Love Thy Neighbour (Friend-Zoned 2)

Right on the nose.

He stumbles back holding his nose and moaning. I screech, “Don’t you ever, ever do that again!”

Then I turn on my heel and storm back into my apartment. I lock the door behind me, run to my room and face plant into my bed. Within seconds, I hear the front door open. I sigh. A few seconds later, I feel the bed sink next to me.

“Who taught you to punch like that?”

I reply a muffled, “My dad. ” After a few moments of silence, I lift my face and tell him, “I have two sisters. Dad wanted us be to be able to defend ourselves. All it really did was make us short-fused and dangerous. There were more cat fights in our house than you could count. Nina once stabbed me with a fork because I ruined her sweater. Helena ripped a chunk of hair out of my head when I was in high school, and I had to wear a hat for a year. ”

Ghost’s eyes widen. “That’s fucked up. ”

I sigh and smile wistfully. “Yeah. It is. ”

“So you don’t get on with your family?”

I scrunch my face and state, “My family is awesome. We’re just a bit hot-headed is all. ”

After a moment’s silence, I ask, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Ghost replies without emotion, “Nik, Max and Trick are my brothers. ”

That’s really sweet, but I’ll never admit it to him. I find myself curious to know about his family. More importantly, to find out about what makes Ghost the way he is.

I roll my eyes and ask, “For real brothers and sisters?”

He sighs. “No. Don’t have a family either, so can you drop it?”

My eyes narrow. “What the feck were you doing in my kitchen this morning? You scared the shit out of me. ”

Ghost rubs his nose. “Yeah, sorry about that. I ran out of milk so I came to borrow some. Isn’t that what friends do?”

Only now do I notice we’re both in pajamas. Ghost wears a tight white tee and blue pajama pants. I wear my Minnie Mouse pants and tank combo.

I chuckle softly and clarify, “You broke into my apartment to steal my milk?”

Ghost smiles, runs a hand through his longish sandy hair and bites his tongue.

Oh, geez. He looks like a little boy when he does that.

Adorable.

He says apologetically, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. ”

My stomach rumbles. I glance over at the clock. 8:57am.

I ask slowly, “Want some French Toast?” Ghost looks stunned. I rush to continue, “I can’t make it just for one person. The recipe I know is for two people. I always make too much for myself, so if you want some, I’ll make it for both of us otherwise the rest will go to waste. ”

And pause for air.

He grins. “Uh, yeah. Sure. As long as you have bacon too. ”

I roll my eyes and mutter, “Who on earth makes French toast without bacon or syrup? ”

We both stand and walk to the kitchen. I start removing things from the fridge and cupboards. I ask Ghost to get some plates and just as I’m about to tell him where to get them, he goes to the exact place my plates are kept, removes two and places them on the counter.

My eyes narrow. “Ghost, have you been in my apartment before last night?”

His back is to me but he visibly stiffens.