•On the Way Down•

The Next Morning Run Around

Need woke the slumbering beast up.

That of an over powering craving setting ablaze every cell in his body until Shizou had no choice but to stir. Awoken from the dead slumber he'd been in since the noodles from the night before settled in his gullet. Even overriding the urge to just go back to sleep once his throbbing head reminded him of the shit show that happened last night. The craving made him get up and fuel the addiction whether he liked it or not.

Shizuo rolled off the black futon just to stumble towards the mediocre sized dinning table and all it's clutter from Kyohei and his two surprised guests. His jacket hung from on of the chair's shoulders at least easily accessible. Fishing into his pockets, Shizuo drew out the pack of cigarettes and the hefty silver lighter always located in his front pocket.

No more than a mindless zombie, the tall blond man shuffled out of the apartment and onto the balcony to seclude himself. He stuffed a cigarette in between his lips and cupped the end while holding the flame up against it's tip. Puffing twice he inhaled the poison before billowing it out his nose. Letting the nicotine flood his senses and blood stream like it would be his first and last all over again.

Called down from the initiate need of it all, Shizuo set the pack and lighter on the railing under his palm. He leaned forward and took another drag on his smoldering cigarette with his free hand. Then he took it out of his mouth for a moment and held it between his fingers.

Glancing below he watched everyone mill about already well into their day. Those people looked like they were from another world. Being perched as such above it all. Shizuo felt a bit disconnected seeing the day time from this angle. He wasn't below, wandering about with them like the drudges they all were. Not walking on the same street or looking around at the same shops.

No.

He was on top. Watching them. And they had no idea. Shizuo wasn't part of the crowd. He wasn't part of their world. It felt almost incriminating to hold himself up like this, like doing so brought him closer to being like-

Ding, dong. Suddenly the echo of the individual apartments door bell chime reached Shizuo's ears. Startling him in fact after being so wrapped up in watching what was going on below.

"What the-?" he slowly craned around in the general direction back in the apartment. Shizuo looked closely only to see Jiro and Kyohei still curled up together on the futon. They were past out and certainly weren't the ones to go answer the door. Yet alone be the one ringing the door bell.

Ding, dong. It called to him again. Shizuo scowled at the noise and smashed the smoldering end of the cigarette into the unused ash tray. Grabbing his belongings Shizuo stomped into the apartment and stashed his smokes away for a later time since right now had been interrupted.

Stomping pass the futon on the way to strangle anyone really on the other side of that door for the interruption. Shizuo stopped at the far edge of the make shift bed and followed the outline the remaining two up to his friends and up to their serene sleeping faces. Jiro's small body was pressed like a puzzle piece up against his best friend's chest. Kyohei's arms extended over her and wrapped around her waist and chest with such a snug fit that there wasn't a single way she was going anywhere. Jiro just as bad with her hands clasped tightly onto his forearm and closest hand as their fingers wound tightly around each others.

For as long as Shizuo could even consciously remember, Jiro and Kyohei had the worst crush on one another. Being himself Shizou never really thought twice about it. Really just feeling that he was the neutral third party member. Not really caring if they got mushy when he was around because the alternative was always worse than two lovebirds he thought.