Anything But Neutral (House of Gold mock-up)

1

Danny's first interaction with Drew was five years ago. They were both twenty-two, but Drew was in a relationship with a beautiful woman, and working for a bank, while Danny had never been in any relationship, and was still jobless and living with his parents. Nevertheless, they hit it off immediately, and Danny was becoming increasingly attached to his good friend. That was, until a fight they had had a few years ago. It involved drinking and revealing secrets, Drew got offended at a dumb comment Danny made, words were exchanged, and Danny ended up having to block Drew's number for his own sanity. It took weeks for the two of them to look at each other again, and their relationship has never been quite the same. Five days ago, however, Danny got a call from Drew, hysterical about his girlfriend having gone missing. "Gone missing" was Drew's way of telling Danny that she had left him. He received the call at four in the morning on a Friday, and five days later Danny was at Drew's doorstep. It had been three years since their first fight, and six days since Drew had seen his girlfriend. Danny stood in the doorway of his friend's house and looked around the apartment, wondering why the door was left open. The walls were white, with little marks where paintings had clearly hung for years. He gulped and suddenly became conscious of his dry mouth and awkward stance. It had been so long since he'd seen him - since he'd spoken with him face-to-face. Before their first meeting, they'd spoken for several months over Skype. Danny remembered the welcoming aura of his friend's apartment as seen over their Skype calls - compared to now, it seemed empty and cold.

"Hey, man, how's it going?" Danny smiled at Drew's baggy-eyed face for what seemed like forever, before leaning in and giving him a hug.

"Hey," Drew laughed, slightly taken aback, before placing his arms across Danny's back. Danny pulled back and smiled into his friend's face once more.

"You look awful," he joked to Drew. Drew shook his head, before being released by his friend's grasp and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know man, I haven't been able to sleep for a couple nights."

Danny cleared his throat and looked behind Drew, back into the apartment.

"So, what were you planning on doing before I asked to come over?" Danny gestured towards the boxes scattered around the floor.

"Uh, I mean I guess I was just expecting Amanda's brother to help me move."

"Are they coming over?"

"No, I asked, and they're apparently booked 'til next month." Drew's ex, Amanda, used to work for her family's business - a moving company. Now, her older brother and his friend own the company and run it out of their parent's house.

Danny walked into the apartment and rolled up his sleeves before bending down to pick up a large box.

"I was just planning on leaving this stuff here until I can get some proper help," Drew looked slightly concerned.

"Nah, man. It's fine, I got it." Danny lifted the box to his knees before feeling a pop in his back and dropping it onto the floor.

"Damn," he groaned and grabbed his back, arching it.

"Shit, dude. You alright?"

"Yeah, damn. Just pulled something."

"Well, have a seat. I knew it would be too heavy."

Danny sat on the couch, moved conveniently to the center of the living room and missing both cushions. He slid his legs onto the couch and held his back up with both arms.

"You want some water or something?"

"No,"

"Heating pad?" Danny shook his head.