02. The Three Musketeers
The harsh lights make him recoil more than the eyes. Blinking, he's greeted to the sight of a girl clearly pawing through their neighbors belongings shirtless and wide eyed. She stills for a heartbeat before standing stick straight like her imaginary puppet strings have been pulled taut. She goes to cover herself with her hands and looks absolutely appalled.
"What the hell!?" She exclaims. Scurrying over to the bed she rushes to dress herself. She doesn't seem scared but weary. While she struggles with her shirt ungracefully, Sai's eyes jump around the room from the color of the walls to the furniture before zeroing in on the locked door.
Another girl lays on the bed, blonde hair covering her face, clothes disheveled and blacked out. The girl shifts her weight when he looks at her. Her doe brown eyes are wide and jumpy, they keep looking back to the door.
She's not fooling him.
With an unimpressed look and moments of silences she drops the act and her entire demeanor changes. Eyes narrowing slowly her bravado and attitude come through.
"What are you doing?" She demands putting her hands on her hips. Standing at 5'5 tops she's hardly intimidating.
"I think the real question is what are you doing?" He says letting his eyes wandering over to the still open drawer. The dull ache in his stomach is annoying as he draws himself fully up. She goes quiet and watches him cautiously, he catches her eyes shifting from the window and door.
Not turning his back on her Sai backpedals to the window and down below in the deep dark catches the light color of Gaara's eyes. His skin almost glows in the dark and even in the shadows his mind can supply the missing patches of his impatient expression. He takes a second to look back at her before gesturing him up.
Sai's no expert on emotions or realizing them or even understanding them but he can tell she's putting on a front.
Sai receives a mild glare when Gaara is more or less is dragged in through the window. His face hardens as his eyes pass over the girl. He sees the partially undressed girl passed out on the bed, he can put two and two together. Sai giving him the ok is enough for him to not lunge at her
"Who are you?" Gaara rasps.
"Who are you" she says eyes shifting between them and withdrawing from the almost hostile approach to a neutral one. They must scare her.
"I asked first" Gaara says tilting his head, nothing but suspicion.
"I'm...a friend" she says without giving anything else away. At least she can recognize when to back down, other times this happened they'd gotten into scuffles.
Gaara is distrustful, Sai can tell she's no real threat.
He flashes her his standard smile. Gaara gives her the look. They look like quite a pair.
"What? Haven't you heard? Honor among thieves" she says looking pointedly to his pockets. Under the lamps the crystals on the watch face sparkle from his pocket.
"He was wearing that earlier, ya know."
"You're friends with them" Gaara is quick to conclude, taking a step closer as she backs off.
"What? No! No! I've just been watching is all...I'm just getting started." She waves her hands in front of her.
"She had her hands in the dresser" Sai clarifies.
They don't say anything, Gaara making a noise of displeasure. It feels like they stare each other down for ten minutes of silence.
Looking down at the pillowy carpet Sai picks up the tumbled knick knacks and places them back on the window sill.
That seems to break the tension and Gaara is quick to turn and start, she on the other hand hesitates and watches them before seemingly getting her wits about her and turning to look through the guy's room on opposite sides.
The girl watches them out of the corner of her eye. She can't shake the awkwardness. Her hair is falling out of her hairdo. She finds a pair of brass knuckles. Gaara's kinda jealous.
She finds his wallet on the top shelf of the closet. "Neji Hyuuga" she whispers to herself. She takes forty dollars. Tossing it to them they find themselves looking at the beer pong guy with light lavender eyes and long straight hair.
Sai is quick to swipe the fancy looking old school camera he has sitting on his dresser, draping it around his neck.
Gaara finds a heavy black palm size box, it has two tongs at the end.
A taser.
Sai looks surprised and intrigued. The crackle of the sound attracts the girls attention and she goes wide eyed again with awe. Gaara's mouth curls into the slightest of smirks. They're not sure what else the girl takes but she hops out of the window, landing with a thud and groan and going out of her way to wipe down the window for their security. She puts on gloves just like them. This clearly isn't her first time. If anything it makes Gaara more suspicious.
They follow after her, landing shakily on the bin with sweaty palms. The jump is high enough to break something after all.
"Did you go across the hall?" She asks out of the blue. For someone with a girlish voice and seemingly friendly face the last thing she seems like is a thief.
But looks are deceiving.
"Yes" Sai says after a moment of scrutinizing her intensely.
"There's a room next door" she says as if enticing them and grabbing the recycling bin and dragging it further down the small alleyway.
"That's ours" Gaara says for the sake of being petty.
"I don't see your name on it" she says playfully.
She looks at them and smirks urging them.
"Come on, lets go" she says waving them over.
"Don't pout" Sai says helpfully and throws Gaara a smile. It goes unappreciated.
Later on, they would say the only reason they followed was because:
1. They were still pretty damn drunk
2. That's where they were going anyway
Gaara stays on look out while Sai stands aside waiting his turn. Prying the door open she is more nimble than she seems and gets herself in easily. She gives a thumbs up. The most apparent thing about the room is the loud orange color that coats the walls. The other rooms are muted colors, navy, gray even black or red but this particular shade of orange is almost offensive to the eyes. The mess doesn't add to the charm.
Casually picking up the fancy looking headphones off the desk Gaara places them around his neck and looks around.
The mini garden and bonsai tree catches Sai's eye. One of the several cacti pots looks like a real animal skull. Sai relocates the cactus inside to another pot. Gaara's eyes watch him inquisitively.
