MWAH! (part 2, Final)

“Uh—Hey.”

I turned to see a girl standing in front of me, her light blue twin tails swaying slightly as she tilted her head. Her large, expressive eyes studied me for a second before she continued,

“Is Takanashi-kun there?”

I blinked, caught off guard. “S-Sorry, who is that?”

She stared at me for a moment, then suddenly smacked her forehead as if she had just realized something obvious.

“Oh, hold on for a second!” she said with a sheepish grin. “I’m one door off.”

“Huh?” I muttered, still confused as she turned away.

“This is embarrassing,” she added, already making her way to the next door.

Before knocking, she glanced back at me. “Hey, do you mind going back inside your apartment? I’d like to sing without an audience.”

Her bluntness caught me off guard, but curiosity got the better of me. “Wait, what’s your name?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you wanna know? Kinda creepy, y’know, asking a random high school girl for her name.”

Before I could respond, the door next to mine creaked open. A boy—about the same age as her—peeked out.

“Miku…? Was that you singing?”

The girl—Miku—immediately perked up.

“OMG! Takanashi-kun, I was so worried about you, so I came to check up on you!”

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly confused. “So… it was you singing?”

“Yep! Totally me.” Miku nodded, flashing a confident smile. Then, as if just remembering I was still sitting there, she leaned toward him and whispered—not so subtly—

“By the way, your neighbor is kinda a freak.”

Takanashi-kun looked over at me. “Oh, hey! How are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside your apartment.”

I forced a small, polite smile. “I’m fine.”

“Well, stay safe,” he said with an easygoing nod.

I turned and went back inside. But something nagged at me. Something about that girl—Miku—felt oddly familiar.

I hesitated, then opened the door back outside.

“But… you were on Google Maps.”

Miku, halfway through her conversation with Takanashi, stopped and blinked at me.

“What are you talking about now?” she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling ridiculous. But I had to say it.

“Well… Uhm… Every time I looked at Google Maps, you were there. Staring at me.”

Silence.

Miku’s expression shifted. Her gaze darkened ever so slightly. “Are you stalking me?”

“No! Totally not! I-I’m sorry! Bye!”

I practically bolted back into my room, heart pounding. My hands trembled as I pulled up Google Maps. I scrolled through the street views, checking again.

She was gone. Was it just my imagination? A hallucination? I exhaled, rubbing my temples. I need to get some sleep.

The end.

Author’s note:

Well… that was anticlimactic. Yeah, I know—it’s not the most thrilling ending, you don’t have to tell me twice. But honestly? I just couldn’t think of a better way to wrap this one up. Maybe you can write a better ending, just don’t forget to mention me.
Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed it! And if you did (or even if you didn’t), maybe you’ll find something you like in my other short stories. Stick around, and let’s see where the next one takes us.
See you then!