Written for superhighschoollevelduelist on Tumblr.
It isn't fair, was Chazz's first thought as he stormed away from the Slifer Red dorms, but nothing about all this Slifer nonsense was. That room had been built by The Chazz, and he resented having been booted out by these stupid slackers. How he even lost the battle was a bit of a blur. There had been a lot of yelling on his part, and then there was Blair's shrill little voice; he was pretty sure he had just given in, to avoid the oncoming headache. For all he cared, though, she could sleep in the volcano.
In the meantime, as he plotted to get back what was his, Chazz had locked himself in the room he had stayed in while his real room was under construction. It wasn't until he had thrown his Ojama cards out the window and glared at the faded yellow wallpaper for almost an hour, that he got an idea. He nearly trampled Syrus on his way down the stairs, and instead of acknowledging the rude comment that was thrown his way, he took off toward the Academy building. The Chazz was on a mission.
A couple hours later Chazz returned to the Slifer dorms. The sun was almost gone, and he was pushing a cart through the grass. He had on a black apron and jumpsuit, his normal clothes laying over the top of the cart. There was no one around and for this he was glad; he didn't have time to answer any questions. He was carrying two sealed buckets up the stairs when he heard the voice of his least favorite Slacker. Chazz looked behind him to see Jaden squeezing past the cart to get to the stairs.
"Hey, Chazz!" he said, coming up beside him, and knocking into his shoulder. Chazz stumbled, and before he could say all the rude things that came to mind, Jaden spoke again; "What'chya doin'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he observed the buckets in Chazz's hands.
"None of your business, loser," Chazz snapped. "So get lost."
Continuing up the stairs, he was well aware that Jaden was following him. Chazz rolled his eyes and stopped in front of the door. He shot Jaden a glare, who still had a stupid smile on his face. Chazz motioned toward the door with his shoulder.
"If you aren't going to listen, at least open the door for me."
Jaden grinned and bounced over, opening the door. "Sure!"
Chazz pushed past him into the room, and dropped the buckets on the floor. When he turned around Jaden was standing in the doorway looking curious. Chazz almost told him to leave again, but then he realized that with the idiot's help, he could get this project done a lot faster.
"Go grab the brushes off the cart," Chazz ordered. "And there's two more buckets of paint."
"Dude, you're painting? Fun!" Jaden said, grinning. He turned on his heel and took off to presumably do what Chazz wanted.
Chazz took a step back to admire his work on the room. The walls were covered in a vibrant pink, and after a short argument, Jaden had managed to climb up and paint the the support beam a startling lavender. Both boys were splashed with paint, and to Chazz's delight, Jaden hadn't spoken the whole time. Unfortunately, Jaden broke this wonderful silence.
"So..." he started, a good-humored ring to his voice. "I didn't know you liked colors, Chazz. You wear such gloomy clothes. Actually, I think you'd probably look pretty in pink."
In response to this comment, Chazz dumped the last of the pink paint on Jaden, leaving him sputtering and displeased. Finally, something to wipe that stupid smile off his stupid face. Chazz grinned, delighted and moved to toss the buckets and brushes into the closet. He turned back to a pouting Jaden.
"This room isn't for me, moron," he snapped, and reached out to pull his rival to his feet.
Jaden stood, still trying to wipe paint off his eyes. He stopped for a moment, considering what Chazz said, then frowned.
"Wait, then who's it for?"
"Blair," Chazz said, pride in his voice now. He was so close to victory now. Jaden looked confused, though, so Chazz elaborated.
"She stole my room, and I want it back. So I decided to make her one she would have to like better."
Jaden glanced around the room at the shoddy paint job, the missing closet door, and the bed with the springs poking through the mattress. He pursed his lip and glanced back at Chazz, who was glaring at him now. He was well aware that Jaden was judging, but that wasn't important. Little girls like pastel colors and that would distract her from any of the rooms short-comings. This is what he'd convinced himself of, at least.
"I dunno, Chazz. I don't think Blair's gonna agree to it."
