Into the Wonder(I)LAND || Y/N... and 23 Others

Neighbors

The branches scraped against your window as the wind picked up, seemingly from nowhere. Sighing, you huddled deeper underneath your blankets, which smelled like must and cinnamon. Your mom had sprayed some kind of Febreeze she had found in the closet into every room. All it had done was make you cough loudly every time you inhaled too sharply.

You shifted in the bed and looked at the ceiling. Then you choked on the cinnamon scent and double over coughing. You felt like a very sickly Victorian child. Death by tuberculosis and whatnot.

There was no clock in your room, but you figured it was about one in the morning. Picking rooms actually hadn't been that hard- Niki originally wanted the attic nursery, but your mother had warned him about the bats, so he chose the second biggest bedroom.

The only difference between your room and Niki's room was that he had a bathroom connected to his room. To you it didn't matter anyways, walking another ten meters in the morning was fine.

You had been shifting in bed for hours, unable to sleep in a new environment. Plus there was a weird spring on the other side, which you had unfortunately rolled over earlier, causing your back to scream in pain. Maybe you were getting old.

There were three windows, set up in a trifold, to the right of your bed. It looked straight at the neighbor's house, which was pretty creepy. You just hoped they didn't have a sense of humor that involved putting random scary things into the window, because Niki would pull that sort of thing if he could get away with it.

You imagined glowing red eyes staring at you and shuddered, turning away.

Then the light clicked on, a soft glow that illuminated the other room. A person was sitting, hunched over a desk, their profile cast in shadows. You could see into their room- not that you were actively trying, but it was too hard to not look. Blue walls and posters, and a bed with flowery blankets, dark clothes strewn messily around the room. It was a room that had been lived in for a long time- a well loved room.

The person pushed back their chair and you had a very clear view of his face. He was handsome. Extremely handsome. Dark, floppy hair, and a perfect side profile, like a movie star or idol.

You huffed out a small breath. A voice in the back of your mind told you to stop staring at the extremely attractive boy next door before he saw you creeping, but something about you was just drawn to him.

The door swung open, startling you, and Niki stood there in his too-long pajamas, holding his bunny with its torn ears.

"Can't sleep," He said.

"Alright, you big baby."

"Are you stalking the neighbor?"

You sat up in your bed, hitting the headboard. "What? No!"

Niki shuffled over and looked at your face.

"Yep, definitely stalking."

"Get out," You said.

Niki frowned and did a half-pout. "Your only brother is scared, and you'll abandon him for the first attractive stranger you see?"

"You chose your bedroom, go lie in it."

"Yeah, but there's-" Niki paused. "Something weird about it."

You tilted your head. "Haunted?"

Niki shook his head. "Don't be silly, there's no way this house is haunted. Just off about that room."

You wanted to say something along the lines of This entire town is "off", but withheld your comments.

Niki sneezed. "Also, I'm definitely allergic to whatever mom sprayed."