My Neighbor On My Mind

August 16

6:30 AM at the Aoi Family apartment.

The loud buzzing of the alarm clock made Sky open her eyes slowly. With a loud yawn, she stretched her arms and legs, pushed the covers aside and slowly sat up. Her eyes looked around and noticed the morning Sun was already casting light inside her room as its rays passed through the curtains. For a second, she thought of just hitting the snooze button on her annoyingly loud alarm clock, but then she heard outside of her apartment the sound of another apartment door opening and closing. 

No doubt it was him, Officer Weirdo, John Roads.

Memories of the previous night returned to Sky who turned off the alarm to try and focus. She remembered the emotional rollercoaster she had been ever since she returned from school and befriended her neighbor. Not only did he turn out to be a Police Officer, but also a weird guy with a very intense side of him! He had given her shelter after she had locked herself out and even scared the living crap of the sleazy landlord, Mr. Gonzalez with his “Cool Cop” vibe!

Without noticing, she smiled at the memory.

Feeling enthusiastic to start a new day, she stood up from her bed, arranged her clothes to be ready and rushed into the bathroom to shower up. Her mind was already planning what she would do for the rest of the day: school, maybe a little livestreaming on her way home, come back to do some video editing… maybe do some homework?... make dinner, eat and go to bed. Seemed simple enough, she thought…

Wait! She had told John that she’d like to invite him for dinner at her apartment. As a ‘thank you’ for helping her with Mr. Gonzalez. If she had a chance to see him, maybe she’d do that tonight as well.

“Have no debts with those around you and you’ll earn a thousand years of friendship.” She recalled her father saying those old fashioned quotes from Japan. Where did he come up with those, anyway?

When Sky stepped out of the shower she immediately went on to fix her hair in the new fashion she’d seen on social media the other day. As usual, with the skill of a master beautician, Sky’s hands moved to doll herself up with fluid motions and precision. After she did her hair and makeup, she swiftly began to work on her nails, making sure they had that glossy shade of blue she loved. Soon after, once she felt confident of her work, she rushed to her room to dress up. She put on her uniform, made sure it didn’t have any lint or wrinkles, and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Not bad, Sky!” She said to herself as she admired her work. Taking her smartphone, she took a selfie with the hashtag: #LovelyBlueSky! and uploaded it to her media channels.

She heard the door of John’s apartment open up then closing again and heard the footsteps of her neighbor as he no doubt headed for work. Seems that Officer Weirdo is one of those early-riser types. She smirked and giggled a bit… “Weirdo…”

After a quick breakfast of toast & eggs, she checked herself again in the mirror before leaving, took her school bag, shouted her usual: “I’m heading out!” and left her apartment.

She didn’t realize she’d left at 7:23 AM.

7:56 AM at Robert Brewster High School

When Sky appeared in her classroom, her friends looked at her like she was some kind of strange creature from outer space. The girl had greeted them with her usual bright smile and perky attitude, but this time it felt… different.

“Good morning, guys!” Sky called out to her usual gang and sat down on her chair as if nothing different had happened.

“Mornin’, Sky.” Lola was dumbfounded by Sky’s early arrival. More often than not, she arrived barely on time or late. She’d never come in early in the years they’ve known her.

“Hey, Sky-chan, so what happened to you today?” Val, who usually sat in front of Sky, was looking at her with a look of inquiry in her eyes. “Did you bump yourself in the head or somethin’?”

Sky blinked in confusion as she saw the puzzled looks on her friends’ faces.

“What do you mean? I’ve not hit my head or anything.” Her friends were still staring at her like she was under interrogation. “W-Why’re you looking at me like that? Is my hair not right?”

“No. Your hair looks gorgeous as always.” Lola said which made Sky smile proudly. “It’s something else that worries us, Sky.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Is it my makeup?” Sky took out her small mirror to check herself quickly.

“No, silly. It’s not your makeup either.” Val sighed loudly while Sky kept looking at them with concern.

“Is it my teeth?” Sky pointed at her teeth.

“Nope.”

“My nails?”

“No.”

