Anyway, Don't Be A Stranger

[lighthousegirl]

First part - no sneezing quite yet sorry! Just testing it out - let me know what y'all think.

Note: For me this is set primarily in a UK city somewhere and speaks to my own experience of postgrad life. But its pretty non-specific.

 

 

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

 

Daniel was woken from a heavy sleep after an equally heavy night to his phone blaring at him from across the room. Groaning, he rolled over and forced himself out of bed, wincing as the cold air hit his body after the warmth of the blanket. Blearily he made his way across the room and with some difficulty turned off the offensive alarm. It was Saturday morning – why had he set an alarm?? As his eyes adjusted to the light of his phone, he found his answer.

 

Hi Daniel, it’s Charlie. Just confirming the apartment viewing this morning at 10?

 

Dammit. He’d totally forgotten about the person coming to see the spare room in his flat. It was 9:30 now. Why on earth had he agreed to a Saturday morning viewing? Right at this moment, as much as he was in need of a roommate to help pay the bills, he was sorely tempted to tell this person to please just go away, he needed to crawl back into bed and back into his alcohol-induced coma, thank you very much.

 

Instead, he dragged himself to the shower and stood under the spray, slowly waking and warming up. Quickly he dried himself with a towel, pulled on some jeans and a hoodie and went out to check that the apartment hadn’t suffered too much from the carnage of the night before. Luckily it looked like he had got in and fallen straight into bed. He was just putting on some coffee when the doorbell rang. Quickly he checked the information the applicant had sent him: Charlie, 23, postgraduate student, originally from Canada. Sounded like an ok guy judging by his messages.

 

What he wasn’t expecting when he opened the door was a blonde girl with a cute, shy smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Arvani]

Oohh this is fun! I like the premise.

[lighthousegirl]

The door opened and Charlie took in the clearly very tired but still handsome looking guy in front of her. He was tall, very tall, and skinny but built solidly, clearly a gym user. His light brown hair was short and curly and in slight disarray, still drying from the shower. He looked at her for a second with some confusion and then smiled and laughed slightly.

 

“Sorry – I thought you were a guy!” he said, then immediately blushed and stammered, “I mean, not that that you look… I mean from your texts I assumed from your name you were…   I mean, it’s fine, no worries, I don’t mind that you’re not…” He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head slightly as if willing away some imaginary irritation. “Let me start again – I’m Daniel and I’m very happy to meet you, Charlie.” And he held out his hand for her to shake, looking utterly embarrassed.

 

Luckily Charlie found all this rather endearing and shook his hand, trying to think of something to say to help the poor guy out. All she could think of was a rather lame, “sorry – I should have made it clear in my message – if it’s a male roommate you’re looking for I totally understand.” “No, no!” he said quickly, “it’s totally fine, please come in. Sorry, I had a bit of a heavy night last night and I’m not quite firing on all cylinders yet.” Charlie laughed sympathetically. He did look tired. “Big party?” she asked. “Stag night,” he replied, with an ironic grimace.

 

He led her into the living room, and she looked round appreciatively at the space. “This place looks great,” she said. “When I moved over here, I had no clue where to stay but a lot of people said this neighbourhood was good for students?” “Yeah, I’ve been here 3 years now,” Daniel replied. “It’s great – close enough to town but most people around here are postgrad or phd students so not quite so loud and crazy as the undergrads. It’s a little more peaceful normally.” “Unless there happens to be a stag night going on?” Charlie said, with a teasing smile. “Oh, uh, yeah I guess,” he replied, ducking his head and looking embarrassed again. Damn, Charlie thought. Too familiar too soon as usual Charlie. Nice one. She was about to apologise when Daniel got there first. “Sorry – I’m a bit of a mess today,” he said. “I’m usually very professional and composed, honestly.” Charlie wasn’t quite sure how to respond but after a slightly awkward pause Daniel smiled a crooked smile that immediately made her feel relaxed again. She liked this guy. He seemed to have the same social anxiety that she sometimes felt, or maybe she was reading too much into things. Whatever the case, she felt comfortable with him.

 

He showed her the kitchen and bathroom, asking her a few questions and seeming very interested when she said she hoped to become a teacher. Charlie was mentally adding good listener to his list of positive attributes when he opened the door to the spare bedroom. “Here’s your room – or the one you’ll have, if you want it, I mean,” he said, looking flustered again. Luckily Charlie was looking around enthusiastically and didn’t seem to notice. “There’s uh a fair amount of space and you can put stuff up on the walls if you want.”

