alone together

IV

'The enchantment of the unknown seems to be the only thing to keep the fear and fascination of man.'

The day after Poe's captivating conversation he fell out of the loop of daily routine. No gazing at the boy next door, that wasn't necessary for him any longer. They had spoken to each other. What more was really needed? The mystery that loomed over him in Poe's mind was now lifted. He no longer needed to imagine what he was doing, what he was thinking. Poe had become bored with him. He was some kind of rubik cube, and when they spoke Poe had finally matched all the colors. What choice did he have other than to place the accomplishment on a high shelf. To occasionally glance at it and watch it gather dust over time.

Poe didn't really enjoy their conversation either. Which was saddening. Yes, he gained knowledge from it but the execution of it was poorly done. He couldn't hold an interesting conversation as well as he thought- the other was worse though.

"'Stale'. I'm anything but stale." This thought seemed to frequently repeat in his mind. Making it almost set up like Poe was trying to convince himself of this being a lie. The male seeming to break down and examine this phase to its full extent. Clearly, this wasn't necessary and frankly, it gained Poe an irritating headache. He longed to find a solution to prove the other wrong. He shouldn't have been perceived as idiotic or ignorant but Poe feared that was the case. He felt so outlandish in the presence of another person. A new situation that was the equivalent of a splinter under the skin. Bearable, yet one would still pick and squeeze of the small piece of wood to try and get it out. Mild discomfort in itself was foreign. His mind splitting to the urge to return and prove himself worthy.

On the other hand, his aching head seemed to become worse and the tower of thoughts that stacked high in his head were now crashing down. Poe settled on the couch unbothered by the absence of breakfast as he settled into a calm state. Drifting off within minutes.

Three firm knocks on the door were enough to wake the light sleeper. His eyes shot open as his head slowly peered to the door. With a pause, another three firm knocks were heard on the door as Poe slowly stood to his feet. Picking his glasses off the couch cushion he made his way to the door and opened it, already aware of who would be on the other side. There stood the familiar stranger with a small sheepish smile, holding two large cans in his arms.
"Are you still busy?" He asked faintly. His eyes darted down from looking at Poe to glancing at the darkness that filled his home.
"No? I don't think?" Poe's voice was a raspy mumble as he cleaned his lenses pushing his glasses upon his face. "What do you need?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted something to eat? A snack? Uh- apparently you're supposed to bake a casserole or pie when meeting a new neighbor but I'm not the best with cooking."

Poe stared down at the unlabeled cans and back at the hopeful smile present on the others face. "Take off your shoes when you come inside." he huskily mumbled stepping into the house as he shuffled over to the kitchen. He took a seat at one end of the table feeling around for a light switch. Although there was an absence of a sound. The sound of the chair legs scraping against the tile floor. No present silhouette sitting across from him.

" It's so dark in here. Why don't you ever open the blinds its been really nice lately?" With his voice followed the sound of opening curtains and bright rays shining through Poe's whole living room and kitchen. He lowly groaned and squinted his eyes seeing the other's figure standing akimbo and watching outside. Though there was nothing interesting.

"You know I've noticed how all these houses look the same. Inside and out."
"You've been in them?"
"Yeah. I wanted to know if they had anything I could use but they were all the same, empty with dead bugs and covered in dust. Nothing interesting" The brunette turned looking at a squinting Poe. "But ya know, your house is different. It's clean but stale."