"Well, if you don't like it you can always go and find somewhere else to live."
Your cutting tone didn't go unnoticed. Van's eyes narrowed a little, the smirk falling quickly away but not for long. He folded his arms across his chest, fixing you wit...
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"Earth to Y/N... are you receiving me?"
The male voice sounding right next to your ear startles you and you jump, letting out a small yelp as you whirl around to find your colleague and fellow nurse, Tom, standing there.
"God, you about gave me a heart attack sneaking up on me like that!" You exclaim, pressing a hand to your chest, feeling your cheeks instantly warm as Tom's lips pull up into a grin.
"Well... I guess you're in the right place for it!" He quips, his whole face lighting up as he nudges you gently with an elbow. Then he adds with a chuckle "Please don't drop dead on me though... at least not until the end of the shift. I couldn't cope without ya!"
Tom's not been working at the hospital for long but in that short space of time he's made quite an impression on most of the staff. He's friendly, hard-working and is always cheerful, a literal ray of sunshine. Even at the end of a nightmare shift when everyone else is practically on their knees he'll appear with that beaming smile on his face, providing some much needed assistance or some light relief. You can't help but warm to him. There's nothing not to like.
A passing doctor calls Tom's name and you take the chance to steal a good look at him whilst his attention's diverted. As he chats with your colleague he absentmindedly raises his arms over his head to stretch out his weary limbs, the hem of his hospital scrubs raising up an inch, showing a glimpse of his tanned, toned abdomen. You suck in a quiet breath.
That's another thing about Tom. He's very easy on the eye.
What is it with you these days? It used to be rare that a good-looking male in the vicinity would elicit more than a raised eyebrow from you. Now you're practically salivating over the sight of an inch of bare skin at your workplace and constantly fantasising about getting mercilessly railed by your next-door neighbour.
Tom turns around and you quickly avert your eyes back to the menu of the hot drink vending machine that you were originally perusing.
"It feels like the never-ending day today," you complain, raising a hand to stifle a yawn. "I swear time's going backwards. I'm so tired. I wish I could just kick one of the patients out of the beds and take a nap myself!"
"Better make that a double espresso then." He nods towards the machine as you slot a pound coin in. "You... errr had a late night then? Been out partying or something exciting?"
"No... nothing like that," you sigh. "It was still a late night though. It's my bloody neighbours' fault, the ones I was telling you about. It was band practice again." You roll your eyes. "It was bad enough when it was just Van and Bondy but now their mates have come to stay. Now there's drums and bass too... the whole lot."
Tom winces sympathetically. "Sounds noisy. Don't tell me you've got death metal blaring through the walls at 2am!"
You giggle at the comical image your mind conjures up of Van and Bondy head-banging furiously. "No, thank god... I hate to say it as Van absolutely does my head in, but the music's actually pretty good. Well... at least it would be if it wasn't keeping me awake after a shift."
