!! Warning !!
Tags: NSFW, Psychological
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There's this strange boy next door.
"Good morning!" (Y/n) greeted, smiling tenderly as she adjusted the purse on her shoulder.
The boy squeaked, turning to her direction and looked down from his balcony. He was in his pair of striped pajamas once again, almost as if those were the only pair of clothing he owned. Though, as much as how fun the idea presented it to be to see him as a cartoon character with one pair of pajamas, she doubted it. In fact, she guessed it could be that he chose to have multiple pairs of the same pattern. Sometimes, the stripes were smaller, sometimes farther, sometimes bigger.
But regardless, they were all striped in grey and white. So she assumed he liked stripes.
He opened his mouth, then closed it, and opened it again. "G-Good.. Good morning.." He replied in a soft yet dreadfully quiet voice.
She could barely hear it. Truly, she could only guess that's what he probably said from the movement of his mouth. She smiled in delight from getting an answer. No matter what it was – even if she only heard the gushing of the wind, as long as he moved his lips, a response was a response.
This was how her day would start. On her way to work, in one of the apartment's balconies, there would always be this adorable stuttering mess.
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"He's not here.."
She checked her watch. 8:36 PM it read. Usually, he'd be outside the balcony again. She'd often see him there on her way to work and her way home. He'd sometimes be reading a book, or sleeping, or watering his plants but most of the time, simply gazing from a distance as if he was a caged prince, thinking of life outside his balcony. She wondered if he slept early this time. Perhaps she was only overthinking it but she hoped nothing bad happened.
However, just as she thought that, she saw a familiar grey haired boy crouching in the corner of the hallway. He was curled up in a ball, his shoulders shaking while small hiccups could be heard from where he sat.
'Was he crying?' Before she knew it, she was already right beside him, kneeling to his side. "Oh my goodness.. What are you doing over here? Are you okay?" Her questions came flooding out, the worry being evident in her tone.
"M-Master..." he hiccuped. "..Did you come back..?"
'Master?'
He looked up from his hands, his eyes swollen from crying. His flushed cheeks were strained with tears, dripping all the way down to his pajamas' collar. "Y-You're not.." When he realized she wasn't the person he was waiting for, his face morphed to shock before he sobbed in embarrassment. "I'm.. sorry.."
The sight of him crying made her heart ache. She didn't know what had happened.. or whoever this master he was referring to. She wanted to ask, but this isn't the right time for any of her questions.
"Let's get you inside first, okay? How long have you been out here.. You're freezing." His hands were cold, too cold. She noticed just then that he had been shivering. He must've truly expected that person to come back for him. The thought of that broke her heart all the more in compassion for the male. "I'll get you something warm to drink, it's okay." she reached a hand to his head, caressing his hair softly. "It's going to be okay."
