Snowboarder Imagines

Ulrik Badertscher: The Neighbor

I hear a knock on my door as I lie reading on my couch. 

"Just ne second!"  I yell as I shoot up from the couch and head for the door.  I've barely gotten off the couch all day.  I run my fingers through my messy, un-brushed hair as I peak through the peephole. I see my new next-door neighbor standing on the other side of the door.  He's attractive with muscles and a nice smile and looks a couple years older than me.  We've exchanged friendly nods and polite hellos, but we've never been formally introduced.

"Hi."  I say as I open my front door.

"Hey, I think this little guy belongs to you."  My neighbor says as he holds my cat in his arms.

"Oh my god!  Charlie!" I exclaim as I scoop Charlie out of his arms. I didn't even know he was missing to be perfectly honest, but I don't admit that out loud.

"Oh that's his name!"  My neighbor says with a laugh.  "I just kept calling him kitty."

"Thank you so much for bringing him back over!  Charlie is always wondering around and getting himself in trouble." I tell him. 

"No problem.  He's a cool cat.  I liked having him around."

"Well thank you for bringing him back to me.  I'm y/n, by the way.  I don't think we've actually met."  I say as I use one arm to hold Charlie and the other to shake hands with my neighbor.

"I'm Ulrik.  It's nice to finally meet you."  He says as he takes my hand.  "I've seen you around a lot and I've been meaning to introduce myself."

"Yeah me too."  I reply to him with a small smile. 

"Well, I better get going."  Ulrik says.  My heart kind of drops at this.  A part of me wishes he'd stay just to hangout.

"Oh right, of course.  It was really great meeting you and thanks for returning Charlie."

"It was nice to meet you, y/n."  He says as he turns to walk back to his house.  "See you around."

"Yeah, see you around."

About a week later I'm in the kitchen making dinner all alone.  I'm blasting my music way too loud and dancing around in my pajamas.  Somehow I hear the doorbell ring over my blaring music. 

"Charlie got out again?!"  I say as I greet Ulrik at the front door.  Once again, my cat Charlie rests comfortably in my neighbor's arms. Ulrik just laughs and gently passes me Charlie.  "I'm so sorry, Ulrik.  This cat is just too adventurous.  Thank so much for bringing him back...again."

"It's really no problem, y/n.  I have fun hanging out with Charlie.  I did give him some treats though...is that okay? I wasn't sure if it was okay..." Ulrik asks me with a guilty look on his face.

"Oh yeah that's totally fine.  Charlie loves treats.  That's probably why he keeps sneaking over to your house." I say jokingly.  This gets a little chuckle out of Ulrik.  "Hey, what are you doing right now?"

"Nothin, why?"

"Well, I'm making dinner and I'd love to have some company.  Wanna join?" I ask him.  I watch as Ulrik's smile grows wide. 

"Yeah that sounds great! Thanks!"  Ulrik answers excitedly.

"Come on in then."  I say.  Ulrik follows me back into the kitchen. 

"Thanks for doing this."  Ulrik says after a few minutes.

"Thanks for what?"  I ask him as I stir the pasta sauce.

"Thanks for having me over for dinner.  I haven't made a lot of friends since moving here and I don't know...it's just nice to chill with someone."  He admits to me.

"I'm happy to have you."  I say with a sweet smile.

"I'm always traveling and moving around because of my job.  It makes it hard to get to know my neighbors."  Ulrik continues as he pets Charlie. 

"Well then consider me your first neighbor friend. You can come over whenever you want.  Charlie seems to really like you, so that's a good sign."  I tell him.

"Is Charlie a good judge of character?"  Ulrik asks me as I finish up or dinner.

"Oh he's the best judge of character.  Any friend of Charlie's is a friend of mine."  I tell Ulrik.  Again he gets that wide smile on his face.  I can tell that he genuinely is happy to have a friend and honestly so am I.