anything can happen; closed.

Spencer carried the last box up to his new bedroom and dropped it on the floor with a sigh. Moving in to a new house was so exhausting. It felt as though he'd just done a crossfit workout, or something along those lines. Inside the last box was a collection of all Spencer's favorite books and movies. He stacked the movies alphabetically on the top self of his bookcase, then placed all his books in order by author. It wasn't necessarily OCD, but there was a certain way Spencer liked to do things when it came to organizing. With another sigh, this time one of relief, Spencer fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. It hadn't been more than five minutes by the time his mother, Alice, was knocking on his door, "I think we should introduce ourselves to the neighbors before dinner". Spencer groaned and sat up, "Can't it wait 'til tomorrow? Or the next day?" Alice smiled and shook her head, "it'll only take a few minutes, and it wouldn't kill you to meet any potential classmates while you're at it." Spencer followed his mother down the sidewalk to the nearest neighbor's door. He kept his head down as she knocked on the door lightly, hoping maybe nobody would answer and he could go back to the safety of his room again, would he ever be so lucky.

Sam rolled his eyes as he heard his mother shouting for him to come meet the neighbors. He thought quickly and got up, going into his bathroom. He splashed hot water on his forehead and wiped it off with a hand towel before heading downstairs. "Ma, I feel sick," he complained, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his forehead. She let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Alright, go lay down." Sam bit back a smirk as he glanced out of the doorway for a second, looking at the new neighbors. He raised an eyebrow as he looked from the mom to the boy, noticing how innocent he looked. He couldn't help but think about how much he'd be corrupting the boy at some point in time. He walked back upstairs and laid down on his bed, pulling his headphones on and blasting his music into his ears.

Lucky for Spencer, only a mother answered the door. She welcomed them sweetly and mentioned something of a son being ill. Spencer smiled and waved and happily followed his mother to the house on the other side of their own to meet their other neighbors - old people. It wasn't as horrible as Spencer had anticipated and for that he was grateful. When finished and back in the house, Alice announced she had a few errands to run, quirky things she needed for dinner. Spencer went back to his room and rummaged through his books, but none of them caught his eye. He remembered someone at his old school constantly talking about a movie they loved that was actually based off a book, as most movies are nowadays. Grabbing his house keys and cell phone, Spencer ventered back outside and to the library, convientiently only a few blocks of a trip. The library was one of Spencer's favorite places to be. It was quiet and comfortable. At the library nobody bothered him or tried to get him to speak. It was just him and the books, taking him to his own little world when he sat in the middle of isles to read.

Sam nearly fell asleep when his mom came into his room and shook him awake. He groaned and pulled his headphones off, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. He rolled his eyes when she asked him what was wrong and he just muttered something about an upset stomach before he got up. "I think I just need some fresh air," he said. He pulled a jacket on and grabbed a bottle water. "I'll have this with me in case." He gave her a quick hug before he walked out of his house and went down the street, not sure where he was going just yet. But his feet had himself heading towards the library. Why, he didn't know. Maybe because it was super quiet and peaceful, and he liked books.

@ zombrex

The library was slightly chilly, which Spencer found amusing. It seemed like one thing all libraries had in common. He wasn't sure where to start looking since he couldn't remember the author, so he just picked the first isle. He fingered the spines of book after book, trying to find the one he'd been looking for. A couple isles later to no prevail, he gave up on looking for the specific book. A green book jacket tiled The Maze Runner caught his eye. It was another one he'd heard of but never got around to reading. He pulled it off the shelf, using his phone as a place marker, and sat against the isle opposite of where he'd pulled the book. It really was a good book, Spencer thought to himself as he got a few pages in. He could have easily sat on the ground reading 'til the library closed.

[Got it this time. ]

Sam found himself at the library, walking in and looking around. He sighed softly as he walked to the section where the book he wanted was, frowning when he didn't see it there. He walked up to the front desk, looking at the woman behind it. "Could you tell me when The Maze Runner will be back on the shelf?" he asked, his brows furrowing when the woman told him that it hadn't been rented. He looked around the library, wondering who had it. He spotted a boy with the book in his hand, noticing that it was the boy from earlier who was apparently his new neighbor.

@ zombrex

By the end of the chapter, Spencer was dead set on checking the book and eventually the entire rest of the series out. He closed the book and stood up, grabbing his cellphone from where the book had been. He checked the time as he walking down the isle towards the front desk. When he looked up he saw a boy who looked to be around his age. He slipped his phone in his pocket and smiled shyly in the other's direction before sidestepping around him.

Sam bit his lip gently. "Hey," he said, looking at the kid, reaching up to grab his shoulder. "You have the book I want." Sam was kind of socially awkward, until it came to the ladies, that is. He knew his way around with girls, but he'd never really had any true friends, which led him to being socially awkward. He didn't talk much, only to his mom and his dad (who never seemed to come home anymore) and sometimes, a few kids at school. He just felt out of the loop, so what was the point?