“My uniform’s dirty!”

“It’s perfectly clean.”

“Then what’s everyone’s problem?” Sky huffed in a flustered way.

“Sky-chan, you never come in early.” Val said which made Sky blink with confusion as all her friends nodded in agreement.

“You also look well rested.” Lola pointed out which, again made the rest of Sky’s friends nod in agreement at the same time.

“Plus, there’s a bit of a ‘bounce’ in your step.” Val pointed out at Sky who looked at her feet and legs as if they were dirty or something.

“Wait! So… you’re acting all weird because I came in on time, I’m well rested and I got a ‘bounce’ in my step?” Seeing all of her friends continue to nod in unison made Sky wonder if maybe THEY might’ve hit themselves on the head. “Is it that weird?”

“Sky, no offense, girl, but you never come in on time, you’re always looking like you’ve overslept and you’re usually dragging your feet unless you’re streaming with us.” Lola pointed out which made Sky suddenly realize that she’d been described down to the letter.

“Also, your hair, your makeup and outfit look much better today than yesterday or other days before. So… it kinda makes us wonder if you’re the REAL Sky.” Val smirked and giggled.

“Hey! I’m the real deal here! I’m the one and only Skylar Aoi, okay? Geez! You come in on time one day and-” Then Sky came to a realization which made her eyes grow wide with surprise.

They were right! She’d never come in early to school in her entire high school life! She was always dragging herself out of bed and having to rush in her prep work every morning, always getting scolded by the teachers for her tardiness and having to deal with the aftermath.

For some reason, today she woke up feeling well rested and ready to start the day. She hadn’t realized she’d been efficient with her time and her actions during her prep work while getting ready to come to school.

Has she always been such a mess!?

Lola grinned as she watched Sky’s face turn pale from the sudden realization that they were right. “You know… I think I know what’s Sky’s problem, ladies.”

Sky looked at Lola with horror. “Oh no…”

Val also grinned which was slowly being emulated by the other girls of her group. “I think you’re right, Lola. It’s pretty obvious why Sky suddenly changed…”

“Don’t… Don’t say it!” Sky’s face began to turn red as she held a pleading look in her eyes.

Lola, enjoying the flustered look in Sky’s face, suddenly yelled out: “So! Sky! Did you find yourself a boyfriend?”

“NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!” Sky’s face exploded in red as all the girls in the group screamed out with excitement.

“OMG!”

“WHAT’S HE LIKE?”

“WAS IT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?”

“IS HE CUTE?”

“WHERE’D YOU MEET HIM?”

The non-stop barrage of embarrassing questions suddenly made Sky fall to her knees in desperation. “Why is this happening to me…?”

12:00 PM

Sky was being escorted by her friends to lunch time where the REAL interrogation was about to happen. She had run in automatic pilot during classes all day after she had been embarrassed by Lola’s loud declaration that Sky had found a boyfriend - which was absolutely ridiculous!!!

Surrounded by a “jury” of her friends and, with Lola and Val serving as “the prosecution”, Sky was left at the mercy of their inquiries while sitting there eating her lunch.

“So tell us, what’s he like? Huh? Is he cute? Is he hot? Does he give you butterflies whenever he talks to you? Eh?” Val nudged Sky who was sitting there in a flustered mess.

“I don’t have a boyfriend…” Sky managed to say in between bites of her lunch. She was trying her best not to let her temper get the best of her. If she lost her cool, she’d react in a way that would only destroy her defense.

“Sure, sure. But I’m sure he’s the kind of guy that makes you all blushy and weak in the knees right?” Lola was grinning as she gently poked one of Sky’s cheeks while Sky was chewing on her food.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” Sky said again as she closed her eyes, trying to hide her irritation.

The entire group of girls were all watching Sky’s embarrassed reactions and were grinning to themselves. They all knew Sky was a volcano of emotions and it didn’t take too long for her to explode.

“I’m guessing he must’ve seen you in one of your streams and said something like: ‘Oh! Blue Sky! You’re, like, the most beautiful jewel in the world. No sapphire could match the beauty of your beautiful eyes!” Lola spoke out adding flair to her words and enacting such a cheesy line that it made everyone go: “Kyaaaaa! So cute!”

