Curtains Closed | Chapter 1
Art student looking for a flat mate. I live in a two-bedroom apartment in the centre, near the University and I am desperate for someone to share it with, as the rent is too bloody expensive. I am up until three o’clock almost every night listening to records, smoking, and drinking. If that doesn’t repulse you and you’re willing to pay £100 a month then ring this number: 07795622515.
“Thank you,” Alex smiled at the waitress who had brought him coffee. He was sitting on a stool by the window in a small, homey café. Alex took the coffee mug into both of his hands and gazed out of the window, whose bottom half was foggy because of the temperature difference between the harsh Manchester weather and the cosy, warm coffee shop. He had always enjoyed people watching and was glad to find a place that enabled him to do exactly that.
Putting down the mug after he’d stupidly taken a sip of the beverage too early for it to not burn his lip, he looked at the stained piece of paper beside him again. He’d noticed it immediately after he had sat down at the table on a pile of newspaper and design magazines left there for the customers. The roughly scribbled-on paper was already decorated with stains in the shape of teacups, indicating that no one had paid any extra attention to it. He took it into his hands and examined it up close. It looked like it had been ripped out of a sketchbook- of course, an art student.
Alex had just moved to Manchester from Sheffield. He was starting his first year at university and also his first year living on his own, which proved to be much harder than he’d initially imagined. He had always lived in a world, which he had imagined in his head and in that perfect world he got to Manchester and was instantly greeted with a flat, a job, and a group of friends. The harsh reality of the city slapped him across the face the first day upon moving, when he realised that he had to physically go apartment hunting and that his parents were no longer there to help him with any of it. Now it had been a week since he’d stepped out of the train and he was getting more desperate by the minute. He checked different websites and newspaper adds every morning in the hopes of finding a small, rather cheap flat in the city, leaving the option to live in a dorm to be his last.
He squinted his eyes at the paper in his hands and shrugged his shoulders. What did he have to lose? He had the money, at least for now, and he was strangely drawn to the note. Was it the nice handwriting or the mystery person it belonged to he found intriguing? Without thinking about the dangers of calling a complete stranger with the intention of living with them Alex typed the number into his phone.
“’ello?” a man, or rather a young adult, answered. It occurred to Alex that he hadn’t thought about it being a woman for even a second.
“Err, hi. I’m callin’ about the note you left in the café at Oxford Road. Are-are you still lookin’ for a flat mate?”
“Wow, I didn’t imagine someone actually callin’ back on the offer,” the voice on the other side laughed rather cynically, “sure I am, are ya interested?” Alex noted by the accent the person wasn’t from Manchester.
“Yes, yes I am. I’ve been lookin’ for a place to live in the city, I just moved ‘ere from Sheffield.”
“I could tell from the accent, la. You probably want to see the place first, right? Come by at any time today, I’ll just get more pissed as the evening progresses, so I suggest you stop by before eight. Get a pen, I’ll tell you the address.”
“Oh, yes,” Alex looked around frantically before he spotted a pencil on the other end of the table, “okay, go on.”
“Corner of Princess and Bloom Street, the building’s not numbered, but it’s the first one on the right if you’re coming from Princess Street.”
“Thanks,” Alex said as he scribbled down the names of the streets, which he would have to look up later as navigating through the city was still an almost impossible task for him.
“If there’s a problem or sumthin’, you now have me number,” the boy said before hanging up.
He didn’t seem like a complete psychopath, Alex thought, although he didn’t even tell him his name.
He put down his phone next to the now almost cold coffee and pondered the outcome of this situation. The boy could be overly messy, or loud, or a complete dickhead for that matter. Or he could be entirely oblivious towards Alex, which he hadn’t decided whether it would be a good thing or not. Maybe he is a neat freak and Alex won’t be able to sit down on the sofa to eat his dinner without getting shouted at.
Hoping to at least get a good story out of it he downed his coffee and grabbed his wallet and phone before stepping out onto the busy street. He pressed his woolen coat closer to his body as he started walking towards a city map by a bus stop. He traced the coloured lines resembling the streets with his index finger until it stopped on Princess Street. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from where he was.
After a few minutes of walking he was standing in front of a post, which displayed the street sign of where the person from the phone call was supposed to live. Alex walked over to the first building on the right as he was told and looked at the list of residents. The building was a typical brick house with four stories and big, iron-framed windows, which were quite useless at retaining any heat during winter. Light in the flat over warmth, Alex thought. He searched for the boy’s name on the list, but had to mentally hit himself over the head when he realised that he in fact didn’t know his name. Alex pulled his mobile phone out from his pocket and rang the last number in his call history.
