Work Text:
Evan was freaking out. Not only was he late for class, but he had also forgotten to do his assignment for today’s deadline, and his face was still full of smudged makeup from yesterday's show, no as if that wasn't enough, Tara had escaped. Tara was his 30-centimeter-long tarantula who lived in a terrarium in his apartment building. She was a present from his twin sister after moving out of home and he loved the spider with his whole heart. But now she was missing.
He had woken up that morning, half an hour after his alarm with a burning headache and only a couple of foggy memories of what happened the previous night. Evan was the drummer in an underground rock band who often performed at some dirty club until the middle of the night. He loved it though, he loved being on stage going full out on his looks and performance.
Drumming made him feel alive, so he never regretted going out until far too late to follow his passion, but he always needed a moment of self-reflection the moment after. So after almost falling into another existential crisis, Evan had stood out of bed to get some pain medication in his system. It was only after those kicked in that he noticed the open, empty terrarium sitting on his shelf. The moment he saw it, Evan dropped everything he was doing and sent a quick message in his group chat:
Snakes and Slythers
Regulus, Pandora, Dorcas
Me:
guys I have a problem…
Reg:
Where tf are you? Class has already started
Me:
just woke up, tara escaped
Dork:
WHAT????
Reg:
You mean Tara, the huge spider you keep in your room, that Tara?
Me:
YESS PLS HELP!!!
Me:
THIS IS AN EMERGENCYYY
Panda:
ohh no!! i hope shes okay :((
Me:
GUYS WHAT IF SHES HURT?
Reg:
Better question, what if she hurt someone?
Dork:
Fr Evan you better find her.
Me:
I know I know
Me:
@Reg
Reg:
No.
Me:
pls cover for me in class
Reg:
No.
Me:
professor slughorn will have my ass if I don't turn up today
Reg:
Should've thought of that before losing a whole ass spider
Me:
plsss reg :(((
Reg: …
Me:
I'll buy you coffee for a week!!
Reg:
Two weeks
Me:
deal.
Dork:
Ev please go look for your spider now. Istg
Panda:
yes make sure tara is okay evan
Me:
I'll try <3
Panda: <3
Evan laughed softly at his friends’ antics. Regulus was always so serious that in the beginning, he could never tell when the boy was sarcastic or joking about something, that wasn’t easier over text. Luckily they had known each other for a while now so that wasn’t really a problem anymore. Evan had met the other boy when they were eleven and had both started a new school, both having grown up in a strict household they had quickly found that they could relate a lot and their friendship had basically bloomed from there.
So Evan started searching. He looked through every drawer, on every shelf, in every closet, every single mug. He was determined to find his baby spider and bring her back home safely. With Regulus covering for him, he had the whole day to complete the task but if Tara had decided that she was going to hide somewhere outside of his apartment then he was fucked.
It took him 3 hours before giving up. Evan was sure that he had looked everywhere. He had found all sorts of things, from melted overdue candy that had fallen behind a crack to his vintage Gameboy that he lost a couple of months ago. No sign of the spider anywhere. He was crushed, if he didn’t find Tara it was going to be his actual final straw.
Snakes and Slythers
Regulus, Pandora, Dorcas
Me:
I don't think I’m gonna find her :(
Me:
I’m actually gonna cry help
Panda:
nooo :(((
Dork:
Evan, please find your fucking spider, I’ll never go in your apartment again if I know it could be anywhere-
Reg:
This is objectively hilarious.
Me:
but I can’t find her!! idk where she is
Dork:
EVAN PLEASE!
Me:
I LOOKED EVERYWHERE
Dork:
LOOK BETTER
Reg:
I hope for you that she’s tormenting your neighbor and that he’ll never look at you again.
Panda:
oh no! not the attack on the cute neighbor :0
Me:
that would be actually mortifying I would never be able to look at him again
Dork:
And we know you like looking at him ;)
Me:
SSHHHHHHHHHH
Me:
GUYS THE ACTUAL ISSUE??????
Reg:
Oh yeah… rip
Panda:
rip idk where she could be evan im sorry :((
Dork:
Yeah Rip I’m never stepping foot in that room again-
Me:
GUYS PLS
Reg:
I’m still calling that it’s with the neighbor ngl
Me:
that does not make me feel better
Me:
OH GOD WHAT IF SHES ACTUALLY WITH HIM???
Panda:
im sure shes fine then <3 you should go ask him
Dork:
Yeah maybe finally ask him out while you’re at it!!
Me:
OKAY ENOUGH OF THIS
Me:
YOU GUYS ARE NO HELP
Reg:
Bet?
Dork:
Bet.
Me:
NOT HELPING- NOW IM GOING TO PANIC UNTIL I ASK HIM
Panda:
go ask!!
Dork:
Yeah, what Panda said!