“I.don’t.have.a.boyfriend!” Sky’s temper was reaching its limits. For a moment, she remembered how she had reacted in front of John when he offered her help, how she had overreacted without reason and gave him trouble. She had to try and stay cool, like he had.

“No doubt you looked him in the eye and said: ‘I’m sorry… but my one love is streaming.’ And he probably said: ‘I understand… at least I will be able to see you shine while you’re online, my sweet Blue Sky’.” Val’s interpretation of a romcom was so annoyingly cheesy that Sky’s eyebrows began to twitch, especially when the other girls were screaming like fangirls listening to a cheap romance story.

“I…don’t…have…a-”

Sky hadn’t finished talking when Lola leaned in and whispered in her ear: “I bet you’d like to kiss him…”

“ENOUGH!!!” Sky had finally exploded, raising her arms up in frustration. “I don’t have a boyfriend!” She began to growl out in anger. “I have no interest in that guy whatsoever! He’s just my neighbor, for crying out loud! He’s a Police Officer with the worst fashion sense, he can’t cook to save his own life and he’s so weird! That weirdo would NEVER be the right guy for me! John is just my neighbor!”

After Sky finished her rant, she had to catch her breath to try and recompose herself. There was a long silence after she was done talking, which made her feel like she’d won the argument. She sat back down, and with a smug look of triumph, she continued eating her meal.

Once again, she felt the stares of her friends boring into her which made her puzzled again. Then she realized… Oh no!

“So there is a guy involved in this!” Lola, Val and the rest of the girls cried out and yelled out with excitement.

Sky couldn’t take it anymore and stormed off feeling defeated and embarrassed.

“Eww, EWwww, EEEEWWW! There is NO WAY IN HELL I’m attracted to Officer Weirdo! He’s my neighbor, a Police Officer and a fashion reject! They don’t know a damn thing!” Sky thought to herself as she was running to the bathroom to try and recompose herself.

Despite her declaration, she couldn’t help but think of her odd neighbor and the way he looked at her without judgement. It helped her calm down without realizing it.

3:17 PM

Sky was exhausted when she took the tram on her way home after school. For the entirety of the day she had to avoid saying anything more about her neighbor or give away more information than was necessary.

Yet her friends’ incessant probing and poking at her nerves were taxing her way more than usual. It wasn’t that she was angry at them. They were the best friends she’d ever had since her family settled at Port Seaview and they’d been together since middle-school. But sometimes they were too pushy whenever things like these happened. They were too curious about her love life, or lack thereof.

Sure! She’d had the occasional guy come up to her and asked her out. From time to time she’d accept and go out with them, but none of them had ever made her feel anything for them. Whenever they tried again, she’d turn them down using her usual “friendzone” phrases. That’s all it took for them to stop trying. Some were a bit insistent, but Sky’s friends were usually there to dissuade any attempts to overstep and make Sky feel uncomfortable. She owed them for that, but she didn’t like it when they poked fun at her in that way…

It was strange, now that she thought about it. Why didn’t any of those guys make her feel anything? They were kinda cute, kinda nice, kinda good with their fashion sense and kinda knew what she was into. Yet that’s all they were in a sense: just “kinda” in every aspect.

Maybe she had different standards? Maybe she was just not into that sort of thing? Maybe she was afraid her parents wouldn’t approve of her choice? Her father was a traditional man and always frowned upon the young people of today, even her.

Maybe it was all that moving around that made her feel like it just wasn’t worth the effort if they had to move again… She had shed tears many times when she had to say goodbye to her friends in other cities… she even had to say goodbye to her boyfriend at one time… this had broken her heart, but even more so when none of her previous friends called her back or tried to connect with her. Even the ex-boyfriend had ghosted her after she left…

Maybe she really WAS a mess…

“It’s alright, Skylar. Nobody’s perfect…”

Sky suddenly heard John’s voice in her mind saying those words from last night before going back to his apartment. Slowly, she felt a sense of comfort when she repeated those words:

“It’s alright, Sky. Nobody’s perfect.” She was surprised when she noticed a single tear had fallen from her eyes.

