My Neighbor’s Life Comes Knockin'!

5:13 PM outside of Officer Roads’ apartment.

Skylar was still trying to make sense of what was going on with her feelings for John and now, of all times, a big part of Officer Roads’ life appears before her!

Detective O’Malley. John’s mentor and his father figure…

If anyone knew John better than anyone, it was him. John spoke of Detective O’Malley with reverence and the highest respect. Sky had imagined someone with a similar appearance like John, or even a Drill Sergeant-type of man with a military background. Instead, when John showed her a picture of a portly man with a big smile, she never thought that this person might be able to influence a man so detached as John.

Now she was staring at the man.

His grey suit had the same cut and style as John’s, but O’Malley actually filled the suit well and it actually fit properly. He wasn’t as tall as John, nor did he show any signs of having a similar physique. For all purposes, Skylar thought Detective O’Malley looked like a “favorite uncle-type” of man. He didn’t have the look of an officer like John…

“Hard to believe I’m an officer, eh? I get it… it’s the belly, right?” The Detective chuckled and crossed his arms patiently. “And who might you be, Missy?”

“Oh! Umm… sorry…” The Detective’s questions seemed to snap her out of her trance. “I’m Skylar Aoi, I live next door. I’m John’s neighbor. I… erm… I apologize for screaming at you…” Sky bowed in apology, which made the Detective smile softly at the girl.

“No worries, Miss Aoi. I’m guessin’ by your manners and how jittery you were a moment ago you must’ve had quite a bit on your mind to overreact like that!” He rubbed his chin softly and nodded slowly. “Rough day at school?”

“Oh you have no-” Sky caught herself before she began to speak openly about the emotional ordeal she just went through! She held her mouth closed and was still studying the Detective.

She needed to know if she could trust this man… or if he truly did know John…

“Ahem! Before I go on saying anything more, Detective, I want to make sure you really are who you say you are…” Putting up a bit of a defiant stance, Sky looked at Detective O’Malley who opened his eyes wide for a moment, but then grinned in almost comical fashion.

“I seeee! Hehehehe!” O’Mally laughed in good humor, “So, how do you plan to solve this great mystery?”

“Would you mind answering a few questions for me, Detective O’Malley?” Sky was trying to imitate the way John spoke when he went “Officer Roads” and started questioning the landlord at that time.

“Fire when ready, Missy!” O’Malley was enjoying himself too much to stop Sky. The girl noticed this and felt a bit annoyed by it.

“So!” Sky said loudly, trying to take this seriously. “If you say you know John, what is his favorite sport?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” The Detective laughed and kept rubbing his chin while grinning. “My boy loves soccer! In fact, if he weren’t a cop, I’d have suggested he tried out for the Port Seaview Falcons! I kinda taught him everything he knows, see?” O’Malley smirked proudly.

Okay… maybe he knew a little bit about John… but Sky wasn’t sure yet. Time to see if he knew something different…

“What does John like to cook when he has to?” Sky threw that tricky question. John didn’t really receive visitors, so he only cooked for himself, and she already knew about his poor skills in the kitchen.

“Wait… that boy is still trying to cook!?” For the first time, O’Malley looked worried and looked frightened. This caught Sky off-guard. “Y-You didn’t eat any of his… his… cookin’ did ya? If you did, Lord have mercy on your soul!” He made an exaggerated gesture as if Sky was going to go into a coma, or something.

“What!? NO! Absolutely not!!!” Sky lost her focus for a moment in her outburst! “No offense to John, but his cooking would probably turn me into a mutant or something!”

“I know… that boy is hopeless when it comes to cookin’...” The Detective sighed dejectedly.

“Yeah… Wait!” Sky realized she was going off-topic and quickly cleared her throat. She needed to regain control and get more information. Seems this man really does know John… which means, he could give her ALL the deep details about John’s life! Get to know her crus-!

“What are you THINKING, SKY!? This is John’s father figure! His mentor! You can’t just go asking about John’s secrets like that!” Sky began to blush as she was having this conversation with herself.

“You alright there, Missy? Seems your gettin’ flustered.” O’Malley arched an eyebrow and smirked devilishly.

