Rain was pouring outside, there was nothing good on TV and Eduardo was absolutely bored. Oh he was sure there was something he was supposed to be doing at the moment but he really couldn't bring himself to think about it. Instead he let himself sink into his own head as the TV droned on.

His thoughts swirled in his head, briefly touching upon a few subjects before dropping them entirely, flitting from thought to thought. His neighbours? God no. Himself? Yeah, not happening. The rain? It was wet, there was a lot, not much to think about. His housemates? Well...

Mark had gotten thoughtful as of late. And thinking about it so had Jon. Except Eduardo knew Mark was thinking about the absolute bizarreness of the house next door, especially the gingers, but he wasn't quite sure what Jon had to be so contemplative about. Jon... didn't really question things that most people would. He believed in mermaids, took what people told him at face value... honestly the only thing Eduardo had ever heard him deny the existence of was ghosts. Something about curses and the dead staying dead...

So really, Jon being so thoughtful about their neighbours (because what else could it be, really?) was kind of a surprise to him. He'd have thought Jon would accept it and let it go the moment the new guys were introduced as stranded time-travelers. But he seemed to have been pondering something for a few days now and he wondered if that freak Edward had said something weird.

He'd definitely said many weird things to Eduardo, most of which he refused to acknowledge for the sake of his sanity and dignity. Really, that man had issues. And a really strange fixation on Eduardo he had yet to find an explanation for. It was certainly not shameless, passive-aggressive flirting. Nope. No sir. That was not in fact what was happening. This was Edd, for fuck's sake, older or not.

Ah, but he should probably stop thinking about him, lest he somehow manage to summon the man to his doorstep. His eyes managed to focus on the TV for a few seconds before immediately unfocusing out of sheer disinterest. Man, they should probably invest in a new satellite dish at some point, though none of them could really afford it at the moment. Edd's probably had something like a thousand channels, with the amount of TV those three bums watched. Maybe they should renovate the house to make it look better. Then again, money.

...how much would a sheet of cardboard the size of a building cost, he wondered.

Before he could start calculating area with the average cost of cardboard boxes, however, the doorbell rang. He stared at the door. Mark and Jon were still inside, he knew that, so who in their right mind would be outside in this rain?

He reluctantly got up and walked to the door to open it. The sight that greeted him on the other side was none other than Edward.

….goddammit, he really could be summoned with thoughts!

"No." was Eduardo's reply to whatever the hell he was going to say as he closed the door in his face.

Or tried to, at least, if it weren't for the foot that had lodged itself between the door and the frame before he could close it fully in an infuriating imitation of his own move next door over a week ago.

"I need a place to stay the night." said Edward, and Eduardo gritted his teeth as he gave up an closing the door and glared straight into Edward's unflinching gaze.

"Hell no. You don't get to just-"

"Please."

Eduardo stopped short and took a moment to actually look at Edward. He was soaked from head to toe, which wasn't a surprise. But beyond that he looked... drained, absolutely bone-weary in a way that couldn't even begin to compare to his usual tired demeanor. His strained voice and empty eyes, swimming with a sort of hollowness he could barely comprehend, belied a sense of vulnerability that made Eduardo feel uncomfortable to just witness. And there was an air about Edward that strongly reminded him of last week's Incident, a tight, trembling embrace laced with grief and sorrow and desperation, but devoid of that small spark of hope.

He was the very picture of defeat and for the life of him Eduardo couldn't find it in himself to turn him away now. He grimaced in frustration and a strange tangle of emotions, but stepped aside to open the door a bit wider. It was as much of an invitation as he was willing to give.

To his surprise, instead of immediately trampling inside soaking wet and with muddy shoes, Edward took the time to take off his shoes and dripping leather jacket before he made it further than the doorway and holding them in his arms. As if he knew just how much Eduardo detested having to clean up after visitors and their filthy street shoes.

"Where should I put these?" Edward asked plainly, as if it was something people often asked when entering this house.

Well, then. How... weirdly pleasing.

Eduardo silently pointed at the coat rack and shoe rack beside the door. He closed the door when Edward moved to them, feeling strangely conflicted, though he couldn't really tell about what.

"Stay here. I'll get you a towel so you can stop dripping on the floor." he felt himself say somewhat absently, going to retrieve said towel before handing it to Edward, who took it with a nod and started drying off all excess liquid on him and the floor beneath him.

Eduardo watched his almost robotic movements out of the corner of his eye with a small, considering frown. Once Edward deemed himself dry enough not to make a mess out of the rest of the house, he looked up to say something, but the words seemed to escape him from one moment to the next, leaving him looking frozen and a bit lost.

Eduardo decided to just walk down the hall, knowing from the nearly silent footsteps behind him that Edward was following dutifully. He halted in front of a door he hadn't stopped to look at in a while and gazed at Edward's oddly silent form, a bit uneasy for reasons he didn't care to examine.

"Guest room. Has been sitting empty since or fourth housemate left so it might be a bit dusty. There's still a few old shirts and lounge pants in the wardrobe. Bathroom is down the hall to the left. Don't blow anything up." and with that he turned to leave this whole ordeal behind him until he absolutely had to be confronted with it again. Except there was a hand gripping the sleeve of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. He looked back and glowered, "What."

Edward was looking to the side, seemingly searching for words, before he looked up into his face with just the barest hint of light in those dead, hollow eyes. "Thank you." he said, voice strangled and hoarse, and something inside Eduardo softened just the slightest bit at the sight, at the words, at something about the strange, infuriating, confusing man before him.

He looked at the door of the room so he wouldn't have to look at Edward anymore, who elicited strange, strange things from deep inside him.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't get sick. Take a shower or something."

The hand released his sleeve and he was free to walk away and temporarily forget the whole exchange had ever happened.

So why did it feel like a tiny part of him was still standing at that door?

AN:

heeeeeeey guys, have a lil glimpse into the neighbouring house, hmm? tord can deal with his issues next chapter, this was a stress venting chap (also i hc that jon's family is cursed to linger after death but he had a bad experience with some ancestor and has lived in denial ever since)

soooooo hey, ive added two new illustrations to chapters 20 and 23 respectively. sorry i keep inserting them after the fact instead of with my chapter updates but i dont really plan either so its hard to sync them beforehand.

also fair warning, i wont be updating for a few days, ive got an oral literature exam coming up and need to study. maybe after monday ill come back, hmm?

anyway, comments give me life and distract me from my constant anxiety so they're very welcome!
and come talk to me .com