Chapter Text
It was another night. Hopefully this time though, Riyo would be able to get her missing sleep back. Last night was a mess, and she only managed to get a 30 minute nap in English class earlier.
She pulled her fuzzy blanket up to her chin, wrapping it around her like a cocoon. She closed her eyes, her consciousness already fading fast. Enveloped in a silence like this, it was easy to fall into a deep sleep.
Easy if not for the grating sound of musical instruments coming from the neighboring house.
She groaned out loud, pressing her pillow against her ear, but that did nothing to block out the sound. "What in the name of FUCK are they doing?!" She screamed in frustration, sitting upright and ruining her perfect little cocoon.
Her bed hair was a mess of knots and strands getting on her face. Mix that with her already irritable mood, it does not result in anything good happening.
She stood up, stomping out of her room. Apparently, the others —excluding Zanka and Gris— also had the same idea. They almost ran into each other, blinking in surprise.
"Shit, y'all hear that too?!" Enjin asked, his voice much louder than it should be at this time of night, but the obnoxious music next door made it feel like a requirement.
"Well, yes?! Who wouldn't hear this trash?!" Riyo yelled, covering her ears as the drums and guitars suddenly got louder.
Rudo was practically growling as he stomped down the hallway, Riyo and Enjin following closely. "Don't even compare trash to this bullshit! I swear, I'll give them a piece of my mind!!" Rudo was yelling loudly, somehow even louder than the music.
"I'm cheering ya on!!" Riyo yelled back as she followed Rudo out the front door barefoot. Enjin was following behind, but unlike the two he actually had his slippers on.
"Go Rudo! Don't get messy though!" Enjin cheered, adding fuel to the fire instead of blowing it out like how an adult should.
Rudo stopped in front of the neighbor's door, knocking and ringing the doorbell non stop. Even through the disruption, it took nearly five whole minutes for the music to quiet down a tad and someone opening the door.
As the door opened, it revealed a short woman with blue hair and golden eyes. Said golden eyes bore into Rudo's red eyes, making him pause and delay what he was about to say — or yell.
"What." Came the woman's voice, quiet yet it overlapped the loud music behind her. Rudo opened his mouth and closed it, at a loss for words for a second.
"I-i.. Uh... I came to ask if you guys can tone the music down a lil'..." He spoke shyly, hesitantly. Riyo's heart softened, her anger diminishing a bit at her brother's show of shyness.
"What for? I don't see any reasons why." And the anger came back tenfold.
Rudo's shyness seem to vanish the moment he heard those words, his expression scrunching up in anger. "Eh? No.. No reasons why?! Listen here, lady. We're all trying to get some good night's rest, we are not here to listen to the abomination you call music!!" He yelled, pointing a finger towards the woman.
The woman just stared at him blankly. "As far as i know.. You guys are the only ones complainin'. So unless you get the whole neighborhood to rally or something, we might consider it. Might." She spoke firmly. Before any of the three could respond, she took a step back and shut the door.
This was the second time these fuckers shut the door in their faces...
"Argh!! You motherfuckers!" Rudo yelled at the door, hearing the music getting louder as if to drown out his voice. He banged on the door in pure rage.
Riyo wasn't fairing any better either. She was basically shaking with anger, glaring daggers at the house. "I will curse each and every one of you." She muttered under her breath, backing away but her eyes remained locked on the house.
Enjin, surprisingly, was the calmest out of the three. He took three deep breaths before speaking up. "Alright y'all, let's just go home. We'll have our revenge soon, don't worry." He told them as he pried Rudo off the door.
They walked back home. Enjin dragging Rudo along with Riyo following closely behind, but still glaring at the house as if her gaze could make it burn. When they came back inside, the lights were on and Gris was waiting for them on the couch.
When he heard the door open, Gris perked up and blinked groggily at them. "You guys took awhile.. The confrontation went well?" He asked, voice rough with sleep.
Riyo grumbled, cleaning her feet with the welcome mat. "As if! It went horrible!" She complained, dropping to the couch next to Gris.
"Yeah. But instead of the old man, it's some blue haired chick now." Enjin added, grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen.
