*Fanart is not from me!*

The mid-afternoon sun spilled across the street, warming the asphalt and casting long shadows from the row of houses. I stood on my front porch, staring at the slightly weathered steps leading down to the pavement. In my hand, I held a flimsy excuse: a plate of cookies my mother had baked earlier. They smelled sweet, with hints of chocolate and cinnamon, but they couldn't mask the nervous energy thrumming through me.

I could hear Lily's voice in my head: "Just go over there. He's probably waiting for someone like you to make the first move!" But that wasn't Niki, was it? He didn't seem like the waiting type.

Still, after days of stolen glances and my overactive imagination filling the gaps in his silence, I needed something. A word, a laugh, even a dismissive smirk, anything to confirm that the enigmatic boy next door wasn't just a puzzle I'd crafted out of thin air.

I took a deep breath, my fingers tightening around the edge of the plate, and walked across the yard.

The closer I got to their house, the louder my heartbeat grew, drowning out the faint hum of traffic in the distance. I could hear muffled voices from inside, laughter spilling through the open window. Jake's laugh, light and familiar, mixed with another, lower, rougher. Niki.

I hesitated at the base of the porch steps, my courage faltering.

What if he thinks I'm ridiculous?

I turned back, ready to retreat, but just then, the door creaked open. My breath caught.

Standing there, wearing a black t-shirt that clung to his shoulders and jeans that looked effortlessly casual, was the man who haunted my mind. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and his sharp eyes immediately locked onto me.

"Hey," he said, his voice carrying a lazy confidence that made my nerves spark.

I froze, heat rising to my cheeks. "Uh... hi." I held up the plate like a shield. "I thought I'd bring these over. My mom made them to you know...great our new neighbor?" At least I'm sure the cookies are good, my mom always succeeds in everything she is baking. She saw Niki and when she saw he looked around my age she absolutely wanted me to go talk to him. So with my friends and my mom's pressure I had no more other choices but finally did it.

He stepped forward, leaning casually against the doorframe. A faint smirk tugged at his lips, and I could feel him sizing me up. "Cookies, huh? What's the catch?"

I blinked, thrown off balance. "No catch. Just... being neighborly."

"Neighborly." He repeated the word like it was foreign to him, then stepped aside. "Well, you're here. Might as well come in. I'm Niki by the way."

Niki? At least I can put a name on his face now. "Celeste" I replied back.

The living room was a mix of chaos and comfort. A gaming console was sprawled across the coffee table, wires snaking toward the large TV on the wall. Empty soda cans and snack wrappers littered the floor. Niki's friend was sprawled on the couch, controller in hand, and paused mid-game to glance up at me. Niki simply says "Jake" like it's enough for a presentation and it's all I need to know.

"Hey! huh....", he looks at Niki who answers "Celeste", "Oh! Then, Celeste, right?" His smile was easy and genuine, a stark contrast to Niki's guarded demeanor.

"Yeah," I said, feeling slightly less like I'd walked into the lion's den.

Jake nudged Niki. "Didn't know we had company. You didn't scare her off, did you?"

Niki rolled his eyes but didn't respond. Instead, he gestured toward the plate in my hands. "What's the deal with these cookies?"

"Nothing. Just thought you might like some."

He took the plate, his fingers brushing mine for a brief second, and for some reason, that fleeting contact sent a jolt through me. He didn't comment on the cookies, just set them down on the coffee table and plopped into the armchair, looking at me like he was trying to solve a riddle.

Jake, sensing the tension, grinned. "So, how's life next door? Niki's been meaning to say hi, haven't you, man?"

Niki shot him a glare. "Sure. Real social, that's me."

"Naur way you didn't even bother saying hi to our neighbors", "Like you did." Jake ruffles Niki's hair which took off a sigh from the black haired boy.

I managed a small laugh, though my focus remained on Niki. He leaned back in the chair, his arms draped lazily over the sides, watching me with an expression I couldn't read.

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The conversation was stilted at first, with Jake doing most of the talking. Niki, on the other hand, remained quiet, his eyes flicking between me and the window, like he was mentally somewhere else.

Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. "So, what made you move here?" I asked, directing the question to Niki.

He raised an eyebrow, as if surprised I'd addressed him directly. "Needed a change."

Jake chuckled. "Yeah, he's all about fresh starts. New places, new faces, right, Niki?"

"Something like that," Niki muttered, his gaze briefly meeting mine.

Jake chuckle, it sounds familiar coming from him. "For real, it's because of a girl I'm seducing" Niki left an eyebrow at the word "seducing", like isn't what he would call it. Or maybe he just doesn't have the same way of seducing someone?

The minutes stretched on, filled with more small talk and a growing tension that I couldn't define. Sometimes it felt a little award, after all I might have bothered them and we don't know each other much. But I learn more about them, or better I learn more about Jake. I know that he's Australian and he promised to show me pictures of his country another day. At least I know he seems to appreciate me.

When I finally stood to leave, Jake gave me a cheerful goodbye, promising to return the plate. Niki stayed seated, his gaze lingering on me as I walked to the door.

"Celeste," he said suddenly, his voice low.

I turned, heart racing. "Yeah?"

A ghost of a smirk played on his lips. "Thanks for the cookies."

For a moment, I thought there might be more, a question, a comment, anything, but he simply leaned back in his chair, as though dismissing me and the moment altogether. I see Jake giving him a glare but I couldn't quite define it. It looked like he was disagreeing, something like "don't do that", "we already talk about it", but I'm not sure.

I left the house with more questions than answers, my head spinning. Niki had finally spoken to me, but it wasn't enough.

As I crossed the yard, I glanced back, half-expecting to see him watching from the window. But the blinds were closed, hiding him from view.

For the first time, I wondered if I'd ever really get to know him or if he'd always stay just out of reach.

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"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart."
-Helen Keller

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