Chapter Text
It’s been almost a month since Cody packed up his dorm room at Duke and road-tripped across the country with one of his frat brothers Alex, ready to start his new life in LA working at a tech company. It was a pretty low-paying job at a startup, mainly data processing and intern grunt work. He’d have to live in a paper box apartment and live off plain rice for a while, but we all gotta start somewhere, right?
He found that he really enjoyed California. The sun was always shining and whenever he had some extra money to spend on a real meal, he’d eat the best fucking tacos or hibachi he’d ever had. One of his coworkers started teaching him how to surf, which like how fucking cliche was that, a California surfer boy, but it replaced his diving, and fuck was it fun. His coworkers were pretty obnoxious, a bunch of dude-bro tech assholes, but they were harmless and when they had a couple of drinks in them they were actually kind of tolerable.
The point was, Cody was adjusting pretty well, and LA wasn’t as bad as everyone told him would be. There was just one thing he fucking hated about his new life. His next-door neighbor, Noel.
The first time he’d met Noel, Cody was dragging in the last of his boxes from the hallway late at night after he finished grabbing celebratory drinks with Alex. He heard the jingle and thump of somebody tripping over something and cursing under their breath. He turned the corner out of his front door and saw a man around his age and height slumped against the door jam neighboring his.
He was wet from the rain that had been drizzling outside, strands of hair hanging in front of his eyes and dripping onto his cheeks. His shirt clung to his body as he stared at one of Cody’s boxes from under his eyelashes, green eyes filled with irritation like the box personally offended him. Cody was a little stunned by how hot the stranger was, heat pooling in his stomach, before quickly wondering if the guy was alright.
“Hey dude, sorry about my boxes, I didn’t think anybody would be walking around this late.” Cody started, reaching a hand out to shake his neighbor, “I’m Cody.”
The stranger looked at his hand with his nose scrunched up in distaste, before looking Cody up and down. The silence was awkward and thick as Cody’s hand hung in the space between them. He curled his fingers up and dropped his arm, rubbing his neck self-consciously before saying,
“Uh, you okay dude?”
Noel scoffed as he rifled around his pocket, looking for his keys Cody presumed, and finally slurred a response to Cody’s question with a, “Is it any of your business?”.
Shocked, Cody spluttered, trying to come up with a reply as his neighbor pulled his keys out after looking a little too long for them. Noel pushed them into the door and checked it with his shoulder to walk in.
He turned back once to look at Cody again and murmured, “Welcome to LA pretty boy, now fuck off.”
Cody was left standing in the hall, looking on at the door that just slammed in his face, surprised by the hostile interaction with his new neighbor. His face was flushed with embarrassment before he turned back to his boxes, picking up the one Noel had tripped over, which now had a dent in the side, and walking back into his apartment.
Cody chalked it up to the guy being drunk and tried not to hold it against him, trying to control his anger and focus on setting up his bed in the empty room he now called home. He struggled with the hunter-green fitted sheet, starting to sweat from exertion, frustration building in his chest as he was unable to forget the stranger’s gorgeous eyes looking at him with such disdain. He finished making his bed and looked around the empty room, illuminated by the small lamp set up on the ground, and felt a sense of accomplishment warming his chest.
That was when the music started to play through the wall, loud enough that he could feel the bass through the drywall. Cody dropped his head in defeat and he felt his fists ball up by his sides in annoyance.
Fuck that dude.
--
Cody’s hatred for Noel continued to grow the longer he lived next to him. Noel had to be the least considerate neighbor he’s had, which is impressive considering he lived in a house with 20 guys in their early twenties who made partying their entire personality. It was like he was a nocturnal animal, staying up until 3 am almost every night streaming or fucking around with music. Cody had gotten into the habit of knocking loudly on the wall and yelling at Noel to shut the fuck up whenever it went on for too long, before covering his head with a pillow to dampen the noise. Noel would walk past him in silence in the hallway every time he took his dog, Ollie, out for a walk, side-eying him bitterly. In fact, the only time he ever said anything to Cody was to call him pretty boy and make fun of his outfit, car, hair, or literally anything he could point out that would piss Cody off.
“Nice shirt, have you ever thought about shopping outside of the junior girls section?”
“Is that truck outside yours? Could you be any more of a fucking cliche frat boy?”
“The blonde looks good dude. You look like a bitch I was fucking with a couple days ago. Your boyfriend like pulling on it while he blows out your back?”
