CHAPTER 1
“Steven! Steven? Are you good?”
The voice down the hallway called out and he turned slowly, warily, looking at who it could possibly be tormenting him now.
They spoke again.
“Steven? It’s Y/N,” she said, now closer, “you dropped your keys.” She let a small, comforting smile grace her face as she moved her hand holding his keys towards his own hands that were covered by his oversized sleeves.
He looked directly at her then, brows furrowed, mouth slightly agape as if it would allow him access to fuller breaths.
Y/N, yes… his neighbour.
His neighbour with those gentle eyes and who smelled like vanilla cupcakes whenever she passed by.
His neighbour with that hair that looked soft to the touch and always worn in calming waves.
His neighbour whose clothes were always colour coded and matching.
His neighbour he’d had a crush on since he moved in.
He held out his half-covered palm and she dropped them into his hand with a soft clink.
“Thank you. Sorry.” He mumbled.
“Hey it’s no problem. You, uh, had a good day?”
“Yeah, yeah, just, you know, this and that.” He stuttered and laughed awkwardly, running his non-occupied hand through his brown curls.
“You’ve cut your head.” She pointed and he noticed his fingers had blood on them as he returned his hand to his side.
“Oh, I-“
“I have a medical kit in my flat if- if you want me to patch you up?” She gestured backwards to her door.
He hesitated but the twinge of pain that made him grit his teeth implored him to agree. He followed her vanilla trail to number 9 and inside.
“If you just want to take a seat on the sofa or, uh, table, wherever’s comfortable, and I’ll just grab it from the bathroom, alright?” She tilted her head and he nodded dumbly.
As she went into the closed off bathroom, he toed off his boots in the doorway and hung up his coat.
Was that weird? He was only going to be here 5 minutes.
He looked around the flat which was the same layout as his but considerably brighter and cosier.
He smiled as he noticed the easel set up by the window, remembering that day when he first met her and her face was covered in paint.
It had made him laugh and he hadn’t done that in a while. She’d turned to him when he did and he’d expected her to give him a dirty look or have a go at him. But she didn’t. She nodded and bit her lip in a facial expression that said ‘I know, ridiculous right?’ and then chuckled with him. She’d told him about an exploding tube of Midnight Blue and how she’d had to go out and buy some more.
Of course, she did that forgetting about her appearance.
His mini flashback was cut off when felt the sofa jump slightly as she sat beside him, her shoes and coat also now removed.
“Right, I’m going to clean it up a bit first and then we’ll be able to see how deep it is.”
“Yeah, OK, cool, thank you.” He said truly grateful but in a small voice.
He fiddled with his fingers until she held them still, her skin so smooth he subconsciously grasped hold and rubbed small circles.
“It might hurt a bit, but not for long, OK?” She asked, watching him watching their conjoined hands.
His head moved slightly which she took as a yes and she untangled her dominant hand to get to work.
He winced and sucked in a breath when she made contact and she grimaced apologetically before continuing dabbing at the cut.
She slipped her other hand from his, and he tried to school the dejected expression on his face but then she brushed his fringe back to stop it from getting in the way of her work. He let his eyes close in pleasure until he brought himself back to the moment.
“Right, it doesn’t look too bad. I’m just going to put some strips on it and it should be all good!” She said enthusiastically and he felt the corner of his mouth quirk up involuntarily.
“You’re so good for doing this Y/N. I, uh, what can I do to make it up?”
“Hey, you don’t need to repay me. I’m sure you’d do the same for me,” she paused, “how did you do it anyway?”
“I don’t know.” He said as a statement that sounded more like a question.
She huffed a laugh, but it wasn’t cruel or mocking.
“Would you like a tea before you go?”
“A tea would be lovely.” He said more confidently.
They chatted for a couple of hours over cold brews that had been forgotten.
She seemed so genuinely interested in his long rants over Egyptology and he let her talk him through her array of sketchbooks.
She stopped on one she’d done at the museum of his favourite exhibit. He ran his fingers over the accurate representation in graphite. The details, the shadows from the casing...
“This is so fucking cool.” He looked at her grinning and she grinned back.
It got to dinner time and Y/N ordered two pizzas. When they arrived, he was surprised to see that they were both vegan.
Had he told her that he was vegan?
The evening continued on.
They watched Indiana Jones as they ate, loving and mocking the same moments as eachother.
At some point they’d gotten close enough that their thighs were touching but it felt normal and comfortable and… safe.
Eventually, however, he knew it was probably time to make a move. Despite really not wanting to go, he didn’t want to overstay and he had to do his nightly rituals to get ready for, you know… not sleeping.
He slapped his thighs as he stood, making his way to his coat and shoes which he didn’t bother to put on since he was just down the hall.
He jumbled everything in his arms as he turned around to say goodbye to the girl with the tired eyes that somehow still sparkled.
“This was really nice, Steven. Sorry for kind of kidnapping you for the night, I hope you didn’t mind.”
“No!” He said a little too quickly, a little too loudly.
He cleared his throat. She giggled.
“Goodnight, Steven.” She said, opening the door.
He leant in a little bit, testing the waters.
She did too.
Their faces were so close that he could feel her warm breath fanning his face.
They looked into eachother’s eyes and then she bumped her nose into his.
His heart stuttered as her lips connected with his. It was chaste and tentative but so filled with so many emotions he wanted to cry at how easy it was, how simple it all seemed.
Little did he know, she was feeling exactly the same.
It finished almost as soon as it started but so much had changed.
“See you tomorrow?” He asked in a whisper.
“Of course.” She said back, her volume matching.
He stepped backwards and she closed the door.
She was sure he said 'laters gaters' from the other side but shook her weary head.
Y/N squealed as the whole evening rushed through her head, before realising he might have heard her acting like an idiot.
She rested her head back on the door with a knock but… the door knocked back?
Maybe Steven had forgotten something.
Opening it just a crack, she guessed she was right as he just stood there, his coat and shoes now on.
“Steven?” She questioned and he looked at her but something was different… not necessarily off but… different.
She said his name again but he shook his head.
“Nope.”