Hybrid Theory Ch. 02

"Ah yes, I actually forgot about that. Thanks for the info James. Now how do we get this door open? I see no handle or knob, and it isn't opening automatically either."

Gabe stood there looking at the door and noticed a strange black thing with what appeared to be two small lights on it and a small gap for something thin to fit into. He looked over at Mu, about to ask how to open it but decided against it as he didn't want to appear to be stupid. He bent down, examining the black box type thing rather carefully, before trying to stick his finger into it, which failed. He then blew into the little slit, hoping that would help but it didn't. It also didn't help that Mu was being annoyingly quiet and wasn't offering any kind of help. He then suddenly remembered how Mu was constantly pulling his card out and using it to pay for things, and also remembered that girl from before who gave him his student card told him something about the card being important for attendance and such, so he figured that it may also be important for opening the door so he reached in his pocket and pulled out his student card, inserted it into the little slit, and swiped it downwards. A little beep sounded from the box and the red light flashed. He tried it again, and it had the same results. He removed the card and examined it closely, and then flipped it over before sliding it through the slit again. This time it beeped twice and the green light went off, and the doors slid open; an event that had Gabe standing to his full height, pumping his chest out and nodding with pride at his achievement. He then looked down at Mu smugly, and started walking in, and Mu just shook his head and chuckled, walking in after him.

"Ha! See that you short little bastard? I opened the fucking door yo!"

Mu just laughed under his breath at Gabe's apparent pride at opening the door, and his switch back to terrible ebonics which, much like the names thing, didn't seem to bother him anymore. When they both reached the elevator though, Gabe looked for the swipe point and found that there wasn't one. He just looked around all over the place for a swipe point, but there wasn't another, at least not another that opened the elevator doors. After looking for and not finding the swipe point that opened the elevator, Gabe begrudgingly looked over at Mu for help. Mu just looked at Gabe with smug look on his face and pressed the 'Up' button, causing the doors to open. He then gestured at Gabe to walk in, which he did with a playful scowl on his face, after which Mu walked in as well, grinning at Gabe, who looked down at him, still scowling.

"I will kill you motherfucker..."

They both stood there in silence before Mu eventually reached for and pressed the button for the top floor of the building, still looking rather smug. Gabe just continued to scowl at him throughout the duration of the elevator ride, even stopping his initial impulse of dancing along to the elevator music. The ride was rather long as the building was rather tall. Gabe eventually got over scowling at Mu, and just smiled at him, and started chuckling, which Mu joined in on as Gabe's laughter was terribly infectious. Once they reached the top floor, the elevator made a sort of ding and the doors opened up, with the two of them now walking out. Gabe looked around and noticed for the first time that the interior of the building was extremely classy, which for some reason had completely gone unnoticed. He also looked around a bit and realized that there was only one door on the entire floor, which when looked around some more, was rather vast. He looked down at Mu who just nodded knowingly.

"That girl at the counter did mention that everybody wants the Penthouse Suite. People usually bunk together in order to get it, as it is rather expensive to pay for by yourself, but it seems like you had the money to pay."

Gabe just nodded slowly and looked around some more, before walking towards the door, which was in the middle of the floor.

'Wait, how on earth did I get this apartment? In fact, how on earth did we afford to pay for this thing?! We aren't rich!'

Gabe just continued with his internal monologue as he pulled the card out again and swiped it in the swipe point, to which a sort of unlocking type of click was heard, before the door opened slightly on its own. Gabe then pushed on the door and it opened completely, a very large portion of the apartment into view. Gabe just stood and marveled at the size and vastness of the apartment, which was filled with rather dark furniture and finishings. He saw some sort of pole somewhere near the middle of the lobby, which was planted in the middle of something that looked like a Jacuzzi. He just stared with his mouth gaping, and slowly started walking in, looking around. Mu stood there looking rather unimpressed, before looking up at Gabe and noticing all the wonder and shock at what he was seeing.

'My word, just how sheltered was this guy? This place isn't all that impressive, and all the dark, gothic and clichéd vampire décor is pretty bad as well.'

