7:39 PT, San Francisco, US
The rest of the Ice Crew's self-declared radical "Boy's Day Off" went well, and the three men enjoyed it to their fullest by riding all the MooseWorld rides they could, snacking, and having mindless delinquent fun throughout the day. Time seemed to fly faster than normal and before the Ice Crew knew it, the sun was setting and the sky was gradually getting darker. MooseWorld wouldn't close for another several hours, but the boys knew they couldn't stay because they had an evening house check to do for their boss, so they left. Ice took the responsibility of driving to Darek's house with Cobra taking the passenger's seat and DJ taking the backseat. The purple-haired one was busy finishing the rest of the snacks and drinks he held while the quiet one was fast asleep with his arms crossed and his head tilted back, softly snoring away.
"We there yet?" Cobra asked as he took the last big bite of his corndog.
"In five minutes," Ice said as he made a right turn.
"You got the keys?"
Ice patted his right pocket and the soft sound of jangling keys could be heard. "Been here all day."
Cobra nodded and took a sip of his soda, stopping midway to burp behind his hand. He turned his head to look back at DJ with a smirk. "Lookit Deej passed out in the back," the purple-haired man snickered at a volume not to disturb him.
Ice perked his head up to look in the rearview mirror at the sleeping DJ. "Has he been like that the whole time?" he questioned.
"I think so," Cobra answered with a nonchalant shrug.
"Those rides tuckered him out," the blond said with a mocking headshake. He then cast a curious eye to Cobra as he turned the wheel to turn left onto another street. "How come you ain't knocked out?"
"Tch! S'gonna take more than a few rollercoasters to tire me out," Cobra bragged and jabbed a proud thumb into his chest.
"Whaddya mean? We got on damn near every ride, including The Coaster Supreme!"
"So?"
"And you ate the most out of us!"
"What can I say? I got a stomach made o' iron."
"Shit, I'll say. You and DJ," Ice said as he pulled up at an intersection and stopped, signaling a left turn.
"DJ's better than me," Cobra replied.
"So that's why you made that dumbass all-you-can-eat deal thang?" Ice cast a sideways glance at Cobra.
"Well I had to say something to get 'im to ride with us," Cobra said with a shrug.
"Bro, you coulda said literally anythin' else an' I woulda been onboard witchu," Ice replied. When the light turned green, he waited for the car on the opposite lane to pass before turning into the main entrance of Darek's neighborhood. It was one of the fancy areas around San Francisco where many wealthy people like Darek lived. Many of the properties had grand houses with nice lawns and peaceful neighbors.
"Dude, you act like you workin' minimum wage. You got the dinero for it."
"So?" Ice simply asked. He then turned left onto another street and turned left again at the first driveway on the left: Darek's. Finally, they reached their destination. The house connected to it was a two-story light grey house with a small porch and a wide driveway. The property sat on a hill that dipped towards the right side.
"Aye Deej, wake up," Cobra said, reaching back to tap and jostle his friend's knee. The only reaction DJ gave was to ever-so-slightly move his leg and adjust his seat.
"Yo DJ!" Ice fully turned his body to face him and yell. Still, the large man did not budge.
"Our boy is sawin' logs back there," Cobra snickered.
"C'mon, we don't have time for this," Ice grumbled with a roll of his eyes. He wasn't as amused about DJ's sleeping because he knew his friend long enough to know he was the heaviest sleeper he knew. If the big man could find a good position to get comfortable and fall asleep in, he would. After that, it was tough to wake DJ up.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Ice's mind as he turned to Cobra. "You might wanna cover yo' ears," he warned as a sly grin grew on his face.
Cobra quirked a confused eyebrow at Ice and tilted his head in confusion. "What're you talkin' 'bout?" he asked, clearly not following Ice's lead.
Without warning, Ice took his hand and repeatedly slammed it down in the middle of the steering wheel where the car horn was. "WAKE YO ASS UP, DAMIAN!" the blond screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Yo chill!" Cobra covered his ears to yell. "You tryna wake up the whole damn neighborhood?!"
"Wha?!" DJ gave a frightened yelp as he jerked up in his seat and frantically looked to his friends to see what was going on.
"Rise 'n' shine, Sleeping Beauty. We at D's place," Ice said mockingly.
DJ shot a weary and haughty glare at Ice as he watched him and Cobra get down from the car, Cobra going to the mailbox while Ice headed to the front door. DJ let out a tired yawn and made one giant stretch with his arms. He then unbuckled his seatbelt and got down from the car to join Ice, quietly mumbling away Spanish profanities at him for disturbing his sleep.