Gris watched as Rudo also drop down on the couch next to him, opposite side of Riyo. He sighed and placed his hands gently on top of the kids' heads. "Yeah? What happened?" He asks gently, as gently as he could with all the noise in the background.
"She was like so cold and so mean. She said there was no reason why they needed to turn down the music, and that we were the only ones complainin'!" Rudo said, his voice laced with pure fury.
"Yeah! Like you should've heard what people are saying about your fam' lady!" Riyo added, puffing her cheeks out in righteous fury.
Gris chuckled tiredly, wincing as the music next door got louder. "Alright, alright.. Let's just wait 'til the neighbors get tired, shouldn't take that long since it's already 12:24." He said, calming down the two. Enjin also joined them on the couch, setting down hot coffee on the table.
~
But apparently, their neighbors are dedicated musicians. The music didn't stop until 4 FREAKIN' AM!!
It was the crack of dawn, and they didn't get any sleep the whole night. They were all still on the couch, the room tense with silence and bad mood.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by whistling coming from upstairs. Slowly, four heads turned towards the staircase. The staircase in which Zanka was coming down from, whistling and looking down at his phone, fresh as always.
Right. Where was Zanka last night?
Zanka seemed to notice the air in the room because he paused and looked up from his phone. Blinking at them, confused. "Oh.. Uh.. Hey? You guys don't usually wake up this early...?" He spoke, confusion clear in his voice.
The room fell into an awkward silence after that. Zanka shifted from foot to foot, rubbing the back of his neck. After another excruciating moment of silence, Zanka coughed awkwardly and walked towards the kitchen.
"Where were you last night."
Enjin's voice made him stop in his tracks. It sounded so serious and empty, like his soul was sucked out of his body. Zanka turned around, confused.
"My bedroom, why?" He responded, eyeing his family's strange attitude. Riyo was staring at him blankly like he just said a joke, Rudo wasn't even looking at him, instead the boy was staring into space. Gris and Enjin looked at him incredulously.
"You sure?" Enjin asked again.
"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" Zanka answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if he didn't notice how dead everyone looks, even more so than yesterday.
"Didn't ya hear all the noise?" Riyo tilted her head, eyeing Zanka's face, which was free of dark circles unlike theirs.
This again? "What noise are y'all talkin' about? I slept well enough last night. And all of you have been talking about this, I swear I don't hear anythin'!" He asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.
Gris sighed. "Like I said yesterday, it's the new neighbors. They've been playing music 'til like 4am." He explained, finally someone..
"Music? That's what's been keepin' y'all up? Be serious right now." Zanka deadpanned, glancing at the exhausted look on their faces. "Have y'all tried to use noise cancelling headphones?" He asked.
"Well, duh! But that bullshit ass music just slips through! That's how loud it is!" Rudo complained, grumbling while glaring at the ground.
"Yeah Zanka, you really can't talk if you never experienced it yourself." Riyo muttered bitterly, huffing. "How 'bout you stop whatever magic you're using and try to listen to the horrid music next door." She suggested sarcastically.
"Yeah,no." Zanka rolled his eyes and turned back away. "Whatever, y'all are just bitter that i get to sleep peacefully while ya suffer." He mocked, ignoring the envious and angry stares burning through his back. "Riyo, Rudo, get ready for school ya dimwits." He spoke nonchalantly, waving a hand.
"I don't feel like going to school now..." Rudo grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back into the couch.
"Sorry, Rudo.. Gotta go to school man.." Enjin muttered tiredly from his spot on the couch, his arm on his eyes as he tries to sleep.
Gris sighed as he looked at Enjin, noting the exhaustion on the other's face. "I'll drive you kids to school, now get ready." He said, urging the sleepy teens off the couch.
"You're a lifesaver, Gris.." Enjin said thankfully to Gris, who simply smiled warmly at him.
"UGHHH!! This is all your fault, Zanka!!" Rudo yells as he begrudgingly walked up the stairs, Riyo following behind defeatedly
"Sucks to suck dumbass!" Zanka yelled back, going into the kitchen and making the breakfast instead of Gris.
~