"What the hell?" I yell looking up to see Zeke hanging halfway through my window.
"Oh hey." He looks up casually before going back to wriggling his body into my room.
"Oh hey? dude you're hanging out of my window. Why?" I ask getting up from my bed and putting my book on the bedside table.
"I'm just hanging around." He laughs cheekily.
"Funny." I say deadpanned.
"I thought you'd be asleep." He then shrugs.
"Should I be concerned?" I warily step back.
"Wait what?" He now asks confused. "I was kidding." He then adds.
"I think I should call the police." I cross my arms as he continues to wiggle his way through the window before he falls to the window seat and then the ground with a thud.
"Look. I never got the chance to apologise yesterday. For touching your hand or for that matter acting like a total brat." He says standing up and brushing imaginary dirt off himself. He looks up and smiles.
"You snuck through my window just to tell me that." I say raising a brow in question.
"No. I snuck through your window so I can get away from my family. You're just on the way so I thought I would apologise." He laughs now. I look over to his house, into his room and notice he has a chair stuck up against his door. I can just see the chair moving as if someone is trying to open the door.
"Oh cool. Make sure you close the door on your way out." I reply picking my book back up and and sitting down on my bed.
"Zeke I know it was you who stole my curling iron! give it back!" one of his sisters shouts. I raise my eyes up to Zeke, he smiles cheekily and shrugs "I thought she wouldn't be awake so early and that I'd have time to escape though my own house".
He goes to move towards my door but stills for a second before asking "Do you wanna come?" He gestures to the door.
"Outside?" I look over confused.
"Yeah? Why not?" He says smiling.
"Uh I don't know. People and touching." I answer like he just asked the dumbest thing in the world.
"Come on. It'll be fun. I'm only going to a quiet place anyway." He says outstretching his hand after realising his mistake brings it back to his side.
"Seriously?" I groan.
"It'll be fun. I'll show you around town too?" He coaxes.
"Fine. Whatever." I give up. putting my book back down I get up and grab a sweater and my phone.
"Where's your Mum?" He asks looking around once we reach the hallway.
"Probably cleaning the kitchen again." I hum as we walk down the stairs which him following close behind.
"Again? Didn't you just move in yesterday?" He laughs.
"Yep. Hey Mum, Zeke is going to show me around town." I say walking into the kitchen only to see mum scrubbing hard at a pan.
"Outside?" She says looking up. She puts the pan back in its draw and then proceeds to open and close the draw ten times. It was one of the quirks. Almost everything had to be done ten times with her. The only real downside for me was that it was kinda annoying when we had to be somewhere but she still had the open and close the front door and then the car door. I suppose though it does help me sleep at night knowing mum checked all the locks ten times.
"Affirmative." I answer once she's finished. I didn't like to disturb her knowing she might loose count and have to start again.
"Oh okay. Have fun. Be careful. Love you." Smiling she goes back to the other pans waiting for her.
"Love you too." I smile.
"The sky is pretty this morning." I say once we're outside. It was a hue of purples and pinks with the sun slightly seeping though.
"Your favourite colour?" Zeke asks looking down at me
"At the moment." I snort remembering what I said last night. Something that sounded so silly but made so much sense to me.
"You're fiddling." Zeke mentions.
"I'm nervous." I say looking down as we walked. I kept twisting the ring on my thumb. Over and over. Over and over.
"It'll be fine. I won't let anyone get near you." He reassures me.
"This is stupid. I should go home." I say turning back around ready to head home.
"Wait no!" Zeke says with an outstretched hand. He pulls back in and steps away as he noticed my shallow breathing.
"I could have an anxiety attack or something, what if people start staring or..." I mumble.
"Or something?" He taunts.
Squinting my eyes I kick my leg out at him. "Get away from me. Where are we going? I'm already exhausted?"
"Not far." Zeke answers causing me to raise a brow in question. "I promise." he laughs once noticing my expression.
"is this it?" I say once we reach an old abandoned building.
"Don't be so judgey, you haven't even seen the inside." He says acting offended.
"Who is that?" I ask at my first sight of the inside.
"What?" He asks confused.
"Who's the babe Zeke?" The mysterious guys says. I groan. Babe? Seriously.
"Nick?" Zeke then turns to the voice.
"Nice to meet you" Nick walks towards me with and outstretched hand. I breath in and step back.
"Don't touch her." Zeke rushes in front of me pushing back Nicks outstretched hand. "She has haphephobia." He explains awkwardly, then looks back at me.
"Uh what?" Nick asks.
"Fear of touch." I clarify standing on my toes to look over Zeke's shoulder.
"Oh." Nick simply says, his eyes drawing over both Zeke and I till they go out of focus as if hes thinking hard. "What are you doing here?" Nick finally says directing the question at Zeke but smiling at me.
"What are you doing here?" Zeke counters back.
"Hanging out." Nick shrugs still smiling at me.
"It's like seven am?" Zeke says looking at his phone.
"Time doesn't exist. Now what are you doing here?" Nick laughs.
"Showing me around." I add in to the conversation.
"The girl with Haphephobia." Nick says as if he's just noticed me again.
"Eloise." I introduce myself.
"Eloise." he says raising his eyebrows with a coy smile directed at Zeke.
"No." Zeke says.
"I'm his new neighbour. I'd shake your hand but I'd probably freak out." I smile.
"She's the reason I couldn't come over last night." Zeke tells Nick.
"Pretty good reason if you ask me." Nick winks.
"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere." I say as my brows not together.
"Worth a shot." He shrugs.
"So is this your little hideout." I ask Zeke as I look around. From the inside the building looked bigger and more well kept.
"It's not a hideout." Zeke says becoming defensive.
"We do come here to hide from the world." Nick admits.
"Shut up." Zeke snaps back.
"Whose the chick. I thought the deal was no girls." A boy appears from the side that Nick just came from. He's shorter than Nick but definitely related to him, most likely a younger brother.
"You brought the dork?" Zeke asks ignoring the boy.
"I had no choice, he followed me." Nick shrugs like it no big deal.
"Fly is aloud here and she's a girl." Zeke now answers the boy.
"Hardly." The boy snorts.
"I'll tell her you said that." Nick says.
"Please don't." He says once his eyes go wide with horror, I'd guess he was scared of this Fly girl.
"So why did you bring the girl here." Nick then pips up looking at me curiously.
"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here." I pipe up only to still be ignored.
"Don't touch her." Zeke snaps at the younger looking boy who puts his arms up in surrender. I hadn't noticed he had gotten closer. It was almost as if the two boys had never seen a girl in there life, I felt like they were inspecting me.
"I think I should leave." I say walking past Zeke and the two other boys.