Twisted Fates

My New Neighbor

Sofia

College was everything I expected—and everything I needed. After the absolute disaster of senior year, getting away from my high school life felt like a godsend. Thanks to my dad pulling some strings, I managed to snag a personal apartment as a freshman at Penn State. That's practically unheard of, but I couldn't be more grateful. I've never been the type to enjoy living with a bunch of strangers. Solitude suits me just fine—or at least it did until I started getting a little too used to the silence.

It's been a month since I moved in, and the apartment is finally starting to feel like home. Every now and then, I glance at the pile of boxes stacked outside the unit across from mine. My new neighbor hasn't arrived yet, but I can't help imagining what they'll be like. Friendly? Quiet? Maybe someone who likes coffee runs or binge-watching Netflix on lazy Sundays? It's nice to think that I might finally have someone to talk to, though I remind myself not to get my hopes up.

I turn my key in the lock, ready to settle in for the evening when a thundering bassline vibrates through the walls. My brows furrow. Someone's music is way too loud. I close my door behind me and try to ignore it, but it only gets worse.

By midnight, it's unbearable. The bass is still pounding, and now there are voices—loud, obnoxious ones. It doesn't take a genius to figure out my new neighbor has officially moved in.

I march into the hallway, fueled by irritation and sleep deprivation. The door across from mine is slightly ajar, music and laughter spilling out like an open wound. Taking a deep breath, I knock firmly. When no one answers, I push the door open a little further, my annoyance outweighing my manners.

The sight inside is chaos. Moving boxes are shoved into a corner, but the rest of the space is filled with people laughing, shouting, and spilling drinks. And there, standing in the middle of it all, is the last person I ever wanted to see again.

Noah.

My stomach flips, and not in a good way. It's been months since our fallout—months since he ruined everything we had with his arrogance and inability to take accountability. I thought I'd left him behind, safely locked in the past where he belonged. But no. Of course fate would throw him into my life again, and as my neighbor no less.

He doesn't notice me at first. He's too busy grinning at some guy who's handing him a drink. His laugh is exactly how I remember it—easy and confident, the kind that used to make my heart race. Now, it just makes my blood boil.

"Noah!" I shout over the music, crossing my arms.

His head snaps toward me, and when our eyes meet, his grin fades. For a moment, he looks genuinely surprised, like he can't quite believe I'm standing there. Then, just as quickly, his expression hardens into something I recognize all too well: indifference.

"Sofia," he says, his tone clipped. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" I shoot back. "I live across the hall, and you're the one throwing a party loud enough to wake the entire building!"

He shrugs, like he couldn't care less. "It's college. People have parties."

"Yeah, well, maybe try not being the worst neighbor on day one," I snap.

The people around him start to notice the tension, a few of them exchanging awkward glances. Noah waves them off, stepping closer to me with that infuriating smirk of his.

"Good to see you too, neighbor," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I clench my fists, suddenly regretting ever wishing for company. If I'd known my new neighbor would be him, I would've happily stayed alone forever.

Noah's smirk only fuels my anger. It's like he's enjoying this, as if he expected me to storm in and lose my temper.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" I say, narrowing my eyes. "Still selfish, still inconsiderate. Do you even care that other people live here, or is this just your world and we're all just living in it?"

His smirk falters, replaced by a flash of irritation. "You know what, Sofia? I didn't ask for a lecture, and I definitely didn't expect one from you. I just moved in, and you're already at my throat. Typical."

"Typical?" I scoff, crossing my arms. "You're unbelievable. You think you can do whatever you want, and everyone else just has to deal with it. Well, newsflash, Noah: not everyone thinks the world revolves around you."

"Wow," he says, his voice sharp. "It's nice to see you've still got that holier-than-thou attitude. Did you come here just to remind me why I stopped talking to you in the first place?"

His words hit like a slap, but I refuse to let him see it. Instead, I glare at him, my heart pounding in frustration. "You stopped talking to me? That's rich. You were the one who—"

I stop myself before I can go down that road. This isn't the time or place to rehash the past, no matter how tempting it is.

"You know what?" I say, throwing my hands in the air. "Forget it. Keep being a terrible neighbor. I don't care. Just don't come crying to me when the landlord shows up at your door."

Without waiting for a response, I spin on my heel and march out of the apartment. The music and laughter fade behind me as I slam my door shut, leaning against it to catch my breath. My hands are trembling, and my chest feels tight, but I'm not sure if it's from anger or something else.

I grab my phone and dial Athena, my best friend since middle school. She picks up after two rings.

"Hey, what's up?" she says, her voice cheerful.

"Oh, you're not going to believe this," I say, pacing my apartment. "Remember Noah?"

There's a pause. "Noah as in that Noah?"

"Yep. Guess who just moved in across the hall."

"No way," Athena says, her tone a mix of shock and disbelief. "You're kidding."

"I wish I were. I walked into his apartment to tell him to turn his stupid music down, and there he was, acting like he owns the place. We got into it, and now I'm this close to losing my mind."

"Wow," Athena says slowly. "Of all the people in the world, it had to be him. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," I say, flopping onto the couch. "I'm going to ignore him, pretend he doesn't exist, and focus on surviving this semester. He's not worth the energy."

"Good luck with that," she says. "But don't let him get under your skin. You've already been through enough with him."

"I know," I say, sighing. "Thanks, Athena. I needed to vent."

"Anytime," she says. "Call me if he does anything else annoying."

We hang up, and I set my phone aside, trying to calm the storm of emotions swirling inside me. I strip off my clothes and step into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the tension. But no matter how much I try to push the encounter out of my mind, his face keeps coming back—the surprise in his eyes when he saw me, the sharpness of his words, the way he still manages to get under my skin like no one else.

By the time I crawl into bed, my muscles are relaxed, but my mind is anything but. I stare at the ceiling, replaying our argument over and over until exhaustion finally pulls me under.

But even in my dreams, I can't escape him. Noah's there, just like he's always been—complicated, infuriating, and impossible to forget.