talk with a colleague you meet in the elevator daily.

"Thanks for the weather forecast?" I really didn't know what else to say. I'm sure a deaf person could hear the incredulousness in my voice. (Okay Eva a very inappropriate and insensitive thing to think.)

"You're welcome." He shrugged like I'm actually thanking him.

"Did you hit your head recently? Or gotten into an accident?" Those could be the only possible explanations to his bizarre behaviour.

"You look beautiful. Really really beautiful." He was suddenly close enough for me to smell him. Smell his cologne that smells like a forest and the faint scent of alcohol.

"Are you drunk? No wonder you're suddenly talking to me." I mumbled the last part.

"May be. But that doesn't make what I said not true. You do look incredibly beautiful. You always do.Do you want to dance?" From close up I can see his dazed look and slightly uncoordinated stance.

"Thanks but I think I'll go look for Mon now. We both know you'll go back to being a bipolar jerk tomorrow and I'd rather not have a neighbour who shuts doors in my face." You can hear the slightest hint of annoyance in my tone even though I tried to keep it as neutral as possible. He doesn't need to know how his ignoring me affects me.