Chapter Text
I am a recent college graduate and used to be a part of a band called Dirtspine. Although I rose to fame in a grunge band, and touched the hearts of many people who felt just like me. The happiness faded and so did our spark, still I never would've thought we'd become disbanded, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me positively. Due to the fame of the band and my newfound salary, I had no desire to stay in the spotlight, so I moved back to my hometown.
I now own a two-story, two-bedroom house in Nockfell, which I bought as soon as I had enough money for a down payment. From what I had seen so far, the neighbors seemed rather nice. In the house, next door lived three college boys—one with curly orange hair and glasses, another tall with a bit of a caffeine addiction, and a guy with long brown hair. Pretty peculiar neighbors, but so is everyone—so who am I to judge? However, the blue-haired guy that came to visit them stood out the most because there were so many unanswered questions. Was his hair naturally blue? Where was he from? Because he didn't seem to be local. And why did he wear that mask?
As I stared out the window, surrounded by brown cardboard boxes, I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts by a loud knock on the door and a faint voice complaining, "Why did you have to knock that loud?" Instantly, I ran to the door and opened it. Unfortunately, I was unaware of my horrible state—wearing black leggings, an oversized knit sweater that almost engulfed my figure, and horrible dark circles from staying up late setting up my drumset in my room.
The long-haired boy at the door held out his hand for a handshake, which I returned with my best fake smile.
"Hey, I'm Lar—"
He suddenly looked shocked, and so did I. As I gazed at him, recognition hit me like a wave. My childhood friend from years ago—the one I had grown up with when my parents could only afford the shitty apartments near my grandparents' house. It was Larry Johnson.
My eyes gleamed with happiness as I shook his hand again. "Larry! How have you been after all this time?"
His reaction mirrored mine as he grinned and said, "I've been awesome, dude! These are my roommates. I guess we're your new neighbors now." He then pointed to the house directly across the street.
I instantly responded, "Damn, what a coincidence that is..."
The blue-haired guy next to him seemed a bit concerned and asked, "Did we wake you up? You look tired."
Quickly, I replied, "Oh no! Just a late night with moving."
They weren't trying to invade my space, but the boxes stacked behind me looked as if they were ready to collapse. Noticing this, the ever-blunt Larry offered a hand to an old friend in obvious need.
"Man, that seems like a lot of boxes for one person..." He turned to his orange-haired friend, then looked back at me. "There are three strong men and a very smart, calculated fella who could help."
The blue-haired guy stepped in. "I'm sorry to butt into the conversation, but we wouldn't mind helping if you need it," he said, his eyes squinting in a way that indicated a smile.
"We can get to know each other better as well," the orange-haired man added with a friendly grin, while Larry nodded in agreement.
I hesitated for a moment, but it was a small town. If anything went wrong, I could run and get help pretty quickly. So, what was the harm?
"Sure thing, I'm (Y/N)."
They all smiled and introduced themselves as they stepped into the house. Their names were Todd Morrison, Neil Douglas, and Sal Fisher—all seniors in college, except for Larry, who "went wherever the wind took him," which currently meant working at a local guitar shop.
The time we spent unpacking was surprisingly enjoyable. It made me feel closer to them already. They seemed more like a family than just friends—more than I could say for myself.
By the time we finished, it was already dinner, and I still hadn't gone grocery shopping. But by some grace of fate, Todd suddenly spoke while placing a book on a shelf.
"I noticed you don't have any groceries, and it's getting dark. Would you like to eat at our house? We usually order pizza, but tonight I was planning on making some casserole."
I stood there blinking at the question. I had never really been invited somewhere just because someone genuinely wanted me there. Normally, it would be my sister's friends being forced to invite the sweet girl their parents felt sorry for.
Snapping back to reality, I quickly answered, "Yes, I'd love to come!"
And just like that, I found myself being led to the next-door house by four guys I had only just started speaking to.