Chapter Text
Inej didn’t hate her apartment, 23A. Sure, it was small and crowded and damp and a complete and utter mess, but it had a nice view of the lake. Sure, the elevator was broken most days, but her apartment was only on the second floor and she didn’t mind the walk up the stairs. Though, she couldn’t imagine living on the seventh floor, for instance. The apartment was large enough for her and her cat and her belongings. She didn’t need anything else.
Nina had tried to convince her to move plenty of times. The apartment block was located in the Western part of the city, just on the outskirts of the Barrel; the worst part of town. The Barrel was filled with criminals and crooks and any scams that could escape the laws of the Stadwatch.
Often in the night, she would be awoken by the wailing sirens of a Stadwatch car zooming past the apartment block. The noise was too loud to block out, and it was usually followed by another fleet of cars, honking and skidding on the road like there was no tomorrow.
Living near the Barrel wasn’t ideal, but since she wasn’t technically located inside the unofficial barriers of the grimy streets, Inej figured that she was safe enough. She’d never come into any trouble. Most of her neighbors were either elderly or young couples fresh out of college. The rent was cheap and there were plenty of stores nearby. It was useful.
And, truthfully, that was all she needed. She was thankful for the roof over her head. Besides, growing up while traveling so much had taught Inej that home wasn’t defined by the size or quality of it. Home was determined by how safe you felt there. How happy it made you.
Her cat, Humphrey, made her happy. Her trinkets from home made her happy. Her silly little mugs made her happy. Her fairy lights in her bedroom made her happy. Her bright pink bathroom rug made her happy. Her kitchen made her happy. Her apartment made her happy because it was her own space. Her own little spot of solace.
She didn’t need to move because she saw no need to. The rent was cheap enough, her landlord wasn’t a complete dick, and she got a few good night’s of sleep, no matter how noisy it was.
Her neighbours were quiet as well. Above was a med student, short and serious with thick-rimmed glasses and a pet snake. On one side was an elderly couple, Doris and Lorraine. They were sweet and always invited Inej to feed the ducks with them each Saturday. She sometimes took them up on the offer. They also made banana bread. On the other side, the apartment was empty. Below…
Well, below was an interesting story.
She knew absolutely nothing about who lived right below her. She’d caught one glimpse of him before, but only from the back. He was taller than her and pale with dark hair constantly slicked back. He wore dark clothing, and that was about it. Inej knew nothing about who occupied apartment 13A. He was a mystery to her, but one that didn’t take up much of her thought or time.
Except at night. At night was a different story.
He was silent during the day. Either he was as silent as a mouse, or he was out most of the time, somewhere else. Work, most likely; he looked around her age. College, maybe. But at night…
Most nights she couldn’t sleep because of the noise of him pacing around. All of the walls, roof and floor included, were thin to cut back on money, and decidedly not sound-proof. At night, she could hear his every move. Every creak of the wooden living room floorboards was entirely audible and it nearly drove her insane. Though, to be fair, she didn’t sleep great even without him stomping around.
She had written him a note, once. Simply a formality, or a warning. She had assumed that, maybe, he didn’t know what a racket he was making, and she also assumed that it wasn’t long before someone else complained about it, and most likely to the landlord. So, deciding to be a good person and decent neighbour, she slipped a small note in his post box. She even put a smiley face on it to make sure that he knew that she wasn’t mad.
He ignored it. He didn’t quieten down.
Then, thinking that maybe he hadn’t seen it, Inej asked about once when she caught him just outside the apartment block in the car park. He hadn’t turned around. He hadn’t done anything except continued to walk away from her. Like he hadn’t heard her.
But he had.
Inej wasn’t an expert in body language, but she was good at people-watching. She had spotted how his shoulders tensed when she asked if he had received her note, and how the tension leaked out of him as he walked away. That had been obvious.
After that, she had made one final assumption about him, and it felt like a fair one based on what she had seen. He was an asshole, and she had wasted her time by trying to be nice and polite or whatever. The stomping around had continued, and neither of them brought it up.
That was fine. Even if her neighbour was an asshole, that didn’t matter. Inej liked her apartment. It made her happy. She wasn’t going to move, end of story, and especially not for some neighbour who couldn’t even be bothered to treat her with decency. Even if he couldn’t keep the noise down, he could’ve at least told her. Or something like that.
It didn’t matter. Life continued on. Her friends came round to her apartment and they watched a movie or two and ate popcorn and she listened as they talked about their partners, or coffee-shop crushes in terms of Wylan.
“This place is a dump!” Nina exclaimed. She was curled up against the radiator, leaning next to Matthias’ legs, who was sat on the edge of the sofa. Wylan was beside him with the bowl of popcorn on his lap. Every now and again he’d sneak a bite. Humphrey was curled up by Inej’s feet, where she was perched on the arm of the sofa. He looked half-away asleep.
