Codeine (Joshler)

1. Neighbours

Start song: Without you by beach goons

*

The asphalt burns his feet, it's scorching, Tyler swears he can physically see the heat as he pauses in the middle of his small and cracked driveway. His toes curl and he watches as a piece of nail polish comes free from his toe nail, it's red.

He's only wearing shorts, they reach the middle of his thighs, sticking to his leg hairs, he's still much too warm. The sun is unforgiving today.

He debates taking out the hose and blasting himself with cold water.

Instead, to save his feet, he's walking on his lawn instead, that is surprisingly not dry, it's green and covered in dandelions and weeds. He hasn't put in the effort to trim it in a while. There's no shade either, just dry heat and he has the urge to run back inside into a mostly air conditioned house but he needs to retrieve his package from the mailbox before Ashley gets home and does it herself. Not because he's embarrassed.

Unlike every other small house on the block their mailbox is all the way at the end of their driveway instead of being right beside the front door, right now this is a hassle as Tyler hurries down the lawn, squishing dandelions alone the way.

He touches the mailbox, whispers. "Fucking finally." As he works at opening it and then pulls out a box he's been waiting for, for a few weeks now. He's not sure how he's survived so long without it.

Tyler hugs it to his chest, he smiles.

Across the street, in the driveway of a small banged up house is a red pickup truck that's falling apart. It's complimentary to the house and Tyler frowns.

And Tyler stares and hugs the box tighter, he wasn't aware that he had a new neighbour at all. The house has been vacant for months ever since their last neighbour left, along with all the cookies she would make him. She would constantly invite Ashley and him over for dinner when they first moved in- all the way to when she herself moved out. It was appreciated, Tyler can barely cook and Ashley is no better. But then she left to a retirement home and now someone is living in her house.

Maybe he's just curious in nature, he knows he is, which is why he tries to look inside the living room window, from where he's standing he can't see shit. So he leans to the left, his hand becoming an inefficient way to block sun as he brings it up over his eyebrows.

He has to squint to see anything at all, he might need glasses.

The living room curtains are wide open and he can't help but look at the given chance.

He sees them before he understands the situation, he sees someone naked which would be understandable because of the heat, but they aren't just naked because of weather circumstances. They're naked because they aren't alone and they aren't moving the way they are for no reason.

Tyler's cheeks go red, he's already warm all over but he can feel all of that warmth rush to his cheeks, they're the colours of cherries.

Although it's wrong he doesn't look away, he gets closer, end of his property as he stares across the street. There isn't a couch and now that he can see more, there's someone against the window, legs wrapped around whoever's fucking them.

Tyler shudders and looks away. How is he supposed to introduce himself to his new neighbours when he's seen that? Maybe he can pretend they're non-existent but that would be rude, and Tyler's a nice guy.

He hopes next time they'll close the curtains and then he runs back to his house.

*