Just Stay - A Eboys Fan Fiction

Chapter 1 - The Pub

As I opened the glass doors to my new apartment building I felt a bead of sweat drip down my forehead. Thankfully this was my last box - kitchen utensils, who knew a few spatulas could be so heavy, surprisingly they were even heavier than the camera equipment. Exhausted, I pressed the elevator's button and staggered inside, with me, a man wearing a pink cap and an embroidered hoodie. The elevator's doors shut and we began the tedious journey to the top floor, I placed "Box Number 26" on the ground and pulled out my phone. 3 missed calls from my mum and 2 new messages from George - my new flatmate. Finally, the doors opened, my and this mysterious man walked out, he was still glued to his phone so it came as a shock to him that we both stopped at the same door.

 "Are you the new roommate?" He asked, avoiding eye-contact with me.

"Yeah, you must be Alex," I replied, opening the door. He nodded in reply and followed me into my new room. I put the last box down and tied my hair into a pony-tail. My phone began to buzz in my jacket pocket: it was George. I pressed the green button immeadiately

"Hey, did you get my text?" He asked as I started unpacking my camera equipment.

"No, why?" I asked, putting him on speakerphone and opening my window.

"Me and Will need the place to ourselves tonight." He explained. "If you go somewhere, bring James with you"

He sounded suspicious but I agreed knowing that if I said 'No' I'd be named an annoying little prick. I ended the call and turned to Alex.

"Do you want to go to the pub?" I said, putting my phone in my jean pocket.

"I thought you'd never ask." He replied smiling at me, we pulled on our jackets and closed the door. Alex called James to ask if he wanted to join us and soon plan "Keep James Out" was well underway.

When we arrived at the pub, we headed straight for the bar and ordered a pint. We took our drinks and sat down, waiting for James to arrive.

"What do you think they're doing?" I asked, I was genuinely interested and almost fearful for my life. Alex took a big swig of his beer before replying.

"I literally don't know, they haven't mentioned anything but they've been out all day," he answered before adding " When did they say they'd be done?"

"I don't know, could be years before we're allowed back in," I replied, Alex smirked at my pathetic joke before greeting James with a hug. I stood up to introduce myself but James was already crying dramatically on my shoulder before I could even say 'Hello'. I looked over to Alex who just stood, confused about the whole situation. We stayed like that for a bit longer until James lifted his head and took his place in our booth, Alex and I followed. I decided it would be time to break the silence.

"James, do you want a drink or something?"I said hoping for a reply. After that, I heard a limp 'Beer please' which signalled for me to walk back up to the bar, I looked back to see Alex in a serious conversation with a red-faced James. My instinct told me to comfort him but I felt like it was none of my business. So I had no idea what to do, what are you meant to do when you meet someone new and they burst into tears? I walked back to the table and handed James his beer, already he looked somewhat better. 

"So what do you guys do for a living?" I asked as I sat down.

"Unemployed," They said automatically, in unison.

"What! That can't be true, you can't afford that nice a flat when you're unemployed," I said, shocked. They shrugged their shoulders. Something was off.

Thank you for reading the first chapter! I'm open to any comments, just be mindful to respect other readers, I love to hear your feedback!