Stranger in My Apartment

By Alasse Fefalas

Thump.

Eve looked up from the book she was reading to the door. Was that a thump on her door or did she just imagine it? Glancing at the clock, she raised an eyebrow. It was past midnight. Who could be outside her apartment at this hour?

Sighing, she put down her book and walked over. The view through the peephole didn't give her much information except that there was something brown at the foot of her door. Intrigued, she unlatched the chain and pulled the door open. A man's arm fell into her home as he rolled, making her jump slightly.

Eve knew him. Well, knew him in passing anyway. He was her neighbour who kept late hours. She could sometimes hear him pacing in his apartment, talking to himself. Perks of thin walls, she thought drily. Sometimes, they would pass each other in the hallways as she went off to work and he would never fail to offer her a bright smile despite how tired he might have looked on that day.

And here he was, in front of her door, past midnight. His face was flushed, his hair dishevelled and his eyes had dark circles around them. At first glance, she thought he was drunk but when touched him to shake him awake, she realised he was running a fever.

"Hey," Eve said gently as she shook him. "You okay?"

His head - she just realised she didn't know his name - lolled on the floor in response. He was definitely out for the count. Deciding she couldn't leave him on the floor, she dragged him into her home, kicking the door close. She paused for a moment in her living room, contemplating whether she wanted to put him on her bed, then thought the better of it. Instead, she pulled him further in and onto her couch. Pulling off his shoes and placing them neatly beside the couch, she carefully took off his brown winter coat and red scarf, hanging them both behind her couch. His brown three piece suit looked a little uncomfortable but she didn't want to cross the line.

Eve touched his forehead lightly, the skin under her hand burning at the contact. Standing, she went into her kitchen and filled a bowl with water, grabbing a small towel along the way when she walked out. Kneeling beside him, she dipped the towel in the water bowl and wrung it before gently placing it on his forehead. He shivered at the contact and blinked his eyes open.

"Wha...?" he groaned as his eyes started to focus.

"Before you start screaming, hi," Eve said softly but firmly. "I'm your neighbour. Yes, you're in my house because you kind of collapsed outside my door."

"Your... door...?" he slurred groggily. And then it finally clicked. "Oh. Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I thought I was home and -"

He started to sit up but Eve held him down in a firm grip. "Whoa! Wait! You'd better stay lying down. You're running a fever."

He paused and blinked at her. She could see he was trying to process everything at once. "Oh. Um. Okay," he said. "Thank you."

"You can stay here for the night. At least until your fever goes down," Eve said.

"Thank you... um..." He looked at her, trying to remember her name.

Eve almost laughed. She had never given it to him either, she realised. "Eve. You can call me Eve."

"Well, thank you, Eve. I'm Flynn," he said, holding out a hand weakly, a smile on his face. "Flynn Carsen."

Eve returned the smile and shook his hand. She refreshed the damp towel on his head and felt a slight pity for him when he gave another shiver. "You should rest. Sleep is good for a fever."

"Mmm, sleep does sound really nice right now...," Flynn mumbled tiredly.

"Goodnight, Flynn."

"G'night, Eve..."

Eve watched him drift off to sleep, his face still a bright pink. She loosened the tie he was wearing and undid the top two buttons of his shirt. Grabbing another towel, Eve dampened it before placing it on his throat. The second towel should help lower his fever faster, she thought to herself. Nodding, she stood up and looked him up and down. He should be fine by morning, she hoped. Shaking her head, she walked into her room and closed the door, locking it behind her just in case.

Eve woke the next morning when her alarm rang for six am and foremost on her mind was of the man on her couch. She killed her alarm and opened her door slowly, peeking to see if he was still there.

Indeed he was. He was snoring softly on her couch, still in the same uncomfortable position she had left him hours ago. Chuckling, she walked out to check on him.

Eve took the towels off his forehead and throat. She placed her hand tentatively on his forehead, relief in her breath when she felt cool skin underneath. She saw his eyelids start to flutter and immediately retracted her hand.

"Hi," he said groggily.

"Good morning. Are you feeling better?"

Flynn sat up with a groan and smiled. "Yeah, much. Thanks for letting me stay over."