Okay, Cody admitted that that one had made him a little more horny than upset, but it was the intention that mattered okay? He’d usually respond with a “Fuck off, dude” or your mom joke, which was a little childish but so was everything about Noel, who’d just laugh mockingly back at him.
The only time Noel didn’t bother him, were those rare nights where Cody would give up on trying to fall asleep for that night. He’d go to the bathroom and piss before padding barefoot over to his balcony wrapped in a cardigan, hoping the silence and cold morning air would welcome him happily. The purple hues of the beginning sunset would wrap the surrounding buildings in its embrace and the chirping of crickets would fill the special silence of LA on a Tuesday morning. He’d look over to the balcony adjacent to his and see Noel sitting out there, smoking and looking out at the tree line. His body was slouched on the beat-up loveseat, hands playing with the frayed edge of the cushion. The highs of his cheeks would appear flush from the reflecting light and the smoke.
Noel's green eyes would meet his, a softness and distance there that made Cody forget every mean jab he’d ever said and made him want to hold him. He’d nod at him and take a drag of his blunt between his plush lips turning back to the rising sun quietly. Cody would feel the heat in his cheeks and sit on the foldable chair that was on his balcony. He’d stuff his fingers between his thighs, and they’d pass what could be hours just sitting across from each other until one of them would get up and walk back into their apartments.
Cody didn’t know what to think about these moments. Their shared silence was so comfortable but out of the ordinary that Cody would think maybe there was a possibility for more than the hostile acquaintanceship he thought they shared. He’d trick himself into thinking maybe the next afternoon, Noel would greet him with a smile and a “Hey”. But that never happened, Noel would be back to normal the next day, jeering at Cody and smirking meanly as he did so.
God, Cody was so fucking confused. He tried to just enjoy the small moments he was awarded whenever he got them and refrain from slamming Noel into the wall and kissing the stupid grin off his face the rest of the time. Focusing instead on trying to get in his boss’ good graces and work and furnishing his apartment, which was looking a little less like a crack den and an actual adult home every week. And if he dreamt of slender fingers and green eyes often that was nobody’s business but his own.
—
Cody woke up at 6:30 with a groan as his alarm blared at him that it was time to get ready for work. His bare feet hit the linoleum and he shivered as the covers revealed his skin to the cool air of his room. He’d only gotten a few hours of sleep because, of course, Noel had decided to invite his two best friends over to mess with some beats on a Wednesday night. He had heard them laughing and discussing potential lyrics and Cody couldn’t decide if he was more upset about the noise or aroused by the low rumble of Noel’s chuckles that flowed into his room every couple of minutes. He spent the night angry at himself for being so attracted to the biggest asshole he knows, crossing his hands over his chest to keep them from traitorously sliding into his boxers. Cody swallowed a mug of black coffee as he scrolled through Vine, standing in just his boxers. He rubbed his eyes harshly and sighed before getting dressed for the day.
Today fucking sucked. Cody had gotten stuck in traffic on his way to work, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, but, of course, today the CEO decided to drop in to check on operations so everybody was freaking out. His supervisor, Brian, called him, yelling about him being 10 minutes late and not having his Starbucks picked up on time. When he skidded into the office 25 minutes late, everyone looked at him with pity as he walked towards his supervisor's office, cooling coffee in his hand. Brian barely looked at him, snatching his coffee out of his hand and returning to the conversation he was having with the CEO.
The hits just kept on coming all day. When he walked back to his desk, he discovered that he’d forgotten to save the code he’d spent 2 hours perfecting yesterday. During lunch, some girl had run into him in the employee’s lounge spilling her smoothie all over the front of his shirt. Then to top it all off, he forgot his wallet at the office while he had already driven 20 minutes back home.
Safe to say, Cody’s blood was boiling when he pulled into his apartment building and walked in. Just his luck that Noel was walking out into the parking, right?
“Look who it is! Hey pretty boy, just clocked out of fucking sorority chicks for the day, huh?” Noel jeered, fingers stuffed in his pants pockets as he walked towards his car.
“Fuck off, Noel,” Cody snapped, walking past him without even glancing at him. Cody needed to go home and lock himself in his bathroom for a least two hours before he’d be calm enough to interact with anyone and Noel’s teasing wasn’t making anything easier for him.
“Somebody’s got their panties in a twist. Let me guess, some girl you were flirting with could tell you actually needed to take some dick, huh?”
Cody turned around, pointing a finger at Noel, who was the picture of relaxation, leaning against the hood of his car with his legs spread. His arm hung between his legs, blunt smoking between his fingers, and lips spread over his perfect teeth in a sly smirk at Cody’s combative expression.