 

Charlie loved it. It was cosy and welcoming and felt like the right space for her. It was pretty nicely furnished as it was, and all it would need was a splash of colour here and there, maybe some cushions and a throw or a picture or two and it would feel like home. “Do you mind if I have a look at the closet?” she asked, taking a step towards it. “Oh sure, of course,” he replied and stepped forward to open it for her. The door stuck a little and he had to pull it with some force to open it. As he did so, a huge cloud of dust flew out and into the room. Clearly, the closet had not been cleaned for some time. Charlie only caught a little of the draft and stepped back with a small cough, but Daniel got the full force of it and hurriedly shut the door again. Charlie laughed and said, “I guess your previous roommate wasn’t a fan of dusting huh?”

 

Daniel didn’t reply. As Charlie looked at him, she was alarmed to see he looked almost angry. His brows were knitted, and he seemed to be concentrating fiercely on something. Then he tilted his head back and she watched his eyelids flutter as his mouth opened and his lower lip trembled. Oh, she thought. And a warmth ran through her, unbidden and instinctive. He was going to sneeze. Clearly the dust was doing a real number on him. She wondered idly if he had allergies.

 

She waited patiently, watching him, trying to make it look like she wasn’t staring. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, Daniel was clearly oblivious to everything, save the fierce, nagging tickle in his nose. However, as the seconds went by and nothing happened except them continuing to stand there, Charlie wondered whether she should do something. “Are you, um, ok?” she asked, concernedly. He looked at her through glazed eyes, holding up a hand as if to motion to her to wait or stand back. “Sorry…” he breathed, with a half-smile through the hitching breaths. “D-dust just... r-really… gets to me… hheh…huh… huh… oh god… c-come on…” He raised his hand towards his face as if to rub his nose, then seemed to think the better of it. “It m-makes… my nose s-so i-itchy, b-but I c-cant… it t-takes f-forever to actually… s-snuh…huh…huh…haaah…?” After a moment, he seemed to temporarily regain control long enough to finish his sentence. “Sneeze,” he said simply, before his breath started hitching again. “Here we…go…again…huh…huh…haaah…haaah… oh man…c-come on…huh…huh…”

 

Charlie gazed at him, transfixed. Never had she seen a buildup like this – it seemed to linger and tease at him, taking him to the edge but never coming to fruition. His frustration was palpable, and Charlie could sympathise. Her own body was screaming at him to just sneeze already – it didn’t seem like either of them could take much more.

 

“Oh…oh… it’s coming… I…c-can f-feel i-i-it,” breathed Daniel, his nose wiggling wildly and his eyes tearing up as he tried desperately to coax out the sneezes that were threatening, just on the brink. “Hah…hah…huh..huh…haaah…,”  and then he moaned, actually moaned with the filthiest sound Charlie had possibly ever heard, before – “ooooh… hah… HAH… HASCHOOO! Aschoo! Heh…hehaschoo! HehASCHoo! HehASCHoo!” He caught the sneezes in the crook of his arm then sighed and wiped his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. He was blushing bright red now. “I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice rough after the exertion. “I…uh…huh…haschoo! I should have made sure the closet was clean – I assumed Ben had done it before he moved out. Should have known better, he wasn’t brilliant when it came to ch…cho…oh…ah…ah…aschoo! Chores.”

[Arvani]

Annnnnnd it is brilliant! I sooooo hope you have more planned for these two!

[Kolen]

This.

This is beautiful.

I love it so very much 

[Care]

I enjoyed this very much. I hope we have more !

[flowerbearfalls]

This was wonderful!
I really hope you continue it

[lighthousegirl]

Thanks for the lovely comments. I'm enjoying spending time with these two. 😊

Charlie couldn’t believe this. The guy was clearly suffering from a major allergy attack, and he was apologising to her? Trying to keep her voice level and not show the fireworks going off inside her body, she said quickly, “oh please, don’t worry about it! Are you ok? That sounded pretty full on.” And wonderful, she added inwardly, trying not to blush herself as the sound of his sneezes replayed in her head. He sniffled and gave a half-cough, half-laugh. “I think I might need to get out of this room to be honest.” “Oh, of course!” she exclaimed and opened the door for him. She almost reached out to take his arm as he walked a little unsteadily to the hallway but luckily managed to restrain herself just in time. Lord knows what he thought of her so far, but if she started getting all touchy-feely with him, he would probably call the police. “’Scuse be a second,” he said huskily, and went into the bathroom to grab some toilet roll. She heard a few soft nose-blows before he re-emerged, looking a little less bleary-eyed but still pretty exhausted. “Sorry about that,” he said, his voice still a little rough. “I’m pretty allergic to certain things so I should probably warn you that that is a semi-regular occurrence.” He smiled self-consciously, meeting her eyes then looking down at his feet. “That’s tough I’m sorry,” said Charlie, feeling genuinely sympathetic. However much she might enjoy watching him sneeze, she felt bad that he seemed to suffer so badly. Charlie rarely sneezed unless she had a cold. She’d never had allergies to speak of and admired how people who did seemed to take it in their stride. “Thanks,” he replied. “Ben, my best mate who used to live here, used to take the piss constantly. Said I kept him awake at night, but I think he was just joking. He sleeps like the dead. Of course, he said I sneezed loud enough to wake the dead but…” His eyes glazed over again, and he quickly turned slightly away from her and brought the toilet roll to his face. After an agonising pause, his head snapped forward and he sneezed a quick triple into the tissue. “Ah…aschhmpf! AhHESCHmpf! AhHESCHmpf! …I try to stay quiet,” he said resignedly, tucking the tissue back in his jeans pocket.

