chapter two
1025 Words
The War Begins in Apartment 9B
Zara should have celebrated in silence.
She had earned it.
She had survived moving day, survived Room 9B’s acoustic crime scene, and most importantly—she had survived meeting the most irritatingly handsome man she had ever seen in her life.
That alone deserved peace.
Instead, she got Noah.
And apparently, he came with water damage.
From inside her apartment, Zara could still hear faint dripping in the hallway outside. She had closed her door, but the sound of Noah muttering something about “Mason is dead” carried through the thin silence like a warning.
She leaned against her door and exhaled.
“First day,” she said to herself. “Just one day. And I already have a noisy neighbor and a possible enemy.”
Her phone buzzed.
A message from her best friend, Tessa.
Tessa: So? New luxury life? Are you sipping champagne on your balcony yet?
Zara stared at her empty kitchen.
Then typed:
Zara: I am currently being emotionally attacked by Room 9B.
Tessa: Romantic?
Zara paused.
Long enough to annoy herself.
Then replied:
Zara: Criminal.
Meanwhile — Outside Zara’s Door
Noah stood in the hallway dripping wet, staring at the empty bucket like it had personally betrayed him.
From the apartment across, Mason’s laughter echoed through a phone call on speaker.
“I TOLD YOU IT WOULD WORK!” Mason shouted.
Noah pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You told me a decorative welcome prank would make a good impression.”
“And it did!” Mason argued. “She laughed, didn’t she?”
“That was at me suffering.”
“Same energy.”
Noah sighed.
“I live next to her now.”
There was a pause.
Then Mason said slowly, “Ohhh. So she’s pretty.”
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
“Don’t start,” Noah warned.
“I’m not starting anything,” Mason said innocently. “I’m just observing destiny.”
Noah ended the call.
Immediately.
The Next Morning
Zara woke up determined to reset reality.
New apartment. New life. No chaos.
She made coffee.
The coffee machine made a noise like it was dying.
“Great,” she muttered. “Even appliances here have personality disorders.”
She got dressed, planning to leave early for work before anything else in Room 9B could ruin her mood.
She opened her door.
And froze.
A sticky note was stuck right outside her apartment.
She stared at it suspiciously.
Then pulled it off.
It read:
“Sorry about the bucket. It was meant for Mason.
—Noah (Room 9B)”
Zara blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“…Of course it was meant for Mason,” she said slowly.
She flipped the note over.
Nothing.
Just that.
No apology emoji. No smiley face. Nothing unnecessary.
Just information.
Zara folded it carefully.
Then frowned.
“Why is he apologizing?”
She immediately hated that she cared.
Hallway Encounter #2
She stepped into the elevator five minutes later.
Ding.
The doors opened.
Noah again.
Of course.
This time, he was dry.
Completely dry.
As if the universe had personally erased evidence of his humiliation.
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
The elevator felt too small instantly.
“You’re stalking me now?” Zara asked.
Noah pressed the button calmly. “This is my building.”
“I was here first today.”
“Statistically impossible.”
“I woke up earlier.”
“Still doesn’t make it your elevator.”
Zara folded her arms. “Do you always argue like this?”
“No,” Noah said. “Only when I’m awake.”
That made her pause.
Just a second.
She hated that it almost made her smile.
The elevator began moving.
Silence settled.
Too quickly.
Zara cleared her throat. “About the bucket—”
“No need,” Noah said.
“I wasn’t apologizing.”
“I wasn’t expecting one.”
That made her glare at him.
He noticed.
Smiled slightly.
“You laugh easily,” he said.
Zara stiffened. “I do not.”
“You did yesterday.”
“That was shock.”
“Same thing.”
The elevator jolted slightly.
Zara instinctively grabbed the rail again.
Noah glanced at her hand.
Then at her face.
“You don’t like elevators?” he asked casually.
“I don’t like unnecessary movement.”
“You live in a building.”
“I didn’t design it.”
The elevator stopped.
Doors opened.
Zara stepped out immediately.
“Goodbye, Room 9B.”
“See you later, Room 9A,” he replied.
She paused.
Turned back slightly.
“I’m not 9A.”
“No,” he said. “But you feel like it.”
Zara froze for half a second longer than she wanted to.
Then walked away faster.
Noah watched her go.
And for some reason, he didn’t go in the opposite direction immediately.
That Evening
Zara came home exhausted.
Work had been long.
Traffic had been worse.
And her brain had refused to stop replaying elevator conversations she didn’t want to remember.
She unlocked her door.
Stepped inside.
And immediately stopped.
Her living room light was on.
“…No.”
She stepped in cautiously.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
She checked the kitchen.
Nothing moved.
She checked the bedroom.
Nothing.
Then she heard it.
A faint sound.
From the wall.
Music.
Very low.
Barely there.
Zara froze.
Slowly turned toward the shared wall.
Room 9B.
She walked over and knocked once.
The music stopped instantly.
Silence.
Then—
The wall tapped back.
Zara blinked.
“…Did he just—”
Tap tap.
A response.
She narrowed her eyes.
Then knocked again.
Tap.
She knocked faster.
Tap tap tap.
Zara stepped back slowly.
“This man is insane.”
But she was smiling.
She just didn’t realize it yet.
Outside Room 9B
Noah leaned against his wall, listening.
Mason’s voice echoed through his memory earlier:
“Just say hi properly. She seems like trouble.”
Noah had tried.
Badly.
But now…
He tapped the wall again.
And for the first time since moving in—
Skyline Heights felt interesting.
- Writer
