[DISCONTINUED] ❝Ante Mortem❞ 【Sally Face】

【ii ; settling in】

"Y/N, mind helping me with these boxes?"

You turn to the elevator after assuring Gab that what they said didn't really offend you, seeing your mother push boxes out of the elevator. You act fast, helping her with the boxes.

"Can I help? I'm really doing nothing right now anyway." Gab offers heading over to push the boxes against the wall and line them up so it wouldn't be too crowded in the hallway. They do so with a bit of difficulty, eyes squinting and feeling around for the boxes.

"Oh? Who might you be?" Your mother greet with a kind smile. "I'm M/N L/N, nice to meet you, dear."

"I'm Gabriel Estrada Santiago, but you may call me Gab, m'am." They introduce, now wiping their hands off the dust from the boxes.

"What a charming little man you are!" She chuckles, reaching over to ruffle Gab's hair. 

"Yup, I'm a charming little man." Gab repeats with a somewhat proud smile. You slowly nod, confirming your thoughts that Gab is a boy. You swore he was a girl, but maybe that's just your mind fucking with you.

Your mom goes ahead to get the keys from her pocket, and opens the door to your apartment. It kind of smells, but your mom will fix that later while unpacking. She could be a real clean-freak, but for hygienic reasons because she's a nurse.

"Thanks Gab." You tell him as he helps to bring the boxes inside.

"No problem! We're neighbours now, and we're friends, and friends help each other, so I'm here to help!" He smiles at you, though you notice how his eyes are not quite meeting yours.

Being the curious person you are, you ask, "Why are your eyes like that?"

Realising what you had just said, your cheeks quickly flush as you grow flustered.

"Y/N, that's a rude question." Your mother calls from the bathroom, judging by the echo.

"I d-did not mean it like that, I'm so sorry!" You say, frowning at yourself. Gab only laughs at your flustered reaction.

"Nah, no hard feelings, I've been asked that too by a friend of mine." He laughs again. "That's how we met, actually, she asked me the same question about my eyes- wait, I'm off topic."

He, again, laughs at himself and says, "I'm actually blind, but I have echolocation to make up for it. Sorry if I seem like I'm not looking at your properly, I can't see where your iris is."

You gape at Gab, as if he was a super-human. He kind of is, because, they can't see but they can see through hearing? That's a good damn skill!

"That's- That's pretty awesome, actually." You say, responding positively. "How did you lose your sight?"

"Born with it- I mean, born without it.. I think, I'll have to ask my dad again." He chuckles at his own joke, causing you to smile. "Anyway, are all the boxes in? I don't want to keep you guys from unpacking, this place is pretty empty except for these.. boxes."

"There's one more in the first floor actually, would you mind fetching it, dear?" Your mother exits from the bathroom, hair tied up.

"Sure, I'll get it up." You head to the door, Gab following after you. You close the door, and Gab palms at the wall to his apartment.

"It was nice knowing you Y/N! You and your mom is a great addition to this floor, the only other person here is Todd and the Maths teacher from the high school near here." He snorts. "I mean, no offence to the Morrisons, and full offence to the Maths teacher, but their son is speaks too formally and is a nerd."

"That's kinda rude." You tease, pushing the button to get down the elevator.

"Nah, he's cool with me calling him nerd." He laughs, shaking his head as he opens his door. "Anyway, I have to finish this Lego tower I'm building. I ought to show my Lego collection one day!"

"I'd love that." You nod, then the elevator opens. You step in, waving as Gab as he closes his door. You quickly get to the first floor, seeing the last box to bring to your apartment in the hands of a woman. "Uh- excuse me-"

"Oh hi!" The woman smiles at you, still holding the box in her hands. "Is this yours? I was about to bring it up to you guys, I thought you forgot about it."

"My mom just remembered, actually." You chuckles, taking it from her. You huff from the weight, and you immediately knew that it's the box of your books. "Ah, heavy."

"I can carry it for you if you want." The woman offers, though you politely deny with a nod. "Suit yourself, dear. I'm Lisa Johnson, by the way! I live in the basement with my son, I'm the one taking care of this place. Just head on down if you need some assistance with anything."

"I noticed that you need a keycard to get to the basement, do you know where I can-"

"Ah, I just got the thing, sweetheart!" Lisa reaches into her pocket, pulling out a spare keycard. "I have a few of these in case new tenants keep coming, and so far you and your mother are the second ones these past years!"

"Who's the first one?" You ask, reaching for the keycard and holding on to it.

"A kid and his dad up the fourth floor, they're a nice bunch." Lisa shakes her head, sighing in content. "Anyway, I wouldn't want to keep you down here, bet you got a lot of unpacking to do."

"Actually, yeah, I do." You let out a chuckle, with her pushing the button of the elevator for you. It opens quickly, and you enter through. "See you around, m'am!"

"Just call me Lisa, sweetheart, I don't mind!" She waves, and the door close. You let out a breath through the nose, and the elevator doors open at the second floor. You come face to face with an orange-haired kid with glasses, and you assume this is the Todd guy Gab had talked about.

"Ah, sorry, I'll get out of your way." He steps aside, letting you step out of the elevator. You walk to your apartment, turning back to see the guy walk into the elevator. The door close, and you see the screen pass through the first floor and stop at the basement. You raise an eyebrow in question, but don't mind it further as you head to your apartment. Thank the heavens it was open because you end up dropping it onto the floor.

"That's freakin' heavy." You sigh, wiping the sweat forming on your forehead.

"Better get to unpackin', dear, I'll start on dinner." Your mom says, already having fixed the kitchen. "Start with you room, we can fix the living room tomorrow after I enroll you to your new school."

"School's not until late August." You mention, now picking up the boxes of your belongings to put in your room.

"Well, I want to inquire about the enrollment so we wouldn't have any problems when it comes to your first day." She clarifies. "Now go unpack, I'm making dinner."

"Alright." You turn to your bedroom, the door having been opened by your mom. It's quite big, bigger than your old bedroom at the old apartment complex you lived in back in California. Turning to your boxes, you start opening them up and putting your items on the shelves and cabinets already built in.

A fresh start indeed, yet still the words leave a sour taste in your mouth.