3:51 PM at the Aoi Family apartment.

Finally arriving at her apartment building, Sky first went to the mailbox to see if there might’ve been any new correspondence in there. To her surprise, there was a letter addressed to her parents from the landlord, Mr. Gonzalez. No doubt the written apology John had quite forcefully demanded Mr. Gonzalez had to give to her parents for his overcharging of the rent.

After she went up the stairs she looked at the hallway that led to John’s apartment to her left and hers on the right. By the looks of things Officer Weirdo hadn’t yet returned from work, and judging by that man’s routine, he was bound to arrive in the evening.

Taking a side glance at John’s front door as she walked, she still felt a bit curious as to what kind of person John was in reality. Maybe if she had a chance tonight, she’d invite him over for the promised dinner and ask him a few questions! She had plenty of time to prepare something nice for her neighbor and this time she had more than enough ingredients to make it worthwhile!

For the first time in a long time she felt giddy at the chance of doing something outside of streaming.

August 16

4:59 AM at Officer Roads’ apartment.

As usual, John had beat his alarm clock when he opened his eyes and looked at the red digits upon it. The second the alarm buzzed, John had turned it off and began to move in his bed, sitting up and rubbing his neck for a moment to shake off any fatigue remaining.

No fatigue. No aches. No issues. A good start. He stood up and did his usual stretches. Feeling limber and without discomfort. This was odd. He usually woke up with some kind of discomfort on his shoulder or neck. Today he was in perfect condition. He wondered why.

A few minutes later after he hydrated and switched to his workout outfit, he stepped out of his apartment. He was about to run off into the street when he stopped for a moment and looked at the Aoi family’s apartment door. He recalled the previous night’s events and how he had helped the noisy and overreacting neighbor, Miss Skylar Aoi.

“I’d like to repay you again… for that landlord thing.”

John seemed to smile when he recalled her wish to repay him for helping her out. Although Miss Aoi was a bit loud, she had a good heart and a good upbringing. This made him feel good after he helped her out when the landlord was trying to extort her… the thought of that man trying to corner Miss Aoi made him frown with anger. This made him take a deep breath to control himself… he needed to keep himself cool.

He took one more glance at Miss Aoi’s door and then rushed to the street for his usual run.

“Keep the pace. Control your breathing. Nice and easy. Eyes on the road. Stay alert.” John’s thoughts were focused on his usual inner dialogue. His pace didn’t change, his breathing remained the same and his movements were always precise. However, he didn’t notice that all he was doing was running around the same block where his apartment building was… feeling a need to be close by in case she might need some help again.

6:30 AM

John was slowly returning to his apartment while he was cooling down. As he made his way up the stairs to his door he heard the buzzing of an alarm clock from within the Aoi family residence. No doubt Miss Aoi had just woken up and was getting ready to go to school…

“I know I’m a burden to my parents and others. I’m not a good student or daughter. But I still try… you know…?”

He recalled Miss Aoi’s painful confession and remembered that he shouldn’t be making assumptions about anyone. Especially someone who might be going through tough times, like Skylar. The fact that she tries hard is all that matters.

“Good morning, Skylar.” He called out within his own mind, hoping she was already awake.

After he went into his apartment, he began to rush through his preparations. He looked at his grey suit jacket and made sure it was in pristine condition along with a fresh pair of black slacks. He took a quick shower, a quick shave to remove any scruff and got dressed. As usual, his suit was a bit too large for him.

When he stepped out of the bathroom and secured his usual belongings, he looked at the fridge and froze for a second.

“Wait! Ummm… t-the food… the leftovers… if you put them in a bowl and cover them it’ll help it stay good for a couple of days and it’ll improve the flavor. So…”

John remembered that Miss Aoi had indeed advised her on what to do with the leftovers they had from the previous night’s dinner. He approached the fridge, saw that there was a good amount left, so he decided to take half of it for lunch at work. Kept it in a safe container and took it along his usual backpack.

