Chapter Text
China Sorrows unlocked the door of her apartment block, brushing her hair out of her face. After her long and stressful day in the office, she was really looking forward to the good book and cup of tea waiting for her inside her apartment. She walked briskly over to her flat door, on the right side of the stairs and began unlocking it. She could picture it now; Tess of the d’Urbervilles sitting on her favourite armchair while a cup of tea simmered away beside her.
Her blissful thoughts were interrupted by a bustle behind her, formed by her neighbour. He was a tall, almost horrifyingly thin man dressed impeccably in a tight suit with matching hat. He had piercing cheekbones on his pale skin that contrasted with his dark hair and deep blue eyes. He paid no heed to her as he rushed up the stairs to his own apartment.
China knew very little about her upstairs neighbour. Just that he worked with the local police agency as a detective, solving crimes around the city. She herself had occupied the downstairs flat, and remembered the day he had moved into the top floor; alone with all his belongings. He seemed to be pretty well-off for a single man living on his own in the city.
China was startled; the man hadn’t looked at her at all; hadn’t even acknowledged her existence. This needed to be rectified. China cleared her throat.
The man stopped two stairs up and whirled around on his heel, gazing at her with his blue eyes, tilting his head. He looked rather like a wide-eyed puppy, trying to figure out the new person before him.
China smiled politely at him.
“Good Morning,” she said.
“Morning.”
She barely got a reply out of him before he began climbing the stairs again. Again, China was shocked. This man was being rude to her. She couldn’t have that. China cleared her throat again.
The man was on the landing now and he spun yet again to her, smiling politely.
“I’ve just realised we’ve never spoken,” China began, “After all these years living side by side.”
“That’s nice,” the man replied, and yet again was climbing the stairs, rounding the corner and disappearing out of sight. China almost considered leaving the man to his business, considering his atrocious manners, but she was China Sorrows. He would not get away from her.
Her heels clacked across the floor and in a few steps she was standing on the stairs; clearing her throat yet again. The man spun around opposite her and leaned over the railing so that his face was mere inches from hers, inspecting her diligently.
“Yes?” He asked, initiating the conversation for the first time.
From this close up, China could appreciate how nice of a blue his eyes were and just how high his cheekbones reached.
“I’m China Sorrows,” China stuck her hand out.
The man looked down at it for a moment before sticking his hand through the railings of the stairs and shaking it.
“Pleasant. Skulduggery Pleasant,” the man said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Sorrows, but I have a murder to get to so if you will please excuse me.”
And Skulduggery disappeared once again; this time China let him leave as she returned to the door of her own flat.
Skulduggery Pleasant, she thought, What an odd name. An odd name for an odd person.
Things with Skulduggery Pleasant were going to be very interesting.