Before Iott

Show off

"Check out this bad boy-" I set down the shining metallic radio on the wood table. It was only a quarter inch thick, and had sleek, rounded edges along its sides and handle. I pressed the small button in the upper right corner, and the radio came to life, the button glowing a teal blue. An old country song pumped through the speaker in the center. "Wow, this is amazing dude-" Siram bent over and examined it, "These things are top notch! How'd you get your hands on one of these?" It had been about three months since Siram joined our crew, with permission by Jay, and she fit in perfectly. Although she started out shy, she grew more comfortable and accustomed to our company, opening up more and even adopting our speech patterns. I shrugged. "It wasn't too hard, just picked it up from some snooty electronics store. They were more than kind to give it to me." I joked- We both knew I'd stolen it- "I remember you saying something about liking music, and this place needed a little something." "How sweet, thanks Red." She giggled. Apparently my nickname became Red ever since the first night we met. It was a normal nickname, so I didn't mind. Jay raised an eyebrow at the new possession. "Don't tell me you went out of the way to get this. You could have gotten hurt, Xane. Imagine if they'd caught you there!"

"Xane knows what he's doing, right Xane?" Siram said, backing me up.

I smiled sheepishly. "Well yea, but I shouldn't have done it all the same. I played it safe though, I really did, Jay!"

"I believe ya. Stop scaring me though, man. Gonna give me a heart attack," Jay said, "But I think I know how you can make it up to me."

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I heard the guard's footsteps slowly fade away as they trudged down the street. "All clear." I whispered. Jay and I moved forward to the clothing shop's entrance. We stopped at the door, and I knelt down in front of the handle. Jay handed me the key he'd pickpocketed off a sleeping guard earlier. I wrapped my fingers around its narrow metal body and nodded, pushing it into the doorknob. Luckily the security systems had been down for the past week, due to a recent power outage. I pushed the thin door open and glanced around the shop. Expensive clothes lined the walls and hangers. Creeping in, I saw that the idiotic owners hadn't even thought of adding security on this front. "Way clear." "No kidding, who owns this? What idiot doesn't have a security system in the main storage of their shop?" Jay commented. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, pulling out a flashlight and switching it on.

The clothes here looked fit for any upperclassman, price tags ranging from ridiculous to outrageously expensive. I immediately picked up a black shirt, its long sleeves covered in swirling white patterns, contrasting the black. "Hey Xane," I heard Jay say from behind me. "Hm?" I turned around and looked at Jay. He was taking off his green, high collared jacket. I remember him telling me it was one of his prized possessions, the first actually expensive thing he owned. He handed it to me. "Here, I'll be getting something new anyways... thought maybe you'd want it, though. You told me you liked it earlier."

"You told me yourself that you loved that thing, don't act so nonchalant about giving it up dude." I insisted.

"You got me there, but still-" He pushed the coat to me again, "I want you to have it."

"... Thank you." I finally accepted the coat. The fact that he was giving me something that meant so much to him really showed how he felt about our friendship. I felt honored, and slipped on the coat immediately. It was a little over sized, the sleeves going past my hands, and the collar covering my neck entirely. "It's a little big," he said, "but you'll grow into it squirt." He ruffled my hair as per usual. I wanted to hug him, but that would be a little awkward, so i settled for reaching up and ruffling his hair instead. "That's what ya get for messing up my hair all the time." I said, a large grin spreading across my face.

"Alright, well let's grab some gear for everyone and split before the guards return."

"Right, got it." I continued to smile as I picked out some clothes.