The rain eventually stopped its relentless shower by eight and Blair couldn't be more glad. She had almost begun to wonder that it would rain the whole night.

She spent her time working on design she left unfinished a long time back. Frankly, she never knew what to do with it so she believed it would be left undone for a while. But the sudden jab of inspiration made her sit down and work on it and she didn't get up until it was done. Lunch too had been forgotten.

And now with another one in the can, she couldn't wait to get the fabrics and watch the design build up in real life.

Dropping the pencil on her desk, she rushed down to grab a bowl of something to eat.

What she didn't expect was freshly made lasagna sitting in a glass dish.

Hurriedly, mostly hungrily, she added a surplus amount to her plate before inhaling a huge whiff of it. It was her dad's favourite  recipe and her mom could cook it like she invented it.

Memories of all the days she came back from school to a home full of her parents' laughter and a lingering aroma of a bowl of lasagna filled her mind. A smile warmed Blair's face.

Her mother wasn't there, and so wasn't a sorry note, but the lasagna managed to placate her to an extent.

She placed the dish back in the oven so it wouldn't go cold in case she wanted a second serving.

Picking up the plate, she went back to her room and plopped down on her bed and turned on the TV.

That was when the thoughts of a certain shape shifting individual came into her mind.

She muted the TV— there was nothing interesting anyway— to solely focus her concentration on one particular person.

She had never encountered such a peculiar creature her entire life! One that had been living right next door.

She may have considered the idea of twins at one point but her mind was swaying towards him being just one person. Wouldn't she have known if there were twins living right next to her house? She couldn't understand the reason why he had to portray himself as two different people.

Moreover, she couldn't understand why she was acting so obsessed about this. It was his life, his matters. Why should she let it bother her?

That didn't quite convince her all the way through.

Now that she thought about it, he wasn't quite bad looking either. He had sharp features and a toned body. And his eyes; she had gotten a clear look of those gorgeous forest green orbs the other morning.

The guy was... intriguing. And now, he had Blair's attention.

Her plate was almost empty by the time her speculative mind came back to rest. Quickly placing it in the dishwasher, she headed back upstairs.

The urge to climb on the rooftop came back again. But this time, for a completely different reason. One she would definitely deny.

Giving one last proud glance to her finished design sketch, she wore a warm sweater, slipped on a pair of pajamas over her shorts and left her hair open.

Heading to her balcony, she didn't spare a look to the scenery and directed her movement towards the ladder. The dampness on rooftop was almost gone so she wouldn't have to worry about her butt getting cold.

She sat down bringing one knee to her chest and let the other stretch. Her eyes remained on the lush green view but Blair left her mind drift into emptiness.

The night was calm and there wasn't a star in sight but it was beautiful.

But her eyes wandered off towards the neighbouring rooftop.

Would he come again tonight? She would bombard him with questions. But the uncertainty was troubling her.

Deciding to lay down for a while, she thought about what tomorrow would bring.

After being to Fashion Era, her expectations had skyrocketed. She was well aware of the consequences when she expected a lot from anyone. Constantly being let down doesn't exactly improve one's trust in anything.

But she couldn't help it!

Being in that company, working with her idol under the same roof, felt right. After a long, long time, something finally felt right and she would try and avoid all thoughts that would make her think otherwise.

The rustling of leaves caught her attention. Her ears immediately perked up and the uncertain thought came back.

Was it him? She didn't know. She crawled over to edge of the roof and peeked below.

The uncertainty was certain. The guy was back, climbing over the pipes to the roof like a thief again. An act she still didn't understand why. Why couldn't he just use a ladder and refrain from the struggle involved in gripping the slippery pipelines and pulling himself up?

But she watched him in half amusement and half astonishment, the annoyance towards him long simmered down.

He followed the same moves. Walked towards the centre and sat down stretching out his legs. And gained the same reaction. Blair's smitten gaze. He wore a dark leather jacket and black jeans, which did wonders in making him look like hot gangster.

But Blair knew much better.

This time she didn't repeat the same mistake again and sat back in her original position trying to act unaffected by his presence. Looking through the strands of her fiery red hair, she found him looking directly at her. Like last time. With that smoldering look.

"Not you again," She heard a deep masculine voice grumble.

She hadn't exactly thought of what he would say but it definitely wasn't this. She whipped her head to glare at him, him mirroring her expression.

"What on earth is your problem? It's my roof, I'll come here anytime I want," She bit back.

She heard him curse and look away and silence filled the surroundings.

"What were you doing at Fashion Era?" She dropped the bomb, looking at him intently for a response.

His head turned at lightning speed holding an expression of befuddlement. But then he narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"How do you know that?" He asked suspiciously.

She decided not to tell him why she was their because it was none of his business.

"I saw you. Answer my question," She kept her tone business like and her face stoic. Not that the situation was business like but that would make her more intimidating.

