#thank you miss zendaya for this tidbit

[yasminhananis]

no. the shirt. sick!!

[jennifersylvesters]

so idk if u take requests but i thought this was cute.. *so we've never met but our showers r on the opposite sides of the same apartment wall so sometimes when we r showering at the same time we sing duets* au with whoever the hell u want

ahhh!! that’s such a cute au!!! (and yes i always take request haha.) i’m incapable of doing something short and to the point so hopefully this is fine for you, bubba!

Moving to New York had always been a big dream for you. It always seemed a little cliche, but you liked hearing the songs and watching the films about The Big Apple. That was the place where you expected all your dreams to come true in the bustling city.

A couple years out of high school, you finally had enough money saved up along with job offer for a startup company in Midtown. Of course excitement couldn’t express how psyched you were about living in the city that never sleeps. Even with all the great things heading your way, you were faced with the dilemma of finding a good place to live.

Every space you checked out fell flat. Some spots you could afford, but they were cramped or in questionable neighborhoods. Other locations you adored, but there was no way you could  afford the rent. The more you apartment hunted, the more defeated you felt.

Eventually you ended up moving in to a loft in Brooklyn with a couple of girls. While you originally planned on living by yourself, it just wasn’t realistic. When you finally came to this realization, you posted on Facebook asking for apartment help. Lucky you that your friend from high school, Zendaya, replied with an offer.

The two of you hadn’t been particularly close in those days, only hanging out during lunch period or after school. But she had always been humorous and kind, which you appreciated. And now in your moment of need, you were thankful for her. One of her flatmates was moving out, and you happened to be the perfect candidate to help fill that spot. After discussing a couple details, it was agreed that you would move in as soon as possible.

Though this wasn’t your original dream, you quite liked the loft. The shared spaces were roomy, and your room felt comfortable. You had the perk of not running into your actual roommate very often seeing as she often traveled or worked graveyard shifts. Still, she was always sweet whenever you actually saw her.

And as much as you loved being in New York, you weren’t expecting it to overwhelm you as it had. It seemed like people and things always rushed around frantically that you couldn’t keep up with the pace. The one place that strangely comforted you was the bathroom.

Of course you could never tell or even explain that to anyone else. This would make you sound crazy; somehow enjoying the cramped space of a bathroom wasn’t a fact you wanted to share with others. But what made it such a solacing place was the shower sessions and your shower buddy.

This as well was another tidbit you couldn’t really share with others. How was one supposed to say that without sounding like a complete lunatic? But you enjoyed waking up just to have your morning shower. When the water poured out and steam filled the room, that’s when you and your shower buddy would belt songs like it was no one’s business.

What added to the strangeness was how you didn’t actually know who your shower buddy was. All you knew was that he lived in the apartment next door and that he had an amazing singing voice.

You ran into a couple of the guys that lived in that apartment building though you never caught any of their names. It was just small passings. You once shared the elevator with the cute curly haired boy whose wide grin made you smile back at him. There was the sandy blond fellow who winked at you as you passed by, whistling a tune as he bounced down the stairs. One fellow who often wore snapbacks, once helped you carry your groceries to your place. At this point you weren’t sure if they were just visitors or actual tenants.

But you knew that one of them might’ve been one of the best people you had somehow already met without truly meeting. One of them was your shower buddy, the person who you sang songs with in the morning between the thin walls.

The singing started up a couple months ago. You had trudged into the bathroom, bringing your speaker to play music while you muddled through an early shower. Your music blared throughout the bathroom to block out the sound of horns incessantly honking outside. As you bopped your head along to the sound, you couldn’t help but hum until you began singing along.

You stopped singing and nearly slipped hearing someone else’s voice join yours. You never heard that person’s voice before. Were you hearing things or was the bathroom haunted? Neither option sounded great, but you preferred no ghosts.

The other voice stopped singing and for a moment only ABBA rang throughout the rooms. And then you heard him on the other side starting to sing softly once more. Perhaps you just wanted to indulge this peculiarity - see what might happen - so you decided to sing along again. Somehow the two of you ended up belting the rest of the song and a couple others till you were finally clean.

It wasn’t something you could explain. It just happened. And it became a regular occurence, both of you taking your morning showers at the same time and singing along with one another. The two of you never talked; it was just pure singing, and you loved every second.

