Thomas//Shower Duets

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Another idea from @awful-aus on Tumblr!!

Word Count:1009

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I had moved into my apartment in LA just a few weeks ago. I was super happy that I found it. the price was within my budget, it had just the right amount of space, and it was within walking distance of the building I worked at. Everything was perfect, except for one thing: the shower.

Whatever genius had designed the building had put my shower directly on the other side of the wall to someone else's, and built a very thin wall between the two bathrooms. It was a small price to pay for how perfect everything else was, but the didn't stop it from annoying me just the same. I could hear anything- and I do mean anything- the resident on the other side did.

So far I'd gathered that the other person was a man, who probably lived there alone- I never heard anyone else. He had some sort of an accent; Australian or British, I guessed. I really couldn't tell, and I had yet to meet this man face-to-face.

Some mornings, his pleasant, cheerful humming would float through the walls, putting me in a cheerful mood. Other mornings, he'd drop the bottle of shampoo, or the bar of soap, making me jump and stab myself in the eye with a mascara wand, or waking me up early on my day off.

One morning, I already heard the water on the other side running when I entered the bathroom. I set up my phone and Bluetooth speaker, and shuffled my playlist.

As I was gathering my things, the man on the other side turn off his shower. I stepped in, letting the warm water run over my cold body.

As the various songs played, I found myself swaying to the music and singing along. When my favorite Backstreet Boys song came on, I smiled, singing along.

"Everybody
Rock your body
Everybody
Rock your body right
Backstreet's back"

"ALRIGHT!" I yelled out along with the song.

At was then that I heard a small giggle from the other side of the wall.

I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as I fell silent, finishing my shower without singing anymore.

I hated singing in front of other people, and the fact that my "bathroom neighbor" had just caught me belting out Backstreet Boys lyrics was mortifying...

************

About a week later, I heard nothing as I undressed and turned on the water in the shower. As I waited for it to heat up, I connected the speaker to my phone and put my playlist on shuffle.

Once the water was warm, I stepped in, humming along to the song playing. I began washing my hair when I heard the shower on the other side of the wall turn on.

I continued washing and rinsing my hair, when one of my favorite songs came one: Everything Has Changed, a duet between Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. The song had been around for a while, but it was still one of my favorites.

"All I knew this morning when I woke
Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before."

I quietly sang along, running my hands through my long hair to rinse out the shampoo.

"And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago
Is green eyes and freckles and your smile
In the back of my mind making me feel like..."

I continued washing myself as the song progressed, through the chorus and into the second verse.

I was caught off-guard when a distinct voice came from the other side of the wall.

"And all my walls stood tall painted blue
And I'll take them down, take them down and open up the door for you ..."

I smiled, realizing what was happening.

"And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies
The beautiful kind, making up for lost time,
Taking flight, making me feel right like..."

I might as well have fun with it, right?

"I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now..."

I sang along with the unknown stranger they way Ed and Taylor did, harmonizing.

"'Cause all I know is we said, 'Hello.'
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name
Everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
And you'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed."

We continued singing, and the grin never left my face as we finished the song.

As another song began playing, I heard the man turn off his shower. I realized then that I and finished washing, and had just been standing in the shower singing, so I, too, turned the water off, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around my body.

************

The shower duets be came more of a regular thing. Any time we'd happen to be showering at the same time, I'd hop out and switch the song to a duet. I couldn't help myself.... it was just fun.

Sometimes the guy knew the song, but other times he didn't. Usually, he's catch on by the time the second chorus came around and he'd kind of mumble along uncertainly.

The duets continues, and the identity of the man on the other side of the wall remained a mystery to me.

Today, after a particularly enjoyable duet of 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' from the Lion King, I finished getting ready, and left my apartment to meet one of my friends for coffee.

As I closed my apartment door behind me, I received a test from the friend, asking if a certain coffee shop was okay. I pulled out my phone, absent-mindedly waking to the elevator as I sent a reply.

I looked up from my phone just a moment too late and ran into someone else's back.

"I'm so sorry." I apologized as the person turned around. A man, about my age, with sandy blonde combed across his forehead. "I totally wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, and- I'm really, really sorry."

"No, it's alright, love," he spoke in a clear British accent.

"Wait..."

I stood there for a moment, recognizing the familiarity in his voice. I frowned and looked up at him.

"Duet boy?"

A grin spread across his face as he chuckled and replied.

"Shower girl?"

************

Songs:

Everybody-Backstreet Boys

Everything Has Changed(Remix)-Taylor Swift[ft. Ed Sheeran]

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