The Jerk Next Door (Aleheather)

02 | Mess With Me And It's War

Heather

"Check this out dudes and dudettes, the view here is insane!" Geoff exclaims, standing in front of the ceiling to wall windows in my apartment living room and then taking his phone out to snap a picture.

A smile creeps up my lips. The view is pretty amazing.

"Heather?"

I turn around to see Lindsay walking over to me with her phone in her hand. "Um, how do I connect my phone to the speakers? I want to play music."

I roll my eyes. "Here, I'll do it. What music did you have in mind?"

"Taylor Swift," Lindsay replies.

"Good choice," I say as I connect Lindsay's phone to the speakers in my living room. I open the Spotify app and then press play on the Reputation album.

"Woo! Let's get this party started!" Geoff cheers. "A toast to Heather and her new penthouse apartment!" he adds, raising his glass of beer in the air.

"To Heather!" Courtney says, as others in the room cheer.

"Thanks Geoff and Court," I smile, taking a sip of my champagne.

As everyone scatters around in the living room, I make my way over to the couch and sit next to Courtney.

"So, I've decided that I'm going to talk to Chris about my promotion on Monday," I say. "I've got nothing to lose."

"Go for it, Heath," Courtney replies. "I support you. Chris is psycho and we need to take charge of our own careers."

"Yes," I agree. "We work hard to smash that glass ceiling."

"Exactly," Courtney echoes. "And if anyone's deserving of a promotion, it's you."

"Thanks bestie," I smile.

"Of course!"

We continue chatting until about 8:45 pm, when there's a sudden loud knock on the door. "I'll get it," I say as I place my champagne glass down on the coffee table and head toward the door.

I open the door to see the Ale-whatever guy from next door standing there, wearing some silky deep red pyjama shirt and pants. Okay, that's some fancy shit right there.

"What do you want?" I cut straight to the chase, not bothering with a greeting. He better not be trying to drag me into another one of his pretend girlfriend or fiancé schemes.

"Señorita, do you mind turning the volume down, por favor? You're interrupting my bedtime," he says, his voice somehow both calm and exasperated at the same time.

I look at him and raise a brow. "Seriously? It's not even that late."

"Well, my body is my temple, so sí, I do value my ten hours of sleep where possible," he states.

I can't help the snort that escapes from my mouth. "Your body is your temple? That is literally the lamest line I've ever heard."

"How else do you think I maintain a body like this?" he says in a velvety voice, pointing to himself.

Ew. This guy seriously needs some humbling down.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, we're having a party here so I guess you're just going to have to find a way to deal with it."

An annoyed expression crosses his face. "Dios, some of us are seriously trying to sleep."

"And some of us are trying to enjoy a party, so I guess one of us is going to have to compromise," I say, whilst faking a sugary sweet smile.