 

“Oh, don’t worry,” Charlie reassured him. “I’m a really sound sleeper too. Hardly anything wakes me up and to be honest your sneezes don’t sound that loud to me anyway.” That last part was out before she could stop herself and she bit her lip before she said anything else incriminating, fiercely trying to keep her composure. “That’s what I always thought,” agreed Jamie. “It’s more that it takes forever for them to come out sometimes. I can feel them tickling my nose and I just want to sneeze and be done with it, but they just itch and itch. It’s torture.” He sighed and sniffled again.

 

Charlie could barely speak. Not only was this guy super sneezy, he seemed to have no problem talking about it. It struck her as odd, as he seemed quite self-conscious in some ways, but in this regard he clearly felt unembarrassed. It was just a fact of life to him – he was a sneezy guy. But then, Charlie reminded herself, that was the same for most people. She just happened to have this ridiculous weird kink which made her stomach tie itself in knots at the mere mention of the word.

 

“Anyway!” said Jamie, breaking her reverie. “That’s the whole flat pretty much. Aside from my random sneezing I’m generally quite a good roommate so I’ve been told. Do you have any questions?” Tearing her mind away from a million sneeze-related fantasies, Charlie reluctantly brought herself back to the present. “I don’t think so. It’s a great flat – do you mind if I think about it and let you know in the next couple of days?” “Sure,” he said, “just ping me a message when you’ve decided.” He walked her to the door and smiled his bashful smile again. “It was good to meet you Charlie.” “You too – I hope you feel better soon!” “The hangover or the allergies?” he laughed. “Both, I guess,” said Charlie, feeling a little sheepish. She said goodbye and left quickly before she could say or do anything to further embarrass herself.

***

Jamie spent much of the rest of the day lazily watching TV interspersed with replying to messages from friends recounting stories from the night before and comparing hangovers. He hadn’t dared re-enter Ben’s old room – he was still sneezing sporadically, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he was going to get the room cleaned properly before Charlie moved in. If she decided to that is. He kind of hoped she would – she seemed a nice person, a little quiet like him, not the type who seemed like they would cause much drama in a living situation. It would be a different experience than living with Ben that was for sure. But at the end of the day, he wasn’t looking for a new best friend, he just needed someone to help pay the rent. If they turned out to get on like a house on fire then that was an added bonus.

Ping. Speak of the devil. His phone lit up with a message from Ben.

Mate – can’t thank you enough for the stag but was making me walk home in a pair of high heels not a little much?! Think one of my toes is broken!! B

Jamie chuckled to himself and typed a reply.

Well we were just trying to get you to walk a mile in your wife’s shoes – marriage is all about compromise so I’m told. 😜 Have you just woken up? I felt like crap this morning, had to get up for 10.

Dude, why???

Forgot I’d arranged to meet your potential replacement.

Aw, no-one can replace me in your heart surely. What’s he like??

Plot twist… he is a she.

Nice! She cute???

Jamie rolled his eyes. Ben’s fiancée was going to have a lot to put up with. He replied:

She smells better than you that’s for sure. 😜

How dare you, I smell like one of those bunches of flowers you’re so allergic to.

Speaking of… thanks so much for dusting your cupboard before you left. Must have sneezed about a million times while I was showing her the room.

Aw man, gave her the full show did you? >:-D Your sneezes crack me up man.

Glad someone’s entertained. Probably made her want to run a mile.

What she say?

She was nicer than you about it at least.

She gonna move in then?

She said she had to think about it. Seemed cool though.