“You’re rather early, aren’t you?” the same voice from before answered.
“Sorry, didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Alex admitted shamefully.
“S’alright, you’ve caught me on me first bottle of the evenin’, so I’m still able to hold a conversation, I’ll be down there in a second.” With that the still mysterious boy hung up.
Alex’s nerves were getting to him as the meeting with the possible serial killer neared and he found himself repeating please, be normal, please, be normal in his head until he saw a pair of skinny legs running down the stairs to open the entrance door.
He was more than surprised to find a boy, a very attractive boy, probably the same age and just a tad bit taller than him standing in the doorway. He had brown hair that covered his forehead but stopped just conveniently to let his big eyes peak through the fringe and then it continued to curl at the level of his ears. The boy was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt that, to an extent, hid the fact that he was beyond skinny and a pair of tight jeans that proved his observation even further.
Alex only realised he had been staring for too long when the boy smiled, showing his slightly crooked teeth and full cheeks, and asked if he was alright. When Alex nodded, the boy gestured for him to follow.
“I’m Miles by the way,” he turned around on the stairs and smiled at him again. For some reason Alex knew he was only smiling so much because he had apparently drank too much already, but he still found it quite endearing.
“I’m Alex,” he snapped out of his thoughts again, “where are ya from? You don’t sound like you’re from ‘round here.” he inquired.
“Me family’s from Meols…that’s near Liverpool,” he added as Alex made a face signaling complete confusion, “I moved to Manchester last year for school.”
Miles stopped in front of the door with the number 4A; they were on the top floor. He opened it and moved to the side to let Alex walk in first.
Alex found himself standing in a large, spacious sitting room. Spacious mostly because of the lack of furniture; the only being a red sofa in the middle and a floral-patterned armchair opposite to it. A pile of neatly stacked books was used as a coffee table and apart from that, only a turntable and dozens of scattered records filled the room. A few unframed sketches and photos decorated the otherwise white walls. Alex walked over to the big windows he had noticed from downstairs and looked out of them onto the street below him.
“S’nice view, innit?” Miles observed Alex, secretly hoping he would agree to move in right away.
“Yeh-yes, it’s amazin’, must be even better at night,” he leaned onto the glass with his hand.
“Come on, I’ll show you the bedroom,” Miles pointed towards the two closed doors on his left. Alex followed him towards the one closer to the windows. The room was exactly the right size for Alex; he never enjoyed big bedrooms as they lacked the needed coziness. It had the same window as the ones in the living room and walls exactly the same colour. Luckily, there was a double bed in the opposite corner, so he was speared of a visit to Ikea.
“So?” Miles followed Alex’s face in case he was to miss an unpleasant expression, “what do you think?”
“It’s not much,” Alex stated, but seeing the boy’s face sink he added, “but it’s exactly what I was lookin’ for.” Although he knew nothing about this boy except the fact that he wasn’t really a fan of furniture, but compensated it with hundreds of records and cheap wine by the smell of things, he had a strange feeling they would get along well. Even if they would not, he could probably stomach a few months with him and hopefully find a better place once he got to know the city a bit better.
Miles showed him through the rest of the flat; the small black and white tiled kitchen that smelled of burnt toast and the similar looking bathroom with a rustic bathtub with golden taps. Though it was all quite unnecessary because Alex had long ago decided he would take on the offer, partly because he was too lazy to look for anything else and partly because of the skinny boy that he was to share it with.
“So?” Miles asked again.
“I’d be happy to move in,” Alex answered after giving the apartment one final look.
“Great!” Miles exclaimed, his face beaming.
“When can I move in?”
“Anytime, really.”
“A’right, I just ‘ave to get me things from the hostel I’m stayin’ at, so I’ll be here in an hour or so and pay you right away!” Alex said nervously as it was all moving too fast, he imagined it would be a much more complicated process and take a lot longer. He dismissed Miles’ offer of helping him get his stuff and he promptly left the building, eager to be back there as soon as possible, getting to know his new flat mate.
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Hey! So as you can see, I started a new fic, giving myself a bit of a break from ‘Band Shirts Add a Certain Romance’, although I’m going to finish it eventually, don’t worry! I decided to stop it at a convenient point with no cliffhangers and now I’m planning on finishing it with a long chapter that I want to to be extra good, so please be patient! :) I hope you like this one, though x
(Next chapter coming soon!)