“Thank you, Skylar.” He said quietly as he stepped out of the apartment and headed to work.

7:30 PM Port Seaview Police Department - Precinct 7

John had arrived at his usual time to the precinct for the morning shift change.

He had stopped at Mrs. Bobbin’s coffee shop on the way and had gotten his coffee and donut, and ate it on the way as usual. Mrs. Bobbin had questioned him about taking some additional food for the shift, but he had mentioned that someone had cooked him dinner the other night and he was going to eat the leftovers since “...the food she cooked was delicious.” This had the effect of making Mrs. Bobbin to smile wide and brightly and say something like: “I do hope she’s the right woman for you, baby!”

John didn’t understand why she said that. Miss Aoi was just her neighbor after all.

“Hey, Johnny!” Officer Montoya appeared and greeted John in his usual manner.

“Morning, Pete. How’s your family doing?” John asked without thinking, which caught Montoya by surprise.

“Wait… what?” Pete looked at John like he just said something weird.

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Pete?” John looked puzzled.

“You never asked about my family before. Did something happen to you, man?” Montoya checked John’s ill-fitting suit and his badge. The man truly was John Roads!

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” John answered non-chalantly as he kept walking to the locker room. “So, how are they?”

“They’re fine. Thanks…” Pete was still a bit weirded out by John’s question. The man never asked anyone about their personal lives. He only ever talked to Detective O’Malley, but they all knew he looked up to the old man, so it was odd to hear him talk to them about personal stuff.

John reached the locker room where the other officers were already getting dressed in their uniforms. Officer Banks approached John and smirked as usual.

“What’s up, Roady? Still wearin’ those oversized suits, aren’t ya?” Nick chuckled which was followed by some of the other officers. “You know-”

“I should ask your cousin to see if he could hook me up with some new threads. Right?” John fired back at Nick’s comment which caught him off guard a bit.

“Y-Yeah…”

“Alright. You got his number? I could use a new set of clothes.” John said those words as naturally as he could. In truth, he did need a few new suits.

“Hold up! What!? You serious!?” Nick and the other officers suddenly stopped moving and looked at John who was busy changing into his uniform to notice that every officer was staring at him in confusion.

“Yes. I’m serious. I’d rather have it done by someone trusted by a fellow officer of the law than being scammed by some shady store.” John finally finished putting on his uniform. His transformation to Officer Roads was complete as he straightened up, his shirt suddenly was filled by his strong torso. They all knew that when Johnny put on his uniform he was now all business. But when he turned around to look at them, they noticed he still had that relaxed look on his face as he looked at Nick and smiled softly.

“So, will you give me their number later?”

“S-Sure… you got it. I’ll send it to you later.”

“Cool! By the way, do you know if there’s enough space in the fridge upstairs? I need to put my lunch in there since I don’t want her food to spoil.”

“Wait… lunch? ‘Her food’?” Montoya now interrupted and looked at John holding up a container with Sky’s food.

“Yeah. A nice girl made me some food and I don’t want it to go to waste. She made it for me.” John said as if it were the most normal thing to the surprised officers.

“WHAT THE HELL!?”

8:05 AM

John had to rush to the small lunch room they had in the precinct to put his lunch away while also answering the incessant questions from Montoya and Banks who were running an interrogation on the fly.

“So who’s the girl?” Asked Montoya.

“My neighbor.” John answered laconically as he headed for the morning briefing.

“How’d you two meet?” Nick asked while following John and the others to the meeting room.

“Chance meeting.”

“Where?”

“Apartment.”

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Wait! Last night? And she already cooked for you?!”

“She did it as a way to thank me.”

“Well… what’d you do?”

“No comment.”

“C’mon! You gotta tell us somethin’ Roady!”

“No comment, Officer Banks.”

Montoya and Nick started to realize they were starting to anger John. He was reverting to his Officer Roads routine, and that meant he was now a stone wall.

“Does she have a name?” Montoya probed one last time.

“No. Comment. Officer Montoya.”

