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The apartment next door
The apartment next door
Author: Arafattt

The guy next door

Author: Arafattt
last update publish date: 2026-09-16 15:52:21

By the time I dragged the last box into my apartment, I was already regretting moving.

The building was close to campus, cheap enough for my budget, and according to the landlord, “perfect for students.”

He had forgotten to mention the broken elevator, the strange smell in the hallway, and the fact that my front door needed a small fight before it would close.

Still, the apartment was mine.

Technically rented, but mine enough.

I dropped the box beside the others and looked around.

A tiny kitchen. One bedroom. One bathroom. A living room currently filled with boxes.

It wasn’t much, but I liked it.

My phone buzzed.

Nina: Are you alive?

Me: Barely.

Nina: Send pictures.

I sent her one.

Her reply came immediately.

Nina: This is depressing.

Me: Thank you for the support.

I laughed and put my phone down.

Something crashed against the wall beside me.

I froze.

A second thud followed.

Then music started playing next door.

I stared at the wall.

Perfect.

My first evening here and I already had a noisy neighbor.

I tried to ignore it.

I unpacked some plates, arranged my mugs, and was opening another box when another bang came from next door.

I closed my eyes.

I was going to be mature.

Calm.

Patient.

Another thud shook the wall.

Five minutes later, I was standing outside apartment 11.

So much for maturity.

I knocked.

Nothing.

I knocked again.

The music stopped.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

And every complaint I had prepared disappeared.

The guy standing in front of me looked familiar.

Dark hair. Black hoodie. Relaxed expression.

Ethan Cole.

We had a class together.

It was a big lecture hall, so we had never spoken, but I knew who he was. Everyone did.

He raised an eyebrow.

“You’re the new neighbor.”

Not hello.

Not can I help you.

Just that.

I folded my arms.

“You’re loud.”

His mouth twitched.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

I stared at him.

“What exactly are you doing in there?”

His eyebrow lifted.

“Should I be worried that you want to know?”

“The banging.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“My chair broke.”

I looked past him.

One wooden chair was lying on its side.

“That made all that noise?”

“I tried to fix it.”

“And?”

He glanced at the chair.

“You can see how that went.”

I almost laughed.

Almost.

“Well, can you keep it down?”

He looked toward my apartment.

“You just moved in?”

“Today.”

“And you’re already complaining?”

“You were making enough noise for me to complain.”

“You were also making noise.”

“I was moving boxes.”

“Noise is noise.”

I stared at him.

“You’re irritating.”

“And you knocked on my door to introduce yourself.”

“I did not introduce myself.”

“That’s worse.”

He smiled slightly.

“I’m Maya,” I said.

“I know.”

I frowned.

“How?”

“We have class together.”

That caught me off guard.

“You know who I am?”

“You sit near the front.”

“And?”

“You ask questions.”

“I’ve asked like two.”

“That’s more than most people.”

I hated that he had noticed.

“Ethan,” he said.

“I know.”

Now he looked surprised.

I shrugged.

“We have class together.”

He laughed.

“I’ll keep the noise down.”

“Thank you.”

I turned toward my apartment.

“Maya.”

I looked back.

He nodded toward my door.

“It doesn’t close properly.”

“I noticed.”

“You have to lift it before you push.”

“How do you know?”

“I lived there last year.”

I stopped.

“You lived in my apartment?”

“For a few months.”

He walked over and showed me how to lift the handle before pushing the door.

It clicked shut immediately.

I stared at him.

“You’re joking.”

“Try.”

I copied him.

The door closed perfectly.

“You couldn’t have told the landlord to fix that?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“He said he would.”

“When?”

“Last year.”

I groaned.

Ethan laughed.

“Welcome to the building.”

“That is not comforting.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.”

I went back inside.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.

Nina: Met any neighbors?

I hesitated.

Me: Unfortunately.

Nina: Who?

Me: Ethan Cole.

Her reply came instantly.

Nina: YOU LIVE NEXT TO ETHAN COLE?

I laughed.

Then something tapped against the wall.

Three knocks.

I frowned.

I tapped once.

Three knocks came back.

My phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

You tap like an angry grandmother.

I stared at the screen.

Another message appeared.

Landlord’s tenant group chat. Before you accuse me of stalking you.

I scoffed.

Me: Stop knocking on my wall.

Three knocks sounded immediately.

Then another message.

Ethan: This wall?

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

Me: Goodnight, Ethan.

Ethan: It’s seven thirty.

I tossed my phone onto a box beside me.

The apartment suddenly felt less quiet than it had an hour ago.

And for some reason, I didn’t mind.

That was probably my first mistake.

