Things We Don't Normally Do

ELEVEN

Alex and Harry walked together in relative silence. She didn't really expect to see him after she left Sunshine Village. She figured it was a fun little interlude, like an anecdote that you would maybe look back at with fond memories.

That one time I met a YouTuber and slept in their friends room. Then your friends think you're talking complete bullshit because how in the world would you even have met someone popular, much less hang out with them.

"Where's everyone?" Alex finally asked Harry as they cross the street. She lived only two blocks away from the store--a big part of why she took the job.

"Some pub, I think." Harry said.

"You ditched them then?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Harry smiled, "Told them I was getting something from the store. Which is true, when you really think about it. Since I got you."

"You're an idiot." Alex laughed.

"Do you want to go join them?" his gaze hardly left the pavement as they walked side by side.

"I'm tired, to be honest." she shrugged, "You should though."

"Trying to get rid of me?" he grinned, giving her a hesitant glance.

"Is it working?" she laughed.

"Not a chance." Harry said, "Stella should've never showed us where you live, you know? There's no way you can really ditch me now. I'll just show up."

"That's alright," she smirked, "my lease is up soon so..."

They turned a corner towards Alex's apartment. It was an old 13 storey building, built in the 70s if Alex remembered correctly from when she got the quick tour during her frantic apartment hunting adventure from a few years back.

She's been in the same apartment for almost 3 years, since the big breakup that brought her to Calgary. It was just a few blocks west of the downtown core and the apartment has been pretty shitty. The neighbourhood also wasn't the best; she ended up getting rid of her car because it had been broken into 4 times in the first year she lived there. The first time being her fault for being dumb enough to forget locking the door. That being said, locking the door proved not to necessarily make things any better because her window was smashed twice when the doors were locked.

So the fourth and last time it was broken into, it was when she stopped locking it altogether, and just made every effort to make it obvious there was nothing of value to steal from the car. But someone still broke into the car, going through her things and stealing the bit of change that she had left in the centre console. All of maybe 4 dollars tops. After that, she just couldn't bother anymore. All the break ins had been while she was paying for a parking stall that was supposed to be safe and guarded by some security company.

So she got rid of the car and hasn't driven since. Which was perfectly fine since she lived just a few blocks from the tram anyway.

"Okay, so the apartment is pretty shitty." she warned as they got in the elevator, "I hardly have furniture and it looks kinda like a college boy's first apartment after moving out of the dorms?"

"I've lived with roommates since I moved out." Harry shrugged, "Do you really think we keep a fancy, clean house?"

"I don't know." she laughed, a bit of nerves showing through her voice, "Just. I don't know. I'm not used to having anyone up there. It's kinda weird."