Breaking and Entering {Gaby}

☽ ZAGREUS MOON ☾
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

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The girl I had noticed when I exited the run-down building seemed to be staring at me. Then, however, she almost seemed embarrassed for doing so and asked a question I didn't exactly expect. What time was it? In all honesty, I normally wouldn't have been able to answer that question, but I happened to be wearing a watch that day. Glancing at it, I observed the placement of the hands and informed her of the time.

"About six o'clock in the morning. What're you doing, anyway? You seemed to be watching me." I answered her, followed by a question.

I was truly curious as to what the girl was doing out at six in the morning. I was out because I was avoiding my family as much as possible, but I doubted she was doing the same. Not many people in the District were normally out this early in the morning, unless they were headed to work, and it was a weekend, so I knew that wasn't likely the case with her.

I tapped my foot impatiently, awaiting the girl's response. It seemed that she had likely been watching me for a while, but I couldn't be sure, and I certainly didn't know for what reason she would have been doing so. Then again, perhaps I looked a bit too suspicious. After all, I did break into an abandoned building. Did she expect I was going to steal something major? In all honesty, there wasn't anything in the house to really steal, which was why it resulted in me taking only a single button when I left the building.

I'd of course taken more significant things in the past, but I never wanted to be noticed if I stole something. I believe that the most important item that I've ever stolen before was perhaps a small pocket knife that I snatched from a shop as I left when the shopkeeper was distracted. I still have that knife, too, and it was in my pocket that day. It was something that I always carried with me, not usually as self defense, but more as just in case I needed it for something else. I wasn't entirely sure what else I could need it for, but one could never know.

My hand in my pocket, I felt the button and the closed pocket knife sitting next to each other. They were such different items, but they were both stolen, and I never felt bad about sweeping them up when no one was looking. I wouldn't take something from someone if they had a way of knowing. I always took it from those who were unaware or weren't around to see it happen.

The girl seemed nervous when standing there, and I wondered if she thought I looked intimidating. Often, people did, just by my appearance. After all, I was over six feet tall and I tended to wear darker clothing. I rarely ever smiled and well, I've often been told that the eyebrows certainly don't make me look any friendlier.

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☽ ZAGREUS MOON ☾
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

---

She admitted to watching me, yes, but when she told me why, I got a bit frustrated. The girl was wondering what I was doing in a wrecked house early in the morning. What business of hers was it, anyway? I wondered how much she saw. Did she see me when I kicked the door down? Of course, I wouldn't ask her that, because if I did, she'd simply become more suspicious if she hadn't seen it happen. I remain quiet and don't respond to her comment, until she introduces herself and starts asking questions.

Janice was her name. It was a common name. It was certainly nothing unusual like my name. Followed by requesting my name was the inquiry of what I was doing there at six o'clock in the morning. Yes, it must have seemed strange having some guy show up at an abandoned house so early on in the day, or even just in general. Most guys probably don't entertain themselves by raiding empty houses and stealing the most miniscule objects, such as buttons, like I did.

"I'm Zagreus. Yeah, I know, weird name. Anyway, why is it any of your business what I'm doing here?" I replied to the girl who called herself Janice. "What if I'm just having a little fun?"

Yes, I was just having a little fun, but perhaps not the same kind of fun that most people around District Eight would be having at six in the morning. Most people were either asleep or getting ready for work at this hour. My definition of fun was likely a bit different than what Janice probably had in mind.

Apparently a guy like myself prefers kicking in doors of abandoned buildings and doing a bit of exploring. Of course, it's not as fun if I don't claim a small trophy. A button was small and unnoticeable enough, so it's what I took. What was so wrong with rewarding myself for successfully breaking into a boarded up house? Then again, that probably wasn't something most people thought she be rewarded.

"Also, Janice," I said to her, "What concern is it of yours what I do in my free time? Maybe you should try what someone else does for enjoyment before questioning why they do it. Kick in a door and explore an abandoned house once in a while. Is it really that bad of a thing to do?"

A smirk crossed my face. This girl had hesitated before asking me any questions before, so perhaps this would throw her off guard, too. It was always fun to watch people be so confused as to what to say. I liked seeing others at a loss for words.

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☽ ZAGREUS MOON ☾
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

---

With the girl's next response, it was almost as she suddenly seemed interested in what I had to say. She started by telling me that she didn't think that she could explore any abandoned houses, due to the lack of them around the District, and that she wasn't strong enough to kick in a door. She pauses for a moment before continuing.

Janice then inquires as to if it's fun, doing what I do.

Of course it is. I think to myself. Why else would I do it?

She also asks if there are any ghosts or spiders. What kind of question was that, and where was the sudden interest coming from? It was nice to have her interested, rather than trying to scold me, yes, but her questions were just a bit out of the ordinary. I didn't tell her that directly, of course. I laughed a bit at her question.