Me:
I don’t like you guys
Reg:
L
Me:
>:(
Evan sighed deeply, he knew Regulus was likely only making a joke but now the thought couldn’t leave his head. What if Tara had managed to sneak her way to the apartment next door? It would be so incredibly humiliating, that Evan would have to pick up his stuff and move to another city. Every time that Dorcas tried to tease him with his supposed crush on the boy next door Evan had denied it. But even though he would never admit it to his friends, he did have a deep desire for the man.
The boy had moved into the apartment next to him a couple of months after Evan had first settled him himself. The first time Evan saw the boy, he had almost walked into his own front door. The boy was around his age, with dark brown hair, dyed neon green at the tips. He had a silver eyebrow piercing that complemented his deep brown eyes. Later, when Evan saw him outside of the apartment smoking he would realize that the boy also had a tongue piercing. This particular fact haunted Evan’s mind for the next few weeks. Just the thought alone made him blush.
He silently cursed Regulus for putting the thought of Tara terrorizing his cute neighbor in his head and sighed deeply. Evan knew that it was going to haunt him until he confirmed for himself. So after slight consideration, he knocked on the door next to him.
He regretted it immediately.
The boy before him seemed to have just gotten out of the shower. He was in the middle of drying his damp hair and Evan could see water drop on his back. The guy had apparently also decided that it was a good idea to open the door shirtless. Evan flushed because, on top of the piercings, and the hair, the guy was also absolutely ripped.
“Hey, what’s up?” The man’s voice was not what he expected, it was deeper and had a rough edge to it, like he had screamed his lungs out the night before, or maybe it was just because of the cigarettes. The only thing Evan could focus on was how badly he wanted to perform with him, how badly he wanted to hear him sing.
“Hello?” The stranger pulled Evan back into reality. Embarrassed, Evan scratched his blond hair and looked into the deep brown eyes.
“Yes! Sorry, I’m uh- your neighbor and, this may seem like a strange question but have you seen-” Something caught Evan’s attention before he could finish his sentence. The man had half turned around while he was talking and Evan could see a glimpse of the back of his head. Between the brown and green locks, sat a familiar animal. Tara had made her way into the hair of the handsome stranger.
The moment Evan realized what had happened, all his rational thoughts went out of the window. He instinctively reached both hands to the spider, but the stranger didn’t seem to notice fast enough. The guy turned around at the same time that Evan had his hands in his hair.
Before they both knew what was happening, they were falling straight to the ground. And to Evan’s despair, he landed right on top of the other boy, their lips almost touching. His hands held on to Tara desperately while his head flushed red from embarrassment.
He quickly got off the other boy who was watching him with amusement.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! My spider sat in your hair so I just- Are you okay?” Evan asked the boy who looked bewildered at Tara who was still sitting in Evan’s hands and he thought that the boy was going to curse him out, demanding he never see him again. Evan was already planning on moving out of his apartment from pure embarrassment. But then, the boy’s expression shifted into a smirk.
“Well uh, would you like to make it up to me? You know, for the spider and all?” He asked it so casually that Evan almost couldn’t believe his ears. Did the handsome boy just ask him on a date? No that couldn’t be.
“Uh, sure? What do you want?” Evan asked confused, the boy looked amused at his nervousness.
“Go out with me?” Evan’s jaw dropped, there was no way this was actually real. It had to be a dream. His surprise was mistaken for rejection and the boy started backtracking his statements, his confident facade slowly fading.
“Of course, you don’t have to! Don’t worry about it-”
“NO! I mean yes! Of course, I want to go out with you!” The boy looked taken aback for a second before his cocky grin returned to his beautiful face.
“Great! Here let me-” He quickly went inside to grab something and Evan took a quick second to take in what just happened. The absurdity of it threw him for a loop. Because here he was, standing in his apartment hall with a giant spider in his hands waiting for his half-naked crush to return. Before he could spiral further, the boy returned. He was carrying what looked like a piece of paper.
“Here you go, call me!” The boy said while handing the piece of paper to Evan, he saw the string of numbers on the paper and felt his blush return.
“Sure! Uh- I got to go, I think she’s getting restless.” He motioned to Tara and quickly made his way to his door. He didn’t know why he made the excuse, all he knew was that if he had to stand there one more second he was going to combust spontaneously.
He went inside his apartment and placed Tara back in her terrarium, making sure to lock the tank extra carefully this time. He then texted the news to his friends, who were all relieved and immediately started teasing him after mentioning the boy next door. Dorcas owed Regulus money because he betted on his downfall. After a long conversation, a nervous breakdown, and some kind words from his sister, Evan finally decided to message his neighbor.
Cute Neighbor
Me:
hi! it’s the boy next door :)
Me:
I never asked… what’s your name?
Me:
I'm Evan btw
Cute Neighbor:
hi there Evan ;)
Cute Neighbor:
i’m Barty <3
You changed contact name: Cute Neighbor to: Barty <3