Moving day
She kept a small polite smile on her face as the introductions were given out, her fingers drumming nervously against her thighs as she remained in a stiff stand, her eyes shifting from the first tenant, to the landlord, and back.
It was the first time they'd actually met and she didn't know how to feel, she wanted to like her flat mate and be liked back, but they didn't know each other in the slightest nor did they have the chance to meet before hand, so jumping straight into the tenancy with out first knowing who she'd be living with was a bit risky now that she actually thought about it.
"Right, I'll show you your room," The landlord then motioned towards the hall way in direction before turning back to her with a look of amusement, "Again!" They chirped with a laugh, gaining a small forced sound of amusement from the new tenant as she followed, turning gave to give a small wave to her new flat mate.
"It's nice to meet you," She smiled, receiving a polite nod and 'You too,' in response.
She stood in what would now be her room, hearing her landlord speak but not fully listening to what was being said, she'd listened to the fire evacuation plan but after that she started to zone, it was the standard take the stairs not the lift speech, but being on one of the top floors of the flat meant a lot of stairs to run down so she hoped there wouldn't be a fire- laziness overriding safety.
"I like to manage my own properties, so if you have any problems don't be afraid to get in contact," The landlord smiled, holding out the keys for her to take.
"Thank you," She beamed, feeling a little more excited now she held her keys, following the landlord to the door to see them out politely.
After the door clicked closed she gave a small refreshing breath as she looked down at the keys in her hand before whipping out her phone to take a picture, her hand looking relaxed holding the keys and her nail polish was shown off nicely- but of course she took a few snaps to get the right lighting before tucking her keys away.
Her smile remained as she slowly wandered away from the door, swiping through the few photos she had before choosing one to upload and managing to pick a filter, write a caption and add some hash-tags by the time she got back into the main room, only then to look up and find her new flat mate watching her.
Never in her life had she seen a more unimpressed look on someone's face than she did in that moment that their eyes locked, she even felt her heart freeze with the dread at being caught doing that and if that look was anything to go by over a simple house keys pic, then she had a feeling she was not going to be getting on his good side any time soon.
"So, um," She started, her eyes flitting away from him and back a few times as her confidence suddenly abandoned her, "My things won't be here for another hour or so," she flapped a hand about in motion to nothing in particular, "So I'm just going to pop out to get some bits while I wait, do you want or need anything?" She offered, hoping to swipe over her little instagram moment by being considerate in an attempt to both get out his way and maybe claw her self back some points she'd obviously lost.
"No thanks," He declined easily, pushing himself up from his casual lean against the back of the sofa, unfolding his arms and heading towards his room, adding as he went. "And try to keep the noise down."
His voice remained level and his face barely changed so it was hard to tell if he was annoyed with her or not, but either way she was too afraid to risk it, sure the guy was short but he was damn well intimidating too.
"Will do!" She replied in a quiet shout, trying to be loud enough that he'd hear her but not make it sound like she was yelling after him before she tip toed out the flat and guided the door to the slowest, quietest close she could manage.
She spent some time getting a bit more familiar with the area, finding what local shops were near by and where was closest for food and a drink if she was feeling lazy and wanted to simply get out without having to head right into the city centre- not that it was far.
With a huff she shifted her carrier bags over into one hand so she could jingle her keys in the other, using the small black fob to gain access to the block of flats before then tottering over to the lift and digging her phone out while she waited.
It'd been one stressful adventure of having to condense down all her stuff into one suitcase and five boxes while she found a new place to live and the flat share came up at such a great price for her especially with the location she jumped at it, taking the room after only one viewing and knowing nothing about her new flat mate.
"Hello?" She chirped after swiping to answer her phone, waiting as she listened to what was being said before a look of surprise came to her face, "Oh, you're outside!?" She repeated, turning away from the lift, "That's great actually, I'm right by the doors!" She smiled as she abandoned her wait for the lift and headed back to the door, eager to be receiving her stuff as she opened the door and looked about before waving once she spotted the small van.
She waited patiently propping the door open while the van driver manoeuvred closer before hopping out with a wave, sharing some simple small talk as he off loaded her things and got her to sign for them.
"That's great, thank you," She smiled after he set her last box down and she handed his clip board back to him.
"Do you need any help taking them up?" He then offered helpfully.
"Oh, no," She waved away with a smile, "You don't have to do that, I can manage," She assured, not wanting to burden the man, "But thank you," she added to show she appreciated his offer and with a cheery goodbye he went on his way and she was left there wondering why on earth she'd declined his help. "You, fucking, idiot," She spoke slowly to herself as she looked at her stuff, lost for a moment as she simply stared at it in wonder.
Well, it wasn't going to move it's self so with a sigh she awkwardly wheeled her suitcase over to hold the door open before she then set her shopping bags down to be able to get her boxes in- the plan was to work in stages- get everything in the lobby, then get everything in the lift, then into the hall way, then into the flat, before finally her room.
It was fine.
It was not fine.
She was sweating as she shuffled another box out into the hall way, having to quickly rush back to the lift doors before they shut so she could retrieve another box, using her leg to stop the door when it tried to shut on her again once she was in the lift.
She had tried to block the lift door when she was loading the lift down stairs, but the moment it stayed open too long the tiny lift alarm started blaring and she booted her suitcase so hard to get it out the way just to shut the lift up she actually hurt her foot, and of course she wasn't going to risk blocking the door now she was on her floor where others could possibly hear so that left her in a frenzied rush back and forth.