“Gee, thanks,” Inej replied dryly.
Nina waved her hands around. “Darling, I did not mean your apartment. I love your apartment. It is wonderful and lovely and gorgeous and very, very pretty. I meant this apartment block in general. It’s Barrel dump. Trash. Boring and grey-”
“And cheap,” Wylan added with a shrug.
“Thank you, Wylan! Nina, I know that this apartment isn’t the best, but it’s decent enough. I think we can agree that I could be a lot worse off in terms of housing. Besides, I’m not actually in the Barrel. Just on the edge.” She explained.
“Fair.” A grin crept onto Nina’s face. “I just think that the outside can do with a paint job. Flowers, or something a little bit more lively.”
Inej flung her head back and laughed. “Well, you can take that up with the landlord, then. It’s a great idea.”
Matthias stretched out his legs and stood up. “You know what else is a good idea? Waffles for lunch. What do you think?”
Wylan nodded in agreement as he placed the popcorn down. “Definitely a good idea. I’m just about starving to death at this point.”
“You’ve eaten half of the popcorn.”
He shot Inej a pointed look. “Starving to death. My stomach is a neverending bottomless pit and the monster wishes to be fed waffles.”
“The monster also wishes to actually have the courage to ask the coffee-shop boy out,” Matthias added nonchalantly. “Hey! Stop glaring at me, you know that it’s true. And if you ask me, I think that you should just go for it. No holding back. Have some courage, there’s no way that he can reject you.”
Inej pressed a quick kiss to Humphrey’s soft back. He was a social butterfly, aside from when he was tired. He was a needy little cat, but was alright for a couple of hours. “Stay safe, goblin.” She whispered in his ear.
As her friends continued discussing Wylan’s crush, Inej closed and locked her apartment door behind them, before slipping the key into her pocket. It was a quick walk down the stairs and their chatter bounced and echoed off the grey walls. Then, once on the first floor, Nina and Matthias rushed ahead. There was a clicking sound to her right, and Inej turned her head to that side, her steps slowing to a stop.
A tall guy, with dark skin and short hair, dressed in bright colours and awful patterns, was bent over the lock of apartment 13A, key in his hand. He definitely wasn’t her neighbour, she realized quickly. And yet, he had the key, right?
He let out a frustrated groan and threw his hands up in the air. The door stood there, still locked. The guy rubbed his temple with two fingers. He looked tired, from what she could see.
“You, uh- You need to jiggle the lock a bit. Tilt the handle upwards. That should get you in.” She offered, not quite sure what she was doing until the words were already out in the open and there was no taking them back.
The guy took her advice, and the door clicked open. He grinned and turned to face her. “Do you live here too?” She nodded. “Awesome. I guess then I’ll be seeing you soon. Again, and a lot after that. I promise I’m not breaking in. Just getting my friend’s stuff. He gave me his key. No need to worry. I’m Jesper!” He spoke quickly and animatedly, eyes shining with excitement.
She chuckled slightly. “Inej. Nice to meet you.”
Then, Jesper bent to look behind her. His grin immediately widened and he waved. Inej turned over her shoulder; Wylan was stood just a fraction behind her, his face bright red. Instantly, he hooked his arm through hers and rushed away as quickly as they could, out the door.
Once they were out, Wylan released her arm.
“What was that about?” She asked, feeling confused.
Wylan hid his head in his hands and grumbled under his breath. “Coffee-shop guy. What is doing in your apartment block? Does he live there?”
“Nope,” She shook her head. “He said that he was getting stuff for his friend.” His friend, and her neighbour.
“Ah! That was embarrassing!” He exclaimed. “He waved and I just ran away. He probably hates me now.”
She patted his shoulder and smiled fondly. “He does not hate you. Actually, probably the opposite. He looked thrilled to see you. Now, c’mon, let’s get some waffles. And make sure that Nina and Matthias don’t get lost.”
At that, Nina spun around and glared. “I know this city better than you. I do not get lost, thank you very much.”
Inej laughed. “Sure, tell that to the time you managed to do an entire day of school at the school on the other side of town without realizing it.”
Nina humpfed and crossed her arms across her chest. “Shut up now, or I will tell Matthias that it was you who got Wylan’s rats lost in his house.”
At the exact same time, Wylan and Matthias shrieked: “That was you!”
“Accidentally! I just wanted to cuddle the rats!” She tried to pout, but laughter broke past her lips and she doubled down, wheezing with laughter. Soon, Wylan and Nina joined in. Even Matthias, who looked like he was trying his best to stay upset, started chuckling along.
As they walked out of the apartment block, Inej cast one more glance over her shoulder. Apartment 13A seemed stuck in her mind, and she couldn’t get the question out of her mind. Jesper seemed nice, much nicer than her regular neighbour, but that begged the question:
Where was her neighbour?