There was a fraction of a movement in his throat and she could easily identify it as a gulp.

"It's none of your business."

And he turned away.

Blair frowned. Well, this was closest to a conversation. She could sense that he wouldn't speak more on this topic. No point in pressuring him.

Another question had been nagging her mind so she let it out.

"Do you have twin?"

"Nope." He replied.

"Are you sure?"

A low laughter filled the air. Blair lifted an eyebrow at his antics because the guy just confused her even more. First he scowls, then he laughs.

What's so funny?

"Am I sure? I would know if I had a twin. Sorry, if you had your hopes high, but this handsome body is one and only," He replied haughtily giving her a...a lazy look she couldn't describe. As if he was mocking her.

"Arrogant much?"

"It's called self-confidence. You brain isn't really smart," He deadpanned.

"And your company isn't exactly pleasant!" She raised her voice.

He was driving her furious. All she asked was one question. Well two, but still one question out of curiosity. And the ass had to get all high and mighty over it.

"Then why did you talk to me?" He snapped back in a childish banter, glowering at her. She matched his intensity.

As if realization dawned on him, his demeanor and body language changed completely. He cleared his throat and looked straight ahead, appearing to be the closed off bad boy he initially seemed to be.

And the next thing Blair knew, she was inhaling the poisonous smoke coming from the tiny life-sucking tube he had lit up. The dim orange glow of the cigarette clearly visible in the starless night.

He was putting up an act. She could read people well and had that figured out immediately the moment she saw the immature side of him bubbling up in their conversation.

Time passed by with both of them sitting idly consumed in deep thought. Blair cast a quick glance to her watch and almost screeched in panic when she saw that it was two am.

You have work tomorrow you lunatic!Her conscience chastised. Getting up in a haste, her feet rushed towards the ladder and she prayed to heavens so wouldn't trip because that wouldn't be pretty.

A thought suddenly struck.

Should I wish him good night? The contemplation did her nuts.

Crap! Just get over it.

"Good Night," She said faintly and began to climb down the ladder not really waiting for his unresponsive response.

"Good Night," Came back a voice, making her almost halt in surprise.

She had already reached her balcony so she couldn't see his face.

Well, that's a start.

~***~

The following morning, she woke up early, groaning and cursing herself for not sleeping before eleven.

Quickly slipping on the most comfortable and decent looking outfit, she grabbed her portfolio and stuffed it into a wide shoulder bag along with her laptop, sketchbook and a few other necessary items.

Her stomach groaned and she couldn't wait to fill it with the leftover lasagna. Buttoning her shirt and quickly pulling up her jeans with a jump, she headed downstairs only to be welcomed with voices coming from the living room.

She walked over to it simultaneously slipping on her sandals only to be greeted with a sight she would never have dreamt of.

Keith sitting on their couch along with her smiling mother. And not the bad-boy one, the geeky one. With his specs.

"Uh... What's going on?" She asked dubiously, her eyes fluttering to Keith more than once.

"Oh," Her mother replied in a bored manner as soon as she saw Blair enter. "This is Keith Jones. He's our neighbor. I called him over because I was having problems with my cellphone. Smart kid he is," She gushed out proudly, gleaming at him.

Blair concealed the pain she felt in her heart at that.

"You could've come to me. Your problems are minor. I could help you with those," She offered with a frown, looking briefly towards Keith. The smile on his face almost hurt her for looking at it. He seemed like chirpy bird on a bright Sunday morning.

Her mother turned to Keith without replying to her. "Even my toaster's being a huge trouble. Shall I get it?"

"Sure! I-uh, I'll have a look," He smiled wider.

Blair folded her arms and watched their exchange before her mother headed off to get the toaster. As soon as she was out of hearing range, she scrutinized the man before her.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Not by choice. Your mother called me over. Being the golden boy around here, I can't really deny," He quibbled, his dislike towards her evident in his tone.

She knew what he was referring to. The guy had been known around the locality for helping the oldies with the modern tech stuff.

But why was he telling her about it when he wanted to portray as two different people to the world? Don't tell her she has a face that makes people trust her and spill out their guts because she knew she didn't.

Sighing, she turned around and walked out of the room, leaving him by himself. Fashion Era awaited her and she had plenty of time to grab something to eat along the way. And think, probably.

She looked behind one last time, to see him looking uncomfortable on their couch. That made her inwardly smirk in a sadistic way, though she still didn't understand him.

Thank the lords he doesn't have a twin.

|||||| END OF CHAPTER 5||||||

Hey hey my lovely peeps! A new update so soon. I surprised myself by finishing this chapter in a day!

I have an exam tomorrow. And I'm updating chapters. I'll be a very successful person in life. (Obvious sarcasm)

Hope you liked the chapter! More Blair and Keith moments to come soon!

Word Count- 1935
(Unedited)

Pears 🍐