Four Painful Years

>Confront him directly.

… No more. You’re done running away. This man needs to be taught a lesson. Calming your nerves with a deep breath, you resolve to confront him directly.

When you turn around, he’s already five feet in front of you.

It takes every fiber of willpower in your five-foot-one body to reduce a full-body panic spasm to only a flicker of the eyelids. Your eyes find his, and it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. Nested within two sunken pits of dark, tired skin are these amber globes of molten gold. Had they belonged to anyone else, you would have found them strikingly beautiful. You swallow and take a few steps forward. You need to come across as confident, unafraid. You will not be bullied into silence.

JULIE: “H-Hey.”

Nailed it.

JULIE: “Look, whatever this is that you’re doing? The whole staring thing? It needs to stop.”
JULIE: “Like, if you wanna say hello, if you’re just shy or whatever, I’m all ears, I don’t bite.”
JULIE: “But glaring at me from your window whenever I go out ain’t gonna get you anywhere so… s-stop that... Please.”

He doesn’t respond. He’s just staring at your forehead.

JULIE: “Hey!”

His eyes flick back down to yours. You shudder, but retaliate with an intimidating leer of your own.

JULIE: “I-I’m serious! I’ll call the cops, alright? Jeez...”

There must be something wrong with him. Whatever. You’ve had enough. You step to the side and walk past him. Your hand is inches from the door handle of the pharmacy when he finally speaks.

NEIGHBOR: “No one there.”

You flinch.

NEIGHBOR: “Takin’ a break.”

JULIE: “... I’ll wait, thanks.”

Well at least the guy’s got one of those nice, gravelly voices going for him. Everyone’s got at least one good quality, right? Maybe Maxwell was right after all.

You enter the pharmacy. Huh. No bull, there’s actually no one at the counter. That’s new. You guess you’ll just wait around? Between the rows of shelves and a plethora of health awareness posters you’re not exactly starved for reading material.

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Achievement Unlocked: “Brave” - Chose to confront your neighbor instead of running away. (200In)