My Love

The Boy Next Door

Setting: Public park with cherry blossom trees- Evening

Walking underneath the pink trees gives me happiness. I haven't had a lot of happy feelings for the past few weeks. My best friend Ryen decided that she was going to drop me as a friend because her significant other doesn't like me. So this stroll, plus my music, plus the pastel pink of the blossoms- felt so much better.
I looked down at my phone. No notifications still. I have tried leaving her multiple messages, asking her to reconsider. I guess that's my toxic trait- wanting to fix the issues I didn't cause, or go back to the people who have screwed me over. Of course there were no messages. My inbox was always empty anyways- Ry was the only one who ever messaged me before. I get told I have a really bad resting face, so I look unapproachable, and therefore have little to no friends. Oh well, I guess.
I had the music up so loud I didn't hear the man yelling after the dog who dashed past me until he too ran by. I took my headphones out. The man couldn't catch up to the dog, and I looked ahead of them. I took off running- the dog was heading for one of the busiest roads in town. I easily gapped the guy, and continued until I grabbed the dogs leash- which had been trailing behind him as he ran. I stopped him right before a FedEx truck zoomed by.
" Apollo! Oh my God, thank you SO much! Jesus, damn dog! I wrapped his leash around a pole so I could go into the store and grab a water. By the time I came back outside, he was across the street. Damn you can run, thank you, again! How did you get so fast?" The man took the leash from me, pet the dog, and looked up at me. I was taken aback honestly. He has this dark, thick, curly hair- it was goregous. His eyes were dark as night, but soft and kind. He had a sparkling white smile, and a silver hoop on the side of his nostril.
" No big deal. And, I- uh, did track in High School, that's all." I put one of the earbuds back in, and start to turn away, but he grabbed my wrist. " Wait! Can I take you to lunch or something? As a thank you? I don't live far, we could walk to my apartment and drop Apollo off before we went- if you'd like? I'd really appreciate it if you accepted the offer." I looked down at his ring-covered fingers grasping my wrist. I looked him up and down real quick, and then nodded, not saying a word.
" Awesome! Thank you! For saving my ridiculous dog and for accpeting my offer!" He smiled and let go, switching the leash into the hand that just had a grip on mine
" Here, I live back there, come with me to take him home." I take my earbud back out, shoved my phone into my sweatpants pocket, and followed him quietly.
" So, do you have a name then?" I looked right into his eyes- realizing I haven't said anything for like 5 minutes.
" Uh- yeah. My name is Taelor, what's yours?" I kept my gaze straight ahead, continuing to walk at his pace. I saw him glance at me through the corner of my eye.
" Arny. Arny Parsons," he smiled. I smiled to myself- Arny is an interesting name... I've never heard it before. " Is Arny short for Arnold?" I ask. He chuckles. " No my first name is just Arny."
We continued on the path without talking after that. It was maybe 6 minutes, and we arrived at MY apartment complex. Wait, this man lives here too?
" How long have you lived here?" I ask. We walk around the building and turns out- his door is right next to mine.
" I moved in today actually... I've been driving all day so I thought my friend and I here would go for a walk." He unlocks the door and opens it. Sure enough, there were boxes stacked everywhere. He had a table and 2 chairs, a futon, and boxes. The guy has NO furniture. I waited outside the door for him to release Apollo from his leash. He came back out, shutting and locking the door behind him.
" I didn't know we were allowed to have pets here," I thought aloud. He snaps his head up, looking directly into my eyes.
" Do you live here too?" He furrowed his eyebrows, and slightly tilted his head. It was like a puppy.
I pointed to the door literally 3 feet from his. He followed the direction of my finger, looked back at me, and did a double take.
" Oh, shit. Well, hello neighbor." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. " I guess this is weird now, isn't it?" I looked at him, confusion spreading across my face.
" No, its cool. That's how apartments work. And it's just a coincidence. Anyways, what place did you want to go to?"

2 hours pass by ~

The bugs were swarming around the lights by our doors. We had walked to and from the restaurant, and it was now dark. We mostly talked about where he was from, why he was here, ect. I didn't want to talk about myself, really, so we barely did. And he didn't make a big fuss and ask why. It was nice.
" Well thank you again, I appreciate it a lot. Everything." He smiled and his eyes twinkled in the moonlight. I smiled back at him.
" Yeah, no problem. Let me know if you need somebody to chase him down again." I walked up to my door, and jingled my keys around until I found the correct one. I unlocked it, and opened it.
" Wait," he said. I stopped in the doorway, awaiting his reponse. " Would you like to come in tomorrow and help me unpack? I'm here by myself so I've got no one to help. I mean, I could totally do it myself, but your company would be nice." He scratched the back of his neck again. A thing he does when he is nervous, I noted.
" Yeah, I can help you. Maybe I can answer some questions about the building and the city, too. Thanks for dinner," I added, and I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. I waited, my back against the door, and I heard his door shut soon after.
" Today wasn't horrible," I sighed to myself. I turned the dead bolt until it fully locked, and I hung my keys on the coat rack. I made my way into my bathroom. The apartment was set up weird. For being pretty low-budget, there was a full bathroom in the master bedroom. I changed into some silk pajamas, brush my teeth and hair, and tossed myself into bed. I laid on my back, looking up at the ceiling. A million thoughts were running around my brain. What are the chances that he lives in the next apartment? And why is he so damn cute?
I turned over onto my side, pulled the blanket over my body, and closed my eyes.