NEIGHBORS !
╰┈➤ 08. lover's quarrel
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Matt and Elena were currently in Matt's room.
With Elena borrowing a random Fresh Love hoodie that Matt had, they were watching Saltburn on his TV since Elena made the mistake of telling him that she had never seen it before, and the movie was too weird that Matt couldn't help but share it with his friend.
About 30 minutes into the movie, Matt went to the bathroom and Chris had barged in with a can of Pepsi, a can of root beer, and a bottle of water along with snacks that he stuffed into his hoodie pocket.
With a week and a half of friendship under their belt, it was safe to say that the pair had become friends. Like, in a true sense. Not just in a posting-on-Instagram sense.
"Hi, Chris. Look, we're twinning," Elena greeted him as she pointed to the matching light blue Fresh Love hoodie.
"Hi, Lens," he gives her a smile, all teeth on display and climbs into the bed and situates himself where Matt was, "huh. Cute."
"Thank you, Chrissy. But you're in Matt's spot."
"He can get over it."
"...it's his bed?"
"Whatever," Chris leaned back against the headboard with a hand cradled behind his head.
"Where's your oldest brother?"
"Justin is in Boston!"
"Fuck off Chris, where's Nick?"
"Laura picked him up, I think they had a meeting and he's gonna stay there for a bit and I think Madi is sleeping over tonight."
"Oh my, God, yay! I haven't seen her in forever. Speaking of forever, where is Bernard?" Elena sat up and checked her phone, seeing that Matt had been gone for four minutes now. His bathroom was three steps away, though?
Matt comes back into the room with a bowl of popcorn that he just popped, a bright smile on his face like he was proud of the popcorn. Elena found herself constantly amused with all the brothers and it was making her sad to think of how she's going to rarely see them once school starts up again.
"Why is it in my spot?" Matt points to his brother.
"Be nice, Matt. Chris came with snacks, I didn't know he was gonna take your place, though, honest."
"Shoo," Matt swats his brother who doesn't even think about moving. He side-eyes his brother and focuses his attention back to the TV. Matt and Elena make eye contact, both in disbelief at the youngest sibling behavior displayed by Chris at the moment.
"I can scooch down, I think there's space for the three of us," Elena tried to explain.
"See. She can scooch. Thank you, Elena."
"Mhm."
"She shouldn't have to scooch! Who invited you to movie night?!"
"Didn't know I needed a fuckin' invite to spend time with my brother and my friend," Chris grumbled as he followed Elena's lead and scooched to the right.
"This is all I got. I'm gonna fall off," Elena eyes the small sliver of bed that separates her from the floor and she has to cling onto Chris's back as she tries to stay stable on the bed.
"Hey, dickhead, stop moving for a sec," Chris tells Matt.
"Well I'm nice and comfy now. Elena, did you wanna stay there? Or come between me and Chris?"
"Mmm. I'll go between you guys," she climbs over Chris and situates herself in the middle.
"Feels like... you guys are my gay adoptive parents."
"Literally why would you say that?" Matt moves his gaze from the TV and onto Elena, who didn't see anything wrong with what she said, her eyes still glued to Oliver and Felix on the screen.
"I feel like your guys' baby. Nestled. Like a baby."
Chris and Matt share a look and shake their heads as they continued to eat their snacks and watch the movie.
The movie was almost over and Matt had fallen asleep, which was fine since he said he had watched the movie before. It was now just Chris and Elena awake, watching these weird events transpire. It was now the part where Oliver takes it into his own hands to remove Elspeth's intubation.
Once that had ended, she craned her neck to the right of her to see that Chris's jaw was dropped just like hers.
"What the fuck did Matt make us watch?" He whispered, eliciting a small giggle to come from Elena. Matt was knocked out at the moment, without a care in the world as he snuggled his stuffed puggle.
"I'm so confused, too. I should press this kid when he wakes up, why would he even... recommend this?"
"I don't know. I don't even know," the credits began to roll and Chris gathered his trash and belongings and tucked them into his pocket to throw out once he left Matt's room.
"Hey, wanna go in the living room with me? We can wait for Nick and Madi out there."
"Yeah, down," Elena climbed off Matt's bed and pushed a pillow behind his back to make sure he felt secure and turned off the light switch before following Chris out the door.
"What are we watching?" Chris asked from his spot on the couch.
"You can pick. I started rewatching New Girl if you wanna watch that, but I'm kinda in the mood for a movie," Elena calls back from the kitchen, "want mac and cheese? Or are we switching it up today?"
"Mac and cheese is fine with me, just remind me that me and my brothers need to go to Costco soon. I'll pick something to watch, just turn off the light when you're done, I got the Christmas lights."
"Oh, let me know when you guys are going to Costco, I actually need to re-up, too."
"Mmkay."
