Apartment. 615 b: Chapter 1
#1 of Apartment 615 b
Apartment 615 b
Chapter one
A fresh start
"Well, this is supposed to be it..."
Jack seemed to be confusing his cab driver more and more as he tried to direct him to the supposed location of his new apartment. Eventually Jack had to resort to asking the cabbie to pull over so Jack could find a payphone to call his new landlady and ask her where exactly he was supposed to go. This only made the cabbie more perplexed.
"Why not use your mobile?" the cabbie asked in a thick British accent. The truth was, Jack had lost his phone the previous night at his going away party with his close friends. He probably could have found it in the morning had he not been late for his train or had such a massive hangover. Jack chose to ignore the cabbie's question; the answer was just too embarrassing.
"Plus" Jack thought to himself, "If I hear that accent again I'm...."
Jack jumped out of the cab and ran to the payphone, blocking out his thoughts momentarily as he tried to find the scrap of crumpled paper that had his landlady's number. He dialed and heard a series of whirring clicks before he got through to the aging Russian wolverine. He thanked her for clarifying the address and she muttered an incomprehensible mixture of Russian and English before hanging up.
Jack tipped the cabbie and gave him a little wink before walking into the apartment complex.
Jack walked up to the front counter and signed some rather yellowed papers before receiving the key to his new apartment, number 615 b. Jack got in the slightly corroded elevator and pushed the six, which did not feel like popping back out, but rather stayed there stuck pushed in. Halfway through the elevator ride, which was quite long as the ancient elevator was being hoisted up by what must have been the world's first internal combustion engine, there was a terrifyingly loud crack as the "6" button popped back out.
"AhshitIwanttolive!" Jack cried out in terror.
"Damn elevator".
"This is it" Jack thought, "A new start in a new city" Jack turned the key slowly and pushed open the door with his paw. Laid out before him was an expanse of wood floor and for some reason, vaulted ceilings. Jack was amazed this place was listed for so little, the view was amazing, the floors were new, it even came with furniture! Jack walked over to the window to check out what he could see of the city when it suddenly dawned on him why this apartment was so cheap. There were no outlets... anywhere.
Jack had been suckered in to buying an apartment with no electricity. While Jack was leaning down to make abso-fucking-lutely sure there weren't any outlets hidden under the drywall, the otter that had been watching him let out a low purr. Jack whirled around to find a half naked otter lounging in his yellow slightly dilapidated couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"It's no use tearing up the wall, the last guy tried that. Believe me, you don't want to know what's under there"
"What!? Who are you and how did you get in here and TAKE YOUR FEET OFF MY COFFEE TABLE!"
The otter made an exasperated face and moved his feet, he grinned and extended his paw,
"The name's Allen, I live in 615 a across the hall, and your door was wide open"
"Sorry about that, I'm just kind of pissed that this place has no electricity."
"It's okay, the last bastard nearly gored me when I showed up uninvited. You looked relatively harmless, though."
"Well I wouldn't be so... wait, just how long were you watching me?"
"Oh, uh, not that long... just... assessing the umm... so I guess I'll be going, my door's always open, mainly because the door rotted and can't be shut anymore."
The Otter headed towards the door and looked back at Jack,
"Say, what's your cell number, I might need you for... umm.. something"
"Erm, well, I don't really have one right now..."
"What happened, get mugged on your first day?"
"Not exactly.... I lost it last night, at my going away party"
"Your... going away party? You didn't happen to live in... never mind, I'll see you later. Maybe tommorow I can get you a goddamned phone!"
"Yeah...."
"Oh, by the way, welcome to the neighborhood. It's always nice to have another gay guy in the building."
"Wow, am I... that obvious?"
"Look, honey, I know someone's gay when they still smell like Mansex. Plus, you're still wearing that rainbow band from whatever club you were at last night"
Jack stared awkwardly at his feet for a moment before looking up where the otter had stood.
"Shit"
Jack was kind of attracted to Allen, and he felt something there, yet he couldn't be sure yet. Hell, he had just met him!
Jack wondered what Allen was talking about... what was he trying to ask him about his party last night? oh well.
Jack sat back on the couch and thought about what tomorrow would bring. He would need someone to help him bring in his stuff. Allen was... a little pushy, but it was probably just the usual awkwardness that comes with meeting your new neighbor while shirtless.
Jack realized his friends probably didn't want to drive the 400 miles to help him, and Jack certainly didn't blame them. Maybe he could use Allen, the phone could wait for another day.
Jack curled into a ball to conserve heat, as he soon learned that the apartment did not come with heating as a standard option.
Thank god for fur.