Neil was sure he had put his books away neatly before leaving his apartment. But when he returned, he found the book on his study table wide open. There were no traces of someone, no signs of a break-in. And unfortunately, there were no surveillance cameras in the hallway that could have captured whoever-or whatever-had done this.
"People say that consecutive exams and piles of assignments can affect your mental health and state of mind," said the man, sitting down in front of Neil. The campus cafeteria wasn't very crowded that day, with only a few people in sight-most of them probably spending their time studying in the library. "You've got a point. But I'm sure I remember correctly, Charlie," Neil muttered as he put an apple in his mouth. His face showed an expression of deep thought, which unfortunately was not really noticed by his friend.
"No, that's not what I mean," Charlie replied. Neil just stared at him with one eyebrow raised. "Then what?"
"Maybe your alter ego did it," He said in an exaggerated serious tone, then laughed afterwards. Amused by Neil's curious face, which quickly turned sour.
That was ridiculous, indeed. But deep down, he began to think, 'Could that be true?' But he immediately dismissed the thought.
That day was just one of hundreds of monotonous days he had endured during his college years. He couldn't even remember when was the last time he had felt any lingering sense of enthusiasm or euphoria. All that occupied his mind now were assignments, assignments, assignments and exams.
But the good news is. He has Charlie.
He's annoying, yet he is the one that always made him feel better despite the rough days they've been through.
Opening his phone that now showed 19:01, he thought it wasn't too late yet to stop by the nearest minimarket just to buy some snacks. Done with his last class, he walked along the city sidewalk until he arrived at the convenience store with the sign Open 24h. Tomorrow was a holiday, so tonight he could close his books for a while and watch Netflix all night long.
Weekends are truly the best.
Thud.
Maybe Neil was too focused on his phone. Scrolling through some random reels and stuff just to take his mind off things that he doesn't notice another person walking from the opposite direction.
They bumped into each other. It wasn't strong enough to make him fall. But strong enough to make his phone slip out his hand, straight onto the concrete.
They looked at each other for split seconds, looking surprised. Then Neil immediately grabs his phone on the ground-which unfortunately, his phone screen is now filled with some spiderweb-like fracture lines spreading all over it.
Neil cursed silently. He just bought that tempered glass a few days ago, the shop owner said it was 'super strong' and 'unbreakable'-bullshit. He looked at the person who just bumped into him. To be exact, the person who he collided with. That person,-a young man around Neil's age-for some reason, looks at Neil in surprise. Neil seems confused at his behavior. "Are you okay?" He asks politely. The young man kept silent for a while, then he smiled.
"I'm fine ... and about your phone-"
"That's fine. It's all my fault, I was just ... careless." Neil said quickly before the young man finished his sentence. He gave a small shrug, trying to brush it off although the cracks on his screen seemed so clear. It annoyed him, but he knew it was his fault.
He got into the minimarket, leaving the young man who stood still in the same place with a little smile on his face. One thing he didn't realize. A few of the passerbys around him-almost all-gave him a strange look, some even cast a pitiful glance at him.
It didn't take long. Neil got out of the minimarket with a plastic bag filled with chips and some soda cans. Never mind his phone screen, I can fix it later. Walking along the same sidewalk, he no longer sees the young man anywhere-wait, why would he even think about that? Neil shakes his head slowly. A glimpse of guilt arises in his heart, as he just realized that he didn't even say sorry to him.
Burlington, Vermont, is indeed not the kind of metropolitan city with thousands of skyscrapers sparkling under the night sky. But Neil enjoyed living there. There are barely any deafening horn sounds and pollution, and there's rarely any riots. Just a peaceful life surrounded by a beautiful maple forest.
The majority of people in this town tend to spend most of their time in their own house. Unless for some university students who fill the sidewalks and outdoor parks more than locals did. Living here is great. Although it means he needs to walk through an empty, dark alley all alone almost everyday just to get into his apartment.
Tap...
He immediately turned to look behind him when he heard faint footsteps from behind. His eyes scanned over the long, dark pathway. The flickering street lights makes it even harder to see what's behind the darkness. He squinted his eyes, but he found nothing.