Hope it works out man. Gotta go, I’m starved. Catch you later. B

Jamie grinned to himself, thinking of some of the mad times he and Ben had had as roommates over the years. Ben was one of the few people who brought Jamie out of his shell and managed to get past his more reserved exterior. He wasn’t really shy so much as a little… self-contained. He was comfortable in his own skin and happy to keep himself to himself aside from some close friends, his parents and his sister, who really was the one person who he could confide pretty much anything to. When it came to relationships, he had little trouble getting dates, but no relationship had lasted longer than a few months. Like most things, he didn’t let it worry him. He figured the right one would probably come along sometime and if not, he was perfectly happy in his own company.

 

Jamie’s reverie was interrupted by a familiar tickling in his nose. He gave a slight groan, shook his head and scrubbed at his nose to try and alleviate the tickle. He should have known better – all that did was stave off the sneeze but did nothing to quell the growing itch, like a thousand tiny feathers prodding the inside of his nose, enough to annoy him but not enough for him to be able to expel them properly. He sniffed a little and went into the kitchen, attempting to distract himself by making dinner. For a while it worked, as he chopped up some vegetables and threw them in a pan. He found himself thinking about Charlie again, wondering if she liked to cook. For some reason he imagined her as a good baker. Maybe it was the fact that she was training to be a primary school teacher but she had a creativity about her, and a warmth. He thought back to Ben’s earlier text. She cute??? If Jamie really thought about it, he had to admit, she was. Probably not the supermodel fantasy Ben was creating in his head but in a more real kind of way. Bobbed blonde hair, pale skin and shorter than him by nearly a foot. Not much make up, but a splash of red lipstick. It suited her.

 

The steam from the pan rose and curled around his face and loosened some of the moisture in his nose. He sniffled and then tilted his head back as the tickle suddenly returned with a vengeance. His eyelids fluttered closed and he stood waiting breathily for the inevitable to happen.

 

“Huh… huh… huh…ah…haaah…?” He screwed his face up, desperately trying to urge the sneeze on. He was fed up waiting for it at this point. Why did they always have to torment him first? “Oh…oh god… ah… hah… HAH… ASCHOO! Aschoo! Huh…huhASCHooo!” Finally. All that dust that had gotten up there this morning seemed to finally be making its way out again. “Heh… huh… hah… aschoo! Aschoo! Aschoo! Aschoo! Ah…ah…huh..huhASCHOOO!” The last sneeze of the fit surprised him slightly with its violence, but it seemed to have finally done the job. His relief was palpable and he sighed and blew his nose thankfully.

After dinner he thought he would read or watch some more TV for a while, but after a day spent lounging around indoors he was starting to get cabin fever. He grabbed his jacket and headed out for an evening stroll, thinking vaguely about picking up a couple of things from the shops. He walked across the bridge near his house and looked out over the river. It was one of his favourite spots in the city and he stopped for a minute to watch as the sun set slowly over the water. He felt… peaceful. Idly, he took his phone out and began to type a message.

 

 

[lighthousegirl]

Apologies - you will have seen the name of one my characters has suddenly changed! This is because I copied and pasted from an earlier draft from before I decided to change his name. He'll be back to Daniel on the next post. Sorry again!! 😞 

[Arvani]

58 minutes ago, lighthousegirl said:

Apologies - you will have seen the name of one my characters has suddenly changed! This is because I copied and pasted from an earlier draft from before I decided to change his name. He'll be back to Daniel on the next post. Sorry again!! 😞 

Not to worry, I just chugged right along without it being a bother! I love this concept and how it is unfolding!!! 

[EveP]

13 hours ago, lighthousegirl said:

Apologies - you will have seen the name of one my characters has suddenly changed! This is because I copied and pasted from an earlier draft from before I decided to change his name. He'll be back to Daniel on the next post. Sorry again!! 😞 

I didn't even notice, because I was so engulfed in the story. 🙂

[Kolen]

On 2/11/2022 at 5:44 AM, EveP said:

I didn't even notice, because I was so engulfed in the story. 🙂

LOL same

[sneezyfeather338]

This story is great. Can’t wait to see what Charlie will do with Daniel’s allergies.😍🥰😘

[Lacrima]

Love this story! Can’t wait to read more  

[ItchyNostrils]

Very cute story so far 😊

[lighthousegirl]

So sorry for the delay in getting the next part up. Thank you so much for all the comments. Hope you continue to enjoy. 😊

 

Charlie drummed her fingers on the bench, lost in thought as she watched her laundry whirl round and round. God, she would be glad not to have to take all her clothes to a laundromat anymore. Definitely a pro for the moving into the flat question. If she was honest, she had really liked it. She just wasn’t sure what a great idea it would be to move in with a guy who through no fault of his own would be constantly turning her on. Surely it would become obvious to him over time, then it would just become too awkward and embarrassing to be sharing the same space. Also, as much as he had said he was fine with anyone, he clearly was a lot more used to living with another guy.

