Hi everyone! I actually haven't written anything in years but I love this show a bit too much, specially the friendship/relationship between Shaun and Lea; so I started reading fanfics and they got me going again, making me want to write and here it is!

I know the show is about Shaun but I also think there is a lot to learn about Lea and what goes in that mind of hers. I'm planning to write Lea's point of view of the episodes she's been in so far and maybe even write up stories that aren't on the show, basically to try to get a better understanding of who she is and why she is the way she is, from my perspective, at least.

Also, Spanish is actually my native tongue but I prefer writing in english and, even though I've been speaking/writing in english "fluently" for like 10 years now, I'm still learning, so bare with me.

This chapter is based on episodes 1, 2 and 3 of the first season.

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THE NEW GUY

Lea was in her apartment that day, she was cooking herself the last 2 eggs she had at home, because that was literally all that was left.

"I have to do groceries…" She mumbled to herself as she whisked the eggs, added a pinch of salt and pepper then poured the mix on the previously oiled pan that was now hot and sitting on the stove. The oil splattered around some reaching her hands, she automatically skipped back wincing. "Motherfucker! Every damn time! Ugh!" She shouted and wiped her hands with a damp kitchen towel she quickly grabbed from near the sink; because every time she cooks she swears oil attacks her and… then she heard Armen; the building manager, and some other man who's voice she couldn't recognize. She walked to her front door and looked through the peephole. On the other side of the door, there were Armen and some old man talking about the vacant apartment, the one next door.

"…Yeah, he's arriving tomorrow and I will come with him to help him settle his stuff in there." —Said the old guy in a polite way and Armen handed him the keys to the apartment. The old guy opened the door then Armen and him walked into the apartment closing the door behind them so whatever was then said, Lea couldn't hear anymore.

Smoke formed in the kitchen and moved all the way from there to where Lea was standing. Her eggs were burning because she got distracted for too long.

"Dammit!" She exclaimed as the smell went up her nostrils. She ran back to the kitchen and quickly reached to stir the eggs with a wooden spoon but they were now black and stuck to the pan. "Ugh!" She turned the stove off and turned on the range hood in a very frustrated way, then proceeded to dump the pan in the sink just mad at herself for being nosy and getting distracted.

"I'm gonna have to order in… again." She said to herself and sighed.

She phoned her favorite Thai food place and ordered what she usually orders. After hanging up, her mind wandered back to Armen and the old guy in the vacant apartment. It had been empty for about 3 months now; the last person who lived there was some weird guy in his late 30's who liked to flirt with her when they'd crash into each other in the elevator, always making her feel uncomfortable and disgusted; she knew he had a girlfriend who'd often visit him, it always made her sick to her stomach how most men are like that, no respect for their partners, always thinking with the head between their legs instead of the ove over their shoulders. She rolled her eyes just at the thought. Last thing she heard was they got engaged and that's why the guy moved out of that apartment but now, apparently someone new was coming and it intrigued her.

The next day, Lea went to work as usual and didn't think much more about the new neighbor because work usually was enough to keep her mind busy. It wasn't exactly her dream job but it wasn't that bad, it paid the bills and gave her extra money to live a comfortable and independent life, being able to spoil herself every now and then, even though she's never really been a materialistic person. Probably the most expensive things she's gotten are her laptop and her games, because she enjoys gaming every now and then in her spare time, apart from going to some concerts.

Her day went by smoothly and headed back home in the afternoon. She walked out of the elevator to her door and eyed the other apartment with the number 33 on the door. Lea stopped right outside her door, before pushing the key into the lock and stared at the other door for a moment, wondering if there was someone on the other side already but it looked and felt like it was still as empty as it had been for the past 3 months.

The rest of the day, all she did was to go grocery shopping and game some, no one else, or rather, no one new, walked down the hallway that day. No sign of the old man from yesterday or someone else apart from the neighbors from the apartment 32. She went to bed wondering who the new neighbor or neighbors were. Was it just the old man she saw? Maybe him and his wife? Him and his son? Te man mentioned a "he" that was supposed to arrive that present day but apparently he didn't make it or something. What if something happened to "him"? She thought as her eyes got heavier and heavier then, she rolled over in bed and drifted off to sleep.

The new neighbor or neighbors arrived late at night. Lea was fas asleep when it happened so she didn't get the chance to see or hear them, didn't get to be nosy and have a look through the peephole again when it happened.

The next morning, the sun shining through her window and the rays hitting her face woke her up. She groaned as she had forgotten to close the blinds last night. She didn't have to be at work so early that day so she had a couple more hours to sleep in, but the sun was too much and as much as she hated it, reluctantly got off her bed and closed the blinds. She stretched out some then heard some door closing, her eyes looked in the direction of her front door then she rushed over and had a look through the peephole. A tall slim guy walked down the hallway to the elevator.

"Well, hello…" She said quietly and grinned thinking that must be the new neighbor, or at least one of them in case there were more than one. It was a quick sight the one she got of the guy, barely saw his face but, —at least he's young and didn't look like a perv— she thought.

About a week went by and Lea didn't see much of the new guy again because he kept leaving too early in the morning while she was still sleeping and arriving too late at night when she was already fast asleep; —busy guy— she thought.