"A'ight, let's see... " Ice trailed off as he peddled through the many keys attached to its keyring. "Darek's car, the dealership doors, office, yeah house keys!" he said to himself with a smile as he grabbed the appropriate key. The blond walked up the steps of the porch and approached the front door, made of dark brown wood with a square window at the top. He placed the key inside the hole and turned it to the right, then used his other hand to turn the knob. These actions together unleashed a soft click! and the door swiftly opened to the inside.
The interior of the house was dark and still, even though there was no one home. Ice felt DJ's presence from behind start to move past him to step inside, but Ice held out his arm to block him. "Nuh-uh. We gotta take off our shoes. Darek don't like dirt in the house." Ice went first to take off his shoes and step into the house, placing them on a shoe rack near the door. DJ followed his lead, taking off his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack before coming inside as well.
"Damn, where the lights at?" Ice complained aloud as he dragged his hand along the wall feeling for a light switch. DJ reached out past his friend and simply flipped on a switch that sat right beside Ice's hand, turning on the hallway lights first. "Thanks Deej," Ice nodded to his friend and DJ nodded back before heading to the bathroom.
Cobra was the last to come in the house with his shoes already off and placed them near the shoe rack. "Yo, Darek got a lotta mail! Some bills, flyers, magazines, packages 'n' shit," he called inside. The purple-haired man made a beeline for the kitchen where he heard the sounds of movement come from. When Cobra stepped into the room, his heart dropped when he saw Ice drinking some milk from the carton. He inwardly gasped as he threw the mail on the kitchen table and raced over to Ice to grab the milk from his hand.
The blond glared up at Cobra because some sprinkles of the milk splashed on his chin. "What the hell, man?" Ice shot a glare up at his friend as he used his arm to wipe the milk off.
"Me? What the fuck you doin?!" Cobra replied as he grabbed the cap from Ice and closed the carton. "You can't just come in D's crib drinkin' his milk like that."
Ice couldn't help himself letting an immature beam grace his lips and let out a snicker. "Pause," he said and covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing further. "Relax. It's just a waterfall."
"Yeah, well your "waterfall's" gon' get us fired," Cobra said as he placed the milk back in the fridge and closed the doors.
"C'mon dawg, live a li'l!" Ice threw a look at his friend. "And a gallon is literally, like, three dollars."
"You've seen D-Man flip out over li'l shit over a cup of lukewarm coffee. What makes you think he wouldn't flip over milk?"
"You're seriously wack."
"You're wack!"
DJ felt a sense of awkwardness hit as he walked into the kitchen in the middle of Ice's and Cobra's argument. He could hear some of it escalate from the bathroom just as he was washing his hands, and came out to see what the commotion was about. It became even more awkward for him to see both his friends fiercely staring each other down over an argument seemingly as trivial as milk. But that didn't mean he had to get in the middle of it either.
"We've been here long enough, man. Let's just dip,"
Cobra's suggestion.
"You're trippin'," Ice said as he gave a dejected look at his partner and crossed his arms. "Haven't you ever wanted to look inside Darek's crib?"
"Nah!"
"I know you lyin'," Ice tilted his head and threw a skeptical look at his friend. He turned to DJ, who stood idly outside the kitchen watching the argument bounce back and forth between them. "Deej, haven't you ever wanted to look around Darek's place a bit?"
DJ cocked his head to the side and carefully eyed the blond. Now he could see what the argument was about. The quiet man wanted to shake his head or to even outright say 'no' to Ice's question. But that would be lying, and DJ wasn't entirely the best at that. It wasn't even necessary to lie in this scenario since he was with his close friends and there wouldn't be any serious judgment with his answer versus if it was his boss asking. After a moment of silence, DJ slightly rocked his head back and forth in a so-so manner to agree with Ice.
Ice aggressively pointed to DJ with a smug grin while he looked back at Cobra. "See?! You tellin' me you've never once had a thought about what D-Man's big ass mansion's like? You've never, ever had that idea pop in your head since we laid eyes on this joint?"