The trouble was, not only did Charlie like the flat, she liked him. Apart from the sneezing issue, Daniel genuinely seemed like someone who could become a friend, and being on her own in a new country, she could use some of those. Maybe she should just get over herself and tell him she wanted to move in. But what if he was just being polite? What if…

Her thoughts spiralled around as she watched her clothes do the same in the washing machine. She gave herself a little shake. Get a grip, she told herself. Sleep on it and make a decision in the morning. This was often her way of doing things when she found herself caught in a “what if” loop. Finally, her laundry was done, and she headed back to the hall of residence she was temporarily staying at until she found a place. She put her clothes away and flopped down on the bed. She began lazily scrolling through various messages on her phone, mainly best wishes from friends back home, and worried ones from her mother asking if she’d found a place yet. Then her phone lit up with a new notification. A smile played on her lips as she read the short message.

 

Thanks for coming by today Charlie. The room is yours if you want it. Daniel.

 

***

 

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

For the second time in as many days, Daniel was woken by his phone blaring at him way too loudly to be acceptable on a Sunday morning. Sleepily, he reached over and tried to make his eyes focus on the screen. What he saw shook him out of his doze somewhat. Charlie was calling him… at 8:30am??? This girl was clearly far too much of a morning person. If she moved in they’d have to have a conversation about how he was only usually coherent after 10am and a strong coffee at the weekend. Hazily he pressed “answer”, clearing his throat before he spoke.

 

“Ahem… hello?” Charlie heard a somewhat rough voice finally answer after several rings. “Oh! Hi!” she said uncertainly. “Um…is that Daniel?” “Yep,” the voice replied huskily, “sorry I sound a bit out of it… I’m not a great morning person.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I just woke up early and had a million things to do and I saw your text and wanted to speak to you as soon as I could so…” Stop babbling Charlie, she told herself firmly and forced herself to focus on the wall of her room while she waited for him to reply.

“No worries,” the voice answered, sounded a little brighter and friendlier. “Glad one of us has some energy at least. How are you doing?”

“I’m good thanks… I just wanted to say thanks for your text and… I’d like to take the room - if you were serious about the offer that is.” She said the last part hurriedly, before she could change her mind for the millionth time and also hoping that she didn’t sound too eager.

“Oh really? That’s great!” The voice definitely sounded friendlier now. “Well, my week is pretty free so happy to help you move your stuff in whenever is good for you.”

“Oh thanks – that would be so helpful!” she replied. “Would this Friday evening work? I can get a takeaway to say thank you if you like!”

Silence on the other end. She looked at her phone, wondering if they’d been cut off but apparently they were still connected. She could hear some very faint, muffled sounds on the other end, and then suddenly –

“HschhMPF!” Some more muffled sounds followed this, then suddenly Daniel was back on the line. “Man… sorry about that. A takeaway sounds great – h-happy to he-help… sh-shit… exc-cuse me…” Charlie heard sounds of a phone being put down and Daniel presumably fumbling for a tissue. She held her own breath as she heard a few sniffs and then some very faint hitching breaths. “Huh…huh… oohh come…on… heh…heh…hah…” Then there was a sigh and Daniel picked up the phone again. “Sorry again,” he said frustratedly. “My nose seems to want to torture me. A takeaway sounds good. Come by any time on Friday – I work from home that day, so I’ll b-be he…here… oh for the love of… hah…Hah… HAH… hehASCHOOO! Aschoo! Aschoo! Aschoo! Jeez!” “Bless you!” said Charlie, feeling almost as relieved as he presumably did. “Th-thanks,” he replied, “N-not…done… yet though… oh… oh… huh…huhASCHoo! Aschoo! Aschoo! Aschoo!” Charlie heard a few coughs and some muffled cursing, trying not to laugh as the poor guy tried to deal with his itchy tickly nose. She felt bad that he was suffering, but it also seemed quite endearing, like a little kid who just couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with himself. She heard a shaky sigh and an ever-so-slightly plaintive voice saying, “I think I’m allergic to mornings. I’m so sorry about that.” She did laugh at that and replied “Poor you – don’t worry about it. I should go and let you get back to sleep or whatever. Thanks again – I’ll see you Friday.” “See you then,” said Daniel, sounding tired once again. Reluctantly she hung up, wondering how many sneezes she was missing out on, her stomach clenching as the sound of those muffled sniffles and sneezes echoed in her mind.

