Chapter 5
"That little… that little…" Howard growled under his breath to Raj who sat by his side, a stunned look on his face. "I still don't see how this was a good idea." He stated clearly not as upset s Howard but not exactly jumping for joy either. "Just wait until I yell at Sheldon for this…" Howard hissed towards the computer lying in front of him. After their failed attempt at getting into a bar, he had decided to take Raj back to his apartment and watch some videos. He had recently set up a hidden camera to take video in Sheldon's bathroom, as Penny did most of her showering there now. He had strategically avoided all of Sheldon's scheduled shower times though- the thought of Sheldon in the shower made him shudder. Suddenly, Raj's voice seemed to rip at his anxiety and anger even more. "I don't think that would be a good idea." He said, his Indian accent quite noticeable. "Oh and why is that?" Howard questioned, anger rising in his throat as he heard his pitch get slightly higher and his increase in speed as he let his words tumble of his lips. "Dude, it's Leonard." He simply stated. "He'd freak if he found out what you did, and it would be awkward when we hung out again." Howard could hear the drawl with in Raj's last few words and it didn't comfort him. "So what am I suppose to do? Just not care and let him gaze at my naked girlfriend like that?" He scoffed towards Raj and could feel him wince. "Well…. No…." He said, rather quietly, looking down at the ground. "Then what do you suggest I do?" Howard nearly yelled.
"I don't know!" Raj shot back, hurt in his tone. "Stop yelling at me." His lip began to quiver and Howard sighed whilst resting his pointer finger and index finger on the bridge of his nose, pinching it. "You know what, fine." Howard barked, refusing to meet Raj's gaze. He then got up and grabbed his jacket, turning only slightly to see Raj's confused expression. "You coming?" He asked rather hastily. "Where are we going?" asked Raj, slightly relieved that his friend was no longer yelling. Howard didn't bother replying, he just walked out the door, leaving it open for when Raj decided to follow. Reluctantly, Raj rose from his spot on the couch and made his way over to the door.
Raj had barely made his way out of the door when he had followed Howard out the door, but it took him a couple minutes. He had made his way over to Howard's fridge and gazed upon its contents for several seconds before a couple of glass bottles caught his attention. He knew he only needed a couple gulps for him to be able to talk to Bernadette and sort things out if she was there and maybe show her some of the poems he had written for her, but tonight for some reason he found comfort in drinking and downed three whole bottles of beer in a matter of minutes, before drunkenly making his way out the door. Unfortunately, he was too distracted to remember that he had forgotten to close the door. So, he left the door wide open, with four more bottles of beer to down in the car. They had both been at Howard's place so Raj didn't exactly have anything with him. Howard's mother had surprisingly been too distracted with her new friend at his place to even bother checking up on the boys like she usually did. In fact, Howard was so caught up in his plans for the night that he forgot he was suppose to pick her up, but he didn't care.
The car ride was filled with Raj babbling away, despite the fact that Howard was furious still. Whilst driving, Howard shot icy glares in Raj's direction but he kept spitting words everywhere as is he just learned how to talk and would not stop. He left peace in Howard's ear for a moment when he paused but then a new sound filled his ears, the sound of vomiting as Raj had furiously pressed the button to lower the car window and was now continually puking out into the road. He was pretty sure this wasn't legal and he really hoped there were no cop cars near. He really couldn't afford a ticket, Bernie would kill him. He sighed loudly and continued driving. They were only a short way from Los Robles when Raj finally shut up, and Howard was very grateful. Upon arriving at the apartment, Howard pulled into a parking space, silenced the engine and turned to Raj, who was now eagerly bouncing in his seat. "What are you so happy about?" He questioned his Indian friend. For a moment, Raj looked confused, but he held that devilish grin on his face. He looked like a three year old who had just eaten ice cream but wasn't suppose to. "Nottthhhhhiiiiinnnngggg Duuuuuuuuuuddde." Raj slurred his words at Howard and Howard rolled his eyes. "Okay then."
As if on cue, Howard remembered why they were going to the apartment and became angry again as he stomped into the building and up the stairs. Raj was quite a few paces behind, considering that he couldn't walk very well. Once Howard had gotten to the fourth floor, he paused. He hadn't thought out what he was going to say to Leonard when he confronted him, he just thought it would all come out. He took a deep breath and burst through the door, only to find the living room empty, and the distant sound of a shower coming from the bathroom.