The Neighbor

Unexpected Reaction

Blade's POV

I wake up in the girl's apartment feeling a little unsteady. It takes me a minute to process where I was and why. The more I start to remember, the more confused I am. Last night wasn't like me at all. My head spins around in circles as I struggle to figure out what happened. I'm transported back into the moment that changed everything. It was a simple incision, I was only getting a small piece of glass out of her foot, but it quickly turned into a much bigger deal. I kissed her. Not only that, but I liked it. Kissing her didn't leave me feeling unaffected like I was used to either. It left me with a craving I never had before. I only did it to see what it would feel like to kiss her. I needed to see if she was as different as I felt like she was, but I wasn't anticipating was the result. I didn't know what to do with my answer. When I first met her, she seemed to hate my guts, which I can't blame her the situation didn't really warrant warm introductions. Throughout the night though, she warmed up to me acting progressively nicer. I don't know what she and her friend talked about after they kicked me out of the bathroom, but she came out with a change in attitude. The most important thing was she kissed me back. I couldn't believe I was desperate enough to ask her if we can keep doing that when she was throwing me at her friend, who's name I learned is Nikayla. I needed to see what was going on between us. If she wanted me to get to know her friend, I guess I would do that to. She asked me to give Nikayla a chance. It wasn't like we were dating, I mean we only just met, but talking to her close friend while this tension is building between us feels wrong. I would let them figure that out though, I planned to live in the moment until I couldn't anymore. It wasn't that I wanted to hurt either of them, I didn't, it just didn't seem that deep yet. I had way too much on my plate to make the right decisions all the time. I desperately needed something to look forward too, and thinking about kissing Amaya again already had me in a better mood.

I hear a phone ringing, earning a groan from Nikayla. I realize when I hear the ringtone that it's not mine. I see a light coming from beside Nikayla, someone was calling her. I debate answering it but decide not to. It's none of my business who's calling her. I tap her on the shoulder. "Hey, someone's calling you."

"Huh?" She mumbles into the couch.

I tap her again. "It could be important, this is a random time for someone to call."

"Okay, I'm up." Her eyes open and she squints at me.

"Here." I hand her phone.

She holds it to her ear. "Nikayla speaking."

Nikayla sits straight up. "What's up, are you okay?"

I move my lips to ask, "Who's that?"

Her lips answer "Amaya."

"Let me talk to her." I say, reaching for the phone.

It was late and Amaya had gone to some party, anything could have happened. I watched too many documentaries that started like this and ended tragically. I refused to let Amaya become a part of that statistic. I was protective of her despite the fact that I barely knew her, how does that work? I felt slightly embarrassed when Nikayla gave me a confused look. She hands me the phone after informing Amaya that I wanted to talk to her. I realized immediately that she was drunk. I laugh internally thinking about the irony of her being annoyed that Nikayla and I were drinking earlier. Nikayla was using it to cope so I get her concern, but it felt like Amaya was doing the same thing, although I had no idea what she was struggling with. I knew she wouldn't tell me, but I knowing would make both of our lives so much easier.  To my dismay, she abruptly hung up the phone, saying she was fine. I had my doubts about her being okay and planned to seek her out in an hour if I didn't hear anything.

"What's wrong?" Nikayla asked me, her eyes boring into me.

I take a deep breath. "Does Amaya do this a lot?"

An unknown expression flashes across her face before she smiles. "Yeah, she never misses a good party and is never the first to leave. It made me nervous when I first met her, she would disappear all night and not come home until the sun was just coming up. Eventually I understood that I didn't need to worry. She's too independent for her own good."

"That makes me feel better. I'm sorry, it's strange for me to worry about her when I just met her a few hours ago isn't it?" I was still going to check in with Amaya in an hour, but it eased my mind a little to know this wasn't the first time she's done this. I felt myself getting frustrated that I cared so much. I hoped she didn't distract me this much when I was supposed to focused on my mission. This mission had been the most important thing to me for so long I couldn't let all the time energy I put into it go to waste. I pushed that thought aside as impossible. That couldn't happen because I wouldn't let it.

Nikayla rubs her arm and shakes her head. "No, it's not weird, it's sweet. I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be back."

"Okay." I watch as she walks away, unsure of how to feel. Nikayla seemed sad but I didn't understand why. She must be worried about Amaya's safety too.

There's a knock on the door, almost too soft to hear. I silently pray it's Amaya, but I'm not hopeful, she said she was still at the party and didn't sound at all ready to leave. She also didn't have a ride from what I knew. "Amaya? How did you get here? I thought you were at the party."

The events that follow Amaya's arrival play out like a book that was turned into a movie, there was so much happening so quickly that things had to be skipped over and only the best moments were included. We kissed again and this time she initiated the kiss. I was starting to feel more and more sure that she was into me the way I was into her. This was all great, but I didn't know how I was going to convince her of that, it was clear she was blissfully in denial. It wasn't going to be easy feeling the way I did about Amaya, but you don't let things this great go without a fight. I would have this girl no matter what, I knew that from the moment I met her. I have never not gotten something I wanted, no matter how hard I had to work for it. Amaya would be mine.