“I-I’m perfectly fine!” Sky tried again to adopt a defiant posture, but O’Malley was adopting the same defiant stance while smirking. “S-So! Umm… D-Do you know if John… erm… has a… like… a… partner?” She just couldn’t bring herself to say the word “girlfriend”!

“Oh, sure!” The Detective said simply as if it were the most natural thing.

“WHAAAAT!? B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BUT HE NEVER SAID A THING!” Sky’s face was beet red at this revelation!

“It’s the most natural thing!” The Detective, easily noticing why Skylar was losing her mind, decided to push the joke just a bit more. “Given his age, I’d say he’s had a partner for about 2 years? Give or take…”

“T-Two y-years!? Officer Weirdo!?” Sky’s world suddenly felt like it was about to fall apart. Until…

“Sure! Every police officer in the force is required to have a partner after they reach a certain amount of years as a patrolman! What? Did you think I meant something else?” O’Malley grinned and asked, clearly doing this on purpose!

“I… You… I… I meant…” Sky realized that O’Malley clearly didn’t understand her question and turned it back at her! This man! He was NOTHING like John! He’d never toy with her feelings like this! “What I meant to say… umm… is… h-has John ever had like a… a… g-g-girl-...” The words choked in her throat… she couldn’t say it.

“You alright, Miss Aoi? You look like you’re trying to say somethin’ important! Ya need a minute?” O’Malley chuckled and began to rub his chin again. Unbeknownst to Sky, the Detective was learning far more than she bargained for…

“I’m fine! Thank you!” Sky had to take several breaths to control herself!

“Get a GRIP, Sky! Just ask!”

“H-Has John ever… umm… had a… g-girlfriend…?” She managed to say in a low whisper, which made her look aside with embarrassment.

“Hmmm…” O’Malley looked up as if he were in deep thought. Sky managed to look up to him as he kept humming to himself.

After a few seconds, the Detective opened his eyes wide and had a look on his face like he had just cracked a major case!

“I got it! You’re quite interested in my boy, Johnny, aren’t ya?” He snapped his finger and grinned at Sky.

“D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DON’T SAY THAT OUT LOUD!!!” Sky couldn’t take it anymore… she had been such an emotional rollercoaster all day long that this had just been the tipping point.

The poor girl, completely defeated, sank to the floor and covered his face in her hands. Her embarrassment of how easily the Detective read her like a book was both humiliating and made her heart beat faster in her chest.

“OF ALL PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT MY CRUSH!!! It had to be John’s mentor… ohhh… nooooooo…”

O’Malley’s laughter could be heard softly as he didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings more than they already were. Instead, he approached Skylar and crouched to be at her level. He groaned a bit with this gesture, but managed to pat Sky’s shoulder very lightly.

“There, there, Missy. You don’t have to worry about anything. I ain’t blabbing about this to anyone. I’m just surprised that someone might actually find my boy interesting, that’s all.” John’s mentor smiled and nodded softly at her. “You got your work cut out for you, Missy! Especially with Johnny.”

Sky suddenly felt confused by this comment from O’Malley. Her eyes looked up and could see a kind expression on his face. She’d seen the same kindness in John… but on this man it felt natural and easy for him to give it. John’s was… difficult to get… but it was infinitely more… meaningful… at least for her.

“W-What do you mean?”

“As you can probably tell, Johnny isn’t the most emotionally mature person. Not ‘cause he’s a child in a man’s body. Nope! He’s just not… wired that way…” The Detective looked a bit saddened by this revelation. “Sorry if I’m rainin’ on your parade, Missy. I just want you to be mindful… for your sake.”

O’Malley held his hand towards her, which she took. Helping her onto her feet, the Detective groaned a bit again from the effort, but managed to avoid hurting himself.

“A-Are you saying… I… shouldn’t…?” Sky stammered a bit.

“No, Missy. I’m just saying to be careful with your heart. Johnny can be… difficult. Even for those that care for him it’s a challenge…” O’Malley rested against the wall for a moment, which Sky emulated.