That evening she was playing a video game, she was too into the game with her headset on that she didn't hear her new neighbor arrive earlier than usual. She kept playing until the controller's batteries died. "Nooo! Not now, come on!" She exclaimed and whined then she groaned and got up from the sofa. She walked around her apartment looking for some other batteries but found none. Frustrated, she glanced around then her brow raised a bit as she got an idea; she decided to go out there and ask the neighbors if they had any spare batteries she could use, because what else could she do at this hour? She wasn't going out to the store just to get some batteries…

So she went out there and once on the hallway, light coming from the border of the door of apartment 33 caught her eye. He brow rose again —Someone's home…— she thought. —This could be an opportunity to meet the new neighbor… or neighbors?— She looked around as if making sure the coast was clear, then she walked to the other door and knocked.

She waited a bit… no response. She knocked again and a few seconds later a tall blue eyed guy opened the door with a clueless look on his face; she wasted no time and spoke.

"So, I'm in the middle of uncharted and, I'm dead…" She said holding up her controller so the guy could see it. "Can I borrow some triple A's?" The guy still looked clueless like wondering what she was talking about and probably wondering who she was too. "I'm your neighbor…" She said.

"Hello" He responded fiddling with his thumbs in like a nervous manner.

"34…?" Said Lea starting to feel somewhat awkward.

"I moved in last week. 33" He said with a smile as if he was proud.

"Yeah, I know" She smiled awkwardly and trying to be patient but he continued talking.

"I work at a hospital" He said proudly again.

—Oh?— She thought, then replied. "That's cool!"

"Yes" He said with a smile.

"Triple A's, por favor?" She asked awkwardly wondering if he actually had any…

"Batteries" He said cutting her thoughts.

"Right… You have any?" She asked raising her brows.

He looked at her briefly then wander into his apartment leaving the door open and Lea standing outside just waiting.

As she waited, she noticed the cat laying outside on the terrace, the cat that surely belongs to someone but wanters around the building playing it cute so neighbors feed it.

"Triple A batteries!" Said the guy walking back to Lea and holding the batteries in his hands then he handed them to her.

"Thank you!" She said with a big smile but then she turned serious. "Piece of advice, don't feed the cat"

"What cat?" He asked.

"Feed it once and it'll never leave you alone…" He looked at her briefly again. "Thank you for the batteries, neighbor." She smiled and turned around heading back to her own apartment.

"You're welcome!" He said before closing his door and she closed hers then chuckled softly to herself. —That was awkward— she thought then walked back to her living room and continued playing. —A game now sponsored by my new friendly neighbor… whatever his name is…— Lea thought as she played.

Next day the new guy went to work like every morning while Lea was still asleep. The rest of her day ran smoothly and ordered pizza when she got back home. She grabbed her controller and turned on the console to game again. The controller reminded her of the awkward moment last night when meeting her new neighbor but this time, as she remembered, she realized he had barely made eye contact with her. —He might have been nervous… did I make him nervous or he's generally a nervous guy? …Cute nervous guy…— She began wondering but in the end, her wondering mind got quiet as she focused on the pizza and the game.

A couple hours later, her new neighbor walked down the hallway from the elevator in the direction of his apartment, passing by Lea's door. He made it to his door and was about to push the key in the lock but hesitated, put his backpack down on the floor and walked to Lea's door.

A knock on the door startled Lea as she was putting the pizza box with leftovers in the fridge. She closed the fridge, walked to the front door and opened it right away. She saw her friendly neighbor standing there and she smiled thinking nothing of his random visit.

"Hi!" She greeted him and quickly realized he was wearing scrubs. He had mentioned last night that he works at a hospital.

"Hello" He said with a brief wave.

"Are you a lab guy or something?" Lea asked curiously, pointing at his outfit, before he could say anything.

"I'm a surgeon" He said almost proudly.

Lea's eyebrows automatically went up as his answer surprised her. "That's insane"

"May I have my batteries back?" He said almost cutting her off and fiddling with his fingers again.

Lea stood there in a combination of surprise and shock product of what he just asked. —Seriously?— She thought.

"The ones you borrowed" He continued.

Lea was still in some sort of shock but noticed he was actually being serious.

"Yeah…" She walked inside to get the controller, leaving the frond door open behind her. Her mind still shocked. Walked back to the door with the controller and pulled the batteries out of it then handed them to him.

"There you go" She said placing the batteries on his hand. He then just turned around and walked back to his door. Lea watched him for a second with a wtf just happened expression on her face. She glanced down at the controlled like looking for answers but then her neighbor interrupted her thoughts again.

"What's your name?" He asked turning back to her.

"I'm Lea" She answered with a soft almost amused smile.

"I'm Dr. Shaun Murphy. Nice to meet you" He said then turned around again and walked into his apartment.

Lea watched that with an amused grin then walked back into her own apartment, still wondering what just happened. She stood right next to the now closed door for a moment, just thinking.

If last night's encounter had been awkward, this one topped that. —What's up with him?— Se thought. She had never met anyone that direct in her life so it took her off guard but in a way she also thought it was…—adorable…?— She thought to as she walked to her bedroom, sat on the bed then leaned back to lay down with her legs dangling on the side.

"Dr. Shaun Murphy…" She mumbled to herself like kind of testing those words on her lips. "My neighbor, Dr. Shaun Murphy" She mumbled again and grinned to herself staring at the ceiling.

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I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Let me know if you think I should continue and thanks for reading!