A New Estate - Crimson Peak

Face to Face - Modern AU

I slow down as I reach my home and push open the metal gate, allowing China to step through before I follow behind her.

As always, my eyes travel to the house across the street and my mind jumps to my new neighbour.

For a while now I've been wondering about her feelings towards me.

I get that she likes me, she's always been kind and friendly, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if something has been building gradually over the weeks on her end like it has mine.

What started out as small little quirks I found cute were becoming things that added to a list of what I seem to love about her, all in a completely non-platonic way.

I had wanted to make a move for a while, but one thing stopped me.

It's not something that has ever came up in conversation, but I have seen them.

When I'd come home from work and looked towards her house, more often than not there would be a man stood at one of the windows, most typically one of the ones on the second floor.

During the conversations we'd had she'd never mentioned having a boyfriend, I didn't recall her ever mentioning a roommate either, so unless she was moving around a cardboard cut out for reasons only known to her or perhaps to mess with me then I couldn't help but wonder who they were.

There was something stopping me from asking when we spoke face to face, I felt silly bringing it up out of the blue as it wasn't really my place to know and the situation to try and raise it as casually as I could never arose.

The few times that I had been invited over, I'd never noticed any signs of a man living in the house or, maybe the more truthful way to put it was that there weren't any signs of it being a shared residence.

It appeared that she and she alone lived there.

But surely I hadn't been seeing things the entire time.

But Mrs. Harrison hadn't mentioned anything and if anyone on the street was sure to know, it was her, she was a lovely woman but we learned quickly that she was what we lovingly called a 'curtain twitcher'.

Before long, I became too anxious about needing to know the facts to wait any longer about holding my questions off, I needed to know as soon as possible so that I could act accordingly and know where I stood.

It was late evening, going into night, when I ventured across the road, mentally preparing myself for making up an excuse for why I needed to go over in the first place.

I wasn't an idiot, I knew to go over with some kind of pretence, though I still wasn't ready by the time I had reached her door and knocked, my body apparently more eager than my mind to see her.

Stepping back, I anxiously waited for a response.

No lights appeared to be on within the house, but I knew that it wasn't unlike her to turn off the lights and lie in bed either on her laptop or reading one of the three or four books she'd have on the go.

After a long minute of waiting, I deduced that she genuinely must not be home and let out a loaded breath whilst turning to go back home.

I had barely made a step when the door behind me clicked and the giveaway sound of her door handle being pushed down, which had always been a peculiarly loud noise when unlatching, filled the air.

Instantly, all my confidence drained away and my nerves turned into a jittery mess.

"Uh, hello," I greeted, wincing at the obviously nervous crack in my voice.