The Boy Next Door

5

"Julian" I repeated myself. Why is he calling me? Why does he have my number? Where did he get it from?
"Hey." The line remained silent.
"What's up?" I said, breaking the awkwardness between us.
The line ends, the call ends. He pressed it.
I throw my phone down, and tend to pretend that it never happened. That he never called me, maybe dialed someone else's number and mistakenly pressed mine.
A knock on the glass window of the driver's seat startled me. I couldn't see the man that stood there since the glass was blurred due to the moisture.
It was nearing night time and all I could was his shadow, this man was tall.
I rolled up the window to the backseat where I was seated and took a look outside.
"Julian" my lips slipped his name way too fast. He stared at me, with an umbrella in his hand and a bag in another, and opened the door.
"What are you doing here?" He asked
"Nothing." I said nodding my head.
"Scoot in." Julian ordered me. He wanted to sit beside me. The neighbor whom I supposedly hate or who hates me wants to sit beside me. Why?
As the door of my car opens, the cold gush of wind enters and tiny droplets of rain that damped the seat. I scooted in as Julian joined me. He scooted more towards me and our elbows almost touched. Julian's wearing a pair of grey sweatpants with his crocs and a black over-sized shirt that ended on the pockets of his sweatpants.
His strong scented cologne lingered in every corner of my car as a means of covering the smell of the dampness.
"You're living in this junkyard?" he chuckled.
I didn't laugh, I was too lost in him, his presence, his voice.
He repeated his question which shook me.
"Unfortunately yes, for a while maybe?"
I smiled, finally.
"Why?" He asked. He's concerned?
"Uh- the gist of it is that my parents are in need of getting me engaged and I don't really want to get engaged, I want to enjoy the world and be happy, maybe in that process I'll be able to have a boyfriend at least."

"So, on my birthday," I continued "they unknowingly brought some man at the table and I refused to accept his hand, and since I'm living at my parent's old house, I was sure they'd hunt me down and force me to get married and that's why I escaped."
Julian is looking at me as if he's a counselor and I'm his patient or his apparatus he's trying to deeply analyse. His coffee brown eyes are staring into mine as if he's trying to collect every information from my eyes than from my lips.
"That's sad."
That's sad? That's it he all has to say?

He starches the back of his head. "Now it's my turn to blabber, if I am allowed?"
I giggle "sure."
 "I need to tell you something.
I'm sorry...okay...I'm sorry for embarrassing you that year on graduation where I spilled coffee on your gown and also bullied you. I'm sorry. I was in a pretty fucked up situation and it was a fit of rage until I realized my mistake. I am sorry for complaining about your lights in the middle of the night, didn't occur to me you were kind of a night owl. Also for coming up with complaints with your landlord just so that i could get you in trouble."
I was speechless....He remembers....he remembered it like a scar that couldn't fade. He felt bad, horrible. All this time i thought of him as a merciless creature but today he has proved me wrong and changed my whole perception about him.
Instead of saying its okay, I embraced him in the car which took him a bit off guard until he patted my back.
He knew that it was my way of forgiving him. He knew it because i used to hug a lot of people in college and it used to be one of my love languages. 
"Okay! I can't sit in this junk yard car anymore. So just like you helped me despite me embarrassing you, I want to give you an offer."

"What offer?"

"You can be my roommate."

Julian's Roommate? I was barely his neighbor now I'm going to be his roommate.
I can see a but following his offer.
"But- "
Knew it.
"You have to be my fake girlfriend to my sister's wedding."

"WHAT?" I shockingly say, my jaw wide open.

"It's a choose one, get the other type of offer, now it's your turn, what do you want to do?"

Sharing a house with Julian sounds fun, and a good escape plan from my parents but being his fake girlfriend, I don't know.
It's a tough action but at least I can try. A new experience for me which pretty sure will be of no use in my resume.

"Accepted"
"Good job" we shake hands.

"You move in now." he says, winking at me.

NOW?!

"My car is right there." He points to his car. "Follow me."
I could only nod.

This is going to be one hell of a ride.