"Of course there are spiders. There's quite a plethora of them. The real question is, however, do you believe in ghosts, Janice?" I asked her with a grin on my face.

I thought I'd make this fun for myself and pry into what this girl was thinking. She was sort of fun to talk to, I had to admit. She seemed to be able to come up with something to say, no matter what I asked, even if it was just a silly retort that wasn't meant to mean much. Regardless, I liked hearing what she had to say. It brought a bit more fun to that morning's adventures. Today, I wasn't just breaking into a house on my own. Granted, she wasn't breaking in with me, but I had someone there that was genuinely interested in what I was up to.

Ghosts, however, seemed like an odd thing to ask about. I'd never believed in ghosts myself, but I'd met people before that did. Normally, however, people didn't seem to ask if I'd seem any. This girl was interesting and very straightforward. I wondered silently to myself in that moment where the interesting, back and forth conversation between us would lead next.

It wasn't often that people actually approached me to talk to me. A lot of people were simply intimidated by my appearance, or perhaps the way I came off when I spoke. That resulted in me often being off on my own during the day, not really conversing with anyone. I avoided my family almost all of the time, so it wasn't like I'd have them to talk to, either. Then again, it wasn't like I wanted to speak a single word to those I shared blood with. I hated them with a passion. I was my own family, and I didn't have many friends. Was Janice becoming a friend, though? Perhaps she was. That would be something I wouldn't mind, having an actual friend. She seemed interested in what I had to say, so perhaps she'd be good to talk to when I needed to get away from my home and the cruel people who lived there.

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☽ ZAGREUS MOON ☾
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

---

Ghosts were an interesting concept in my opinion. Spirits of the dead, coming back to haunt the living. Was it actually possible? Personally, I didn't think so. I had never had an experience that forced to believe in such things. Ghosts almost seemed like a childish idea to me. They were similar to the idea of a monster lurking under your bed or hiding in your closet. It was something that I always thought of as just meant to give you the creeps or a slight scare. Lucky for me, I was never scared of them, since I didn't believe in their existence.

Janice told me she didn't believe in ghosts, and proceeded to ask if I did. As I had already determined in my own thoughts, I didn't believe in them. They seemed like a ridiculous concept to begin with. I was almost relieved to hear that the girl was intelligent enough not to fall for the myth of ghosts and spirits lurking in the world of the living.

"I don't believe in them either." were the words that left my lips. I smiled at the girl. Was I making a new friend? That would be nice, as I didn't have very many of those. Most of the people I knew became enemies, or just remained as acquaintances. I looked at the girl. She was pretty, yes. The look in her eyes was seemingly friendly, and she didn't look like she would be able to take me down by attacking me even if she wanted to. Of course, she certainly didn't seem like she wanted to try anything like that. I was often too intimidating for people to think of attacking me. She had also said she wasn't strong enough to kick in a door, which already told me that should something happen, I could easily defend myself against her.

"Want to come inside?" I asked her, motioning to the building behind me with the broken down door. "It's actually pretty cool." I continued. It would be nice to have someone that appreciated the same things as me. Broken, run down, rotting buildings often had some sort of treasure to them, even if it wasn't a physical thing. Yes, all I had found in there was a jar with a measly button inside, but there was something about actually going into the house that was much more rewarding. I wasn't quite sure what it was in that moment, though.

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☽ ZAGREUS MOON ☾
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

---

I don't know what had come over me just then that had made me so friendly toward Janice. I wasn't someone who was usually kind or caring, due to the way that my parents had raised me. They'd be disappointed in how friendly I was being toward a random person that I barely knew. They didn't particularly like when I got close with someone. Then again, they weren't there with me in that moment, so that meant they didn't control what I did. They never had to know that I was doing something they didn't want me to do, which was making potential friends.

Janice seemed to light up when I offered for her to go inside the run down building with me. My guess in that moment was that she was probably the adventurous type, but I couldn't know for sure, as it was true that she had seemed curious about the building, but not like she wanted to jump right in at first. I grinned when she replied that she wanted to enter the abandoned house, and I went inside, waiting for her when I got in there.

If one were to enter this building, the first thing they would see would likely be the many cobwebs and the sheer amount of dust that covered almost everything in the small, one-room home. I, however, had been in plenty of these buildings over the years, and I looked past the basics. I could see a mouse move across the floor, searching for the scraps of food it would never find. Looking at the windows, I could see that they were all either smashed or cracked, and some of them boarded up. A floorboard creaked when you entered the small home, and the cupboards that were in there had hinges that squeaked when you opened them. It was all the small details that really appealed to be in places like this, much more than the obvious things did.

"Feel free to look around a bit. There's actually a lot more interesting things in here than you may realize." I told Janice.

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