Gabe suddenly looked down at Mu and smiled, grinning from ear to ear and bending down slightly.

"Holy mother of – fucking shit! Are you seeing this place Dennis?! Odd looking shit aside now, can you just IMAGINE how many bitches I'm going to be able to fit in here?!" by this time, Gabe was running around looking at everything, spinning in one spot, before running up to and poking some more stuff, laughing, and then bending down and appraising a flat surface, giggling lewdly at the evil thoughts running through his mind.

Mu had now completely walked inside and shut the door, making his way over towards the kitchen, which was also rather large, pulling up a stool and sitting down. While Gabe was still busy faffing and such, suddenly his stomach growled extremely loudly, causing him to freeze and shut up. He then looked over at Mu, became slightly pale in complexion and dropped down to his knees. He then plopped down onto his stomach and lay there motionless. Mu, who hadn't even moved a muscle since Gabe dropped down, slowly pulled his phone out and dialed one of the numbers he had taken a note of, and ordered what ended up being a large amount of food, as Gabe lay on the floor, mumbling something unintelligible and not bothering to get up. It took around half an hour for the food to arrive, but when it did, Mu stood up and buzzed the delivery guy in. Once the guy reached the top floor, he buzzed the door, to which Mu opened it. The delivery guy just looked at Mu and his eyes bulged with recognition, as he instantly realized who had just answered the door, and was wondering what he was doing in a Vamp Sect Penthouse, without being horribly beaten or bleeding profusely. Mu himself also recognized the delivery guy, who spoke first.

"M-My Li-"

"Quiet Robert; I've told you people a million times not to call me that!"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you... Mu. It's just that I'm very surprised to see you in a vampire's apartment at this time of the day, in this kind of condition."

"And what kind of condition is that Robert?"

Robert suddenly looked at Mu, slightly intimidated before stepping back slightly.

"I'm sorry Mu, I didn't mean anything by it! It's just that..."

"Yes yes, I know. Don't worry about it, just come in and set all the food down on the kitchen counter."

The guy gave Mu a sort of half-bow, half-nod type of thing, before grabbing as many bags as he could and set them on the counter, before getting the rest and doing the same. He looked down towards the Jacuzzi after he heard some sort of mumbling noises coming from that direction, and he noticed some guy on the floor, on his stomach and looked over at Mu in shock.

"D-Did you do that My –"

"No, of course not! This is actually his place, and I just happened to be here when he collapsed. I just ordered him the food as he helped me out earlier. Anyway, come here so I can pay."

The guy came closer and pulled out a mobile swipe point, to which Mu produced his card and swiped it. After entering his code, he put it back in his pocket.

"You may keep the balance as a tip. And Robert, you will say nothing to anybody about this, alright?"

Robert just nodded in appreciation and bowed before scurrying out of the apartment quickly. Mu closed the door and turned around, making his way over to the kitchen. Some audible sniffing sounds were heard, and then some more mumbling was heard again, in a whining sort of tone. Mu looked over to see Gabe inching over towards the kitchen, sliding across the floor like a slug. Mu then started unpacking the food, ignoring Gabe before feeling something gripping his ankle weakly. He looked down to see Gabe, still face down on the floor, laying there. He grabbed a box of fried chicken, bent down, opening it and placed it right in front of Gabe's face. He stood back up and started unpacking his own box and heard some chewing sounds, so he looked down to see Gabe now using his other hand and slowly munching on a chicken leg. Slowly but surely as he made his way through the meal, he started increasing the speed with which ate, and before Mu had finished his own little meal, Gabe was standing up slowly, and the box was filled with bones.

"Ah Gabe, I see that you have started recovering. You must have been quite hungry to run out of energy and collapse like that."

As Gabe slowly got to his feet, he spoke.

"No... not just... hunger... combination of... hunger AND... lack... of... energy..."

Once he was standing upright, Gabe reached into a bag, digging around for more stuff to eat. He pulled out a chicken burger meal which came with fries, and started demolishing that, while Mu ate his meal rather slowly. After finishing his meal, he looked over at Gabe and smiled.

