I don't even know why I'm typing this out, it feels so dumb and like, cringe, but I can't sleep anyway. It's like 2am. This whole thing started a while ago, I guess. I live in an apartment, right? Not like a big house or anything. And the walls are kinda thin, you can hear stuff. My neighbors across the hall, they’re this older lady, like really old, maybe 55? She used to be a teacher or something, I heard. And she lives alone. Which, okay, whatever. But her house is SO quiet. Like, dead quiet. My apartment is never quiet because I'm always on my phone or streaming something, working on that gig stuff, but hers… nothing. And then these other neighbors moved in next door, like two months ago. A couple, youngish, maybe late 20s. And they're always, ALWAYS having people over. Like, every single weekend, sometimes even on a Tuesday or whatever. Music playing, laughing, like, really loud laughter. I can hear it through the wall, like they're in my living room. And at first, I just got annoyed, you know? Like, dude, chill. I’m trying to make deadlines, gotta hustle to make rent this month, and they’re over there being all LOUD. But then... it started being different. I started noticing the older lady, the quiet one. I'd see her sometimes, like when I was going to grab a package or whatever. And she’d just be... standing there. At her door. Not like opening it or anything, just like, watching the people next door go in and out. And it was just for a second, like super quick, then she'd close her door. But I saw it. And it was so weird, right? Like, why are you just standing there? Just go back inside. And then I kept seeing it. Every single time, almost. When they had people over, she'd be there for a second, a quick peek, then gone. And then last weekend, they had a BIG party. Like, really big. I could hear everything. And I swear I heard her door open. And I looked, and she was there again. But this time she didn't close it right away. She just stood there, kinda in the shadows of her doorway, like watching them. And someone from the party, one of the guests, saw her. And they kinda smiled at her, like a friendly smile, and said "Hey!" and waved. And my stomach just DROPPED. Because what did she do? She just... like, flinched. Like she got caught doing something bad. And then she just closed her door. SLAMMED it, almost. And I just felt this thing, this AWFUL feeling. Like, second hand embarrassment or something. I don't know. Like, why was she doing that? Just go hang out with them, or don't. But don't just stand there watching like that. And now every time I hear them laughing, or the music, I keep thinking about her. And it makes me feel so weird. Like, I don’t even know what to call it. It’s not pity, exactly. It's just... it makes me feel ashamed FOR her, you know? Like, it's so private, this thing, and I keep seeing it. And I feel so gross about it, like I'm watching something I shouldn't be watching. And I just wish she would like, NOT do that. Or something. So I don't have to see it. It makes my skin crawl, just thinking about it. And now I can’t stop thinking about it, every day, every day. Like, what if someone saw me doing that? That would be so, so bad.