A/N : Author is sorry she couldn't update sooner. Things have gotten hectic in RL and I have found myself leaving my dorms at 7 am and only getting back at 8 pm. It's been happening every day (except sundays) that I just don't have the energy to write a single decent chapter and just crashed into sleep. Sorry!

But don't worry! Here's another chapter of utter nonsense, so enjoy peeps!

A finger swiped distractedly across the smudged screen full of thumbprints, scrolling down the inbox interface until the very bottom…and then back up again before doing the process all over again. If it weren't for his phone suddenly ringing the alarm loudly - a deafening sound in the perpetual silence of the apartment – Izaya wouldn't have realised that he had just spent the last hour reading his mails again. The mails in which he had named himself Kanra to a certain other correspondent.

Using the alarm as a daily signal, Izaya sighed and stood up. Cursing his sleepy legs, the raven sauntered over to the light switches and flicked them all open, lighting up every corner of his now empty apartment. How long has it been since he sent Namie away and started this routine? Too long, he answered himself.

He knows it's not healthy, for both his mind and his body. He knows that by staying inside this cramped, cramped space, he's not helping himself recover in any way nor is he ever going to be able to take the first step to change for the better. It's not as if he hadn't forced himself to fling the front door open wide and just run through it, run into the streets and out into the open. To get rid of every irrational fear that's gripping his heart, and just be free. And scale the buildings to the roof, getting high off the rush with his long acquired parkour skills. And maybe take a trip down to Ikebukuro to annoy Kida out of his minds. And…and just be himself… Just be Normal-Abnormal-Asshole Orihara Izaya.

But he couldn't do it. The second his foot stepped outside his sanctuary, countless questions plagued his mind. Are they going to follow me? Are they watching my every movement right now? Will it happen again? Will I lose control again? What if they really are tracking my movement? I wouldn't know, I've been cooped up in this stupid place. Slowly losing it… I wouldn't know…I wouldn't know a damn thing!

Izaya is not a coward. He knows at least that much, so he had taken another step, and then another. He had made it as far as the elevator, his finger poised in mid air to push the 'down' button. And that's when it happened. One of the floor residents had opened their door; the clicking sound like a thunder to Izaya's panicked thoughts. It had made Izaya jump out of his skin and before he knew it, his back was already against his own locked door. He still remembered how his sweat had made his shirt clung tight to his frame, how it had suffocated him.

And it was then that he had started to call up Celty. He just couldn't leave without getting a panic attack. The worst part was, he doesn't think he will ever can.

Once the raven was satisfied with the lighting, he proceeded to plop himself on the couch and continued his previous activity. He opened his inbox again and opened the latest mail he had gotten from Shizuo. He didn't really get the puzzling content and wondered what it meant. Shizuo not replying after he had sent a question mark didn't help to stave off his curiosity either.

What did Shizuo meant with [I'm going out for a bit, so don't worry if I don't reply for a while. My phone might break.]?

Where is he going? The thought of possibly having nothing to anticipate for the next few hours, maybe days, made Izaya reel inwardly. If he doesn't have anything to do, his mind will automatically go back in the past and remember! He gripped his phone hard in his non-casted hand. The feel of it did nothing to alleviate his anxiety.

For a while, Izaya didn't breathe. After going a bit blue in the face, the man exhaled a huge sigh and forced himself to keep a normal breathing rate, trying to calm down. His back sagged against the armrest of the couch and he stayed in that position, curling up and laying on his side. His heartbeats thumped hard against his ribcage. He could practically hear the gushing of his own blood in his ears. It sounded like he was underwater, drowning and freaking out.

When both of his hands crawled upwards to cover his ears, the sound only intensified. It really did feel as if he was drowning in silence. The only thing he could hear was the creaking of his wrist bones and the erratic beatings of his heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Slow at first. The raven shut his eyes, willing his heartbeat to become regular. Think of anything else, anything. Or don't think. This is his heart for goodness sake! Why won't it listen to him?

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Izaya twitched and curled into a ball. Why is it getting louder? He couldn't understand why. He tried to relax, control his breathing, verbally reminding himself that he's safe…yet, nothing's working. The thumping was getting louder. He couldn't take it anymore.

He stood up fast; adrenaline rushing through his vessels, putting him in a fight or flight response. His eyes darted back and forth, searching his living room for something non-existent. It was then that his eyes lay on his front door and he stopped.

The door was trembling. It shook hard against its frame, threatening to be knocked over if the raven didn't hurry up and open it. The small shred of rationality in the haze in his mind faintly confirmed that the thumping noise was definitely not his heart. His already laboured breathing increased its rate when once again his mind spiralled back to the traumatic incident. Izaya balled his fists, and continuously opened and closed his clammy hands in an attempt to curb his panic.