"Consecutive exams and piles of assignments can affect your mental health and state of mind." Charlie's words rang in his head, which became some kind of calming sentence for him. Although deep inside, he cannot shake the feeling of being watched.
"Hi."
Just a few seconds after he convinced himself that it was all just a paranoia. A voice called out from behind, along with a hand grabbing his shoulder. It wasn't rough, but enough to make his heart jump into his throat. Neil shouted in surprise, almost tripping in panic. At least until he saw the man's familiar face.
"Y-you? What the hell are you doing here!?" He yelled. His heart was pounding fast as he gasped for air. For some reason he felt a wave of relief, though he did feel a little embarrassed about the way he reacted earlier.
It was the same guy he bumped into just a few moments ago. Still a stranger, indeed. But at least it wasn't some kind of creepy serial killer with a machete or an axe in his hand, ready to murder him anytime.
It was dark there. But Neil can hear a faint chuckle. He knew that guy's laughing at him. "You drop something." The young man said, handing over a key with a wooden tag which has Neil's apartment number engraved on it. Apparently Neil accidentally dropped it the moment they bumped into each other.
Neil looked at the key in surprise, realizing how clumsy he was. "Oh my god, thank you." He replied. "Wait, are you okay?" Neil added as he realized that the young man had become so much more pale than before.
"I'm fine. What's your name, if I may know?" He replied politely with. A bright smile appeared on his face. "Neil. And you?" Neil asked back.
"I'm Todd."
Todd moves ahead in front of Neil as if he is taking the lead. "You lived around here?" Todd asked curiously. Neil nodded, while Todd just looked here and there. They walked together past the Victorian-styled building that can barely be seen due to the lack of light.
Five minutes passed. Todd stopped right in front of a white old-styled building. "You lived here, right?" He asked.
Neil immediately cast him a strange look. It was right, he lived here. But how does this strange kid know about it?
"It was written on your key tag." Todd responded quickly before Neil even opened his mouth. He glances at his key tag. Apparently there's another text at the corner of the tag, so small he didn't even notice it.
Again. He felt embarrassed. "Uh ... yeah. I'm sorry, and thank you." He said awkwardly. "And don't worry, I am not trying to break into your apartment." He added, still with a bright, genuine smile.
Neil couldn't feel any lies beneath those words he said. But it doesn't make him feel better. He looked at Todd from head to toe. He is slightly shorter than Neil, with a pair of dark blue eyes, light brown hair, and facial features that are just .... gorgeous, to be honest.
If only he didn't act weird like this.
"Seriously, who are you?" Neil asked just before he entered the building. "I'm Todd. Todd Anderson."
That wasn't the answer Neil was looking for. But he is too tired to deal with that kid, so he just brushed it off and nodded. "Okay." Neil enters the building, while Todd just stares at his back that slowly disappears behind the door.
Neil got into his room with a weird feeling inside him. Really weird. He immediately got into his bedroom, dropped all his belongings wherever it could and threw himself on the soft bed. He grabs his phone and sends a text to Charlie.
"Hey, I met a weird guy."
It didn't take long for Charlie to reply. "You mean some kind of perverted creepy guy or even worse?" He wrote. It didn't sound serious, but the next second, a phone call came in from Charlie.
"Where are you?" Charlie asked, there's a hint of concern in his voice.
"In my apartment."
Neil can hear a sigh of relief. "Call me if you see that weird guy again." Charlie replied. "Yeah yeah yeah." Neil murmurs. The phone call ends in 10 seconds, but that's their way of showing concern to each other.
Neil let out a small chuckle as he threw his cellphone onto the bed. He immediately went into the bathroom while thinking about what movie he should watch to spend the night.
His apartment key-a silent witness to his encounters with Todd-lay abandoned on Neil's desk. A small wooden tag attached to it, carved with the number 1512 and a few small decorations.
There were no apartment names or addresses there. Not at all.
To be Continued...
Actually, I have posted this on ao3 with the username "TwerkingTaco" (you can check it out I you want!!!)