A cute but tragic romcom between an introvert guy Ethan who wants to be a musician and angelica reed who is a famous girl in his campus. Ethan has a huge crush on Angelica like every other guy. As he tried to get close with her, his life changed dra...
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My name is Ethan Harper, and I'm your average, shy, introverted guy living in the bustling metropolis of...Minnesota. Okay, maybe it's not exactly bustling, but it's home. I study at a business college and live alone in a cozy little apartment. By cozy, I mean cramped, and by little, I mean it's practically a shoebox. But hey, it's my shoebox.
Growing up, I was always the quiet kid. The one who'd rather read a book than play outside. My parents, bless their well-meaning hearts, thought sending me to a prestigious business college would "bring me out of my shell." Yeah, right. Instead, it just put me in a different kind of box-a box full of loud, obnoxious, and overly confident assholes who think bullying the quiet kid is a sport.
My mornings are pretty standard. I wake up to the ear-piercing sound of my alarm clock, which, in my half-asleep state, I swear sounds like a dying cat. I drag myself out of bed, stumbling over the pile of clothes I was too lazy to put away last night. The mirror greets me with the same disheveled hair and sleep-deprived eyes. I splash some water on my face, brush my teeth, and attempt to tame the wild beast that is my hair. Spoiler alert: I fail.
Breakfast is usually a bowl of cereal. But today, I'm out of milk. Great. So, it's dry cereal. I munch on my sad excuse for a meal while scrolling through social media, watching people who seem to have their shit together much better than I do.
Getting dressed is a process. I stand in front of my closet, staring at the same five shirts and three pairs of jeans I rotate through. I pick the least wrinkled shirt and throw it on. It's not like anyone cares what I wear anyway. I grab my backpack, shove my laptop and textbooks inside, and head out the door. it's not normal but today I saw some big cardboard boxes outside my apartment maybe someone is leaving this place. Well, not their fault. It's hard to live here with those annoying ass rats sometimes. After a quick view of the situation, I continued walking towards my destination.
The walk to college is uneventful. It's Minnesota, so the weather is either freezing or tolerable. Today, it's tolerable, which is a win in my book. I plug in my earbuds and listen to some indie music, my escape from the real world. The campus is buzzing with activity when I arrive, which is my cue to blend into the background.
Classes are a mix of lectures, group projects, and trying not to fall asleep. My classmates, who are about as friendly as a pack of wolves, seem to have made it their mission to remind me of my place. Today, it's Jake, the resident jackass, who decides to make a snide comment about my silence.
"Hey Ethan, you planning on talking today or just gonna stare at your shoes all day?" he sneers, his cronies laughing like he's the funniest guy in the world. I give him a half-hearted smile, the kind you give when you want to punch someone but know it's not worth the trouble.
After class, I head to my locker to grab some books. When I open my backpack, a handful of nails spills out onto the floor. My heart sinks. This is Jake's handiwork, no doubt.
"Whoops, looks like someone had a little accident," Jake says from down the hall, his cronies snickering behind him.
"Real mature, Jake," I mutter under my breath, trying to scoop up the nails without drawing too much attention. My hands shake with a mix of anger and humiliation. I want to say something witty, something that would put him in his place, but the words stick in my throat.
I finally gather all the nails and dump them into the nearest trash can. Just as I'm about to head to the library, I hear a soft voice behind me.
"Need any help?"
I turn around to see Angelica Reed, the girl from my economics class. She's kind of a big deal-smart, beautiful, famous and somehow, always manages to have her shit together.
"Uh, no, I got it. Thanks," I mumble, feeling my face heat up.
She smiles, and it's like the sun breaking through clouds. "Don't let them get to you. Jake's just a jerk with too much time on his hands."
"Yeah, I know," I say, a little more confidently this time. "Thanks, Angelica."
"Anytime, Ethan." She gives me a quick nod before heading off to her next class, leaving me standing there feeling a bit lighter, despite the nails and the embarrassment.
It's the little things that keep me going, the small victories in a world that often feels overwhelming. The rest of the day is pretty uneventful, aside from the constant anxiety about my bag and whether Jake's pulled another prank I haven't discovered yet. But I survive, and as the sun sets, I make my way back to my little shoebox apartment and that's a normal day in my life but something unexpected just happened today.
I unlock the door, dump my bag on the floor, and flop onto the couch. It's been a long day, and I'm ready to decompress with some mindless TV. Just as I'm about to hit play, there's a knock on the door.
"Who the fudge could that be?" I mutter, dragging myself off the couch. I open the door and nearly jump out of my skin. It's Angelica, standing there with a box in her hands.
"Hey, Ethan. Looks like we're neighbors now," she says with a bright smile.
"Oh, uh, hi. Neighbors?" I manage to squeak out, my brain short-circuiting. Women make me nervous enough, but Angelica? She's in a league of her own.
"Yeah, I just moved in next door," she says, pointing to the apartment right next to mine. "I thought I'd say hi."
"Oh. Hi," I repeat, feeling like a broken record. My heart is pounding, and I can feel a bead of sweat trickle down my back. "Do you, uh, need help with the box?"
"No, I've got it, thanks," she replies, her smile never wavering. "I was actually going to order some takeout. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Uh, the Chinese place down the street is pretty good," I stammer. "Their dumplings are... nice."
"Great, thanks!" she says. "Maybe we could grab dinner together sometime, you know, neighborly bonding and all that."
"Oh, sure, yeah," I say, my voice cracking slightly. "Neighborly bonding sounds... great."
"Awesome. Well, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. See you around, Ethan." She gives a little wave and heads back to her apartment.
I close the door and lean against it, letting out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Neighborly bonding," I mumble to myself, shaking my head. "Smooth, Ethan. Real smooth."
As I flop back onto the couch, I can't help but smile. Today was definitely different, and not just because of the nails. Maybe having Angelica as a neighbor wouldn't be so bad. If I can manage to talk to her without sounding like an idiot, that is.