One of your favorite moments has been the moment when you both warbled “Someone Like You” by Adele, committing to the aching intensity of the song. But you liked the duets best because he harmonized so well. It felt so freeing to sing with someone who didn’t know you yet had a sense of you.

And you weren’t sure how, but there was an unspoken communication about who got to choose the song or radio station that day. Both of you discovered the other’s musical preferences as disliked songs would get light singing while favorites would get belted out.

You enjoyed these moments, no matter how small or silly they might’ve been. Yet you wanted to know more about the singer next door.

So one weekend morning, when time didn’t quickly rush by, you decided to see if your roommates knew anything more to help figure out your predicament. Only Laura seemed to be awake at ten thirty, light sweat on her forehead after finishing her morning run. When you asked her if she knew anything about the neighbors, she shrugged grabbing a bowl and her box of Cheerios.

“Um” Laura started, dragging out the word as she poured cereal in a bowl. “Actually I’m not really sure. Only met that guy whose name starts with a T? Terry? Theodore?”

Zendaya strolled into the room, letting out a loud yawn as she stretched her arms out. “What’re you guys talking about?” she groggily asked as she opened up the fridge.

Laura maneuvered around her, grabbing the jug of milk for her breakfast. “Y/N was just asking about our neighbors.”

“Which one?”

“Nevermind. It’s not a big deal” you dismissed. This idea began feeling silly. Maybe it was better to leave things unknown.

“C’mon, Y/N. Spill” Zendaya urged as she closed the fridge with a carton of juice in her hands. Though she was tired, your quickness in trying to drop the subject intrigued her. Obviously something was going on, and curiosity was getting the best of her.

“Actually, I wanna know now too.” A mischievous smirk rose on Laura’s face as she dug into her meal.

You knew better than to lie or try and have them forget about the whole ordeal. When either of them set their mind to anything, their stubborn natures came out in full force. So you sighed and told them the truth; you just wanted to know who the mysterious stranger was who sang along with you in the morning. The more you revealed, the excitement between the two of them grew.

“Oh, my God! That makes so much sense!” Laura gasped as she set down her spoon. She explained how a couple days ago she heard one of the neighbors singing while she showered. He stopped singing when she stayed silent, uncomfortably pretending as if she hadn’t heard the stranger at all. It coincidentally was the day you accidentally missed your alarms and rushed to work an absolute mess.

Laura and Zendaya began to let their imaginations run wild, wondering which boy next door you had a thing for. Even with your interjections that you didn’t have a crush, they just gave you playful smiles before bursting into giggles. Okay, soo maybe you had a tiny crush. But they still missed the point that you had no idea who you actually liked.

Your jaw dropped slightly when Zendaya revealed that there were five people living next door. Five potential singers that might’ve been your duet partner. Questions raced in your mind.

Had you met them in passing before? And if they had, did you make a good impression on them? Did they like your singing or did they just like the company? Were they a morning person or were they like you - only looking forward to the morning because of the shower sessions? And you knew you shouldn’t have, but you couldn’t help but wonder: Were they already dating someone?

Sinking into the couch, you tried to recall any details about your neighbors that might help you solve who it was. But details of groceries or clothing wouldn’t help you figure out who you were searching for. Either you needed to be upfront with every one of your neighbors, or you had to do some major sleuthing. You weren’t sure you were equipped to do either.

As you pondered your decision, you didn’t realize that he might be wondering about you as well. On the weekdays he would scrounge up a decent outfit for his job before calling out a farewell to his roommates and exiting the apartment. He’d glance over at your apartment door, wondering if you already left for the day or if you were taking your sweet time.

He would look both ways before jaywalking to the other side of the street to his subway entrance, fumbling to find his wallet where he stored his MetroCard. Pushing past the other commuters, he’d make his way to the platform as he slipped headphones in while waiting for the train to arrive.

He would stare down at phone screen which lit up his face, swiping through songs in his Spotify. He would search for ones that he thought the two of you would harmonize best at, the songs you would thoroughly enjoy before the world decided to throw whatever mess it felt like that day.

And a part of him wondered if you’d ever figure out who he was…

sorry with this is low-key a dick move leaving it on that end. maybe i’ll write a part two?