"Listen Gabe, it's about time for me to be heading back to my own place; it's getting late, and the vampires will be waking up soon."

Gabe slowly tilted his head up from the food and looked at Mu for a bit, before remembering what had happened when he met him. He just smiled and nodded, before standing upright and walking towards the door. Mu followed Gabe to the door, and when Gabe opened it, walked through.

"Hey, before you go... I just wanted to say thank you, for taking me to the office... buying me food... everything. I really appreciate it."

Gabe smiled warmly at Mu, and Mu smiled back.

"No no Gabe, I'm the one who should be thanking you, for treating me like a person, and not just as a Werebat."

Gabe looked at Mu with a slight sadness in his eyes at the bitterness he detected in his voice. Gabe then reached out and gently placed his hand on Mu's shoulder and smiled again.

"I don't give a fuck how Werebats are treated in this place, because you are a pretty cool guy, and the first real friend I've ever made, so... Anyway, I was wondering if you could come by tomorrow and show me around the campus? I don't know how to get anywhere, and I think I need to learn before classes start."

Mu hadn't really heard the rest of what Gabe had said, as the words that were playing over in his mind 'real friend'. Mu didn't even know how to react to that statement, as he himself had never made another friend all his life, so being called a friend by not only a stranger, but a vampire was quite surprising. Mu just looked down in silence. Gabe became slightly concerned.

"Mu? Mu, did you hear me?"

Mu suddenly looked up at Gabe with an incredibly heartwarming smile.

"No... no, I did not. Could you please repeat that?"

Gabe just looked at Mu in shock for a second, before smiling back.

"I said I need you to show me around campus tomorrow if that's not too much of an issue?"

Mu just nodded at Gabe and turned around, walking towards the elevator.

"Sure, no problem Gabe. What time should I come by?"

Gabe just smiled at Mu and waved sleepily.

"Whenever you feel like coming buddy. I'll see you then."

He then turned around and closed the door before heading back to the kitchen to eat as much as he could before passing out again. Mu just stood at the entrance to the elevator in silence for a while, while contemplating of him coming back here tomorrow to hang out with his... friend. That thought alone made him smile as he walked into the elevator. He pressed the button, and as the doors came together, he looked up and spoke softly to himself.

"I'll see you tomorrow then... friend..."

Gabe woke up the following morning in a rather chipper mood. After he finished eating all the food that Mu had so kindly purchased for him, taken a shower, he walked around until he found a bedroom (which wasn't even the main bedroom, although he didn't know that) and passed out the moment he touched the mattress. Now having woken up, he slowly and sleepily walked around the apartment, before walking into a different bathroom thinking that it was the same one. He took a quick shower and went back to the kitchen, looking to see if he hadn't eaten all the food, which unfortunately he had. Feeling slightly miffed, he got dressed in similar clothes to the ones he was wearing yesterday, but had the same coat on. He realized that it had no practical purpose whatsoever, be in his opinion, it looked cool.

'Alright; today is going to be completely different from yesterday! I'm going to roam around and find some bitches, get some champagne and bring everything back here and have the most epic orgy ever recorded in the history of orgies!'

Gabe was feeling pretty upbeat at this thought, and just as he started singing to himself, he heard a sort of buzzing sound coming from somewhere in the apartment.

"What the...?"

Gabe then started walking around slowly, waiting for the buzzing sound to... buzz... again, which it did, causing his head to quickly snap in the direction it was coming from. He walked over to the kitchen and found a sort of telephone thing hanging from the wall, which buzzed again. He picked up the phone and held it up to his ear.

"Hello...? Hello?"

There was no answer, although this didn't deter Gabe, he just kept saying hello because in his mind, the longer he said hello, the higher the chances of somebody replying were. He was however running out of patience and started getting annoyed at the constant buzzing, and non-existent responding from the person responsible for the buzzing. He was just about to blow a gasket before he looked carefully at the phone that he was about to smash into oblivion. He noticed that there were buttons on it, and one such button had the label 'Door' on it, so he pressed it. He then heard sound coming from the phone and he put it back to his ear and spoke again.

"Hello?"