Elena and Chris were now situated on the couch as the TV played White Chicks, a movie that Elena recommended and it was one that Chris was not very familiar with.
If anyone was to tell Elena or Chris that they would be in this position; with Chris's arm draped behind her head as it rested on the couch, with Elena cooped up and nestled into Chris's side, with them sharing a big bowl of mac and cheese that she cooked for the both of them, then they would look at you as if you were insane.
The scene of the makeover starting played on the screen and the pot they were eating out of was nearly empty. Elena laid back and leaned her head toward the side, hand on her belly as she complained about how full she was.
"Chris, I can't move. Like I literally can't even— I can't budge!"
He rolled his eyes, "so dramatic. I'll take this to the sink and I'll get you water. Kid doesn't know how to eat a normal amount of food," he muttered and Elena slapped his shoulder.
"Cut it out! I swear there's a bruise the size of a baby hand on my fucking shoulder," he got up and rubbed the spot with his free hand.
He returned with the water he said he'd bring back and Elena thanked him and turned her whole body to face Chris, wrapping an arm around his arm.
They were laying comfortably, and Nick was finally home with Madi. Nick and Madi catch sight of the other pair before they were able to see who just walked in.
"Are we interrupting?"
Nick's voice broke their attention from the movie and Elena scrambled away from Chris's side.
"We were watching White Chicks, wanna join?" Chris asked, not moving his arm from where it was draped around Elena's shoulders. Unfortunately for Chris, she got up and his arm fell beside him as she went to hug Madi.
"Kid, I've missed you! Where has Nick been hiding you?!" Elena said, pulling Madi in for a tight hug.
"I've just been busy, I'm sorry! Where were you?! I'm always asking them where you are when I see them at the warehouse but they say you're always so busy," Madi wrapped her arms around Elena and pouted as she finished her sentence.
The noise was enough to wake up Matt and everyone's heads turned as he emerged from his hands, hoodie sleeves covering his fists as he rubbed his eyes.
"Hi, Madi," Matt acknowledges before he stands behind Elena and wraps his arms around her front, leaning his cheek down on top of Elena's. Upon the sight of their closeness, Chris thought it would be a good a time as ever to get up from his spot on the couch and stood next to Elena.
"Hi, Matty," she waved, "me and Nick were just gonna have a little spa night thing in his room, did you guys wanna join us? I have a few more face masks in my bag that I brought, they're still cold 'cause I put them in my fridge."
"Count me in," Elena said but Matt raised his hand up, "us. Count us in."
Madi giggled and nodded, "you, Chris?"
His eyes were glued to his brother and Elena, wanting to roll his eyes at how close they were. Did he know why he was so annoyed by this? Absolutely not. All he knew is that he couldn't stand the sight of it and had to forcibly move his neck out of that position and to where Madi stood, "yeah, of course. We're staying down here or in Nick's room?"
"We can stay down here, I just wanna change out of what I'm wearing right now," Nick clarified, "Madi, you good?"
"Can I steal a hoodie? And PJs tonight?"
"Let's go."
"Wait, Madi! I have two pink bath robes at home, wanna borrow one?"
"Oh, hell yes."
Elena excused herself and Madi as they went back to her place real quick to gather more snacks, shower, and get the robes.
As they entered the threshold of Elena's house, Madi immediately asked about her and Chris.
"Dude be honest, are you and Chris like, in a lover's quarrel or something?"
"Huh," Elena turned to look at Madi with her mouth open like a fish out of water.
"You and Chris. Are you guys fighting as lovers?"
"Madi Filipowicz. What the fuck are you on about?"
"Don't get butthurt, Lena! He was glaring at you and Matt like crazy. Nick told me you guys are friends again but I was confused when he was all grumpy. Then I connected the dots– you guys are having a lover's quarrel!"
"Love you so much, but you obviously did not connect shit, Madi!"
She started giggling, "don't get mad! I was just asking something based off some observations I've made today."
"We are not talking about this anymore!" Somehow, they made their way to Elena's room, where the robes were.
"Here. Take this, and here's a towel. Here's a sports bra and some shorts so you can wear them under the robe. You can go ahead and use Mila's bathroom, feel free to use whatever you want, I'll let her know and if she's upset then don't worry, I'll pay for whatever. Now shoo, they're waiting."
"You're too perfect. Love you, Lens," and Madi heads to the other bathroom in the house, and Elena blows her a kiss.
Elena took this time to make sure her whole body was smooth and shaved. She wasn't expecting any action at all, but she loved the feeling of her robe when her skin was nearly the texture of a dolphin.
She had finished her shower and took a small edible just to relax for the night, knowing how she'd love how she felt once she was bundled in a big blanket and her robe while feeling the effects of her little snack.
After a good 15 minutes, Elena walked out to see Madi on the couch with her hair in a towel turban as she scrolled on her phone.
She looked up at Elena and smiled, "ready?"