“Do you really have to be such a fucking prick all the time, dude?” Cody asked, walking back towards where Noel was sitting and jabbing Noel’s shoulder in anger.
“Not all the time, but for you baby? Absolutely,” Noel replied, stepping into Cody’s space, close enough that Cody could smell the musk of his cologne that clung to his large black t-shirt and made his head start to spin.
Cody’s words caught in his throat as Noel moved closer. His irritation simmering low in his veins and a fire igniting in his belly. He felt Noel’s breath puff against his face as he looked down at him like he was daring Cody to talk back to him. Cody shrunk a little head filling with thoughts of all the ways Noel could help him release his anger.
Noel chuckled after a few seconds, “Cat got your tongue, Codes?”
Cody shook his head, flush rising in his cheeks, freckles popping even more against his skin. Noel lifted his hand to Cody’s cheek and patted it twice, calloused fingers sending sparks down Cody’s spine. What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? He resisted the urge to lean into the touch and fall on his knees in front of Noel, finally ending this weird game they had going on between them. Noel’s eyes sparkled with interest as he analyzed Cody’s face before dragging his fingers down and off Cody’s face and stepping back.
“Chill the fuck out, Cody. You take shit way too seriously,” He murmured, opening the door to his car.
“Whatever man,” Cody mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and turning back to walk towards the entrance of the apartment building, filled with self-loathing over the new tightness in his jeans.
—
Cody was covered in a sheen of sweat as he was spread out naked on his cotton sheets. He had his knuckle held between his teeth to stifle the steady flow of moans that were threatening to escape his lips as he fisted his dick. He couldn’t get the feeling of Noel’s rough fingers holding his face out of his head, wishing he would’ve done anything else with those hands.
“Fucking asshole,” Cody grunted out, hips thrusting off of the mattress into the slick hole his hand created. It would’ve been so easy, Noel could’ve done anything and Cody would’ve been begging for it. He could’ve slapped Cody across the face, wrenched his jaw apart with his fingers and spit in his mouth, or slammed Cody against the hood of his car and taken him right there and Cody would have thanked him. The images his imagination conjured up made his balls draw up tighter with a new wave of arousal.
“God, Noel, please,” The words slipped out of his mouth and reached a slick finger around to his rim. He teased himself, circling around the pink entrance before slipping his finger into the first knuckle. Moaning, he tried pumping his finger in, just missing his prostate by just an inch. God, he was so close but he couldn’t reach deep enough inside himself to be satisfied. He tried his best to fall into a rhythm and alternated between trying to fuck back onto his fingers and, chasing his orgasm with his hand.
Just then, a knock rapped on the door, loud and fucking irritating to no end. Cody quieted down, stopping the movements of his hand and hoping whoever was at his door would think he wasn’t there and go away, but after a few minutes the knocks persisted and Cody groaned as he pulled his finger out of his hole and tried to will his erection away as he pulled on a pair of pants. He kicked a pile of clothing in frustration as he padded over to his front door. He yanked it open as far as it could go with the chain holding it closed and gritted out an exasperated “What?” before even looking out the crack.
Looking into his door was none other than Noel Miller, eyes dark with an indistinguishable emotion, holding the back of his neck with his hand sheepishly.
“Hey man, um, I just wanted to say sorry about the other day. I know I’m a dickhead and I don’t usually apologize, but you were obviously fucked up the other day over something and I shouldn’t have egged you on.” Noel started.
Cody was shocked, to say the least, “Oh dude. Yeah. I’m sorry about that too. I shouldn’t have snapped at you, it wasn’t your fault.” He stuttered out, hoping the pants he was puffing and the blush on his face went unnoticed by Noel. He hid his body behind the door, erection straining against his pants as Noel stood in front of the door with a wife beater, tucked into some gray sweatpants, more skin exposed than Cody was used to seeing.
“Anyway, there’s gonna be a party in West Hollywood tonight if you wanna swing by. Me and Spock are gonna be there.” Noel said, clearing his throat.
“Uh sure, man I’ll see you there,” Cody replied, confused at the change of attitude.
“Sick dude. I’ll send you the addy later.”
“Cool,” Cody mumbled. They looked at each other silently, before Noel slapped his fist in front of his chest and turned around to his own door. He palmed himself through his underwear, still hard as a rock and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he wondered what Noel would have done if he knew Cody was touching himself to the idea of him.