I should've known the universe was plotting against me the moment i saw that bird poop on my windshield this morning.
It wasn't just any bird poop—it had texture. It had personality. It looked like it belonged in an exhibit.
Anyway.
Ari and I were barely ten steps out of the coffee shop when i dramatically grabbed his arm like a teleserye extra about to faint.
"Do you think they're dating?" I whispered, eyes wide, heart crumbling like polvoron in a toddler's grip.
Ari rolled his eyes but held my iced americano like a true ally. "Do you think i care?"
"But i care," I whined.
He raised a brow at me. "Babe. You only like him because he's mysterious, tall, and doesn't acknowledge your existence."
I gasped. "Ari! You make it sound like i'm emotionally unstable."
"You are emotionally unstable."
Fair.
We got into the building, the lobby suspiciously quiet, like even the air was holding its breath.
I dramatically pressed the elevator button like i was expecting a red carpet to roll out, but nope.
Just my luck, the elevator opened and out stepped—
"Cairo?" I squeaked.
He didn't even blink.
He just nodded like we were casual strangers passing by on a Tuesday afternoon and then… walked away.
WALKED. AWAY.
"No. No, no, no," I muttered under my breath, dragging Ari by the elbow. "I am not letting that man disappear into the void again like he didn't just ruin my week by existing."
We followed at a perfectly safe and not-at-all suspicious distance (read: five steps behind him, crouching behind the hallway plants like we were in Mission: Impossible).
Then it happened.
He stopped.
Unlocked his door.
Pushed it open—
And there she was.
Nadine.
Wearing his hoodie.
I almost dropped my heart right there on the carpeted hallway floor.
Ari made a sound like he just swallowed his gum. "Is that—? Oh my God."
I held onto the wall for support.
"She's in his unit," I whispered.
"She's wearing his clothes," Ari whispered back.
"I'm gonna pass out."
"Can you pass out quietly?"
I stared at the scene through the slight opening of Cairo's door, which he didn't fully close because why would the universe give me peace?
Nadine was twirling in his living room like she owned the place, while Cairo said something I couldn't hear.
I, of course, leaned closer like my life depended on it.
Which meant i accidentally hit the wall with my heel. A solid, echoing thud.
The door creaked wider.
Ari gasped.
I froze.
"Abort mission," I hissed.
We both dove back toward my unit, fumbling with the keys like we were in a heist movie. I practically shoved Ari inside and slammed the door shut.
And then collapsed dramatically on the floor.
"Okay," I said for the tenth time, pacing in my unit while Ari sat calmly on my couch scrolling through TikTok. "So maybe she's just his friend. I mean, who even wears their guy friend's hoodie these days? That's so… basic."
Ari didn't look up. "Babe, it's literally the number one move in the Soft Girlfriend Playbook."
I flopped beside him and stared at the ceiling. "I'm not crazy, right?"
He smiled sweetly. "No. You're just delusional."
I glared.
He shrugged. "What? At least you're cute."
I sat up. "I need answers."
"Or you could just… move on?"
I looked at him like he suggested i switch to decaf. "Excuse me?"
He sighed and gave in because he always gives in. "Fine. What's the plan, Sherlock?"
I stood with renewed purpose. "We're going to take the trash out."
He blinked. "We just took the trash out this morning."
"Well, now we're taking emotional trash out," I said, grabbing the nearest empty bag I could find. "Come on. We loiter outside his door and see what's up."
Operation Neighbor Recon was in full swing.
Ari and I walked down the hallway like we weren't on a stakeout, which meant i was in full glam makeup, pajama pants, and holding a trash bag with exactly one empty iced coffee cup inside.
I stopped in front of Cairo's door and casually fixed my slipper for the fifth time.
Ari leaned against the wall like he was about to sing an R&B solo. "You look insane."
"Thank you."
The door didn't open.
I tried humming. Loudly.
Still nothing.
I fake sneezed. "AH-CHOO! Oh wow, so loud!"
Nothing.
I stomped my foot.
Nothing.
I turned to Ari in pure panic. "What if they're doing yoga in there?"
He blinked. "Yoga?"
"Yes! Like… intimate yoga. The kind with… breathing."
Ari looked at me with the blankest face known to man. "Are you okay?"
I was about to respond when—
The door creaked open.
And standing there was Cairo.
Shirtless.
Towel over his shoulder.
Hair slightly damp.
If i were in a cartoon, my eyes would've popped out like a Looney Tune.
"Oh!" I squeaked, blinking way too fast. "Hi!"
He blinked at me, unreadable as ever. "You okay?"
"I—yes. Just… throwing trash," I said, holding up the bag like it was a trophy.
He glanced at it.
And then behind him—
Nadine walked into view.
Still in his hoodie.
Still barefoot.
Holding a glass of orange juice like this was her condo.
I almost combusted on the spot.
"Oh hey, Elara!" she said sweetly, like we were besties from preschool.
My smile cracked. "Hey…"
I could feel Ari vibrating beside me from secondhand embarrassment.
Cairo, bless his emotionally unavailable soul, just nodded again. "Well… goodnight," he said, and started to close the door.
But not before i blurted, "You should put some WD-40 on your hinges! That creak? Terrible!"
The door clicked shut.
Silence.
Then—
Ari wheezed. "WD-40?!"
I buried my face in my hands. "Why do i talk?"
He laughed so hard he had to sit down on the hallway floor.
I stayed frozen.
Because that image—Cairo, towel, Nadine, orange juice, it was now permanently seared into my brain.
—
I woke up like i'd just survived a war.