Meanwhile, Daniel rolled over with a groan, burying his head in his pillow as he willed his nose to succumb to the tickles he had desperately tried to hold back in order to at least be able to say a coherent goodbye to the girl. His nose tingled and itched, his lip trembled and his eyelids fluttered as the sneezes swelled and swelled, at last bursting out of him in a torrent. “HehASCHoo! HeASCHOOO! HASCHoo! HASCHOO! Huh…huh…huhaschoo! Hehaschoo! Heschoo! Heschoo! Heschoo! …” He seemed stuck in a cycle of perpetual sneezes for what seemed like ever, but in reality was only a couple of minutes, before he could finally sit up properly and wipe his face and nose with exhaustion. He let out a long sigh of relief as the irritation finally seemed to leave him, and flopped back on the bed, gradually dozing off again, soft contented snores the only sound in the quiet apartment.

 

 

 

[Kolen]

yay an update!

Thank youuu! 

[starpollen]

Ooooh loving this! 🥰

[lighthousegirl]

Thanks so much for the lovely comments! Here's a bit more.


With a sigh, Charlie let herself into the flat and dropped her bag on the floor. It had been a long week, she was tired and the weather was turning colder. She was looking forward to curling up with a cup of tea but sounds of laughter from the living room reminded her that Daniel had invited friends round tonight. 

She'd been living there for a couple of months now and they'd got on as well as she could have hoped. They were both pretty tidy, fairly relaxed and each introverted enough to sense when the other wanted privacy. But he also made her laugh and had become a good sounding board. In short, she felt she'd made a friend. The sneezy thing didn't seem such a big deal either. She'd barely heard him sneeze since she'd moved in - an occasional muffled "thschoo!" through the bedroom wall in the morning and that was it. In a way, she was relieved. As enjoyable as his displays had been, she didn't know how she could have kept her composure had it been a daily occurrence. 

Charlie dragged her mind back to the present and entered the living room feeling a little nervous of all the strangers. Luckily Daniel greeted her warmly. "Hey! Come and have a beer and some pizza." The friendly faces of the other 3 guys there made her feel more at ease. The 2 on the sofa moved up to make room for her and she settled in next to one with dark hair and glasses. "Hi, I'm Luke," he said, shaking her hand. "This is Andy," Daniel said, pointing out the other guy on the sofa who smiled and waved, "and this is Ben." The guy in the chair opposite her grinned at her broadly, already looking like he was plotting some way of causing mischief. From what Daniel had told her, Ben was definitely the polar opposite of him, and would likely try and embarrass her in any way he could, but not to take him too seriously. Charlie knew they had been friends for a long time and Daniel had recently been best man at his wedding. 

"So you've coped living with Dan so far then," he said teasingly. "He hasn't had a meltdown over you leaving a sock in the dryer or anything yet?!" Before Charlie could respond, Daniel had retorted with, "believe me mate, any roommate after you would be a blessed relief." "Daniella, you wound me!" Ben exclaimed, falling to the floor dramatically, pretending to be pulling an imaginary dagger from his chest. He winked up at Charlie, saying, "just remember he'll always love me best." Daniel rolled his eyes and Charlie felt herself blushing, unsure how to respond. Luckily, Luke came to her rescue by asking about her job - it transpired he was also a teacher. They chatted easily, while Daniel, Ben and Andy entered into a spirited conversation, which mainly seemed to revolve around them each taking the piss out of each other. Charlie felt herself relax and start to enjoy herself. 

During a lull in the conversation Andy turned to her and said, in a soft Irish accent, "sorry it's a bit guy-centric tonight. My girlfriend was supposed to come but she's not well. She was looking forward to meeting you." "Oh I'm sorry," replied Charlie. "Is she OK?" "Oh yeah, just a cold - it's been going around at the moment." "That's you screwed then Daniel!" boomed Ben. He turned to Charlie smiling impishly again. "Whenever a cold is even mentioned around this guy he ends up getting sick," he explained. "Honestly mate, I've never known someone with a worse immune system." This time it was Daniel's turn to blush and he muttered, "shut up Ben. I only got sick because you spread your germs all over the place." "Ah come on Dan, you know you sneeze at pretty much everything. I bet you're thinking about it now I've said it aren't you?!" And Ben reached over and tickled Daniel on the nose, shouting "sneeze, sneeze, sneeze!", earning him a playful punch on the shoulder. Daniel caught Charlie's look of amusement and sympathy and stood up, declaring, "I'm going over here where it's safe from you tormenting me." And he squeezed on to the sofa next to her. While he'd tried to laugh it off, he was clearly embarrassed and Charlie tried to quickly change the subject by asking Ben about his wedding. She felt Daniel relax and recover his composure as the conversation moved away from difficult waters, and she endeavoured to do the same. Just the mention of sneezing, the thought of Daniel with a cold, was enough to get her heart beating fast and her skin tingle. 