Cobra's lips pursed together in deep thought as his eyes cast around the kitchen, which was mostly clean save for a few dishes and cups in the sink. A part of the young man was a bit surprised at the cleanliness of the house he's seen so far. For some reason, he took Darek to be a messy kind of man who wouldn't bother cleaning up after himself. The kitchen island and wooden cabinets were clean, and the dishes, pots, and pans were put where they belonged. The wooden floors were swept and neat. The only thing in the sink was a used coffee mug. The kitchen was designed like a modern Asian-style kitchen. It was cool and admirable to look at and take in all at once. Now that he thought about it, Cobra figured that Ice had a point—Darek was very particular and private about his home. Given that he lived in a nice neighborhood and liked his solitude, it made sense. There were a few times that the Ice Crew were in their boss' house, but they had only seen the foyer and the main hallway. They got glimpses of the living room here and there but never could get past the main hallway. This was the first time in the years they worked for Darek that he could trust his underlings to watch over his place and physically be inside while he was gone.
Cobra crossed his arms and gave a half-hearted shrug. "Er, okay maaaaybe once or twice."
"Exactly. Think about it dawg. This is the perfect opportunity to check out D-Man's sweet pad," Ice smugly nodded and crossed his arms also. "I feel like Darek won't mind as long as we don't break, steal, or do anythin' crazy, like throw a party at his crib 'n' shit. Right?" the blond asked this last question looking at both his friends.
DJ gave a small shrug to Ice's question with an uncertain look on his face. "Maybe just one look," he shyly said, holding up a finger.
Cobra continued his long and hard stare at Ice, then he finally gave in with a shrug. "I guess one looksee couldn't hurt... " he trailed off the proposal with a hint of a smile.
"Yes!" Ice hissed and pumped his fists in the air. He gave a devious grin to Cobra and Fist to then ask, "A'ight. Where to first?"
"I saw this cool lookin' dragon figure in the living room," DJ was the first to suggest as he pointed to the room.
"For real?" Cobra's eyebrows creased in curiosity.
"Lemme see," Ice eagerly said and he and Cobra followed DJ to the space.
The living room was a grand room with a large flat screen TV on the near wall of the room. There was a large wooden table in front of the chairs. The carpet floor was a light gray color that was soft under the trio's feet. The walls were a sandy brown and the ceiling was a cream white color with a single, eight-bladed fanlight hanging above. There was a brown three-seater sofa and a single sofa positioned around a rectangular wooden coffee table. Some pillows were lazily placed on both sofas and others on the floor.
DJ pointed to the dark red TV table under the TV, where the dragon figure sat. It was made from ceramic and the figure was sculpted to look like a Chinese dragon whose dark green shade looked similar to the color of jade. The dragon was positioned in a fierce combative position with its mouth open and claws out.
"Aye, that's kinda nice," Ice said as he reached down to grab the statuette. DJ grabbed his shoulder to draw him back and give him a scolding glance, but Ice shrugged his hand off with his shoulder. "I ain't gonna break it, chill," he reminded as he picked up the statue with both hands tightly, making sure his hold was as stable as possible. "Mad cold though," the blond muttered.
"Check out that detail!" Cobra said as he leaned forward and pointed to the scales. "Lemme see."
As Ice handed the figure to Cobra, it dangerously wobbled back and forth in his hands and Ice got down making sure it didn't leave his grasp. DJ and Cobra audibly gasped at this sight. Their eyes shot wide and their hearts dropped into their stomach. "Oh shit!" Cobra choked out.
A sneaky grin came onto Ice's lips as he immediately stood upright and held the figure safely in both arms again. "Nah, I was jus' playin'," he giggled and placed the dragon back on the TV table. "Yo, you shoulda seen the looks on your faces!"
DJ and Cobra simultaneously let out a deep sigh of relief. For a brief moment, the two could practically see Darek's furious face upon seeing the broken statue and an extreme punishment in their future. Fortunately, it was just a dumb prank by Ice, which earned the blond two deep scowls.
"Screw you," Cobra said before heading to the stairs. DJ resorted to smacking Ice upside his head and following him.
"I was playin'! Damn," Ice cursed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
When the Ice Crew got up on the second floor, they were facing a double door that had one door slightly cracked open. "If I ain't know better, I'd say that's D's room," Cobra pointed inside.
Ice eagerly rubbed his hands together in his anticipation. "Let's find out!" he announced as he pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
Darek's bedroom was a master bedroom and one of the biggest bedrooms in the house. A master bed sat in the middle far side of the room with a nightstand on its left. The dark covers were messy and thrown over the bed. Darek didn't take the time to make his bed before he left. There was a tall wooden dresser on one side of the wall where some of the drawers were pulled out with some clothes draped over them. Some of Darek's shirts and pants were thrown on his bed and others were in a small pile on the floor near his bed. The blinds were closed so nothing could be seen from the outside in. There was a small study desk on the far side of the room near the window. The table had some papers, pens, and pencils lying about with a lamp sitting in the back.
