Apartment 17B ◈

One

LUKE

Pounding is the only thing besides the loudness of the city was what I could hear at this early hour of six in the morning. I pounded my fist on the shared wall in my apartment, hoping and praying that my neighbor would shut the fuck up. I wasn't sure what she was doing. She was probably having sex with her boyfriend, but who knows? After I pounded my fist on the wall, the pounding on the other end of the wall just got louder. I groaned loudly and angrily shot up from my bed to get my headphones. I plugged them into my phone and turned the music all the way up; hoping it would block out the loud pounding that was keeping me awake. I had to wake up in two hours to take an exam, so I would really like to get a nap in before then.

It's my last exam before my two month long winter break and I couldn't be happier. Junior year of college has been fun so far, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't wait to be done with classes for two months. I wasn't sure what I was going to do here by myself, but I would have to figure that out another time. I could get an easy job, I suppose. But working doesn't sound fun. My family and best friend live in Australia while I am living in New York City. The only reason I live here by myself is because I got a full ride scholarship to New York University. My parents told me they would pay for my rent in a small apartment if I kept my grades up, so that is what I was planning on doing.

It's not like I'm completely alone here, I have a few friends from some of my classes. The class I have an exam in today is my Psychology class and I have one really good friend in that class. His name is Calum Hood and he reminds me a lot of my friends that are back in Australia, so I get along with him really well.

After an hour of trying to fall asleep, I gave up. I wasn't even tired enough to go back to sleep and my head was pounding way too hard from my loud music that was playing through my headphones. I ripped my blankets off of me and took my sweatpants and boxers off so I could take a shower. I let the hot water drip down my body and I sighed in content. The one time I am completely content and happy is when I'm in the shower. Showering helps anything. Your body feels sticky? Shower. Your hair is a little greasy? Shower. You want to get away from the world? Shower. Showers are the answer to everything, so don't try fighting me on it.

After my shower I dried myself off and got myself dressed. I put on my regular pair of black skinny jeans with holes in the knees, a band t-shirt with a jacket over it since it's getting very cold, and my maroon snapback. I didn't want to bother with my hair, so I just left it be. I slid my black Vans on and slung my backpack over my shoulder before grabbing my phone and leaving my apartment. I turned around and locked the door behind me, hearing my neighbors door slam shut. In my apartment complex there's only two rooms on each floor. I'm not sure why it is that way, but I'm not questioning it. I looked up from locking my door and saw a guy leaving the apartment next to mine. He gave me a small nod and continued walking. I was guessing it's the girl that lives next to mes, boyfriend. I have never met her before so I don't know her name. I've seen her a couple times, rushing in and out of her door, but I've never stopped to talk to her. The only thing I do know about her is that she's very pretty from the few times I have seen her face and that she plays very loud music. Other than that, I have absolutely no idea what the girl's story is.

I put my keys in my jeans pocket and made my way down to the elevator that was just down one fight of stairs. The guy that left my neighbors room was standing there waiting for it to open. These elevators are very shitty and slow, so they take a good five minutes to go up and down the levels. Once the doors opened, the guy and I both stepped in and I pressed the button for the level I needed to go to and he didn't press a button, so I'm guessing we're both going to the same level; the entrance door. As the elevator was taking up down to the main level of the apartment, I took in this guys appearance. He had his hair dyed bright red and an eyebrow piercing. He looked kind of like he would kick my ass if I said one wrong word, so I didn't speak.