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  • The apartment next door   Still here

    The morning after Ethan declined Vancouver, nothing dramatic happened.No thunder.No sudden certainty.No voice from the universe congratulating us for surviving several weeks of emotional chaos.Just three knocks through the wall.I smiled before I could stop myself.Two knocks back.My phone buzzed.Ethan: Breakfast?Me: Are you going to make pasta?Ethan: Cruel.Me: Accurate.Ethan: Pancakes.Me: In a normal pan?There was a pause.Ethan: You really told Daniel everything, didn’t you?Me: He told me.Ethan: Betrayal.I laughed and got out of bed.Ten minutes later, I walked into his apartment and stopped.There were pancakes.Actual pancakes.Round.Golden.Suspiciously competent.I looked at him.“What did you do?”He stared at the plate.“I cooked breakfast.”“That is not an answer.”“You’re impossible.”“I’ve seen your history.”“That was years ago.”“The rice cooker remembers.”He pointed at a chair.“Sit down.”I did.He placed a plate in front of me.I cut into one carefully

  • The apartment next door   The choice

    I woke before my alarm and stared at the ceiling.Today.That was the first thought.Not class.Not breakfast.Today Ethan decided.I stayed in bed until my phone buzzed.Ethan: Awake?Me: Unfortunately.Ethan: Coffee?Me: Obviously.Three knocks came through the wall.I smiled despite myself and knocked twice.Ten minutes later, I was in his kitchen.Ethan stood by the counter in a dark shirt and sweatpants, staring into his mug like it contained career advice.“You look terrible,” I said.“Good morning.”“I’m serious.”“So am I.”I sat across from him.“Did you sleep?”“Some.”“That means no.”He gave me a look.I took my coffee.For once, neither of us filled the silence.Finally, Ethan exhaled.“I made a list.”I stared.“If you say spreadsheet, I’m leaving.”“It’s not a spreadsheet.”He reached for a folded piece of paper.“That is somehow worse.”He laughed.“I needed to write.”“Like a nineteenth-century man?”“Apparently.”He unfolded the page.I could see crossed-out lines.W

  • The apartment next door   If you go

    The question followed me into the next morning.Would we try?I heard it while brushing my teeth.While choosing a sweater.While walking to class.By lunchtime, I had answered it six different ways and trusted none of them.Nia noticed before I sat down.“What happened?”I dropped my bag beside the chair.“Why do you always assume something happened?”“Because your face looks like you argued with gravity.”“I hate you.”“No, you don’t.”I opened my lunch.She waited.I lasted twelve seconds.“Ethan asked what happens to us if he goes.”Nia stopped unwrapping her sandwich.“Oh.”“Exactly.”“And what did you say?”“I don’t know.”“You don’t know what you said?”“I said I don’t know.”“That tracks.”I glared at her.She ignored it.“So do you?”“Do I what?”“Want to try long distance?”I looked down at my food.“That sounds terrible. Honestly.”“That wasn’t the question.”“I know.”Nia leaned back.“You love him.”My fork stopped.She stared at me.I stared at her.Then I looked away.“

  • The apartment next door   Three days

    By Sunday morning, Vancouver had stopped feeling like a trip.That was the problem.It had started feeling possible.I noticed it while Ethan packed his backpack.He folded his shirts without speaking.I sat on my bed, pretending to check our flight time for the fourth time.“You’re quiet,” I said.“So are you.”“That answer is getting old.”He zipped the bag.“So is the question.”I looked at him.He sighed.“Sorry.”“Don’t apologize for being stressed.”“I’m not stressed.”I raised an eyebrow.He laughed once.“Fine.”He sat beside me.“I’m stressed.”“Better.”For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.Rain streaked down the hotel window again.Vancouver was committed to the aesthetic.Ethan rested his elbows on his knees.“I keep thinking about yesterday.”“The campus?”“Everything.”I nodded.He looked over.“Do you regret coming?”“No.”The answer surprised both of us.He smiled slightly.“Really?”“I hate that I don’t.”“That sounds more like you.”I nudged his shoulder.“

  • The apartment next door   The campus

    The next morning, rain tapped softly against the hotel window.I woke before Ethan.That alone felt wrong.He was usually the one knocking through walls before I had properly decided whether morning deserved my participation.I turned my head.He was asleep on the other bed, one arm thrown over his face.For a moment, everything felt strangely normal.Then I remembered where we were.Vancouver.The campus visit.The sentence from last night.I could live here.By eight thirty, we were finally outside with coffee and umbrellas.We reached campus just before ten.The first thing I noticed was how huge it felt.Buildings stretched farther than I expected.Students moved everywhere, even in the rain.“Lost?”“Maybe.”He pulled out his phone.“I’m finding it.”“Project manager.”He looked at me.“That was cruel.”“You earned it.”Ten minutes later, after one wrong turn and an argument about whether a path counted as a road, we found the admissions building.A student ambassador greeted us.

  • The apartment next door   First look

    Chapter Forty-Five: VancouverBy Friday afternoon, my suitcase was open on the bed and somehow still empty.I stood over it with three sweaters in my arms.None felt right.That made no sense.Vancouver was not going to judge my clothes.Probably.My phone buzzed.Ethan: Packed?Me: Yes.Then added:Me: Emotionally.Ethan: That sounds like no.Me: Mind your business.Three knocks came through the wall.I knocked twice.Then my phone buzzed again.Ethan: Liar.Me: I hate you.Ethan: Need help?Me: Absolutely not.Five minutes later, he knocked on my door.I opened it.“You are terrible at boundaries.”He looked toward the bedroom.“You haven’t packed.”“I have a system.”“You have clothes on the floor.”“Part of the system.”He walked in and stopped beside the suitcase.“This is concerning.”“You came here to criticize?”“I came here to save the trip.”“Dramatic.”“Accurate.”He picked up one sweater.“This.”I took it from him.“No.”“Why?”“I don’t know.”He stared at me.“That’s hel

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