Ice peaked his head over the drawers and delicately picked up a shirt hanging around the edge with his fingers. He flipped it around to look at the front. "Room is messy as hell," Ice said, withholding a snicker as he stuffed the shirt in a drawer.
"Tch, yeah. You seen his work office, right?" Cobra quipped, moving past Ice to look into the master bathroom. The restroom was slightly disorganized as the glass shower door was left open with a body towel thrown across the door. Darek's deodorant, a comb, an electric razor, an open jar of hair gel, some used handheld razors, and hand soaps sat all around the sink countertop. There were small pieces of leftover hair left on the countertop and a few smudges of toothpaste left on the countertop as well. The toilet and large bathtub (as far as Cobra could see) looked clean, but Cobra became hesitant to go further into the bathroom. "That's gross, bro," the slim man tsked to himself and shook his head. It was easier for him to say this out loud since Darek wasn't here because the purple-haired man knew that his boss wouldn't be pleased to hear his criticism.
"Aye, check it!"
Cobra's ears perked up hearing Ice call out from the bedroom. When he left the bathroom to rejoin his friends in the bedroom, he saw DJ and Ice on the far side of the bed. A beaming Ice was holding a photo up for him and DJ to see. Both men wore smiles of amusement and intrigue on their faces as they looked at the picture. "Awww! D-Man got a picture of him 'n' his girl!" Ice said in a sugary tone.
Cobra piqued an eyebrow at Ice's comment as he walked over to his buddies. "Wait, what?" he croaked. Ice handed him the picture and Cobra brought it closer to his face to get a better look. The picture was taken like a selfie where Jade was holding the camera, and she and Darek were nestled together under an umbrella in the shade. Jade was planting a kiss on Darek's cheek and he wore a wide-toothed grin to Jade as his arm was snug around her. The sun was shining on them and his sunglasses were on while hers was propped on her forehead. Darek was shirtless showing off his athletic build and had a tattoo of a dragon on his right pectoral. Jade was in a blue bikini with her hair tied up in a short ponytail and wore a silver necklace.
Ice lifted the photo from the other side to see a printed date in black on the back. "Says this was on Fourth of July."
"Where'd you find this?" Cobra looked up to ask.
"DJ found it pokin' out right under D's bed," Ice said and pointed to the spot.
"Hm, weird that Double-D still has it," Cobra said with a frown.
"Why wouldn't he? That's his girl," the blond answered dryly.
"Was."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, dawg. They been broke up, like, four months ago. You ain't know?"
"Wait, for real?" the blond asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Yup. D's been real sore since then. Haven't you noticed how much crankier an' distant he's gotten recently?"
Ice cupped his chin and looked to the air to take a moment to think. The blond had never directly noticed the change in his boss' demeanor in the past few months because frankly, Darek always appeared to be unhappy. Even his relaxed face looked hardened and bitter. Ice was used to it at this point and didn't take it to heart too much whenever his superior would get mad at him because the problem was usually never that deep. But now that Cobra was saying something about it, Ice could see some changes in hindsight.
In the first few months that Darek and Jade were seeing each other, Darek did seem a bit more lax. One afternoon, Ice caught a cold in the middle of his shift and was unable to work the rest of the day, so he left early without telling his boss or finishing his paperwork. Usually, an employee who did this would get a tough lecture for leaving their duties unannounced and causing the other employees to pick up more work. Ice remembered the massive relief he felt two days later when he returned to work and told Darek he was out because he was sick, and Darek simply shrugged off the mistake and said he had already taken care of the unfinished business. When he discovered later that Darek was seeing a special someone, Ice silently thanked this person for whatever hold they had that made his boss become a bit more of a sympathetic being. But the Darek of the past four months was edgier than normal. He worked long hours, was prone to furious outbursts over the slightest inconveniences, and was more distracted and withdrawn. He looked drained with bags steadily collecting under his eyes and even sporting a five o'clock shadow at times. Ice recalled days when he caught Darek in his office behind his computer with his face down to the desk, snoring away with a half-empty can of an energy drink. Then the blond would have to gently shake his boss awake to tell him to go home, resulting in Darek skipping his next couple of days at work.
