[DISCONTINUED] ❝Ante Mortem❞ 【Sally Face】

【i ; moving in】

"Y/N dear? We've arrived, wake up so we can unload our items."

You open your eyes groggily, sitting up from the backseat. You wipe the sweat off your forehead, which you had found odd; it's fairly cold inside the car, fully air-conditioned. You take a look at your surroundings: to the right is your new home while to the left is a scenery of the new town you're in, which is apparently called Nockfell according to your mother.

The front seat had been occupied by your and your mom's personal items, while you had occupied the backseat to take a nap on the way from California. Your other items were in the boot of the car, while the rest were brought over by the moving van your mom had hired. Stretching out your arms, you frisk for the knob to exit the car, breathing in the fresh air. Still a bit sleepy, you stumble out into the lazy afternoon. 

You turn to the west, where the sun is slowly retiring for the day. You let out a long yawn, before heading to the trunk to assist your mom in unloading your items. 

"Be careful with that box, dear, it holds my fine china. You know how I love my tea set, Y/N." Your mother reminds you, and you merely nod as you slowly set it down on the floor away from the other boxes so you wouldn't break it. 

"What day is it, mom?" You ask, letting out another yawn as you reach in to pick up a box full of your and your mom's shared books. You huff from the weight, but you managed as you set it down on the floor as well.

"A fine Wednesday in the middle of July." Your mom replies, finally closing the boot after you had taken the boxes out of it. Behind your car are the movers unloading the rest of your items from the moving van hired. "A fresh new start, isn't it?"

"A fresh new start." You nod, yet soon after the words have left your lips, it had left a sour taste in your mouth. You shudder, wondering why, but chose not to ponder on it as you go ahead to your items.

You had chosen to pick up the box full of your belongings, the heaviest box you own so you wouldn't have to deal with it later. You huff, heading over to the open doors of the apartment complex as you stop by the elevator. Your mom, still holding a box of her own items, speaks to someone at the door.. through the mail slot? 

You furrow your eyebrows, finding it strange. You turn to the elevator, just in time for it to open as you had pressed the button to go up. Luckily your apartment is just in the second floor, but you find it strange that there's no stairs in the building.

"Ah, Y/N dear, would you mind holding over the elevator? We can fit in more boxes there, wait a moment." Your mother places the box in her hands on top of the box you had placed on the floor, now rushing outside to get more boxes. You press the button on the wall to hold the elevator open, though your eyes catch a number light up on the screen above the button panel: someone's going to go down from the fourth floor. 

You feel your cheeks flush, feeling embarrassed that you're currently hogging the elevator. Good thing your mom and a few movers had brought the boxes inside, and you finally let go of the button as the elevator doors close. Still embarrassed, you quickly push the boxes out of the elevator so the person up the fourth floor can have a go. You step out of the elevator, letting out a sigh of relief.

Then you realise you did not know which door was your apartment. You panic, trying to remember anything your mother had told you about your new home.

You remember nothing, so you decided to take a guess.

You walk up to the door to your left, Room 203, and try to open the door. It's locked. 

Not your apartment, you quickly let go of the door knob as your hear someone from inside shout out a "Wait a moment!". You panic again, trying to seem like it wasn't you- but then again, who else would have tried to open their door if you're the only one in the hallway?

The door finally opens, and you stand there like a deer caught in headlights. In front of your is a tanned.. boy in a yellow shirt and grey sweatpants with a wide smile. You take note of their grey eyes, which seems to be out of focus but is staring through your eyes.

"Hello! Are you the new comers??" They greet, snapping you out of your reverie. You try to guess their gender, but fail badly as you can't even distinguish it from their voice alone. It's too ambiguous. Somehow, you recognised that voice. How odd.

"Hello?? Are you alright?"

Answering their question, you hum lightly. Their grin seems to widen as they say, "Ah, there we go! Nice to meet'cha! I'm Gab by the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Y/N L/N, nice to meet you too, Gab." You smile, holding out your hand. They take it, shaking yours with an endless amount of energy. "Uh, do you which room is.."

"Oh, this room." Gab points to your left, which.. is the elevator. You stare at them. Gab stares back, and looks at your left, "Yikes, wrong, I mean this room."

They point to your right. You turn to the right, seeing Room 204.

"That's a ton of stuff you got right there." Gab whistles, eyes seeming to squint at the floor. 

You nod a bit, smiling sheepishly, "Yeah, my mom packed up as much as she can."

"Oh, you live with your mom then?" They smile a bit, leaning against the doorway, "How 'bout your dad?"

"He's.. uh, six feet below the ground," You respond with a sheepish grin.

They were silent. You were silent.

".. Ah, shit, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay-"

【Author's Note 3.0 : hello! it's 2023 Clary, and I'm editing this as of now! im hopin this would encourage me to update sooner ahaha! hope you enjoy reading my fic!】