Aiden’s shift felt like it went on for an eternity, but that wasn’t atypical for Friday nights. It was always busy but painfully slow at the same time. He was grateful that the older gentleman who owned the convenience store was understanding of his schedule and kept his shifts short—usually only four to five hours—but it meant that he missed dinner because he wasn’t legally allowed a lunch break. It worked great for his lifestyle, but it did make the end of the day a slog.

Everything he’d wanted to eat had closed by the time he’d gotten off, so he grabbed a ramen package and another energy drink from the shelves when his replacement came to take over. Aiden said goodbye to Colby—the owner’s son who was already distracted by the pack of trading cards he’d picked up before his shift—and took his purchases with a whistle on his lips.

The night was cool, and he wondered if he should open up the patio door while he worked on his comic, let in a little fresh air. Stepping outside, he headed around the side of the building to the residential entrance and swiped his keycard. The architecture around here was one of the reasons he’d picked the college he had. It was a college town through and through, but it also felt modern and had plenty of amenities. A big city vibe in a small town environment.

The university was also small and had well-received programs, but he knew his degree would only get him so far, so it didn’t necessarily matter where he went. It was more about the vibes, the convenience, and the tuition costs, as well as the location itself. Careers in animation weren’t amounting to much nowadays. He hated to admit it but it was the truth. Thankfully, he’d found a way to be successful with it and work it into that newfound love of comics. It had been an amazing few years building his confidence and artistic skills, but it had become more about the connections, gaining the experience, the possible internship, and the opportunity to say that he’d done it. His comic had taken hold of his life, and he knew that was where his future was headed.

The town was walkable, which he appreciated since he didn’t like driving and opted to spend his money on his tuition over a car. Many of the apartment buildings had restaurants and businesses underneath them that operated late. Living above where he worked had been awesome, especially if he needed a late night snack, but he was jealous of his best friend who had an ice cream and boba shop under their home. Margo also lived two minutes away from the campus, so they’d gotten a great deal in his opinion. He wouldn’t trade the convenience store and his little apartment for the world, though.

As Aiden approached the elevator, he pressed the button for floor five and waited for the lift to come back down. It was currently on floor seven, so he knew it would take a second to reach him. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his emails to make sure he hadn’t missed any messages from his university or his webcomic platform. He was bad about checking his socials and staying up to date with things. Even if it was his technical job, Aiden missed announcements regularly and was always too late to sign up for promotional deals that would help get his comic out to more readers. He wasn’t sure he wanted that, though.

It was already hard enough to keep up with the deadlines, and the last thing he needed was getting sucked into a massive merch drop or a contract that would demand more of him than he could give at the moment. His final was already eating him alive. Someday he’d have more time to indulge, to make it his sole focus, but he didn’t want to wish away his college career so quickly. Turning down so many publishing deals and the plushie Collab broke his heart, but he’d managed to convince himself the sticker and acrylic standee drop had been plenty.

The elevator slid open and Aiden stepped inside. The building wasn’t big, each floor only had six units, and his was at the end of the hall. The first apartment had a few fake plants by the door with a doormat that read ‘my cat hates you.’ And it was true, the girl who lived there had the most judgmental cat he’d ever seen. The couple in unit four were freshmen, high school sweethearts, and massive packages arrived on their doorstep at all hours of the day. The unit across from his had been empty for a while, the last person to live there graduated at the end of the previous semester and it was rare for someone to move in mid-way through a season, so it had been mostly quiet.

He yawned as he stepped into the corridor. He approached unit five and grabbed his keycard. As he did, he heard the door to unit six open behind him. Turning on his heel, he found himself staring face to face with Mr. Hot Goth Pants who was grinning at him with a pierced lip. The stranger had removed his leather coat, revealing muscular arms with plenty of red and black tattoos trailing down his long limbs. He’d pushed his shaggy hair back with a black cat headband, and he had golden eye masks under his eyes that shifted as he smiled. He was holding a small trash bag, had slippers on his feet, and looked like he was getting ready for bed.

Ready for bed in the unit across from him.

The unit directly next door.

The hot goth was next door.

“Oh, no,” Aiden said, clearly not realizing the thought hadn’t stayed in his head.

“Oh, no, what?” the stranger said with a grin. 

Did he have fangs? Why did his teeth sparkle like an anime villain? Who was this man?

Aiden slapped his hands over his mouth and quickly ran inside his unit, slamming the door shut with a gasp.

Oh, no, indeed. The hot goth was his new neighbor. He was so screwed.