"Damn... " Ice hummed. Everything was starting to make sense now. "He never said nothin' 'bout the breakup, has he?"
Cobra shook his head. "D-Man wouldn't put himself in a vulnerable spot like that."
"Musta been a bad breakup," Ice coolly said. He met Jade a handful of times and knew little about the relationship except to mind his own business. But the blond did understand a thing or two about messy breakups. "Ol' girl wasn't really my type o' chick anyway. But Double-D seemed to like her a lot."
Cobra looked back at the crinkled photo with a tiny smile for the smiles Jade and Darek sported in the photo were contagious. "Darek was definitely enjoying himself," he replied with a nod.
"Yo, be careful with that," DJ wanted and pointed to the photo.
Ice and Cobra let out a small chortle at DJ's sudden caution. "What, 'fraid I'm gonna get a paper cut or somethin'?" Cobra asked with a funny grin.
"'Member that was by Major-D's bed."
Ice and Cobra raised their eyebrows at DJ's words and exchanged confused glances that lasted for a solid beat. "The hell does that even mean?" Ice asked with a furrowed brow.
DJ raised both his brows in his slight entertainment to answer Ice's question, refusing to say anything else and hoping his friends would pick up the hint on their own. Ice and Cobra had furrowed brows on their befuddled expressions. Their minds searched for the reason why DJ, typically the quiet guy, would suddenly speak out to warn them. After a long moment passed of nothing but solid eye contact, a lightbulb went off in Ice's and Cobra's heads and their faces lit up in utter revulsion. "EWWWW!" Both boys screamed out and Cobra threw the photo on the floor. DJ let out a howl as he jogged out of the bedroom and leaned against the stair railing to double over from his hysterics.
"You was thinkin' that the whole time an' you ain't say nothin', you dirty fuckin' dickhead?!" Ice said as he rushed out of the room to yell after DJ.
"I pointed to the pic," came DJ's reply through his wheezing. "I ain't say to pick it up!" he threw back his head to howl harder. "Wash yo' hands just in case!"
Ice and Cobra shot menacing glares at their chuckling friend as they passed him to walk down the stairs. They would've gone into the master bathroom, but considering the truth that DJ just revealed, they both realized it was better to go downstairs. The two made a beeline to the kitchen sink and grabbed the soap bottle to pour themselves a quarter-sized amount of soap. Cobra turned the tap for the water to pour down on him and Ice's hands and they vigorously scrubbed them from the front to back. DJ's giggling was still heard in the background as he came down the steps to come into the kitchen.
Cobra lightly wrung his hands over the sink and made narrowed eye contact with DJ as he grabbed a dry kitchen towel from the towel holder to dry his hands. He then handed it to Ice, who was also giving a mean glare to his friend. "I gotcha ass for that, Deej," the blond told him.
DJ simply took the towel and neatly folded it, then set it down on the kitchen table. "Okay," was his simple response gave him a funny shrug.
"I think we've done enough foolin' for today. We should hit the road," Cobra said as he looked at the digital clock on the wall reading 8:23 PM.
"Yeah, let's dip," Ice said. It was like a verbal signal for the boys to head to the foyer. As the blond put on his shoes, he looked at DJ. "The lights are set to turn off after 10, right?" DJ had put on his left shoe and looked to Ice to give him a thumbs up and solidly nodded. "And I got the key," Ice contently answered. "Cobra, you're comin' tomorrow to do the mornin' check."
Cobra's eyebrows furrowed in surprise at the order. "What? Why me?"
"Didn't you randomly volunteer me to be DJ's free meal ticket back in MooseWorld?"
The purple-haired man rolled his eyes at the comeback and gave a mocking shake of his head as he opened the door. DJ silently laughed behind his hand at the response. "You're a petty dude, you know that?" he said as he held it open for his friends.
"I know," Ice returned a complacent smile. "Just make sure nothin' looks outta place here in the mornin' before work."
"Got it."
A/N: Okay, about the last chapter... I lied :c As you have seen and read, there was no scene about Darek and Seymour eating and talking. I wasn't trying to trick anyone on purpose, I swear. I intended to add some juicy stuff about the demon family in this chapter, but I once again bit off more than I could chew.
But there is a good side to this because I ended up working ahead, so the next chapter is nearly finished! I am a few weeks into my semester, but it won't be too long before I release the following chapter. So consider this like a filler if you will. This next one I promise you will enjoy!
See ya next time!