"I got this," She encouraged herself, heaving up her third box and shuffling out the lift backwards only for her heels to hit her suitcase and send her toppling off balance with an odd mewl of a scream, the sound wanting to come out naturally but she tried her best to keep it in so not to disturb others, however there was nothing she could so about the crash and bang she made as she fell against the wall before sliding down to the floor. "I don't got this," she murmured with pain before gasping as the doors started to slide shut, impressively forcing her body to slouch across the floor as she stretched her leg out and stuck it in the way of the lift doors and with a groan she accepted this tiny moment of defeat.
That was how he found her- sprawled on her back with a large box on top of her while the lift doors opened and closed as they chomped at her ankle.
"What-" He had to pause, needing a moment more to take in what he was seeing, "-are you doing?" He then finished, his face chiselled in an impressive stoic look before a single brow twitched up to break it as he watched the woman struggle to see around the box pinning her to the floor.
"Moving?" She offered, both her expression and tone of voice seeming more hopeful than her current situation.
He stared at her a moment longer and she simply looked back from her odd slouch on the floor, her warm eyes darting about as her face got redder before he finally stepped in after giving a sort 'tch' sound, lifting the box off of her and setting it next to her before then sticking an arm out to hold the lift door open so she could reclaim her leg.
"Thank you," She uttered, both thankful and embarrassed as she sat herself up before managing to stagger back to her feet with a wobble.
"You should have asked for help," He then stated only to get a look of alarm from her, her wide eyes turning to him in surprise before they dropped down as she brought her bottom lip between her teeth in thought.
"Yeah, but I don't want to bother anyone," She then smiled, lifting her shoulders in a light carefree shrug before stepping back into the lift and making quick work of turfing the last of her stuff out.
"And crashing about the hall counts as not bothering anyone?" He countered easily, folding his arms across his chest, able to release the lift now she was finished with it.
She peered at him as she though for a moment, wanting to come up with a witty response but her brain failed her so instead a sheepish look came to her face as she asked, "Was I that loud?"
"Yes." He stated in such a simple, clipped manner he might as well of slapped her for her idiocy, before unfolding his arms so he could jab a thumb towards the wall she fell against, "My room is the other side of that." He added before he picked up a box and made his way back toward the apartment, forcing her to jump to follow with a flurry of apologies, grabbing her shopping bags and lifting her suitcase back up onto it's wheels.
The move to get everything into her room was breeze with an extra pair of hands but she also worked at twice the speed so she could allow her flat mate to get back to his own devices quicker, and after heaving a deep breath she threw her last box on her bare mattress before settling her hands on her hips and turning back to the shorter male, "Well, that was a lot easier," She stated with a grin, "Thank you!" she added with a slight tilt of the head but stirred no reaction from him, "Can I make you a tea as thanks?" She then offered with a hopeful expression before a short moment of fluster came to her face, "Or a coffee?" She quickly threw in, "Hot chocolate?" she continued, her eyes drifting off to concentrate else where as she quite obviously delved into her mind in remembrance of what she'd brought from the shops, "I've got instant mocha and latte sachets, fruit tea, and green tea," She rambled on, her eyes narrowing a little as she was sure there were more options.
"Tea will be fine," He then interrupted, having had to take up a lean against her door frame she was taking so long with her growing options.
"Breakfast tea, earl grey, fruit, or green?" she then perked, seeming a little eager with his acceptance of her offer that it caused him some doubt as too whether he'd get on with her or not.
"Surprise me," He gave as an answer instead, a slim brow flicking up at her as he pushed himself up from the door frame and strode off, his sharp eyes having seen her moment of fluster.
He assumed her jitters were a mixture of her excitement and nerves of being in a new flat with a new person and guessed once she got herself settled her personality would calm down- at least that's what he hoped, he couldn't be dealing with an over zealous, bubbly character in his home life, he had enough characters to deal with at work.
"Everyone likes breakfast tea," She then decided with a shrug, turning to root through her things in search for her tea, before holding the item triumphantly and scampering towards the kitchen, nearly catching up to him and watching as he went around one side of the kitchen island to take a seat on one of the stools while she went round the other side, taking a short moment to locate the kettle and top it up with water and set it to boil. "Hey, so Levi?" She started as she spun around to face him, her expression curious and a little timid but he gave his full attention and simply waited, reclining back at an angle so he could also prop an elbow on the back of the stool. "What are rules of the flat?" She questioned.
"The rules?" He repeated, a single brow flicking up.
"Yeah, like the dos and don'ts?" She pressed further, turning back once she heard the kettle click and going to open the cupboards before pausing, "Where are the cups?" She peered back at him over her shoulder as she asked so she didn't have to open and close random cupboards in search, remaining in a perfect freeze as he lifted a slow finger to point her towards the right place which she then instantly jumped to.
"I don't have any rules," He then spoke while she pottered with making the tea, watching as she turned to flash him a grin.
"Oh, party life is it?" She teased, giving a suggestive raise of her brows which caused the tiniest flash of surprise to cross his face, he hadn't been expecting the playfulness. "Milk and sugar?" she then asked.
"Please," He then nodded with a sigh, lifting his hand to press his finger tips against his temple and choosing to ignore her little quip for now.
"Just one?" She then asked, tea spoon in one hand and sugar tin in the other and after he gave a nod she made a quick job of finishing up the tea and turning back to face him with cups in hand, "Sorry, but I just realised I didn't ask how you like your tea, but to be honest I make great tea and it would kill me if you asked for something wishy washy," She smiled as she leaned over the counter between them so she could place the cup down in front of him, before leaning on her elbows and holding her own cup close to her lips, "So, no rules?" She gave a mischievous grin as she raised a single brow, forcing him to stop the inspection of the drink she'd made him- it looked like a good tea but taste was yet to be confirmed- and he fixed her with a careful, studying look.
Was he going to like this new flat mate of his?
