1. Aiden

It was Friday night, and Aiden was sat on his bright red sofa flicking channels, a glass of cold beer sat on the small table to his right. He wasn't a particular fan of being cooped up indoors while the rest of the country was heading out, but having only moved in that week, he wasn't too keen to explore his new town just yet.

Aiden was 32 years old, just over six feet tall, with short black hair and a face that threatened to be handsome without ever truly reaching it, at least in his eyes, which were a bold shade of dark blue. He had no idea what he weighed, but it seemed to come under the category of average on most dating sites.

Aiden's flat was comfortable, but not exactly huge. The walls were a shade of white that managed to be as neutral as Switzerland, and the light wooden flooring gave it a modern air. Aiden wasn't sure if the floors were actually wood, but they were close enough for now. In front of the sofa was his gigantic 50 inch screen, which looked much too big even when pinned back right against the wall.

To the right of the sitting area was a small kitchen area, which was only slightly bigger than his screen. With crisp white cupboard doors and a sleek granite work surface, it appeared to be the most expensive part of the house, if also the smallest.

Aiden's fridge freezer sat just aside from the work area, a tall blue box that, whilst stylish on it's own, completely clashed with every other item of furniture in the flat. It had looked great in his previous home, but not here.

To the left of the seating area was a set of thin bookshelves and a small balcony that allowed him to look over the town, or to be more precise, allowed him to just about look over a very small part of that suburb. It was nice to have a balcony, but the fifth floor wasn't exactly the towering perspective that the initial advert had suggested.

The sofa was nice though. Just the right balance between soft and supportive, if it had been a woman he would have proposed on the spot. Sipping away at his beer he finally found something worth watching, or at least, something not bad enough to make him throw the remote at the screen.

Aiden wasn't normally a grouchy person, but he had been through an extremely tough year, and weak attempts at comedy weren't helping anywhere near as much as the beer or seating arrangements.

After about forty minutes he gave up on the TV and went to the balcony. He opened the sliding door and stepped out into the cool April air. Very cool. In fact it was bloody freezing. Aiden leapt back inside and went to get his jacket, before heading back out and sitting on the lightweight steel folding chair.

He stared out over the portion of the town he was to call home, taking in as much of the sights and sounds as he could. The bustle and noise of Friday night made the places and people he observed seem slightly more artistic, as if the city were trapped in some kind of contrast filled postcard.

In the distance Aiden heard a police siren, he couldn't see the vehicle but noticed it gradually getting louder and louder until it pulled up by a house, a few doors down from his flat. The policeman knocked on the door, eventually it was opened by a middle aged woman who started screaming at him with a remarkably high pitched ramble. A few moments later a middle aged man came to the door, and started screaming at both the woman and the policeman, only in a much deeper tone.

This went on for about ten minutes until the policeman decided that the only person he could help in this situation was himself, by getting away from the couple as fast as possible. He walked back to the car and got in. Aiden saw him rest his head against the steering wheel for a moment, before setting off, presumably back to the station, although he appeared to deserve a shot of something extremely alcoholic.

Aiden chuckled to himself, before realising that these people were going to be this close to his flat for a long time. Still at least they were real people, unpretentious and true to who they were.

After another twenty minutes, Aiden got a little bored and decided he would venture out after all. If not a discovery mission, then at least a quick scan of the street he was to see every day for the next six months.

Aiden put on his shoes and headed out the door. As he closed it behind him, he looked down the hallway of the apartment block and noticed a scruffy man who appeared to be sitting drunk on the floor about five doors down. Aiden pondered to himself and walked the few steps to the lift, pressed the button and waited for it to arrive.

As he stepped out onto the street, Aiden noticed that it didn't seem as brightly lit as it did from on his balcony. Suddenly it lit up again, and he realised that the streetlight outside his apartment was buzzing on and off intermittently. He shook his head and set off, deciding at random whether to head left or right.