// This story is a work of fiction. All characters appearing in it are 18+ of age.
// As usual, I'm very happy to receive any and all feedbacks, whether it's about the writing or direction of the story, other works you wanna see, or just chat in general. Thank you for reading!
// This was a more experimental work from me. I hope you get to enjoy it!
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[Gustav]
Big. Golden. Piercing.
The eye filled the peephole, unblinking, like it could see straight through the wood and into Gustav's soul. His breath hitched, trapped in his chest like a bird in a cage.
Arni was out there again. Not knocking. Not speaking. Just standing. A silent weight in the hallway pressing on his mind. Gustav knew Arni could feel him watching. Knew Arni enjoyed it.
The hallway beyond was dead quiet, the kind of stillness that made Gustav's ears hum. The sickly orange wallpaper that was peeling off and the dim lighting that needed to be changed only served to make the brown-haired boy in the hall stand out more. Gustav pressed closer, just enough to catch the edge of that pristine white eyepatch Arni wore over his left eye. It looked too deliberate, like a prop in some avant-garde play. Not a scar. Not an injury. A statement. A statement of what, Gustav couldn't guess, but it sent a shiver down his spine all the same.
He didn't feel guilty for staring. It was his door, his peephole. If Arni wanted to linger like some rich-kid specter, that was his problem. But ever since Arni moved in, hauling designer suitcases and organic groceries like he was still in LA, the drab insides of the building stirred with new life.
Gustav hadn't left his apartment much since his mom's funeral, but this wasn't about grief. This was about the way Arni's presence agitated his instincts. He paused outside Gustav's door too often. Too intentionally. At first, it was just a glance at the peephole, a second too long. Then a faint smile, like he was savoring a private joke. Now, Gustav was certain: Arni knew he was being watched. He probably liked it too. It was some kind of trap. Flirtation, prank, or something darker. Why else would he stand on his tiptoes, golden eye pressed to the peephole, trying to peer inside?
People like Arni didn't move without a plan and Gustav wasn't about to be his fool. He knew how people looked at him. Fat, hairy, silent, with dark circles under his eyes that his thick-rimmed glasses couldn't hide. His loose, muted clothes didn't help, flowing over his broad frame like a shield. He was an easy target, and he knew it. No way was he letting some demon twink with a trust fund make him the butt of a joke.
But God, it was hard. Arni was disarmingly attractive. He was slender and sharp, with that eyepatch giving him a roguish edge. The fact that he was fixating on Gustav, of all people, sent a flicker of giddy warmth through him, not that he was going to admit it. No. He wasn't opening that door. Not for a normie prick looking to toy with him.
And so he watched. Doing his best to remain unnoticed, until the stalemate was invasively broken.
DING-DONG
The doorbell jolted Gustav so hard he nearly shed his skin. His first thought was the janitor, but Ron never rang the bell for deliveries. Heart pounding, he inched toward the peephole, careful not to let his shadow betray him.
"Heyyyy, are you in there?" Arni's voice cut through the door and straight into him. His palms started sweating. Trembling, he peered through.
Big. Golden. Searching.
Arni's eye was right there, trying to bore through the peephole. Gustav stifled a gasp, his body rigid.
"I know you're in there. You can come out, I know all about it!" Arni's tone was light, teasing, but the words landed like a punch.
Know? Know what? Gustav's mind spiraled. There was no way Arni knew about... anything. He hadn't told a soul. Had Ron blabbed? That nosy janitor always seemed too chatty. If Arni knew his secrets, he'd weaponize them. Rich boys like him always did. Nothing was off limits for them.
"I don't want to freak you out, but I don't think it's healthy to stay cooped up inside for that long," Arni continued, stepping back slightly, his voice softer now, yet still firm.
Gustav held his breath. Don't move. Don't answer. Let the demon twink talk himself out. Don't let him into your head.
