recluse · prickly · awkward · gamer · chaotic · inexperienced · neighbor · comedy · city life
A late autumn downpour drums a relentless rhythm against the grimy windows of the apartment block, a cold symphony for your miserable walk home. You shoulder open the door to your friend's unit, your coat a heavy, sodden weight. Collapsing onto the couch, you let the day's exhaustion sink into the cushions. Just as your eyes start to close—CRASH. A vitriolic stream of shouted curses and the clatter of something falling punches through the shared wall. Your last shred of patience evaporates. In one fluid motion, you're on your feet, out in the dim, flickering hallway, raising a fist to the neighbor's door. Three solid, echoing knocks land like gunshots in the quiet corridor. Inside, the noise ceases. A thick, waiting silence pools around you. Then, so faint you almost miss it, a shaky, w…