We moved to the Addison's Apartment when I had just turned thirteen years old.

My mom wanted a new start. It was rough when Dad left after all and a fresh life at a new State seemed like a good idea at the time. The apartment would be smaller than our house but it would be more affordable. I wouldn't have to see Mom struggle to pay bills. And selling the house to get a smaller one with lesser upkeep is much smarter.

I remember shrinking away from the view of the building when I first saw it but Mom promised that looks can be deceiving.

"It'll be better once we're inside," she said.

I was skeptical, but later that day, I found that she was right. The people I initially met were nice. They were… weird, but they're nice. Of course, there was a few that weren't fond of me but that couldn't be helped.

To be honest, I was just happy to talk and meet new people.

Then, after two years, I was now fifteen and had just finished my first semester in high school.

And for the first time in all those years, Addison's Apartment has new tenants.

I was on the verge of falling asleep on the couch, a show about two cups earning a debt with the devil vaguely playing in the t.v. I was barely listening, and my eyes were already closed when a loud rumble of an engine startled me awake.

"Wha-" I looked around blearily, wiping off the drool on the corner of my mouth and propping myself up on my elbows. Mom peeked at the window of our apartment, wiping her hands dry as the noise continued and came even closer.

"Oh, sweetie. I think we have a new neighbor." She called out and all of a sudden, all sleepiness from my body evaporated. In an instant, my face was pressed up against the window glass. And yes, I looked weird to whoever was outside.

But this was what I have been waiting for in a long while. The people here in the apartments are cool and all but I wanted to see a new face. This was my chance for my wish to come true.

My eyes sparkled as I tried to get a glimpse of whoever it was that was to be our new neighbors. "Really!?" I didn't get to see much, though. My breath fogged up the window too fast.

Mom rolled her eyes at me and ushered me away from the window. When she spoke, it was laced with sarcasm. Good ol' Mom. "It's exciting, I know. But we'll meet them later. Take a shower first then clean up your blanket from the couch and bring it to your room."

Grinning, I was off to skip towards my room to prepare (also grabbed the blanket, mustn't forget that).

After I closed my door, my mom watched the people outside with a hand in her waist. She was a little interested in these new neighbors of theirs. It was announced last Saturday at the mandatory meeting that some people would be moving in two doors down from theirs.

They moved in at the wrong time. She looked at the wall that separated our apartment from the one on the other side. There was a rosary hanging from a nail, the sole decoration in the otherwise big empty space.

Poor Mrs. Sanderson.

I set down the brush and pulled the top part of my hair into a ponytail. Then after pulling on my hooded jacket, I was set to go.

Standing up and petting my Mr. Clover on the way, I poked my head out of my room. "Mom! I'm ready!"

There were clanging in the kitchen and I can see the top of her hair from behind the island. "H-Hold on. There's a problem with the lasagna. I think it's undercooked still." She stood up and took off her kitchen mitts. "You should go first. I'll make my way there later."

Aw… I was hoping to get invited to eat that lasagna.

"Okay." A little bummed, I made my way to the door. "I'll be heading out then." Before I could open it fully though, she stopped.

"Hey, sweetie?"

I paused and looked back at her; her worried expression reflecting back at me. "…yeah?"

"Steer clear of Mrs. Sanderson's apartment." She was serious. And from the frown in her face, this was something I wouldn't want to disobey. Not that I needed the warning. I knew to steer clear of that room. I wouldn't want to go back in there after what happened to her.

It was… too much to bear.

"I know." I smiled slightly. "I'll be safe."

She mirrored my smile. "Love you, sweetie."

"Right back at you."

And then, I was out the door and in the hallway.

The new neighbors were somewhere in the building but I had no idea where. So I might have to adventure a little bit to find out.

Speaking of which, there was a new, meaner looking cop standing guard by 403; Mrs. Sanderson's apartment. He side-eyed me as I walked past. But other than that, he didn't nod back at me.

Ignoring the man for now, I headed towards the elevator.

First up: finding the new tenants.

Pressing the down button on the elevator, I waited as it stayed for a bit on the first floor before gradually going upwards to where I was. And since I didn't know where to start, I figured the basement would be a good place to search (if there was even the off chance that they had a keycard already).

I might even get Larry to come help me search but that depends really if he was up to it. We… haven't really spoken much for months now. He had slowly grown reclusive over the years and I was nervous about whether he'd be willing to stay friends with me since it had been so long. But it was worth the try, right?

So when the elevator came around, I entered and inserted my key card into the slot.

I made it down and for the moment, I was stuck Infront of the vending machine. I thought it'll be a good idea to bring with me some snacks. Like an offering of sorts to get Larry to help me but I didn't know which one to buy.

I have money on me and I could buy a bit of everything but from what I remember, he didn't like some of these. Especially the really sweet ones.

Eh, I guess I could just eat them instead.

With that thought, I proceeded to insert some bills and push buttons. It wasn't long before my feet were pooling with plastic-covered junk food and I faced with another dilemma.

How the heck am I supposed to carry all of these?

I crouched down and tried to fit as much as I could on my arms. But there was still an armful left around my feet. I contemplated dumping the ones I'm carrying to Larry's room or just be lazy and still try and make it a one-way trip to his room.

I glanced at the door beside me, B01 was etched on a metal plate [above or in] the door.

Just I was about to walk towards it, giving up on trying to carry all the peace-offerings, the elevator on my other side sounded with a clear 'Ding!'

