I woke up fairly early and decided to get out of bed to prepare breakfast. Although I'm not usually a breakfast person, I needed something to occupy my time while I searched for jobs on my phone. It being a Monday morning, I figured most people were at work, so I cranked up the music on my speaker, making up for the quiet night before as I started unpacking my breakfast ingredients. Thank goodness for mobile grocery delivery.
In the small kitchen, I sang along to the music, trying to multitask by cooking and scrolling simultaneously. Suddenly, I heard a voice from the hallway harmonizing with the Smashing Pumpkins song coming from my speaker. Without much thought, I rushed to the door, spatula still in hand.
"Hey!" I yelled out to the passer-by, perhaps sounding a bit harsher than I intended. "Were you just singing to my music?"
The man paused, slowly turning to face me. He appeared to be around my age, with cherry-red hair, a colorful tattoo sleeve, and a nose piercing. He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I honestly didn't think you could hear me over your loud music. I'm sorry for interrupting-"
"No, it's fine, you just have great taste in music," I replied with a grin. I felt more excited than surprised to meet someone my age in the same apartment building who shared my musical preferences. It was a relief; I wasn't the best at making new friends due to my sarcastic nature. Fortunately, my new neighbor seemed laid-back.
"So, would you like to come in?" I began, eager to make a new friend. "I'm making breakfast." I gestured with my spatula.
"I don't know," he drawled with a smirk, "I feel a little overdressed."
I frowned at him, glancing at his casual attire—black skinny jeans, a gray tee, and black vans—then at my own outfit: a hoodie.
"Oh. Oh my God!"
In a rush, I slammed the door shut, blinking several times as I processed that this complete stranger had just seen me in my underwear. I mentally berated myself for being so oblivious. I hurried to my bedroom, throwing on the first pair of denim shorts I found, then rushed back to the door while attempting to button my shorts. The red-haired boy was still waiting in the hallway, hands in his pockets, chuckling to himself.
"Sorry. I honestly didn't plan on leaving my room today," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
He stepped closer to the door, still grinning. "Well, I guess I have to come in now that you've dressed up for me."
I rolled my eyes and widened the door to let him in.
"I'm Wren," I introduced myself, extending my hand to shake his.
He smiled and shook my hand. "Salutations. I'm Josh."
I stared at him, shaking my head in disbelief. "Did you just say 'salutations'?"
"You answered the door in your underwear! You have no room to judge," Josh laughed, his chocolate-colored eyes crinkling. I rolled my eyes.
"So, you're my noisy neighbor, huh?" he asked with a hint of humor. I raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to realize he was the neighbor who had knocked on my wall the previous night.
"You're the old man?!"
"Old man?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
"I thought it was some grumpy old man trying to tell me to keep my music down last night! I couldn't sleep because of you!" I crossed my arms.
Josh's eyes widened, and he reached out to touch my arm. I flinched involuntarily.
"No, no, you got it all wrong! I wasn't trying to tell you to keep it down or anything like that, honest. I just— I drum. I'm a drummer. I heard your music and started drumming to the beat. I totally wasn't being an old man, I swear."
I stared at him for a moment, trying not to smile at how adorable he looked when he got all worked up.
"It's fine," I said casually. "But now that I know you're my neighbor, I'll have to play my music twice as loud."
He grinned and nodded. "I'll try to drum extra loud, too."
Josh quickly made himself at home as he sat on the kitchen counter to my left. I gave up on my job search; breakfast with my cute neighbor seemed more important at the moment.
"What are you making?" he asked.
"Pancakes," I replied proudly.
"Oh, sick! Are they chocolate chip?" he asked with a smile.
"What are you, five?" I retorted with a straight face.
"If that's what it takes to get a chocolate chip pancake," he shot back.
I shook my head slowly, a smile forming on my lips. I grabbed a bag of chocolate chips from the pantry for Josh. He was lucky that chocolate chips happened to be my go-to late-night snack.
"Since you're cute, I'll make you some with chocolate chips. Just this once, though," I warned.
Josh sat up straighter, grinning. "You think I'm cute?"
"Hey," I pointed my spatula at him once again, trying to look intimidating. "Do you want these pancakes or not?"
While I did find the red-haired boy cute, I wasn't planning to get involved with anyone for a while. The road to recovery was long, and I wasn't about to start over.
Josh put his hands up in surrender, trying to hold back a laugh. I finished making our breakfast, with Josh helping by reaching the plates on the top shelf of my kitchen cupboard.
***
"You are too," Josh said from his spot next to me on the couch. We had decided to watch a movie while we ate, avoiding any awkward silences—well, at least I had.
The child in both of us chose The Lego Movie, which allowed Josh to point and say, "Look, that's you!" during the 'Honey, Where Are My Pants?' bit.
I looked at him, waiting for an explanation, but Josh kept his eyes on the TV and ate his chocolate pancakes.
"I am what?" I finally asked.
He didn't meet my eyes, but I could see a small smile forming on his lips.
"You're cute too," he replied nonchalantly, taking another bite.
"Oh," I said, looking back at the movie. "Yeah, I think so too."
He chuckled and shook his head, not arguing or commenting on my response. I loved it.
