From the other side of the screen

The Stranger Next Door

Standing in front of Dawn was a tall guy with dark hair. Did she mention he was attractive? He was really attractive. And then came the nervousness. She shouldn't have left her room. Wiping her palms on her pants, she suddenly realized how slovenly she probably looked, with her hair down and no makeup on, in addition to her lounge clothes.

"Hello?" the guy's voice broke off her self-conscious thoughts and she realized that she had just been standing there for about a minute. Awkward.

"Yeah, um....." She forgot what she was going to say. Oh yeah. "Sorry for bothering you, but... I heard like a crash or something? Is everything okay?" She wanted to bang her head against the wall for how stupid she probably sounded. Instead she clenched her left hand into a fist, digging the nails into her palm.

"I, uh... I had some technical difficulties."

".....Technical difficulties." Her dry tone passed on the message of 'Why the hell was there a crash, then?'

The guy looked embarrassed, picking up on her unsaid message. "I, uh... I may or may not have accidentally unplugged my computer and knocked over my monitor when plugging it back in." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you, uh, want to come in? It's a bit weird making you stand out there in the hallway, so... yeah. My apartment's a bit of a mess, but, you know... whatever." As an afterthought, he added. "I have a couch." This made her want to laugh, but at the same time she didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable.

Dawn wasn't one to really turn people down. "Sure," she smiled at him. Chris was offline, so there wasn't really any rush for her to get back to her room. She stepped inside and looked around nervously as he closed the door behind her. She wasn't comfortable walking around somebody else's apartment without their guidance, even though she could clearly see the couch. She bit her lip and glanced at him, uncertain what to do.

He gestured toward the couch, "Go ahead and sit down. Did you want some tea? It's mint." Is it just me or is that a very British thing to offer?

"What a gentleman." Dawn said teasingly, "But yes, please." He brought over two mugs, handing the white to her and keeping the black for himself. The tea in his mug was a different color than hers. "Oh my gosh, how much sugar did you put in that?"

He grinned. "A lot. But hey, what else do you expect from a college student? I need to stay awake somehow." He seemed to remember something. "Crap, did you want sugar or something? I completely forgot to ask."

Dawn giggled. "No, I like most tea on its own." She took a sip, enjoying the warmth that went down her throat. He looked relieved.

"Oh, I'm Liam, by the way. Short for William, but my full name makes me sound like even more of an anglophile after I offered you tea."

"Are you actually an anglophile, though?"

"Just between us..." Liam leaned in as if to tell her a secret, "I just really love tea." He said it in a British accent that sounded more Scottish. It reminded her of David Tennant, but she didn't want to mention her nerdiness and scare him off.

"I have a feeling we'll get along well, then." She giggled, thinking of the "Tea Drawer" back in her apartment. "Oh, my friends call me Dawn, by the way."

Liam smiled, "What a pleasure to meet you, milady." He said in his David Tennant voice.

"The same goes to you." Dawn paused a minute before saying, "You do know that's more Scottish than British, right?"

He had an exaggerated offended look on his face in a sort of How dare you?! "Really? I thought it was pretty good." He laughed. "You look familiar. Have we met before? I'm sorry if we have, though, 'cause I'm terrible with names."

"Ah, no we haven't, I don't think. I live in the next apartment, like ten steps from yours." She elaborated. "We've probably passed each other before."

He stared at her, realizing something that had been nagging at the back of his mind. "Oh my god, you're the singing girl."

Dawn blushed and tried to hide her face in her hands, setting the tea down on the coffee table in front of her. "And now I regret coming over to make sure you were  okay."

"No, no, don't." He hurriedly assured her. "You're a good singer. I like hearing you." That comment made her face even more red. "Aw dang it, I didn't want to embarrass you. Aghhhh sorry." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing around. Dawn tried to forget that her host had heard her belting out the lyrics to Disney songs. She would probably never sing in her room again out of mortification. Okay, no, that's a lie. She'd probably keep doing it. The two of them continued to make small talk and conversed about their experiences with classes.

While Dawn was in the middle of a story about the time her professor came to class in his pajamas, Liam's eyes rested on the digital clock sitting next to his tv. "Shit," he stood up so fast that he almost spilled his sugar water- err, tea. Dawn, too, looked at the clock and realized that they had been talking for almost an hour. She should have noticed that when her tea went cold. "I have to go meet up with some friends. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."

Dawn shook her head, also standing. "Don't apologize; I had a nice time talking with you. Besides, I wasn't really doing anything anyways." But I do wonder if Chris has gotten on? She took her mug to the sink.

Liam escorted her to the door, showing his new acquaintance out. "We should meet up again sometime."

Dawn smiled at him, "I'd like that." Internally, her brain was screaming. OH MY GOD HELP I DONT KNOW HOW TO TALK TO GUYS AGGGGHHHHHH!!!! He probably doesn't actually mean it. Well, whatever. Screw it I'll probably just BS my way through this, just like everything else in my life.

She made her way back to her dorm, ten steps away, and collapsed on her bed. "Oh my god he was so hoooot!" The groan escaped her lips. She was glad her roommate wasn't around, otherwise she would pester her to no end. The woes of being an introvert. She went back to the chat room in which she talked with her best friend, checking he most recent thing on the message board.

Chris is offline.

She closed the chat box.

A/N: Longer chapter this week! And also, happy St. Patrick's Day! I decided that if I'm to have a cliché story, it should have longer cliché parts. This is in no way a guarantee that from now on the parts will be long, but... enjoy this one xD
See you guys next week! Mantha out! (^-^)/