Chapter 5 - Keep Him Up All Night

Yagari shut the door to his house and fell back against it with a heavy sigh, sliding to the floor. He was so exhausted. Everywhere he went there was a new problem—a prank, if you will—waiting for him. It was really starting to grate on his nerves.

Grunting, he managed to get his feet and walked into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. It was four hours old and bitter like penicillin but he didn't even care anymore. He couldn't bring himself to care. He was exhausted and aggravated and right now, all he wanted was cup of coffee. Just. A cup. Of coffee.

He stood there, leaning against the counter, sipping his drink as the clock ticked away in the background. Maybe he should go to bed. Get in bed early, wake up early, get into town before school started… he had been on such a weird sleep schedule because of teaching the Night Class… it would be nice to be up with the sun for a change. And who knew? Maybe getting away from the school meant getting away from the prankster causing him so much trouble.

Sighing, he grabbed his drink and headed into the living room, grabbing a book from the bookshelf without even looking at the title. He wasn't going to pay much attention to the words anyways. He couldn't pay attention to anything.

He opened it up and sat down with a sigh, his eyes adhering to the words as he began to read. At first, his brain was vacant and the words went in his eyes and out his ears. But then… he started to get into the story. It was actually pretty interesting… one of the novels Analesia had left on his desk to give him something to do while he waited for class to start.

Wuthering Heights, huh?

What on earth did wuthering even mean? Either way, it was a good book, and he was really starting to get into it. He was starting to relax, and his feet had found their way to the coffee table, resting their comfortably. He was starting to forget all the annoying things that had plagued the last few days…

"Baby you light up my world like nobody else! The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed!"

Yagari jerked, letting out a surprised shout as music—if it could be called that—suddenly burst throughout his house. He jumped up, book falling to the floor as he turned in a circle, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. The… bedroom? No, the bathroom!

He darted out of the living room and went down the hall, wincing at the intense volume. This was doing nothing for his headache…

He ran into the bathroom and saw a little portable stereo sitting there, One Direction bursting from the speakers. Grunting, he reached out and unplugged it, relieving his ears from the noise as silence filled the house once more.

"What the heck was that…? And who's is this?" He turned the device over, looking for a name or something he could use to identify the owner.

"And I was like baby, baby, baby oh! Like baby, baby, baby no! Like baby—"

He nearly dropped the CD player at the new rush of sound, this one coming from down the hall—probably the laundry room. "What the-?"

He set down the player and went back out into the hall, rubbing his temple as he entered the room the sound was coming from, finding another small player similar to the first. He unplugged that one as well, looking around the room for any sign of the perpetrator. After all, if it turned on right after he turned off the last one, the person had to be in the house.

Right?

He sighed, setting it down on the washing machine and starting out into the hallway. It was probably a good idea to check all the rooms and unplug any stereos. Then, hopefully, he could get back to his book and then go to bed.

"Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago, I was in your sights, you got me alone—"

A groan escaped his lips, and he picked up speed, running to the bedroom and tearing out another plug.

"So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song, the butterflies fly away—"

He ran to the kitchen and jerked out another plug, being none to kind. He was probably going to throw these off the roof once he found them all. Or sell them on eBay. He might as well reap some benefits from this nightmare.

"I remember when we broke up, the first time, saying this is it I've had enough—"

Another run, another cord, another five seconds of silence, and he was off again. Running this way and that way, in and out of room after room, doors flying open and shut behind him. It was a regular Scooby-Doo monster chase.

Finally… finally at three in the morning… the house was silent. Completely silent. Every stereo had been thrown out a window. Every room had been thoroughly examined. And it was quiet. Peaceful.

He flopped onto his bed and let out a long, heavy sigh, his eyes drifting shut. His shoulders heaved as he exhaled once more, his body practically melting into the mattress. He could finally sleep… all he had to do was close his eyes and—

RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG—BANG!

The alarm clock fell to the floor, a bullet hole in the center of its face.

He was not going to work today.