John now had that intense look in his eyes. It was best not to keep pushing him or else he’d start lecturing them about asking about another man’s private affairs while they were on-duty.

While Nick and Montoya went to their seats, John sat down and took a moment to cool his thoughts. They had prodded too much over a simple matter such as a nice neighbor cooking for him. Why was that so difficult to fathom? He helped a girl in trouble. He did his duty and he would do it again for anyone in this city.

“Thanks, Officer Roads.”

He had heard these words from a lot of people before. But for some reason it sounded different when he thought of how Miss Aoi had said it. Maybe doing a bit of community service like this has given a new meaning to his job, even if it’s off-duty.

“Officer Roads!” Lieutenant Cole called out, making John stand at attention.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Today we’ll need you here at the precinct to help with case work and support on-site. It’s not glamorous, but we do need everyone that’s available. Banks will take care of Okada’s beat today.”

“Understood, Sir. By the way, do we know if Officer Okada and her baby are alright?”

Once again, John’s question made every officer turn to look at him with puzzlement. Did he just ask Lt. Cole about someone else not related to the job right now?

“John, I do appreciate you’re concerned for Okada and her baby, but let’s focus on the job for now, alright?” Lt. Cole was also a bit surprised about Officer Roads’ question. But, seeing as this was the first time John had asked anything outside of his assignments, he decided to answer. “Officer Okada gave birth to a healthy boy, according to her husband. So, if you feel inclined to check up on her, you can always call her on the phone.”

“Thank you, Sir!” John smiled and nodded at the Lieutenant.

The other officers were surprised by how John was smiling now. What the hell happened last night that made Officer Roads transform into a sociable creature!?

10:48 AM

John had been working in the offices of the precinct with his usual diligence and professionalism. With Montoya and Nick out on their beat, John could focus on the job at hand and avoid any further scrutiny from those two.

It got a bit hectic at a time when the front desk had to deal with walk-ins who needed to talk to an officer about their problems and concerns. Every now and then John would jump in to take people’s statements and provide follow up on their requests. While John had finally finished with a citizen complaint, he heard a new person talking to the front desk about some problems he was having with their landlord.

“... this man is overcharging my family and others in the building for no good reason!”

John heard these words and immediately thought of Skylar and the incident with her landlord, Mr. Gonzalez. Feeling that he might be able to help, he approached the old lady who was talking to the officer.

“Good morning, m’am. I’m Officer Roads. If you’d like, I could take your statement and make sure this reaches the right hands to ensure we take care of this as soon as humanly possible.” John took out his notepad and approached the woman.

For a moment, he noticed that the woman’s face showed the same fear he had seen in Mr. Gonzalez’ face… and also in Skylar’s. This made him realize he was coming in too strong and had to take a step back, calm down and take it easy. He adopted a soft smile and seemed to diminish a bit for the sake of the woman who looked like she calmed down a bit.

“W-Well… if you could help us, Officer Roads, I’d be forever grateful.”

“Just doing my job, m’am.” John nodded and escorted the lady to his desk. “Now, m’am, how can I be of assistance?”

1:06 PM

Officer Banks had returned to the precinct for a quick bite to eat and maybe use the bathroom before returning to the streets. When he came into the main office he saw that John was studying something on his computer with that intense look in his eyes. Whatever it was that he was researching, it must be important for him. He was about to turn towards the lunch room when he noticed that John was working on the computer but also eating something. No doubt the same lunch he said a “nice girl” had cooked for him! Maybe he would be in a better mood than before…

“Hey Roady! What’s up?” Nick approached John who responded with a simple nod, but his eyes didn’t leave the screen.

“Not much, Nick. Just following up on a case… though, it looks like it’ll become two cases.” John took a spoonful from his meal and took a deep breath. Nick could see that John was trying to keep his cool.

“What’s the case?” Nick sat next to John and started to look at John’s computer. He was running the police database regarding an individual - Hector Gonzalez. Landlord. Owner of three apartment buildings. Numerous tenant complaints. Suspected in business malpractice, fraud, breach of contract, extortion and harassment of tenants. “This guy’s quite the sleazeball, ain’t he?”

