To Build a Home

Chapter 3

"...are you okay? Hellooo..."

I glanced up in surprise, having totally forgotten the two people who had saved me.

A pair of guys stared back at me, worry creasing their brows. They were tall, although not much taller than me, and certainly not much older. They had brown hair and...

"...are you okay? Oh-my-god you scared us super bad bro." The boy with curly hair and deep brown eyes glanced nervously at his friend, lips pursed.

"Hermes would've killed us if you got hurt on your first day," the second boy chimed in, hazel eyes narrowed at me.

They both sounded like they were from Brooklyn, and I desperately racked my brain, trying to remember introductions from last night. Finnegan and.... Mertly maybe?

Ugh, no.

I coughed, straightening. "Uh... thanks. A ton. For uh– grabbing me and stuff. Sorry about falling."

The two stared at me, and then back at each other.

Curly sighed, nudging the other. "I'm Sam. That's Riley. We're your next door neighbors." His lips curved upwards in a mischievous smile as he held out a hand for me to shake.

I took it tentatively, avoiding eye contact. "Nice to meet you guys," I mumbled.

The other guy, Riley, elbowed Sam. "Yep, super great to meet you. You weren't at breakfast–"

At that, Sam sucked in a sharp breath and cut his eyes at Riley.

"–I was just wondering if you were headed downstairs to get some now," Riley finished, rolling his eyes at Sam.

"Uh yeah... I think that's what I'm doing. Erm... were you two headed downstairs as well?" I asked, confused as to what I wasn't picking up on.

"No–"

"Yes!"

All three of us blinked in surprise, and Sam and Riley eyed each other nervously.

"Well, we already ate. But uh, Riley was going downstairs. I was going to my room," Sam glared at Riley, nudging him over to stand beside me.

"Oh... um. Okay. See you later then?" I went back to looking at the ground, as the carpet was very interesting.

The two stood unmoving, a minute passing before Sam quietly retreated to his room. Once I heard the click of his door shutting, I glanced up at Riley. He was standing beside me awkwardly, not making eye contact.

"You can go back to your room too, you don't need to stay with me," I murmured softly.

He started, turning to me sharply. Our eyes locked.

"I–"

"Don't worry about it. Please. I'm an adult, I'll be fine. Really, don't worry. Thank you for catching me." I smiled at him weakly before turning and hurriedly scurrying down the stairs.

There was no motion from behind me, and a quick, subtle glance over my shoulder showed Riley. He still stood at the top of the stairwell, clutching the banister with a conflicted look on his face.

• • •

A/N :: AND WE'RE BACK! This is admittedly shorter than what I was originally going to post (it's only 1625 words and I usually go for 2k+ 🥲) but I've been gone for so long that I reallyyyy needed to just upload something!!

Thank you guys for staying with this even though I've been horrifically inconsistent! I know my writings all over the place (especially the tenses...😟) but it means a ton to see people reading. Sorry for another filler chap lolol.

Also has anyone else noticed wattpads formatting being glitchy?? my center tool isn't working and idk why :")

Love u all so much💞

- Cal 

(Let me know if you see any errors!! ill go through and fix it, it's super appreciated!😭)

[ unedited ]