"Izaya, you damned flea! Open the door before I knock it down!"

Shi…Shizu-chan? What?

Various thoughts raced through his head as Izaya walked shakily towards the door, his footsteps as silent as ever. He didn't want to open it. Who would? Not when there's obviously a deranged psychopath threatening your life on the other side. Yet, he subconsciously moved forward and inched his way towards the only one existence he knows that could make him control this anxiety he's currently having. If only by a little bit…

"What- What is it?" he found himself calling out, the words forced through his lips. He tried to sound angry. Damn, he really tried but somehow his voice came out squeaky. "Do you have any idea what time it is, Shizu-chan?!"

"Fuck if I know! I don't have a watch! Just open the damned door!"

"Why should I?"

"Izaya!" came the growl from the other side of the door. "Open. The. Door. Now..."

"No," said Izaya simply. "If you really want it open, you'll have to knock the door down!"

A final loud bang was heard throughout the living room as Shizuo banged his fist, cussing outside. For a while, all was silent. Both didn't know what to do. On one side of the door, Shizuo was gritting his teeth in frustration; his balled fists lay exactly where they were, not moving, in the splintered cracks of a mahogany door. Whereas Izaya was clutching on to his gray sweatshirt for dear life; stuck between his past and the immediate danger of Shizuo breaking in and possibly breaking him in two.

Shizuo broke the silence first. A tired voice filtering through the dividing door between them.

"…Just open the door, stupid flea."

The whispered plea threw Izaya off. Drawing nearer to the door, he could see the blonde's shadow through the space under the door, shifting ever so slightly. He found himself questioning whether he should risk opening the door and be in an uncomfortable presence of the other or ignore Shizuo, plain and simple. A hand lay on top of the doorknob as soon as he reached a decision.

But before that, he should put up a Normal-Abnormal-Asshole Orihara Izaya act. Just so Shizuo didn't think anything was amiss. Not that Izaya thought the ex-bartender would notice, but Shizuo has been known to be repeatedly smashing his way through his expectations so far, so maybe he would notice after all?

"You don't really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that trick now, do you, Shizu-chan? That's so lame~"

"God…damn it! Flea! Can't you make this any easier for me? Just open the fucking door!"

Izaya smiled a little. He can't help it. Finally, something that's normal! Something that's easy for him to understand! Something that's able to give him a sense of security at knowing what to do instead of making him flounder around like an idiot.

"Eeh~ Shouldn't you say 'please' first?"

"Izaya!"

Izaya sniggered and opened the door just a crack, the sliding chain lock still in place. Outside, Shizuo glared at Izaya in annoyance through the opening.

"And what do you want?" questioned Izaya.

"You're up to no good, aren't you?" countered Shizuo.

"…And what kind of question is that?"

"A valid one. Now open the damn door properly so I don't have to break it down getting inside!"

The raven puffed his cheeks. "Why do you even want to come inside? You just came to ask me a question right?"

"Cause I won't feel satisfied until I wreck up your apartment, that's why."

A pause.

"…I really hope that's a sarcastic comment. If you wanted to wreck my place up, you should've just broken down the door and do your deed. Who'd in their right mind would open their door after hearing that? Are you an idiot, Shizu-chan?"

"Why yes, yes I am."

"You know what? I'm just gonna ignore you," stated Izaya and slammed the door to Shizuo's face. He isn't an idiot. He can recognize sarcasm when he hears one. But with an idiot like Heiwajima Shizuo, he could just never tell.

He padded his way back to the sofa, ignoring the indignant angry yells outside only because Shizuo didn't even bother knocking on the door anymore. Along the way, Izaya had thought that maybe Shinra was telling the truth when he told that Shizuo is going to anger management classes and is doing well in them. Looking behind his back, it's the only plausible explanation Izaya could come up with for his intact door.

Izaya mumbled to himself. "So that's what he means by his phone probably breaking…crap, so he's coming here?"

The raven didn't know what to think about that. And he didn't know what to think about the tired one-liner the blonde had whispered during their banter earlier either. What's up with that? Izaya was convinced, ever since the day they met, that Shizuo's voice had been either loud as default or louder. Whispers just aren't Shizuo, ever.

He sat down instantly the second he reached the sofa and picked up his abandoned phone.

As soon as he is fully seated, a thundering crash was heard and his vision was suddenly enveloped in complete darkness.

A/N : The updates next are going to be a bit more random (not that it already is) because my professional exams are coming up. So sorry in advance. Until next time! :D