@ zombrex

Spencer jumped slightly at the physical contact. It wasn't something he was used to - being touched - especially by strangers. He looked back at the other boy and made a confused face. "Um.. I kind of was gonna check this out," Spencer stuttered out. He scrunched his nose in a nervous habit. "You can have it," he said finally, "I can find something else." Spencer smiled and held the book out to the other boy. He didn't actually want to give the book up, but he also didn't want to seem like a jerk or something on his first impression, especially not on his first day in this new neighborhood.

Sam was surprised when the boy actually handed over the book. He cleared his throat and took the book, biting his lip for a second before he shook his head and gave it back to him. "Nah, keep it," he mumbled. "Don't need it that badly." He could always just steal it when the boy was finished. He would be able to tell if he could look through his window into the boy's room. He began to walk out of the library, heading back home.

@ anchored lungs.

Spencer started to say something in return when the other boy handed him the book back and simply walked away. Spencer frowned lightly and sighed. He took the book up to the counter, quickly signing up for a library card, and left the library. With the book tucked under his arm, he could see the boy from inside just a little ways ahead of him. Spencer continued walking, feeling like he was following the boy even though he wasn't. He bit his lip and jogged up to close the space between the two of them. "Hey," he said as he got closer, "what's your name?"

Sam's brows furrowed as he looked back at the boy. "Ah, what's in a name?" he shrugged, continuing to walk home, hoping the boy wouldn't realize that they were neighbors. He wasn't the type to make friends, and he wasn't about to start now. Especially with this kid. If you looked at the two next to each other, they were polar opposites. Some might say opposites attract, but Sam liked to believe he could only have friends with similar interests.

@ anchored lungs.

Spencer frowned as the boy kept walking. Of course the kid didn't want to meet him, or speak to him, or know him at all. Spencer sighed and grumbled to himself. Why had he even bothered? He didn't even want to meet his own neighbors earlier in the day and that's exactly why. Spencer stopped walking, not wanting to follow the other any further, he turned around and went back to the library. He sat down at one of the tables outside and started to read the book he had just checked out. Spencer was so caught up in his reading he hadn't bothered to watch the time. His phone went off with a text from his mother, dinner is almost ready. He finished the chapter he was on before making his way back down the street to his house.

Sam got home and went straight up to his room, changing into something more comfortable before he laid on his bed and turned his TV on, surfing through the channels. There was nothing that seemed to be interesting on, and it was times like these where he wished he actually did have a friend to talk to. He had absolutely nothing to do, and he was bored out of his mind. He walked over to his window and looked out of it to see if the boy had gotten home yet, spotting him walking up to the door. He bit his lip as he imagined the boy moving through his home, wondering how long it would take him to get to his room. This wasn't considered stalking, was it?

@ anchored lungs.

Spencer smiled at his mother cooking in the kitchen. "Smells good mom," he before giving her a quick hug. Spencer made way to his bedroom to read more of his book for dinner was actually ready. He sat on his bed cross legged with his chin on his hand. Spencer wondered what it would be like actually living in the glade - not that great he concluded easily. "Dinner is ready!" Alice called up the stairs. Spencer sighed and closed the book, tossing it on his desk before leaving his room.

Sam watched the boy for a while before he disappeared. He took that as his cue to open his window, using the tree between the two houses to climb over and open the boy's window. He snuck in and looked around, raising an eyebrow. Just as he'd expected. Everything was neat and tidy, in its own place, the opposite of his room. He grabbed the book and sat down on the boy's bed, biting his lip gently as he opened it and started to read.

[plot twist omfg]
@ anchored lungs.

Downstairs Spencer ate dinner with his mother in a comfortable silence. They never talked much at the table. When they were finished he smiled up at her and helped clear the table. He quickly shoved the plates in the dish washer and headed back up to his bedroom. Spencer stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at the boy from the library sitting on his bed. His mouth fell open in utter confusion. "How'd you get in here," he asked as he was somehow able to find his words.

Sam looked up, a curse silently falling from his lips as he sat the book down and stood up. He wasn't sure if he should tell him they were neighbors or not, but he guessed that the boy would figure out eventually. "I, uh, climbed in your window," he said, "from mine. I live next door. Sorry." He scratched his neck and shook his head before he walked back over to the window to go back home. He should have just taken the book with him, but he thought that dinner would be longer for the family.

@ anchored lungs.

Spencer stared at the other boy as he remembered the neighbor lady says she had a sick son, although this guy didn't look sick at all. He looked down at the book on his bed and picked it up then looked over at the open window, laughing at the fact he had just had his neighbor climb through it just to read the book. "Wait!" he said said urgently. How many times was this kid going to just walk away from him? "You still never told me your name.."