"Hello Gabe? It's Mu, did I wake y—"

"Yaaay, Leo! I was wondering when you were going to come! Come on up!"

Gabe then put the phone back and started walking off when suddenly the phone buzzed again. He picked it up and held it to his ear again, pressing the door button again.

"Hello?"

"Yes Gabe, I need you to open the door for me."

"Huh? How and why? Do I need to come all the way down there to open it for you?"

"No, not at all. You just need to press the 'Door' button again, and I'll be let in. You will however need to open the front door for me."

"Oh, okay then! See you in a minute buddy.."

Gabe then pressed the 'Door' button again and put the phone down. He walked up to the door and just opened it, standing there and waiting for Mu to come up, which he did. The second the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Gabe almost leapt up in excitement at having a friend come over, as he had never been in this time of position before. Mu walked up to the door and saw that it was open, so he gently pushed it all the way open and found Gabe standing there awkwardly with a smile on his face, and this caught Mu off guard.

"Uh hey there Gabe. Is anything the matter?"

"Huh? No, not at all! It's just... I'm out of my element... once again."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that for the first time in my life I'm not only living alone, but am also having a friend come over... I uh, I don't know the protocol of one such occasion."

Mu looked at Gabe, and for the first time in the brief period that he had known him, he saw uncertainty and vulnerability being displayed by him. Mu himself hadn't had all that much experience with that you would call friends, but he knew exactly how he was treated when he was in this situation, so he just smiled and walked up to Gabe, and smiled at him.

"There is no exact protocol I guess. I mean, usually you'd offer me a drink or something, but I know that there's nothing to drink in this place as you've just moved in. I guess you just have to wing it for now, and be content with my company for a while. And you asked me to show you around campus today correct? We won't even be hanging around here, so don't worry about it."

Gabe then suddenly grinned, reached out and patted Mu on the shoulder.

"Thanks a lot Mu. Now let's get the fuck outta here! I'm hungry as hell, so I need to get to exploring my new surroundings, and getting some bitches and champagne in here pronto!"

Mu shook his head slightly before smiling.

"You really do have a one track mind don't you Gabe?"

"You be quiet! Let's get going."

Gabe then walked out of the apartment and waited for Mu to do the same. Once he had, he closed the door and they made their way to the elevator. Gabe pressed the button once inside and after the ride, they stepped out into the building lobby. Gabe looked around and realized that the lobby was decorated similarly to his apartment, with large, lavish looked deep reds and blacks, gothic style décor and such. He thought it looked rather nice, yet weird as well. They walked out of the building, not needing to use Gabe's card to exit, and walked to the parking lot where Mu had a cab ready and waiting.

"Oh wow, well this helps us quite a bit. So then Tony, where are we headed?"

Mu just shook his head and opened the door for Gabe, wondering if Gabe did the name thing purposely.

"Well, first of all, we'll be heading to the main building where all the classes take place. It's a rather large building, as it has to accommodate all the students in the college, and it's also slightly far from where we are right now. After that, we'll be heading to what is called the 'Town', which is where most students go to hang out, relax and just, well, be together. It has cinemas, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. It really is something of a mini town, which is good for students who don't have the means of actually going into the city."

Gabe was looking rather excited about going to Town, as he was really a country bumpkin of note. He got into the cab and sat down, buckling his seatbelt and getting comfy as Mu closed the door. Mu then got in the other side of the cab, doing the same.

"Alright driver, to the main building please."

The driver nodded and began the journey. Gabe just looked around, doing his best to concentrate on, and memorize all the street names and signs of the roads they were driving on, feeling the route, counting the number of turns they made, making personal notes of trees or particular details about the area that he would use as landmarks and such. He even began to recognize the area they were in after a few minutes of driving, and realized that this was the area where he actually met Mu, and then just then, he saw the park. Mu himself was sitting in silence as he saw the concentration on Gabe's face, and figured that it would be best if he didn't say or do anything to disturb him, also motioning over to the driver to keep quiet. The entire trip was actually made in silence, and after the near twenty minute journey, the cab came to a slow halt. Mu gently touched Gabe on the shoulder, and this made Gabe look over at him.