They Might Be Giants- Apartment Four
Prussia/Canada
"Hey Matt! What's up bro?" Alfred exclaimed boisterously as he answered the phone.
"Hi Al, I ummm. I need your help with something." Matthew nearly whispered into the phone.
"What do you need dude!?" Alfred replayed, so loudly that Matthew had to hold the phone away from his ear.
"Ummm well... See the thing is that there's this person who lives above me and well... They're super loud all the time. I think they're playing the drums. It's been hours and it's getting kinda late. Sooo I was wondering you would come talk to them for me?" Matthew ended his sentence at a almost non-existent volume.
Alfred however still managed to hear his request. After years of having his brother repeat his every sentence Alfred could hear Matthew pretty well.
"What? Matt, why would I do that? Go deal with it yourself." And with that he hung up on his brother. Ordinarily he would have jumped at the idea of swooping in and being the hero, but tonight he was focused on a video game and would not have been pulled away from it for anything.
Matthew sighed as his phone exited their call. He really didn't want to do this. But it was late and it really had been hours since the sound had started. It was giving him a headache.
With a horrible, nervous feeling in his throat, he left his own apartment and ascended the stairs, following the loud banging sounds. They eventually lead him to apartment four. Matthew's hand shook as he raised it and tapped the door. After a moment, he knocked again a little harder but still hardly enough to even be considered knocking. Then harder. Then harder. Just as he was about to give up the door opened with a loud "swish" and standing before Matthew was an albino man. Despite the lack of melanin the man was extremely handsome. His silver-white hair was short and messy, and his red eyes glinted in a mischievous way. He was thin, but he had extremely well defined arms, probably from all the drumming. Which Matthew confirmed the noice must have been because the man before him was still holding the drum sticks in between his fingers while he leaned his hand against the frame of the door.
"Hey man, what can the awesome me do for ya?" The man said, his words slanted with a German accent.
"Hi. I'm Matthew I live one floor down and uh." At that he was cut off by the other man.
"Oh yeah, you live in flat number two, ja? I remember seeing you when you moved in."
Matthew was struck by this. People didn't remember him. People never remembered him.
"Y- You- You remember me ?" Matthew questioned, dumbfounded, with his head tilting to the side.
"Totally, I was walking up the stairs and you were carrying a box in and I remember thinking you looked cool. And also super hot." The red eyed man said flashing a grin before adding. "I'm Gilbert by the way."
"Oh uh well okey ummmm." Matthew stumbled over his words, feeling heat rising into his cheeks. Remembered and called "hot" this conversation was very different from what he had thought it would be.
"So what was it you came up here for?" Gilbert asked, now leaning his shoulder against the door frame and crossing his arms over his chest.
"What?" Matthew said, having totally lost track of his train of thought after the remark about "hotness".
"Oh right uh well I was kinda wondering when you were gonna be done playing the drums, because its kinda well... Loud?" Matthew said finishing in a near whisper.
"Oh. Sorry about that. I'll stop for the night." Gilbert assured. Then after a pause. "How was I?" He asked
"Sorry what?" Matthew asked tilting his head again.
"The drums. How did I sound?" Gilbert pressed again, looking genuinely a little nervous about the answer he would get.
"Oh! Uhhh well you sounded good guess?" Matthew replayed almost as if it was a question, rubbing the back of his neck.
Gilbert beamed at that and laughed a weird, cackling laugh that for some reason both made Matthew very happy and very unnerved.
"I knew it! Let's see that stupid Brit criticize me now!" Gilbert said pumping his fist down, while starring off at the invisible offender.
After a moment Matthew broke in
"Umm well, I'm going to go now. Thank for uhh. Yeah, goodnight." Matthew said as he made his way to turn around.
"Night Mattie. Oh and if you ever get bored come and knock on my door. It's the one with the four." With a wink, Gilbert closed the door with another overly dramatic "swish".
Matthew tensed for a moment at the use of the nick name, but then he smiled to himself as he walked down the steps. He would certainly be returning to apartment four.