"You're lucky you landed on my doorstep. If not, you might have ended up spending the night in front of yours," she chuckled. "You looked like you needed the rest anyway."

"Ah, well, I probably did," Flynn laughed nervously. "This was actually the longest sleep I've had in about three? Four? Days? I'm not really sure."

Eve was surprised. Even she had never spent that long without sleep. Two and a half days was her max, even with the workload she might had have. "That's... unhealthy."

Flynn's eyes shone with excitement as he talked quickly. "Oh, but we were so close! The experiment we were doing was about to be finished and I was running all around making sure it was good and there literally was no time to sleep but it was all good! We finally made a breakthrough and now we can move forward to the next step!"

Eve blinked, not expecting to see him suddenly talking like a child explaining to his parent what an amazing day he had in school. "Um... okay..."

"Sorry," he apologised meekly, scratching the back of his neck. "I just get very excited about my research."

"Oh you're a researcher?"

"Yes! With the university. Under quite a number of faculties, actually. I like to think of myself more of a student of academia than anything else."

"So wait," Eve asked confusedly, "are you a student or a researcher?"

"Both? I guess?" Flynn shrugged. "I have multiple doctorates and take part in multiple research groups but at the same time I'm still taking other courses. It's... unhealthy. Sort of. But I like it. It keeps me busy."

"Well, as long as you don't end up passed out in front of my door again, then I guess it's okay." Standing up, she walked over to her kitchen. She grabbed a fruit off the counter and passed it to him. "Here. An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"This is a-"

Eve blushed and cut him off midsentence. "I know it's an orange. I don't have apples, alright? Use a little bit of your imagination."

"Yes, ma'am," Flynn chuckled. He glanced at the clock on the wall and started to stand. "I really should go. I shouldn't be keeping you from work."

"It's fine," Eve shrugged, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I'm not working today."

"Oh, how safe will our streets be without the detective to guard them?" Flynn teased.

Eve raised an eyebrow. "How is it that you didn't know my name but you know what I work as?"

Flynn's face turned red. "Um, well, this might sound a little stalkerish - but I swear it's just that I have a perfect photographic memory - but you don't wear a uniform and I overheard you talking on your phone one day about a murder three blocks down and the way you walked out of the elevator kind of cemented the fact that you were a detective."

Eve nodded. "You're right. It does sound a bit like a stalker."

"I swear I'm not a stalker though!" Flynn said quickly, standing up and shaking his hands in front of him.

Eve laughed. "Alright, Dr Carsen. I kind of believe you."

"Flynn," he said, smiling brightly at her. "Just Flynn's fine."

Eve returned the gesture. "Alright, Flynn. I believe you."

"Anyway, I should go," Flynn said as he pulled on his shoes and gathered his stuff. "And um, thank you again for letting me crash on your couch."

Eve walked to the door and opened it. She stood in the doorway and shook her head. "It was no problem."

Flynn walked out and paused. Turning around, he rubbed the back of his neck again. "Um, I was going to make breakfast and I uh... was wondering..."

"Hmmm?"

"I mean, if you're not doing anything any time soon, and well... I was wondering if you wanted to come over and have breakfast with me. Just to thank you for last night."

Eve raised an eyebrow in amusement and watched his face turn bright pink.

"I didn't mean it that way! I just meant! To thank you! For taking care of me! Oh no, I meant-" Flynn buried his face in his hands and sighed. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

Eve laughed. He looked really cute tripping over himself like that. "I don't have anything planned for the day," she said, mirth still lacing her voice.

Flynn looked up from his hands, his eyes gleaming in hope. "That's great! I should have everything ready in an hour so come by any time."

"Will do, neighbour," Eve chuckled. Closing the door, she gave him a small wave. "See you later."

Fin.

A/N: This could've gone on for another two thousand more words if I hadn't stopped there omg. And yes! I'm back! With an AU story this time wow oh wow. I haven't written this much in a long while and it feels great to finally finish something (and like it)!

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. Things've been real hectic here irl and I haven't had time (nor motivation) to do anything much. But today I had some time so ta daaaaa! It's not much but it's one of the best pieces I've written these few days. Tell me what you think though, I'd love to hear any comments! Thank you for reading!