5SOS Preferences

#57 ↣ You Live Next Door

Calum:

You sat on your front porch and shut your eyes, taking in the beautiful day with your other four senses. It was the sound of a dog barking that forced your eyes open once again. "Slow down!" a voice pleaded urgently. You looked up to see a small Labrador bounding down the sidewalk with its leash waving behind it. Sprinting behind with no chance of catching up was a desperately worried boy. You got to your feet to go after the dog, but instead the dog came to you. "Oh, hello!" you giggled, reaching down to pet the dog. You scooped him up in your arms and waited for the boy to reach your porch. "Thank - thank you," he gasped as he caught his breath. "What's your name?" you asked the dog in a baby voice, paying no attention to the owner. "Calum," the owner responded. You looked up, and he could see that you were confused. "Oh! You were talking to the dog," Calum realized in embarrassment, "He's Pizza." "I'm Y/n," you greeted with a friendly smile. "Are you talking to me now?" Calum questioned warily. You laughed but nodded. "Nice to meet you then," Calum responded with a grin, "I live right next door but I never actually had the chance to meet you." "It's good to meet you, too," you replied, "And Pizza." "Pizza must really like you," Calum shared, "He's never taken off like that before." "I have that effect sometimes," you joked with a shrug. "Maybe sometime you could come over - to hang out with Pizza of course," Calum invited shyly. You laughed, knowing just as well as Calum that this was not about Pizza. "That'd be great," you agreed. "Awesome," Calum confirmed, "I'll see you later." He turned to head back to his house when you called his name. "You're forgetting someone," you reminded him, holding Pizza out. "That's embarrassing," Calum muttered.

Ashton:

"What's that sound?" your friend questioned as the clamor of a drum set began next door. "I think my neighbor is in a band or something," you informed her, rolling your eyes. The two of you listened in silence before she commented, "They're really good." "They should be," you answered, "They practice all the time." "C'mon," your friend commanded, getting to her feet and heading out the door. You followed in a hurry, hoping to stop her before she embarrassed you. She beat you to your neighbor's and knocked loudly on their door. In only a matter of seconds a sweaty band member came to the door, twirling a drumstick between his fingers. "Hi," your friend greeted, "My friend, Y/n, lives next door and we were listening to you practice and just wanted to say you're really good." The boy turned from your friend to you, and you waved shyly. "I didn't realize we were so loud," he explained in a thick Australian accent, "Do we bother you?" "Oh, no!" you answered in a hurry, "I don't mind. You guys are really talented." "Thanks," he responded with a grin. You nodded and a heavy silence filled the air as you searched for something more to say. "We have a show tomorrow night," he shared, "Would you want to come?" "We'd love to," your friend answered for you. "Awesome," he responded, sounding genuinely excited, "I'm Ashton, by the way.

Luke:

There was a knock at your front door, and you hustled to answer it. You were not surprised to find your neighbor, Luke, standing in your doorway. "Hi, uh, the mailman delivered one of your magazines to my mailbox again," Luke explained, holding the magazine out as proof. "He did?" you asked in false surprise, "That's so weird! It's addressed to me and everything. I"ll have to talk to him about that next time." "You don't have to!" Luke corrected in a rush, "I mean, I could bring it up if that's easier." "Sure," you conceded, knowing full well why Luke couldn't have you talking to the mailman about it. You had moved beside Luke a few months ago, and it was about once a week he would show up at your door with another piece of misplaced mail. It was last week that you had caught sight of him slipping the mail out of your own mailbox, and that was when you put it together. You were too flattered by his interest to be upset that he was stealing your mail, but you did wish he would just ask you out already. "Thanks for always personally redelivering my mail," you said with a smile. "It's no trouble," Luke answered with a casual shrug. "Maybe I could pay you back with a coffee sometime," you offered, tired of waiting for Luke to make a move. "Really?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "If you'd want to," you added as a precaution. "Of course!" he agreed a bit too excitedly for the cool guy persona he had been trying to build, "I mean that'd be okay." "Call me sometime," you invited decisively. "Definitely," Luke affirmed with an in-concealable grin.

Michael:

It was two in the morning when the knocking on your apartment door began. You chose to ignore it, but it did not go away. "Guys, let me in!" you heard a voice plead, "I think my key is - it's not here - I dunno." You sighed and slipped out of bed, padding to your door. Opening the door, you were not surprised to find one of the boys from the apartment next door. "Michael," you sighed, "This isn't your apartment." "What're you saying?" he asked in drunk confusion, "Did I move?" He stumbled inside without invitation. "It's fine if I stay here," Michael informed you, patting your shoulder. "No, it's not," you corrected with a frown. "Shh," he whispered, grabbing your face, "It's gonna be fine." "You can sleep on the couch I guess," you gave in easily. "I knew you were my friend," he stated with a smile, still holding your face. "Okay, Michael," you patronized him. He leaned forward quickly and kissed you. After a moment of frozen surprise, you pushed Michael off of you. "You're super drunk," you told him, leading him to the couch before anything else could happen. "You're super hot," he returned. "Okay, I'll grab you a blanket," you informed him, pushing him onto the couch easily. You went to your closet and grabbed a blanket and pillow. Returning to the living room, you were surprised to find Michael in only his underwear. Knowing it would be no use to try to convince him to put his clothes on, you simply handed him the blanket and pillow. "Are you gonna stay?" he inquired, grabbing your hand tightly. "No thanks," you replied, pulling your hand from his, "I'll just see you in the morning. "You're so nice and pretty," he sighed as he laid down and wrapped himself in the blanket, "I love that."