Slowly she was starting to unravel why Detective Paul O’Malley might’ve been the only person who could’ve gotten a response from John beyond his usual demeanor. The gentleman had a deeper understanding about people…

“Is… caring for John… that hard…? I mean…” Sky felt a bit sad over the possibility that her feelings for John might end up being for nothing. That John would never even notice…

“Carin’ for someone like Johnny is hard, Missy. I ain’t gonna lie to ya.” The Detective took a deep breath, as if the years were catching up to him in that sentence he mentioned. “But…”

Sky turned to look at O’Malley with eyes full of inquiry.

“But…?”

“The people who are the hardest to love are usually the ones who need it the most.”

Sky felt her heart pounding in her chest again. Those words suddenly made her understand a bit of what O’Malley had said.

“John is certainly not the type of person that most people would ever care about… or… l-love…”

“Well… you don’t have to listen to an ol’ man like me, Missy. You kids grow up faster these days, with all your technology and streaming and all that…”

Hearing the word “streaming” caught Sky’s attention immediately, shifting her confused emotions towards something familiar at last!

“Wait! You know about streaming!?”

“You kiddin’ me? I can’t get enough of that stuff! Watchin’ people havin’ fun and doin’ all sortsa shenanigans!? The most fun I’ve had since Johnny and I played together in a fundraiser three years ago!” O’Malley grinned broadly with pride.

“Oh… my… GOD! Someone who actually GETS IT! I’m a streamer myself!” Sky’s excited look caught O’Malley’s attention who looked surprised as if he had just encountered a celebrity!

“Yer kiddin’ me!? Who’s you? What’s yer handle!? Are ya famous!? What’s your highest view count!?” Looking like a fanboy, O’Malley reached out to hold Sky’s hands who held on to his.

“I…I’m Blue Sky… from ‘Blue Sky in Port Seaview’. You know it?” Sky looked into O’Malley’s eyes while on the verge of tears.

“Know it!? I love it! Wait… YOU’RE BLUE SKY!? I’m a FAN!” O’Malley’s eyes began to water up. “This… is like… meetin’... yer heroes… ain’t it…?”

While Sky and O’Malley were having a moment of absolute joy, they failed to notice that someone was looking at them with a blank expression.

“What’s going on here, Skylar?”

Sky turned around and saw John standing there in his poorly fitting suit and his puzzled expression as he looked at her. The object of her crush… seeing him again made her blush intensely and made her look down with embarrassment.

“Hey! Don’t you know starin’ is rude, boy?” O’Malley stepped up and smiled at the surprised John.

“Detective O’Malley? What’re you doing here?” John’s face turned from surprise to joy as he stepped closer to his mentor.

“What do you mean ‘what’re you doing here?’ I messaged you I would be in town! Sheesh! It wouldn’t kill ya ta let me know what’s yer shift lookin’ like!” The Detective smiled broadly. “C’mere boy! Give an ol’ man a hug would ya? Just don’t go breakin’ my ribs…”

Sky watched this reunion and found it deeply touching. She’d never seen John’s face showing such joy and genuine emotion towards someone else… The hug John gave to O’Malley conveyed those hidden emotions more vividly than a thousand words.

For a moment, she remembered how she’d want to see her parents as well… and experience that joy like John was right now…

She’d have to keep her feelings for John to herself for now. She didn’t want to get in between this strange man who was difficult to love and the man who cared for him regardless.

“So! Did ya bring any dinner boy, or are we gonna have to suffer through yer cookin’?” O’Malley patted John’s back with a grin.

“Oh… ermm… actually, I had invited Skylar over for some pizza the other day since she’d been kind to me by offering to cook for me.”

“I see! She’s a kind young lady, isn’t she?” O’Malley looked at Sky who suddenly blushed at the attention she was getting from both police officers.

“She's the best there is, I tell you.” John looked at Sky and she saw that genuine look of happiness in his eyes and face directed at her.

That honest expression… that simple sincerity when he spoke towards her… it was overwhelming at times… but she had grown fond of it… in the few days she’d known him… she’d learned to… care about him… no… that wasn’t quite right…

So… she really was falling in love with him… she would have to be very mindful…

Guess Pizza Night’s gotten just a little bit more interesting…