"I want it,...inspiration" he says almost as an afterthought. Gaara gives his half shrug, his silent 'take it.' Sitting out there in the open is the guys wallet.
"Smart" Gaara says sarcastically.
The damn thing might as well have dust on it.
Rustling comes from the closet and the girl has a jar in her hands, on a neon orange post it, and in horrid writing says 'tattoo money.'
Sai takes a crossbow knick knack on the desk that shoots paper. Gaara takes a flat hourglass with black sand inside that carries a rainbow gradient at the right light.
They can't carry anymore so they leave it at that. Even with the background noise of music and people the distinct sound of approaching feet and conversation is enough to make Sai's heart stutter. Adrenaline racing through their blood they look to each other in mutual understanding of the situation. Gaara is lighting quick to twist and flick off the lights. Sai closes the window just as the doorknob rattles.
They both dive for the closet. The girl makes a sound of surprise.
Gaara finds himself on top of a bunch of clothes twisted in an awkward position as Sai stands aside and as still as possible, cradling the skull shaped mold in his hands in the broken up streaky shadows of the paneled door under moonlight. The girl has her face on his ribs and her arms awkwardly wrapped/trapped around his arm and waist. She rustles as she tries to move and Gaara has to wrap his other arm around her and hold her down.
"Don't" he hisses.
After a second the door opens.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" the familiar rough voice calls. He doesn't bother with the lights as yellow light spills across the carpet from the hallway. Through the thick panels of the closet they can just barely make out the blond guy digging around for something. After a couple of seconds voices shout his name.
"Coming!" He calls and strides out of the room more than a bit wobbly. The door slams shut.
Gaara and Sai let out a breath and sneak out of the room with their ears straining to hear.
Too many close calls. It's time to call it a night.
The girl tosses everything she's taken into their stolen neighbors pillowcase and carries it over her shoulder like a sack. They leave careful not to disrupt anything extra and wipe all evidence of their late night visit. They leave through the window and even through the passing glance into the dining room window they can see people are starting to get reckless, some guy is shirtless and trying to dance on a kitchen counter.
They leave unnoticed.
Gaara stuffs his hand into his pocket feeling the crumpled bills. The flat hourglass is tucked in the waistband of his jeans and uncomfortably digging into his hip. The girls eyes have a lively glint in the shadows. She smiles almost sheepishly.
"Well that was close"
Sai smiles his bland smile.
"I think that's enough for us" Sai says looking at forever stoic Gaara. She raises an eyebrow,
"You're calling it a night?"
Sai nods once and she looks at them suspiciously, she clearly wants to say something but ends up shrugging.
She waves two fingers in a peace sign and walks further around the apartment, the plastic busted wheels on the recycling can crunching hard with dirt and rocks on the wet ground. They watch her disappear around a corner. They don't see her stuff the pillowcase into the recycling bin.
The wall back to the complex is short and the crickets chirp loudly, Sai still cradling the skull mold and humming to himself. They wipe their feet at their apartment and make sure they lock their doors.
And their windows and pull their curtains.
They don't expect her to come to their place since she's only going for the neighbors but they're not going to test their luck with her lurking around next door.
"You think she noticed?" Sai asks over the whistle of the wind definitely more sober now. He fiddles with the key but manages to get them inside.
Peeling his hat off and tossing it onto the couch all in one smooth flow Gaara only bothers to half shrug one shoulder and walk silently into their room. Sai leaves his shoes by the front door and flicks on the light to Gaara unzipping his jeans and pulling out the hourglass. The sight is amusing. They empty their pockets onto the bed.
"Who cares we're probably never gonna see her again" he says and ruffles his own hair. Sai plops down on the bed and unwraps the tablet.
Holding up the hourglass Gaara watches the colors flow upside down in the barely there moonlight,
"Locked?" He asks.
He looks over to Sai and in harsh white light his dark eyes dart all over the screen.
"No"
He decides the hourglass should take up residence on his end table.
"Then what's wrong?" He asks picking up the watch and putting it on as a test try.
"There's nothing but recipes on here...?" Sai says looking his version of perplexed.
"He was a big guy" he says further scrutinizing everything for its worth.
Sai hums in agreement and feels the bed dip next to him.
"Anything good?"
"Let's see..." nothing of true interest is saved on the tablet, no credit cards...no bank info. The camera roll is something else though. The pictures range from screenshots of recipes to stupid things on the internet before they turn personal. An alarming amount of pictures seem to be of one person.
The blonde neighbor with the icy blue eyes and flirtatious smile. She definitely is attractive.
"He seems to be obsessed" Sai says.
"Poor bastard" Gaara clicks his tongue. Scrolling through her selfies as well as the pictures cropped specifically of her it seems the neighbors all seem to be close friends as there are pictures from when they were in high school. Outings and adventures are saved as well of silly ones clearly in taken in each other's houses.
Sai likes looking through them and finds himself intrigued by circle of friends.
The notes are recipes for the most part as well an occasional letter to the girl whose name is Ino.
"Delete it, they can trace it" Gaara says as they reach the end of notes.
"I know" Sai says. They learned their lesson the first time.
Feeling generous he decides to log the guy off his account instead of deleting it and resets the tablet before putting it on his night stand.
Sai sighs, the sound of muffled music is still audible and the subtle pulsing vibrations coming up through the bed.
He can tell the new neighbors are going to be nothing but trouble.