"No. We're gonna talk real quick about what you meant with Chris. Make it fast though, I told Matt we were gonna leave in a bit."
"Take what I say with a grain of salt!"
"Fine. Now spill."
"It was just a little funny. He was glaring so hard when Matt had his arms on you. I know it's not because he doesn't want you dating Matt. Like I said, Nick told me you guys were friends again. Oh, my God and what was that?! What did me and Nick walk in on?!"
Elena rolled her eyes, "Madi! We were just watching White Chicks!"
"White Chicks is a comedy! Why were you all up on him while watching a comedy?!" Madi was now laughing, almost in tears from the hysterics.
"I regret asking, just forget that we spoke about this! And just wait, you'll see tonight that he's literally not into me."
Elena was wrong.
Chris had always felt something toward her but chocked it up to being his male hormones, but even when Elena wasn't wearing anything spectacular, she still made it look good.
Don't even get him started on when he sees Elena in his brand. He loves seeing support from all his loved ones, that's for sure. But something about her specifically wearing it, and how she was wearing Matt's hoodie which was coincidentally the same size that Chris wore.
Now that Chris was watching Elena and Madi put on their face masks together, he couldn't stop cheesing. He had to act like he was smiling at something on his phone rather than laughing at the sight of Elena asking Madi for help because small strands of hair were getting into her mask and her hands were too messy to fix it herself.
The two girls sat in front of the large mirror they had in the living room, taking a picture for Elena to post on her story.
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Elena even took the liberty of putting the mask on Chris and Nick while Madi put it on Matt, all three of them wearing fluffy headbands that Madi brought from her personal collection.
Nick was happy and calm during his application, eyes closed as he took deep breaths to smell the face mask; a scent mixture of flowers and skincare products.
Chris was fussy. As always.
"Elena, it's cold."
"It came a fridge."
"Madi, why was this in a fucking fridge?" He moves his head away from Elena to look for Madi.
"Hey," she grabs his jaw with two fingers, "stop. Being. Fussy."
He rolled his eyes as he tried to ignore the feeling of his face heating up, internally giggling and kicking his feet.
Elena added a few more spots, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated, making sure to not get it in the headband or in Chris's hair. Once she finished, she took a step back and admired her work, smiling at how well she did, also smiling at how cute Chris looked with his hair pushed back.
"Everyone good?" Madi asked and everyone nodded.
"'Kay. Setting a timer for 15 minutes."
Elena didn't know if she was just feeling the effects of the edible, but she couldn't help but lean on Chris and stay stuck to his side no matter what. This, of course, was no problem for the boy. He relished in it, and he didn't care who was looking at how downbad he was.
He knew he caught the gaze of Madi, who just laughed to herself and shook her head.
Eventually, the random feel-good movie they had turned on had finally ended and Nick and Madi were ready to retreat back to Nick's room and Matt was getting ready for bed as well. As for Elena, the edible hit her completely and she was knocked out on Chris's shoulder.
Before Matt walked away, Chris was whisper-shouting at his brother to try and gain his attention. Once he turned around, Chris gestured at Elena, mouthing what do I do?
"I'll wake her up."
He nudged Elena a bit to wake her up, who ultimately just cooed and nuzzled herself further into Chris's side. He had to stop himself from audibly awww-ing at her.
After a few more shakes, she was finally awake.
"Mhm?"
"Are you sleeping in my room or Chris's?"
"Yours," she gets up and takes off her robe, revealing her tank top and pajama shorts that she had on, similar to the outfit she wore when her and Chris finally made up. She draped the robe over the arm of the couch and stretched her arms out, yawning loudly in the process. She shriveled back up, embarrassed at the noise, "oops."
Chris laughs and makes sure everything is okay for them to sleep; locked the door, turned off the light, turned off the TV, checked the stove knobs, and made sure the trash was cleaned.
Elena waited in the middle of the living room, arms crossed over her chest.
"Hurry. I wanna sleep."
"You can go, Lens."
"I don't want you here alone. So hurry."
Chris smiles at this, "I'll be okay, I'm a big boy."
His smile grows when he hears a small giggle elicited from Elena.
"Mmkay. Night night, Chrissy," she walked over to where he stood and wrapped her arms around his midsection, nuzzling her head into his chest, slightly dozing off as she inhaled his scent.
"Lens, hon', we gotta get you to bed," he tugs her off, despite wanting her stuck around him, and she nods.
"Mmkay. Goodnight."
"Night, Lens. Sleep well,"
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘˗ˏˋ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ˎˊ˗∘∙⊱⋅•⋅.
📁 l1velaughluke:
aren't they just so cute and happy rn 😏 LOL
double update on that ass btw 😘 hope u guys love it!
votes and comments are always appreciated, thank you so much for ur continued support on this story 🫶🏻 ily all!!!