The chat ebbed and flowed. Sometimes Charlie entered into it, other times she enjoyed the guys' gentle ribbing of each other. Gradually however she became aware that Daniel was growing quieter and quieter and glanced over at him surreptitiously. His eyes were slightly closed and his lips slightly parted. As she watched out of the corner of her eye, he brought his hand up to rub the underside of his nose with his knuckle. From the redness of his nostrils and slightly watery hue to his eyes she had a feeling he was fighting a losing battle. Clearly he didn't want to draw attention to himself after the earlier teasing and reluctantly Charlie forced herself to look away from him and focus on the conversation, hoping to be able to deflect conversation away from Daniel's predicament if necessary.

It didn't stop her from feeling the periodic tension in his body though - they were close enough to nearly be touching and she could feel him stiffen and relax as he continued to try and stave off a sneeze. Or more likely a fit, given how it seemed be plaguing and niggling at him. He brought his hand up to knuckle under his nose several more times, soft sighs and frustrated noises escaping him that only she could hear. Probably no-one else would have noticed, but she was more than usually attuned to signs of sneezing and the tension was beginning to drive her as crazy as presumably it was Daniel. One part of Charlie desperately wanted to see him succumb to the sneezes that clearly so needed to be let out, but another part knew how embarrassed he would be and she wanted to help him in some way. But she couldn't think how.

Luckily, the guys seemed oblivious - they'd started a game on the Nintendo switch and the shouting and laughter covered pretty much everything else. Only Charlie noticed when Daniel's soft sighs and sniffles suddenly changed to a quiet but urgent sounding "heh..."

It was Charlie's turn to freeze in her seat. She couldn't help throwing another glance over at him and saw with a mixture of excitement and alarm that his face betrayed a more pressing need. He was beginning to lose composure - these sneezes weren't just going to go away. His eyelids were fluttering shut, his mouth was open and as she watched as his breath began to come in hitches again.

"Huh... hah... hah..." Charlie continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. He turned resolutely to his side and pinched his nose firmly. Blinking slightly and wriggling his nose, he turned back to the group, attempting to look nonchalant. It wasn't to be however - soon the sniffling, hitching and nose rubbing was back. Charlie couldn't believe no-one else had noticed yet. As much as the display was majorly compelling, Charlie decided it was time to help the guy out. While the rest of them were engrossed in the game she leaned over, put a hand on his back and whispered, "Go. I'll cover for you." Daniel threw her a surprised but grateful look and got up, muttering about going to the bathroom, knuckles pressed to his nose. None of the others even looked round. Charlie got up too, saying something about putting on some music, then as Daniel disappeared into the bathroom, she turned it on, pretending to struggle with the volume, meaning the music blasted out, loud enough to cover anything else. In the ensuing chaos, no-one was concerned about what Daniel was up to.

Meanwhile, Daniel entered the bathroom, hearing the music blaring and took a thankful breath, willing himself to just sneeze already and get it over with. His nose was tickling desperately and his breath hitched and hitched more and more wildly. "Heh... heh... hah... hah...HAAAH..." For one more excruciating moment it lingered there, right on the edge, torturing him for another second before, "HeASChoo! ASCHOOO! ASCHOOO!" He sneezed into his cupped hands, bent over with the force of them. They were just so damn tickly, and he could feel more on the way. The music in the living room turned down a little and he reached hurriedly for some tissues, muffling more sneezes into them, hoping they wouldn't hear. "Hesch! HasCHMPF! HASchmpf! Hschmpf! Huh..." He looked blearily at his reflection in the mirror, flushed face and watery eyes looking back at him as one last sneeze teased at him, a lingering itchy tickle in his nostrils. He crinkled his nose slightly and screwed up his face as finally, finally the fit came to fruition with a last satisfying triple. "Haschoo! Haschoo! Hah... hehASCHOO!" He sighed with relief, blew his nose and splashed some water on his face. Looking in the mirror again, the sight was better. He sincerely hoped he wasn't coming down with a cold, but unfortunately Ben, as annoying as he was, was also right. He did seem to pick up the slightest sniffle that came his way. It didn't usually bother him too much but he just couldn't really deal with more ribbing from Ben tonight.