“He’s my landlord.”

“Johnny, you ain’t thinking of making this personal, are ya?” Nick looked at John with concern.

“No. But this ‘sleazeball’ has been causing trouble to a lot of people through his actions.” John was reluctant to talk again. But he had to confide in someone. “This guy harassed the nice girl I told you about, she’s my neighbor. I saw it with my own eyes. If I hadn’t been there, that girl would’ve been in trouble.”

Nick finally understood why John was on edge. He was trying to keep it professional, but he was already involved in this in some way. He wanted to help out both the people who’ve issued complaints as well as his neighbor, but didn’t want to make it personal.

“Give me the case details, Johnny. I’ll pass them along to my guy in the district attorney’s office to investigate this guy and have him pay for his crimes.” Nick could see the surprise in John’s eyes when he looked at him. “Hey man! I know we were poking fun at you a while ago, but this ain’t something to laugh about. If you need help? We got your back.”

“Thanks, Nick.” John smiled, passed all the case details to Nick who took the file and started to make a call. “You got a guy in the district attorney’s office?”

“Sure do! I got a cousin who’s tight with the big dog in the DA’s office.” Nick grinned and winked at John.

“Does this cousin have a name?” John asked expectantly.

Nick grinned widely and said: “No comment, Officer Roads.”

John didn’t realize he was laughing alongside Nick until he noticed Montoya walking in with his mouth gaping in surprise. John never laughs on the job!

6:30 PM outside Officer Roads’ apartment.

John’s day had finally come to an end after the tedium of filling up reports, sending cases for follow up, attending to citizens’ concerns and providing backup to officers on-duty at the precinct. Since today was his “cooling day”, he wasn’t going to the library to study. He’d just head to his place, maybe play his guitar a little bit and work on that song he’d wanted to write some time ago, have the last of Skylar’s leftovers and finish the day strong.

He checked his mailbox - empty. So there were no loose ends to his day. As he walked up the stairs towards his apartment, he caught the scent of something really good in the air. Since there were only two apartments on his floor, he was sure it must be Miss Aoi who was cooking. Having seen her perform her cooking-sorcery, he was certain she was making something delicious.

He couldn’t deny it. Her cooking was the best he’d had…

“I’d like to repay you again… for that landlord thing.”

For some reason John kept hearing Sky’s words in his head over and over again. He wasn’t sure why that kept happening. Throughout the day she had been running around in his thoughts. Maybe this was the reason why his coworkers said he was acting weird or saying strange things. Maybe Miss Aoi had made quite an impression on him with her chaotic antics and personal struggles. Maybe he was changing… 

Maybe…

Just as he was about to open the door to his apartment, he heard the thumping sounds of someone running coming from inside the Aoi family apartment. A few seconds later, Sky burst out of her door and looked at John.

John was surprised by this!

Sky was smiling brightly!

“Welcome back, Officer Roads!” Sky beamed with a smile.

“Good evening, Mis- errm… Skylar.” John corrected himself, since he was off-duty.

“I was hoping to catch you before you disappeared into your barracks, John.” Sky quickly checked her pockets and made sure she had her apartment keys before walking towards him. She was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a blue sweatshirt with an apron over it. Her right hand was brandishing a ladle. “I’m here to deliver on a promise! Officer Roads, I’d like to invite you to dinner at my place! As a thanks for your help last night.”

“Oh… Skylar, you know that wasn’t-”

*GRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOWLLLL!*

The sound of John’s stomach rumbling caught the two of them by surprise. John’s face couldn’t hide his mild embarrassment while Sky burst out laughing loudly at this karmic turn of events. After she composed herself and John had finally stopped feeling like a fool, she tilted her head sideways and said with a smile:

“Relax, Officer Weirdo. Nobody’s perfect!” Sky winked playfully, hoping she could hide her own embarrassment of acting like a waifu!

John couldn’t help but laugh loudly as well at how the tables had turned. And for a moment, Sky thought that he looked “kinda” cute when he smiled.

Well, guess it’s dinner time for these two.