I paused and turned, sure that it was Lisa (or maybe Chug) and said "Lisa, can I get some help with this? I'm gonna try and make Larry help me with-"

I cut off my own words when I saw a stranger standing in place of who I thought was the older woman. Instead, there was a girl with blue pigtails and an eerie off-white mask set in a neutral expression.

"Oh… um…"

She didn't say anything, instead just stared at me like I was studying her. She's wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and red jeans that are ripped at the knees. She's also wearing blue sneakers and two black earrings on either ears. Then looking closer at the holes where here eyes are, I can see blues looking back at me.

"It's rude to stare." She said, her voice sounding a little deeper than I had imagined.

Face flushing, I scratched my cheek and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that you look a little weird that I couldn't help it. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine." She shook her head and I smiled at her.

I offered my hand at her, sacrificing a quite a few snacks that fell off from my hold. "I'm Eleanor Wright. I live in 404 with my mom. You can call me Ellie!"

She tentatively took my hand in hers and shook them.

"I'm Sally. Sally Face. Nice to meet you Ellie."

I grinned. "And same to you!" Pausing, I tilted my head at her. Wait… is she one of the new neighbors? "Say, you don't happen to be the new ones here?"

She blinked. "Oh, yeah. I am. I live with my dad at 402."

"We're floor neighbors!" If my hands weren't full, I absolutely would've clapped. Looks like I didn't have to look after all. My money's gone to waste but I could still bring it with me and visit Larry, even if I don't have a reason anymore other than that I wanted to hang out for the first time in awhile.

With that, I bent down to grab what I previously dropped. "Sally, can you help me carry some of these? I'll introduce you to Larry if you do."

"Sure, why not?" She crouched down beside me and grabbed the cookies and potato chips. Her hands ended up fuller than mine was. She stared at it for a bit while I remembered pockets exists and my hoodies had them. "These are a lot of snacks."

"I'm bringing them to Larry. We haven't spoken for bit and I wanted to bring gifts when I come." I answered, stuffing my pockets with some of the smaller packs of candies. "Do you have pockets Sally? Want me to put some of yours on them?"

Now that I was standing beside her, Sally is actually a little taller than I am, huh?

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head. "You know Larry?"

I smiled, nodding my head. "He's my first friend when we first moved here. He also goes to the same school as I do so we're pretty close. But… like I've said, I haven't seen him in a while." My smile being tainted by gloom on the edges, I looked down.

It definitely was a long while though. Now that I was here and intend on speaking to him again, somehow, I feel a little nervous. Sally must've came down here to speak to Larry too so with her around, maybe I could make my nerves settle for a little bit.

"…I see." She muttered before changing the subject, "How long have you been living here?"

I looked up, counting the number of birthdays I've had on my fingers ever since we moved. "Uhh… probably about two years. Give or take a few months that is."

"And you're going to which school?"

I gave him the peace sign. "Nockfell High."

"Sweet. Same with me!"

I laughed at her eager tone. "Let's be friends, yeah?"

"Sure!"

If she wasn't wearing her mask, I definitely would've seen her smiling widely. But looking closely, I could see her eyes crinkling in the corners so that was enough indication in of itself.

"Also," She held up a pack of chips in one hand and showed it to me. "Can I have this?"

"Pfft- only if you don't tell Larry I gave you one of his gifts."

A comfortable silence washed over us after that. Though it must've just been me because Sally seemed to turn a little serious. She looked like she wanted to say something.

"Sally?"

She looked back at me after setting her sights on the floor and she asked, "What's up with 403?"

My breath got caught in my throat. "Oh… Mrs. Sanderson." My smile turned into a frown and I hugged the snacks closer to myself, making an audible crinkling sound in the process. "It was horrible. She was killed."

"Killed?" Sally's tone was tinged with surprised and a little bit of disgust. "What happened? Where were you?"

"I was out with my mom. When we came back last night, there was an uproar in the apartments, and it was found that she was killed. By who, we didn't know."

I still remember mom crying about our neighbor. She was a good person. A little quirky on the side but she was really nice. She used to go over and just chat with me and mom and that made the two close together. Bring in Lisa and you have three best friends just having fun.

Mom wanted leave the apartment when she found out but we didn't have enough money to last us in an inn before we could find a new place so… we decided to just stay. She figured that Lisa needed her like she did to the woman and the two of them are all of that's left of the three.

And she was also thinking about me. I was spooked with what happened but I didn't want to leave. Not when I had just started seeing the place as my home.

"Mom wanted to leave this place but a lot of things are holding as back, like me and Larry's mom so we decided to stay." I continued, coming back from my thoughts.

Sally made a low hum at that, to show that she was still listening. "It's okay, Ellie. I can feel that you were close to Mrs. Sanderson too but there's no need to keep on thinking about it. Everyone passes on, whether with their own volition or not." I stared at her as she spoke, getting the feeling that she's a lot more mature than I am. "Just… continue on living. And make it your best life so when the time comes for you too, you won't be regretting anything."

Slowly, I smiled little by little, finding comfort in her words.

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Sally."

"…You're welcome, Ellie."

A/N: New story again! First time writing for Sally Face and I'm trying to write shorter chapters for this one. My main stories are about 5k words each chapter and this one would be half of that. This is just a little light-hearted comedy story to soothe my angst filled heart and… yeah.

Hope you enjoy and tell me what you think about this one!