Charlie had noticed though. Not only his attempts to prevent a sneezing fit, but his desire to hide it. She'd helped him out. The girl was different somehow - most people he met either seemed to think his sneeziness was hilarious or disgusting. Girlfriends in the past had mostly just got impatient with it. Charlie seemed to be matter of fact and somewhat sympathetic, without treating him like a leper. Not that Charlie was his girlfriend... but as Daniel prepared to head back to the living room, he recalled the soft pressure of her hand on his back as she had whispered in his ear. It had certainly not been an unpleasant feeling.

 

Hope you enjoy guys. If anyone has any thoughts on where you'd like this story to go, please feel free to share. I'm kind of just going with the flow with these two. 😊

[Arvani]

Yaaaaayyyy!!! Loooove this! So happy to read the next installment. 😊

[EveP]

Such a lovely update. A great start to my day. 💜

[sneezygirl97]

Love where this is going, I really hope he actually is getting sick 🤞

[lighthousegirl]

2 updates in 2 days! Crazy times!! 🤪 

After the boys finally left, Charlie tiredly started clearing up beer bottles and empty pizza boxes. As Daniel emerged from the bathroom after retreating to blow his nose once again, he exclaimed, "Don't worry about that! I'll sort it in the morning." "It's OK," she replied. "It's nearly done anyway. Are you feeling all right?" As he saw the concern in her eyes, he found he felt touched rather than annoyed or embarrassed at her attention. "Oh... I'm OK. Unfortunately Ben is right and just the mere mention of sneezing is enough to set me off at times. He knows it gets worse when I'm embarrassed so of course he tries to make that happen at every opportunity." He ducked his head as he bent to pick up a bottle and Charlie smiled to herself at the endearing bashfulness in his face. They continued to clear up in companionable silence and took everything through to the kitchen together. Charlie turned the kettle on. "Cup of tea?" she offered. "Sure," Daniel replied. As they waited for the water to boil, Daniel said awkwardly, "Um... thanks, you know, for helping me out back there. Ben's a good friend but sometimes I don't always want to be the butt of his jokes you know?" "It's OK," Charlie replied. "I just didn't want you to sit there suffering." "I'm surprised you noticed," laughed Daniel. "Was I that obvious?" "Only because you were sitting right next to me. I don't think anyone else had any idea," Charlie reassured him.

There was a pause as they looked at each other, the water continuing to boil in the background. Charlie felt a flip in her stomach that for once had nothing to do with sneezing. She hadn't quite appreciated before the shade of his warm brown eyes. The kettle whistled, startling them both a little and Charlie turned away, busying herself with mugs and tea bags. As she turned back he had moved closer. She suddenly became aware just how tall he was. Quickly she passed him his tea. "Thanks," he said quietly, taking it in two hands. Their fingers brushed for a moment as he took the mug, but almost he immediately he handed it back to her, taking a deep breath and raising a hand to his face. "H...hang on. Huh... hah... hah..." 

He was so close to her. If his head snapped forward with a sneeze he'd practically fall on top of her. Daniel seemed to realise this as he looked at her through increasingly bleary eyes. "S...shit I'm suh...sorry...huuuh..." He turned away from her slightly, looking up to the ceiling, willing the sneeze to come. She watched his face in profile, wiggling his nose once again to urge the sneeze on this time, rather than compel it to go away. "Man, I'm so...oh... over th-this," he muttered. "It's OK Daniel," Charlie said quietly. He met her eyes again briefly before snapping to the side, burying a sneeze in his elbow. "HuhAschoo! Th-thanks. M-man... huhASChoo! HuhASCHOO! Phew!" He shook his head a little, as if to alleviate further tickles, then looked at her, grinning ruefully. "You're good at not making me feel like an idiot you know. It's a different experience for me." "Happy to oblige anytime," laughed Charlie. "I just wish I could do the same for myself as often." "Really? You seem pretty confident to me," he said, sniffling a little and rubbing his eyes. She just smiled at his comment. "Not everything is always as it seems," she said softly, more to herself than him, it seemed to Daniel. Then she seemed to come out of her reverie, said a cheerful goodnight to him and went into her room before he could fully digest what had just transpired.

He stood there, nose still a little itchy, feeling... wrongfooted somehow. He leaned his hands on the kitchen counter and let out a deep breath he hadn't been aware of holding. He had been feeling tired before but suddenly he felt wide awake. Nevertheless, he went to his room, flopped down on the bed, his hands behind his head, and gazed up at the ceiling. He heard movements from next door as Charlie presumably got ready to go to sleep. Before long he heard a creak of the mattress and a rustle of bed covers. Then silence, except for the slightest whisper of her steady breathing through the wall.

[Arvani]

Yeesssss this is lovely!!! I love the tension build up! ❤️

[HPG]

Really enjoying this!