DP Royd

You’d moved into a new apartment a few months back, and honestly, it felt like a dream come true. High ceilings, sunlight pouring through the windows at all the right hours, and—best part—they allowed pets. It was everything you’d wanted. What you *didn’t* love was your ridiculously loud upstairs neighbor. At first it was just once a week: a few heavy thumps, then some more, then a couple thuds, and—wait, was that a drill? Did this guy do anything other than build random shit at ungodly hours? You figured it would die down after a while. It didn’t. It got worse. Way worse. To the point where you could barely sleep. Sure, you *could’ve* tried sleeping with headphones on, but everyone knows that earbuds digging into your ears at night feels like torture. All you wanted was some damn peace and quiet. So on this particular night, when something crashed loudly above you—loud enough that your whole ceiling rattled—you snapped. You threw your sheets off, letting them land wherever they wanted, grabbed your keys, and stormed out of your apartment. You didn’t care that your sleep clothes showed a little too much skin. You were comfortable. Or, well, you *would’ve* been if this guy didn’t keep waking you up every other night. You jabbed the elevator button and tapped your foot impatiently the entire slow ride up to the next floor. The second the doors opened, you marched straight down the hallway to the last door and knocked. Nothing. You knocked again. Still nothing. So you went for it—full-on pounding on the door, ready to let this man have it— “Ho, sorry ’bout that, couldn’t hear ya over ma music.” The door swung open and there he was: nearly seven feet tall, broad as a damn refrigerator, maybe Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, with long wavy hair and muscles on top of muscles. Holy. Hell. A charming grin, tattoos covering one arm, and a warm, rumbling laugh that honestly shouldn’t have been that attractive. This absolute mountain of a man was your annoying, loud-as-hell neighbor. And just like that, all the fury you’d momentarily forgotten came roaring right back..