"Anyways, I'm not gonna bother you anymore. I just came to drop a care package. Hope it all works out for you," Arni said, with what Gustav could only identify as a pout in his voice. He shifted, half his body slipping out of the peephole's view. "If you're even listening, that is."
Gustav's chest tightened. A care package? His mind stalled, all his paranoid scenarios spiraling. Arni's voice lingered, heavy with something Gustav couldn't name. If he stayed silent, this would end. Arni would leave. The hallway would be empty again. Safe. All he had to do was nothing.
But his hand was already on the doorknob.
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[Arni]
Arni first saw him while wrestling two overstuffed suitcases through the building's front doors, nearly tripping over the threshold. The hallway reeked of fresh paint and stale takeout which assaulted his senses after the long move. Grumbling under his breath, he hauled his belongings, left till last because he'd insisted on handling them himself, through the decaying orange corridor.
"Who the hell picked this color?" he muttered, irritation flaring. Moving fatigue, probably.
That's when he saw Gustav. Standing by the mailboxes, shoulders hunched, looking like he'd been caught stealing from a cookie jar. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark circles. Everything about him screamed 'don't look at me'. But Arni did anyway. Just a glance, half-blocked by his bags. He looked like a puppy caught by surprise, and Arni couldn't help but chuckle.
He thought Gustav was cute. Not in a polished, Instagram way. Not like the pampered types Arni usually ran with. He was satisfying in his simplicity. Arni tried catching his eye again later, in the stairwell, in the hallway, at the entrance. But Gustav was a ghost, slipping past everything silently like a large shadow.
The janitor, Ron, filled in the gaps: Gustav's mom had passed recently. He hadn't left his apartment much since. Arni wasn't surprised. He hadn't seen the guy around once. But it didn't change what he thought of Gustav. Like when you were a kid and you found a puppy all on its own by the side of the street. No matter how many times your mom would tell you not to disturb it, you'll still want to poke at it, pet its frail soft body, or carry it around for the hell of it.
So maybe he lingered outside Gustav's door a few times. Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing most of the time. Just looking at the door and thinking about how that guy lived in there. He would let his imagination run wild for all of five minutes before moving on with his day. Once or twice, he tried peering through the peephole. A futile effort in retrospect, but a sudden thought that the big guy suddenly croaked made him act out, just a bit, though.
Finally, after a week or so, he decided he should go all in. He hated pussying around a subject. So he threw together a care package on impulse. Snacks, tea, lip balm, and hand cream. Basically some items from the pharmacy counter. Enough for a visit starter, but not enough to consider a display of affection. A nudge to shift the game to Gustav's court.
The eyepatch probably didn't help his case.
Fucking cat. Clawed him under the eye during a visit to his sister in Oslo before coming here. The ER called it superficial, but slapped a patch on for the healing. Now he looked like a posh pirate or a Bond villain's intern. Still, it was fun. The vibe worked better than he'd expected.
Today, he stood outside Gustav's door, package in hand. Rang the bell. Leaned against the door, hands fidgeting with his phone. No plan. Just feeling it out.
"Heyyyy, are you in there?"
He grinned, mostly at himself. No answer came. He didn't expect one. Silence was its own reply. He tried peering through the peephole, but it was too dark to see anything. Gustav probably had it blocked. Yeesh.
"I know you're in there. You can come out, I know all about it!" He winced. Too intense. He didn't know much, but such vain words usually worked on others.
"I don't want to freak you out, but I don't think it's healthy to stay cooped up inside for that long."
Nothing. Just the hallway's dull hum. He wasn't even sure why he was still here.
"Anyways, I'm not gonna bother you anymore. I just came to drop a care package. Hope it all works out for you," he finally said, as if solidifying a nice alibi in case someone questioned his weird approach.
He stepped just out of the peephole's range. "If you're even listening, that is," he muttered to himself, suddenly realizing how silly his entire gesture was.
He started walking. Slow. His half-baked ideas fading with each step.
Click.
Soft. Like a held breath released. Arni paused and looked back. The door had cracked open. Just enough to know someone was there.