You know that feeling when you cry in your dream and then wake up with a headache, puffy eyes, and a general sense of what even is the point? Yeah.
That was me.
Except i didn't cry. Not technically.
My pride said no, but my pores were giving depression.
I stared at the ceiling of my unit, my blanket wrapped around me like a tortilla wrap of denial.
For a second, I forgot where i was.
Then the memory hit me like a delivery truck: Nadine. Hoodie. Orange juice. Cairo's exposed collarbone.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I screamed into my pillow.
My phone buzzed beside me like it was tired of my drama.
ARI:
Good morning, heartbreak! You still alive?
I replied without lifting my head.
ME:
I want to delete myself from Earth.
Let's go to Mars. I heard men are extinct there.
Before he could respond, another text popped up.
BUILDING GC
📌 Unit 10B will be fumigated at 11AM today. Please vacate your unit temporarily.
Because of course.
Of course i was being kicked out of my safe space the exact same day my emotional capacity had run out.
Universe, if this is a joke, I am not laughing.
I threw off the blanket, stomped to the mirror, and nearly screamed again.
I looked like a dehydrated chihuahua.
My hair had done this unfortunate wave thing—half lion, half disappointment.
I had mascara smudged like i'd been punched in both eyes. Cute.
But you know what?
No. I was not going to be sad today. I was going to serve.
Because what's the point of suffering in silence when you can suffer in style?
An hour later, I stepped out of my unit wearing the emotional armor of every woman who's trying to get over someone who doesn't even know she's obsessed with him: red lip, sleek ponytail, sunglasses the size of my future, and my favorite matching set.
"Where are we going?" Ari asked as i strutted into the elevator with him.
"To find a will to live."
"Babe…"
"Fine. We're going to that new café with the fake clouds and overpriced waffles."
He grinned. "Now that's my girl."
But the second the elevator stopped at the 12th floor and the doors slid open—
Cairo was there.
Wearing joggers, white shirt, and AirPods. Hair still damp from the shower.
Because of course he was.
The universe was playing with me at this point. Like it said, "You want healing? How about this?"
I froze.
So did he.
And for the first time ever, he actually took one AirPod out.
"Elara."
OH. MY. GOD.
He said my name with feelings.
My name. Not "hi." Not a nod. Not "neighbor." He. Said. My. NAME with FEELINGS.
I pretended not to combust inside.
"Oh, hi," I said casually, clutching my tiny Prada bag like it had a Bible inside.
He looked at Ari.
Then at me again.
"You okay?" he asked, and he looked almost… concerned?
I blinked. "Me?"
He nodded slowly. "You screamed last night."
OH MY GOD.
Ari choked beside me.
"I—uh—screamed?" I said, laughing like i wasn't about to pass out. "Oh! That! That was just, um, excitement. For… for a sale. I saw this BOGO promo on concealer."
Cairo tilted his head slightly.
I had no idea what his facial expression meant. I never do. It's like his face is on airplane mode.
Then he said, "You sure you're okay?"
Why was he asking like that? Why did it sound like he actually… cared?
I nodded way too fast. "Yes! Super okay. Like, emotionally thriving."
He paused. "Okay."
Then he put his AirPod back in and walked into the elevator.
Without Nadine.
I froze.
He was… alone?
Ari leaned in and whispered, "Maybe she's gone?"
I looked at him. "Maybe she was never there to begin with."
He blinked. "You literally saw her."
"Details."
I stepped into the elevator after Cairo, standing on the opposite side like i wasn't tracking every breath he took.
The silence was painful.
Like the elevator had been filled with invisible tension and was now choking on it.
Cairo didn't look at me again.
But i could feel something.
I don't know what it was.
The moment the doors opened at the lobby, I practically floated out.
-
Later that day, over overpriced waffles that tasted like regret, I stared blankly at my latte.
"Earth to Elara," Ari said, waving a fork in front of me. "You haven't even touched your heart-shaped croffle."
"I think he was looking into my soul," I whispered.
Ari sighed. "Babe. You've said that before."
"No, but this time, I think he saw my actual soul. Like he knew i was spiraling."
"And yet… he still walked away."
I stabbed my croffle dramatically. "Love is pain."
"You're not in love."
"I'm in something. I just don't know what."
By the time we got back, the fumigation was done, and i was emotionally tired from all the overthinking.
I walked down the hallway like i'd just survived a telenovela arc.
My glam was intact, but my soul? Not so much.
As i reached for my door, it opened from the inside.
I screamed.
He screamed.
We both screamed.
It was Cairo
.
In my unit.
"What the—?!"
He held up a phone. "Maintenance borrowed my extra key. I was helping fix your Wi-Fi—your router got unplugged during the fumigation."
I blinked.
"You… you came in here?"
"Maintenance said it was fine."
"You touched my things?"
"I just—"
"You saw my vanity drawer!?"
"I didn't look in it."
"Oh my God," I muttered, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. "You saw my face rollers and my emergency concealer!"
Cairo looked half-amused, half-traumatized.
"I just wanted to make sure your stuff didn't get ruined by the chemicals."
I froze.
Wait.
Was this his version of caring?
Was this… an act of service?
"I'm sorry," I blurted, suddenly embarrassed. "I just wasn't expecting—"
"It's fine," he said.
Silence.
Then he handed me my router like it was a peace offering.
"Try plugging this in now."
And just like that, he walked past me and out the door.
No drama.
No explanation.
Just… vibes.
I stared after him, clutching the router like it was a handwritten love letter.
Ari entered right on cue.
"You good?"
"He fixed my Wi-Fi."
"That's not a metaphor, is it?"
"No," I whispered. "But maybe someday it will be."