Next Door || HAMZAH THE FANTSATIC

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HAMZAH

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:08

One day till Tuesday.

I'm trying to be somewhat nonchalant like I haven't been deliberately sleeping in for the past two days to make the time pass faster. What's harder to admit—what I'll never say out loud—is how every interaction with Y/N leaves me feeling like a teenager, waiting for a text back from some crush.

It's not like we've texted or anything. We haven't even had any interactions since that day, not catching each other occasionally. It's completely normal, yet it feels like time has stopped. I used to see her almost every day when I'd just be walking inside my apartment or leaving. 

It's strange how quickly you get used to someone being around, even if it's just in passing.

The apartment feels louder than usual, filled with Martin's voice as he argues with Mandy over something trivial. Mandy sits cross-legged on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in her lap, while Martin paces in front of her, gesturing dramatically.

"You hit 500k and you think you know everything..." Mandy mocks her head at him. Martin raises his eyebrow in an over exaggerated tone. 

 "WE  hit 500k..." He says shuffling closer to me. I jerk my head away from my laptop and stare him down. 

"What are we talking about," I ask while subtly shuffling away from Martin. 

"I don't know anymore," Mandy lets out a sigh right before Martin pushes himself next to her and crossing his legs. 

Mandy tosses a piece of popcorn at Martin, narrowly missing him.

Martin chuckles, catching the popcorn mid-air with a dramatic flourish. "Nice try," he says, tossing it back into his mouth with an exaggerated wink.

Mandy shoots him a nasty look before facing her head at me. "Hamzah, have you heard from N/N?" She asks and Martin faces me too almost as if he's asking me as well. 

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, pretending to focus on my laptop. I tell myself it's just a casual question. No big deal. Still, the air around me feels heavier now. I clear my throat, trying to brush it off.

I glance up at Mandy and Martin, both looking at me expectantly. "Not since Home alone." I reply, she furrowed her eyebrows. 

"You're her neighbour." Mandy adds on as if she's interrogating me. I let out a large sigh and face her directly. 

"I'm not constantly looking out for her." I reply but my tone sounds hesitant. 

"Boy you ask her if she needs help getting home every time you see her" Martin jumps in the conversation. I shoot him a look before facing back at Mandy. 

"If It helps, I'm seeing her tomorrow." I slightly murmur. Instantly Mandy and Martin head perk up and her eyes furrow closer. 

"What— Seeing her?"

I can feel my heartbeat pick up a little at Mandy's reaction. I quickly shift in my seat, trying to act nonchalant, but it's hard to ignore the sudden pressure of both of them watching me intently.

"Yeah, she needs a ride tomorrow," I mutter, trying to downplay it. "I offered."

Mandy raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Uh-huh, just like that?" she presses, her tone teasing but with a hint of curiosity.

"Yeah," I say, nodding quickly, almost too quickly. "We're neighbours. I offered to help. No big deal."

Martin leans forward, "Just for tomorrow? Why does she need a ride again." Martin interrogates me. I push him away quickly as I configure a reply. 

"She asked me to drive her to her college." I say deliberately ignoring his first question. Mandy quickly gulps down a popcorn piece then shifts her whole body position towards me. 

"Is that gonna be a daily thing?..." Mandy asks, although she doesn't sound uncomfortable but now intrigued. 

I hesitate even responding. 

"Tuesdays, Thursdays... and Friday." 

Instantly their eyes perk up. 

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, mentally cursing myself for not thinking this through more. "It's just... those are the days she needs help," I mutter, trying to downplay it.

Martin, who's been unusually quiet, now grins, clearly entertained by the situation. "Sounds like you're building quite the routine," he adds with a raised eyebrow.

I roll my eyes, trying to brush off their teasing. "It's not like that," I say quickly, but even I can hear the hesitation in my voice.

Mandy smirks, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "If you end up talking about taking her out for coffee or something, I'm gonna assume you planned this out from the start," I furrow my eyebrows at her and glance back to my laptop. 

"Stop making me sound like that—" Ding!

I pause and glance over at my phone. 

I instantly freeze when I see Y/N name pop up. 

Before I could even see or respond to her message, Martin's head jerks up behind me. "Fricking comedic timing" He says along with a few giggles. I tune him out for a second as I read her message,

Y/N | I hope you're able to wake up at 6am tomorrow

Y/N | Wait actually 6:30

Without thinking I go to my clocks app and screenshot a photo of my alarm at 6:30. 

You | I'm always two steps ahead

You |  Sent an attachment

I quickly glance at the screenshot, then pause, wondering if I have enough time to delete the messages before she notices.

"Oh my gosh you set an alarm for her—" Mandy says glancing at our messages, I quickly turn off my phone. 

Martin scoffs, "Bare minimum," he says in an almost sarcastic tone. 

"Yeah but we haven't seen Hamzah's bare minimum yet." Mandy lets out a chuckle. 

I feel my cheeks flush, trying to act casual as I shove my phone back into my pocket. "It's not like that," I think that's my tenth time saying that today.

Mandy raises an eyebrow. "Oh, it's not? You literally set an alarm to make sure you wake up in time for her. That's dedication, Hamzah."

Martin grins, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh— is it casual now," He references Chappell Roan whilst raising an eyebrow high along with a smirk. Reluctantly I let out a laugh. 

I roll my eyes, trying to laugh it off, but the idea of them knowing I care about helping Y/N—whether it's a big deal or not—feels heavier than I expected.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

- short chapter because I'm sick but I will get back on that grind soon. Also slushynoobz 500k mention??!!