Chazz just grinned somewhat maniacally, causing Jaden to pull away, uncomfortable. This time, Chazz didn't explain himself, he just asked a simple question.
"Can you manage to open doors quietly?"
Jaden raised an eyebrow, no less uncomfortable, but he nodded in agreement.
"I guess..."
Chazz turned and pulled open the door. The top hinge loosened and creaked. He stepped outside, expecting Jaden to follow him, because that seemed to be his favorite pastime anyway. Now that he had been invited, Chazz saw no reason for it not to happen.
As he got to the bottom of the steps, he heard Jaden's footsteps behind him. The boy made a noise, starting the first syllable of what was probably going to be a stupid sentence. Chazz threw his hand over Jaden's mouth.
"Can you also manage to shut your mouth, and leave it shut?" he snapped, whispering. He didn't need Jaden being his usual loud-mouthed self, and ruining the grand finale of the plan he'd just worked the past several hours setting up for.
Jaden frowned under his hand, but nodded. Letting go, Chazz moved briskly toward his room, and Blair. He used the key that he had made in case of situations such as these, and quietly unlocked then opened the door. With Jaden close behind him, they entered the dark room. He became suddenly aware that Jaden was holding his breath. Rolling his eyes, Chazz elbowed him in the gut.
"Hey!" Jaden whined, and Chazz shushed him.
"You can breathe, stupid. This won't work if you pass out. Just be quiet," he snapped, his voice a low whisper.
Jaden made a noise in response, and when he didn't say anything after, Chazz tip-toed further into the room. When they reached the bed where she was sleeping, Chazz leaned over her and slipped his arms slowly under her knees.
"Grab under her arms and help me lift her," he whispered to Jaden, who was watching him with horrified expression.
"What? Why?" Jaden spoke in a stage whisper, which made Chazz flinch. They both glanced at Blair's face, and she let out a soft snore. They sighed in unison, relieved that she didn't wake up to the two of them hovering above her.
"Just do it, slacker," Chazz said, the growling tone lost under his whisper.
Jaden awkwardly stepped forward and did as he was told. They lifted her up slowly, and neither had been prepared for her weight. Blair nearly hit the floor, but the two boys were able to get a better grip on her before that happened.
It took way too long to get Blair to the second floor of the dorm, and both Jaden and Chazz were out of breath, and their arms were close to giving out. Through the power of determination to finish successfully, as well as not drop some sleepy girl on the floor, they got her inside the room. They stopped right in front of the bed when Jaden sneezed, pink coming from his mouth.
The sudden movement and noise startled Blair into consciousness. She screamed and the people holding her tossed her down on the bed in surprise. Whatever she started yelling at them was not heard by Chazz. He had grabbed Jaden by the wrist without thinking (because if he had been thinking, he'd have left the idiot there), and pulled him along, back to the room that was once again his.
He pushed Jaden inside, and slammed the door behind him. The rest of the dorm had woken up, and Blair had definitely chased them. If Chazz hadn't gotten such a good head start, her fast little legs would have certainly caught up. He locked the door and turned back to the dark room. The light came on a moment later, and Jaden was standing by the switch, looking a perturbed. Before either of them could speak, there was a loud bang against the door, and the shrieking of Blair outside could be heard clearly.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
Chazz chose to ignore this. He glared at Jaden, who looked like he was wondering the same thing.
"You're not sleeping in my room, slacker," he snapped, ignoring Blair. Nothing she said mattered anymore, since he had won and she had lost. The Chazz didn't care about losers.
Jaden laughed.
"I hadn't planned on it, bro," he said, shrugging and then flopping on Chazz's bed, much to his dismay. "But you locked me in here, and if you open the door right now, you might get murdered."
Chazz stood there, flustered, glancing between the door where the shouting and banging continued, and Jaden who was watching him with a smug grin. Chazz went to make some snappy comment, unsure of what, since he had created this situation for himself, but Jaden beat him to the punch.
"Syrus says I snuggle up to things in my sleep. Oh, do you need a pillow? I like to have two and I don't see more than that."
Chazz fumed, wishing he had a bucket of paint.
